Chapter 132 Father

The team returned to the royal city amidst a throng of people, with Vivian and Lily leading the way. They had become deities in the eyes of the Ark's people—or at least something similar to transcendent beings. In this "world" ruled by superstition and ignorance, it was too easy to control people's hearts with religion; just a little bit of intimidation and supernatural phenomena would suffice, and Vivian was very familiar with these things.

Lily walked stiffly beside Vivian, occasionally trying to hide behind Hao Ren. She had initially joined in the fun purely out of curiosity, but the way things developed far exceeded her expectations: "Wow... this is too lively, isn't it?"

"You'd get used to it if you'd experienced the age of myths," Vivian said softly with a smile. "The more ancient the era, the more people revered all things. Seven thousand years ago, I could awe an entire tribe just by creating a small flame. This place doesn't seem much different from Earth back then."

What followed was almost chaotic—though Hao Ren had taken the initiative to push things to this point, the reactions of these locals, doubly encouraged by superstition and excitement, were still difficult to adapt to. Hao Ren met the King of the High Tower Kingdom—a dark-skinned, tall, and strong middle-aged man—and then met the scholarly orders of the other three kingdoms. He also had to lead the old man to greet the royal nobles in the royal city one by one, and he and Vivian racked their brains to temporarily concoct a rough mythical story to prevaricate the scholars and the king's numerous questions. His only relief was that the "Ice Witch" held absolute authority in these people's minds, so even if the story he temporarily made up had many loopholes, he didn't have to worry about being questioned on the spot.

By the time everything had settled down somewhat, almost half a day had passed. Hao Ren and the others were enjoying the hard-won peace on the terrace of the upper level of the great castle. Vivian looked down at the crowded streets of the royal city below: "It seems even more lively than when we first arrived... I can't believe so many people can squeeze into such a small city."

Hao Ren smiled and turned to look at the other side of the terrace. The old man, who had been reborn after eating the golden apple, was sitting behind an iron table, with his old manuscripts in front of him. The old man guarded these manuscripts like treasures, never leaving their side. Even now, during the break, he was constantly checking the condition of the papers: these things were several hundred years old, and he was afraid that some parts of them would weather and decay.

"What happens next?" Hao Ren casually walked over and asked. He hadn't paid much attention to the old man's situation during the chaotic situation earlier. He only knew that Nangong Wuyue had taken him to meet many scholars in the city and had a long talk with the king alone.

"For the sake of the Ice Witch—their king was very polite to me, but he kept asking me what I planned to do in his kingdom, it seems he's worried about his own royal power... heh," the corner of the old man's mouth twitched slightly. "But that means nothing to me. I just want to give them the correct history. I also met those people called 'scholars.' Most of them are ignorant, but every one of them is smart enough. And those scholars treated me noticeably better than the king. I think I can go to that place called 'Fortress of Stars' first. Perhaps these manuscripts can be given to them first."

The old man pointed to the pile of papers on the table: "When I learned that they use copying ancient books as a form of cultivation, I knew that those scholars were the key."

"Doesn't sound as smooth as I imagined," Lily muttered with her arms crossed. "I thought that big black king would kowtow and worship you after seeing you—since the king of the High Tower Kingdom is reacting like this, the other remote kingdoms probably aren't any better."

"It's already enough," the old man smiled nonchalantly. "I just need to obtain the right to travel freely in the four kingdoms and teach the people. It's already a pleasant surprise that those kings are willing to listen to my teachings. As for the current social structure here... I have no intention of changing it, nor do I have the power to change it. They have lived like this for hundreds of years. The best way is to let them continue to live like this until natural change occurs."

Lily glared: "But you're their ancestor!"

"I'm just an old man who ran out of a reaction furnace—and a king's duty is to question any authority other than themselves, even if that authority is a god," the old man raised his eyes and looked at Lily and Vivian not far away. "I'm not even as influential as you two, because you at least have real supernatural powers."

