Deities Recruiting: A Matter of Business

Hao Ren stared, dumbfounded (he seemed to be in a state of perpetual bewilderment these past couple of days), as he heard a statement that nearly choked him to death. At that moment, he could barely believe the words coming from the giant eyeballs: "What did you just say?"

"The Time-Space Administration Bureau," the silver-haired woman said with a smile. Although she had an air of cool detachment when she wasn't speaking, her demeanor melted away like ice and snow once she started talking with a smile, making her seem very approachable.

Hao Ren asked blankly, "No, I mean, what did you say in the second half?"

"Oh, the Wangba Tuozi Liaison Office," the silver-haired woman nodded happily, admitting it so readily.

Hao Ren felt like smashing his head into... well, maybe he'd smash it outside. The items in here looked quite valuable, and he might not be able to afford to break them. But he truly wished he could smash his head somewhere! How did "Time-Space Administration Bureau" and "Wangba Tuozi Office" get combined? And this white-haired girl in front of him didn't seem to think anything was wrong with it at all, her expression suggesting it was as natural as breathing. Hao Ren's feeling upon hearing this was akin to hearing the following sentence: Old Wang's family has three children. The eldest is named Da Ming, the second is Er Ming, and the third is Eisenberg William Hannibal...

But the silver-haired woman said it with such conviction that Hao Ren was left speechless. There was indeed a Wangba Tuozi right beside them.

"Heh... heh-heh," Hao Ren forced a couple of stiff, dry laughs and shifted his position on the plush, cotton-like cushioned seat to a more stable posture. He worried that if he heard anything else shocking, he might fall to the ground. "The Time-Space Administration Bureau, right... Oh, right, what did you say your name was again?"

He only then remembered that she had introduced herself earlier, but he had been too caught up in his emotional turmoil to hear clearly.

The silver-haired woman didn't mind at all, being even more good-tempered than expected: "My name is Raven 12345. You must remember it; it's very important."

"Including the numbers at the end?"

"Including the numbers at the end—actually, the numbers are the main part," the woman who called herself Raven 12345 nodded vigorously. "It prevents confusion with other Ravens. Do you have any other questions?"

A flood of settings flashed through Hao Ren's mind: androids, clones, dark forces, evil armies plotting to overthrow Earth, complete with twenty thousand words of backstory, the love-hate entanglements of a dozen protagonists, and three different relationship configurations. It wasn't that he had too much imagination; he just watched too many movies. However, he was smart enough not to ask where the other Ravens were (based on experience, he judged it to be a taboo question, though he would later realize how wrong he was). Instead, he scratched his chin: "Raven 12345... Ah, a rather creative name, heh, heh. So, what do you need me for?"

The silver-haired woman smiled slightly: "Your home should already have a strange creature living in it, right? If my calculations are correct, it's a 'Werewolf'."

Hao Ren tensed up instantly, his muscles involuntarily trembling. He had considered this a top secret before, intending to guard it fiercely, believing Lily's identity must absolutely not be exposed. This was his last futile attempt to salvage his familiar daily life, only to find that the mysterious woman before him seemed to know everything! But he quickly relaxed. Since the mysterious person before him was also an "Otherworldly Being," it was understandable that she knew some things. Hao Ren was well aware that he was almost completely in the dark about certain mysterious domains, so he couldn't appear too surprised; it would put him at a disadvantage.

Since Raven 12345 hadn't mentioned Vivian, it meant her information was a bit outdated. Hao Ren naturally wouldn't volunteer any information.

He nodded: "Indeed. But surely that's not forbidden, is it? Is your Time-Space... Administration Bureau in charge of this?"

"Nothing forbidden, I'm just giving you a heads-up. More strange fellows will be moving into your home in the future; this is your future job," Raven 12345 said, astonishing him with her casual remark. "The organization has high hopes for you..."

"Wait a minute!" Hao Ren finally couldn't help but jump up: "Did you arrange all of this?!"

"Not currently, but it will be in the future," Raven 12345 shrugged. "Since you've already made contact with that 'Werewolf' named Lily, and I happen to need a helper, you're very suitable for this job."

