The person in front of Lu Yan appeared to be somewhere between a youth and a young adult, perhaps already grown-up. Yet, Lu Yan referred to him as a kid because of the incredibly clear eyes that resembled those of a well-trained, harmless creature—a gaze so pure it could see through everything. Growing up in the divine realm, this new generation of humans spent their days either studying or working, with their education focused on the teachings of the Blissful Sect and how to serve the divine beings. They praised the Almighty every day, thanking the divine beings for their blessings, their thoughts as simple as a clean, white sheet of paper.
Staring at the young man named Song Jingchen, Lu Yan couldn't help but smile. "Good-looking," said Song Jingchen in a naive and silly manner.
Lu Yan couldn't resist laughing, and his laughter was so captivating that it seemed to have summoned something within Song Jingchen, who quickly converted to the Blissful Sect.
The system roared, "[Host! He just came of age, still a child! What are you doing!]"
Lu Yan didn't bother paying attention to it. In fact, he was experimenting with a new talent on the young man in front of him—the talent of Mental Reconstruction.
Lu Yan had always been curious about how talents in the mental category manifested, and now it seemed he had an answer. He found himself in a computer room where a pink brain lay silently in the center. Numerous wires were connected to this brain, forming a USB data port that linked to Lu Yan's laptop.
The system's voice echoed, "[Just as I became a system, the Mental Reconstruction talent will take a form you can comprehend.]"
Unlike usual, the system's voice wasn't resonating in Lu Yan's mind but came from the outside, like an echo in an empty valley.
On the computer screen named Song Jingchen, there were many folders arranged, along with a keyboard and a search bar at the top. "[On the desktop are the things this brain's owner deems most important. Anything else you want to know, you can search for yourself.]"
"[As for the hard drive, it's the body's instinct of the brain's owner. For example, feeling hungry and needing to eat, feeling pain when injured, getting sleepy when tired, etc. These can also be modified.]"
These files collectively formed the personality of "Song Jingchen."
To test the new feature, Lu Yan casually typed "advanced mathematics" into the search bar, and unsurprisingly, the brain was empty.
"[The time flow in the consciousness space is different from the external world. About 1 second outside equals 10 years inside.]"
Lu Yan went through the most important memories of Song Jingchen's barren life, mostly in written descriptions. The profound parts were in the form of first-person perspective video files. Lu Yan opened the first video, likely from Song Jingchen's childhood, where he held a spoon in his short hands.
In the distance, a stern voice of a man echoed, "Before eating, we must praise the gifts of the gods and thank the divine beings for allowing our lives to continue."
"Come, recite with me."
A chorus of childish voices echoed, "Praise the Almighty, blissful and eternal."
The focus shifted to the plate in front of them—a mass of red meat paste. Even though it was just a video, Lu Yan faintly smelled a hint of blood.
Rebellious from a young age, Song Jingchen raised his hand and asked, "Inspector, sir, is there anything else to eat? I've been eating this all the time, and I don't like it."
His inquiry infuriated the inspector. The middle-aged man approached, swinging his whip fiercely.
"Our food comes from the gifts of the divine beings! You show no gratitude and want more. You violate the teachings of the Blissful Sect! I am very disappointed in you."
Intense pain made Song Jingchen's vision darken. He was struck to the ground, a fiery bloodstain rising on his body.
The inspector coldly stated, "Get out! For the next week, you are not allowed in the cafeteria."
In school, the inspector's words were like imperial edicts. Other kinfolk didn't even raise their heads, mechanically continuing to eat. Apparently, no one thought what the inspector did was wrong.
People nurtured in such an environment, without abnormalities, were powerful evidence of the inherent goodness of human nature.
The cafeteria truly remained closed to him. Song Jingchen was too hungry, so on the fifth day, he took a risk, crawled through a wall hole, and reached a processing plant near the school.
In the divine realm, all kinfolk's meals were supplied by the processing plant. However, Song Jingchen had been at school since birth, completely unaware of the outside world. His small stature made him inconspicuous as he walked through the untrimmed bushes.
Hungry, he just wanted to steal some food. However, due to malnutrition, his body was exceptionally weak. As soon as he sneaked into the factory, he fainted on the roadside.
Song Jingchen was picked up by the divine beings. When he opened his eyes, a terrifying face was in front of him.
Most divine beings were highly distorted, losing human features, having fly-like heads, and a sharp, needle-like mouth.
These were the "divine beings" in the divine realm—a group of pollutants distorted in different directions.
Song Jingchen's expression was anxious, his body uncontrollably trembling as he knelt at the pollutant's feet, "I'm sorry, sir... I-I'm just too hungry. I wanted to find something to eat."
The pollutant emitted a hoarse laughter from its throat, "Is that so? It happens that I'm bored on duty at the processing plant. Want to take a tour?"
Song Jingchen instinctively shook his head, but the pollutant didn't give him a choice.
This pollutant wasn't a perfect evolved species, but due to the presence of the true god, it retained some cognitive abilities. The air inside the processing plant was thick with the smell of blood, and the buzzing of flies could be heard from afar.
The pollutant held the human child in its arms, surprisingly avoiding using its long claws to prevent any harm to the child's skin. It pointed to a workshop ahead, "This is the primary processing point."
Curious, Song Jingchen opened his eyes wider. Unconscious people lay on the conveyor belts, and on the massive walls were black hole-like meat grinders.
[The souls of these people have gone to the "Pure Land of Bliss," commonly known as brain death. Without care, they will die naturally after a few days.]
They appeared very young.
The pollutant emitted a pleased strange laugh, "You know, these are the underachievers from your school. No value in existence. You must study well in school. Otherwise, this will be your fate after adulthood."
