Otherworldly Desert Dust

Wu Hen had no idea how to comfort Gao Yu Yan.

After all, with something like this happening, it was time for everyone, including himself, to reexamine every relationship in their lives.

Fortunately, when Wu Hen examined his own emotions, it wasn't about obsessing over what was true or false, but about using his heart to feel deeply the emotions conveyed to him by others. Just as he didn't dwell on whether Little Yi had attached itself to him by accident or had deliberately lain dormant waiting for a feast, he only needed to recognize the sincerity in Little Yi's feelings toward him during their interactions...

The same applied to everyone around him.

"What are they?" Gao Yu Yan, however, was fixated on finding an answer. Her eyes were red, and she asked Wu Hen with a helpless tone.

"The Black Navigators. We still don't know what their true purpose is…" Wu Hen replied.

Simply mentioning the Black Navigators didn't fully encompass high-dimensional humans like Gao Huan, who had been hiding within the Divine Realm. But for Gao Yu Yan, this clear term might help her adapt a little.

"Then what are we?" Gao Yu Yan finally asked the question she couldn't hold back.

Wu Hen was silent.

Who knows?

From the ancient mythological perspective, this question would be answered by Pangu creating heaven and earth, Nuwa molding humans from clay.

From a scientific standpoint, Earth once hosted cyanobacteria. Slowly, cyanobacteria evolved to produce oxygen, which then led to the biodiversity on land. Among the creatures, there was a very special gene-mutated monkey that eventually became Homo sapiens. As for why it was a monkey, that's like asking why meteors always seem to land in craters—it's just how things are. Only after the birth of Spiritual Wisdom would we begin to ponder such questions.

Little Yi wouldn't ask. It eats, drinks, basks in the sun, and avoids overthinking. To it, the starry sky is just a backdrop to admire, nothing it's curious about.

Now, the great scholar Li Feng had even announced the existence of Otherworldly Dust to all humankind, informing everyone they were merely lines of code.

Was what Li Feng said true?

Obviously, if the Black Navigators won this time, then in a few centuries, history books would feature a figure ridiculed by everyone, with the idea that the world is virtual being named the "Li Feng Hypothesis," forever pinned to the shameful pillar of outdated science to be dethroned by the next greater truth.

In the past, Wu Hen used to wonder why human life was so short. Now, he realized how ingenious the design was. If people were immortal, they could scrutinize everything—grill Emperor Qin Shi Huang in person about book-burning and burying scholars alive, or ride roughshod over wartime questions with a certain German art student during World War II... Humanity would likely never live in harmony; merely dredging up old grievances could collapse society.

Wu Hen had no lofty ambitions.

He didn't think about uncovering some ultimate truth.

He was just a high schooler from a declining family who wanted to shoulder a bit of responsibility upon coming of age.

It's just that the real world inexplicably began to collapse, forcing him to find a sliver of hope for survival for himself and his family, refusing to merely drift along in the tides of this turbulent age.

But torrents are torrents. No matter how powerful a person is, they can only protect their small haven. Despite Wu Hen evolving to a realm billions of times stronger than before, could the Nuwa God End and his homeland really be 100% safe?

Such absurdly rapid evolution inevitably came with equally absurd catastrophic repercussions. If Wu Hen was determined to pursue so-called truths, it wasn't to understand who the enemies were or what they themselves were—it was solely to ensure that nothing in this universe could ever again threaten him or the ones he cared about.

Black Navigators or high-dimensional humans alike.

If they posed a threat to him, and to his homeland, they had to be confronted and defeated.

...

After the Soul Nesting Wood was repaired, Wu Hen's small clone, Yi Liang, was finally revived.

To be honest, it was quite strange. This was the first time Wu Hen had faced "himself" directly. Looking at the small clone felt like peering into a mirror. At close enough proximity, whatever he did, it mirrored perfectly, as the Tactile Awakening seamlessly formed a synchronous link between them.

Such a perfect seedling for the Fire God, Wu Hen certainly didn't hesitate to guide it back to the Nuwa Divine Realm.

The three of them set out again, and the journey was extraordinarily smooth. The "cultivators" lurking in the plant layers, who had been eyeing them earlier, were now trembling in terror.

What was originally thought to be a struggle over some Spirit Root opportunity turned out to be nothing more than fish released into the Lower Realm from the Upper Realm. They were all just fat fish, though the person fishing was reeling in a mythical flood dragon. No matter what those fish did to bite, the fisherman didn't even bother lifting the pole.

Finally, they returned to the Divine Realm.

After completing the guiding ritual, the three of them each inherited the abilities of their respective hosts.

Wu Hen arrived at the Patrol Tower before Gao Yu Yan and Wang Rui awoke from their virtual chambers.

It felt as if they had woken from a strange dream. The two were still dazed, until they felt the warm, gentle afternoon sunlight washing over them. The perfect temperature, like an embrace from a loved one, seemed to slowly heal every unseen wound…

Previously, they had been near the Land of Ashes, where the scorching heat was like Purgatory. Even if they could survive there, it didn't mean their bodies could fully adapt. So, when that familiar warmth and radiant glow returned to them, the negative emotions in their minds dissolved like mold under the sun, and they felt that precious sense of "reality."

