Chapter 139: Light

Page (1/3)

Although his conversation with Academician Ding had been fairly pleasant and had given him quite a few new ideas, Huang Ze’s emotional state had not improved much. He remained somewhat gloomy and depressed.

Yes... depressed. Huang Ze could not say why, but he always felt that something inside him was slipping away, as though the radiance of his humanity were gradually fading while divine thought was beginning to rise.

Academician Ding had no particularly good solution either. She could only suggest that Huang Ze spend more time with his parents and consume more uranium-235 feedstock. It ought to help clear his mind and lift his spirits.

Huang Ze thought the suggestion made considerable sense. He promptly downed more than a pound of uranium-235 feedstock, then drove his smaller form to visit his parents.

“Wait... Why don’t I just get the dragon’s shapeshifting technique from the Red Dragon? Wouldn’t that be far more convenient than using this smaller form?”

The thought suddenly occurred to Huang Ze.

In fact, the Xia Academy of Sciences had long been extremely interested in the dragons’ shapeshifting technique, because it could only be described as miraculous.

It could transform a dragon weighing dozens of tons into a human weighing less than a hundred kilograms... This completely violated the law of conservation of mass!

If they could uncover the principles behind this technique, Xia might even have a chance of developing antigravity magic. By then, constructing several aerospace carriers would be entirely possible, and their mobility would be greatly enhanced!

“I should have thought of this sooner!”

Huang Ze felt rather regretful. He could hardly wait to examine the Red Dragon’s humanoid form and see what sort of secrets were hidden within its structure.

Unfortunately, the Red Dragon was not with him at the moment. He would have to wait until they met that evening in the mental world and ask her then.

...

“Dad, Mom, why do I feel that you two seem... a little strange today?”

Huang Ze found his parents at a military-district guesthouse nearby. They had barely exchanged a few words before he keenly noticed that his parents were obviously ill at ease around him. They scarcely even dared to meet his eyes.

“I don’t know why either...” His father, Huang Kangping, answered honestly. “Ever since we drank that Golden Dragon Blood of yours, whenever I think of you, my heart starts racing.”

“When I haven’t seen you, I’m always thinking about when I’ll get the chance to. But now that you’re actually here, I suddenly feel a little unnerved. I can barely even bring myself to call you my son anymore...”

“Huang Ze... That Golden Dragon Blood of yours doesn’t have some kind of side effect, does it?”

“...”

Huang Ze’s heart sank. He had not expected his parents to be affected by the power of divinity as well, developing feelings of worship and awe toward their own son.

If this continued to develop, what would become of them?

“Heart, is there any way to retrieve the Golden Dragon Blood from my parents’ bodies?”

Huang Ze hurriedly addressed the supplier of the Golden Dragon Blood—his own heart.

“...”

Unfortunately, his heart offered no after-sales service for its products. Once the Golden Dragon Blood had merged with a person’s body, it was nearly impossible to extract.

Huang Ze’s mood grew even heavier. Could it be that, in the end, he truly would have to attain supreme detachment from all emotion?

Fortunately, his parents’ condition was not yet too serious. After Huang Ze coaxed and cajoled them for a while, they soon relaxed considerably. The family of three spent a happy afternoon together. He even accompanied his mother to browse the shopping mall and watch a movie.

“It seems I’ll have to make more time to keep my parents company from now on. Otherwise, the affection between us will surely grow more and more unfamiliar...”

Huang Ze thought about it with a solemn expression, then suddenly felt somewhat relieved.

“But perhaps this is a good thing too. Since I have something to worry about and someone to care for, I’ll remember to come back and spend time with them. If I were truly busy, I might not even think of it otherwise...”

With that in mind, Huang Ze had his heart develop a scheduling function as well. From then on, he planned to visit his parents at least once every week.

“Son... What exactly did the people in charge tell you about your naturalization?”

After they returned to their lodgings, his mother, Pan Xiaolin, pulled Huang Ze aside for a chat and suddenly brought up the matter.

“That... I honestly haven’t paid much attention to it,” Huang Ze said truthfully. “It’s just a formality. I’ll do whatever arrangements they make.”

“How can you say that?”

Pan Xiaolin immediately stood up for her son. “You have no idea how unfair public opinion has become toward you!”

