Striving for Science C113 pt1

"How's the situation outside now?" To strengthen his faith, Master Yun Feng had dripped his own heartblood into the ritual while summoning the god. Now, his face was pale, looking like a patient with severe anemia.

"All departments have activated emergency mechanisms. Although things are still chaotic, as long as the departments don't panic, the people will have a backbone." The practitioner who had rushed back after gathering information outside gradually calmed down. "I went to the Civil Service Department where Shen Chang'an is. Everyone in their department has gone out on errands, the whole office is empty."

"At this time, they're probably too busy." Uncle Zhang sighed, "I can't get in touch with Du Zhonghai or Gao Shujuan either.

As soon as he finished speaking, they saw one of the incense sticks used for summoning gods suddenly break.

The incense breaking means the god received their summons but rejected their request.

The practitioners exchanged glances. They were used to gods not responding, so they found a bit of humor in the situation. In the past, when they summoned gods, they never responded. This time, although they didn't come, they at least explicitly refused, which was a kind of progress.

"Forget it." Yun Feng swiftly put away the altar. "Let's go, take off our robes and help them maintain order. If anyone tries to rob or do something bad during the chaos, we'll…"

"Release ghosts to scare them to death!" Zhang Gu, who had followed Uncle Zhang and the otaku ghost but hadn't been very present, shook the ghost-containing artifact on his body.

Yun Feng was taken aback: "Good idea."

Special times call for special measures.

Everyone worked together to tidy up the altar, and just as they were about to leave, a flash of divine light appeared, and four judges, dressed in official robes, wearing official hats, and holding judge's pens, stood before them.

"Who summoned us?"

The masters looked at the bare table, then at the refrigerator with offerings, and began to reflect on whether they had been a little too quick to put away the altar.

Fortunately, the four judges were not gods who were fixated on offerings. They explained their purpose in a few words. The gist of it was, "We've heard about the disaster in the human realm, and we express our deepest regret and sympathy. Our conditions are also difficult, but we are willing to offer some assistance. We also convey the King of Hell's blessings to the human realm."

Yun Feng, Uncle Zhang, and the others finally understood. According to the current rules of the Underworld, they were not allowed to interfere in human affairs. However, the King of Hell, following the rule of "special circumstances, special treatment," had still arranged for the four judges to come.

"Thank you." Yun Feng bowed deeply. "If that's the case, I'll be bold enough to ask the four Lords to help us guard the four corners of the earth, to prevent evil spirits from running rampant in the human realm."

"It's our duty." The four judges nodded, transforming into four beams of divine light and flying off in four directions.

Once the four judges left, the masters placed the offerings back on the altar and put the Underworld's divine tablet back in place before rushing out.

Once outside, they discovered that the most serious problem wasn't fighting and brawling, but that many people were rushing to supermarkets to buy supplies. They even saw a seventy- or eighty-year-old grandpa carrying a bag of rice, running as fast as a young man.

On the street, many cars were parked by the side of the road, and groups of older men were squatting together, chatting and gossiping, taking the opportunity to criticize today's children for not being able to endure hardship. They said that when they were young, there were no cell phones or computers, and they still lived happily.

Occasionally, car owners would argue heatedly over a minor fender bender. Whenever this happened, Uncle Zhang would put on a "weak" expression and try to mediate. If someone spoke too harshly, he would start to gasp for breath. If anyone tried to fight, he would start to have chest pains, successfully preventing several fights.

Although in reality, he could knock out two strong men with one punch, Uncle Zhang still won people over with his acting skills.

"A transmission talisman?" After persuading two arguing drivers, the "weak" Uncle Zhang turned a corner and instantly returned to normal. Seeing Yun Feng catch a transmission talisman, he couldn't help but ask, "From the Imperial Capital?"

Yun Feng nodded and took out his phone to call Director Wang, telling him about the situation in Wuming City.

"Why use a transmission talisman when you can just call? It's so outdated. It'll be a laughingstock if people find out." Uncle Zhang shook his head helplessly.

"Maybe the communications department didn't have time to activate emergency measures when the power went out. Director Wang couldn't get through to us, so he was a little anxious." Dharma Master Yan Yin, being a monk, kindly defended Director Wang's honor.

"Is Shen Chang'an's phone still unreachable?" Uncle Zhang looked at the bustling street, his brows furrowed. Given Shen Chang'an's personality, he wouldn't go silent after such a big event. Could something have happened?

***

Shen Chang'an's mortal body, without warning, was shattered by the memories and emotions of ninety-nine lifetimes. In his weakened state, it was impossible for him to transform from a human body into a heavenly body.

But there are exceptions to every rule.

Because Heavenly Dao protected him. All living beings in the world have a powerful desire to survive. As unseen and intangible spiritual energy surged into his body, Shen Chang'an felt his body gradually recovering.

He seemed to guess something, leaning against Dao Nian, looking up at him.

This monster's plan was actually quite good. He made Shen Chang'an's life desolate, twisting the original trajectory of those who should have been happy, turning them into vengeful ghosts filled with resentment towards the world.

The only unexpected element in his plan was his encounter with Dao Nian.

If those ghosts who almost became vengeful spirits hadn't met him, if they had truly transformed into vengeful spirits, tormented by the memories and emotions of ninety-nine lifetimes, barely human and barely divine, could he have calmed all these vengeful spirits and beaten this monster into a pulp?

