The End of Vacation 281

"Hiccup—"

Xia Beiluo took a bite of potato, quickly finishing the meal. Wiping his mouth, he grabbed a few napkins from the restaurant, pursed his lips, and said:

"What's the big deal? Thinking about it here won't help; we need to take action!"

"What? The school dropout girl has an idea now?"

"I wasn't expelled, I just can't find a school that wants me!"

Xia Beiluo chuckled and picked up his suitcase and guitar:

"I'm just saying, if you're unwilling to reveal your past but are curious about your identity, then you might as well not even consider it."

Igor gave her a strange look. "Oh?"

"I have a plan."

Xia Beiluo puffed out his chest and said excitedly, "Can't you influence other people's consciousness with music? This method will definitely make a lot of money! Whether it's holding concerts or busking on the street, it will definitely attract people. Then we can just do some advertising and make some merchandise, and we'll definitely make a fortune!"

"Then what?"

"Then, I used the money I earned to go to church school, and eventually entered the Violet Star Diocese Area —that is the most prosperous, mysterious, and ancient core area of Violet Star, where there must be a lot of divine knowledge passed down, and maybe even things outside the [mysterious] path."

Xia Beiluo said excitedly:

"That way, you'll achieve your goal, and my dream will come true—yay, it's a win-win situation! Isn't that great! Hmm?"

Igor looked at her and calmly asked, "That's a good idea. So why did you try to escape from Suro City?"

Xia Beiluo blinked, then scratched his cheek. "Uh—because you caused such a commotion, I'm afraid the church will arrest me..."

"Hmm, so you knew that doing this would make the church people keep an eye on you."

Igor leaned against the wall and joked:

"The idea is good, but the reality is not so optimistic—the church manages everything, and even God can't manage them. Sometimes I wonder, if God is omnipotent, what does He need believers for? If He really needs to manage believers, why doesn't He come personally? If He really cares about believers' belonging, why does He allow the church to manage them?"

"This is explained in textbooks. Gods are very busy. They have to deal with monsters from the astral plane, and at the same time, they have to guard against the resurgence of the five world-destroying demon gods: [Destruction], [Domination], [Craftsmanship], [Plunder], and [Redemption]..."

Even so, doesn't it sound contradictory?

Igor said calmly, "If a god protects its people without expecting anything in return, it means that to Him we are like pets or toys, providing emotional value."

"But the reality is that God lets the church manage us on His behalf, which means He doesn't care about our actual feelings. To God, we may be some kind of resource waiting to be tapped."

"Hey, that's blasphemous!"

"Otherwise?" Igor shrugged. "If you were a god, why would you do these thankless tasks? You talk about valuing your people, but then you let them govern themselves."

"Because, it must be because the gods think differently from us..."

"Then why do you say that the gods created us according to themselves?"

Igor coldly said, "If God created man according to His own will, then man is God's mirror. All our qualities, whether good or evil, beautiful or ugly, God must also possess. And the good, evil, beautiful or ugly that we do not possess, God must also possess."

Xia Beiluo's head buzzed, as if the whole world was shaking.

"Wait, wait a minute!"

Xia Beiluo opened her mouth, trying hard to find a way to explain.

Her mind raced as she struggled to maintain the Worldview she had cultivated over the past decade or so through education and reality.

"I... I think God definitely has His own thoughts. You see, there are so many gods in the world, and their personalities are all different. We can't impose our own thinking onto God's thoughts. God must be higher than us and know more than us, so..."

Igor looked at her calmly and said:

Who told you these things?

Xia Beiluo blurted out:

"It's the church."

Igor then pressed on with the question:

Who founded the church?

Xia Beiluo hesitated for a moment, then realized something was wrong. "... people."

"You see, that means..."

Igor shrugged:

"Actually, it's not God who rules over mortals."

He moved closer to Xia Beiluo and said earnestly:

"They are a group of mortals who rule over mortals in the name of God."

Xia Beiluo quickly retorted, "But, the Lord, the Lord truly exists. Whether it's the Lord of the Undead, the Source Abyss Celestial Lord, or the Void Emperor, the path they bring is real, and power doesn't lie—"

"So what?"

"So, since God's power exists, then God must have authorized the church to carry out these commands..."

"Do the gods command mortals to rule over them in their place?"

Igor questioned, "Why can't it be these mortals who voluntarily transfer the power to rule and interpret the will of the gods to a small group of mortals, so that mortals can rule over mortals?"

Xia Beiluo's pupils constricted.

"Tell me, if the gods need to rule over every mortal, then why do I, with my blasphemous words, still exist here? Is it that He doesn't want to punish me, this heretic? Or is it that He is unable to do so?"

Igor's eloquent retort left Xia Beiluo's mind blank.

Just as she was still unable to react, Igor said again:

"No. Of course, gods exist. They are right here among the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, among the stars and the vast ocean. Their power drives the natural world; they are the essence of everything."

"But if He really has all of this, do you think He really needs to control us believers?"

Xia Beiluo stared blankly ahead.

"Girl who dropped out of school, you should already know the answer to all of this in your heart."

Igor stood beside her and said calmly, "God doesn't care."

"What bullshit church, what rules and regulations, what indulgences or offerings—God is too great, He doesn't care about these things at all."

"From beginning to end, it imprisons the thoughts of mortals, rules their fates, and dominates their social order."

"I've always been just an ordinary person."

"This is the Presidential Office of the White Candle Autonomous State. I am the Acting Executive Officer. May I ask—um? Uh, okay."

The woman typed rapidly on the keyboard, answered the phone, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Really? I'm sorry, President Lioz is currently on a state visit. If you have any questions, I can leave a message for you."

"Okay, sure."

"Please leave your name and contact information, and I will pass it on to His Excellency the President later."

After saying that, the woman nodded, picked up her pen, and wrote down a line of information, "Dai Yawen, female, 28 years old, nationality: Azure Planet - Frostplate Republic".

"About to descend into the Abyss."

"Next, we will proceed to: Narrative No. 9 – ' The Collapsed Hometown '"

Sorry I had to take a break for a while due to a cold, but I'll resume regular updates soon.

Please take good care of your health, don't overwork yourself, and pay attention to personal protection.