Chapter 1 The Gate Between Divine Wills

The door between the Divine Wills opened, revealing a man who looked somewhat like Havelz standing in the room. This was York Coben. Beside him stood a boy of twelve or thirteen, presumably his son. This family was easy to identify, with similar facial features and the same hair and eye color. They were all on the heavier side, though that was likely more due to lifestyle than genetics.

Feng Bujue was the first to step into the room, with Crazy Shadow Sword and Hank following behind. When Feng Bujue saw the scene inside, he immediately understood why the Coben family kept outsiders away. This so-called "Gate Between Divine Wills" had nothing to do with religion. The room was filled with consoles and monitors, clearly the core control room of this starship.

[Hidden Mission Complete]

The system prompt rang in the ears of the two players. The moment they saw York Coben, the mission was considered a success.

"Your expression is interesting," Feng Bujue said. "Seeing us appear at the door, you seem remarkably calm. Aren't you concerned about Havelz's fate?"

York replied calmly, "If you killed him, I'd thank you."

"I see..." Feng Bujue said, "It seems your brotherly relationship is quite poor. He stole the woman you wanted, or perhaps coveted your seat as the Divine Son?"

"You're clever," York responded, "And acerbic..."

"Acerbic?" Feng Bujue smiled, pulling out his gun and immediately pulling the trigger, blowing York's son's head off with a single shot. The other three in the room were completely stunned.

Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere as the boy's body slumped to the ground, dying at his father's feet.

Hank's eyes widened in disbelief. Even Crazy Shadow Sword was shocked. Although this was just a game, Feng Bujue's emotionless, decisive actions were something most people couldn't do.

The room was silent for the next dozen seconds, the only sound the breathing of those present.

"Hmm... your reaction is very interesting," Feng Bujue said, watching York's face.

"You madman..." York's expression began to change.

"This is your son, right?" Feng Bujue pointed the gun at the body on the floor.

"Yes," York replied.

"I killed him in front of you, and you didn't even flinch," Feng Bujue said. "But when you realized that I killed him simply to observe your reaction, you showed a hint of unease." He put the gun away. "Frankly, Mr. Coben, your depravity far exceeds what the word 'acerbic' can describe."

"Does a man who shoots a child without hesitation have the right to say that to me?" York retorted.

Crazy Shadow Sword interjected, "Well... I have to agree with that."

Feng Bujue shrugged, looking at York. "For me, it was just shooting a stranger. But for you, it was the death of a loved one. Who's more cruel is still up for debate."

"I won't engage in pointless arguments with you," York replied. "Since..."

"Since things have come to this, let's talk about terms... right?" Feng Bujue finished his sentence.

York said, "How did you..."

"Did you need to say it yourself?" Feng Bujue said. "Your brother dies, you're unmoved. Your son dies, you're unconcerned." He sneered, "You only care about yourself. 'While there's life, there's hope' after all... But in reality, you know armed resistance is futile. So when we appeared at the door, you were already prepared to negotiate with us."

"But my actions just now... made you think I might be a madman. That's when you showed panic, because you know only sane people will negotiate with you, and a madman won't."

York's face was aghast. He hadn't expected the other man to see through so many of his psychological activities based on just a few expressions and responses. "Who exactly are you?"

"Yeah, Crazy Bro... I'd also like to ask, what kind of god are you?" Crazy Shadow Sword chimed in.

"Why are you joining the fun?" Feng Bujue retorted to Crazy Shadow Sword, then looked back at York. "Mr. Coben, I noticed that the console behind you has been damaged. If I'm not mistaken, that's the only set of communication equipment that can connect the God-blessed Village to the outside world, right?"

"What if it is?" York replied. Just before Feng Bujue and the others came in, York had smashed the screen on the console with a punch from his modified arm.

"That's quite interesting... You did that before we came in," Feng Bujue said. "That shows you were very clear from the start that Havelz couldn't stop us. That much was clear from the look on your face when the door opened."

"I'm wondering just how much you can think about when encountering a situation..." Crazy Shadow Sword said again. He no longer cared how the script would end. His biggest interest now was seeing what Feng Bujue would do next.

"Mr. Coben, I see you as a rather clever person. At least your calculations are fairly reliable," Feng Bujue said as he walked past York, shoulder to shoulder, and went straight to the damaged console, bending down to check the extent of the damage. "You were already watching when we got to the main entrance of the temple, right?"

York remained silent, but cold sweat streamed down his temples.

"Your village doesn't even have things like photographs, let alone video recording equipment. But I dare say there's everything on this spaceship," Feng Bujue said unhurriedly. "Surveillance is a very common device in terms of the outside world's technology, but in this God-blessed Village, it's probably the top secret that only you know about. If I were you, I would strictly keep this technology a secret, not even telling the priests, at most sharing it with my own people."

"Surveillance is a very effective means. The villagers will feel that their every move is being watched, but they don't understand the principle, as if some god is really watching them all the time. It's too perfect, isn't it?"

As Feng Bujue spoke, he was already sitting on a folding stool (the one he brought with him). While fiddling with the console, he continued, "Of course, you can't sit in this room all day watching the surveillance footage. The village certainly has limited cameras, but... today, when you received a communication that three intruders had entered the Fourth Area, you must have rushed here anxiously and quickly locked onto our movements."

