The floor beneath our feet was shaking, sometimes strong, and sometimes weak. It seemed to follow a certain pattern. The portable devices in the room that were not fixed to the ground rattled and bounced on the floor or the table. Rhododendron Spp. jumped off the chair. The fur on her ears and tail stood on end. She unconsciously half-crawled on the ground and let out a low purr. Under certain circumstances, her fox instincts were hard to control. For example, she ate chicken legs secretly from home, ran around naked, and was even more sensitive than humans during earthquakes.
Chestnut was also shocked. Even though she had been with the First Family for a long time, she was still an ordinary human girl. Even though she had experienced Resident Evil, she had never experienced a warship being shot. So, she let out a low cry when she saw the sudden earthquake. However, it was just a cry. Her strong mental fortitude helped her to calm down quickly. She calmed down when she saw that none of us were making any movements.
The earthquake came and went quickly. It lasted for less than ten seconds before everything quieted down. Lin Xue gave me an OK gesture, indicating that the earthquake was over. Indigo's tail drooped down again, but she was still squatting on the ground with her hands on the ground. She looked around and realized that she was probably the one with the most exaggerated reaction. She immediately showed an awkward expression and scratched her face with her feet …
We didn't know what was going on until the girl sat back down on the chair. Blue didn't know what was going on, either. Now, we could confirm a common sense: when natural disasters happened, wild animals would react strongly, even if they had evolved into spirits …
Yode was dumbfounded when he saw Blue's strange behavior. Fortunately, he didn't do something as rude as the naughty kids in town. He tried to test if Rhododendron Spp.'s tail was supported by steel wires. I swore that if he really did that, the fox would bite him. Blue cherished her tail very much. She would bite anyone who touched her other than our family members.
"The geology here isn't stable." I tried my best to divert Yode's attention from Rhododendron Spp., who was in a wild animal state. "Earthquake?"
Yode replied hastily. Then, he frowned. "Earthquake? Did you call that an earthquake? That's a good way to describe it. "
"So, there has never been an earthquake here before?" His elder sister immediately understood the hidden meaning in his words. This planet seemed to have never experienced an earthquake before!
"This isn't the first 'earthquake.'" Yode looked at us quietly. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, nor could I guess why he brought us here alone. "Thirty days ago, the city and a large area nearby shook five times. The interval between each quake was shorter than the previous one. This isn't a good sign. Of course, you're right when you say that there has never been an earthquake here before. Thirty days ago, for countless years, the ground under our feet was as solid and eternal as this world. No one would believe that even this God-blessed land would have a moment of turbulence at all. "
Shadora frowned while Lin Xue pinched my arm from behind. "Blockhead, do you remember what happened a month ago?"
I was surprised. Then, I understood what Lin Xue meant.
As expected, Yodel soon spoke. He did not seem to want to ask us about the situation first. Instead, he said, "Ever since the Hope disappeared at the end of the stormy sea, this world has been changing in many ways. Then, you guys arrived."
"Now, I can't help but think about what it means for you to appear here."
"Hey, are you trying to say that we brought disaster with us?" Liliana pointed at Yodel's nose. "Nonsense is blasphemy."
Yodel didn't care about the little girl's rude behavior. He looked at us without changing his expression. "I didn't mean it that way, but I really want to know who you are and where you came from. I have a crazy guess, but it almost goes against my faith. However, I can't think of any other possibility. Can you save me from the pain of my faith? Are you from the other side of the Stormy Ocean?!"
Sandora seemed to have expected this question. When she heard Yodel, she leaned back in her chair and said in a cold voice, "That's not a bad guess. We are indeed from the other side of the stormy sea. However, it might be different from what you understand. "
Yodel made a hissing sound. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Then, he quickly regained his composure. "It's the Hope? It finally broke through the stormy sea and brought you guys here? "
"No … Hmm, perhaps you can put it that way." It was the big sister who answered him. Her eyes were lowered, and she sighed. "Without the Hope, we wouldn't have found this world. However, it has already crashed. According to the battleship's last records, it was destroyed by a group of fanatics. It should be your people, right?"
"It wasn't my intention to destroy the Hope, but I had to stop people from taking this risk." Yodel was surprisingly calm in the face of the shocking news we revealed. He waved his hand to show that his decision was irrefutable. "Before the mission is completed, we have to survive. No matter how high the Hope's success rate is, as long as they try to leave this world, they will be punished …"
Yodel's voice turned weak at the end. "But now, it seems like we were one step too late. This world's stability has deteriorated."
