Seeing that asking directly would get him nowhere, Jonas decided to try a different angle.
He frowned. "Did anything happen during the time of your ancestors?"
"Ancestors?"
Meng looked confused.
"I don't know which ancestors you mean, but if you mean the two earliest ancestors, then I do know a little."
"The two earliest ancestors? What was so special about them?" Farouk asked.
"Our two ancestors, the man was called Adan, and the woman was called Hawa. As for what was special about them..."
"Legend says... they were the Children of God!" Meng said slowly.
"Perhaps we are so special because we humans are God's children!"
Children of God?
Natalie and the others first looked stunned, then stared at him in shock.
Meng nodded, his face full of pride as he slowly explained, "According to the ancient traditions of our tribe, the world was empty in the very beginning. In that emptiness, only the one and only God existed."
"After an unknown amount of time, the omnipotent God, who knew all things, was dissatisfied with the status quo and created everything."
"After creating all things, God felt that the world was somewhat quiet, so He created the ancestors of humanity, Adan and Hawa!"
As Meng explained, Natalie and the others listened in a daze.
Then they stared straight at Meng as though he were insane.
Natalie spoke directly in another language Meng could not understand, mockingly saying something.
"They can even talk about God, and shamelessly claim to be the Children of God. They're completely insane!"
The others nodded as well.
Then, upon further thought, they all found it perfectly normal.
"They're just ignorant natives. Only people like them would believe in gods and even claim to be related to one," Natalie said disdainfully.
Unlike these ignorant natives, they were different. Their civilization had long since moved beyond the age of theism!
A vast amount of science had proven that gods simply did not exist in this world!
Everything was merely the ignorance and foolishness of ancient people!
Just like now!
One after another, they all looked at Meng as if he were a fool or a madman.
Even Meng, who was usually thick-skinned, sensed that something was wrong.
Those looks made him realize something.
These monsters did not believe in God!
His face reddened slightly.
Just as they could not understand him, he could not understand them.
Noticing Meng's expression, Natalie wanted to correct this slave's thinking. After considering it for a moment, she asked blandly, "Has your God ever appeared?"
Meng shook his head.
Seeing this, Natalie and the others became even more certain.
That God had to be fictional!
But although that God was false, it still did not explain why their lifespans were so abnormal.
"Since you have never seen God, how do you know He really exists?" Natalie asked disdainfully.
Meng's face flushed from the question, but being poor with words, he could not think of anything to say in explanation.
"Legend says God performed miracles several times!"
After holding it in for a long time, that was all he could manage.
"Miracles? Oh, then where did those miracles take place?" Natalie continued skeptically.
"I'm not too sure. I only know they were near the Sacred Mountain. But I know a little about the Sacred Mountain. I heard there is even a divine tree there, bestowed by God." Meng shook his head.
Sacred Mountain, divine tree?
Natalie and the others exchanged glances, not believing in any Sacred Mountain or divine tree.
They did not need anyone to explain that a Sacred Mountain and a divine tree would be extraordinary things, but how could such things possibly exist? It was complete fabrication, just like God!
"Do you know where it is?"
Meng shook his head again.
This made Natalie and the others believe him even less.
After pondering briefly, Jonas asked, "Which direction was the place where you originally lived?"
Meng pointed north.
"Let's go take a look in that direction," Jonas said.
"No way, you actually believe him? You believe there's some Sacred Mountain, divine tree, and even God?" Natalie asked in shock.
Jonas frowned. "Watch your wording. I'm leading this team!"
After saying that, he looked at the others. "I just don't want to miss any clues. These natives' lifespans are far too abnormal!"
Natalie reluctantly shut her mouth.
Since Jonas had made his decision, the others felt there was no harm in taking a look and did not object.
So, after warning Meng and the other natives not to slack off and to mine properly, they headed in the direction Meng had indicated.
Thanks to their levitation equipment, they traveled quickly through the air.
Flying a hundred meters above the ground, they occasionally passed over native tribes below.
"These natives are really tenacious. You can see them everywhere," Farouk remarked.
"Isn't that perfect? Once we catch them and turn them into slaves, we can mine even faster," Natalie sneered.
The others nodded indifferently.
Time passed quickly...
Soon, evening arrived. They had searched for several hours without finding the so-called Sacred Mountain or divine tree.
They had even asked several other native tribes along the way, but the results had not been what they hoped for.
Just as they were about to give up, they suddenly noticed that the native tribes below were becoming increasingly prosperous, and even city-states had appeared.
For a moment, surprise appeared in their eyes.
However, after searching for nearly another hour, with night about to fall and still no sign of what they sought, Natalie, who had been holding it in for so long, finally could not hold back any longer.
She mocked, "I told you so. There's no Sacred Mountain or divine tree. It's all just nonsense those natives made up!"
"If there really were some Sacred Mountain, wouldn't that mean that some God might actually exist too?"
"Isn't that ridiculous..."
Aside from Jonas, everyone nodded in agreement.
Just as Natalie was about to complain and mock them a little more, she suddenly froze. It was as though she had seen something unbelievable, and confusion filled her eyes.
The others were not much better, each of them staring blankly to some extent.
In the distance stood a towering mountain, and atop it was something extremely strange.
It was enormous, nearly a thousand meters tall. Combined with the mountain's height, it pierced the clouds, seeming almost capable of reaching the heavens.
As they flew closer, they discovered that it was an incomparably massive tree!
Natalie rubbed her eyes and stared at the tree in utter astonishment.
"How can there be such a huge tree?" she blurted out.
This defied all common sense!
As they drew nearer, they discovered that the mountain had more than one enormous tree. Beside that tree that pierced the clouds stood another towering tree.
Though it appeared somewhat shorter overall, a rough glance put it at two or three hundred meters tall!
Looking up, the entire mountaintop was lush with branches and leaves, filled with a mysterious aura.
For a moment, Natalie and the others were plunged into shock.