Chapter 451: It’s Free After All
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At first, it did not register. Hao Ren was astounded for a few seconds before he realized what "creator of the planet" Vimm was talking about... It was none other than the goddess with five numerics in her name!
"You mean, these people are"—Hao Ren's face stiffened, he struggled to find words as he pointed down at the place below—"Raven 12345's believers?"
Vimm laughed. "Why not? Is there any god in the world who would be reluctant to have followers?"
Hao Ren was a little dumbfounded. He remembered that although Raven 12345 was indeed a goddess, and was an authentic one, she also had a billion believers. The last time he met with the goddess, she even sent New Year greetings to her own believers. However, knowing was one thing, witnessing it with his own eyes was another. Hao Ren looked down from the balcony, stunned. His mind had a hard time connecting the psychotic goddess with what was happening before him. No way! She really has believers?
"Didn't you say that you were all busy rebuilding Aerym?" Hao Ren thought it best to hold back his comtempt. After all, Raven 12345 was still his superior. He had to look after her image, more so when he himself held the title of "pope". But, there was something he still could not make out. "You still have time for things like this?"
"It is unbelieveable that you are so ignorant as an assistant of God. You have no idea, do you?" Vimm looked at Hao Ren, surprised. "Of course this is necessary. Rebuilding social order is one of the most important aspects of reconstruction."
Looking at Hao Ren who was still blank, Vimm began to explain with a smile, "In most cases, intelligent beings are subject to their own emotions. The heart and mind are things that are invisible, but capable of determining the fate of an entire race. Our people are taking up new home in this new world, and they are really immersed in the surprises brought on by the new world at this moment. But at the same time, there are also more difficulties and dangers ahead. It is not easy to explore a wild planet. We need to keep the peoples' spirits and morale up, so that they can divert their attention away from difficulties and pain temporarily.
"We need spiritual strength, entertainment, systematic education, political calls, heroes, and of course religion. Out of these, religion is the cheapest option at this stage."
"This planet was created by God. Everyone knows it. So, we don't need any extra cost to spread and prove the idea of the existence of God. We can spread the idea of a new god to the whole society at almost zero cost. Then, the only real cost is for manpower to increase the cohesiveness of the people under this new religion. This way, things are cheaper compared to creating a hundred heroes, implementing education, or psychological treatment. It is even simpler than remodeling the entertainment industry."
Hao Ren nodded, not that he understood it. Despite that, he knew this was not only about political consideration of the Aerymian ruler, it was also about the cultural differences that existed. Religious belief was not necessarily a symbol of ignorance and regression. In many cases, a highly developed civilization would still believe in God. Not to mention, Raven 12345 was an authentic goddess. Plus, the belief of the Aerymian elves did make sense: they were standing on the earth created by the goddess after all.
"In fact, we have also considered seeking your help." Vimm looked at Hao Ren with a smile. The latter was stunned for a moment. "What do you need help for?" Hao Ren asked.
"Have you really forgotten who you are?" This time it was Vimm who was confused. "Mother once said to me, that based on hierarchy, you are the pope. Would it not be natural for us to seek your help in drafting a Bible template when we first establish a new religion?"
Hao Ren was even more befuddled. It never crossed his mind before. "A Bible template? Like I know how."
Vimm looked at Hao Ren and became more enthusiastic. His smile was now even brighter. "We really need you. We are as clueless as a dim light bulb here. Even the goddess herself has no idea about the situation here. We were actually waiting for the initial propaganda and framework of the religious system to take shape. After that, we would contact you to help us establish a connection with the goddess. But since you are here today, we may as well settle it all."
Just as Hao Ren was about to wave if off, Lily appeared behind him out of nowhere. "That seems interesting, Landlord!"
The maiden felt bored, so she decided to sneak out of the house and walk up to Hao Ren quietly. Apparently, she had heard the conversation between Vimm and Hao Ren.
Hao Ren pressed his hand on Lily's head, trying to turn her away. "Stop messing around. I've never done anything like that before! I already have to rely on commas to make up for the shortfall when I'm writing an 800-word report. It's not that you don't know."
Lily then said with a brilliant smile, "Don't think too much. It's just an avenue for you to make up some words of propaganda. That's it! Think of it as advertisement."
Hao Ren rolled his eyes. "They're talking about a Bible template here!"
Vimm saw the uneasiness on Hao Ren's face. He kept his amusement to himself and said, "Well, let us not joke around. We are in the midst of compiling the Bible template. After it is completed, we will probably need the goddess to personally review it. Could you help think of a universal prayer, which we would use for our daily communion, and also for the purpose of spreading influence? No matter how I look at it, this should be your responsibility as the right-hand man of the goddess."
Lily flamed it up further. "Yeah, it's just an ad slogan!"
Hao Ren was dumbfounded. It really never crossed his mind that one day he would have to seriously consider such issues. He was silent, losing himself in his thoughts for a while before he looked up and said, "I'll give it a try. It's free after all, right?"
Vimm was like, "Are you serious?"
"Forget it. Let me consult my superior first." Hao Ren let out a dry laugh before calling Raven 12345 on the phone.
"What's up?" Raven 12345's voice was as rude as usual.
"Here's the thing: As the Aerymian elves are starting to develop their infrastructure, they think that they should also worship the planet's creator—you, as their new god. They allowed me to ask you about our corporate culture and stuff like that..."
Hao Ren roughly told her about the elves' situation. He felt that, even if Raven 12345 had never been interested in preaching, she should seriously consider it at this point. After all, that was her line of work. Although the Xi Ling Celestials were not a theocracy, as a goddess, this was something unavoidable.
Raven 12345 answered without hesitation, "Tell them, the secret phrase is, 'Give it a try, it's free after all'."
Hao Ren was like, "Are you serious?"
Raven 12345 then plainly said, "Of course. It's universally applicable. Everyone who believes in me knows that. Oh, by the way, do remind them that when they finally progress into the interstellar stage and meet other civilizations, they can use this secret phrase. The other folks will know that they are my people."
Hao Ren hung up. He then turned around, held Vimm's hand and said, "Brother, this is my advice: if all of you really want to be united under the banner of this boss, it is best to start by reconstructing your worldviews..."
Vimm was speechless.
While Vimm was in a state of complete astonishment, Hao Ren left the balcony. The MDT had been silent all this time, but it suddenly sighed. "Now I know why Madam Raven chose you as her assistant; both of you have so many things in common."
Hao Ren regretted the fact that he was actually in tune with the psychopath.
Two days later, Hilda assembled three million armed escorts for Hao Ren. They were good to go.
Hao Ren sent a progress report to Raven 12345, who only had praises for his "armed escorts" idea, and hailed him for his political-correctness. After that, they agreed on a way for the thousands of large and small spacecrafts to cross over to Y'zaks' homeland.
Obviously, the Aerymian elves had no capability to navigate across worlds. They could not even fly to the World Gate on their own. Their spacecrafts were only good at bullying bumpkins within the atmosphere. So, Hao Ren needed to open a temporary World Gate above Peatopia while on the other side, the World Gate would be opened near the boundary of the bubble zone of Y'zaks' hometown.
After that, the elven fleet would sail to the Second Demonic Plane inside the bubble zone, where they would meet with Y'zaks, load up everything, and go back out all the way again.
As for the flight path in the bubble zone, there would not be a problem: the Petrachelys' advanced time-space radar would identify the correct flight path. If Y'zaks had found this flight path back then, he would have made it out of the bubble zone... Well, in practice, he still would not have been able to do it, because he did not have a spacecraft.
Anyway, it was going to be a very "eventful" journey.