Happy Orca

That guy looked like he was about to cry.

"...It's very well done." So she gave a slightly insincere evaluation. "But it's still a little worse than Theresia's." She made a cautious gesture. "Just a little bit."

However, Persephone's expression remained unchanged—the man who was about to cry looked relieved.

"As expected, it's good that there's room for improvement." She simply summoned a fleet of drones to transport the ice cream preparation tools and raw materials away. "Next time we have a new product, I'll invite you to come and taste it again."

"Then I'll look forward to it." The flame-haired Sarkaz nodded, letting out a slight sigh of relief—though she wasn't quite sure why she felt that relief.

She instinctively changed the subject.

"About Talulah and Alina...?"

"They are in good condition. Their motor units are normal, their speech is clear, and their logical thinking is intact. At the same time, there are no extra or missing parts in their bodies—I have already arranged for them to undergo the relevant examinations. I estimate that their data reports will be ready by tomorrow night at the latest. The day after tomorrow morning, the Rhodes Island main ship will dock with Chernobog. At that time, the final testing procedures will be carried out."

"In my personal opinion, they could be discharged now. But if we evaluate them from a more rigorous scientific perspective, then these two days of isolation and observation are necessary."

"Hmm... only two days? Then this wait is indeed necessary—I won't disturb them during this time. Hmm, Persephone, what do you think of Teyvat? Compared to Terra, is that continent more suitable for the survival and development of its people?"

She didn't ask how Persephone got there. Anyway, this scheming guy was always thorough, and such trivial details would probably be recorded in the report. At that time, she could just look at the electronic file.

Compared to those trivial matters, she was more concerned about the mental changes in the person in front of her.

—Persephone is a world-destroying weapon capable of leveling the entire Terra.

—If she wants to, if she's willing. If she loses control, then the only one who can stop her from destroying the world, from destroying the world inhabited by mortals, is probably myself.

—But what if even I lose control?

"Not very good." However, Persephone's answer was unexpected.

"Although that Yuheng presents many obstacles, the intelligence channels she can block are far too few for me—I can see all the secrets she wants to cover up, whether she knows them or not. I can see through the essence of that continent and the dark truths hidden beneath the peaceful daily life."

"Huh?" Surtr was slightly taken aback—isn't this just a 9+ world?! Where did all these shady dealings come from?

"That's just an Eden," the Maiden Doctor replied calmly, manipulating the drones and activating the various machines within the building, which was essentially a research center. She removed her apron; while she still wore her schoolgirl uniform, the innocent charm of a student had vanished from her. She gestured for Miss Surtr to follow her, and as they walked, the building's numerous computing facilities began to operate simultaneously.

"The Garden of Eden, ruled by the gods, had seven administrators and countless beings—and above these Seven Archons, a higher ruler set a rule: 'Demons must love mortals.' Only by following this rule could demons be qualified to compete for the position of administrator and become one of the rulers of the mortal world. Those gods may seem to rule over all beings, but in reality, they are merely servants of all beings, or rather, mortals. Because their true masters, the rulers of the Sky Island, require them to ascend to their positions as servants of mortals."

"Serving the people sounds good. But power is power. The former demon gods, the current Seven Archons, their power comes from their bodies, their cognition. Their talents, their wisdom, only a small part comes from the blessing of faith and prayer—this means an imbalance, an unstable time bomb. Because, there is no sufficiently strong logical link between becoming a god and a god loving the world."

Many documents originating from Teyvat were projected onto the sky by drones, and much information that Keqing had tried so hard to conceal but which ultimately fell into Persephone's hands was revealed to Miss Surtr —documents far more detailed than the ones she had acquired in the game in her previous life. They meticulously and precisely described many of Teyvat's hidden secrets.

"God has no reason to necessarily love humanity; at least, I can't find one. Therefore, I conclude that God's love for humanity is a fundamental rule written down by a higher power. It's a logic forcibly imposed. While this power is in power, it may be an unshakeable Iron Rule— "

"If mortals deem a ruling god too tyrannical, they can overthrow him, and even if the difference in strength between the two sides is immeasurable, they can still easily succeed. If mortals deem a ruling god too weak, they can voluntarily grant him 'respect.' Even if the destructive aftershocks of Godfall are enough to turn a kingdom into a salt flat, a god who is 'respected' will not resist."

She shook her head.

"Poor and pathetic creatures, mortals have never revered them. The gods of Mondstadt are merely totem symbols, and the people of Liyue only show verbal and habitual respect for their gods. They regard them as dispensable, merely beings of habit, and even intend to exclude them from the ruling institutions—the emperor reigns undisturbed, and the court is filled with upright officials—gods are only needed to be guardians providing protection, or servants. They have no need to criticize the trivialities of administration—in this respect, Liyue and Yan are quite similar."

"But it's actually quite good. Gods are gods, and men are men—I don't think there's a big problem?" Miss Surtr interjected. At least she herself didn't think there was a big problem.

However, Persephone just looked at her as if she were a stupid child.

"It's good for mortals. But what use is it to powerful gods? Does it satisfy their moral fastidiousness or their desire to be dominated? The effort and reward are not equal, and collapse will come sooner or later—and more importantly, the ruler at the next level. That maintainer of the natural order, who was not bound by the rule of 'God loves the world,' and could arbitrarily unleash Celestia punishment on ancient civilizations that it deemed unsuitable, is dead. And when it dies, will this shackle still remain?"

The purple-haired girl made a conclusion.

