287. Birthday

In a barbecue restaurant in Jiangcheng City.

From the floor-to-ceiling windows, you can overlook the night view of the Ling River. Cruise boats sway on the river, and people come and go on the riverside pedestrian path. Various shops are full of goods, attracting pedestrians to stop and look.

Tomorrow is the first day of the college entrance examination, and there are some banners related to the exam on the road, but this is something that happened several years ago for Lu Ban.

This barbecue restaurant is most famous for its butter-aged steaks. The so-called aging process involves using certain methods to leave fresh meat for a period of time to enhance its flavor. In terms of technique, it is somewhat similar to the method of making ham.

However, Lu Ban didn't actually think that the aged meat was that delicious. On the contrary, he felt that it was a bit wasteful to cut off so much meat.

He is a frugal person, and not caring about costs does not mean he will spend money recklessly.

But since this is the restaurant personally selected by Qin Tiantian, it's fine if it's a bit pricey.

After ordering, while waiting for the chef to prepare the food, Lu Ban glanced at Feng Yu sitting opposite him.

"What made you decide to come over today?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Yu blinked and said with a smile.

"Of course it's because of you."

"?"

Qin Tiantian glanced at Lu Ban, then at Feng Yu, and secretly took a sip of tea from her cup.

"You haven't forgotten that today is your own birthday, have you?"

Feng Yu asked.

"Is today my birthday?"

Lu Ban was also surprised.

"So you were born on June 6th?"

Qin Tiantian was also surprised.

"No, why are you surprised?"

She then looked at Lu Ban.

"I don't usually pay attention to these things, and I didn't even pass last year."

At this time last year, Lu Ban was still a nobody struggling to make a living. In just one year, he has become one of the highest-grossing directors in China. It can only be said that the course of history is sometimes more important than personal struggle.

"Then you should definitely treat us today."

Qin Tiantian picked up the menu and decided to order some more.

"Shouldn't you be the ones treating me to this meal?"

Lu Ban countered with a question.

"Tsk, what a petty man."

Qin Tiantian put down the menu, not paying much attention, since she had already ordered a lot and probably wouldn't be able to finish it all.

"I heard your movie is going to be screened overseas?"

Feng Yu did not join in their banter, but instead asked another question.

"Yes, I think it's necessary to expand into international markets and grow bigger and stronger."

Lu Ban answered decisively.

"They're quite ambitious."

Feng Yu chuckled. At that moment, the waiter brought out the appetizers, and the three of them officially began their meal.

We chatted and ate, and by the time we finished eating it was already ten o'clock.

After leaving the exhausted Qin Tiantian at home, Lu Ban and Feng Yu took a walk in the neighborhood.

"It seems you've found a way to resist pollution?"

Feng Yu walked ahead, and a few stars could be seen in the early summer sky. If it were someone else, they might try to identify which constellation they belonged to, but in Lu Ban's eyes, the stars in the sky might all be enemies.

"That's right. To combat the pollution from other realms, we must first enter the pollution ourselves. That's what I'm doing now."

Lu Ban nodded.

"You have discovered one of the fundamental rules of this world."

Feng Yu spoke in a tone as if praising a student who had answered a math question correctly.

"All knowledge in this world is accompanied by pollution, and so is this planet. The more humanity explores knowledge and the more it understands the world, the greater the impact of pollution on all of humanity. Look, humans, who lived like insects in caves millions of years ago, can now destroy themselves effortlessly."

Are you referring to nuclear war?

Lu Ban understood Feng Yu's description to some extent.

Originally, humans were just like any other animal, and the limit of what an individual could do was only to influence a few miles around. But with human evolution and the accumulation of knowledge, the range of influence that humans can exert has become larger and larger, and the depth of their impact on themselves and their surroundings has become more and more severe.

This follows the same pattern as pollution.

However, the pollution caused by such knowledge is very minor, and because of the long time span, the consequences are even smaller, far less than simply seeing those indescribable creatures directly in a foreign land.

In reality, if primitive people suddenly saw modern cars and cell phones, they might be so frightened that they would worship them as gods and lose their rationality.

"Yes, to become stronger in other realms, you need more knowledge. The more knowledge you gain, the more you will be corrupted. The more insane you become, the stronger you become. Most of the gods you have seen are already insane, and a few are close to insane."

Lu Ban wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he sensed a hint of self-deprecation in Feng Yu's tone.

Is there a way to become stronger while avoiding madness?

Lu Ban couldn't help but be curious.

"At present, no."

Feng Yu shook his head.

"However, when pollution spreads and those crazy ideas become common knowledge in other lands, the overall strength of those lands will increase, just like what you have seen."

This is easy to understand. A primitive person might be terrified at the sight of a mobile phone, but given time and the opportunity to learn, he could learn to use it. At that point, the mobile phone would become common knowledge for the primitive person, and its appearance would no longer frighten him, but his understanding would be forever changed.

"Has the Silent Land been trying to prevent the corruption of the alien world from deepening within a controllable range?"

Lu Ban asked another question. From another perspective, his current actions are also gradually polluting this world, which is something the Silent Land is clearly happy to see.

For this reason, Lu Ban temporarily believed that the Silent Land belonged to the friendly forces, or at least, not the enemy.

"That's how you see it, but the deeper reason is not."

Feng Yu stopped and turned to look at Lu Ban.

"What's the reason?"

Lu Ban couldn't help but ask, then paused and raised his hand again.

"Does this reason also imply a certain degree of pollution?"

In the Silent Land, knowledge represents pollution. If one is passively exposed to knowledge, the pollution effect will be more pronounced, leading to a decrease in rationality and corresponding physical alienation. If one acquires knowledge through self-exploration, the pollution effect will be relatively milder, and the impact on the body will be smaller.

These are all Lu Ban's personal experiences.

So to some extent, there is indeed verbal sparring in the Silent Land.

Once you've explored and acquired a certain level of knowledge about deep corruption, you can simply share that knowledge with your enemies. If they're not strong enough to withstand it, they'll likely be corrupted and mutated.

It has a similar effect to the ramblings of Lu Ban's Great Being.

"Of course, and it's a very deep-seated pollution."

Feng Yu smiled.

"I came here to verify these things, and I got the answers, but I also paid a price."

She suddenly leaned closer and pulled down the neckline of her dress, very close to Lu Ban.

Lu Ban saw that there were no welfare scenes that the people would like to see.

It was empty. A huge mouth with countless teeth lay across Feng Yu's chest. Inside the mouth, countless writhing tentacles were trying to close the Abyssal Maw. Deeper inside, countless eyeballs rolled, peering at Lu Ban through the gaps.

It's as if the entire body has become an empty shell, with only the large mouth remaining, trying to disguise itself as a human.

Lu Ban looked up and saw that Feng Yu's smile had not changed at all.

*

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