The Strange Part

Chen Fan suddenly looked up, staring at the idol on the table in utter disbelief.

The idol had spoken!

And that was not even the most shocking part.

To be fair, given the environment he was in, Chen Fan felt he could still accept an idol speaking—or rather, a god revealing itself.

After all, no one could say for sure what an otherworldly world was like. What if gods truly existed in this world?

What Chen Fan truly could not accept was that an idol had produced a stiff Electronic Synthesized Voice—and had even used an extremely scientific method to explain the superstitious theory he had raised!

Listen to that. Did that make any sense?

In stark contrast to Chen Fan's reaction, his mother was already beaming with delight. She knelt before the idol in complete prostration, murmuring words of gratitude to the gods.

Theology and science had fused together in a bizarre fashion before Chen Fan's eyes.

Worship Electronic Gods, pray for cybernetic wishes?

At that moment, Chen Fan felt as though his already crumbling worldview had suffered an unprecedented blow.

"Xiao Fan!"

His mother's urging voice rang out. "What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and thank the gods for their teachings!"

As she spoke, the middle-aged woman, afraid of angering the gods, raised her hand and lightly slapped Chen Fan on the shoulder, her eyes filled with urgency.

Slap!

The crisp sound interrupted Chen Fan's thoughts and violently dragged him back to reality.

Seeing the undisguised anxiety on his mother's face and the faint terror hidden deep in her eyes, Chen Fan's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively followed her in bowing before the idol.

"O Lord..."

As his mother's murmur came from beside him, Chen Fan, now recovered from his daze, felt an inexplicable chill creep up his back.

As he rose, he swiftly lifted his head and glanced at the idol on the table.

Whether it was merely psychological or an effect of light and shadow, the faint smile on the idol's face began to seem strange in his eyes.

After worshipping the idol, it was time for dinner.

Having just had his worldview thoroughly overturned, Chen Fan was clearly not very interested in the dishes on the table.

But to maintain his persona and avoid stirring up further conflict, he still picked at the food before him under his mother's watchful gaze.

Chen Fan struggled to swallow an unidentified vegetable that seemed to be some kind of plant root.

As the faint astringent taste spread from the back of his tongue, every detail from the earlier worship of the idol surfaced in his mind, and he began carefully analyzing the information hidden within.

Although his mother had concealed it well, he had still sensed the bone-deep fear she felt while worshipping the idol.

It was easy to imagine that much of her reverent attitude toward the idol likely stemmed from that inexplicable fear.

This clearly could not be explained by mere religious faith—in normal circumstances, gods could not possibly bring fear to their followers.

All living creatures sought benefit and avoided harm. Humans were no exception.

If a god brought nothing but negative emotions to its followers, that faith was doomed not to endure.

Unless...

That god truly existed in this world!

Perhaps only a real god could hold its followers firmly in its grasp through a terror that seeped into their very bones!

At that thought, a fine layer of goosebumps rose all over Chen Fan's body.

He instinctively shoveled a few mouthfuls of food into his mouth, using the motions of chewing and swallowing to conceal the shock in his heart.

"Xiao Fan?"

His mother looked worriedly at Chen Fan across from her, hesitating as though she wanted to say something. "You..."

On one hand, she truly worried about her child's mental state.

Ever since leaving his room, Chen Fan's behavior had felt strange to her, as though he had become a different person.

On the other hand, she did not want to—or rather, did not dare to—investigate too closely.

She did not want Chen Fan to lock himself in his room again because of her suspicions. Besides... Chen Fan, who had just become God Chosen, held a far higher status than she did.

"I'm fine."

Chen Fan came back to his senses. After meeting his mother's gaze, he hurriedly looked away. He took a bite of food, then asked casually, "Mom, didn't you think the idol's voice sounded a little strange today?"

"The voice sounded strange?" His mother immediately frowned, as though trying to recall something.

After a long while, she shook her head. "No."

"God has always sounded like this." His mother repeated firmly, "You must have misheard!"

Those words sent monstrous waves crashing through Chen Fan's heart!

It had always sounded like this!

That meant that, in his mother's eyes, both the idol speaking and that stiff Electronic Synthesized Voice were perfectly normal!

Chen Fan tried his best to keep his expression calm, but the shock and doubt in his heart inevitably showed in his eyes.

Naturally, that slight trace did not escape his mother's notice.

She frowned, as though pondering something.

For a time, the living room fell into an eerie silence, and Chen Fan unconsciously quickened his movements as he shoveled food into his mouth.

There was clearly something seriously wrong with this world!

If he wanted to safely obtain information about it, he could only place his hopes on the handwriting in his room!

His mother let out a long breath, breaking the silence that had lasted several minutes.

"Phew..."

She gazed at Chen Fan with gentle eyes. "Xiao Fan."

"You've just become God Chosen. It's normal to feel pressured."

"There is still plenty of time before the next God Chosen Ceremony. You can slowly adjust your state of mind and relax."

His mother's voice paused slightly. After hesitating for a moment, she spoke again. "What you said just now..."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear it. You should forget those words that defied the gods as well."

"Otherwise..."

His mother sighed and did not continue.

Chen Fan's expression grew solemn.

Although he did not know what the God Chosen Ceremony his mother mentioned was, recalling those bizarre scenes from before, he instinctively felt it would not be a good thing.

As he nodded in agreement, the sense of crisis in Chen Fan's heart rose sharply once more.

After dinner, Chen Fan returned to his room under his mother's watchful gaze.

The wooden door slowly closed, cutting off his mother's worried gaze and the faintly eerie aura brought by the idol in the living room.

The room was pitch-black. Chen Fan took several deep breaths, and his taut nerves seemed to ease slightly.

He raised his faintly trembling hands, lowered his eyes, and copied his mother's gesture in prayer. "O Lord, grant light to the world..."

A dim yellow glow burst forth overhead, tearing apart the darkness in the room with unstoppable force.

Heh, damn thing was voice-activated too.

Chen Fan helplessly tugged at the corner of his mouth and sighed inwardly, trying to find amusement in his misery.

Humans longed for light. That was beyond doubt.

But this light brought Chen Fan neither comfort nor warmth.

On the contrary, as the incandescent lamp lit up, the sense of danger and oppression that had receded slightly came flooding back!

Chen Fan abruptly held his breath—in front of him, a god was looking down at him from on high!