Chapter 5

Game!

From the depths of the distant universe, traveling countless light-years to get here, just to transform an entire planet for a game?

In China, the United States, and even some small and medium-sized countries in Europe, the leaders, presidents, and prime ministers were all stunned by this answer.

In China, Kyoto.

In a large office, a vast celestial palace appeared on a white wall.

Inside the celestial palace, one could vaguely see undulating mountains and crisscrossing rivers. Occasionally, huge flying beasts would appear in the sky. They were known to be huge because, in proportion, the bodies of these beasts covered an entire mountain. They flew in the sky, roaring like thunder, and then turned to look back, their gaze appearing on the wall, making everyone's hearts tremble.

This was not the result of human technology, but a response from the celestial palace.

"Game!"

These two large Chinese characters appeared on the image of the celestial palace, even more glaring.

"So you traveled all this way just to play a game?" an elderly man of high moral standing asked the white wall.

The image on the white wall appeared automatically, and people found that as long as they spoke to the image, the celestial palace would receive the feedback—perhaps it didn't even need this?

"Yes." Two large characters appeared again on the image.

"This is absurd." In the large office, the great figures who held the fate of the nation all sighed in unison.

To them, this was clearly incomprehensible and unacceptable.

"No, it's not absurd," Shirenzhi, an expert, suddenly said.

"How do you interpret that?" an elderly man asked.

Shirenzhi replied, "In fact, I have been considering this issue for a long time. If one day, aliens really came to Earth, what would they want? Resources? A race that can travel across countless light-years, what kind of resources can't they obtain? The vast universe, the infinite stars, and all kinds of planets are unclaimed, with countless resources. What's the point of coming to Earth to plunder?"

Everyone was taken aback.

Shirenzhi continued, "Slavery? It also makes no sense. A being that can traverse the universe and transform planets, why would they value enslaving us? It's like encountering a primitive society now; would we value enslaving them? We wouldn't even want them as workers because they can't read. Of course, we might try to control such life forms, but that wouldn't be the purpose of our long journey; it would only be a side effect for some other goal."

"But for a game, isn't that ridiculous?"

"Why is it ridiculous? I don't find it ridiculous at all; in fact, it's very realistic. Because it's the inevitable result of social development!" Shirenzhi replied, "When a society's material resources are highly developed, the spiritual needs that follow will become increasingly higher. Not to mention the world of the celestial palace, even in our current world, games are already a huge industry. Traditional games include various card games, chess, mahjong, high-end sports, competitive events, and various electronic games that have emerged with the development of the internet, as well as the rich nightlife, all of which are part of games. In this world, humans can do without many things, but they cannot do without games. One could say that from the day of birth, every person learns about the world and interacts with it through games. The term 'game' may sound unserious, but the fact is... it is the most serious thing in the world!"

"Playing games at the cost of life?"

"What's wrong with that? After all, it's not their own lives. Think about what children often do when they are young? They find an ant nest and pour a pot of boiling water into it. Is it out of hatred? Is it out of need? Is it out of fear? No, it's just a game, just for fun. For the ants, it's a disaster."

"But that's children's behavior. Are you saying that those in the celestial palace are all children?"

"Even adults go to zoos."

Everyone fell silent.

Shirenzhi became more and more excited, "No one can leave games, because that is our spiritual need. In the past, when human society had insufficient productivity and scarce resources, survival was the first priority, so there was no time for games. But as our productivity gradually developed, material conditions became increasingly abundant, and games that satisfy spiritual needs also increased, becoming an important part of our lives. People's game time has been continuously extended. According to a survey report from a few years ago, the average game time in our country is now over four hours, and for some otakus, it can reach ten to sixteen hours a day. This standard does not even include traditional game times such as sports, chess, and singing. This is just our world. What about a super-civilization that can traverse light-years, cross star rivers, and need not worry about resources? What do they do in their daily lives, having no need to worry about material resources?"

"Play games." An elderly man blurted out.

"Exactly." Shirenzhi nodded, "For them, crossing the stars and transforming planets for a game is quite normal. After all, with their technology or abilities, transforming planets should be a very ordinary matter. On the contrary, interesting games that can satisfy their needs are becoming fewer and fewer. After seeing countless wonders, a lonely and long life ultimately... may only be filled with boredom and emptiness."

Is that so?

Everyone looked at the celestial palace on the white wall.

The two characters "game" in the celestial palace gradually faded away, and a row of characters reappeared.

"Games are sacred."

——————————————————

The conversation continued.

As Shirenzhi said, they were here for the game.