Whatever makes one feel most at ease, is what feels the most real.

Sunlight, air, grass, and laughter…

Gao Yu Yan sat quietly on the rooftop terrace of the Patrol Tower. The wisteria vines had already covered the green walls, and in the central plaza below, an open-air concert was in full swing. The slightly noisy, but not unpleasant music drifted through the air. A crowd of people—those who had fought tooth and nail in Otherworldly Dust—were now wildly letting loose after returning here. Perhaps they were right, to see Otherworldly Dust simply as a virtual reality!

Wang Rui couldn't wait to crack open a bottle of his beloved "Fat House Happy Water"—a special glass-bottled, chilled version.

While traversing the Land of Ashes, this soda was all he could think about.

The moment he drank it, Wang Rui felt like his soul was ascending—an indescribable bliss.

"Everyone should have a bottle. This is real life! Otherworldly Dust—what a miserable hell that was," Wang Rui said, handing bottles to Wu Hen and Gao Yu Yan.

Gao Yu Yan, taking hers, drank it as gallantly as a female knight downing a mug of ale, drinking to her heart's content.

But Wu Hen refused to take one. Fixing Wang Rui with a cold and piercing gaze, he asked suddenly and with unusual seriousness, "You're not the real Wang Rui, are you?"

Wang Rui, still holding his soda, looked dumbfounded for a moment before scowling and retorting, "What's wrong with you? I'm the real deal, as genuine as they come."

"Heh, I'm part of the Pepsi gang. After all these years, you should know that in my eyes, not even a dog would drink Coca-Cola," Wu Hen said, his face void of emotion, emanating a kind of snobbish sense of superiority.

"You can drink or leave it!" Wang Rui snapped, taking both bottles and downing them alternately—left sip, right sip.

Wu Hen hurriedly snatched the Coke away to prevent Wang Rui's saliva from touching the mouth of the bottle. Then, with a sly grin, he said, "Just testing you. Since Gao Huan, who I've known since childhood, turned out to be an outsider, who's to say you're not one too? If you ever plan to take me out one day, at least set it to something mildly enjoyable, okay?"

"Testing is the root of all emotional evil. You'll never get the answer you're looking for. And if you do, you'll lose the relationship in the process," Wang Rui suddenly quipped, his words carrying surprising depth.

"Wise words, Brother Wang," Wu Hen said with a thumbs-up.

"If I were a high-dimensional human, I'd feed you the best food in the universe, as long as you played video games with me every day. I'd spruce you up like a noble show dog, letting you freely pick any little lady dogs to court…"

Wu Hen's swift kick shattered the chair Wang Rui was sitting on. Wang Rui crashed to the ground with a loud thud, but miraculously, not a single drop of soda spilled from his bottles.

Gao Yu Yan, listening to the two of them banter, couldn't suppress her laughter. Her previously somber mood seemed to lift significantly.

She had friends like this too.

Her younger sister was just one real role in her life. Even if she ceased to be someone's sister, she would still remain an important figure in the hearts of many others.

"Are we really just going to sit here like this, even though something this massive just happened?" Gao Yu Yan, having adjusted her mindset, began to reassess the state of the Nuwa God End and their current situation.

Given the existence of high-dimensional humans like Gao Huan, it meant that outsiders lurking within the Divine Realm were likely part of an organization. Who were its members? What were their next plans?

Throughout the Divine Realm's vast history, it had never succumbed to Otherworldly Dust. Yet now, in this era, it had fallen. Could this have been orchestrated by the Black Navigators? Were they the unseen architects of this collapse?

"We wait—wait for them to slip up. Douyi Star Palace may just be one of their outposts. It doesn't mean all outsiders are in Douyi Star Palace, or that all its members are Navigators," Wu Hen said.

"And if they don't slip up?" Gao Yu Yan asked.

What constitutes a flaw? How would they gather evidence that someone is an outsider?

"If they don't slip up, then they're one of us. You can't call someone who's acted perfectly good their whole life a bad person. If someone can fake goodness for a lifetime, then they're practically a saint!" Wu Hen replied.

Gao Yu Yan immediately understood.

They had no way to determine how many high-dimensional humans there were, let alone their locations and the roles they were playing…

There was no way to untangle this mess.

So they would judge by actions!

Gao Huan had directed Guan Quming, who leaked Nuwa's coordinates, leading to the predation on Grand Canyon City.

Gao Huan had manipulated Gao Yu Yan, grooming her as a vessel for the Fox Bodhisattva, aiming to eliminate unpredictable individuals like Wu Hen.

These two actions alone were enough to warrant a death sentence in the judgment of all humanity.

Taking down a high-dimensional organization—how simple could that possibly be?

But henceforth, during their journey, every Spirit Awakener among humankind would remain cautious and vigilant. No one would allow the Nuwa God End to fall into an irreparable abyss again!