Chapter 144
Chapter 144
Xu You, Chen Lin, and Lin Xiaoxue all fell into serious thought. Faced with the “Envoy of God” before them, the Elder of Taoyuan World, none of them could speak as freely as they had with CC.
While they were silent, Wei Sen was the first to speak. “Are you a modified human? Or a robot?”
The moment she said that, the other three women all widened their eyes, as if to say: Sis, is that really something you can just ask?
Sure, everyone had noticed something unusual about the Elder after arriving here, but none of them had dared to be this blunt right off the bat!
“Hahahahaha!” The Elder suddenly burst into laughter, his silver hair trembling. “Sure enough… still the same.”
“What’s the same?” A flicker of surprise crossed Wei Sen’s eyes.
The Elder shook his head. “Nothing. Perhaps all intelligent people are like you. They ask the most obvious question first.”
As he spoke, the Elder’s handsome face split open from left to right, revealing his true appearance beneath. There were no facial features, only smooth, cold metal.
The one with the biggest reaction was Lin Xiaoxue, who had been swooning over him at first. She wept silently in her heart. So being handsome was the biggest lie of all!
The others did not react nearly as strongly. From the moment they arrived in Taoyuan to the series of operations CC had performed to awaken him, it had been obvious the Elder was not a normal human.
“I am… a Silicon-based Lifeform.”
Everyone fell silent.
He was not a modified human who had ascended mechanically, nor was he a robot like artificial intelligence. He was a lifeform composed of biomolecules with a silicon skeleton!
Chen Lin asked tentatively, “Are all the people in Taoyuan like that?”
“No. On the entire Earth, there are only twelve beings classified as Silicon-based Lifeform. I am one of them,” the Elder answered honestly.
“Are you aliens? Where are the other eleven?” Lin Xiaoxue asked.
“We were created by Nüwa, just like you. As for the other eleven, you will meet them sooner or later.”
The Elder drew in a light breath. “All right. Next question.”
The three of them all looked at Wei Sen.
“Sister Sen, you ask,” Lin Xiaoxue whispered.
Wei Sen’s expression was grave as she looked at the Elder. “What is your purpose in doing all this?”
The Elder smiled gently and answered, “Escape.”
Xu You scratched her head. “Escape from underground and go to the Surface?”
“No. We need to escape somewhere much farther away… Back then, we escaped from the Surface to this place and established Taoyuan. Now, we would never flee from one prison just to return to another.”
A prison…
It seemed this place was only called “Taoyuan” in name. To its residents, it was not a perfect homeland.
Wei Sen thought to herself.
The women were still bewildered. They had too many questions, so many that they had no idea which one to ask first.
The Elder operated the holographic screen, and images of modern society on the Surface appeared before everyone. “This is your world as it is now.
“Everything appears normal. The world seems peaceful. But all of it is a lie Nüwa fabricated for humanity.
“Humanity has long since become livestock in captivity, stripped of true freedom, at the mercy of others without even realizing it.
“And the human lineage has even been reduced to women alone. Truly… a pitiful species.”
From the Elder, they once again heard the truth that “men and women are not the same species.” The expressions of Lin Xiaoxue, Xu You, and Chen Lin instantly grew much heavier.
This truth would take far too much time to accept…
Wei Sen broke the silence. Staring straight into the Elder’s glassy blue eyes, she asked, “Who exactly is this Nüwa you keep talking about?”
“Nüwa created humanity. Have you never heard that story?” the Elder asked in return.
Everyone exchanged bewildered looks.
So the Nüwa they were talking about really was that Nüwa-the one who refined five-colored stones to mend the heavens? The one who molded humans out of clay?
Wei Sen’s gaze darkened slightly. “What if I said I don’t believe in ghosts or gods?”
The Elder smiled faintly and said, “Very well. Then I have a question. Do you think mysticism and science are the same?”
Lin Xiaoxue blinked and answered without hesitation, “Of course they’re different! One is superstition and nonsense, and the other is scientific truth.”
Xu You thought it over seriously before saying, “In our Daoist Sect, we speak of ‘the Dao following nature.’ Science speaks of ‘experimental verification.’ Though the two can occasionally draw on each other, fundamentally, they walk two different paths.
So in my opinion, science uses data and logic to explain the world, while mysticism uses perception and cultivation to understand the Heavenly Dao.
To put it simply, science is ‘seeking truth outwardly,’ while mysticism is ‘realizing true meaning inwardly.’ Each has its own path. They aren’t quite the same.”
Hearing this, the Elder clapped his hands. “Very well said. Any other opinions?”
Chen Lin said in a low voice, “But some people also say that the end of science is mysticism. Didn’t a lot of famous scientists start studying mysticism in their later years…?”
The Elder smiled slightly. “Mm, there is indeed such a saying.” As he spoke, his gaze fixed directly on Wei Sen. “Then what do you think?”
“Whether it’s mysticism, science, or the ‘Dao’ spoken of by Daoists, at their root, they are all explaining ‘existence.’
For example, here is an apple. We call it ‘pingguo,’ while others call it ‘apple.’
If ‘existence’ itself is the same, then mysticism and science are the same. If ‘existence’ itself is different, then naturally, the two are different too.”
The Elder’s eyes grew increasingly profound. He stared into Wei Sen’s eyes and said, “If a world where apples do not exist suddenly had a ‘pingguo’ or an ‘apple’ appear in it, what would happen? If a real apple appeared in that world, what would happen then?”
Everyone in the hall sank into contemplation. Only the faint sound of the massive machinery at work could be heard.
Wei Sen’s brows gradually knitted together.
The Elder’s words were not meant to make them ponder philosophical theories about “existence.” He was answering the question she had asked earlier.
“So, setting aside form, Nüwa exists,” Wei Sen said, giving the answer.
The Elder smiled and nodded. “Correct. Precisely because she exists, because she is everywhere, watching everything humanity does! That is why we hid underground, forced to become a pack of rats skulking in the dark.”
“What are they talking about?” At that moment, Lin Xiaoxue quietly asked Chen Lin beside her.
Chen Lin shook her head blankly, looking just as lost.
“Sister You, did you understand?” Lin Xiaoxue asked Xu You again.
Xu You crossed her arms and looked in the Elder’s direction, thinking as she said, “The general idea is…
Whether humans or New Human, they were trapped by some incredibly powerful force. The people of Taoyuan broke free from that force and hid underground.
Now they want to form alliances and gather more people to destroy that force together.
And the name of that force is ‘Nüwa.'”
“Ohhh. Now that’s human language!” Lin Xiaoxue muttered under her breath.
Chen Lin nodded repeatedly as well. “I get it now.”
Wei Sen’s expression was extremely grave. She stared straight at the Elder and asked the core questions in one breath. “What is the relationship between Nüwa, God, and the Sovereign of the Eerie World?
What is the relationship between the Eerie World and our world?
And what benefits does clearing an Instance in the Eerie World bring to the Eerie World and Taoyuan respectively?”