He paused, then continued, "In the Fourth Area, we only encountered sporadic resistance, but there was enough that could be shown in that kind of confrontation. You quickly realized... our strength was extraordinary. Knowing that resistance was likely futile, you devised a plan."

"Then, you called two family members, letting your son come into this 'Gate Between Divine Wills' with you, while Havelz guarded the door. I don't know exactly what words you used to fool your brother into guarding the door, but with his intelligence, I think any deception would work."

"Judging from Havelz's performance, you certainly didn't tell him our true strength, so he was still quite confident before he was killed, not even knowing he'd fallen into a trap."

"In fact, you played a hand of using someone else to kill. As you initially said, Havelz being killed by us was exactly what you expected."

Feng Bujue said as he turned away from the console, facing York. "You kept your son by your side for insurance, and it's good to have a child as a shield at a critical moment. When normal people enter the door, seeing a person with a child, with no signs of resistance, it's unlikely they'd start killing people without saying a word."

"Are you indirectly admitting that you're not normal?" Crazy Shadow Sword chuckled.

"Don't interrupt," Feng Bujue said. "Mr. Coben, I know what you're up to. If Havelz hadn't died, or even successfully killed us, you would have taken the opportunity to kill him and blamed the death on us intruders. That would be the best outcome."

"But you also know that things probably won't go that smoothly. The most likely scenario is that the three of us kill Havelz and come before you. According to this development, you have to consider how to deal with us."

"In any case, letting us contact humans outside is absolutely impossible. Once the existence of God-blessed Village is known to the outside world, your Coben family's dictatorial rule, which you have painstakingly managed for so many years, will come to an end. Even if you die, you wouldn't want to see that happen."

"So you prioritized destroying the communication equipment with the outside world, ensuring that nothing would go wrong. Then, as long as you stabilize us, the terms can be discussed slowly."

"Heh... hahahaha..." York laughed. "I really want to applaud you, hahaha..." He suddenly seemed very relaxed. "You speak very beautifully, but you're not a very noble person, are you? You didn't kill me, but clarified all of this with me, just to increase your bargaining chips." He snorted. "Okay, you win, two guests, and you..." He looked at Hank, "You can get what you want. The women and resources in this village, you can enjoy them freely."

York kicked his son's body away with one foot. "I can make up a reason, saying you are messengers of God, and let you live in this 'temple'." He made quotation marks with his hands, showing that he himself found the term "temple" ridiculous. "Anyway, those ignorant people believe everything. As long as you show some tricks they've never seen before, they'll think it's a miracle, hehe..."

"How about it? Think about it. I know what you outsiders are thinking. My ancestors also encountered a few outsiders. Perhaps their initial idea was to let the people in this village return to the so-called civilized society outside, but in the end, they compromised."

Feng Bujue interrupted at this time, "Many of the devices in your Gate Between Divine Wills were repaired or updated by those outsiders, right?"

"Heh... that's right." York didn't deny it. "They did create these communication devices that can contact the outside world. Of course, these devices have never been used once. Unless there's another world-ending disaster like a nuclear war here, it's impossible for me and my descendants to use them."

"You can also use these devices to capture signals from human spaceships outside, right?" Feng Bujue said again.

"You even know this?" York replied with a gloomy expression.

"I thought of this on the way here in the Sandshark pod," Feng Bujue said. "At the time, I was wondering how the Scavengers found the Crystal Lake Laboratory. Where did the coordinates in the automatic navigation system come from? I quickly thought of one possibility... in this village, there are some people, most likely the rulers... who have the ability to track signals from outside spaceships."

"Because humans from the outside world occasionally come to Old Earth to conduct some exploration and archaeological activities. As long as you secretly observe the signals of these teams, remember their routes and how long they stay, you can roughly deduce the coordinates of the ruins they discovered. After these archaeological teams leave, you can send the coordinates to the relevant departments and let them send people to pick up the scraps. The orders are passed down level by level, and the final executors are the Scavengers."

Hank suddenly realized, "So that's the truth behind those coordinates!" He had always been puzzled as to where those ruin coordinates that his superiors told them to go to came from. Now he finally had an answer.

"You bastard! Your Coben family has always had the ability to contact the outside world! But you've enslaved us with lies for generations! Confining our minds, not letting us know the truth!" The more Hank thought about it, the angrier he became. He and his family, and his ancestors, their lives were simply tragic, controlled by others from birth to death.

"Hmph... the truth?" York sneered, "There's no such thing. Aren't the people in this village living well enough?" He even raised his voice and tone, saying righteously, "It's our Coben family that gave you a goal in life, gave you faith. From birth to death, as long as you are law-abiding and do the work you are supposed to do, you can have a house to live in, clothes to wear, food to eat, marry and have children, and die peacefully, without any confusion or dissatisfaction in your hearts. What's wrong with that?" He faced Hank and sneered, "Do you understand the outside world? Do you really think the outside world is better than here? I've read the true history of Old Earth. I'm very clear that today's humans still haven't learned their lesson. They're the same as they were in the past. As long as there are people, desires and conflicts never stop, whether the stage is on Earth or in the universe."

"Only God-blessed Village is paradise! It's our Coben family that gave you this utopia!"