Chapter 359: with translation of chapter title

June 23, 2126.

At this point, seventy full days have passed since the Yudora incident.

Thus entity: Yudora (maybe "Yudora Ship"? but we keep as Yudora). We'll list as Yudora.

During this period, the Plague Doctor's investigation of the Sokoyang ruins opened a channel linking the physical universe and other space, marking the first time humanity has mastered how to open a passage to other space since Sui Bian assumed power.

Sokoyang

Sui Bian

Therefore, the OriginalBody Governor Leon of the Sanctum Star Region mobilized the Dark Angel Legion and UNSC elites to be permanently stationed on Sokoyang, allowing this originally marginal, 'backward' colony to quickly gain abundant manpower and material resources, leading colonists who heard the news to also prioritize Sokoyang for colonization.

OriginalBody Governor Leon

Dark Angel Legion

UNSC: likely an acronym, keep as UNSC.

Sokoyang

In the intelligence held by Umbrella's high command, it was revealed that the company had rescued the Underworld King Hades and Underworld Queen Persephone, who had been missing for ten thousand years, from the Chaos Realm in other space.

Underworld King Hades

Underworld Queen Persephone

Because Persephone was sealed by a powerful curse, the company covertly transferred the Underworld Queen and the perpetually weakened Underworld King Hades to the Terra Shield in the Solar System, where Sui Bian personally lifted the curse.

After a thorough examination by the Plague Doctor, it was found that Underworld Queen Persephone's physical form and spiritual energy show no signs of corruption or degeneration.

However, the Underworld King Hades, suspected of having been tortured for ten thousand years, has suffered severe damage to both his body and spiritual energy, unable to heal or return to his peak; according to the Plague Doctor, the vast majority of his spiritual energy was forcibly taken away.

After more than ten days of observation, up to today, the Underworld King and Queen have both awakened, fully regained consciousness, and can now undergo interrogation by Umbrella.

: "——————" just a separator line; no entities.

: "…" ellipsis.

The underground base of the new headquarters building.

In an interrogation room on the sixth underground level, Hades and Persephone, wearing blue-and-white striped hospital garb, sat at one side of a metal table against the wall.

Both gods remained silent and composed, for they were not foolish; they could sense a human continuously releasing spiritual energy suppression that made them feel suffocated, and any rash move on their part would surely provoke that human to annihilate them without hesitation.

Moreover, they knew that Artemis seemed to have reached some deep cooperation with humanity, so they were also willing to cooperate with Umbrella.

Not long after.

Swish—

The opening of the interrogation room gate broke the quiet, oppressive atmosphere.

Artemis, dressed in a rare black suit, strode into the interrogation room, and as the gate closed again, restoring the lockdown, she took her seat before her uncle and aunt.

Then, with a smile, she asked, 'Uncle, sister, how do you feel? Are you still accustomed to staying here?'

'All right,' Persephone replied, nodding without expression.

'Artemis...' Hades said solemnly, 'What happened while we were away? How are Zeus and Poseidon doing? And... what is your relationship with humanity, especially with the human who continually releases pressure?'

'Uncle, the situation is somewhat special now.' Artemis smiled and said, 'Today's Earth, and even the vast expanse of space, are under human rule; the era of the gods has long become the past, so...'

'Please answer my questions first; once I and my superior learn everything you know, I will naturally clarify things for you. If you don't cooperate... uncle, with your wisdom you should be able to predict what will happen, right?'

'"..." Hades first stared intently at Artemis, trying to probe or sense her emotional fluctuations, confirming that what this niece said was true, and with the presence of that human (Sui Bian), he finally spoke.'

'Well, what do you want to know?'

'"Thanks, uncle." Artemis silently breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that Hades would no longer be as wise and steady as before, thus refusing to cooperate, after all, Hades and Persephone are her only close relatives.'

Then she continued, "I want to know how, after my father led the Olympian Army into other space, they became corrupted and degenerated, and why you, uncle, and Persephone ended up trapped in a Chaos Realm."

'"This..." Hades adopted a reminiscent expression, organized his thoughts, and then slowly said to Artemis.'

'"When we first entered other space..."'

Next, thanks to Hades as a survivor of the Olympian Army, Artemis, and Sui Bian, who was unknowingly releasing psychic pressure while monitoring remotely from his office, the detailed process of the Olympian Army's downfall was finally understood.

