Chapter 388: with translation of chapter title

Fang Zhiyan believed his thoughts should be able to gain Ying Duo's approval, but if he just put himself in Ying Duo's shoes, he could understand his words.

Ying Duo's nature is the same as his.

But Ying Duo clearly had no intention of reasoning with him.

Oh, then you admit you used my compatriots as experimental subjects.

Ying Duo spoke coldly, his golden eyes locking onto Fang Zhiyan; the inorganic gaze made Fang Zhiyan's heart tighten.

"Hmm...... I don't deny that," Fang Zhiyan spread his hands, "but it's a pity that the Dome has no interest in invading other worlds; compared to invading worlds, the Dome has more important things to do, and research on the Undead is also meant to reduce such occurrences."

Oh, then what is the Dome's true purpose?

Ying Duo asked in a feigned tone, simply following Fang Zhiyan's words.

Actually, whether Fang Zhiyan answers or not doesn't matter; after all, no matter how you say it, it's still the main mission of such a huge organization...

It's to control the gods.

Fang Zhiyan smiled narrowly and revealed the Dome's long-premeditated purpose to Ying Duo, then slowly walked to a wall and pressed his hand against the cold metal.

The Dome's original intention since its establishment was to control the gods in its hands.

The civilians of this world know nothing; they only pray, praying to survive today, praying not to become monsters tomorrow, praying that the lofty gods will glance at them.

He paused, "And what about the Church?"

The Church tells them that suffering is a trial from the gods, mutation is the gods' wrath, and if they pray devoutly, the gods will bless them.

Fang Zhiyan turned around, his dark red eyes reflecting the laboratory's cold light.

But why do we repeatedly pray for a response from the gods that may not come? To place our fate in the hands of something completely unseen and intangible, begging for its mercy... isn't that absurd?

Ying Duo didn't speak; Fang Zhiyan continued, his speed not fast, yet like some kind of delirium:

Those civilians prayed to the gods their whole lives, then what did they get? Those destined to become monsters still do; the Church tells them it's a trial, then they keep praying, keep dying.

But we are different.

He walked toward a huge container, inside which something oddly shaped was soaked, looking like some creature's embryo yet not quite.

The Dome understood from the start: gods are not something worthy of worship; they are merely beings with great power, like Aberrant Species, like Special Ability Practitioners, like you and me.

He turned his head, looking at Ying Duo.

Power itself is neither right nor wrong; the issue lies in who uses it and for what purpose.

Ying Duo tilted his head, "So you want to capture the gods and study them?"

Fang Zhiyan smiled, "That's not quite right; the Dome merely wants to use the gods' power for itself."

No matter how you hear it, it sounds like something a villainous organization would say.

One can only say that the wasteland world is so vast that both the Dome and the Church have their own goals, and the players are merely a third party that sprang up midway, with many twists and turns involved.

The information revealed by Fang Zhiyan and Ying Duo indeed contained a lot, but Yang Yixie then discovered a problem.

This cheap teacher of his is really constantly digging pits for him; not a single word is false, but his skill at avoiding the important and emphasizing the trivial is top-notch.

Wow, the Dome is really impressive.

Ying Duo clapped his hands expressionlessly, his tone flat.

Teacher always says the Dome wants this and that, but what is your own purpose?

Fang Zhiyan froze for a moment; his smile was faint, yet it suddenly caused an inexplicable palpitation.

"The Church says the Dome is a bunch of madmen," he began slowly, "because we attempt to seize divine authority, but I sometimes wonder——"

He turned his head, his dark red eyes meeting Ying Duo's golden eyes.

Do the gods truly exist?

He raised his hand and lightly scratched the metal wall; the wall suddenly lit up, becoming a huge screen, and immediately seven points of light appeared.

Seven differently colored points of light, circling a certain center, slowly rotated.

Do you know the Divine Oracle? Fang Zhiyan asked.

Ying Duo nodded, "I've heard of it, related to some prophecy."

"Correct," Fang Zhiyan pointed at those points, "this world has seven basic laws—spacetime, fate, balance, life, consciousness, chaos, annihilation—and the gods master all seven, thus they are gods."

He paused.

The so-called Divine Oracle is merely someone who stands at the peak of a certain law; the Church's saintess and pope are exceptions, but they share the spacetime law—one unsurpassable in time, the other peerless in space.

"But they are ultimately just 'standing at the peak,'" Fang Zhiyan's voice carried a subtle disdain, "they can borrow the law's power to become its perfect emissaries, yet they are not the law itself."

He turned toward Ying Duo, his dark red eyes gleaming.

But what if someone could master two at once? Or even three, four?

Ying Duo looked at him, saying nothing.

Fang Zhiyan continued, his tone gaining a hint of fervor:

If someone could master all seven laws at once, would they still be considered 'human'?

Or rather——

He paused.

He would be the new 'god'?

The laboratory fell silent for a few seconds; only the unknown mosaics in those containers occasionally emitted faint sounds, while Ying Duo watched the seven slowly rotating points of light on the screen, their colors reflected in his eyes.

Then he spoke, his tone still flat, as if these grand words could not move him in the slightest:

So you study the Undead for this?

Fang Zhiyan shook his head, "You come from another world completely different from this one; your souls passed through the spatial barrier, crossed the river of time, and descended into people in this world."

What does that mean?

He stepped toward Ying Duo, step by step, his dark red eyes fixed on him.

It means your souls have themselves already undergone a 'crossing at the level of laws.'

"Time, space... even fate."

He listed one by one, "You need a space‑time passage to come to this world, and you also need the 'coincidence' of the law of fate; there may even be other existences mixing in, you are likewise chosen by the law, yet not bound by it."

He stopped in front of Ying Duo, lowered his head and looked at him.

"So, I would like to invite you to join a research project of mine in the future."

"God‑making."