Working for the Gods

Hao Ren sat rigidly in his chair, his eyes fixed on his nose, his nose fixed on his mouth, and his mouth fixed on his heart, with both hands resting on his knees and an especially solemn expression. He realized he was facing a situation beyond human understanding. If he wanted to enjoy the rest of his life without trouble, the wisest choice was to rein in his usual lazy, carefree attitude and listen seriously to the woman before him who claimed to be a god.

"How does it feel to personally experience Genesis?" Raven 12345 asked, glancing at Hao Ren with a smile in the corner of her eyes.

Hao Ren studied Raven 12345's expression and confirmed that the woman really was easy to talk to. Only then did he awkwardly pull his mouth into a crooked grin. "I have to ask—was all this an illusion...? You wouldn't happen to kill me just because I asked, would you?"

"No, because plenty of people have asked me that before, so I'm not surprised at all." Raven 12345 shrugged. "I'll let you see more things until you fully understand and believe what I've told you, but not right now. For now, you only need to take my words at face value. Then we can talk about the job."

Hao Ren raised a hand to signal her to stop. He needed time to sort out exactly what had happened.

He had thought the bizarre events he had experienced were merely matters concerning Earth, but this woman claimed she came from... another world? Not Earth, not another planet, not another star system, but another universe! She claimed to come from an empire that ruled over a multiverse, and that she worked for an organization called the Time-Space Administration Bureau, which was responsible for managing the order of this universe. Now, this woman who claimed to be a god said she needed an agent to handle the trifling affairs within Earth's little patch of land, so she had sought out Hao Ren...

That was the whole story from beginning to end. There was nothing difficult to understand about it linguistically; it was just rather challenging to his worldview.

Hao Ren stole a glance at Raven 12345. She had clearly noticed, but did not react. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hao Ren began comparing the silver-haired woman before him with the images of gods and immortals in his mind, imagining wings sprouting from her back or a halo appearing behind her head. After fiddling with the idea for a while, however, he gave up. He knew it was a waste of time. From the moment he met that cat-fearing Werewolf, he should have thrown all the legends of Earth down the sewer.

"There really are other universes?" Hao Ren looked at Raven 12345 hesitantly. "I've read about them in books—parallel universes and all that. Is it that theory?"

"It's much more complicated than that. The actual structure of the Macro World is far more complicated than humans imagine." Raven 12345 curled her lips, seemingly too lazy to explain. "You won't be able to come into contact with things from other worlds for the time being. That'll only happen after you become a regular employee or receive a special assignment. Right now, your top priority is to manage your own little patch of land..."

"Why me?" Hao Ren couldn't help interrupting her. He felt he had to seize at least a little initiative. Even if he couldn't beat her, he had to try to sound tougher. "You didn't ask for my consent, did you?"

"Oh, right. I forgot about that." Raven 12345 slapped her forehead, making a bead of cold sweat slide down Hao Ren's face. "There's the principle of voluntary employment. Yes, there really is such a principle... I just assumed you had already agreed. So, you don't want to?"

Hao Ren froze. He hadn't expected her conditions to be so lenient. Her easygoing attitude was nothing like the mysterious organization he had imagined. He had thought refusing to cooperate would get him killed to silence him. Yet after Raven 12345 offered him such generous terms, he found himself hesitating instead. What should he do? Should he really refuse? Somehow, it felt like a shame... as if his new and extraordinary life would be snuffed out before it had even begun.

"What will happen if I don't agree?"

"Your memories of the past two days will be erased, and I'll take that Werewolf away as well. Don't worry, I won't hurt you or the Werewolf. You'll simply have nothing more to do with things you shouldn't have encountered. Ordinary people have ordinary lives. Those who meddle with extraordinary matters while remaining ordinary people have always met miserable ends," Raven 12345 explained breezily. "I'll find another agent. There are plenty of humans on Earth. If necessary, I can even request an intern from above to serve as an assistant."

Hao Ren felt his heart tighten. An indescribable sensation spread through him, and then he shook his head. "What if I agree, then? What exactly do you want me to do? Let me make one thing clear: I won't do anything immoral. I'm a good person, you know."

The corners of Raven 12345's lips curled upward. "Don't be so nervous. You'll be working for the divine race. In other divine systems, this position is even called the 'Holy Son' or the 'proxy,' but our system is special, so we don't use those titles. What are you worried about? We won't make you do anything evil. Your duties are mainly twofold. First, receive certain tenants, just as you did before, except these tenants will all be special. They need help, a place to settle down, and someone to guide them. You'll receive and look after them so they don't wreak havoc on the human world. Second, help me handle other work."

Hao Ren: "..." Instinctively, he felt that the second task was the real point!

"The tenants you mentioned are like Lily, right?" Hao Ren tried to learn more. Although it would not give him the initiative, at least it would keep him from being tricked. "Otherworlders? May I ask why you do this? Is it merely because you don't want them to destroy the human world?"

"The reasons are actually very complicated." Raven 12345 was very patient. "Any civilization, unless it encounters some catastrophe or another serious situation that requires a god to intervene personally, has the right to evolve naturally without interference. I know your human myths and legends, but real gods aren't quite like the ones in those stories. We create worlds, manage worlds, and destroy worlds, but all of that is governed by strict regulations. No one may interfere with or disrupt mortal activities at will. Before we changed careers and became a divine race, we made quite a few mistakes in this regard, so it's a very serious matter now. The same goes for your world. Human civilization should evolve naturally without outside interference. It's fine if you encounter setbacks while developing on your own, but if a third-party force tries to artificially distort humanity's evolutionary process, it's my duty to stop them. As for your task... it's to clean up the 'aftermath.'"

Hao Ren struggled to understand Raven 12345's words. It seemed he had vaguely grasped something. "You're saying some... 'third-party force' tried to interfere with humanity's development?! Lily... and the tenants I'll receive in the future are all connected to this interference?"

"Don't overthink it. That happened a very long time ago, and I've already dealt with the biggest wave. Humanity is perfectly safe now. As long as you don't bring disaster upon yourselves, you can keep living until you die." Raven 12345 looked into Hao Ren's eyes. "As for the tenants you'll receive... they are indeed connected to a major incident, but that's still classified information as far as you're concerned. Don't ask too much. So, are you willing to do this? It's only cleanup work for the Time-Space Administration Bureau, but honestly, it's a job that many worlds would envy. It even comes with the treatment of an unofficial temporary worker for a public institution..."

Hao Ren: "...The way you put it makes me even less willing to agree!"

Raven 12345 threw her head back and laughed, completely unconcerned.

Hao Ren lowered his head and thought hard about this decision that might change the course of his entire life.

He still didn't dare to completely trust the woman before him, nor could he understand what the multiverse, gods, and the Macro World really were. Just as Raven 12345 had said, at this stage he could only assume that everything was true, then consider what he should do.

If he nodded now, he would embark on a path completely different from the one he had followed before. In Raven 12345's words, he would be "working for the gods." Whether the silver-haired woman was telling the truth, whether there was a trap hidden within all this, and whether the road ahead would be smooth or lead to a desperate end, Hao Ren would face an entirely new life beyond his imagination. His fate would change, for better or worse.

If he shook his head now, he would merely lose two days of memories, forget some things ordinary people should never have encountered, and return to being a little Landlord—or find a respectable job and muddle through life like everyone else, find a wife he did not love all that much but could make do with for a lifetime, and live out the rest of his days like that.

There was no need to choose.