The next day, Ke Su woke up early. Because he had been jolted awake in the middle of the night, his spirits were not very high, but his well-regulated biological clock still had him waking up at eight o'clock sharp. He shuffled to the bathroom in his slippers, looking disheveled, and began his morning routine.
After a groggy wash-up, he sat down at his computer desk.
The morning light was faint outside the window, and the light from the computer screen that had been on standby all night reflected off his pale face. Due to the original owner's late-night habits, there was a faint dark circle under his eyes, giving his skin a somewhat sickly white appearance.
Although Ke Su had been in this body for a year now, the biological clock of this body had long been set, and he had no intention of changing it. His daily routine was as irregular as the original owner's, so the dark circles had shown no signs of fading, complementing his naturally idle demeanor and giving him a kind of decadent beauty.
Ke Su stretched lazily, adjusted a few stray hairs that were blocking his view, and then turned on the computer.
He wondered how the game had loaded since yesterday.
Ke Su opened the game, and his black-and-white eyes immediately focused on the "Faithful World" block he had clicked on last night.
The progress bar on this block had changed color and there was an additional line of explanatory text.
Ke Su clicked to view it and discovered that the game had actually put together an interesting backstory. It told the tale of an insect empire that summoned a deity and, due to offending the deity, faced destruction.
Ke Su raised his eyebrows, finding the story quite intriguing and oddly familiar.
He moved the mouse over the text and was surprised to find that there was also a video version of the story.
Such a grand gesture? They made a special video?
Ke Su quickly clicked on the video. After a moment of loading with a blood-red circle, a high-definition video appeared, displaying an incredibly realistic world.
Every frame was more detailed than any major production effects from his past life, almost like real events occurring in another world.
“This is…” Ke Su stared at the computer screen, showing a bit of surprise.
In the video, a gigantic figure draped in a veil of nameless mist and chaos stood amidst a vast expanse. The figure raised its head and looked directly at him.
In the next moment, the camera quickly pulled back, revealing exotic and magnificent buildings, grand palaces passing in front of the lens, until it finally settled in a position where the entire colossal figure could be seen.
The massive figure, backlit by the sun, was surrounded by a faint glow. The boundless, dark sky served as a backdrop, making it seem as if it were the center of the world, with all its inhabitants bowing before it, their entire view filled with its worshippers.
The world trembled in awe.
Far Star was an ordinary planet in the Pegasus galaxy and the home where humanity relied on for survival.
However, in the war fifty years ago, mushroom clouds spread everywhere, and this beautiful green planet became one scarred with injuries. The dangerous external environment forced all humans to live within established protective zones.
The government explained that radiation from the war had caused mutations in flora and fauna, making the outside world unsuitable for human life.
The survivors of the war believed this explanation and continued to live within the protective walls, no longer harboring thoughts of going outside.
But this did not mean that humanity could live in peace.
In fact, danger had never been far from humanity.
The government deceived its people.
Humanity was indeed no longer fit to live in the outside world, but not due to radiation, rather due to something far more terrifying.
Some bizarre, untouchable entities, or perhaps—monsters—emerged during the global war that swept across the planet. They spread at a terrifying rate, gradually forcing humanity into a narrow living area, like a pack of defeated dogs waiting for the final judgment of doomsday.
The ignorant populace still naively believed that the war was over and that a peaceful era had arrived. However, contrary to the peaceful atmosphere among the civilians, the higher-ups of the planetary government had already despaired and admitted humanity's defeat.
Even while curled up in this planet’s narrow corner, monsters continued to encroach inward. The outcome was already predetermined; humanity had no chance of victory.
Everything seemed like a vengeful act from this battered planet. The monsters thrived on humanity's negative emotions and existed with the purpose of killing humans.
Their most terrifying aspect was their inherent nature of violence, functioning as killing machines governed by rules of murder.
Before them, humanity had no capacity for resistance; conventional weapons were ineffective.
In the eyes of those who knew the truth, these monsters were undoubtedly at a higher level in the food chain, and humanity had no chance of winning.
But perhaps humanity was inherently unwilling to surrender. To save themselves, the federal and imperial governments established response organizations for a final desperate resistance, even if their actions only delayed humanity’s doom by a second, their efforts would not be in vain.
At this time, in the Federal Central Protection Zone.
In a heavily fortified underground base, countless uniformed personnel patrolled the base, their expressions stern.
This was one of the most important military bases in the Federation, sealing countless monsters and various anomalies with blood. There was no room for negligence.
And at this otherwise calm moment, in one of the sealed rooms at the center of the base, a gigantic eye guarded by multiple layers of security suddenly began to spin wildly. Blood vessels spread across the eyeball, and as it spun, the pupil slowly turned red, becoming increasingly terrifying and eerie.
This scene made the staff in the monitoring room break into a cold sweat, and they immediately sounded the alarm.
This strange eye, known as the Eye of the Seer, was said to be an artifact used for probing secrets during the era when deities existed on this planet. Only deities could use it, and mortals would pay a great price if they attempted to use it.
Because this eye glimpsed the secrets belonging to the gods.
But since the gods had long disappeared, the eye had lost its purpose and was merely protected in this base due to its legendary status.
