Doomsday Wonderland

A bunch of strange-looking weirdos behaved weirdly in one corner of the space capsule-like Data Stream Library. They gathered together in a tight group like a colony of ants who had found some sweet food.

The 'sweet food' they surrounded was a naked man with exquisite features. His physique was so beautiful that it could be the dream creation of an ancient Greek sculptor. Even the harshest critic would have difficulties spotting flaws in his body.

The man sighed and sat down in the containment box. However, before he could settle down, somebody shouted. 

"Can you just put on a pair of pants?" Soulsqn looked upward, keeping her gaze above the highest god's chest. Apparently, she didn't appreciate the aesthetics of a Greek sculpture. "Wear a pair of underwear, at least. Hey, Lin Sanjiu—"

"Why do you think I would have men's underwear?" a tall, slim woman, who also had an extremely toned body, answered stiffly. She lowered her head and contemplated for a moment before she finally took out a [combat pants] card. "You can wear my extra pair of pants."

"To hide this body of mine?" The highest god retorted incredulously with a sparkle of surprise in his green eyes. "This body? Hide it?"

"Just forget it. It isn't important." Ji Shanqing finally persuaded his sister mildly. He didn't mind it at all. To him, seeing or not seeing any body parts made no difference to him. 

"Stop wasting our time. You know what you have to say." As Ji Shanqing said this, he knocked on the containment box.

The highest god scratched his face and pouted like a big kid. That expression would be cringe-worthy on any other person's face, but it seemed completely natural on the highest god's face because of his youthful looks. However, Lin Sanjiu grew even more impatient when she saw his expression. "Hurry up!"

"Alright. This is an ability I copied from a posthuman." The highest god shot a glance at Puppeteer. The man's wound had stopped extending, but anyone missing a whole layer of flesh wouldn't regain consciousness anytime soon. "Are you ready?" The highest god pointed at the grand prize with his chin. "I'm going to tell you the data analytics of that ability." He was surprisingly cooperative.

Ji Shanqing nodded.

[Unattainable Love]

In the middle of the night, I was tossing and turning in bed, but I just couldn't get his face out of my head. When I thought of the slight upward corners of his lips, his chiseled jaw, his kissable adam's apple… Ah, I couldn't stand it. Once again, I thought of him the whole night. When I looked out the window, it was already day time. This sort of obsessive, unrequited lovesickness could literally swallow a secret admirer's body and mind. 

What if it was literal?

Obsessive love is like a toxin. When a target is poisoned, it will inflict three levels of harm. Level 1: "I want to open myself up for you to see so badly."; Level 2: "Without you, I'm just a hollow shell."; Level 3: You torment me like a drug, and I'm going down forever." 

"He is pretty tenacious."

The highest god seemed rather unperturbed even though Ji Shanqing took away the data containing his ability. He rested his chin on his palm and drawled, "It has been such a long time, yet it still hasn't reached the third level yet. Rest assured, as long as it does not develop into the third level, he can be saved." 

"I'm not worried about him," Lin Sanjiu replied coolly. Staring at her grand prize, who had taken over in treating Puppeteer's wound, she asked with a frown, "How many posthumans have you analyzed? Do you have a lot of abilities?" 

If the highest god could copy down a posthuman's ability by simply analyzing him, then his stat must be very incredible. 

"I have analyzed a lot of posthumans, but I can only keep three abilities at most to use for myself," the highest god answered with a grin. Perhaps it was due to his golden hair and his green eyes, but his smile always reminded people of the forest at the end of the summer days.

"You can only keep three abilities at max? That's less than I expected." Lin Sanjiu replied with an arched brow. She was slightly taken aback at the highest god's honesty. 

"Fundamentally speaking, analyzing is a process that generates a lot of information and data in the analyzer's body." The highest god leaned against the wall of the containment box and explained to Lin Sanjiu patiently. "The more data and information the analyzer has, the more energy and substance he needs to sustain his body. For example, analyzing a posthuman or an item is like reading a book. Thus, in order to memorize the whole book, there are two things you need: your memory and your ability to understand. If we view it from the physical aspects, you will need neurons, frontal lobe, and hippocampus to name a few. You are also required to feed yourself to get enough energy to support your brain's function."

