Lu Yan looked at Song Jingchen, who was hugging his legs and wouldn't let go, feeling a slight headache. "Let go," he said. Song Jingchen released his hand but didn't get up, just looking at him with pleading eyes, full of moisture.
The system sighed, "[It's a good thing he doesn't have a tail. Otherwise, wouldn't the scales of the dog dragon turn green?]"
Lu Yan felt the urge to argue, but bickering with the system in his mind seemed too childish and unnecessary. He said to Song Jingchen, "You go back; the school is about to check the dorms."
Song Jingchen shook his head vigorously, "My Lord, I don't want to go back to that filthy place full of heretics. The graduation selection is imminent. I don't want to go to the Divine Realm, serving those disgusting heretics with humiliation and burden!"
When Song Jingchen was very young, he was sent back to school by pollutants. Since then, he enjoyed some privileges that other students did not. According to teachers, he was destined to be chosen by the elders of the Divine Realm.
All the clans understood that once you went to the Divine Realm, it was challenging to come back. Lu Yan commented, "[In school, the standard for judging the quality of these clans is whether they awaken as Harbingers.]"
"[Song Jingchen awakened at a very young age. Most likely, during the graduation season, he will be sent to the Divine Realm to participate in the elders' hunting competition.]"
"[Maybe he'll be eaten, or perhaps he'll undergo a mutation with an index exceeding 100 and become a 'god.']"
Lu Yan asked, "I remember the school monitors and teachers are selected from students who participated in the hunt. If they know they are prey for the gods, why return to school and become executioners?"
The system explained, "[Yes. But human intelligence and awareness are the result of social integration. Many clans genuinely believe that being eaten by the gods is the best way to return to paradise. This belief is even written into the textbooks they learn from a young age, though expressed in a more euphemistic way—integration.]"
"[Moreover, most people just live their lives without much thought. Collaboration with the oppressors has existed since ancient times.]"
"[Especially those who are awake but not firm in their beliefs are judged as heretics.]"
According to the information provided by the system, in the Divine Realm, all human infants are stamped with the spiritual imprint of the true god, a barcode-like mark on the back of their necks. Unfaithful clans would have this mark disappear.
This served as a sign to distinguish between believers and heretics among the Divine Realm's inhabitants.
Lu Yan pulled open Song Jingchen's collar and found the barcode still there, strangely familiar and comforting. After a moment of contemplation, he touched it.
Instantly, two lines of text appeared in Lu Yan's mind—
【Song Jingchen】
【Devout follower of the Sea God, ID: 0000001】
Lu Yan asked, "What is the principle behind this?"
The system explained, "[The followers of the true god become yours; it's quite scientific. When the followers stop believing in the church, the spiritual imprint on their necks disappears.]"
"[Every year, the school checks clans for disloyalty using this method and sends these traitors to the processing plant.]"
The only one who could perceive the difference in the spiritual imprint was probably the true god itself.
Lu Yan patted Song Jingchen's head, "Don't worry. I'll be back before graduation. Be careful these days, don't expose yourself."
Song Jingchen's gaze remained devout and fervent, "I'll be waiting for your return."
In the Divine Realm, despite the existence of past remnants, human civilization, especially anything related to technology, was almost non-existent. In the middle of the night, there was no visible presence of lights. Looking up revealed a brilliant starry sky.
Lu Yan, by the roadside, pulled out an off-road motorcycle and siphoned fuel from other vehicles to fill it up. In the dead of night, the motorcycle roared to life.
He wasn't concerned about the noise attracting pollutants; after all, he was far from the core of the Divine Realm.
With a psychic threshold of over seven thousand, he could deal with ordinary pollutants effortlessly. So, he rode the bike in a particularly arrogant manner.
"[Most ordinary pollutants lack human emotions and thoughts. Thus, the Divine Realm inhabitants don't need other forms of entertainment or modern civilization. They serve as tools controlled by the true god to maintain the stability of society.]"
"[Moreover, pollutants engage in internal competition, with some consuming others to advance. Since abandoning its human body, the true god has relied on human Harbingers to deal with pollutants.]"
Changjia Island, though not huge, was mostly covered by forests. Despite its size, it housed several million permanent residents.
After 45 years, the surviving human society was nearly wiped out. Only scattered survivor bases, protected by Harbingers, still struggled to survive.
"[The nearest survivor base would take about six hours by bike.]"
The system marked an approximate location in Lu Yan's mind.
