"But according to the information we have, this person is merely a low-level warrior from the previous civilization... The previous civilization possessed exceptionally strong individual strength, and may even have possessed some legendary superpowers. We have compiled this information from data gathered worldwide! Moreover, what is most terrifying about their civilization is... their technology for utilizing nuclear energy is extremely advanced! Advanced to an unimaginable degree!"
"nuclear energy?"
"That's right, their weapons are all powered by nuclear energy. The style of those weapons is different from our current weapons. Their weapons are similar to cold weapons, but they possess extremely powerful energy... Just like in mythology, they are the gods in the myths we live in now!"
"How is this possible?!"
“That’s the truth,” Chen Fei said with a wry smile. “To our civilization, they are gods. Grandpa, do you know what the Scandinavian Mountains are? They are… the birthplace of Norse mythology!”
Chapter 296 The Rules of Heaven (Part 1)
"Many myths were actually passed down from our ancestors. Some may be exaggerated, but they weren't created out of thin air. For example, many myths record a great flood, which was caused by the melting of glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age due to global warming. But they were actually people, just like us... Our research shows that they are basically similar to us in terms of DNA, with only slight differences. This is the main reason why the great hoax of the century eventually turned into a group of crazy scientists working on a god-making project... They wanted to use current technology to create the gods of the previous civilization."
Chen Fei gave a wry smile: "But what they don't know is that in the previous civilization, they were also human, not gods. The real gods are those we cannot see."
"Grandpa, you noticed it just now too. The previous generation of civilization had a very low reproductive rate. At their peak, they only had 300,000 people—300,000 people worldwide! Why is that?! It's because of the constraints imposed by God!" Chen Fei said, emphasizing each word.
"The true god is the rules! The rules of this world!"
"We all know about food chains, pyramid-shaped food chains. At the bottom are the most numerous but weakest creatures. Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp. Once this balance is broken, it will cause unpredictable consequences. And you must know, the people of the previous civilization were so incredibly powerful; they stood at the very top of this world's food chain, even higher than us! Our world has 7 billion humans, if not… well, I can't tell you that right now. But the largest population of the previous civilization was only 300,000! You can imagine how much higher they were than us!"
Seven billion, three hundred thousand, that's equivalent to one person from the previous civilization being worth more than two million people today!
Chen Fei said bitterly, "Humanity in this era has exceeded the Earth's carrying capacity, which is equivalent to exceeding the rules... We quickly suffered retribution, which was a rule. A way of heaven, an inviolable way of heaven, which uses many methods to maintain the rules of this world... Humanity has been playing with fire all along."
"Is this why people in the previous civilization had low fertility?!"
“That’s right, that’s the rule, that’s the real God!” Chen Fei said, “Grandpa wouldn’t understand if I gave you some profound examples, so let me use something from your time as an analogy… a very old movie, ‘Final Destination.’ Have you seen it, Grandpa?”
Chen Xu nodded. "Final Destination" is a classic horror film. It tells the story of a boy with a strange precognitive ability; he foresaw that his plane would explode, so he disembarked early. But death isn't so easily escaped. These people were destined to die, but they escaped, so death uses various methods to take their lives—the so-called "King of Hell" decrees that someone should die at midnight. Who dares to keep someone alive until dawn?!
It's worth mentioning that although the film is called "Final Destination," the character of Death from the mythology does not appear in the entire film... All the deaths in the film are accidents!
A series of coincidences led to a chilling accident!
"You mean the rules create accidents?!"
"It could be considered an accident, but it's much more subtle than the movie 'Final Destination'," Chen Fei said. "It's a rule, for example, when the people of the previous civilization were too powerful, the rules caused their fertility to decline. And those who hoped to rebuild the Tower of Babel to reach the heavens, that is, those who wanted to use technology to create gods, had to fail."
"Tell me, what exactly happened?!"
