Chapter 387 I Will Die First
The "Gods" in the void finished their work and went to eat, but their carefully selected "chess pieces" had just stepped onto the chessboard.
The practice begins.
On the 180th day, Jon finally understood the mystery taught to him by the Void and learned the most basic magic of summoning holy light.
He called it "psychic power".
Even with the "guidance" of the gods, it still took him so long to awaken. He knew very well that he was by no means gifted, and the gods must have seen something else in his soul besides his talent.
'You are not the one and only exception.'
'But, it could also be you.'
In order to fulfill the mission given to him by the new god Colin, he began to walk on the edge of the city and go deep into the corners behind the glamorous city.
There is the "sewer" of Universal City, a maze of abandoned pipes, intricate climbing frames and crumbling metal roofs.
The air here is perpetually filled with the rusty smell of motor oil and the sour stench of indecomposable chemical waste. Furthermore, the lack of sunlight and the despair of stagnant air create a damp, oppressive, and suffocating atmosphere.
The sky above is shattered by the steel and iron of the upper city. Only at midnight, when the never-extinguished holographic billboards undergo a brief system reboot, will a few rays of turbid moonlight penetrate the layers of cracks and fall on this forgotten land like a mercy.
He had never imagined there could be such a place.
But he should have thought of it long ago: the higher the tower, the higher the shadow it would cast.
When Jon entered here, he suddenly realized for the first time that he was actually lucky to be able to use the "free refrigerator". There were many people in the world who had never seen what a refrigerator was and didn't even have the chance to curse him online.
Of course, no bank was willing to provide loans to these people, so naturally they did not install any prosthetics.
At this time, Jon recalled the oracle that the new god "Colin" had given him through the void 180 days ago -
"If you want to be saved, you can't just save yourself!"
With a hint of humble piety, he did not tear his throat out in despair like others, nor did he immediately raise the banner of resistance.
He was like a raindrop that moistened everything silently, blending into the small puddle buried deep under the steel maze, where no light could reach.
This is his mission!
In a corner of a shack that creaked from the acid rain, a five or six-year-old gray girl was curled up on the cold metal floor, coughing up black sputum mixed with iron chips due to "rust disease".
Her father was a man who lost his left arm in a work-related accident. The meager compensation could not even save himself. He could only hold his child in despair, trying to use his body temperature to vainly retain the last bit of warmth that was fading from his daughter.
They are the ones the federation and the companies want to eliminate.
After the unimaginable wealth created by the power of the Greys, the huge and useless population has become a burden.
The machines are more efficient and cheaper than them, save huge maintenance costs, and there is no risk of rejection when replacing prostheses.
Only by unloading the burdens left to the Federation by history can they travel lightly to the starry sky and build a more magnificent city in the sky before they return to the wasteland era again due to resource depletion.
Perhaps the Grey civilization will cease to exist.
But a new civilization will be born on the corpse of this giant whale.
Perhaps respecting the fate of these poor people is also an option. Their pain will not be passed on for too long because they are the last generation.
But Jon chose another path.
Before the Grays' civilization and heritage are completely strangled, he will use his soul to emit those faint but scorching ripples to wake up those materialists who have lost themselves in the void!
He walked forward quietly and squatted down gently under the father's vigilant and desperate gaze.
He said nothing, but stretched out his right hand, which was still flesh and blood, and placed it on the girl's hot forehead.
A faint but extremely pure light golden halo slowly seeped out from his palm and penetrated the gray skin.
This light is different from the cold and dazzling neon lights in the upper-class cities. Its warmth carries the temperature of life, just like it comes from the real sun.
A miracle happened.
The girl's violent cough gradually subsided, her rapid breathing became slow, and her face, which had turned sickly and pale due to the high fever, gradually returned to normal.
Her father was stunned, his mouth opened wide, but no sound came out, only turbid tears rolled down from his bloodshot eyes.
When Jon withdrew his hand, the girl was already fast asleep, her breathing steady.
"Thank you... my benefactor, what do you want? I can give you everything I have!"
The man knelt down on the ground trembling, offering his most humble knees and dignity to the silent rescuer.
