When Humanity Thinks, God Laughs

After treating Isabelle to a simple celebration feast, Lu Yao sent her back to the Pixel World.

The reason was the Blood Knight.

Speaking of this newly acquired Level 60 Apostle, Lu Yao felt a mix of joy and concern.

Joy came from his level and abilities.

Blood Knight Nevid's stat sheet was solid—tall and tough, able to dish out damage and take hits. His [Corruption Creation] and exclusive ability [Flesh is Weak] were divine skills for recruiting and training troops.

What worried him was the Blood Knight's less-than-ideal intelligence.

Not long ago, Lu Yao had issued the Blood Knight his first command.

—Eliminate all enemies around the castle.

"Yes, God."

The Blood Knight hoisted his greatsword, charged out of the castle, and started hacking at everyone, slaughtering every living thing in sight.

The enemies in his eyes included, but were not limited to, Wandering Savages, Corruptors without orders, escaped Salt Pool Tribe merchants, lumberjacks, salt workers, herders...

Even the Pacing Birds that just walked back and forth, and rabbits passing by, didn't escape this knight's blade.

As long as they weren't followers of God Yao, the Blood Knight killed every one he saw.

Lu Yao was stunned on the spot.

He quickly called a halt and asked the Blood Knight.

—What are you doing?

"Eliminating enemies."

—Are civilians and birds dangerous?

"Dangerous civilians, dangerous birds."

Lu Yao sensed something was off.

It might be due to the lack of the basic ability [Wisdom], but Nevid didn't possess Isabelle's intelligence or proactive thinking.

He was more like an ultra-high-level special unit, faithfully executing combat orders.

But asking him to make creative changes or break a deadlock on his own? Sorry, not possible.

Lu Yao finally understood.

Nevid's level was so high, yet the [Whistleblower] only granted him the identity of a Hero, not transforming him into an Apostle—there was indeed a reason for that...

Still, he couldn't force it.

Everyone had their strengths. The Blood Knight might not have a sharp mind, but his fists were hard enough. If he were truly a flawless all-rounder, Lu Yao figured he wouldn't have been able to take him down.

Lu Yao's positioning for Nevid was clear: a man-made weapons factory + training machine + heavy hitter.

None of these three roles required much intelligence—just follow orders.

Due to the Blood Knight's inherent flaws, he had poor initiative and was rigidly dogmatic, completely unsuited for flexible exploration or pioneering tasks.

Lu Yao had him garrison the castle, train the Corruptors, and await further orders.

Lu Yao moved his mouse, stopping the view above the Salt Pool Tribe.

Blood Knight Nevid had been recruited, and the Salt Pool Tribe was now history.

The Garlic Tribe, guided by Isabelle, arrived here and took over the Salt Pool Tribe's industries and houses.

Most of the Salt Pool Tribe's people chose to join, causing the Garlic Tribe's population to explode from over 600 to 2,151.

Beyond the massive population increase, the Garlic Tribe also gained a merchant group and mastered two previously unavailable precious resources: the salt pool and Pacing Birds.

The salt pool went without saying—it was essential for the tribe's daily life and a key raw material for the Blood Knight to create Corruptors.

The Pacing Birds offered two attributes: meat and feathers.

Meat was a crucial part of the food supply.

The Salt Pool Tribe's herders would collect Pacing Bird feathers to make Feather Garments. These garments kept warmth and were a common trade good, like a tribal-era down jacket.

On the supernatural front, Lu Yao took over the Corruptor legion.

The Blood Knight re-recruited the Corruptor group. After layers of brutal fighting and losses, only 12 Corruptors remained, all between Level 10 and Level 13.

What slightly disappointed Lu Yao was the death of the giant, Forrest.

Isabelle's [Lingering Prayer] couldn't take effect. The reason might be that the Forest God's chief Apostle's soul had already been captured or completely destroyed by the [Whistleblower].

Next, Lu Yao surveyed the surrounding environment.

There were no other human factions nearby. With the Blood Knight stationed at the castle, the quality of the Corruptors mattered more than their quantity.

He ordered the Blood Knight to focus most of his energy on training, using [Flesh is Weak] to drill these Corruptors, striving to cultivate an advanced version of the [Rotten Guard] as soon as possible.

With that, Lu Yao had taken control of the vast majority of this land.

The Salt Pool settlement in the west, the Garlic Tribe in the center, and the Ghost City Sanilo in the south were now linked together.

Only the dense forest and misty region to the north remained.

The northern expanse was vast, with Forest Elemental Creatures roaming about, but with Treants stationed there, along with Striped Lynxes and Forest Wolf packs, the defensive line was still solid.

The task of continuing to explore the forest fell to Isabelle.

While Isabelle scouted the map, Lu Yao had his own work to do.

As a God, his duty was to focus on the development of the faith civilization, find suitable [Blessings], and provide remote assistance to the tribal villagers.

Previously, Lu Yao had been constantly on edge, either watching the Flayer's altar or observing the Blood Knight.

He hadn't even noticed the disappearance of the Iron Hammer from the [Blessings] until after the fact.

Lu Yao fell into thought.

In the past, he had always followed the general trajectory of human civilization to push the tribes of the Pixel World.

What would happen if he sent them something they couldn't understand?

Now that the situation was stable, he could give it a try.

Lu Yao rummaged through the cabinet and found a Tongji Edition of Advanced Mathematics.

He placed the book on the mouse and sent it into the Pixel World, then waited nervously for a reaction.

A moment later, the villagers near the Temple were the first to cry out in surprise.

"A blessing from the God!"

"The God has bestowed another gospel!"

"What is this?"

"%￥&))@!￥..."

"I can't understand it at all."

"What exactly is this?"

"Writing, symbols, pictures... strung together... can't understand... incomprehensible... too profound."

Lu Yao felt like laughing.

Don't even mention you guys; if you asked me to look at it now, there are plenty of parts I wouldn't get either. I've long forgotten it all.

Question marks popped up above the heads of the tribal villagers one after another, as they formed all sorts of ideas about the latest divine blessing.

"Maybe this is a Divine Book left behind by the God, recording how to become a God... I have to understand this book; maybe I can become equal to the God!"

"This book is very strange. The symbols and writing inside must be recording something. It could be the God's history, or perhaps a revelation that can predict the future. No matter how much time it takes, I will translate it."

"Divine writing! This is divine writing! Damn it, why can't I understand it... Forget it, I'll look at it again tomorrow. Going fishing for now."

"The Prophet is dead; no one can understand the God's will anymore. Prophet, you died so miserably."

"The Apostle must understand it. I'm going to copy this Divine Book, and if I can meet the Apostle, I'll ask her for guidance. The Apostle is so beautiful; she must know everything..."

Now, the person closest to the God in the tribe was the Astrologer, Shahan.

A box also appeared above his head: "Could it be that this records the essence of faith in the God, and we need to interpret it, then spread it everywhere?"

Lu Yao watched the many guesses of these Pixelated Villagers and recalled an old saying: When humans think, God laughs.

To be fair.

Indeed.

He was just running an experiment.

In the Garlic Tribe, there was one person who didn't want to interpret Advanced Mathematics. His perspective was different from most.

"This thin, soft book is made of grass."

The inventor of the Galley, the genius youth Yulian, said, "I want to take it apart; maybe I can make something like this."

"..."

Across from him, the old leader Yu Zou said nothing.