When Lu Yan arrived, it was almost dawn. To evade the gods' pursuit, these survivor bases were hidden and quickly relocated once discovered to avoid annihilation.
The base he was heading to was in a village. The road he took was washed away by mudslides, giving it a desolate appearance.
Halfway, the road vanished, but fortunately, the base was not far now. Lu Yan parked the bike and continued on foot.
When he came, he loaded many things onto the boat, but the boat simply couldn't start. Therefore, he only brought weapons, sedatives, and potent medicines.
Since awakening, Lu Yan's sensitivity to danger had become exceptionally acute.
He looked up and scanned the distant hillside. The sniper retracted his rifle and whispered, "Calling HQ, unidentified individual. Seems to be a Harbinger, and I've been spotted."
"Have you seen him before?"
The sniper replied, "Seems like I haven't..."
"Only a few hundred surviving Harbingers on the entire island, and you didn't shoot me immediately?! This must be another scheme from that scrawny True God!" Twenty years ago, the True God attempted to kill the leader of the surviving base, disguising itself as a Harbinger and deceiving the others, almost resulting in the base's total destruction.
The sniper hesitated, "But, but... this person was giving me a secret signal." During the months of training at headquarters, Lu Yan had learned specific hand signals for communication with teammates in inconvenient situations, mostly simple commands.
Lu Yan gestured to the sniper, translating the signal, "Danger averted, cease action." A few minutes later, someone led four or five Harbingers towards them.
The leader was a robust middle-aged man with a sharp gaze and a facial scar. He held a spiked iron rod threateningly. "Cangqiong Base. Li Dongcheng. Which base are you from? I haven't seen you before."
Lu Yan replied, "I'm from outside, just arrived today." Li Dongcheng was taken aback, "Outside? Which outside?" Lu Yan presented his work ID from his pocket, "K City, Special Operations Department. Lu Yan. B-class Harbinger."
Li Dongcheng's rod dropped with a clatter as he snatched Lu Yan's credentials. After a thorough examination, he exclaimed, "It's real! Captain Ning also has one of these!" Li Dongcheng used a bulky and outdated pollution meter on Lu Yan, displaying a pollution level of 0.
With a considerable reduction in vigilance, Li Dongcheng said, "Captain Ning went out hunting last night and should be back in the morning. Little brother Lu, please wait. I can show you around the base in the meantime." The base, thriving under Captain Ning's leadership, housed over 20,000 refugees and achieved self-sufficiency.
The base, concealed deep in the mountains, had erected a high wall with electrified fences. Lu Yan strolled around the outskirts, accompanied by Li Dongcheng. There were fields, livestock farming, a school, a medical station, and even a small research institute and power station.
Li Dongcheng mentioned, "The research institute covers a variety of fields, water and electricity, pollution studies, construction, curriculum development... there are about a hundred people, all called researchers." Awakened Harbingers were responsible for scavenging and dealing with pollutants outside.
Over decades, the surviving human population dwindled due to frequent relocations. Initially, some resisted the True God and the Divine Realm, but as time passed, the gap became apparent, and spirits waned.
As Li Dongcheng spoke, the school bell rang, and several children joyfully ran out. Passing Li Dongcheng, they greeted, "Captain Li!" Li Dongcheng smiled and pulled out some candies, "Save some, it's hard to come by. You're lucky if you get any."
The system remarked, "Even in such harsh conditions, humans continue to live tenaciously. It's truly endearing." Seizing the opportunity while Captain Ning was still absent, Li Dongcheng asked Lu Yan many questions related to the outside world.
When the entrance suddenly stirred, Li Dongcheng's eyes lit up, "By the looks of it, Captain Ning is back!" Captain Ning, highly esteemed within the base, was adored by many.
At this moment, many dropped their tasks and rushed to the entrance to welcome him. Lu Yan also blended into the crowd, gazing towards the base entrance.
Contrary to expectations, Captain Ning appeared quite young, holding a cigarette in his left hand and dragging a bag of fishing nets containing his spoils from the trip. Unlike regular humans, he had three pairs of eyes arranged vertically on his face.
Captain Ning's lower half wasn't human legs but eight spider-like legs covered in sharp shells emitting a deep purple glow. Lu Yan recalled him as the second Harbinger with a threshold exceeding ten thousand.
Due to his high level of contamination, maintaining a normal human form became challenging for Captain Ning. Thanks to his spider legs, Captain Ning's sight was higher than those around him.
With a single glance, he spotted Lu Yan in the crowd. Bending down, he squinted, exhaling smoke, and asked, "Where are you from?"
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