However, Jon helped him up, shook his head slightly, and conveyed the teachings from the New God in a calm and firm voice.
"No need to thank me."
"It wasn't me who healed her, but the combined power of hope in all of us."
"Everything is Colin's will."
"If there are still people who need help, please tell them and call this name silently in your heart."
He did something different from the ancient god's messenger "Kyle". He did not use this power to hunt down the salesman who sold him a loan or the doctor who installed a prosthetic body for him.
It is true that they are "predators" in this steel jungle wasteland, but from the perspective of gods, they are actually not wrong. They are just following the law of the jungle in this world and are just one of the countless living beings.
He didn't even teach a lesson to the company president who had exiled him to the depths of this steel ruin—the "Iron Hand" who controlled one of the "towers" and belonged to him.
Whether it is Iron Hand, Kyle who killed Iron Hand, or the Savior who killed Kyle, they are just different people in the same ecological niche.
They need to be judged.
But it should not be done by him, but by the people behind him.
This will be a war between one school of thought and another. What he needs to do is not to become the savior of the Grays, but to make every Gray become his own savior.
Only in this way can he truly change the fate of all the Grays, rather than leading them into the next cycle of hypocrisy and lies in the name of holiness.
This is the mystery he comprehended from the void beyond time, along with psychic energy...
…
Five years passed in the blink of an eye.
The "Gods" behind the void have just begun to enjoy their dinner, while the chess pieces they carefully selected have already completed the transformation of their souls.
For a steel city that floats in the eternal gray fog, these short five years are nothing more than a meaningless rotation of numbers on the neon billboards.
However, beneath the Federation's gleaming skyscrapers, in the shadows that never see the light of day, some things are quietly changing.
While Jon was repeatedly recalling the sporadic teachings that came from the void in his mind, learning how to control the miraculous power that he understood as "psychic power", he used this power to help those marginalized people like him who were eliminated by this materialistic federation.
His good deeds and miracles that could not be explained by the rules of the material world attracted his first true followers.
They are not ambitious, nor do they have strong abilities. They are just the most complete losers living in this federation where the law of the jungle prevails.
Among them are laid-off workers, bankrupts burdened with huge debts, homeless orphans, and people suffering from illness and waiting to die.
The wheel of time rolled over them, leaving only a pool of dust that blurred their flesh and blood, but Jon saved them and gave them the help he could. Even in the eyes of those "awake" people, using magic to solve problems is absurd, even evil.
It’s just that the Federation has been at peace for too long and has forgotten the catastrophe brought by the ancient gods a century ago.
They are still mechanically commemorating the past, cleansing the believers of the ancient gods, and warning future generations to be vigilant against the pollution of the void, but this huge sieve has long been riddled with holes, and most of those filtered out are innocent people who were cleansed in the name of the void.
This is a very useful tool.
When someone tries to raise a specific question, simply saying that he is a follower of a false evil spirit will make him disappear, along with the question he raised.
However, this also laid hidden dangers.
When false pollution is caught in the filter as pollution, the real pollution will quietly mix into the water source.
It is precisely because of the expansion of the purge and the perfunctory attitude of the executors that Jon was able to receive the "real thing" from behind the void.
He wasn't even a transcendent at that time.
But it doesn't matter anymore.
The ancient god is dead.
Today's void belongs to the era of "Colin"!
The Federation, which was born under the curse of the ancient god "Merck", has not evolved immunity to this new god.
In particular, his life span has come to an end, and whether Colin is there or not, he will die like an old man.
All Colin can influence is where the people living on this planet will go after the Federation comes to an end like the Wastelanders.
Thanks to the unremitting efforts of God's messenger Jon, the whispers from behind the void finally once again appeared on the stage of Gray history.
They worship Jon as a messenger of the Void.
In their oral teachings, they believe that all the suffering they endure is the price their ancestors paid for abandoning their spiritual beliefs.
And now, this silent messenger walking in the shadows made them feel that they had finally found their way home in the boundless void.
They still yearn for equality.
But perhaps, material things aren't the only way to achieve this.
Especially after experiencing countless lies and betrayals, they witnessed the miracle from the true God "Colin" with their own eyes!
Jon never asked for anything in return.