Although the base's higher-ups ordered the protection of this artifact out of its value, there was no significant practical use for it.
The threat level was essentially negligible, and protecting it was just a precautionary measure.
However, at this moment, the Eye of the Seer, which was usually dismissed by the base staff as a useless artifact, was emanating an overwhelming pressure. Those with slightly fragile nerves would bleed from their eyes and wail in agony just from coming near it.
After a while, the staff who had barely managed to withstand the pressure finally could open their eyes and look towards the eye. To their astonishment, the Eye of the Seer had ceased its spinning and had instead stopped, its pupil widening. It projected a vast and magnificent world like a holographic projector.
It was a world with dazzling civilizations. Unlike Earth, where humans dominated, this world was inhabited by an insect civilization that had created a brilliant ancient insect empire.
The scene flashed rapidly before settling on one of the pages.
It was a lively ritual scene with excited insects performing strange dances, seemingly chanting hymns. Even under their exoskeletons, their excitement was palpable.
“What is this…” The base leader, observing through a specially designed protective window, frowned deeply.
“We haven’t confirmed if these images are contagious yet. To prevent any accidents, evacuate the nearby personnel. No one should be exposed directly under the Eye of the Seer…”
“Yes, sir!” The subordinate immediately went to evacuate the nearby staff, while the base leader ordered others to carefully record these images for future study.
The external world seemed unaffected by the eye’s imagery. As the monotonous ritual continued, the base leader and other researchers began to ponder the cause of the Eye of the Seer's unusual behavior.
“Perhaps it's due to some magnetic field disturbance. Recently, the Federation's magnetic field has been unstable. There was an A-grade incident in Li city a while ago. That terrifying game spread very quickly and caused many casualties before it was sealed, but its main body is still unknown…” said Regional Team Leader Li Chu, who stood next to the leader, deep in thought.
“An A-grade incident is nothing to fuss about. Li Chu, take a moment to calm down. You’ve been going on about this A-grade incident for days. Haven't we dealt with three B-grade incidents last month? Is it any less tragic for us?” Regional Team Leader Tom said, slightly sarcastic. He was particularly annoyed by Li Chu's tendency to play the victim.
Li Chu's face flushed red upon hearing this. Embarrassed by being called out, he retorted angrily, “What victimizing? I’m just stating facts! Stop with your cold remarks! Don’t you know that only five of us are left? I’m going to be left as the last one standing soon! Then who will care about Li city!”
“Alright, everyone quiet down! We haven't resolved the issue with the Eye of the Seer yet!” Director Zheng of the base said with a weary expression.
Recently, the frequency of monster incidents had increased, but the government’s funding was far from sufficient. This led to fierce internal competition for scarce resources and talent within the department, which left Director Zheng feeling helpless and powerless.
As humanity's situation deteriorated, the higher-ups in the government seemed increasingly unwilling to provide funds, shifting their investment towards research, hoping to develop spacecraft to escape Far Star.
As the head of the special incident response department, Director Zheng could only argue vigorously for more resources, hoping that the next president would take the issue seriously.
For now, he had to focus on strong teams and economically developed areas. Small cities like Li city could not receive much investment.
Therefore, Director Zheng chose to ignore Li Chu's implied request for more personnel and shifted his focus to the other side of the protective window, where the eye continued to display the ritual scenes, which seemed to be just a primitive ancient civilization.
“Value of reference is…” large.
Before he could finish his thought, Director Zheng swallowed the words back and stared in shock.
“What… what is that?”
The surrounding regional team leaders' pupils dilated as they stared intently at the enlarged holographic image.
—Omniscient and omnipresent, with infinite power, gods of old, grant me your gaze~
An unknown, strange language echoed through the previously quiet monitoring room. In the holographic image, the figure draped in nameless mist and veil instilled inexplicable fear, making their very souls tremble.
It was the fear of the unknown and the great, deeply rooted in human genes.
The crowd stared almost blankly at the enormous figure that covered the entire sky, their only thought being that the Eye of the Seer had indeed glimpsed the secrets of the gods.
A deity with boundless power appeared before them, and even a mere remnant of its image was enough to evoke profound terror.
The images continued to display, showing the downfall of a once-brilliant civilization after divine retribution. Everywhere were the ruins of a destroyed civilization, heavy with the scent of history. Ghostly wails echoed amidst the ruins, and the figure gradually disappeared. Everyone behind the protective wall looked pale, their spirits unsettled by the godly pressure emanating from the images.
If this deity appeared on Far Star, humanity would truly be doomed.
“It’s quite interesting,” Ke Su remarked with a rare smile as the video ended, his eyes full of delight.
The game had a strong sense of horror.
The narrative of a deity indifferent to its worshippers and casually bringing about destruction, though not the traditional investigator's quest for truth, had its own charm.
He looked forward to the next video of the Faithful World. Were they all pre-made?
Ke Su exited the Insect World and moved his mouse to the next world.
[Faithful World: Steam Age]
However, when he intended to open it, Ke Su noticed that there were several new sub-levels under the Insect World, with only one lit up.
[Insect World: Manor’s Old Tales]
Ke Su hesitated, not knowing which one to choose first.
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