MTLNOVEL Chapter 71: Director
For the long-lived species embarking on the evolutionary path, two hundred years is not a long time. But for ordinary people who have not set foot on the evolutionary path, two hundred years is the rise and fall of several generations.
In two hundred years, the society of the Four-Eyed people has undergone tremendous changes.
According to Ankarena, the Four-Eyed people were once a very conservative race. The most obvious sign was that the erotic industry was always in a gray area in their society. People engaged in the erotic industry, regardless of gender, faced chemical castration if discovered.
But as invasion disasters became more frequent, the social atmosphere began to develop toward hedonism. After all, for most people, a sudden invasion disaster might turn a lifetime's accumulation of wealth into nothing. So why not indulge in pleasure while they can, drinking and enjoying the moment?
As a result, the entertainment industry, mainly focused on eroticism and gambling, began to flourish, along with numerous cult organizations springing up like mushrooms after the rain.
Religion is the spiritual anesthetic, and in this world of increasingly frequent invasion disasters, people must find a spiritual solace.
"This is an organization called the Fire Worship Society," Ankarena introduced to Richard in front of her.
Not far from them, a group of Four-Eyed people, wearing bright red clothes, gathered in a small square. At this moment, these Four-Eyed people were rhythmically bowing around a huge bonfire.
"They believe this world is the ashes after a flame has burned out, and the invasion disasters are rekindled flames. They think that the rekindling of the flames cannot be stopped, only by worshiping the flame can one merge into it at the moment the world burns out and be reborn in the new ashes."
Finishing her words, even Ankarena couldn't help but shake her head.
"Sometimes, I really don't understand, how these guys imagined such whimsical concepts."
Richard listened to Ankarena's description, nodding thoughtfully.
"Does this cult have priests? Those who can wield power."
"Of course not." Ankarena sounded like she heard something absurd, "Even if those who can master source energy can't enter the Invasion Task Force, they can still join the Invasion Processing Bureau.
The staff at the Invasion Processing Bureau couldn't possibly join such a small street Church."
"So you're saying, they join a larger Church?"
"The Invasion Processing Bureau manages formal employees very strictly, but there are always a few with unstable will. However, once these people are discovered, they are immediately removed."
"So basically, these churches don't have members who can wield source energy. Even if there are, it's only a few, right?"
Ankarena nodded: "Yes."
Upon hearing Ankarena's confirmation, Richard couldn't help but smile. He turned to Ulysses on his shoulder and said, "Ulysses, here is not just a virgin land but an ultra-fertile virgin land."
Ulysses also became eager after listening, preaching was instinctive to a divine. Facing such a big cake, he was quite tempted.
"Ga, no way, I must establish a church."
With that said, Ulysses trembled and left his projection on Richard's shoulder. Then, with a flap, he disappeared from Richard's sight, while Ankarena beside him was completely unaware.
Concealing from a Level 3 Creature's perception was indeed too easy for Ulysses.
"Really impatient."
Richard shook his head and continued to wander around the city.
...
L-1 Base.
Anderson sat in his office, holding a fixed communicator, his expression very respectful.
"You mean, 1275 is actually a door, and signing the contract will summon two creatures with the strength of Fourth Level action agents."
A steady voice came out of the communicator, and upon hearing this, Anderson visibly sighed in relief.
"Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule. Director, you're right."
"... Interesting, these two creatures seem very friendly."
Anderson was slightly surprised: "You already received the news?"
"No," the voice in the microphone remained steady, "if they weren't friendly, I wouldn't be getting this report now. Tell me about their information."
"One is a humanoid creature with white skin and two eyes, similar limbs, calling himself Richard. The other is a black avian creature, typically the size of a crested hawk-eagle, name unknown.
According to the on-site agent's report, after she signed the contract, the two of them walked out of a space rift together. In combat, the avian creature leaned towards physical attacks, while the humanoid creature inclined towards energy attacks. Among them, the humanoid creature seemed to possess some form of binding ability that even the Catastrophe Snake couldn't resist.
With their cooperation, a Big Snake with Fourth Level operation agent strength was seriously injured in less than a minute. Its body was either taken into some unknown space by the self-proclaimed Richard humanoid or banished to another space."
"... Interesting."
On the other end of the communicator, an old man with graying hair lifted his head from his desk.