Page (1/3)

Page (2/3)

“At first, most people welcomed your naturalization. But later, I don’t know where they came from, a whole crowd of self-styled public intellectuals and online influencers began nitpicking every aspect of it. Now many people have changed their minds. They think naturalizing you is acceptable, but only if you agree to a whole series of harsh conditions!”

“What conditions did they come up with?”

Huang Ze was rather curious.

“There are plenty!” Pan Xiaolin said indignantly. “They say you must obey the law, undergo ideological and moral education, make outstanding contributions to the nation, possess a deep affection for Xia’s civilization, never enter politics, never engage in commerce, publicly register and notarize all your personal assets, and receive no judicial immunity...”

“In short, there’s a whole pile of conditions. They aren’t trying to let you become a citizen at all—they want you to toil for the nation like an ox or a horse!”

“Mom... Putting aside your feelings for me, aren’t the conditions people have proposed actually quite reasonable from the perspective of an ordinary citizen of Xia?”

Huang Ze did not know whether to laugh or cry. He patiently explained, “The reason this public sentiment has developed in that direction is that the nation deliberately encouraged it. They hope to stimulate public discussion, and they also hope that I can set a good example and serve as a model for establishing standards governing the naturalization of supernatural beings in the future.”

“This matter is quite important to our country. Humans are emotional creatures, after all, and we also have a strong tendency to worship the powerful. If we fail to establish a unified outlook and consistent standards, then in the future, should supernatural beings such as angels, high elves, or succubi seek naturalization, I’m afraid quite a few people would agree without much thought.”

“...Fine. I can’t argue with you. In any case, you’re the one who’ll suffer.”

Pan Xiaolin did not continue arguing over the matter. Instead, she lowered her voice and asked, “Son, is it true that our country captured an angel?”

“Mom? Where did you hear that?”

Huang Ze immediately became vigilant. The capture of an angel was an absolute secret in Xia. How had his mother heard about it?

“One of my friends on WeChat told me,” Pan Xiaolin replied. “She joined some kind of Light Study Society and has been telling everyone that Xia illegally imprisoned a holy angel and subjected her to ugly, shameful biological experiments...”

“Son, is it true? Didn’t the authorities publicly promise that they would never take the initiative to dissect intelligent beings? If they really did that, wouldn’t they be contradicting themselves?”

“...”

Huang Ze was not entirely sure himself. From what Academician Ding and the others had told him, it seemed that they had indeed intended to dissect the angel, who had fallen into a state of suspended death.

Besides, he felt that the policy of not taking the initiative to conduct anatomical research on intelligent beings was really more of a public-relations strategy. After all, how could biological research be conducted without dissection?

And Huang Ze remembered that the authorities’ actual public statement had been that they would not take the initiative to dissect intelligent beings who cherished nuclear harmony... that was, peace!

“Mom, delete that person immediately. And from now on, try to pay less attention to and inquire less about matters like this!”

Huang Ze urged her, “You should stay away from anything connected to the gods. Otherwise, you may very well end up in danger!”

“What danger could there be? Aren’t we protected by the barrier?”

Pan Xiaolin was initially rather dismissive. Then she said earnestly, “You may not tell us about it, but I know your work must involve considerable danger. If I don’t pray to a few more gods to protect you, how could I possibly feel at ease?”

“...”

Huang Ze was speechless. He was working on the front line of the struggle against divine authority, devoting himself to figuring out how to destroy those reactionary gods, while his mother was secretly trying to surrender to them from behind his back. She had even begun worshiping them.

Fortunately, the barrier had not disappeared yet. Otherwise, the consequences could have been disastrous.

“Mom! The nation has repeatedly warned people not to engage in disorganized worship of gods. The foreign gods are not benevolent beings. You aren’t helping me—you’re harming me!”

Huang Ze shouted in exasperation. He knew that if he did not speak harshly, his mother would not take the matter seriously.

“...Really?”

Seeing that her son had lost his temper, Pan Xiaolin immediately grew nervous. “I only burned a few sticks of incense for the Love God and the God of Light, and prayed a few times. It shouldn’t cause any major problems, should it?”

The Love God was one thing, but the God of Light...

Huang Ze became genuinely angry at the mention of it. To Xia, the God of Light was unquestionably a reactionary deity. Heaven only knew what kind of trouble his mother’s prayers might bring!

