Chapter 1 The Synthesis of Demon Hunters

The synthesis formula and “product description” of the Origin Relic were finally presented before everyone's eyes, but the result left everyone dumbfounded for a long time. Hao Ren pointed at the images and text on the holographic projection, and after struggling for a long time, he squeezed out a sentence: “This thing is for synthesizing demon hunters?”

"Strictly speaking, it is a creature called a 'sixth-generation enhanced lifeform'," the data terminal corrected very seriously. It read the database in the Holy Relic Orb and projected the academic name of the humanoid creature in the image: "This is the default synthesis result of the Origin Relic. It is extremely similar to the demon hunters we know in all aspects – including physiological structure, lifespan, endurance, and many innate abilities. This unit is searching the database for more information… but it seems like there’s not much more to find. The 'sixth-generation enhanced lifeform' is a demon hunter, and the first generation of demon hunters at that."

The scene was quiet for quite a while. The ascetics didn't know what these people were talking about, so they just silently watched with cold eyes. Hao Ren and the others were immersed in great shock and didn't know how to react. Even Lily was stunned like a statue and stopped moving. This silence lasted for more than ten seconds before it was finally broken: Doudou turned her head to look at the adults who were all in a daze, and after a moment of brewing, let out a small burp: "Burp~~~"

Then the little guy fell into the water tank more than ten meters away with a splash. That water tank was for holding the reaction raw liquid, and now there was still half a tank of water left in it.

The sound of Doudou splashing water finally woke Hao Ren from his shock. He blinked, pinched his face to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, and then poked Vivian's arm: "Vivian, what do you think of this?"

"If demon hunters were synthesized by the Origin Relic…" Vivian looked at the "large reactor" with a subtle expression. Due to the emergency shutdown just now, the operating panel of the latter was flashing red warning lights rapidly. The mixed liquid flowing out of the main container was still dripping down the outside of the equipment. The residual magical power in the mixed liquid flickered with a faint light, and two autonomous machines were handling the messy scene, "Then that means our previous guesses about the Other were wrong. The Other really did come from the Plane of Dreams?"

Hao Ren suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind and calmly analyzed: "It's still not certain. Perhaps both the Other and the demon hunters are products of biochemical experiments, it's just that the one in front of us happens to be specially used for synthesizing demon hunters… but I personally prefer the idea that only demon hunters come from this kind of synthesis machine. Do you remember what Hesperides said? In their final days, the Olympus family had many abnormalities. After studying the Origin Relic, Athena repeatedly muttered 'self-inflicted'…"

Nangong Wuyue was listening from the side, and at this moment, she suddenly reacted: "Wait! Does the meaning of self-inflicted mean that the Other actually manufactured these devices? Were demon hunters actually created by the Other?"

The scene became even quieter than before. Even Lily, who was used to wandering in her mind, nodded with a serious expression at this time: "That's really possible…"

"But this doesn't match history," Vivian spread her hands, "I am already the oldest Other on Earth, but I know nothing about this 'Relic'. In my memory, no Other race has ever manufactured similar equipment, and demon hunters appeared on Earth at the same time as us. Although they were very low-key at the beginning, and only became active during the heyday of the mythical era, I can be sure… there were demon hunters in the earliest times."

Nangong Wuyue raised her head and let out a long "oh": "Oh—so you're saying that demon hunters existed from the very beginning, right? This beginning refers to when there was Other activity on Earth."

Hao Ren suddenly looked at Nangong Wuyue curiously: "Could it be that the sirens made this thing? The only ones on Earth more alien than the Other are you sirens. No one really knows what you've done."

Nangong Wuyue waved her hand indifferently: "How would I know? If you threw me into the Pacific Ocean, I'd be even more confused than you."

Hao Ren stroked his chin and thought for a while. When he looked up and saw the Holy Relic Orb, he suddenly realized that he had been confused by the chaotic timeline: "I understand! Demon hunters did exist when the Other first became active on Earth, but we can go further back, don't forget: the Other came from the Plane of Dreams!"

As he said that, he walked over and knocked on the outer shell of the Origin Relic: "The Holy Relic Orb comes from before the destruction of the world, it is a native product of the Plane of Dreams, and it is a part of the Origin Relic – all of this stuff is the product of the Plane of Dreams before the destruction of the world!"