When those who were helped knelt down with tears of gratitude, he would always repeat the same action, lift them up one by one, and sow the teachings that Colin had spread to him into their dry hearts.
"My strength comes from each of us, so we must be kind to each other, especially to those who give us hope."
When someone asked in confusion why the new gods did not require them to absolutely obey the will of the gods like the ancient "Merck", Jon would look at them with his increasingly profound eyes and tell them the truth he had uncovered from the dust of history.
"The ancient god 'Merk' fell because he and his messenger, Kyle, after mastering extraordinary power, forgot where their power came from, betrayed and enslaved their fellow mortals who truly gave them power."
“We can’t make the same mistake that He did.”
When facing history, he made a different choice from Kyle and the gray man who killed Kyle. He faced it honestly and admitted the mistakes of the pioneers.
The new doctrine was like a thunderclap, splitting the old cognition of "gods" and "void" in the hearts of the gray people.
It is simple and plain, yet it contains a power that goes straight to the heart.
Thus, in the sixth year after the death of the Old God, Jon's reputation spread quietly like a vine. It expanded under the shadow of the Federation, encompassing all the rotten flesh and soil, and grew silently and steadily.
The Grays began to organize secret gatherings.
The organization was formed spontaneously, not under the leadership of a prophet.
Sometimes the location is at the intersection of steam pipes deep underground, and sometimes it is under a bridge arch that is completely blocked by superstructures and not even acid rain can fall in.
In those dim corners, the Grays are no longer just tattered metal bodies. They have regained their names and their lost dignity.
At the same time, Jon selflessly taught the methods of controlling "psychic power" to the Grays who trusted him.
He taught them how to use meditation to feel the flame of hope deep in their hearts, and to guide it out to warm every freezing soul around them.
Even if they don't, it doesn't matter, their piety will become the strength of another psychic, and that person will eventually use this power to help them.
There’s more.
Under his call, people supported each other, healed each other, and helped other believers in need. In this large and loose collective, everyone is both a supplicant and a giver, a believer and his or her own savior.
A mutual aid group called "Spirit of the Universe" was born in the shadows where neon lights could not reach.
It started as a fragile flame, but soon it grew into a spark, illuminating the deepest corners of every alley.
Once upon a time, it was the most dangerous place in the federation, and every corner that was not visible to the cameras was controlled by gangs.
But now, it has become the source of fear on the top of the tower.
As the "Spirit of the Universe" grew stronger, this force that rose from obscurity eventually aroused the vigilance of the Grey Federation, even though they initially scoffed at it and were full of disdain.
After all, no matter how powerful a magician is, he still needs to eat, and no matter how much they talk about weird things, they cannot stop the growth of the company's profits.
Until one day, someone noticed that the death rate in the slums had actually decreased, and even exceeded the rate in neighborhoods with better medical care.
What frightened them even more was that these low-class people, who were supposed to rot in the gutter, stopped harming each other and instead united under the name of Colin.
This is undoubtedly dangerous.
The federal guards viewed this sign of "spiritual revival" as the resurgence of the "Merck Cult" and identified it as the number one enemy threatening the federation.
A large-scale purge against spiritualists began quietly in the dark night.
Soldiers equipped with the latest models of exoskeleton prostheses boarded the most advanced hovercrafts and poured into the slums that they never normally went to.
The heavy alloy boots crushed the waterlogged ground, and the scarlet tactical goggles on the helmet cast ominous strips of light in the dim alley.
They were like cold machines, without warning or questioning.
Doors were violently slammed open with high-frequency ramming hammers, and any family reported by neighbors or informants for "abnormal behavior" would be dragged out without mercy.
Occasionally, sporadic resistance was encountered, but it was quickly drowned out by the rapid gunfire.
In order to curb the spread of the "virus", the highest level of the federation has also adopted unconventional measures - such as cooperating with the gangs they usually look down upon the most.
They use the privilege of immunity from crime in exchange for intelligence in the hands of the latter, and even drive those villains to do work that they are not convenient to do, and turn a blind eye to the consequential damage.
Although guards and councillors had done this before, such systematic cooperation was undoubtedly unprecedented.