For the game, they transformed the planet.

For the game, they transformed life.

"Are you saying that all these changes outside are to transform us?" the elderly man asked.

The white wall replied, "You are too weak, and playing with you is not interesting. You need to be strengthened, improved, and evolved."

"How do we evolve?"

"Those mists are special resources we have released. They will deeply influence and change this world, making life evolve again, and at the same time, improve your world's energy utilization methods."

"Improve?"

"Yes. Electrical energy is too backward. We will seal this method of energy utilization and give you a new one, the energy block technology. This is a universal energy that can be used in various devices."

Hearing this, everyone became excited.

"So, this is not the end of the world, but a new beginning?" someone realized.

"But such a drastic change will inevitably bring great social turmoil." The old politicians were very clear that even good things, when they suddenly change, will inevitably cause various problems at the societal level.

Some good things are only temporarily good and may become disasters in the future.

For example, everyone wants to live forever, but if everyone really lived forever, what would the Earth be like?

A disaster!

Sometimes good intentions do not necessarily lead to good results, let alone when the intentions of the gods and demons may not be good.

On the white wall, the gods and demons replied, "That is exactly what we want to see."

Seeing this, everyone understood.

For the gods and demons, they do not care about any outcome.

They only want to see changes.

Because this is their game.

The game of the gods!

The five palaces represent five powerful races of gods and demons.

They chose Earth, and they chose humans.

In this game, humans are just dolls, acting according to the whims of the gods and demons. The will of humans is not important.

Just like humans do not consider the feelings of mice.

This is a day of happiness for humans, as technology will be revolutionized, and life will evolve. People will no longer have to worry about aging, illness, and death, because in the days to come, human lifespans will be greatly extended, and the chances of getting sick will be minimal.

This is also a day of suffering for humans, as they will no longer be the masters of all things but will become the objects of control. The old order is destined to collapse, and a new order is coming.

When people learned all this, the whole world was in turmoil.

But the gods and demons only gave humans one day to adapt.

No matter how they protested, it was meaningless.

The celestial palace stopped responding to humans, and a new world emerged.

The game world of the gods!

——————————————————

After the green mist appeared, Yuan Chenfei began to observe the small animals he raised. Strictly speaking, he was the first to notice the changes in the animals' sizes.

Yuan Chenfei knew that these changes came from the green mist.

This is an energy that changes the essence of life, granted by the gods and demons. It is said that the gods and demons are gods and demons because of this energy.

And now, they have brought this energy to Earth, to this world.

According to Liu Yang's description, the gods and demons call this energy "immortal spirit energy." As long as one absorbs this energy, they can be enhanced and evolved.

Any life form can absorb this energy to evolve, except for one.

Humans!

Humans cannot evolve by directly absorbing immortal spirit energy, but they can absorb energy from evolved life forms by hunting them.

In simple terms, it's leveling up by defeating monsters.

This is precisely the purpose of the gods and demons, and even the result of their deliberate design—they sealed humans' ability to directly absorb immortal spirit energy and changed it to this mode.

Yuan Chenfei once suspected that before the gods and demons descended, they must have played human video games, so they set it up according to human methods. But more likely, it is because leveling up and the evolution of life have the same meaning, making it a universal truth across the universe.

In short, the gods and demons chose such a leveling game. They gave humans the ability to level up and then watched their battles like fish in a tank.

Whether you are willing or not.

Because he was mentally prepared, Yuan Chenfei did not waste time being confused or panicked. He just waited quietly.

At 11:00 AM, after the blood-red tower appeared, Yuan Chenfei used the last bit of electricity to call Liu Li.

"Liu Li, you've seen it all."

"Y-Yes, my God, everything Liu Yang said is true!" Liu Li was still in extreme shock after three hours.

Yuan Chenfei said, "I'm glad you understand. Do you remember what I told you about the things in Liu Yang's memory?"

"Y-Yes."

"Good. Now do two things. First, buy a batch of medicines. A new era is coming, and most resources on Earth will become abundant and less valuable. But medicines are an exception; some healing medicines still have value. Stock up on them; it will benefit you. Second, buy a knife and go out on the streets. When you see those mutated or evolved creatures, kill them with one strike. Remember, if you don't want to be left behind by this era, you need to fight hard. Finally, I suggest you think carefully about what Liu Yang said. In this new era, what is important. This will help you in the future, but don't blab everything out. Some resources, if others have them... you won't have them."

"I understand!" Liu Li hurriedly agreed.

"Then go do it. The game has already started since the tower appeared." Yuan Chenfei hung up the phone.