Chapter 1 A Handful of Gifts

To be honest, throughout his life, Hao Ren had received quite a few gifts, from the little trading cards in crispy noodles he collected as a kid to the good-guy cards he accumulated when he grew up. As he joined the workforce and reached the pinnacle of his life, the standard of gifts he received also rose. Look, today some old man who occupied a significant position in the history of human religion was grabbing his hand and saying, "I see you as sincere and reliable, a kindred spirit. I happen to have nine realms here. How about you take over this throne and become the new head honcho of the Norse pantheon?"

Of course, Odin didn't actually grab his hand when he said that, and the Norse pantheon had long since been blown to smithereens, but that didn't stop Hao Ren from imagining the whole process, adding a lot of very flashy, very bright, very *duang* special effects, and suddenly feeling the grandness of the situation increase.

Okay, that was very Norse, very Odin.

But he still had a few words to say: "Old man, calm down for a moment – it's understandable that you want to retire, but is it appropriate for you to hand over the power of the Nine Realms to a stranger so hastily? Why don't we take our time and discuss this? In fact, not all of the Norse pantheon are dead. This Valkyrie here can be excluded because she's not all there. And there's still an heir in the Athenian Sanctuary on Earth..."

Odin was stunned for a moment: "Other survivors? Who is it?"

Hao Ren thought for a moment: "Loki's daughter, someone named Hela..."

This time, Odin truly grabbed Hao Ren's hand: "If you don't want it, we can discuss it further. If you really don't want it, we can recommend someone else—but let's leave the Loki family out of it?"

Hao Ren was a little unhappy: "That's a bit prejudiced, isn't it? Hela did some wrong things back then, like usurping power, rebelling, and blowing up her own people, but hasn't Ragnarok already passed? The current Hela is different from the Hela of the past. I've met her. She's a quiet sister, and other than not liking to talk, she makes a good impression."

"Actually, Hela really isn't suitable," Vivian shrugged. This time, she didn't agree with Hao Ren's view. "Her personality can't handle such a heavy responsibility. The remnants of Midgard and the Valkyrie here can't accept her either. To be honest, the Norse pantheon is truly finished. Whether you accept it or not, whether there are a few survivors left or not, it's hopeless to find an heir from the Norse pantheon to revitalize it."

Hao Ren clicked his tongue, looking at Odin: "Okay, I don't want to be pretentious – but you have to think it over carefully. We've only known each other for a few days, and we're only slightly better than strangers to each other. And although I have a bunch of titles, asking me to lead the Nine Realms to reappear in glory... it's really better to wait for the remnants of Twilight Capital to climb the tech tree and sweep across the nine continents."

Odin just smiled freely: "I know. I've given it a lot of thought. Just like Vivian said, the Norse pantheon is finished. For a race that has already died out, it's good whoever inherits the mantle. I don't really understand you, and based on the incredible power you've displayed so far, I think it would be quite difficult to fully understand you. But you can make Vivian Anseista a staunch supporter, and that's enough to prove many things. What's more..."

Odin paused here, a meaningful expression on his face: "You said you owned a planet, and from the sound of your voice, you own more than just that one planet. I can't imagine what level of concept that is, but I know that if someone with such strength is willing to help a world that has already been destroyed once, then entrusting the Nine Realms to that person is the best solution."

Odin's words were very elegant and profound, but Lily, the literary dog, interpreted them more clearly and thoroughly: "Gotta grab the thickest thighs! Even a leg hair from the landlord's level of thick thighs is enough for the Nine Realms to eat until the era of stars and seas..."

The husky girl's simple and direct explanation immediately made Hao Ren's face embarrassed. Even Galahad and Anthony next to him turned their faces away in embarrassment. However, Odin just stroked his beard and nodded vigorously: "Well, that's a pretty good summary."

"I feel like the old man is a bit... out of it?" Hao Ren couldn't help but lean close to Vivian and whisper, "He's sometimes so terrifyingly blunt."

Vivian also whispered: "Maybe he's been sitting on the Iron Throne for two thousand years, and his understanding of human relationships is a bit twisted."

In the end, Hao Ren did not refuse Odin's request.