"What desires have they shown?"
"So far, none. However, their attitude towards the Control Bureau has been very friendly, and they helped us handle an invasion from the Fusion Party."
"Friendly..." A trace of contemplation flashed in the elder's eyes, "Being friendly is a good thing. During this period, try your best to meet all their needs. As long as they don't kill anyone, don't stop them from doing anything."
"Yes, Director."
After the response, the voice on the phone paused for a moment, then continued, "Director, should we arrange a meeting?"
The Director stood up, his voice steady, "I will arrange a meeting at an appropriate time. If they ask, just say we are too tied up, and it's not suitable to use a proxy for the first meeting."
"Understood, Director."
The communication was cut off, and the Director walked out from behind his desk and opened the office door. Outside was an elevator, into which the Director stepped, pressing a button labeled "Curtain" on the floor selection panel.
The next moment, the elevator suddenly shuddered.
Immediately, the interior of the elevator began to distort; various disorienting streams of chaos light appeared and disappeared out of nowhere within the space.
Soon, the elevator stabilized, and the internal space followed suit.
Opening the elevator door, the Director was met with the sight of a crystal platform suspended in the "earth." On the platform, employees of the Control Bureau, dressed in uniforms, were stationed in front of various machines, working.
They seemed to be detecting certain data or phenomena.
The Director walked onto the platform, and a short, very old four-eyed being approached.
"How's the data recently?" the Director asked the elder.
The elder shook his head, "The data is getting worse and worse. Because of those Fusion Party bastards, Space Shock Bombs are scattered everywhere. Every space tear further deepens our integration with those worlds. If it weren't for Master Griego constantly using the Power of the World for repairs, we might have already merged."
The Director sighed at these words, Space Shock Bombs, a special weapon created by the Fusion Party. They don't have particularly destructive power but instead disrupt spatial stability.
Every use of a Space Shock Bomb might cause an invasion disaster.
And these Fusion Party bastards deliberately distributed Space Shock Bombs to various cult organizations, leading to near saturation of these bombs.
If there weren't Space Shock Bombs, even if the Control Bureau did nothing, the world would take at least another five hundred years to reach this state.
"I want to see Griego, the Surface World has been troubled recently, and two World Masters have entered our world because of some project."
The elder was taken aback, "Two World Masters?"
"Yes, and very powerful ones at that. One of the Big Snakes among the Catastrophe Beasts is likely dead due to them."
"What?!"
The elder's eyes widened sharply, and his four blue pupils were filled with disbelief.
"Killed?"
"Yes, killed," the Director said with a tone of complexity, "These people seem to have encountered such creatures before. After severely injuring that Big Snake, they used a technique akin to banishment, throwing the Big Snake into another space.
If nothing unexpected happens, that Big Snake has likely entered a deeper world, never to return."
Upon hearing this, the elder's eyes suddenly lit up with fervor.
"If they've really seen such situations, doesn't that mean we have hope?"
The Director shook his head slightly, "Who knows. Take me to see Griego; we need to discuss a time to meet those two World Masters from the Otherworld."
...
"...Everything you possess is a gift from the Divine. The great Richard is the embodiment of the Divine, ...One day, the earth will shatter, the seas will dry, and the Divine will return to their realm.
By then, they will take the souls of all faithful believers to that verdant land, to enjoy eternal bliss. Whereas the souls of non-believers will fall into the eternal cycle of reincarnation, utterly annihilating themselves."
In the square, a four-eyed being clad in a black robe held a Miracle Sect scripture, standing on a temporarily erected platform in the center of the square. During the sermon, a faint Holy Light enveloped the four-eyed being, making him seem both approachable and dignified, like a stern father.
Beneath the platform, hundreds of four-eyed beings, also dressed in black robes, quietly listened to his teachings. Their gazes were pure, expressions devout, and some even had tears in their eyes as they listened to the priest's sermon.
Soon, the sermon ended. The priest stepped down from the platform as a team of robust four-eyed beings carried several insulated barrels and boxes to the platform.
The believers began to line up conscientiously in front of the priest to receive the Holy Meal—mushroom cakes and mushroom soup—one by one.
Outside the square, Richard watched the scene and couldn't help but ask Ulysses on his shoulder, "How did you do it? It's only been two days, how could you gather so many believers?"