"It's very simple. The reason the 'century-long scam' is ultimately called a 'scam' is because everything they researched was utterly useless! The benefits far outweighed the drawbacks! Take, for example, the drug that supposedly boosts intelligence. The terrifying thing about this drug is that while it can temporarily increase intelligence, even turning an idiot into a genius, it creates a terrifying dependence! And its effects are extremely limited! Once the effects wear off, a person's intelligence not only reverts to its previous level but also decreases! The long-term consequence is… becoming an idiot!"
Chen Xu gasped, thinking of Dr. Li and his research team!
“So many things!” Chen Fei shook his head sadly. “They believed they could change everything through scientific means. But they discovered that there was an invisible lock above humanity’s head, a lock that caused humanity to lose even more while gaining some things! This is the rule… a rule that humanity cannot break…”
"Originally, in the mid-21st century, when the biggest hoax of the century was in full swing, someone discovered this and proposed this rule. However, it was ridiculed by the then-fanatical academic community as a pessimist, but the pessimist ultimately won, which no one expected."
"Then how did you know the rules?"
“Because of the invention of the time machine.” Chen Fei quickly replied, “The time machine is also a very powerful thing. Theoretically speaking, once a time machine is built, it can go back to the past and rewrite the entire history! Therefore, the time machine is also subject to the rules, and because of this, we discovered the so-called protagonist theory.”
Chen Fei's expression turned incredibly fanatical: "There are never any absolutely perfect rules in this world! Even the so-called Heavenly Dao has loopholes that can be exploited! Just like the protagonist theory we discovered... When a person is qualified to drive the development of the entire world, then he is the protagonist! And the power of the protagonist transcends the rules of Heavenly Dao!"
"No way? That's that awesome?!"
"Of course, whether someone is truly the protagonist is for future generations to judge. Grandpa, in our eyes, you are the protagonist, and your protagonist status hinders the Heavenly Dao. Therefore, according to the rules of spacetime, the Heavenly Dao will definitely create all sorts of trouble around you! For example, as you just mentioned, someone suddenly died and became a ghost on the internet... I can be sure that this is the Heavenly Dao's rules at work! This is definitely not some one in a billion probability. It's God! God is tripping you up!"
Hearing this, Chen Xu shuddered. Good heavens, is it that scary? God!
The opponent is a god!
"This is something you have to go through," Chen Fei said solemnly. "From the moment you got your hands on the computer, you were destined to stand on the opposite side of the Heavenly Dao's rules. The Heavenly Dao is terrifying, but it doesn't have many good ways to deal with the protagonist! As I said, the Heavenly Dao, or God, is not a powerful being in the traditional sense, but a set of rules. It will use many methods to create obstacles for you! But it won't directly attack you! However, there is one thing. Because you became the protagonist by relying on an external object, namely this computer from the future, once you use this computer to do too many or too significant things that affect the course of history, the Heavenly Dao's counterattack will be stronger!"
"No...no way?!" Chen Xu was somewhat frightened. After all, his opponent was a god! He was dealing with the very rules of Heaven! This left him no choice but to be fearless!
"But we have a solution, Grandpa, don't be such a coward, okay?" Chen Fei had a wry smile on his face: "If you really die, then I'll die too! Did I send the computer back to you to commit suicide?!"
Chen Xu calmed down a bit after he said that. He forced a smile and said, "Who's afraid?!"
Chen Fei continued, "You know, the protagonist is actually part of the Heavenly Dao's rules, right? That's the biggest loophole in the Heavenly Dao's rules! It set up the protagonist mode, which means the protagonist is the greatest, the protagonist can't die, and the protagonist will ultimately succeed. But if the protagonist forcibly uses external forces too much, it will cause the spacetime rules to punish him. This is actually a very contradictory thing, but it is precisely because of this contradiction that we can exploit it!"
"Because you are the protagonist, the troubles that Heaven sets for you will sometimes not only not harm you, but will actually bring you some benefits. And Grandpa, you must remember the most important thing... You must become the true protagonist!"
"What?!" Chen Xu exclaimed, "Didn't you say I was already the main character? What do you mean by 'real main character'? Are you kidding me?!"