All the members of the covenant, after turning eighteen, undergo a selection process every year on graduation day. The best students are sent to the divine realm, some become prey, while others, after training, return to the lower levels as inspectors or teachers.
Intermediate students remain for breeding, producing the next generation of covenant members. Babies are born, coded, and sent to school.
The worst-performing students, considered a waste of resources, are left to die in their sleep. The processing plant then turns them into long-lasting food for the gods and the covenant members to consume together.
For convenience, processing plants are almost always built near schools.
There are a total of 99 such schools in the lower levels of the divine realm.
Song Jingchen still didn't know what the black holes contained—blades, but the scene was already eerie.
Especially those covenant members on the conveyor belt, Song Jingchen couldn't see any difference between them and himself.
He asked with a trembling voice, "Are they asleep, sir?"
The pollutant didn't answer but proceeded to carry him forward.
Chunks of meat fell from the pipes onto another conveyor belt, landing on another channel.
"This is the secondary processing point."
Pollutants appeared on both sides of this channel. They picked out large bone fragments, sorted through the meat like handling pork, and added strange things to it.
The pollutant said, "Covenant members are troublesome; they'll suffer from malnutrition even if they only eat meat. We have to add some other vitamins for their better lives. I and the other gods have put a lot of effort into this."
"Here is the finished product shipping workshop."
The last room in the processing plant had covenant members as workers. The processed nutrient paste turned into a paste-like substance, no longer recognizable.
The workers, like screws on an assembly line, expressionless, caught the meat paste with buckets, sealed it, and waited for the school cafeteria's truck.
Seeing the pollutants, everyone lowered their heads respectfully, "Sir."
The pollutant didn't answer, just approached, wiped off a bit of nutrient paste with its fingers, and then brought it to Song Jingchen's mouth, "Want to taste?"
A strong smell of blood rushed in. Song Jingchen couldn't hold back and vomited.
His vomit landed on the pollutant's arm, causing a displeased frown, "Indeed, an inferior species. Can't handle this? You've been eating this since you were little."
Song Jingchen pushed away the pollutant's hand with all his strength, struggling to jump down, trying to escape.
But in the narrow compartment, he had nowhere to run.
Song Jingchen was forced into a corner, trembling.
The pollutant was somewhat surprised, but then a smile appeared, "A good covenant member. Awakened in such a short time. Excellent."
It grabbed Song Jingchen's head.
The pollutant looked at the number behind his neck, saying, "I remember your number. Looking forward to seeing you at the coming-of-age ceremony in twelve years. I haven't encountered such a delicious covenant member in a long time."
After that, a dark gray smoke billowed from its long tube-like mouth.
Song Jingchen fainted.
The video stopped at this point.
The system said, "[Actually, under the effect of hypnosis, Song Jingchen has already forgotten this memory. It's just that the brain still retains it for him.]"
This was just a microcosm of the countless captive humans in the divine realm.
Lu Yan opened the next video, which showed Song Jingchen's conversation with the "heretic."
The heretic had a persistent fever, and Song Jingchen cautiously brought water for him.
The elderly harbinger slightly opened his eyes, not fully conscious, murmuring, "I am already old. Even if I fight to the last moment, my blood won't boil anymore. You are the hope... remember, remember to open your eyes and see the real world."
Song Jingchen's voice sounded confused, "What is the real world?"
The harbinger did not answer.
Lu Yan's expression was heavy, struggling for breath. He opened the document of Song Jingchen's memory, intending to remove the parts related to "faith."
The greatest misfortune for these captive covenant members was living in a massive lie related to faith.
However, after the modification, when Lu Yan tried to save the file, an error prompt appeared: "System Error."
The system said, "[Faith is the most profound memory for these covenant members, occupying the majority of their minds. Erasing faith completely is difficult given their current conscious structure.]"
After all, giving up faith was equivalent to denying most of their life's content.
Lu Yan thought for a moment, replacing the name of the deity with "Lu Yan" and inserting a few high-resolution headshots as a supplement to the faith.
This time, the computer did not show an error message.
"[The faith in the deity of Bliss and you are not compatible. Song Jingchen will soon start to doubt his faith and experience confusion. I suggest you change the name of the church as well.]"
Lu Yan pondered for a moment, changing "Bliss Church" to "Sea God Church."
Changjia is an island country, surrounded by the sea. Believing in the ocean is normal and doesn't contradict Song Jingchen's common knowledge.
In this way, Song Jingchen still had faith, but the object of faith changed from the Church of Bliss to the Sea God Church.
Lu Yan: "After rescuing them, I'll make these covenant members
study materialism well. For now, this will have to do."
Although Lu Yan spent a long time in the conscious space, in reality, it was just a brief moment.
Song Jingchen met Lu Yan's gaze, shivered all over, and in the next moment, knelt beside him, a look of devotion on his face, "My Lord."
Lu Yan, at such an age, experienced someone bowing to him with such reverence for the first time, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
He pulled Song Jingchen up by the back of his collar, "No need to kneel to me. We Sea God believers don't do that."
Song Jingchen's thoughts were still a bit confused, but fortunately, the brain automatically filled in the information for him.
He hugged Lu Yan's legs, tears in his eyes, "You've finally returned to the mortal realm. I knew you wouldn't abandon your believers. My Lord, in three days, I'll participate in the coming-of-age ceremony. I don't want to leave you. Please, take me away."
Yes, even without any memories.
Song Jingchen instinctively feared the so-called "coming-of-age ceremony."
His subconscious was in self-preservation mode.
Lu Yan couldn't help but say to the system, "Does this mission seem a bit urgent?"
"[Yes. I suggest you contact the few remaining old humans on this island. They have a small survivor base.]"
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