All he could do now was hope that, because of the barrier, the signal had been too weak for the God of Light to receive his mother’s prayers.

“Mom... The officials responsible for your safety must have emphasized this matter to you. Why did you secretly do it anyway?”

Huang Ze suddenly remembered that, as his parents, his mother and father were undoubtedly people of special concern to the nation. Even their WeChat accounts were under special monitoring, to prevent them from accidentally exposing state secrets.

In other words, it was impossible for the authorities not to have discovered that his mother had secretly offered incense to the Love God and the God of Light.

Page (2/3)

Page (3/3)

Could it be that the enemy had already infiltrated the ranks from within?

With that thought, Huang Ze solemnly warned his mother several more times before hurrying off to report the matter to Academician Ding and the others.

As soon as Academician Ding heard about it, she took the matter extremely seriously. She immediately ordered an investigation of the relevant personnel, and they actually discovered several members of the Light Society.

Fortunately, they did not know Huang Ze’s identity. Acting in accordance with their policy of casting a wide net and spreading their faith far and wide, they had merely concealed the fact that Pan Xiaolin had secretly prayed to the God of Light.

“Mr. Huang... This was indeed an oversight on our part. We never imagined that the power of the God of Light had spread so extensively within our borders!”

Academician Ding looked ashamed, but even more furious. “What I find even harder to believe is that our own personnel could be so short-sighted and so superstitious. They haven’t even received the baptism of the Church of Light, yet they’ve already become this devout!”

“Academician Ding... If even the people around us are like this, then the situation among the general public must be even worse, shouldn’t it?”

Huang Ze spoke with deep concern.

“Not necessarily.” Academician Ding calmed down and answered, “The gods of this world are rather strange. Among our people, it isn’t those who are more ignorant and superstitious who are easiest for them to ensnare. Instead, people who are more intelligent and more independent-minded are more likely to become their devoted believers.”

“According to our investigations, the situation among the general public is actually much better. Most people are practical-minded. Until the blessings of those gods can actually reach them, they won’t place much faith in them.”

“That’s good...”

Huang Ze breathed a sigh of relief. He had genuinely feared that the nation’s situation had deteriorated beyond recovery.

After thinking for a moment, he continued, “Academician Ding, what exactly is the situation with this God of Light?”

“Logically speaking, since we captured one of his angels, he should be furious and aggressive. Why has he shown no reaction at all after so much time?”

“As for the God of Light... We don’t know very much either,” Academician Ding replied. “But his refusal to act is indeed rather strange. Even if he doesn’t confront our country directly, he could at least send a few angels down to sabotage our overseas production operations. That would cause us considerable trouble and allow him to recover some of his lost face.”

“But oddly enough, ever since we captured that angel, the God of Light has not only failed to unleash any divine punishment, we haven’t even seen many of the angels under his command. His Church of Light in the material world, however, has been extremely active, constantly taking the lead in opposing us.”

“The quieter the dog, the more viciously it bites,” Huang Ze said thoughtfully. “Perhaps he has already taken some kind of action. We simply haven’t discovered it yet.”

“That possibility cannot be ruled out...”

Academician Ding also felt that Huang Ze’s concern was reasonable. She promptly ordered the relevant departments to focus on suppressing the Light Society.

“By the way, Academician Ding, how is the angel we captured doing?”

Huang Ze suddenly remembered the matter and asked curiously, “Have we managed to learn anything from her?”

“Her situation is somewhat complicated,” Academician Ding replied. “But now that you’ve brought her up, I should mention that she took the initiative to ask to see you a few days ago. You can decide whether or not you want to meet her.”

“See me?”

Huang Ze was surprised. “Why would she suddenly want to meet me? Does she know my true identity?”

“Of course not, Mr. Huang. Your identity is an absolute secret. How could we possibly have told her?”

Academician Ding answered, “She must have some questions and thoughts she wishes to discuss with you.”

“Although the decision is yours, we still hope you’ll meet with her. Judging from her recent behavior, her attitude seems to have softened somewhat. Perhaps we can learn something about the God of Light from her.”

()

For now, set a small goal—such as remembering this site for one second: Book Guest Residence

Page (3/3)