"All the peace and stability on that continent was essentially built on the gods' love, tolerance, and compromise for humanity. Those in lower positions had no means to check those in higher positions. Neither in terms of force nor in terms of interests. Similarly, those in higher positions had no reason to indulge those in lower positions—the entire world order was suspended on a tightrope called 'God loves humanity.' But now, that tightrope may no longer exist."

"I understand mortals. The gods they yearn for most, the rulers they desire most, are those who only know how to give, how to sacrifice, how to protect, and who will not criticize or interfere with what mortals do or desire. For most mortals, the greatest price they are willing to pay is verbal faith, or some insignificant sacrifices. And on this basis, any further demands for divine power will be seen by mortals as oppression and enslavement."

"However, if such a deity truly exists, then—" Persephone tilted his head slightly. "—what virtue or ability do mortals possess to deserve such a gift?"

She saw Miss Surtr hesitate to speak.

And so she smiled slightly—just this once, her smile truly mirrored her name.

Persephone – the embracer of death, the Persephone of the Queen of the Underworld.

"In a world without gods, or where gods are merely a figment of imagination, such thinking can actually be seen as a virtue, a manifestation of humanity's fighting spirit. However, in a world where gods truly exist, if humans are determined to overthrow them, to rise above all things—then, do you think the gods, possessing intellect and wisdom, would choose to sit idly by and await their doom, would they choose to willingly abandon everything and beg for mercy, or would they preemptively annihilate these ants the moment they reveal even the slightest ambition or threat?"

"Perhaps that can be understood as parental love for a child..." Surtr offered a weak rebuttal. Then, before finishing, he sighed. "But it makes no difference. In any case, it's laughable to entrust the survival of civilization to the whims of those in high positions—parental love vanishes in the face of immense power, as countless changes of royal power throughout history have already proven. If the gods truly modeled themselves after humans, then even the most merciful god would succumb to rage when their life-or-death authority is challenged. And if not... tsk."

She leaned against a pillar in despair.

"As expected, you can't learn from others' experiences. I had hoped that you, Persephone, could get something from Teyvat that would be helpful to Terra..."

She was somewhat disappointed, but only somewhat disappointed. After all, in her many journeys through the dream worlds, she had personally witnessed countless political systems and organizational structures. She had seen all kinds of ideas and ideologies. Yet, in the end, she still couldn't find a way to transform Terra into the ideal kingdom of her past life.

The entanglement of interests and conflicts is too vast and too deep. Currently, the only barely plausible approach is to simply overwhelm them with superior productivity. Then, before population size becomes an issue again, the vast majority of conflicts will vanish under the immense abundance of material resources. And this—

—Actually, this was the path she had been preparing all along. She gathered her companions, dispelled their grief, and most importantly, kept an eye on Persephone, that insane guy. All her actions, weren't they all aimed at the same goal?

What I'm doing needs no further explanation... although the people around me seem a bit strange lately?

"But it wasn't all for naught." Persephone nodded, then shook her head. She raised her hand, and a pale blue gemstone appeared on the instrument's projection.

"What's this?" Surtr felt the gem looked familiar. "... The Eye of God?"

"Yes, a deal with the Wind God. I used some... knowledge that it desperately needed to exchange for this gift through Him. It belonged to Alina, and after Alina brought it back to Terra, this weapon, like the Storm Breath sword that Frostnova acquired, was reorganized by the world rules of Terra and became an Originium artifact capable of performing its original function."

She gestured, and the projected gem was magnified. Countless densely packed rune circuits were placed in a pinhead area less than one square micrometer—clearly, this was an extremely efficient technological device comparable to a ten-nanometer precision integrated circuit cluster. Deciphering it would be incredibly difficult; it was not something that could be achieved by sheer human effort. It was like a feudal society mobilizing the entire nation's resources but still failing to crack a worthless CPU—without understanding the most basic principles, how could they possibly crack it?

"Its principle is currently unclear, and it is very difficult to replicate. At present, only Alina can control it, and the specific parameters depend on Alina's mastery of it. But apart from that, the most basic function has been verified by me—it... can autonomously absorb the dissipated Originium energy around the user and store it. Moreover, the Originium energy absorbed by it has no will."

"You mean..."

"Those who carry the Terra version of the Eye of God will not be infected with Originium Infection. Even if they are unfortunately infected, as long as they do not have continuous contact with the source of infection in a short period of time, they can gradually heal themselves over a long period of time—just like how the original function of the Eye of God in Teyvat was an external magical organ that absorbed and controlled elements, thereby protecting the body from elemental erosion. In Terra, elements are conceptually replaced by Originium Energy. And the effects of the Eye of God have been edited by the world rules to be specialized effects on Originium Energy."

She nodded, agreeing with the unspoken conjecture of Miss Surtr.

"You guessed right. Alina is now the only caster in all of Terra who can directly heal Originium Infection with Originium Arts. Although her bloodline is somewhat different from mine, the treatment time... will probably be very long and difficult to cure. But being unique is being unique. She has become an indispensable piece on this chessboard."

"Your journey to the Dreamlands was worthwhile. This trip to Teyvat... you may not think it was anything special. But it was not meaningless for Terra."

"You've been a great help, Surtr," the Maiden Doctor from Rhodes Island declared.

Although she herself wasn't sure how many years it would take to decipher the technology and achieve replication and mass production, a path is a path. The road to world peace was made slightly smoother by tonight's dream.

Alina got a bit of a buff, at least she can play now.

Chapter 100: The Happy Orca