Chapter 1 Hao Ren's Concerns

Hao Ren's worries were not without reason. After all, there were too many similar settings, and the ultimate goal of this "Final Network" was to permanently maintain the operation of the entire universe after the "destruction of gods." Such an important system couldn't possibly be shut down casually, let alone have an eight-hour work system or weekends off. Vivian might really not be able to get off once she sat down.

However, after thinking about it seriously, Vivian shook her head: "The risks you mentioned... are actually okay. According to the information left by the Goddess of Creation, the Final Throne is just an input and output interface. My connection with it is not mandatory or permanent. If I really want to leave on my own initiative, it can't stop me. And all instructions run at the bottom layer of my soul, so this thing won't affect my personal will. But then again... this system has never been tested by anyone after all, so it's a little unnerving to let me sit on it directly."

The system crashing had also affected her quite a bit.

Hao Ren sighed, his face full of helplessness: "There's no way around it. After all, the Goddess of Creation didn't go to school, so I really don't dare to try the things she left behind casually..."

Salaman, who had been forcibly stabilizing his emotions, finally couldn't help but speak again: "Perhaps there is a slight problem with the Final Throne, but this is the precious hope that our mother left for this world, and the meaning of the Guardian Legion stationed here is to wait for this day to come..."

As he spoke, he looked at Vivian: "I hope you can seriously consider it. I understand your concerns, and I agree that we can't try it rashly, but..."

"Wait, wait, I think you've misunderstood something," Hao Ren quickly waved his hand when he saw Salaman getting a little excited. "We never said that we would completely abandon the Final Throne, nor did we say that the Guardian Legion's thousands of years of hard work here were meaningless—I just said that I don't plan to let Vivian just sit there as a human-shaped server, but we attach great importance to the Final Throne and even the Final Network itself."

Salaman was a little confused: "You don't plan to let her sit on the throne? Then what do you mean..."

"We will study it, analyze it, crack its secrets, figure out its mechanism, and then fix the loopholes if there are any, and repair the faults if there are any. If it really can't be used, we can also learn from its principles," Hao Ren said unhurriedly. "In short, we will use various technical means to ensure that the Final Throne is activated under safe and controllable conditions, instead of rashly letting Vivian sit on it."

As Salaman listened to Hao Ren's description, his eyes widened more and more, and in the end, he couldn't even close his mouth. After Hao Ren finished speaking, the old giant looked at Hao Ren as if he were looking at an alien for a long time: "Do you really know what you're saying? The Final Throne is the most complex and mysterious part of the entire Final Network! Even our mother spent many years completing it! Now you're saying that you want to... figure it out in a short time? This is simply..."

"Nothing is impossible," Hao Ren interrupted Salaman. "I know the position of the Goddess of Creation in your hearts. To you, she should be synonymous with the most wise and powerful—in fact, I myself admit that with my level, I definitely can't handle the high-tech gadgets that the goddess researched, but I'm different from you. I have technical support behind me: I'm an organized person."

Salaman: "..."

Vivian also glanced at the old giant: "Commander Salaman, you should at least believe what I say—you are trapped in this universe, and you can see too little. I was fortunate enough to be sent by the Goddess of Creation to the 'other side of the wall', where there is a world far more grand than you can imagine, and there is also more unimaginable knowledge. We just told you about the 'Inspectors' and 'Gods from other worlds'. It seems that your understanding of these things is not thorough enough."

Obviously, Vivian, who had been certified as the "Goddess of Creation's own daughter," had far more weight here than Hao Ren. The expression on Salaman's face quickly changed from strong resistance and doubt to solemnity and thought. Half a minute later, he sighed: "I just can't believe it. The Guardian Legion has been stationed here for ten thousand years, and the mission of all of us is to guard this place, waiting for the master of the Final Throne to return and then let her sit on the throne—now you're telling me that the plan has changed, and even the Final Throne itself is no longer reliable, this..."

"The significance of the Guardian Legion is beyond doubt. Without you, we wouldn't even have the opportunity to discuss this issue here," Vivian shook her head. "But you must also be flexible: not to mention whether the Final Throne itself has loopholes, the rebellion that happened here three thousand years ago has already caused serious damage to the hub, and I myself am strictly speaking not a complete 'guide'. I just told you that some accidents happened when I was in another world, and I split and polluted myself. After completing the 'purification', I can only be considered half of the goddess's creation. With so many hidden dangers, forcibly activating the Final Network itself is the greatest disrespect to the Goddess of Creation's legacy."