Ten thousand years ago, Zeus personally led more than half of the Olympian gods, demigods, and even many human heroes, along with hundreds of millions of Olympian God Servant Soldiers, into other space under the guidance of the Divine Messenger Hermes.

The first region they reached was the Chaos Realm of Demon Samrael, the mastermind behind the Arcadia rebellion and the ambush on Artemis.

There, the Olympian Army was ambushed, suffering heavy casualties among human heroes, demigods, and God Servant Soldiers; many lacking resolve among the human heroes and demigods were corrupted by Samrael's "thick soup" and turned against the army.

At the same time, the guide Hermes finally tore off his disguise, revealing his true nature.

It turns out that when the Blood Demon Grief‑led demon first invaded Earth and clashed with Ares, Samrael had already covertly corrupted Hermes, and this is why Artemis could be successfully ambushed by Samrael, inseparable from Hermes.

This is also why, when Rus alone opposed the gods over a decade ago, Hermes—who should have been the fastest to flee—degenerated into a bloated, corrupt, filthy body.

As the demons' strategist, Samrael first let the strong but reckless Blood Demon invade Earth to draw the gods' attention, then covertly investigated the gods' temperaments, and, using the corrupted Hermes, successfully ambushed Artemis, who could produce the Round Moon Water and posed the greatest threat to the demons.

Immediately afterward, Zeus, distressed over his beloved daughter's coma and aware of the threat other space posed to Earth, followed Samrael's expectations and plans, angrily trusting his already‑corrupted son Hermes, and led his army into the Chaos Realm that Samrael and many demons had prepared as a trap; thus, after the gods' entire army was destroyed, they could easily achieve their goal of corrupting Earth.

However, Samrael, Blood Demon Griffin, and the many low‑rank demons seem to have misjudged the strength of the major gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.

Despite the ambush, the army suffered heavy casualties, yet Zeus and his brothers easily defeated all enemies and, even in the demons' home other space, shattered and crushed the physical bodies of Samrael and the Blood Demon.

After this ambush, Samrael and the Blood Demon were forced to "rebirth," granting Earth and humanity ten thousand years of peace.

But…

Without the guide Hermes, Zeus and the Olympian Army could no longer withdraw from other space, and returning to the physical universe and Earth became a pipe dream.

Therefore, Zeus and his companions had no choice but to keep fighting desperately in other space; during this time, the number of God Servants dwindled, and more and more demigods and god spirits, unable to resist temptation, actively left the ranks to unleash their infinitely amplified desires.

Hades said he didn't know how long it had been, but by then only Zeus, Poseidon, his two brothers, his nieces Pallas and Persephone, his nephew Apollo, his wife, and fewer than a hundred thousand loyal God Servant Soldiers remained beside him.

Despite constant whispers and temptations trying to draw them in, they relied on their divinity and formidable strength to persist, doing their best to slay and destroy demons and the demons' Chaos Realms.

However, their actions against the demons attracted the attention of an evil god.

The first to falter and fall was nephew Apollo, who became a devout follower of lust, followed by niece Pallas.

Desperate and hopeless, Hades, together with Zeus and Poseidon, attempted an attack on the multitude of evil gods, but suffered a crushing defeat—being struck down by the evil god's great demon and demon prince before they could even reach the evil gods themselves.

As the last of the juniors, Persephone was forced into a coma by gazing upon the evil god; in fact, this was fortunate, for if she had joined Hades and the other gods in attacking, the best outcome would have been their souls scattering.

However, their clash with the evil god was not a total loss; at least the attacks of the great demon and demon prince stirred turbulence and storms in other space, unexpectedly flinging Hades and Persephone back into the physical universe, where they landed in the Sokoyang Desert thousands of years ago.

Thereafter, Hades and Persephone were separated from Zeus and Poseidon, and this Underworld King and Queen couple used their wisdom and divine power to assist the native inhabitants of Sokoyang.

Over the span of nearly eight hundred Earth years, the star region where Sokoyang lay continued to endure the aftermath of other‑space storms, while the Underworld King and Queen dispersed many minor pests.

The stele transported by the Yudora and the sculptures inside the pyramid ruins are either other‑space beings jointly sealed by Hades and Persephone, or objects parasitized by demons.

