Chapter 14: The Day of the God's Descent

Tonight, the entire Night City will remain sleepless.

The grand celebration was interrupted by thunderous explosions.

Some, holding high positions, stood as steady as Mount Tai under the protection of security forces; others, filled with panic, scattered and fled; some took advantage of the chaos to steal and commit crimes; and more stared blankly at the exploding high-rises, at a loss.

Shouts, screams, cries, angry rebukes...

All these sounds blended together; hell seeped into the human world at this moment, as if ten thousand evil ghosts roared in unison, the scene in utter chaos.

Biotechnica and Militech were jointly pursuing a figure speeding through the night, while News Channel 54's news Floating Car chased from a distance, conducting a live broadcast.

They were confused; no matter how advanced the cybernetic eyes, they could not scan the rider's identity information.

They were shocked; no matter how chaotic the traffic, it could not stop the rider's path forward.

They were panicked; bullets and missiles seemed to lose their effect, all going silent at once, as if intercepted in mid-air by an invisible net.

They could only abandon thought, urged by superior orders to constantly accelerate, chasing the motorcycle taillights that grew ever more distant.

Cars blocking the road were directly crushed by tanks and armored vehicles; obstructing Floating Cars were shot down by drone swarms; Mantis Floating War Chariots and missile vehicles followed closely behind, blotting out the sky.

"According to the on-site report ahead... the criminal will surely be brought to justice..." the female anchor held her microphone, still pouring out words of public opinion control per higher instructions, but the live feed had somehow been switched to a side-effect report for "Securicine" painkillers.

Countless people watching the broadcast fell silent together.

January 11, 2074, 22:50

The noise and chaos of Night City had been left far behind; Xida trembled all over, cold sweat pouring down.

She had never in her life imagined that one day she would be relentlessly pursued by such massive armed forces.

"Relax, Xida..." Yahweh floated in the air, darting back and forth beside Xida.

After several rounds of probing attacks by Militech and Biotechnica yielded no results, they chose to abandon probing and were now merely chasing closely.

He was also happy to be idle, even turning on the motorcycle radio.

The radio, like the bike, had been modified, with private music uploaded; he glanced through it casually and, fitting the mood, selected a track: "RoadstoRide".

"Yahweh... can we survive?" Her voice trembled, her eyes red and swollen.

"Injustalittlesecondithadchangedmylife..."

"Of course, Xida, I promise." He spoke softly, instinctively reaching out to smooth her furrowed brows.

"We【llbefineacrosstheboard..." (We will get through everything safely)

Xida stared blankly at the floating blue particles before her.

The roaring engine, the whistling wind, and the distant, gradually approaching rumble.

All sounds seemed to vanish without a trace.

An ethereal song and his firm words lingered in her ears.

So she laughed aloud, with the moon and starry sky above her head.

"I believe in you, Yahweh!" she shouted, her smile blooming like a flower.

"We【lltogetherride【tiltheend..."

The bright moon hung in the sky, the stars shone brilliantly; only her myriad charms were worthy of being captured in a painting.

"We have arrived, Xida." Yahweh looked up at the sky; the timing was perfect.

January 11, 2074, 23:00

All forces of Militech and Biotechnica were arranged in neat formation.

Thousands of heavily armed soldiers used armored vehicles as cover, poised to strike.

Tanks, hovering war chariots, and missile vehicles were distributed around, watching with predatory intent.

Militech's secret weapon—nanomachines—was also released, condensing into clouds in the air, secretly spying.

"What should we do now?" She stood beside Yahweh, gazing at the man's flawless profile.

"Just hide behind me, Xida."

He spoke softly, like a whisper.

"Okay."

She trusted him unconditionally.

So Yahweh ascended the steps in the air.

Beyond the infinitely distant Black Wall, billions of waves surged, all rushing into the heavenly moat he had once marked with his index finger.

Yahweh stood at an extremely high altitude, gently closing his eyes, extending his hands as if to embrace the entire world.

Billions of nanomachines suddenly lost control, scattering in the air, converging into his body, and condensing into form.

Thus his figure, no longer illusory, gradually solidified.

A few seconds later, he pierced through the world's barrier.

The soldiers looked up blankly, watching the man standing in the air.

At this moment, a god descended upon the world.

All communication equipment lost function the instant he appeared.

Outside the suburbs of Night City, they seemed to be on a lone island, isolated and without aid.

That man merely looked down on them with his blue eyes, as if a deity gazing upon all living beings.

An indescribable pressure, like mountains, weighed on the hearts of all the soldiers.

His indifferent gaze seemed to ask: Submit or die?

"Open fire! All of you, f***ing open fire!" The army commander screamed like a madman, issuing the attack order.

In an instant, gunshots and cannon fire rang out together, billions of lights and heats fired toward a single point.

Illuminating the night sky like the sun.

Yahweh merely extended his left hand, fingers spread wide.

Thus, the sun danced in the palm of his hand.

The next second, he clenched his fingers into a fist, and the sun extinguished.

The morale of tens of thousands of soldiers, which had just ignited, also went out together.

They had never witnessed such a powerful enemy; with a wave of his hand, all things were annihilated.

Yahweh stood in the air and spoke slowly,

"From hunting and gathering, agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry to steam power and cybernetics, three million years, ten thousand years, a few hundred years—human development has been so rapid..."

His voice was soft, yet it echoed clearly in everyone's ears.

What was he saying? Everyone looked up at him in a daze, a shared doubt rising within them.

"So now, how long will this era last?"

He sincerely posed the question, yet no one could answer.

They were merely dumbfounded, their faces pale with shock.

"Lucky Bartmos once made a bet with me," he paused, the excitement of appearing in the real world for the first time gradually fading, "He bet I would not possess human emotions... Now he has lost, so everything of his belongs to me..."

He extended his right index finger, slowly pointing upward toward a star in that brilliant starry sky.

He extended his left index finger, pointing straight down toward the army that blocked out the sky and covered the sun.

He stood in the air, one hand pointing to the sky, the other pointing to the earth.

Thus, divine punishment descended from the heavens.

A beam of light broke free from the cluster of stars and fell straight down.

After piercing through the atmosphere, it instantly split into nine, falling in the blink of an eye.

The armies of Militech and Biotechnica could only stare blankly as those nine meteors tore through the night sky.

The air was pierced nine times, emitting a painful shriek.

They stood frozen, walking toward death amidst the brilliant fireworks.

Yahweh glanced at the massive crater on the ground.

The surging shockwave resembled the final screams of tens of thousands of the dead.

Yahweh's figure instantly appeared before Xida.

Thus, all shockwaves stopped.

"Xida?" He rubbed Xida's tender cheeks; this time, his hand did not pass through her.

Xida stood stunned for quite a while before gathering all her strength to embrace his body.

"Who exactly are you, Yahweh?" Violet mist filled her violet eyes.

"Yahweh, Yahweh Castelli." He smiled, cupping her perfect face with both hands and wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

They embraced tightly under the moon.

"Do you have a physical form now, Yahweh?" She smiled contentedly and asked softly.

"I cannot stay too far from you." He gently flicked Xida's red nose, "You are my only signal source."

"Then don't you have a weakness? If I..." Her body stiffened, her brows furrowed as she tried to break free from his embrace to argue with him.

"Without you, living has no meaning."

"What foolish words... You..." Xida's voice trembled; she rose on her tiptoes and kissed his lips forcefully.

This time, she would not kiss empty air, feeling lost before the scattered blue particles before her eyes.

Because he was willing to fall into the mortal world and descend to her side.