Vivian turned her head upon hearing this, with a faint smile on her face: "It's normal. If one authority could tame an entire civilization, then all disputes in the world would have long since disappeared. Your next job probably won't be very smooth—those kings are willing to listen to your teachings now, but if your preaching seriously affects their authority and kingdom, people will still attack you in droves. And I believe that the true history you possess must greatly conflict with people's current values."

The old man laughed freely: "I know. Long before I fell asleep, I discussed countless possible problems that I might face in the future with my friends. I am a sociologist, an educator, and a psychologist. I know how to tell people the right knowledge at the right stage of society."

Looking at the old man's confident smile, Hao Ren scratched his hair: "Maybe you're more suitable to be a charlatan than I am."

The old man just smiled silently, then his eyes became serious: "Then... can you tell me who you really are now?"

When he had just awakened from the hibernation pod, this group of people told him that they were a group of passersby from the universe, and that their spaceship was parked outside the Ark. At the time, the old man didn't think much about it, and simply regarded Hao Ren and his party as some kind of aliens with a higher level of technology. But after eating a magical fruit and regaining his youth, the questions in the old man's heart had multiplied: although there was no real magic in his worldview, he vaguely realized that the group in front of him was related to something supernatural. Later, he saw Vivian summon frost with a gesture and Lily conjure a blade of fire out of thin air. Such wonders seemed more like magic from ancient stories than technology, so he was now extremely curious about the origins of Hao Ren and his group.

Hao Ren sat down opposite the old man and slowly told him about his origins.

Of course, the confidential parts were glossed over—such as using "a powerful force from beyond the realms" to vaguely explain his background.

The old man listened quietly, his expression changing occasionally, but much calmer than expected. Hao Ren was a little surprised: "You don't seem surprised?"

"It's hard for me to feel surprised anymore," the old man slowly shook his head. "I was born and raised on the Ark, and I've traveled to many places in the universe with this ship. I've seen stars fall into gravitational rifts and be torn to pieces, and I've seen the afterglow of a supernova instantly evaporate an entire planet. And those great beings from the depths of the stars left behind sayings about gods a long time ago. We know that this universe is vast, and that countless forces far beyond human imagination operate within it. So I'm not surprised, I wouldn't be surprised even if a true god descended in front of me. Of course, there are still surprises—I didn't expect that their messengers would arrive looking like this. I thought you should be more..."

The old man reached out and gestured, but it was difficult to describe his thoughts: "In short, you should be more radiant and brilliant, at least like those great races in the stars."

"I sometimes use a more 'radiant' way to solve problems, but that's not a good thing," Hao Ren shook his head and stood up. "I have to leave, there are still many things to do."

The old man subconsciously stood up as well: "Will you come back?"

"Of course I'll come back," Hao Ren laughed, and handed over a communicator. "The follow-up work for your civilization hasn't been completed yet. How long do you think your old spaceship can run? A hundred years? Two hundred years? I have to find you a stable place to settle down before this thing completely breaks down. I also have to report on your reconstruction progress at any time, because my goddess cares a lot about these things. And I have to track your status for a long time, because the aftermath of the doomsday disaster is still spreading in this universe. I don't want to finally find a few survivors only to have them eaten by tentacles again. This is a communicator, now you are the spokesperson for your race. We have to keep in touch, and I estimate that I will contact you soon."

The old man took the communicator, asked how to use it, and carefully put it in his arms.

"By the way, do you remember your name?" Hao Ren asked casually. "I can't keep calling you old man."

The old man opened his mouth, and after a long while, he muttered: "I only remember that my code name in the whole plan was 'Father'..."

Hao Ren immediately glared: "Don't joke around with us, the ages of us..."

He paused, and secretly glanced at Vivian: "The average age of us is several times older than you, you know that! The combined age of us is longer than the history of your Ark!"

Vivian whispered: "So I'm pulling up the average score for you..."

The old man was in awe after hearing Hao Ren's words, then thought for a while: "Then you can call me Lawrence."

"Is this your name?"

"No, I just have a vague impression of this name. Maybe it's a friend of mine, or maybe it's my father's," the old man laughed freely. "Whoever it is, they won't need this name anymore—from now on, I am Lawrence."

(Continuing to ask for monthly tickets!! Last two days!!)