This caused the local natives of Sokoyang to deeply revere and have faith in the Underworld King and Queen.

And just eight hundred Earth years later, Zeus and Poseidon regrouped, leading a full‑strength, even expanded Olympian Army to descend upon

But the King of Gods and the Sea King have already fallen; naturally, their purpose in coming here is to recruit Hades and Persephone, attempting to do so by various means.

Unfortunately, this Underworld King and Queen couple cannot be corrupted at all; perhaps because deep down they still feel affection for their brothers and offspring, Zeus ultimately plundered nearly ninety percent of Hades' spiritual energy, then sealed Persephone in a crystal coffin, exiling and imprisoning both in the Chaos Realm of another space, with a great demon named Rosa assigned to guard them.

Afterwards, the indigenous people of Suokeyang, in order to commemorate the Underworld King and Queen, thereby mobilized the entire tribe's manpower and material resources, and spent nearly a hundred years building a pyramid at the place where the Underworld King and Queen disappeared.

Soon after the pyramid was completed, four load-bearing pillars spontaneously appeared, inscribed with the way to the 'Underworld'; it might have been Zeus, or perhaps Poseidon deliberately did it, but the indigenous people of Sokoyang, with their knowledge, could not possibly understand the meaning of the inscriptions.

After that, a thousand years passed; Sokoyang, having lost the protection of the Underworld king and queen, saw its technology and culture gradually decline, and then faced an invasion by the rising Taipu Empire; ultimately, the pyramid ruins were buried by the desert, and the indigenous inhabitants were also slaughtered to the last by the Taipu Empire, resulting in extinction.

Only when humanity destroyed the Taipu Empire with lightning speed, and took an interest in archaeology and excavation, would the pyramid ruins not remain buried forever in darkness.

After listening to her paternal uncle's account, Artemis remained silent for a long time, finally closing her eyes slightly, taking a deep breath to calm her mind, and then said, feeling relieved:

"Thank you, uncle, for clearing up my confusion; it has let me and my superiors learn about the past, and finally… thank you for your efforts."

Saying this, Artemis lightly moved her left hand, calling up the holographic control panel in the interrogation room, to show her 'backward' uncle of ten thousand years, and her sister who is poor at speech and expression, appearing indifferent to everything, the current state and territory of humanity, especially focusing on introducing Astate, OriginalBody, and the father of OriginalBody, Sui Bian.

Regarding her relationship with Sui Bian, the explanation Artemis gave to Hades was that of 'employee and employer', not the sort Hades speculated—being threatened by Sui Bian and forced to work for humanity, risking her life.

At the same time.

In the office, Sui Bian leaned back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling as he fell into a brief contemplation.

Hades described the encounter of the Olympian army, which actually wasn't much different from what he had imagined; as for the great demon Rosas, who was instantly killed by Artemis with a single thunderbolt, he had also casually expended 200 points to loot it.

Actually, don't underestimate these 200 points—know that 200 points are enough to prove Rosas is strong, after all, the system adjusts the points needed for looting according to Sui Bian's strength.

If it were a hundred years ago, Sui Bian estimated that looting the Great Demon Rosas would require at least twenty thousand to twenty-five thousand points.

Finishing his thoughts, Sui Bian glanced sideways at the White Empress and said: 'Please tell Artemis to try to persuade Hades and Persephone to temporarily cooperate with the company, working out the pros and cons.'

"All right, Chairman." the White Empress agreed.

Sui Bian believed that Hades and Persephone would soon become reliable partners and comrades for humanity.

On one hand, having remained uncorrupted for ten thousand years, their 'credit score' could be considered perfect; on the other hand, Sui Bian can use his spiritual energy to quickly accomplish 'assimilation', thoroughly turning this Underworld king and queen into steadfast allies.

———————

…

"Beep! Beep!"

"Hey! Can you drive or not?!"

"Hey brother! You're going too fast, aren't you?!"

On the surface streets of the metropolitan area, two drivers took advantage of the red-light gap, got out of their vehicles, and engaged in a verbal spat.

"Whoa! You two, don't fight!"

Meanwhile, a kind elite driver, using his height and strength advantage, easily separated the two drivers who were getting closer and closer, seeming about to come to blows but in fact only daring to move their mouths.

"Boom—!"

Just then, a loud muffled bang rang out, interrupting all the drivers' actions.

(End of chapter)