Chapter 106: Why Are They the Only Humans?

After bidding farewell to the armed Silver Wrist, Feng Xue sat in the pilot's seat and said with surprise:

"I thought phantom beasts were rare."

"Definitely, phantom beasts are extremely rare," Sara immediately gave a firm reply; hearing this, Feng Xue grew even more surprised:

"So that young man before was lucky, then?"

"No, that parrot's phantomization level was below 70%, not a true phantom beast; it cannot be controlled by the Phantom Beast Taming System. It is presumed to have employed the far more dangerous live-synchronization technology—forcibly activating the 【Special Protocol】 through somatic cell exchange with a highly phantomized individual. This technique is extremely hazardous, with an extremely high probability of causing nanounit functional disorder, commonly known as 'Beastification Disease.'"

"Another new term—sounds like turning into an animal, or thinking you're an animal… hmm, cyber-psychosis, right?" Feng Xue tried to understand Sara's words through his own cognition, while simultaneously making fine adjustments to the helm to ensure Liu Yunxi stayed precisely on the course laid out by Sara's chart.

Compared to old-fashioned sailboats, Liu Yunxi, after activating her demonic energy propulsion mode, could reach a "high" speed of 50 km/h; though her endurance was poor, she still brought the so-called island into view by around four in the afternoon.

Compared to the previous island they landed on, this one was noticeably larger; from afar, it resembled the pointed soft hat worn by wizards in Harry Potter, with a tall hill rising in the center of a platform slightly above sea level. The hill's vegetation was relatively lush, and from a distance, faint traces of artificial excavation could be seen.

As they drew closer, Feng Xue even spotted wooden huts and several canoes moored along the shore.

(Something like this)

It seemed Feng Xue's arrival had drawn attention; faintly, many figures began moving about, gathering increasingly dense along the shore; Feng Xue immediately grew alert:

"Can't you at least scan them?"

"Designated as a new-generation indigenous secondary civilization human. According to the Deep Sea Expansion Interaction Act, they are entitled to the most basic human rights," Sara coldly rejected Feng Xue's suggestion; Feng Xue's face turned completely dark—

"Why am I a hominid and they're secondary civilization humans? What makes them more civilized than me?"

Hearing Feng Xue's frantic outburst, Sara still spoke in that flat tone:

"This isn't about civilization level—it's because your life form differs from my database's definition of human. In terms you can understand, your DNA similarity to modern humans is below 99.4%. Simply put, these indigenous people differ from modern humans only in knowledge, while you differ from modern humans in race. Nevertheless, you still belong to Hominidae, Homo, and Homo sapiens, so there is no reproductive isolation with modern humans. It is estimated that your third-generation offspring with modern humans will have DNA similarity above 99.9%, meeting the definition of human and qualifying for basic human rights."

"So you're saying those of you with nanounits who can fuse with animals still have 99.9% DNA similarity among yourselves?"

Feng Xue felt the dog was mocking him, but Sara solemnly made the dog nod its head:

"Nanounits, phantom synchronization, and other factors do not alter human DNA expression. It's like using artificial plasma or an artificial heart doesn't change racial classification. Also, racial determination isn't based solely on DNA—I'm merely giving you an example you can understand, based on the data in your database."

Here, Sara suddenly shifted tone, turning the dog's head toward the island:

"Rather than debating race with me, I suggest you focus on these indigenous people—they don't seem as friendly as the previous pirates."

"You've already labeled them pirates?" Feng Xue rolled his eyes, but reluctantly shifted his attention.

At this moment, seven or eight muscular men with copper-toned skin were rowing two canoes toward them; each wore only a ragged loincloth and held wooden spears—looking more and more like African tribesmen from a documentary—except for their skin color.

"Who are you?"

A man standing at the bow, holding a spear, shouted the question. To Feng Xue's surprise, his Mandarin was far more standard than that of the previous youth named Meika!

Feng Xue looked closer and suddenly noticed the "catch":

Although these men held wooden spears, the spearheads were bound with extremely sharp metal tips—shining like mirrors. It was hard to imagine such metal artifacts appearing in the hands of indigenous people still using canoes and fish spears.

"We are passing adventurers seeking to dock and rest," Feng Xue replied loudly while observing; the man at the bow, hearing Feng Xue's standard Mandarin, seemed to relax slightly, but still held up his spear:

"To enter the Domain of the Weather Goddess, you must offer an Offering!"

"Weather Goddess?" Feng Xue doubted this was merely a primitive belief, but still followed the cultivation norms he knew, activating the Divine Sight Technique. As his spiritual energy gathered, a luminous aura unfolded before his eyes.

In Feng Xue's vision, the crowd gathered on the distant island coalesced into a multicolored field of votive energy, flowing like water in a siphon experiment, climbing steadily up the central peak of the island, gradually purifying in hue until forming a pure canopy above the island, while the impure portions slid back down the slopes and rolled en masse into the sea.

"So there really is a phantom deity? And the worship seems quite strong!"

Feng Xue found the sight oddly unsettling; though his own methods for nurturing phantom deities could produce one within years with proper technique, it required constant collection, offering, and purification of votive energy.

Though this island was sizable, it could barely support a thousand or so people—how could such a small population sustain a phantom deity of this scale? Either their ancestors had worshipped for thousands of years, or every single person held unwavering faith in this one deity.

Realizing their faith was likely far purer than ordinary, Feng Xue immediately spoke:

"We are willing to respect your faith. What kind of Offering does the great Weather Goddess require?"

As he spoke, Feng Xue quietly edged closer to Feina—if this thing dared say "live sacrifice," he'd knock it out and let the dog take over!

But the man, upon hearing Feng Xue's words, merely smiled, revealing a set of uneven teeth—

"The Weather Goddess favors rare minerals and fresh catches. Spices and salt are also excellent!"

(End of Chapter)