Suggestions and Countdown

"Potatoes!! These are potatoes!!!"

Alfred lunged into the potato field. The people responsible for planting these potatoes immediately showed dissatisfaction. The oldest among them, a middle-aged white man, was about to pull Alfred away, but Lu Yuanming immediately stopped him.

At the same time, Lu Yuanming asked Alfred, "I'm very curious, Mr. Alfred. As soon as you heard we planted potatoes, you immediately rushed over shouting. I know this is related to our future food and logistics, but is it worth being so surprised?"

Alfred wiped away his tears. He stood up, walked in front of Lu Yuanming, and then solemnly knelt down. "I'm truly starting to believe you are the Messiah. Even if you're not the Messiah in a religious sense, you are truly a Messiah for us humans... We've conducted countless tests and verified them countless times. We've finally confirmed that, apart from humans, no other life on Earth can undergo Dark Matter Transformation in a normal way, meaning Soul Transformation. Do you understand?"

"Mm, you said it before, except for sentient life..." Lu Yuanming finished speaking and then froze. He immediately asked, "Plants can't either!?"

"Understand now?"

Alfred tilted his head to look at the two acres of potato field, as if gazing at light and hope. He then said, "New York was the first city on Earth to undergo dimensional reduction into the Dark Matter Plane, followed by surrounding cities, and then cities all over the world. According to Dr. Tang Zhean's dimensional reduction model, the closer to the edge areas in New York City, the more the Distorted Overlap Phenomenon will occur, and the safer the central urban areas will be. All large human gathering points will undergo dimensional reduction into the Dark Matter Plane in a similar manner, until the entire Earth completely falls into the Dark Matter. This will create a Dark Matter Gap in the Material Universe. The gap will initially spread outwards at the speed of light, then its speed will increase, surpassing light speed, and there will be no upper limit to this speed. The result calculated by the dimensional reduction model is that the universe will have a fourth outcome besides the Great Collapse, Great Heat Death, and Great Tear: the Great Darkening."

Lu Yuanming listened, and Alfred continued, "But if all of us humans undergo Dark Matter Transformation, although it seems like dying once in the material world, with our bodies transforming entirely from matter to dark matter, this might not be a new beginning. At most, the boundless universe will become a boundless Dark Matter World, right? This is probably what you and many others think, but... what about food?"

"We couldn't bring down all our food crops. Although we can find supplies in the Replicated Cities within the Dark Matter World, the quantity of these supplies is very small. We still need to eat and drink in the Dark Matter World. There is water in the Dark Matter World, but what about food? Once the food we find is gone, we'll have no choice but to eat those monsters. And once we eat those monsters..."

Lu Yuanming's heart tightened. He had previously considered trying the flesh of those monsters, but after hearing Alfred's words, he immediately knew it was bad. So he quickly asked, "What happens if we eat the flesh of those monsters?"

Alfred's face turned a little pale. He said, "You'll turn into a monster, or something even more terrifying than a monster. While it's not absolutely guaranteed, unless it's a last resort, never eat the flesh of these monsters! This is a lesson learned through blood, remember!!"

Lu Yuanming took note of this. He looked at the potato field again and said, "So, plants that can be grown are this precious in this Dark Matter World?"

Alfred immediately replied, "Of course. The reason we are so desperate is that no matter how we plan, arrange, or imagine, the final outcome is either all humans starving and rushing out of the cities, relying on luck to find food crops of the Dark Matter World in the Dark Matter World, or perishing in internal wars over the last piece of bread. No food, such an absurd ending. But now it's different. With these potatoes, humanity has hope! Mr. Lu, you might truly be the Messiah for us humans!"

Lu Yuanming gave an awkward yet polite smile. After a few seconds, he asked, "Mr. Alfred, is there anything else you can tell me?"

Alfred thought for a moment. "I've told you basically everything I know... Oh, there's one more thing, the concept of Civilization Tombs. Based on limited exploration from the Material Universe into the Dark Matter World, we found the closest thing to us. It's also a vast area similar to a City Aggregate. Although the city architecture looks very strange and bizarre, considering that aliens might have no similarities to us humans, we can assume it's likely the City Aggregate of another alien civilization after their complete dimensional reduction into the Dark Matter World. Through Dr. Tang Zhean's model calculations, we roughly determined the location of this alien civilization's planet, which also raises some questions: will dark matter truly tear apart planets and the Material Universe, etc. But it's also possible that the distance and directional calculations are wrong. In short, without exploring that alien Civilization Tomb, we won't know the real situation."

Lu Yuanming asked curiously, "Why does the location of this alien civilization determine whether dark matter will tear apart planets and the Material Universe?"

"Because it's on Mars." Alfred shrugged. "Can you believe it? If it's really on Mars, it means a civilization once existed on Mars that was advanced enough to undergo dimensional reduction into the Dark Matter World. That would be at least comparable to our human civilization! At the same time, if the Martian Civilization truly underwent dimensional reduction into the Dark Matter World, then Earth and the Solar System would have been destroyed long ago."