"You mean, the Hope's reckless crossing of the world's barrier has caused this space to lose its balance?" Sandora asked in a low voice.
My heart started to beat faster. My intuition told me that many truths were in the hands of this handsome man before me, including the ancient mechanical malfunction that we couldn't understand.
"The world's barrier? Looks like there's another layer of wall outside the stormy sea. If the Hope had traveled so far, they might have been heroes. "Yodel rubbed the space between his brows." According to the ancient records, the world we live in is a sealed celestial kingdom. God forbids any filth from the outside world from entering this world and forbids anyone from escaping to the outside world. If a citizen breaks the rules and enters the filth with God's blessing, the whole celestial kingdom will lose its blessing … It's too late to say anything now. I don't know how to face the ancient ancestors and the people outside. They still don't know what's going on, but the truth is, I can't be sure if the solar furnace will still be lit tomorrow. "
"So you want to know if we, who come from the 'other side' of the stormy sea, know more," Sandora said after two seconds of silence.
Yodel sat on the chair, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest. His eyes scanned us from side to side. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his eyes were as deep as water. It was obvious that he was thinking, or perhaps he was having an intense internal struggle. I was also trying to figure out what this archbishop was thinking. We hadn't revealed our identities yet because we wanted to see if we could figure out his true intentions without revealing our identities. After all, he had ordered the destruction of the 'Hope' that had tried to escape from this ruined world. This had caused our impression of this world's church to drop a lot. However, based on Yodel's words, it seemed like he was doing this to protect this world.
"What's on the other side of the stormy sea?"
After a minute of silence, Yodel suddenly lifted his head and looked at us with a burning gaze. "Is there really another world there?"
"There are more things there than you can imagine," Lin Xue said. "But before we tell you more, we hope that you can tell us more about this world. I can tell you with certainty that we have the ability to solve all the problems you face, but only if you are honest with us. "
"I don't believe you. I am just telling the truth," Yodel said straightforwardly. "You are indeed from the other side of the stormy sea, but that doesn't mean anything. Before you can prove that you are trustworthy …"
Yodel was right. He had found us only because we were most likely from outside this world. We were 'foreigners' who knew the truth about this world. However, our identities as foreigners were not enough for him to trust anyone. However, Sandora didn't mind. She connected the mental link and said, "PL-15, remove your disguise now. Also, remove your disguise on the flagship. Shoot a strong signal pulse in our direction."
Two seconds after Sandora said that, the signal shot out at superluminal speed and reached the ruined planet. Just as I had guessed, the city had a radar array of sufficient specifications. The moment the signal arrived, the entire city rang with an ear-piercing air defense alarm. Then, the church scanned the two huge battleships that had removed their disguises and were parked in the 'shallow layer' of the stormy sea.
An urgent alarm rang in the room. A holographic projection automatically popped up in front of Yodel. The images and words that appeared on the projection caused the handsome old man's expression to turn sluggish.
"We have many of these spaceships. If you need help, we can use them to transport all of you out of the stormy sea. If you don't wish to leave, we can transport enough resources and ancient machines for you to survive for another 700,000 years. What we want to know … Hmm, let's start with what you know about this world and the Hope. You might not think it's a big deal, but it's very important to us, and I believe it's no longer a top secret."