Because he felt that it would be a bit pretentious to continue arguing. If this were thrown at someone else, it would probably be a question that required careful consideration and a bit of showing off before answering. But Hao Ren didn't dwell on anything other than thinking about some practical issues. After all, he was an inspector. His magnificent Hao Da-guanren was no longer the country bumpkin of the past. What was the Sun King of Irim, the Prince of Demon Castle, the Governor of Tanagrus, the Lord of Zolm, or even Bomber Ren... Even if that last one didn't count, he could lengthen the number of characters in his name to double digits, printing it on a business card in at least three lines. If he threw that in ancient times, in a society where titles were written into names, he could suffocate a reinforced company of doormen with just his name...

With so many titles, each of which represented at least hundreds of thousands or millions of subjects, Hao Ren felt that adding the Nine Realms was just a drop in the bucket, a mere million people...

But in reality, Hao Ren himself knew that what he received from Odin was more special than any of his previous titles.

Any of his previous titles were honorary. Even the title of "Sun King of Irim," which had the greatest effect, he had not really used that identity to directly interfere in the rule of the Irim civilization. But now, what Odin was about to give him was the real power of the Nine Realms.

How to handle this hot "throne" was something Hao Ren felt he needed to think carefully about as an inspector, but for the moment, he decided to accept this responsibility.

Odin saw Hao Ren nod, as if he had completely breathed a sigh of relief, and reached out to take off his eye patch.

After the black eye patch was removed, there was a somewhat shriveled eye socket, and embedded in the eye socket was a rainbow-colored gem emitting a faint light.

This gem was crystal clear and emitted light from the inside out. Its surface was floating with a very obvious magical aura. After observing it for a while, Hao Ren determined that this thing was made of the same material as the Rainbow Bridge.

"This is the Keystone," Odin handed the gem to Hao Ren. "It can reflect the true path of the Nine Realms and reorganize the mapping relationship between the Rainbow Bridges. It is also the certification device for all ancient artifacts and ancient systems of the Aesir. With it, you are the new master of the Nine Realms."

Hao Ren solemnly took the stone, feeling the Keystone emitting a slight warmth in his hand. When he probed his mental power into the depths of the Keystone, he immediately felt a docile and gentle response.

Under Odin's command, the Keystone was ready to welcome its new master.

Holding the Keystone, knowledge about the Rainbow Bridge and various Aesir artifacts emerged from his mind. Although this kind of infusion was a bit stiff, it was still enough for a newcomer to quickly grasp the operation methods of a complex system. Obviously, this Keystone should be an artifact passed down from generation to generation – constantly circulating in the hands of generations of Aesir civilization leaders.

In just a few minutes, Hao Ren knew how to restabilize the Rainbow Bridge.

"But the Rainbow Bridge seems to be broken," Hao Ren frowned, "and this Keystone also mentions various factories and warehouses buried under the Nine Realms... The Twilight of the Gods caused the sky to fall and the earth to crack. How many of these facilities can be preserved?"

"There's no need to worry about the Rainbow Bridge," Odin laughed, a proud smile on his face, "It is one of the few complete hometown technologies that we preserved after coming to this world. We built it very strong. Currently, only the extension ducts and crystal resonance rings of the Rainbow Bridge are damaged. There are enough spare parts in Asgard to use, and the Einherjar will soon repair the system. As for those factory facilities buried deep underground... find as many as you can, I don't have much hope."

"Things won't be too bad," Little White suddenly emerged from the ground at this time, "Yggdrasil subconsciously tightened its deep tentacles when the Twilight of the Gods arrived. Although some underground factories were crushed as a result, more facilities were protected instead. Apart from Vanaheim, which was completely torn apart, there are many factories that survived under the other continents."

Hao Ren once again tightened his grip on the Keystone, carefully checking the distribution of Aesir facilities under the Nine Realms, and discovered that many magical relics left by the Vanir "gods" could also be found among them. After sorting out the general categories of these facilities, a plan gradually formed in his mind.

Although the Nine Realms were scarred, they were, after all, the ark used by the Goddess of the Dream Plane to transmit the "fire" to this world. This alien space system was complex and strong, and was itself a nearly perfect hyperdimensional fortress. The Aesir had spent thousands of years developing this fortress. Although their technology could not be compared with those monstrous super-civilizations, the basic framework they left behind was still good stuff.

The plan to build a "Gate to the Real World" in the Rift Nebula could be accelerated!