Lin Sanjiu sensed a pattern here. 

"The same things apply to me and the Veda. The more information we store inside of us, the more space it will occupy and the slower our system. And I'm just talking about storing information. If we are going to code an ability into our own body, then the burden will be multiple folds heavier." The highest god glanced at Lin Sanjiu and smiled. "Fully analyzing a posthuman equates to cramming millions of books into your brain. Otherwise, why do you think that the Veda need to build those cords?"

It was hard for Lin Sanjiu to imagine a situation where there were millions of books in her brain. She shoved the thought to the back of her mind and asked again, "Since you said you are a subject, can I take that as you were created by the Veda?"

For a moment, the warm and pleasant air about the highest god disappeared. When he looked at Lin Sanjiu, she was reminded of the stiff and cold gaze of a lizard in a murky corner. After a few seconds, he licked his lips and nodded. 

Soulsqn measured the highest god from head to toe and grumbled, "So in a way, he is their descendant, though this guy's brain is a bag full of cats." The flesh worm continued to stare at him as she muttered, "Perhaps I should go and ask the Veda as well…"

"Then first, you have to become a Veda," Lin Sanjiu said to the flesh worm before asking the highest god another question. "Can you tell me how the Veda created you? Did you start out like this? Where are the other subjects?"

"Haven't you been to the Salvation of God before?" the highest god answered impatiently. He looked at Ji Shanqing, who was busy saving Puppeteer, and continued. "You can say that the Salvation of God is the incubator. Didn't you already see what the other subjects look like?"

"You are different from those that I've seen in the Salvation of God. You should be a successful subject, right?" 

"Well, sort of." The highest god smiled mockingly. "They never succeeded in creating a complex creature of higher intellect. Hence, a long time ago, they decided to change their method. The Veda singled out several well-developed subjects from the Salvation of God, one of which was me. After that, they separated us and put us all in different planets while exerting different external conditions and stimuli to observe our growth to see whether or not we would be able to reach their expectations. If we failed to reach their expectations after a certain period of time, they would eliminate us. In other words, we are a bunch of cultured bacteria."

He paused. It was as if he decided to drop his amiable veneer, as the smile on his face was gone.

"In a way, I can be considered lucky. I don't know about the other subjects, but I was lucky enough to be able to grow and develop a rather complete self-consciousness without being interrupted or watched. I tried to come back to the Data Stream Library about ten years ago, but I did not dare go too far, as I did not want to get caught by them."

The highest god's eyes were hollow and vacant. It was as if he was apathetic towards his origin and his future. "It's just that I cannot stay in hiding forever. The Veda has set a deadline for my self-growth state. And now, the deadline is approaching." 

"But you have a complete and functional self-consciousness," Lin Sanjiu could not help but say. "The Veda should be happy." 

"Do you think I'm similar to them?"

"Not quite."

"That's right," said the highest god. He paused for a moment, peeled his eyes away from Lin Sanjiu, and cast a heavy gaze at the cord in the distance. Then, in a low voice, he began speaking again. "I didn't meet their requirements. I don't know what will be taken out of my head. Yes, I'm a narcissist, I'm a freak, and I'm cruel. No matter what you guys think of me, these are parts of me that I gained during my days in the Olympics. I don't want to lose any of them." 

The question in Lin Sanjiu's heart was finally answered. The reason the highest god was being so cooperative was that he was scared and looking for companions.

After Lin Sanjiu figured this out, she got the answer to the second question in her heart as well. She instinctively spun her head around and threw a gaze at Ji Shanqing, only to find that the latter had been looking at her for a long time. His eyes were clear and bright. Puppeteer laid next to his feet, still in a coma. 

"Sis." The grand prize smiled bitterly, as he heard what the highest god had said just now. "I haven't had time to tell you that the reason I dared not go into the cord after becoming a Veda is that, like him, I'm afraid of the same thing as well. So I cannot touch the information that is stored inside the cord—"

Then, he stopped. He did not even have a chance to finish his sentence as a dark figure pounced on him. Puppeteer stretched his arm forward and grabbed the grand prize by his neck. He drew him close and hissed into his ear, "So you are a Veda now?"