"Okay, okay, you guys have really scared me." Yodel waved his hands slowly. Although he said he was scared, he didn't show any signs of panic. His eyes had only widened for a moment. "Then I will tell you my opinion. The world in the past is not what we see now. Don't be surprised. Even though not many people know this and don't even dare to think about it, I believe you, who came from the other side of the stormy sea, have your own understanding of this saying. With all those dazzling things you brought with you, the kingdom on the other side of the Stormy Ocean should be richer than this one, so you should be able to tell at a glance how barren and precarious the place we live in is. For a long time, only the highest echelons of the Church know this secret: the whole world is actually a system that is constantly consuming resources … "
Yodel kept his eyes lowered as he talked to himself. This was probably a habit he had developed from his life as a reclusive bishop, or perhaps it was the sudden appearance of us "foreigners" that made him feel the need to complete the communication as soon as possible. "The world is like this. In the hundreds of thousands of years of recorded history, two-thirds of the world's ancient machines have stopped working. Most of the regenerative factories' efficiency has been decreasing day by day. Since a thousand years ago, we have run out of materials to maintain the fusion reactors. The yellow muffin, which has been used as a supplement for food, disappeared among the people about 500 years ago. All this time, only the Bishops knew about this. When a priest found out about this secret, he would be promoted to a bishop and then be banned from the Church for the rest of his life. We all know the meaning of this. This is the only way to ensure the world's survival, and that is to hide the truth from the public. Therefore, most of the high-ranking priests are willing to bear the burden of the truth. After so long, even though there have been bishops who leaked the secret due to their weak will, they were quickly dealt with by other bishops and archbishops. The only exception … was Bishop Banamon, who became the Hope's captain, a few years ago. He was a fully deserving of his title as a strong man, and he would do anything to achieve his beliefs. When he found out the truth about the world's impending doom, he was extremely loyal. He made everyone believe that the young man would be the next generation's best candidate to keep this secret. That was until he became the captain of an ancient God-class battleship … Until now, I still don't know how he managed to convince the whole battleship to follow him. Just like that, he became an independent force from the Church. He even dared to appear in public with his powerful battleship. The only good thing was that Banamon didn't announce the world's impending doom to the public. Instead, he used another plan that compromised with the Church. He started to recruit people to become his sailors to explore the rich new country on the other side of the stormy sea. "
"He almost succeeded," Big Sis said.
"Yes, he succeeded. Just from the point of 'crossing the stormy sea'," Yodel said. "No one expected him to do this. With the Hope's power, we couldn't fight him in the Great Ruin Belt. He also came to a compromise with the Church. In exchange for keeping the secret of the world's impending doom, we allowed him to recruit sailors. However, there was one condition, and that was that the Hope was not allowed to cross the stormy sea unless he could confirm that the world on the other side of the stormy sea really existed. After all, even I was willing to hold on to that sliver of hope. However, he was too reckless. After many tests of the stormy sea's strength and range, he ordered the Hope to charge out of the Church's surveillance … Even though the Hope was destroyed in the end, his actions still destroyed the foundation of this world. "
At this point, everything that the natives of this world knew about the Hope was revealed to us.
We exchanged glances. The development of the situation wasn't too unexpected, but it was still rather dramatic. Big Sister pondered for a while and suddenly thought of something worth noting. "You mentioned a mission earlier … You didn't just say it casually, right?"
Now that Big Sister mentioned it, I remembered that I had almost forgotten about Yodel's words. 'Before our mission is completed, we must continue to live.'
"What mission do the people of this world have?" Big Sis asked. "We have interacted with the natives here for a while, but we have never heard of such a thing."
"Of course, we have a mission to protect this place," Yodel said, and his face lit up with pride. However, the pride disappeared in a flash. "However, normal people have probably forgotten about these things. Only the Church has passed this mission down from generation to generation. We always remember that the ancient God gave us an important mission, and that was why he built this shelter. Even though it seems like the environment of this shelter is deteriorating day by day."
"Mission, what is it?" Sandora suddenly raised her eyes to look Yodel in the eye. A golden ray of light flashed through her hair. Just this little bit of mental penetration caused Yodel's hesitant expression to turn blank.
"Mission? We are going to give that to God, "the Archbishop said with his head bowed." They asked us to keep that thing until they return to this world. We are the chosen custodians. When God returns to this world, I want to hand it over to God with my own hands. "
Shadora stopped her mental interference to prevent her from harming the old man in front of her for too long. Then, she connected with me, "It seems like the two sides who fought here handed something to the ancestors of these natives 720,000 years ago."
"Do you think it was the Visca or the Imperial Army?"
"... Do you think I know?" Sandora rolled her eyes at me.
Yodel snapped out of his daze and realized that he had blurted out the Archbishop's biggest secret. He looked annoyed. Even though he had told us a lot of unimportant things, he couldn't casually divulge the secret of the Archbishop's Final Mission.
But now that he had said it, there was no turning back. In the end, he gave up and looked at us calmly. "Now that you know what you want to know, shouldn't you tell me how to solve the problem of the world's decline? If you came here from a rich country, there must be a way. "
"That's not urgent." Big Sis thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Can you tell me what exactly is the thing you mentioned that you will give to the Gods when they return?"
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