Although Salaman was old-fashioned and stubborn, he was at least not stupid. After sorting out the knots in his personal emotions, he also realized that now was not the time to start the Final Network, so he nodded slightly: "What you said makes sense. I agree to postpone the plan to start the system, but there is one thing I must emphasize: no matter what you do, you must not damage the Final Throne. Its value is beyond your imagination."

"Of course, you don't have to worry," Hao Ren grinned. "My job is to protect all kinds of historical relics..."

Vivian muttered softly, "Why does this sound so guilty to me?"

Hao Ren: "...Cough, cough."

After coughing awkwardly twice, he quickly changed the subject: "Then let's put the Final Throne aside for now. No matter how to deal with it, that's something for later. The most important thing for us now is to solve those rebels entrenched around the hub. Commander Salaman, you asked us to let Amantir go during the last battle. Can you explain why you did that now?"

Salaman glanced at Vivian and nodded slightly: "The planetary fortress itself and the freaks in the fortress are not important, but the Amantir Crystal must not be damaged—because that crystal is related to the whereabouts of the Founding Star."

Hao Ren's eyes widened instantly: "What?!"

"The Amantir Crystal, the Agudar Crystal, and the Nakdal Crystal currently in your hands, these three crystals are the 'navigation hubs' of the three planetary fortresses, but in fact they have another function, which is that when the three crystals are synchronized, they will become a beacon," Salaman's voice was calm and steady, but in Hao Ren's ears, every word was like a thunderclap. "Many years ago, the Mother had gradually sensed the activities of the Lord of the Mad God, and also sensed the various anomalies generated by this universe itself under the influence of the power of the Mad God: the basic information of the world is shifting. This is because the Lord of the Mad God is the cornerstone of the universe, so the world itself will 'resist' any force that can completely eliminate the Lord of the Mad God—even if that force is actually saving it."

Salaman paused here, giving Hao Ren time to react, before continuing: "This 'resistance will' of the world will not be directly manifested, but it will have a subtle influence through the connection of cause and effect and destiny. The power it shows is stronger than any specific resistance. Under the resistance of the world itself, the destruction plan executed against the Lord of the Mad God will definitely encounter problems."

"The Goddess of Creation deduced what this 'accident' was and took precautions?" Vivian couldn't help but interject. "Is it related to the Founding Star?"

"That's right. The most important part of the Mother's plan is to use the power of the Creation Engine to delete all things in the universe that have the attributes of a true god or a godlike being. Even if a little residue is left, the Lord of the Mad God may come back to life along the connection of fate and cause and effect. The accident encountered in this link is: the Founding Star has disappeared in the universe. Even if the Creation Engine is activated, it will not be able to completely eliminate the traces of the gods. When the Founding Star and the ruins of the gods return to the main material world many years later, the power of the Mad God will be revived among these remnants."

Hao Ren and Vivian looked at each other. They both thought of the accident that happened in the Godslaying War ten thousand years ago:

—The violent energy impact caused the Great God Realm Explosion. The power released when the goddess fell involved the Founding Star and most of the surrounding star systems in the distortion. In the end, the God Realm disappeared and fell into a mysterious place called the "Dark Realm." It was difficult to find its trace in the main material world...

Hao Ren sent countless drones and probes to find that lost God Realm, but to this day, he has found nothing. The Gate of Sullun is the closest place to the God Realm, but there are no clues there either.

This is the accident that the Goddess of Creation deduced: the Founding Star and the goddess's "remains" fell into the Dark Realm in the explosion, which accidentally allowed them to escape the "cleaning" of the Creation Engine, and this accidentally allowed the Lord of the Mad God to survive...

The power of cause and effect and destiny is vividly displayed at this moment.

"So the goddess left a beacon to find the Founding Star again," Vivian said slowly. "And there is only one purpose, and that is to allow the Founding Star and her own 'god corpse' to be truly and completely destroyed."

Salaman nodded heavily: "That's right."

Hao Ren felt incredible: "You can actually accept this kind of... arrangement calmly."

"This is the Mother's wish, and it is also her lifelong pursuit: to eliminate the Lord of the Mad God, to eliminate the rule of the gods, to let this world get rid of all shackles, and to usher in true and lasting freedom and peace," Salaman said in a low voice. "For this purpose, we are willing to bear any mission. In fact, our line of guardians has been specially trained since birth. We know what fate the Mother will eventually face, so we have long accepted all of this—but our brothers who we have never met may not be so easy to accept it."

"Damn it..." Hao Ren covered his face, not knowing what expression to make for a while. "Suddenly I feel that the Goddess of Creation is also a reckless tyrant..."