Out of fear of the void, they were the first to trample on the rules they set before the Cosmic Spirit Sect crossed the line.
Even Kyle, who they denounced as "evil-doer", never colluded with the plunderers.
A father, whose hope for life had been rekindled after his son was cured, was targeted simply because he couldn't produce medical records to prove his innocence. That night, he and his family were hooded and disappeared in a hovercraft hovering outside an alley.
The old man who witnessed this scene simply questioned why they arrested him without going through the court, and was immediately identified as an "accomplice". He was knocked unconscious by high-voltage electric current and then taken away.
Those who had been helped by Jon became the first victims, even though many of them were not Colin's believers at all.
Their very existence is evidence of the belief that "mind is more important than matter", and for the Federation, which advocates materialism, this trend of thought is almost fatal.
At least that's the case for Federation shareholders.
Fear, like a plague, once again enveloped the land that had just seen a glimmer of hope. Although this was not Jon's original intention, it was no longer his decision to reach this point.
Moreover, as he was moving from middle age to old age, he gradually realized that relying on kindness could win the sympathy and solidarity of his own people, but it could not win the recognition and compromise of his enemies.
Only a hotter flame can punish the burning sin, and only a more thorough violence can end another violent machine.
They must launch a more thorough revolution!
Just like the wastelanders who united to end Kyle's tyranny, now they must work together like the great pioneers to stop this out-of-control machine!
Fortunately, his "Lord" is gentle.
He did not let him, who had been doing good deeds all his life, play the role of the villain, but left the power of choice to him and the people standing behind him.
To die peacefully in silence with a body riddled with holes, or to burn vigorously once more before the useless flesh and blood rots!
For His will—
In other words, for all the greys who can hear His voice, or those who cannot hear but can feel the heat of the soul!
Each of them is his own savior, each of them is Colin!
This is what Jon realized in his fiftieth year of life.
As he grew older like his father, he suddenly remembered the man who prayed before nightfall, remembered his original wish, and finally realized his true destiny.
He should have realized it long ago.
It turned out that the respected Lord Colin had already told him the final answer long before everything started, but he had never been able to understand the hidden meaning in that whisper -
"...I will be the first to die."
Facing the guns surrounding him and the threats that appeared to be fierce but were actually weak, Jon's old face was filled with a relieved smile, without any regrets.
His spirit never deceived him or left his side from beginning to end.
Not only did He lovingly fulfill the wish of a tiny mortal, but He also prepared a fulfilled farewell ceremony for his life before the wave of that era began in full swing.
'Praise my Lord.'
'Our meeting... must be one of the most beautiful miracles in the universe.'
Unarmed, he opened his arms, looked at the exoskeleton soldiers who were retreating in fear, and chanted the last and most powerful spell of his life, a spell that contained no "psychic energy" at all.
"Do it, my child."
"I forgive you."
“Because after that, I’m going to His Kingdom.”
…
"Bang--!"
A crisp gunshot tore through the silence of the confrontation and also frightened one of the "gods" who had just returned from a dinner party.
That was a teaching assistant who worked at Corinthia.
As one of the staff on duty staying in Corin Tower, his task is to restart the virtual world after its energy is restored to prevent the loss of important data.
However, he never expected that when the lens of the void opened again, what he saw was a corpse lying in a pool of blood!
That person was Jon, chosen by His Highness Colin!
Those stupid materialists actually shot him!
They had just taught him the techniques to wield his supernatural powers, and he died just like that!?
However, the soldiers in armor did not suffer a good fate either. They were quickly burned to ashes by the flames that fell from the sky.
The enraged psykers regarded the death of the "God's Messenger" as the fuse for the breakdown of negotiations and launched a Jedi counterattack!
When Jon was alive, he could still restrain them and make them use their extraordinary powers to heal their suffering compatriots. But now, perhaps only the gods in the void can persuade them to stop the war against the Federation and the company!
And since Colin in the dark did not stop them——
That means everything is God’s will!
In a sense, they were not wrong. From the first day Jon met "Colin", their respected Prince Colin had foreseen this day.
However, this bloody scene still frightened the observers behind the virtual world.
