Original Sin

A few days later.

Li Qing began to refit the living room, which had three bedrooms and one hall, welding outside.

He held steel plates, laying them on the ceiling, floor, and walls. The bathroom was also sealed off. Since he wasn't living here, the goal was simply to seal it.

It was thoroughly refitted into a sealed laboratory.

Fortunately, he was no longer human, his body was quite strong, and he could do the work of an entire construction crew by himself.

He carried steel plates in and out alone.

At the same time, he also discovered that strange changes had occurred within the laboratory over the past few days.

The entire ground kingdom within the laboratory began to rot.

Immersed in a drunken revelry of wine pools and meat mountains.

After receiving the emperor's tacit approval, the two ruthless leaders of the "Human Reason Society" and the "Holy Reason Sect" joined forces to research the sensory stimulation within flesh and blood life and impose it upon the populace.

They did not do good deeds.

Unlike before, when they resisted alcohol and ultraviolet rays and added useful gene structures, this time they maliciously added various organ structures that secreted dopamine to their subjects:

Appetite!

Eating stimulated the secretion of an exhilarating and pleasurable dopamine, addictive like a drug.

Almost all creatures had feeding feedback, so replicating it was easy.

But they naturally wouldn't simply replicate it.

They deliberately enhanced the stimulation, making it a hundred times more sensitive than normal creatures, so that their subjects, upon eating, would groan, rip open their clothes, and blush as if they were on aphrodisiacs at the dinner table.

"Ah, this is delicious!"

"Is this what taste is?"

"Thank the empire's wise men for evolving taste for us!"

Thus, they began to gorge themselves, indulging in debauchery.

--Gluttony appeared.

They maliciously added a second type of stimulation:

Possessiveness.

This was a survival instinct present in most beastly life forms throughout evolutionary history.

Cats, dogs, tigers, apes—almost all higher animals guarded their food and desired more, driven by this biological instinct.

They then inscribed this bodily feedback into the bodies of these subjects. Whenever they occupied others' property or plundered their treasures, they would secrete a stealthy, intense pleasure, an irresistible high from getting something for nothing.

--Greed appeared.

One by one, "inferior sin genes" that should not have been written into the body were inscribed into their bodies.

At this moment, the earth was like Eden, and the Seven Deadly Sins began to be born.

"This is great!"

"Please add it to me too! Make the feeling even more exciting when I eat!"

"Yeah, make it even stronger for me."

Countless citizens began to cheer, completely unaware that they were about to die. They believed that the engineers had found stimulating recreational activities for their boring and monotonous lives, devoid of any entertainment.

Eating and drinking, gorging themselves, but gradually, some became irritable, some jealous, unrestrainedly venting their desires, enjoying the thrill of slaughter and competition.

The entire kingdom devolved into a gladiatorial arena.

Everyone was competing.

It was like mechs controlled by two sides battling, killing the opponent's exoskeleton and then stepping on it, listening to the cheers and applause from the surroundings.

On the streets, in the cities, in the wilderness, and in the oceans, countless exoskeletons were slaughtering each other, forming a carnival, like the laws of the jungle in the most primitive era.

Finally.

This carnival lasted for three days.

Intense soul fluctuations, emotional upheavals, roars, songs, and excitement—these mindless lone souls, only able to possess cells, were all exhausted and fell during this chaotic party.

And after the revelry, Eden turned into Lost Paradise.

After this fulfilling joy, an unprecedented and unbelievable emptiness lingered throughout their bodies.

"It's all over."

Wise men and sages appeared one by one, beginning the final harvest, transforming themselves into integrated brains.

Crack!

Suddenly, an engineer harvesting life was attacked.

"What are you doing?"

"Foolish, twenty thousand is the lowest number. If I had more, wouldn't I be stronger? I want more wisdom!! To condense a stronger Saint Position!"

"Don't you understand yet? I want to steal your brain! The wisdom of ordinary civilians is just so-so, but if I had your wisdom, I would definitely be stronger!!"

The second slaughter began.

Of the twenty thousand people originally designated, only eight thousand remained. They stood across the land, staring blankly at each other:

"We absorbed all the Atabians and were influenced by their frenzied consciousness. We began to kill uncontrollably and fell into the kingdom of sin."

A moment of silence.

They all clearly realized: the Atabians, who had once defied God, attempted rebellion, and were incredibly proud, had completely become history after this day.

They had vanished into the Lost Paradise of sin.

On the entire ground, fewer than ten thousand people were still alive.

Crrack.

At this moment, the door of the solemn and majestic grand cathedral suddenly opened.

The Pope slowly emerged and said to the slaughterers on the battlefield, "Follow me. Pray to the Lord, repent to the Lord."

The Pope slowly led them on the path to the cathedral, his voice gentle and clear, "Do not worry. God will not interfere with human choices. If you have regret in your hearts, repent to the light."

"Thank you for the Lord's tolerance and great love." The tension in their hearts immediately eased somewhat. "This is the choice of us earthlings, and we have no other choice."

The Pope looked at them deeply and said, "God says, this is the destiny of the Enlightenment era!"

"God created humans with souls that were almost pure and flawless, possessing divinity. Now, in order to survive, humans have stained their bodies with the Seven Deadly Sins in the Lost Paradise, and demons will be born in human nature."

