When you’ve lived long enough in the pitch-black Dark Apocalypse, no one can resist the allure of the light.
The earlier appearance of the Billion Wills had already coaxed many from their Shelters. Now, a gentle light from the sky, accompanied by rumbling thunder and the howling wind, lured nearly all of humanity out.
Having never been exposed to sunlight in their lives, the eyes of most people in this world had mutated. Direct exposure would mean easily getting burned by ultraviolet rays and intense light, blinding them instantly.
For this very reason, Shen Feng didn’t simply open up the Reverse Dyson Sphere. Instead, he controlled its refractive index and had the sphere itself emit a soft luminescence, blanketing the world not only in a gentle glow but also in a hypnotic shimmer.
The world’s remaining survivors had never experienced anything like Hypnosis. Already in a state of heightened excitement from the light, they now listened to the gentle white noise and fell directly into a state of deep Hypnosis.
Simultaneously, gentle music began to play across the world through the Reverse Dyson Sphere. It was a piece called "Cornfield Chase," played by Jingwei. According to its previous experiments with Shen Feng, this song was the most suitable background music to accompany the white noise, enhancing the hypnotic effect.
"My word is the Truth." Shen Feng’s voice continued to echo across the globe. The Gray Tide of the Reverse Dyson Sphere formed several massive brainwave amplifiers, broadcasting Shen Feng’s thoughts to the entire world.
Through the Reverse Dyson Sphere, Shen Feng’s Consciousness Antennae observed the world’s survivors. Some appeared vigorous, others listless. Some were in rags, while others wore suits. Clearly, people had experienced the apocalypse in vastly different ways.
But none of that mattered anymore. To Shen Feng, they were all just ordinary humans.
"Jingwei, no wonder those who grasp absolute power, like Yamaguchi Sora and the Destructive, start to think they’ve become gods, that they’ve transcended the realm of ordinary people," Shen Feng lamented to Jingwei, feeling the expansion of his power through the Reverse Dyson Sphere. "I suppose the Whisperer, the Master of the Void, and the Billion Wills must look at humanity the way we look at ants..."
’Of course. The power disparity is just too immense. You could become a god too, if you wanted. Honestly, I think the soldiers of the Salvation Army already see you as one. If you told them that only by destroying Earth could you save humanity, they’d probably do it without a second thought,’ Jingwei teased. ’Okay, brainwave sampling is complete. Everyone has entered a state of deep hypnosis, no exceptions. You can begin.’
The moment Jingwei finished, Shen Feng’s voice once again boomed from the sky. Like a howling wind, like rolling thunder, it resounded across the land:
"I, Commander Shen of the Salvation Army, have been resurrected in the light. I have defeated the collective of Quantum Life Forms from the Dark Cosmos and saved this world. Henceforth, this world shall have limitless light. Human civilization will rise again from the ruins of darkness. O people who have suffered so, you are blessed."
Shen Feng’s voice was deep and carried a strange rhythm, almost like a chant. It caused a look of hope to appear on the faces of the survivors, whose eyes had been filled with confusion.
Joy filled their eyes, but there was also a hint of bewilderment. Even under Hypnosis, everything Shen Feng said contradicted their long-held understanding of the world, triggering subconscious resistance.
’Xiaofeng, this "death and resurrection" script is way too Western. I still think you should ditch the Salvation Army baggage and just start a new organization from scratch. Honestly, you could just claim to be the reincarnation of Cthulhu; it’s always easiest to co-opt an existing narrative,’ Jingwei said inside Shen Feng’s head. ’But since you’ve chosen this path, let’s go all the way. I’m starting the movie.’
The luminous dome in the sky suddenly transformed. The gentle light vanished, replaced by a cascade of colorful images!
The footage began with a colossal title composed of words in every language, filling the entire sky:
The True History.
A simple, blunt phrase—but the most effective for imprinting on the deeply hypnotized mind.
What followed was a film edited together by Jingwei, using a combination of footage obtained from the Reverse Dyson Sphere’s own records and material from its personal storage.
The film began by showing a group of human elites, led by a young man, saving the world from the attacks of various powerful enemies and guiding the course of human civilization.
Under their leadership, human civilization prospered and advanced rapidly. The organization they formed was called the Salvation Army, and the young man was its Commander—a true Savior.
But then, an evil presence from a dark corner of the Cosmos devised a sinister plot, using Space Wormhole Technology as bait to lure the Salvation Army into developing the technology themselves.
Although the Commander sensed something was wrong and wanted to postpone the research, the desire for Space Wormhole Technology within the Salvation Army and human society as a whole was too great. In the end, the Commander approved the project.
Finally, when the technology matured, the first Space Wormhole Generator was built. Humanity prepared to conduct an experiment near the Moon.
Unexpectedly, the project was sabotaged by the Purifiers of the Purification Society. They reset the wormhole’s destination coordinates to the location of the terrifying collective of Quantum Life Forms.
Pandora’s Box had been opened. The powerful Quantum Life Form collective arrived in Earth’s vicinity through the Wormhole.
To defend against the assault from the Quantum Life Form collective, the Salvation Army, led by the Commander, constructed a massive Reverse Dyson Sphere to protect the last embers of human civilization.
However, they were ultimately sabotaged from within by the Purification Society, controlled by the Whisperer. The Salvation Army was annihilated in the attack by the Quantum Life Form collective, and the Commander was frozen into an ice sculpture in space. The Reverse Dyson Sphere project was only a partial success, allowing the last embers of humanity to survive, just barely.
Finally, the Salvation Army’s greatest undercover agent within the Purification Society, Ivanovic, made his move. Having become Cthulhu, he exhausted all his power to resurrect the frozen Commander of the Salvation Army, the Savior Shen. Ivanovic himself perished in the process.
The awakened Savior regained control of the Reverse Dyson Sphere, developed the Quantum Force Field Core technology, and defeated the powerful Quantum Life Form collective in one fell swoop. He sent it packing back to its home dimension and destroyed the accursed Space Wormhole.
Thus, human civilization ushered in a great renaissance, and light returned to Earth once more!
The images in the sky dome shifted and changed, repeating the narrated video over and over, engraving it deep into the survivors’ minds.
Most of the information in the footage was based on actual events, with only minor dramatizations and adaptations, making it seem utterly real.
’So, Xiaofeng, not a bad movie, huh? I directed it myself! You know, this Reverse Dyson Sphere is basically a global, wrap-around IMAX super-screen. I’m tempted to try playing some... other kinds of movies. Tsk, tsk. Can you imagine what it would be like to have moans echoing across the entire planet?’
Shen Feng quickly held up a hand.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on. This is a critical moment. Crank up the strobing effects. Push the hypnosis harder, really pour it on! I need this session to achieve the level of a permanent mental imprint!"
’Alright. By the way... do you want to be a god?’