Chen Fei scratched his head and smiled sheepishly: "Um, Grandpa. I didn't explain it clearly to you... Actually, you're just a substitute for the main character, not the absolute main character in the true sense."
Seeing Chen Xu's face darken, Chen Fei quickly said, "Grandpa, let me explain! You need to understand. There is often more than one protagonist, or rather, there is often more than one person who can become a protagonist... For example, at the end of the Qin Dynasty, if there were no Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, would the Qin Dynasty have survived? How could that be? Even without Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, it was the trend of the times, the rule of heaven, and someone would always overthrow the tyrannical Qin and become the next emperor. And if Wu Sangui hadn't opened the Shanhaiguan Pass, would the Qing army have been unable to enter the pass? Impossible, there would always have been an opportunity for him to enter the pass."
"But some people are not the true protagonists, and their fates are terrible... Take Alexander the Great, for example. He unified what was almost the largest kingdom in history, but he suddenly died of illness, and we don't even know how he died! That's the way of Heaven! Because he wasn't the true protagonist at the time!"
"But Grandpa, you're different. Because it's still this computer... you possess the qualities of a protagonist in this era. To put it bluntly, a protagonist has to do certain things to be called a protagonist, and the protagonist of this era also has his own tasks. For example, Xiaomin's invention of this supercomputer, the invention of the time machine... these are all necessary conditions for completing this time point. And there are some other tasks. As long as you complete them, Grandpa, then you'll have accomplished your mission, which means you are the protagonist! To be frank, the protagonist is someone who works for the Heavenly Dao!"
At this point, Chen Fei chuckled: "So, Grandpa, you understand what I mean, right? Sending the supercomputer back to you will cause the spacetime rules to make things difficult for you, but at the same time, after you do some things that the protagonist has to do, the Heavenly Dao will have to take care of you according to the protagonist's law... Heh, but if you do something that the Heavenly Dao is unhappy about, the Heavenly Dao will suppress you again... This is a huge contradiction!"
Chen Xu finally asked, "Then what things does Heaven approve of? What things does Heaven disapprove of? If you tell me, then I can rest easy, right?"
"I knew you'd ask that!" Chen Fei rolled his eyes decisively. "But I won't tell you! Don't hit me! Because if you know the history, it will be even more disadvantageous for you! Besides, because of certain rules, I can't reveal these things!"
Chen Xu rolled his eyes: "Damn it, fine, I'll just not do anything then! Anyway, I've earned enough money to live a carefree life for the rest of my days!"
"That won't do!" Chen Fei said, "Grandpa, since you've already embarked on this path... well, this path of no return! Let me see your thinking, Grandpa. Rabies Buster, Translator, Food Detector... very good, very good, Grandpa. Putting everything else aside, Translator is a masterpiece in history! Do you know? The founder of this software directly became the second Bill Gates! That was only because Translator was later pirated! But in your era, to be honest, even thirty years from now, it's impossible for pirated versions to appear in 2007! Just think how much money you could make?!"
Chen Xu vaguely sensed something was wrong: "Even making more money isn't okay?"
“Nonsense!” Chen Fei said, “That wasn’t originally yours! And it appeared in this world years too early! How could it not bring some side effects? Think about it yourself, the Babel Translator! The Tower of Babel! That’s something the Heavenly Dao most abhors! That name isn’t for nothing! I reckon that the cyber ghost this time might be because of this. But don’t be afraid, to be honest, if you wanted to die, you would have died long ago… The guy who developed ‘The Translator’ crashed a month after its release. Whether he died or was rewarded by being transported to another world is unclear…”
I will never fly again in my life!
Seeing Chen Xu's expression, Chen Fei said with a laugh, "Grandpa, if the King of Hell wants you to die at midnight, who dares to keep you alive until dawn? You just can't take a plane, can you? Think of it as 'Final Destination'!"
Chen Xu looked like he was about to cry: "What should I do?!"
"So you're the protagonist, right? How could a protagonist be so pathetic? If you were going to die, you would have died long ago. In the end, you still managed to escape danger, didn't you?" Chen Fei said, "Because you did something that pleased the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Dao couldn't let you die!"