The voice entered their ears.

It seemed to form eternity in this moment.

In the hearts of this group of future gods of the heavens, this voice would forever be remembered.

"Humans stole the forbidden fruit, and from this day forward, they have the root of misfortune. The deeply ingrained Seven Deadly Sins will bring disaster to every era of humanity."

They held their breath.

Soon, they arrived in front of the cathedral and entered one by one to pray.

Relief carvings and murals adorned the walls on both sides, exuding a peaceful and warm atmosphere in their magnificence. A large golden bell hung in the ornate bell tower in front of the cathedral.

Dong!

The funeral bell echoed.

A special sound, like the babbling of God, transmitted through vibrational waves, brought a sense of spiritual cleansing and agitation, causing people to prostrate themselves in worship. A sense of ancient, long-lasting epic grandeur and heritage coalesced in this scene.

Inside the grand cathedral, Emperor Minis knelt on the ground, his face devout:

"Lord, I have sinned."

"The Lord created us, mostly as pure-souled, newborn, holy white children. We fell to the mortal world and gradually developed sins like gluttony, greed, and envy, becoming stained with color."

Before the statue of God, a fat, white-scaled Holy Dragon lay obediently.

This Emperor, kneeling in prayer, looked somewhat lost, repenting his sins, unsure if it was right or wrong.

Because this was the best choice. Since everyone was going to die anyway, it was better to let this group of the smartest wise men survive.

The Emperor's prayer ended.

Crrack.

Next, the leader of the Human Reason Society entered.

"Lord, I have sinned."

His face was equally devout. This was not hypocrisy, but a desire for support amidst confusion:

"If only we had been faster, if we had researched normal heads that could accommodate wisdom, then none of us would have died, and we wouldn't have had to choose that evil plan of the Holy Reason Sect."

"Our era has passed. The days when Atabia led all the pure white children to strive together are gone. We in the future can no longer be so united."

"The mortals on earth have begun to have complete rifts, suspicion, calculation, and lies."

"Time for prayer is up, you may go." The Holy Dragon, prostrate beneath the statue of God, glanced at him and continued to lie there.

After this one left.

"It's your turn." The leader of the Human Reason Society said.

"Yes, I know."

This leader of the core of the horrific Perfect Human Plan, the leader of the Holy Reason Sect, entered the cathedral.

No one knew that he hid his true identity. He had changed his appearance countless times. He was none other than the rebel leader—Imperial Hero Herodotus, who had infiltrated the higher echelons and secretly instigated this great extermination.

He was the true mastermind.

With a body full of exhaustion, he pushed open the doors of the grand cathedral.

The radical leader of the Holy Reason Sect, who advocated for the "Perfect Human Plan," appeared somewhat pathetic at this moment.

He carefully took out an exquisite nano-mural. It depicted a young Emperor of Atabia shouting atop the majestic and vast Tower of Babel, with himself, an Imperial general, standing behind to protect him.

A white tower, a clear ocean, ancient and rugged primitive tribal architecture, and a vibrant general.

He stood frozen in place for a long time, memories surging back like tidal waves, crashing against the radical leader who had created mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

He then recalled that day, amidst the overwhelming Great Flood, he had said to the Emperor of Atabia:

"Your Majesty, I believe you will be able to protect all the people of this land! We have no help, perhaps we can only rely on ourselves. This is a path destined to be lonely and full of danger, but we will be able to protect everyone."

His eyes blazed with a fire that seemed as if it would never extinguish, as he made a knight's vow:

"I pledge eternal loyalty to Your Majesty! I will be your sharpest blade, living and dying with you!"

-- Heh, just kidding.

The Imperial Hero, the Emperor's most loyal confidant, Herodotus, was also a liar. He utterly despised Atabia.

Even then, he knew Atabia was not a truly gentle and benevolent wise ruler.

He was merely an annoying, mad scientific genius. This fanatic pursuing truth cared nothing for the lives of his people; he only sought the splendor in the heavens, that incredible world.

However, he still had to try and tie this genius to the imperial throne.

Because his talent was essential to the Atabians.

He was the one who truly loved every child, longed to protect every citizen, and yearned for genuine peace.

But in the end, that mad emperor who didn't truly love his people, refused that great extinction at the moment of his death, refusing the destiny given to him by God. Instead, he had been using the Emperor of Atabia as a puppet, assisting his research, and secretly protecting the people. Now, he himself had initiated this great extinction with the "Perfect Human Plan."

"The roles have reversed, how incredibly ironic." He reflected on all of this, unsure of what to say. Unlike the Emperor of Atabia, he genuinely wanted to continue civilization, but what could he do? His talent had reached its limit. This was the best plan, taking a route Atabia had once refused—a great extinction, killing most people so that a few could survive, at least ensuring civilization would continue.

"I, am, guilty!"

Unlike the previous two, Herodotus said nothing. He suddenly burst into tears, all his pretense liberated, like a pathetic wretch of the lowest order.

"Forbidden fruit, original sin, Lost Paradise."

But the Holy Dragon, coiled beneath the statue of God, like a pet of God, had remained silent. It lazily looked at him praying before the sacred statue in the grand cathedral. Its reply made Herodotus's emotions surge:

"God watches everything from heaven, Herodotus. God has witnessed your story."