"Potatoes!! These are potatoes!!!"
Alfred threw himself into the potato field, and several people responsible for growing the potatoes immediately looked displeased. The oldest among them, a middle-aged white man, reached to pull Alfred away, but Lu Yuanming quickly stopped him.
At the same time, Lu Yuanming asked Alfred, "I'm curious, Mr. Alfred. The moment you heard we were growing potatoes, you came running over, shouting excitedly. I know this has to do with our future food supply and logistics, but is it really worth getting so worked up over?"
Alfred wiped away a tear. He stood up and walked over to Lu Yuanming, then dropped to one knee in a solemn gesture. "I'm really starting to believe you're the Messiah. Even if you aren't the Messiah in the religious sense, you're still a true Messiah for humanity... We've conducted countless tests and verified it over and over. In the end, we confirmed that no life on Earth other than humans can undergo Dark Matter Transformation—or Soul Transformation—in the normal way. Understand?"
"Yeah, you said that nothing but sentient life could..." Lu Yuanming trailed off, then froze. "Plants can't either?!"
"Now you get it?"
Alfred turned to look at the two acres of potato fields, as if he were gazing at light and hope. "New York was the first city on Earth to undergo dimensional descent into the Dark Matter Plane. The surrounding cities followed, and then cities all over the world. According to Dr. Tang Zhean's dimensional descent model, the closer you get to the outskirts of New York City, the more likely you are to encounter the Distorted Overlap Phenomenon; the closer you get to the city center, the safer it becomes. All large concentrations of humans will descend into the Dark Matter Plane in a similar way, until the entire Earth has fallen into Dark Matter. That will tear a Dark Matter Gap in the Material Universe. At first, the gap will spread outward at the speed of light, then it will accelerate, surpassing the speed of light. And that speed has no upper limit. The model's calculations show that, beyond the Great Collapse, Great Heat Death, and Great Tear, the universe faces a fourth possible ending: the Great Darkening."
Lu Yuanming listened as Alfred continued. "But if all of humanity undergoes Dark Matter Transformation, then although it may look as if we've died in the Material World, with our bodies changing entirely from matter into Dark Matter, that could just be a new beginning. At worst, the boundless universe would become a boundless Dark Matter World instead, right? That's probably what you and many others think. But... what about food?"
"We can't bring all our crops down with us. And although we can find supplies in the replica cities in the Dark Matter World, there's very little of them. We'll still need food and water there. There's water in the Dark Matter World, but what about food? Once we've eaten everything we find, we'll have no choice but to eat those monsters. And once we eat those monsters..."
Lu Yuanming's heart tightened. He'd been considering trying the monsters' flesh himself, but at Alfred's words, he immediately realized this was bad. He hurriedly asked, "What happens if we eat their flesh?"
Alfred's face went pale. "We turn into monsters, or into some kind of 'thing' even more terrifying than a monster. It doesn't happen every time, but unless there's absolutely no alternative, never eat monster flesh! That lesson was written in blood. Remember it!!"
Lu Yuanming took note of that, then looked back at the potato field. "So plants that can be grown are that precious in the Dark Matter World?"
"Absolutely," Alfred replied at once. "The reason we've been so desperate is that no matter how we plan, organize, or imagine things, the outcome is always the same: either all of humanity heads beyond the cities before starving to death, gambling that we'll find crops in the Dark Matter World, or we perish in civil war as we fight over the last piece of bread. That's how absurd it is: no food, and that's the end of us. But now things are different. With these potatoes, humanity has hope! Mr. Lu, you really might be the Messiah for humanity!"
Lu Yuanming gave an awkward but polite smile. After waiting a few seconds, he asked, "Is there anything else you can tell me, Mr. Alfred?"
Alfred thought for a moment. "I've told you just about everything I know... Oh, there's one more thing: the Civilization Tomb. From our limited exploration of the Dark Matter World from the Material World, we found the nearest thing to us: a vast region resembling a City Aggregate. The city's buildings looked bizarre and grotesque, but considering that aliens might have nothing in common with humans, we concluded that it could well be the City Aggregate of another Alien Civilization that had undergone dimensional descent into the Dark Matter World. Using Dr. Tang Zhean's model, we roughly calculated the location of this Alien Civilization's planet. That raised some questions, such as whether Dark Matter really tears planets and the Material Universe apart. But our calculations of its distance and direction could also be wrong. In any case, we won't know the truth unless we explore that alien Civilization Tomb."
Lu Yuanming asked curiously, "Why would the location of this Alien Civilization determine whether Dark Matter tears planets and the Material Universe apart?"
"Because it's on Mars." Alfred shrugged. "Can you believe it? If it really is on Mars, that would mean a civilization advanced enough to undergo dimensional descent into the Dark Matter World once existed there. It must have been at least as advanced as human civilization, right? And if the Martian Civilization really did descend into the Dark Matter World, Earth and the Solar System would've been blown to pieces long ago."