"What is it?!"
"A massive scam of the century!"
Chapter 297 The Rules of Heaven (Part 2)
"I mentioned the protagonist mode before. That is, the protagonist does something that aligns with the rules of nature within a certain period of time. Or rather, the protagonist plays a powerful role in advancing this event. Because basically, apart from scientific researchers like Newton, Watt, and Einstein, how many other events that relate to major historical periods can be accomplished by one person alone?"
“We’ve done some research, and the forty years from 2010 to 2060 is a period that needs a protagonist. What this protagonist needs to do is stop the century-long hoax, or rather, guide the direction of human development onto the right path.”
Chen Xu frowned: "You keep asking me if it's 2010 yet, is that the reason?"
“That’s right,” Chen Fei said. “Based on certain rules, I can’t tell you about the future. I can only hint at it indirectly… On New Year’s Day 2010, someone published their first theological paper, which scholars considered the beginning of a century-long hoax. I can’t say what will happen after that, and you shouldn’t ask, because knowing some things too early won’t do you any good.”
Chen Fei sighed: "The power of the Heavenly Dao's rules is beyond your imagination. Otherwise, the great deception of the century wouldn't be called a great deception, but rather the construction of a second Tower of Babel, but the result is the same... If one goes too far against the Heavenly Dao, the consequences will be extremely terrible and terrifying! This is not a matter of us being cowardly... We learned through translating some written materials left by prehistoric civilizations that they also understood what the Heavenly Dao was, and the destruction of prehistoric civilizations was due to their complete obliteration by the Heavenly Dao!"
"No way?!"
"Don't think that the Heavenly Dao is just a joke! It's an invisible and intangible rule, but it's all around us! To put it in a more mystical way, it's about the five elements' mutual generation and restraint; to put it scientifically, it's about the three laws of mechanics and relativity. Everything in our lives follows a rule! It's just that the power of this rule is invisible, and it's impossible to see it, because everyone who tries to see it is dead! The construction of the Tower of Babel was destroyed, but that only sacrificed a small number of people. But what if the Tower of Babel had been successfully built? The Heavenly Dao would have used its power to wipe out the entire civilization! Until tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of years later, a new civilization would be born."
"Actually, the Dao of Heaven may sound mysterious, but it's just a set of rules. Grandpa, you should know the simplest truth: the overuse of Earth's resources has caused air pollution, global warming, and abnormal climate, etc... So what will happen when these things reach their extreme? Grandpa, you are now at the end of 2007, so open your eyes and take a look. See what special events will happen in the next few years."
Chen Xu vaguely caught something and frowned, saying, "You mean there will be a major natural disaster in the next two years?"
"There are also human reasons! But I can't say who."
Both sides fell silent.
Chen Xu thought for a moment and asked, "So, if I handle the whole century-long scam properly, then Heaven won't bother me anymore?"
Chen Fei smiled and said, "Grandpa, you don't need to be so nervous. Do you think I would harm you?"
Chen Xu was taken aback: "What do you mean by that?"
Chen Fei laughed and said, "Actually, I saw the note you left in the Swiss bank a long time ago. At that time, the prototype of the time machine had already been completed. But time machines are a big deal, and if I hadn't made thorough preparations, why would I have taken the risk of sending you the computer? Because if you use this supercomputer from the future, you will be rejected by the Heavenly Dao. What if you die? Then I'll be gone too!"
"Uh...that makes sense."
"If you just want a regular computer, I can give you one from the early 21st century, one that was considered cutting-edge technology even in our time. Do you think I can't guess that you, Grandpa, would misuse the data and technology on that computer? If you didn't, then you wouldn't be yourself!"
"You're the one abusing it..." Chen Xu retorted stubbornly. But in his heart, he also agreed that with such a high-tech computer from the future, it was impossible for him to remain ordinary and not use its futuristic abilities.
