When Yin Zhu and Naza followed the worm into the hall, the prince had already been there somewhat anxiously for a while and was now pacing back and forth worriedly.
"What's wrong?"
Nazar was more impatient than Yin Zhu and asked the question that both of them had before she could.
In just a few days, the group had already exchanged a great deal of information. The prince and the worm mainly talked about the inner city and the gods, with Yin Zhu occasionally offering a few analyses and Hirano Shan guiding the discussion from time to time.
As for Nazar, she wasn't exactly an intellectually gifted person, and she was just a child. Last time she escaped alone, she almost used up all her brain cells, so she just listened from the side.
Sometimes, the ability to listen is a gift.
Logically, they should have already explained most of it. The prince knows the current situation in the inner city, while the worm knows the past situation. The two complement each other, so there shouldn't be anything missing.
The prince pulled out a chair and sat down, then showed the two of them a map of the temple.
The map is a 3D architectural projection projected onto a screen by an instrument. It is similar to the one Yin Zhu saw at the lower-level citizen service center, and is a semi-transparent model composed of countless starlight particles.
Pointing to the map, the prince hurriedly said, "The Godhood Ceremony is starting tomorrow. I originally thought there were still several days left, so I wasn't in a hurry to find it. Now that time is tight, there are many things to pay attention to, so I have to tell you quickly."
His attention was mostly focused on Nazar, since it was she who was going to take the risk.
"When the time comes, just show your Dharma form at the entrance, and they will naturally welcome you in. With so many people as witnesses, they won't dare to do anything to you." The worm had already calculated this.
"Once you're inside, don't touch anything until they let you touch Pandora's Box in front of everyone."
The prince waved.
The next second, the projection of the box reappeared in the air, the semi-transparent projection making the gems on it even more beautiful.
"Now for the important part, listen carefully," the prince told Nazar with utmost seriousness. "After you pass the test, you will receive the rules of the gods. These rules must not be told to anyone, or you will be punished by fate."
The rules of the gods?
This was the first time Yin Zhu had heard of this rule since entering the city of Vina.
However, to be honest, there are rules everywhere in the world of Rules of the Strange World, but it seems that there are no rules that gods need to abide by, whether in the inner city or the outer city.
Sin City was built by the Chosen Ones, and it's entirely possible that the stolen rules weren't perfect enough to cover everything. But Vena City is different; they are essentially the unspeakable defeated foe. Why should these high-ranking citizens in the inner city be exempt from the rules?
[0. All of the above rules are invalid for Class A citizens.]
Yin Zhu initially thought of this rule of the inner city as something similar to the zeroth rule of Sin City, but upon hearing about the rules of the gods, she realized that it was indeed a bit strange.
After all, the situation in each instance is different, and applying the same solution to different situations will not work.
Therefore, there are indeed rules that senior citizens must follow.
However, for some reason, ordinary people are unaware of its existence; only princes, the offspring of gods, learn a thing or two from their parents.
Come to think of it, the prince seems to have never mentioned his mother.
Thinking this through, Yin Zhu asked directly:
"Speaking of which, Prince, your father is usually in the prison, but now he's become infected. What about your mother? Surely there aren't any gynecological clinics in the inner city that aren't up to standard?"
Yin Zhu's first reaction was that it was a clichéd and melodramatic difficult childbirth plot, but she quickly dismissed the idea. After all, the technological level of Vina City was such that even creating a child out of thin air would only be a moral issue, not a technical one—let alone the fact that they actually had artificial humans.
The prince's expression remained largely unchanged when this was mentioned.
Sadness? Pain? Longing? Anger?
None at all.
The prince's only expression was blank, as if he were lost in a brief reminiscence: "My mother? My father said she was a higher deity who took a liking to my father, which is why I was born. But my mother had no intention of raising children, so she told my father to find a place to give birth to me and not to disturb her, so I have never met my mother."
The reason for calling her "Mother" is simply because she has a higher status, and one should show her some respect.
As for maternal love and affection? The city of Vina doesn't really need that. If they wanted, high-ranking citizens could even order a custom-made android that looked exactly like their relative. Except for not having the original's abilities, the android's personality could be molded at will, guaranteed to satisfy you.
"Can men give birth too?" Yin Zhu turned her head in shock, instinctively seeking confirmation from the worm.
"I don't know how the gods reproduce either..." The worm scratched its head awkwardly. "Men can't reproduce, but there are quite a few in the inner city who use technology to achieve in-vitro fertilization. After all, the pregnancy takes too long, so the gods probably aren't very interested."
If given a choice, many people wouldn't necessarily want to carry something heavy and cumbersome on their person and spend half a year nurturing it.
For high-ranking citizens, the technology for in-vitro fertilization is highly advanced. For lower-ranking citizens, if they lack the money but still want a child, they will likely have to give birth naturally. Therefore, the higher the social status of a person in Vina City, the less attached they are to family ties, since artificial humans can also provide emotional support.
Technology has always been a double-edged sword for humanity; whether it is beneficial or detrimental is a matter of opinion.
"In any case, even gods have rules, right?"
At this moment, it was thanks to Nazar that the topic was brought back. She didn't know as much as Yin Zhu, so she was less likely to overthink things.
“Yes, I don’t know the specific rules…” The prince scratched his head. “But only by passing that test can one become a true god. Otherwise, even if you have the form, it will be difficult to maintain that state. You’ll just be a half-baked one.”
So that's how it is.
Yin Zhu nodded thoughtfully.
That Pandora's Box was more like an identity document. To give an analogy, humans said that the only star should have a god, and with the unspeakable consent, a god came into being.
This is probably why the gods were able to suppress the original chosen one of that unique star.
Seeing that Nazar had absorbed most of the mission information, Yin Zhu patted her on the shoulder: "Relax, Eve is on our side. We'll come to your rescue, everything will be fine. Today, I'll discuss with the worm what rules we can come up with, to ensure everything goes smoothly tomorrow."
"Don't be too definitive; there are always unexpected events."
The worms were somewhat worried about this, after all, they had already encountered too many unexpected events.
Yin Zhu said confidently, "It's okay, we'll use the backup plan if something unexpected happens."
What backup plan?
"I haven't decided yet, so aren't we going to discuss it later?"
"……you're right."
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