After thinking about it, Lu Yuanming agreed that the idea of a Martian Civilization once existing on Mars sounded absurd. He didn't ask anything else, and Alfred said, "Rather than think about all that, Mr. Lu, you should establish your own power right away. That's what you need most right now."
Lu Yuanming found this very strange. "But haven't I already established an organization, the Heaven on Earth Afterlife Team?"
Alfred's mouth twitched, but he patiently answered Lu Yuanming's question. "Mr. Lu, forgive me for being blunt, but you haven't established an organization at all. You've just gathered these people together and put on a display of divine power in front of them. At most, Father Edward, that religious fanatic, has created a few followers for you using the most rudimentary organizational structure. That's not an organization. It's just a crowd. As long as there's enough food and enough force to protect them, they'll stand with you. But if a large group of people arrives, or an organized force shows up, then no matter how fond they are of you, they'll kneel before someone else."
"The essence of an organization is its rules, rewards and punishments, and a management hierarchy from top to bottom. Those are what create unity, organizational interests, and the organization's capacity to endure... Your so-called organization has none of them."
At that, Lu Yuanming immediately admitted the truth of it. Forget the civilians—even if a hundred disciplined, organized modern soldiers appeared in front of him right now, he probably wouldn't dare oppose them, as long as they weren't slaughtering everyone on sight. Even if they were armed with nothing but sticks, if they ordered him to put down his weapon, he'd probably obey.
Alfred had naturally seen this, which was why he continued, "Forget the structures of modern civilization. Let's start with the most basic idea of an organization. Mr. Lu, have you established a management hierarchy? A system of rewards and punishments? A logistics system and military framework? A set of principles and a core purpose for the organization? Without these, your group will always be a disorganized rabble."
Lu Yuanming understood Alfred's meaning. Still, he held to the belief that sincerity was his greatest weapon. "But I founded this organization only so I could survive and save whoever I can. If capable people come down here, and billions of people arrive, then it's fine for them to take charge. I won't hesitate to contribute what I can."
Alfred looked Lu Yuanming in the eye. With his wealth of life experience, he confirmed several times that Lu Yuanming meant what he said. He felt both moved and pleased, then immediately replied, "There's a saying in Z Country: 'You may have no intention of harming a tiger, but the tiger intends to harm you.' Right?"
Alfred had actually said this proverb in Z Language, leaving Lu Yuanming staring at him in surprise.
Alfred smiled. "In Mr. Lu's memories, it's still July 2023. But for us, it's already February 2028. Our Think Tank predicted that without this Dark Matter dimensional descent crisis, within five years at most, the title of strongest nation would pass from the USA to Z Country. So now, whether you're talking about the President, a President's Cabinet Member, or someone hoping to run for President, they're either a Z Country Expert themselves or someone well regarded by Z Country's society. As it happens, I'm a Z Country Expert."
"So, Mr. Lu, do you understand now? While there are few people, you have both force and control over food and Fresh Water. Add your sincerity toward others, and you'll have everything going your way. No one and no force will be able to stand against you. But once the population grows—especially when most of humanity has arrived in the Dark Matter World—you'll have to contend with all the different peoples, nations, religions, and religious sects on Earth, as well as terrorists, criminal organizations, and ambitious people looking to take advantage of the chaos. Even if everyone knows you're humanity's only Savior, the true Messiah, they'll still kill you when the time comes. That's human nature. If they can't have you, they won't let their enemies have you either. What will you do then, Mr. Lu?"
Lu Yuanming thought carefully about what Alfred had said. The more he thought about it, the more he trembled.
It was a conclusion that fit human nature all too well. When there were few people, as long as there was hope and an organization, everyone could set aside their differences in ethnicity, skin color, religion, and nationality... But when there were billions of people, suddenly and chaotically plunged into the Dark Matter World, conflict and civil war would be unavoidable. At the same time, he would become a prize sought after by ambitious people and powerful nations that still had their organized forces. What Alfred had said could very well come true: everyone might rationally know that he was their only hope, but once the fighting grew fierce—or if they wanted their own nation and people to lead humanity—they would cling to him and refuse to let go. If he showed any sign of slipping from their control, they might kill him.
Alfred smiled. "I believe Mr. Lu isn't the sort of person who would use his newfound power to settle scores with those who helped him. So please let me join your organization. I'll build it for you and lay the foundations of its structure. The last information I learned before I died was that, after repeated calculations, the scientists concluded that New York would collapse in roughly nine months to a year, while human civilization as a whole would collapse and undergo dimensional descent in about three years. Let me help you, Lu... No, Messiah. Let me become your Disciple. Let me help you truly become humanity's Savior!"
With that, Alfred knelt before Lu Yuanming.
"I, Alfred Austen, will devote myself to the Lord until my dying breath."
This last sentence, too, was spoken in Z Language.
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