"So Grandpa, if you were going to be eliminated, you would have been eliminated long ago. Why wait until now?" Chen Fei laughed. "Besides, did I not know you would use this computer to make money? If you really went against the will of Heaven and reached the point of being eliminated, wouldn't sending you this computer be like sending you to commit suicide?"
That makes some sense... Chen Xu realized his mistake and, embarrassed and angry, said, "You were just lying to me about what you said earlier?"
"No, no!" Chen Fei quickly waved his hand: "Those are all the truth, there really are rules of Heaven. But as I said, the rules of Heaven have loopholes, and we just need to take advantage of those loopholes."
"What do you mean?" Chen Xu suddenly realized and said excitedly, "That's right, you just need to tell me what I can do and what I can't do if it violates the rules, right?!"
Chen Xu thought he was incredibly clever, but Chen Fei asked him, "Grandpa, do you think there's any point in living like this?"
Chen Xu was stunned for a moment, then slumped down.
Yes, if you need someone from the future to tell you everything—what you can and can't do—then what's the point of having a supercomputer? If your entire life path is planned out for you, what's the point of living?
"What should we do then?!"
Chen Fei laughed, "Grandpa, don't be like that. It's my fault for not being clear before. Think about it yourself. If there were things you couldn't do, shouldn't I have reminded you in the first place? Or just erased all the things you couldn't do?! Why go through all this trouble? Alright, I won't beat around the bush anymore. Grandpa, you've got this computer from the future. Use the data and abilities on it as you please. It doesn't matter. So what if it causes some rejection from the Heavenly Dao? To put it simply, if I, your grandson, were to be a little naughty and pull out your beard or take your money, would you be willing to erase me?!"
"Uh..." Chen Xu thought for a moment, "You mean..."
"You're the main character! How can you be so afraid of everything?" Chen Fei laughed. "You think you just found out about that century-long scam for nothing? Once you've solved that century-long scam, you can do whatever you want! Even if you use the data in the computer to become the world's richest person, or even if you unify the world and become emperor, the Heavenly Dao won't interfere!"
"Solve the biggest scam of the century?!"
"Yes, in the coming decades, the most influential event in the Heavenly Dao's history will be this century-long deception. Due to the Heavenly Dao's constraints, the century-long deception cannot succeed, and it is also what the Heavenly Dao most abhors. Once this century-long deception is resolved, you can do whatever you want, who cares!" Chen Fei chuckled. "Moreover, the century-long deception has affected the entire era, and what do you need to resolve it? First, money; second, power! So, if you contribute even a little effort to the future century-long deception and play a driving role, the Heavenly Dao will judge that your use of future technology for profit is to help it resolve the century-long deception. At that point, it will be too busy rewarding you to eliminate you." Hearing this, Chen Xu finally felt relieved, thinking, "So that's how it is."
I was so excited for nothing!
It's all that brat's fault, always talking about how long or short the heavenly justice is, deliberately trying to scare people!
Damn it! Chen Xu was initially terrified by those so-called Heavenly Dao rules, and for a moment he didn't even think about whether Chen Fei would still exist if he died. Would that kid dare to harm him?!
This is embarrassing, truly embarrassing!
Fortunately, it was only in front of his own grandson, and it was just an illusion, so it's no big deal.
Chen Xu thought for a moment and said, "You said before that Heaven doesn't restrain me because of the century-long scam. What did I do?"
"You've forgotten Organization X?!" Chen Fei laughed. "Organization X is the initiator of the grand hoax of the future! Grandpa, you seem to have misunderstood something. What I'm saying about solving the grand hoax of the future doesn't mean you should eliminate those who created it as soon as possible. That would only address the symptoms, not the root cause. You see, when scientists reach a certain level, this is something they inevitably have to face! Why did Newton and Einstein, two giants, turn to theology in their later years? It wasn't because they were senile, but because they had discovered this field! But you must understand, science is also very bloody. How can you recognize your mistakes without suffering setbacks? It's just like the earliest form of capital accumulation; there will always be some unfortunate victims!"
"What you're doing now, and what pleases Heaven, is that you've brought forward the plan for the grand deception of the century!"