Lu Yuanming thought about it and indeed found the idea of a Martian Civilization on Mars to be quite absurd, so he didn't ask further. Alfred then said, "Mr. Lu, instead of thinking so much now, it's better to establish your own power immediately. That's what you need to do most right now."

Lu Yuanming suddenly felt very strange. He asked, "But haven't I already established the organization called the Heaven on Earth Afterlife Team?"

Alfred's mouth twitched upon hearing this, but he patiently answered Lu Yuanming's question. "Mr. Lu, please forgive my bluntness, but you haven't established an organization at all. You've just gathered these people together and then performed miracles in front of them. At most, Father Edward, that religious fanatic, has gathered some followers for you with the most rudimentary organizational framework. This is not an organization; it's just a crowd. As long as there is enough food and sufficient military strength, they will stand with you. Once they encounter a large group of people arriving, or a structured team appears, no matter how much they miss you, they will kneel before others."

"The essence of an organization is its system, rewards and punishments, and a top-down management hierarchy, thereby forming centripetal force, organizational interests, and organizational vitality... Your so-called organization possesses none of these."

Speaking of this, Lu Yuanming immediately admitted it. Because let alone the common people, if a hundred organized and disciplined modern soldiers appeared before him right now, as long as these modern soldiers didn't slaughter everyone they saw, even if these soldiers were just holding clubs, he estimated he wouldn't dare to confront them. They might just shout for him to lay down his weapons, and he would obediently do so.

Alfred naturally saw this, which is why he continued, "Not to mention the organizations of modern civilization, let's take the most basic concept of an organization. Mr. Lu, have you established an upper and lower management system? Have you established a reward and punishment mechanism? Have you established a logistics and military framework? Have you established the organization's own ideology and core foundation? Without these, Mr. Lu's team will forever be a pile of loose sand."

Lu Yuanming understood Alfred's meaning. He still adhered to the idea that sincerity was the greatest weapon. "But the reason I established this organization was just to survive myself and to save those who can be saved. If truly capable people come down, and billions of humans come down, then let them manage. I won't be stingy with my strength."

Alfred looked at Lu Yuanming seriously. With his rich life experience, he confirmed multiple times that these were Lu Yuanming's true words. He felt both admiration and joy in his heart, and then immediately said, "There's a saying in Z Country: 'Humans have no intention to harm tigers, but tigers have the will to harm humans,' right?"

When Alfred spoke this idiom, he surprisingly used Z Language, which made Lu Yuanming stare with wide eyes, slightly stunned.

Alfred smiled and said, "In Mr. Lu's memory, time is still stuck in July 2023, but for us, it's already February 2028. Our think tank has made predictions. If there were no Dark Matter World dimensional crisis, at most five more years, the strongest title would be snatched away from our USA by your Z Country. So now, whether it's the President, a President's Cabinet Member, or someone hoping to run for President, they are either a Z Country Expert themselves or someone who is favorably viewed by Z Country society. Coincidentally, I am a Z Country Expert."

"So Mr. Lu still doesn't understand? When the population is small, Mr. Lu, you control both military force and Food and fresh water. Coupled with Mr. Lu's sincere attitude towards others, you will have no hope and no disadvantage. No person or force can oppose you. But once the population grows, especially when most of Humanity arrives in the Dark Matter World, with so many ethnic groups on Earth, so many countries, so many religions and religious branches, plus terrorists, criminal organizations, and those ambitious individuals trying to fish in troubled waters, even if everyone knows that Mr. Lu is the only Savior of Humanity, the true Messiah, at a critical moment, they will still kill you. Because this is human nature. If they can't have it, they will never let their enemies have it. If that time comes, what will Mr. Lu do?"

Lu Yuanming carefully considered Alfred's words. As he thought, he couldn't help but tremble all over.

This was a deduction that perfectly aligned with human nature. When the population is small, as long as there is hope and an organization, people can abandon ethnicity, skin color, religion, country... all contradictions. But once the population reaches billions, especially if they suddenly fall into the Dark Matter World in a catastrophic manner, then chaos and civil war will be inevitable. At the same time, he will inevitably become a target of contention for ambitious individuals and major powers that retain their organizational structures. What Alfred said might also become a reality. Everyone would rationally know he is the only savior, but once a real conflict erupts, or for their own country and nation to become the leader of Humanity, they would cling to him tightly. If there's a possibility of him breaking free from control, then killing him might also happen.

Alfred smiled and said, "I believe Mr. Lu is not the kind of person who would settle scores with his meritorious officials once he has power. So please let me join your organization. I will help you build the organization, I will pave the way for its structure. The last piece of information I knew before my death, after repeated calculations by those Scientists, concluded that the collapse time for the entire New York is approximately nine months to a year, and the collapse and dimensional descent time for all of Human Civility is about three years. Let me help you, Lu... no, Messiah, let me become your Disciple, let me help you truly become the Savior of Humanity!"

After speaking, Alfred knelt down before Lu Yuanming.

"I, Alfred Austen, will dedicate myself to my lord until death."

This last passage was still spoken in Z Language Chinese.