After all, he was not the unfathomable Prince Colin. He had no time to think about where the fire came from, and he had no idea where these lunatics would end up!
It’s hard to say——
They will destroy their own world!
After all, they did possess the power to destroy the world, just as Mentor Merck had seen in Virtual Realm No. 178. They had used methods other than magic to make the light of stars bloom on the earth!
"Saint Sith is above..."
The teaching assistant muttered to himself and took a step back. Suddenly awakened, he hurried downstairs and called out to Miller who was about to leave after giving instructions.
After learning about the events behind Virtual Realm No. 178, Miller rushed to the scene almost immediately, and as expected, he was also shocked by the scene before him.
"What the hell is going on over there?!"
"No, I don't know! I became like this as soon as I came back..." The teaching assistant said with a pale face, his eyes full of panic.
He is not as free and easy as His Highness Colin.
Even if Colin might not blame him, he didn't want this virtual world to suffer misfortune in his hands!
Miller's expression was also solemn at first, but soon he saw a clue from the corpse, and his shocked look was gradually replaced by a hint of ecstasy.
He was surprised to find that judging from the appearance of this messenger of God, during the time when they were drinking and chatting happily, the world behind the virtual realm had actually advanced by more than 20 years!
The differences in the appearance of the Grays at different ages were recorded in Mentor Merck's observation notes and published in the form of a paper in a second-rate journal published by the Tower of Great Sages.
The Sage's Journal is not interested in such insignificant matters. After all, such details can only be used by researchers in the No. 178 virtual realm.
Miller happened to have read the paper, so he immediately realized the problem.
"Time... is speeding up?!"
The teaching assistant also realized the problem.
This Jon did not die shortly after "Colin" came into contact with him, but died more than 20 years after their first encounter!
"It seems that the connection to the virtual world was completely disconnected when we were not paying attention. Now that the connection has been reestablished..."
After realizing this, the assistant teacher's expression changed from horror to surprise.
The seeds they sowed were not strangled in the cradle, but on the contrary, they withered at the dawn after blooming and bearing fruit!
As if to confirm their guesses, the gray lens gradually emitted a stronger light as Jon's body grew colder!
Just like that, under the horrified gazes of all the researchers, the diameter of the virtual lens began to expand rapidly, from one meter to three meters, and finally stabilized at a full five meters!
There’s more.
What expands is not only the size of the channel, but also the constantly splitting perspective!
At first, they could only use the "holy object" on Jon's chest to glimpse a blurry world as wide as a palm, but now that single perspective is like a split soap bubble, spreading into thousands of different perspectives at a speed visible to the naked eye!
After Jon's death, all the gray men who followed in his footsteps became Jon, and they all became the apostles or eyes of "Colin"!
"Saint Sith is above!"
This time even Miller couldn't help but let out an exclamation.
Because he soon discovered that the changes behind the virtual world were far more than what he saw at the moment. There were even more astonishing changes hidden behind the ever-expanding perspective.
Shortly after Jon fell, the angry grays seemed to evolve a new and unprecedented power!
They no longer need language to communicate, nor rituals to synchronize their spirits.
Catalysed by intense anger and sadness, the soul of each of them was like a plucked string, resonating with the souls of all their compatriots in an unprecedentedly strong way!
Miller can "hear".
Because that is the basis for Xuebang’s magicians to establish spiritual resonance and information exchange with the creatures behind the virtual world!
It was not any language, but it transcended all the audible or tangible words in the universe. It was just the first time he saw that this kind of resonance did not necessarily have to transcend the virtual realm, it could also be established in the same universe!
They can not only hear the soul resonance from the void.
You can also hear the voices of each other's hearts!
“Incredible…”
Miller muttered to himself, then suddenly looked at the assistant coach beside him and shouted in an excited voice.
"Quick! Go find His Highness Colin! Also! Slow down the speed of time behind the virtual world!"
"Yes!" The teaching assistant responded hurriedly, and then went to call other researchers on duty downstairs.
Miller stared at the virtual world, watching the constantly fissioning cluster of vision, excitement flashing in his pupils.
He had a strong premonition!
They might have discovered something quite extraordinary from behind Virtual Realm No. 178!
(End of this chapter)
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