"What exactly do you do?" Hao Ren frowned. He felt that Raven 12345 spoke in a rather disjointed manner, often starting to talk to herself without reason and failing to get to the point. Why didn't you explain what the Time-Space Administration Bureau does!

"Us? 'Us' is a very large group," Raven 12345 rubbed her nose. "The Xiling Empire is vast, managing countless universes, with numerous departments and complex divisions of labor. We do everything. You can broadly think of us as deities for ease of understanding—by the way, we only recently transitioned into the Divine Race as a whole. The organization is young, but youth brings opportunity. As for the Time-Space Administration Bureau, it's a department under the Empire specifically responsible for managing various universes, handling information transmission, guiding and regulating inter-universal travel, and enhancing world cohesion... Anyway, that's what the new document from upstairs says. It might change later. I'm a grassroots cadre of the Time-Space Administration Bureau, responsible for local affairs in this universe—like preventing certain races from causing an apocalypse through recklessness, or planning the evolution of celestial bodies. Technically, this isn't my job, but due to some special circumstances... I'm filling in here. As for you, it's because I need an assistant—I manage matters on a universal scale, so I need agents for local affairs. You've been chosen. Feel important?"

Hao Ren listened to the near-mythical story with a dizzy head and calmly stood up: "Thank you, but you're a good person. Your tokusatsu shows are very interesting. Could you please tell me where the exit is?"

Raven 12345 didn't even show a hint of surprise, as if she had seen similar situations many times. After Hao Ren finished speaking, she lightly snapped her fingers: "According to the onboarding requirements, new Probationary Examiners need to undergo a psychological test. The testing period is quite long. Now, I'll conduct the most basic..."

Before Hao Ren could say anything more, he felt a lightness all over his body, and then the surrounding scenery turned upside down!

The luxurious large room disappeared. Darkness enveloped him from all sides, and Hao Ren found himself standing in nothingness. Then, a single point of light suddenly erupted in this void, emitting countless rays of light!

The first thing to appear was an indescribably scorching bright light, with no discernible structure and no fixed form. This ball of light rushed towards him with overwhelming force, spreading to an immeasurable distance in an instant. Hao Ren only had time to blink before the light expanded to a scale he couldn't comprehend.

Then, the light dimmed, and the high-energy levels rapidly declined and degraded. Primitive particles were born in the cooling and layered decay. The aftermath of the initial flash swept over all things in the universe, giving birth to the earliest nebulae, which laid the foundation for future galaxy clusters and giant celestial structures.

Everything continued to cool. Ancient stars began to form in the dense regions of the primordial nebulae, while the nebulae themselves differentiated into independent galaxy clusters. Local nuclear reactions replaced the rapid energy of the Big Bang, and the world entered a gentler era of order. As cooling continued, primordial stars rapidly burned out their fuel, expelling accumulated heavy elements in repeated supernovae. These heavy elements were the first stable substances to appear after the "first flash." They traveled along paths indicated by the remnants of stellar light, collided, merged, and were captured by newly born young stars.

The first star systems were born.

Matter became increasingly sparse, and the restless galaxies stabilized after releasing vast amounts of energy and consuming considerable matter. The complexity of the universe began to increase, stars evolved, and life flourished. Hao Ren felt his vision transcended human understanding. He stood at an almost omniscient vantage point, observing the entire universe. With a single glance, he saw the target he was diligently searching for: near a young star, a blue planet was being covered by green...

Then the screen froze, and a line of text floated before his eyes: Genesis Recording Expert Trial Version. Please recharge to continue using.

The surrounding scene receded like a tide, and Hao Ren found himself still sitting in the grand room, sweat soaking through his clothes. The woman calling herself Raven 12345 looked at him with a smile: "This is the record of your universe's evolution to this day. Of course, some segments have been adjusted in their timeline for your viewing convenience. I didn't record this; it was directly extracted as a snapshot from the underlying information of the universe. So, you've essentially experienced creation firsthand. How did it feel?"