When Ford opened his eyes, night had already fallen. He still lay among the rubble, the sky as his mat and the ground as his pillow. The wounds on his abdomen and occipital bone had been properly tended to. In the unfinished building area, even lights were rare, so the sky was filled with stars like pearls on velvet, stretching from as far as the eye could see to the ends of the universe.

The summer evening breeze in Port Alplait wasn't cold, carrying the scent of grass and earth as it blew gently. Ford was stunned for a moment, until a car with sirens blaring sped past in the distance. He wiped his face and struggled to sit up.

——Then he discovered that Azathoth, without his hood on, was squatting beside him, staring at him silently for a long time.

Ford was so shocked that he almost fell back and made close contact with the ground with the back of his head. He was stunned for a long time before asking stupidly, "You...you didn't kill me? I'm still alive?"

That's a stupid question.

What he actually wanted to ask was whether he had lost any limbs or had a kidney sold while he was unconscious?

"You're awake." Azathoth spoke in that slow, somewhat insensitive, yet somewhat leisurely tone. "Your mobile terminal received twenty-eight communication requests this afternoon. It was a bit noisy."

Ford glanced at his violently shattered communication device, then turned his head, supported himself on the ground with his hands, and looked at him blankly.

After a moment, the familiar touch of his palm and the refreshing air finally brought him back to reality. He rarely looked so disheveled and embarrassed. Resisting the urge to stand up and inspect the remains of his mobile device, Ford gave a wry smile and asked, "Why didn't you kill me?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you seem... seem to be very tolerant towards this planet and towards humanity."

This feeling is difficult to explain to people who have not experienced it.

For example, when Azathoth chose to block the kinetic bomb himself, even Ford, who had prepared for the worst-case scenario of mutual destruction, could not help but be stunned at that moment - to give an inappropriate example, it was like seeing someone holding a grenade insisting on drawing a bow and shooting an arrow. It's not that the bow and arrow cannot solve the problem, but there is obviously a simpler and more lethal way.

This is also why when Igor rushed up to stop him, Ford was so passive in his resistance.

Who can maintain a fighting spirit after watching a drama that is both funny and seems to have a tragic core?

How incredible it is that an intelligent life form that may have the power to destroy an entire planet in an instant would choose to restrain itself because of other unrelated people.

Ford asked himself - could he do it?

Those who possess power naturally have the ability to choose how to squander their power.

The hardest way is to not use them.

Entering a mountain of treasures without taking anything from them sounds like a saint with no desires or requests.

"Why did you pull the trigger even though you knew you might die?" Azathoth didn't know what he was thinking and asked, "You can't really hurt me at all."

Ford answered truthfully, "It was just a gamble. That electromagnetic cannon has a long range, but its attack radius is limited. I was right at the edge of danger at the time. With a bit of luck, I might be able to survive."

The god across from him raised an eyebrow.

Ford suddenly became nervous and moved back uncomfortably.

"I don't want to kill you," Azathoth said calmly. "I don't want to kill any human. Your views on good and evil have nothing to do with me, but I find you very interesting."

Ford hesitated. "So... the answer is fun?"

"There is no answer." Azathoth's eyes seemed like a bottomless ocean under the starlight. "Your biggest mistake is to use your own thoughts to judge me. But in reality, geniuses and fools, madmen and wise men, prisoners of heinous crimes and saints who save the world, there is no difference in my eyes. I look at you as you look at the treasures in your hands. Some people will crush their favorite things piece by piece for pleasure, but I choose to appreciate them and pick out a special part to love."

"Do you think I'm sacrificing myself by blocking the bullets for Igor and you?"

"No... no, I see. My thought just now was utterly wrong," Ford muttered to himself. He saw a hint of fear hidden in his expression, which he himself hadn't noticed. "Sacrifice is such a grand word, and you simply chose the safest way to protect a piece of glass you consider to be a work of art. Is that right?"

A crystal statue on a person's desk fell to the ground, so he reached out to catch it and accidentally scraped the back of his hand - can this be considered a great sacrifice? For humans, of course, this is true, but what about the crystal statues that are being protected?

Azathoth remained noncommittal, looking a bit distressed. "It seems you've understood, at least the part you've been able to figure out. The reason I've said so much to you is because I have a mission for you now."

Ford's nerves were tense again. He felt like a spring being manipulated by Azathoth's tentacles. The human asked politely, "Please speak."

"Go and tell Igor these words." Azathoth said anxiously, "He has been feeling guilty all afternoon. Hurry up, use whatever method you can to help him get over this bitter feeling."

Ford pressed his wound.

It hurts, it's not an illusion.

He stood up with a distorted face, and before leaving, he couldn't help but look back. The facial features of Azathoth, which were human yet different from human, fell completely into Ford's eyes.

"You... am I considered your believer now?"

Otherwise, he would have gone crazy like O'Casey Griffin, right?

"Not really." Azathoth denied, "I just gave you a little privilege."

After all, I'm not interested in all kinds of snacks, he thought silently.

I must have spent the entire month’s worth of conversations today. I really hope the rest of the journey can be a little less stressful.

**

Commentators privately discussed that it would be a shame for O'Casey Griffin, who was now in hospital, not to have the recent outbreak in Port Alpert dominated the headlines for a month.

In order to achieve this ambitious annual goal, industry insiders from major newspapers wrote furiously, and photos and videotaped confessions of secretaries as evidence were circulated everywhere like water. Almost every morning when refreshing the news, one could see freshly-baked hard news, which basically satisfied everyone's desire to sit back and watch the show.

One commentator directly summarized the entire incident and continued to add reports as the situation progressed:

"In the year 590 of the Star Calendar, O'Casey Griffin was promoted to Governor of Port Alple."

"In July of the same year, he contacted interstellar pirates smuggling in the border areas through special channels and began to build this route called 'Dark Crossing Port'."

"Over the course of four years, O'Casey Griffin killed eighty-nine Omegas and transported hundreds of Omegas and Betas to various parts of the Federation, forming a massive criminal network that reaped hundreds of millions of star coins."

"In the year 594 of the Star Calendar, on July 26th of this year, an illegal gathering to worship the evil god was held in front of the Port Alplai City Hall. O'Casey Griffin personally attended and publicly admitted his actions."

"Afterwards, a large number of people rushed to the local church to seek protection and said that their participation in the rally was unconscious."

"O'Casey Griffin went missing that day. The next morning, he was found unconscious in the south city of Port Alplai. He had numerous life-threatening head wounds, which were diagnosed as self-inflicted injuries before he fell into a coma."

"On July 28th, O'Casey Griffin was still receiving emergency treatment at the Port Alplai City Hospital. Medical staff stated that his mental state had been irreversibly damaged, and even if he was successfully treated, it would be difficult for him to regain his sanity."

"The Griffin family stated that they will fairly judge O'Casey's crimes and respect the federal court's ruling, but will also hold those behind the illegal acts that harmed him accountable."

"Putting everything else aside..." one netizen commented, "Don't you think the symptoms of this scumbag O'Casey Griffin look familiar? Is there really some hidden secret in Port Alplait?"

The replies below included both agreement and rebuttal, as well as insults, a chaotic cacophony across the internet.

"Yeah, there are evil gods in Port Yarple. Did you just find out? Every household in our family has raised at least one. I'm rubbing the feet of my evil god cub right now, hahahahaha! [dog head][dog head]"