Vivian let out a soft cry: "Including the demon hunters!"

Everyone looked at each other. A large amount of information collected over a long period of time finally began to piece together at this time. Although the whole picture was not yet clear, the existing information was tightly connected, no longer as far-fetched as the previous random guesses. Izhaks, as a complete outsider, combined everything from the clearest perspective at this time: "The origin of the matter is the Plane of Dreams. The various races of the Plane of Dreams created the Origin Relic. The Origin Relic created the sixth-generation enhanced lifeform – that is, the demon hunters. After that, for an unknown period of time, the Plane of Dreams was destroyed, and some of its inhabitants, the Relic, and the first batch of demon hunters created were thrown to Earth. The above is based on confirmed information. The following is speculation: the inhabitants of the Plane of Dreams who were thrown to Earth must have had an accident when they crossed the world, causing them to lose their memories and some of their civilization's achievements, and their alliance turned into mutual hostility between races. There should be very few Origin Relics scattered on Earth, and they are all buried in places that the Other cannot find. There shouldn't have been many demon hunters when they first arrived on Earth. They should have developed for a period of time before they began to openly confront the Other. This corresponds perfectly with Vivian's memories. In addition, the doomsday event of the Plane of Dreams has not yet been clearly explained, but Becky mentioned that the legends say that the Plane of Dreams was destroyed because humans presumptuously studied forbidden knowledge, trying to create the perfect creature - I personally think that it is very likely referring to the demon hunters!"

This speculation made a lot of sense, and Hao Ren nodded frequently. Only Nangong Wuyue asked in confusion: "Then why do demon hunters fight against their creators? And it looks like a deep-seated hatred."

Lily twitched her ears and confidently explained: "That's simple. The synthetic humans who were created were treated barbarically, so they rose up in anger to fight against their creators in order to fight for their rights. Don't think that this kind of story is old-fashioned, it's still popular – I used to write it myself. Creatures that are created are most likely to rebel."

Vivian immediately folded her arms: "According to this, Ha塞安娜 might become a rebellious daughter one day?" (Pinyin: Hai Se An Na - Could not find a direct translation for this name so using pinyin)

Hao Ren quickly dismissed the vampire girl's wild thoughts: "Don't be ridiculous, her fondness for you is almost challenging ethics, and you don't mistreat her."

Vivian frowned uncertainly: "It's really hard to say. When I took care of her back then, she often didn't even have enough to eat, and I also beat her: that kid was a troublemaker when she was little. Of course, she's not much better now."

No one paid attention to Vivian's irrelevant thoughts. They deeply agreed with Lily's statement. Perhaps the deep hatred between demon hunters and the Other came precisely from this relationship between "creator" and "created being."

While Hao Ren and the others were discussing, the four ascetics had been watching coldly from the side. They stood silently like solemn sculptures, their faces expressionless, making it impossible to guess what these people were thinking. It wasn't until Hao Ren and the others' discussion came to an end that the bearded man spoke calmly: "You are discussing the legends of our world's destruction."

Hao Ren immediately observed the expression on the other party's face. These four "masters" were too good at reducing their presence when they didn't speak, and coupled with the fact that the topic just now really made people unable to attend to other things, everyone talking about those research topics in the Plane of Dreams didn't think about the fact that there were outsiders present. Of course, there was also the reason of Izhaks' carefree personality: the great demon had always been direct, and once he opened his loud voice, he didn't care about anything. The bearded man noticed that Hao Ren was observing him, but he just nodded indifferently: "Do not disgrace our God, otherwise, even if you are our benefactor, I will fight to the death. Other than that, do as you please, it has nothing to do with us."

After speaking, he and the other ascetics returned to the state of wooden sculptures, lowering their eyelids and pondering, making it impossible to understand what these people were thinking.

Hao Ren shook his head and ordered the autonomous machines to clean up the scene, and at the same time unpack the Origin Relic and the Holy Relic Orb separately: according to the agreement, these two things were to be handed over to the four ascetics.

Finally, he looked at the group of people around him: "Don't waste time, I've decided to set off for the Plane of Dreams immediately – I've accumulated another bunch of questions!"

Everyone nodded one after another, and even the little mermaid who had just jumped over shook her head, and then the little guy burped again, slapping against the opposite wall with a plop.

Nangong Wuyue: "...I think we should check on this child's condition first."