If he couldn't, how much chaos would erupt in the world?

"Still feeling bad?" Dao Nian noticed Shen Chang'an's gaze, thinking he was upset by the monster, and extended his foot into the barrier, kicking the monster in the face.

Now, the monster, whose face had once resembled a human, no longer had any features.

"Such a monster shouldn't be allowed to remain in this world." Shen Chang'an looked at the monster writhing and rolling on the ground, "Since you don't love this world and want to destroy it, then don't stay in this world. Because the world doesn't need monsters like you.

After saying this, Shen Chang'an felt an endless surge of power in his chest, opening his mouth and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

And the monster, his body suddenly being violently torn apart by countless unseen forces, seemed to be about to be eradicated from this world.

"Heavenly Life Dao!" The monster's body slowly disappeared, leaving only a shapeless head. He opened his mouth and roared, "Heavenly Life Dao, I curse you…"

But before he could finish his sentence, a foot stepped down hard on him, and he finally dissipated into nothingness, unwillingly.

Dao Nian retracted his foot, expressionless, "Based on my experience watching movies with you, at this point, you can't let the villain finish their sentence."

Shen Chang'an: "..."

"Dao Nian, if we hadn't met, in a situation like today, would you have stepped forward?" Shen Chang'an, after spitting out blood, didn't become weak, but instead, was full of vitality.

"Life and death are impermanent, the cycle of Heaven's law." Dao Nian remained silent for a moment, then replied.

Shen Chang'an carefully considered this, then suddenly patted Dao Nian's shoulder, "So, I'm the man who saved the world by falling in love?!"

Amazing!

"You saved yourself." Dao Nian conjured a thick blanket and wrapped it around Shen Chang'an, "The turning point of everything lies in you."

Holding Shen Chang'an, he walked out of the barrier, and snow began to fall.

***

The out-of-control traffic lights suddenly returned to normal.

In an office in the Imperial Capital, experts from various fields sat, their faces breaking into joyous smiles as they watched the various monitoring data gradually return to normal.

"The magnetic field has returned to normal."

"The atmospheric field has returned to normal."

"Information transmission has stabilized."

"Tsunami warning lifted."

"Typhoon warning lifted."

"Earthquake premonitions have disappeared."

"The crisis for the Earth has passed!"

"It wasn't a crisis for the Earth." An old man with age spots on his hands and white hair and beard said, "It was a crisis for us humans that passed."

Everyone fell silent.

"If we don't cherish our current lives, even if the current crisis passes, there might be another one." The old man stood up shakily, and his assistant quickly helped him.

"The crisis appeared suddenly and disappeared just as suddenly." The old man's back was hunched over due to his age, and his voice was weak, but his eyes were clear and sharp as he looked at everyone. "This wasn't a coincidence. Someone was behind it, shielding us humans from the calamity."

"There's nothing in this world that's a given. Even if you can't see it now, you must still have reverence."

"Reverence for what?" A young scientist asked.

"Respect life." The old man smiled, his eyes filled with kindness as he looked at the young scientist, as if he were looking at the hope of the next generation. "As long as you have reverence for life, the future will be full of miracles."

***

"Dao Nian, don't you think we're like heroes who have eradicated evil but don't look back?" Even though he was wrapped up tightly, Shen Chang'an still had a nimble mouth. ‘"he closed door of evil, the fluttering snowflakes, this is simply the perfect ending to a heroic epic…"

"Shen Chang'an!" Several elderly people wearing red volunteer armbands rushed over, their swift running speed stunned the two drivers who were arguing.

Wasn't the old man who was trying to stop the fight just complaining about chest pain and dizziness?

How did he suddenly become so swift?

The two drivers looked at each other, and after a long silence, Driver A asked, "Are you still going to argue?"

Driver B: "Forget it, forget it."

The mood is gone, what's the point of arguing?

Uncle Zhang was about to ask Shen Chang'an why he couldn't be reached, but when he saw the person holding Shen Chang'an was his divine boyfriend, his boisterous steps instantly turned into restrained little steps. "We couldn't reach you, how did you suddenly appear being held, are you injured?"

Shen Chang'an looked up at Dao Nian, then said in a half-serious, half-joking tone, "I just went with my boyfriend to defeat the big bad guy who was trying to destroy the world, and I got a little hurt."

He thought these masters wouldn't believe him, but they actually looked thoughtful, then bowed to him in unison.

"Thank you."

These masters bowed very low, their expressions solemn, without a hint of insincerity.

Shen Chang'an was dumbfounded. He struggled out of Dao Nian's arms and reached out to help them, "I was just kidding! Why did you take it seriously?"

He had just finished speaking when he suddenly vomited blood with a loud "wa."

Dao Nian silently draped the blanket over Shen Chang'an's shoulders, then slipped a blood-replenishing pill into his mouth.

Seeing Shen Chang'an cough up blood, the masters' expressions grew even more serious. They bowed slightly to Dao Nian, using the same gesture they would use when setting up an altar and paying respects to the gods.

Dao Nian looked at them and said two words: "It's cold."

The masters were very excited. A god had spoken to them. Was he going to tell them to be careful of the cold and not catch a chill?

"Chang'an is injured, I'll take him back to rest." Dao Nian once again carried Shen Chang'an horizontally, walking towards a car that had just stopped.

The masters all said, "..."

When being self-conscious, there's always a bit of awkwardness.