"'Truth'? Why have I never heard of such a young man?" After returning to the second floor of the Cliff Village Office, Long Yuehong said while closing the door.
They didn't talk to Lao He about the issue of faith for long, because the "truth" in the other party's mouth touched the blind spot of their knowledge, not even intelligent robots like Gnava who store a lot of data and well-informed "folklorists" like Jiang Baimian.
At that time, Shang Jianyao asked which year this was, what characteristics he had, and what rituals he needed to complete if he wanted to believe in him, but Lao He didn't answer, just smiled and said a few perfunctory words.
Due to the obvious strangeness of the gods believed in by the other party, and because the end of the year city was related to the "Si Ming" of the year, and there were some abnormalities, the calm and rational Shang saw that Yao did not force himself to make friends, and asked the target to say something heartfelt, planning to observe for a while.
This was affirmed and appreciated by Jiang Baimian.
Bai Chen pursed his lips and said:
"It may be another name for 'the last man', or an incarnation, just like the relationship between 'Shizizai Tathagata' and 'Zhuangsheng'."
Jiang Baimian said:
"The puppet on Lao He's pendant is indeed very similar to the symbol representing the gods in the 'Anti-Intellectual Cult'."
They are all people without facial features.
In anti-Wisdom doctrine, this is a symbol of "last days".
"The Awakened Abilities described by the village chief are also suspected to belong to the 'End Man' realm." Gnava, who was still wearing a burqa, helped to supplement the evidence.
"Lao He denied this speculation." Shang Jianyao had an expression of "I believe whatever he says".
After he saw the pendant pulled out by Lao He clearly, he asked on the spot, "The last man?"
And Lao He shook his head without hesitation, saying that "truth" is not "the last man".
Jiang Baimian said "hmm":
"Theoretically, the god you believe in is something to be proud of a certain person who is proud of his life, and there is no need to deny it, just as several major sects of Buddhism frankly admit that 'Shizhongzai Tathagata' is 'Zhuangsheng'.
"However, the 'last man', who is in charge of memory, is quite mysterious, and the 'Anti-Intellectual Sect' who believes in him has also inherited this characteristic, and his style is crazy and cautious, and his arrogance reveals caution......"
What she means is that the "last man" may be like this, with layers of false identities and multiple incarnations that no one knows.
In this way, it is normal for believers in one of His incarnations not to know that their god is the "last man" of the year.
"But there is also the possibility that the 'truth' is something else, or not a year." Jiang Baimian added, "Do you still remember Yan Hu? Before he fell asleep, he lived with believers as a god on the island in the middle of the lake. Similar situations are not too common in many places on the gray soil, in the chaotic era and the early days of the new calendar."
Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and slapped his left palm and said:
"I know.
"'Truth' is a 'new world' powerhouse in the 'last man' realm of the end of the year, and even the only 'new world' powerhouse, so it has gained the faith of some residents."
Bai Chen thought for a moment and said:
"But why did he make the symbol that symbolizes himself almost the same as the 'last man', not afraid that his followers will have cognitive confusion after meeting the 'anti-intellectual' people?"
"It is possible that the symbols in the realm of 'last man' are fixed, so we have to start with the source of occultism......" Shang Jianyao glanced at Jiang Baimian and forcibly posed as a folklore scholar.
Jiang Baimian rolled his eyes and said:
"The symbol corresponding to a year is actually not fixed.
"Do you remember the vigilant sects, fearful orders, and friendly hands that also believe in 'Yougu'?"
These are the three sects that the "Old Tune Group" encountered in Redstone Collection, they all believe in the "Yougu" of the year, but they have different concepts and symbols.
At that time, folklore scholar Jiang Baimian took the time to do some inquiry.
This is not something too important, it took Long Yuehong a little time to recall:
"The symbol of the vigilant sect is a half-closed door, and there is a faint female figure in the darkness behind the door......"
He was most impressed by this, and sometimes he would use it as a blueprint for his nightmares.
"The symbol of the Order of Dread is a black female shadow, and the Friendly Hand is a hand that glows slightly in the depths of darkness.
"What they have in common is that they all have dark and dark meanings, well, when these three sects debated, they never accused each other of not being able to represent the 'Yougu' of the year."
"It seems to be like this...... Shang Jianyao was quite frustrated, not too willing to admit it.
Gnava made a slightly synthetic sound:
"Each zodiac year controls multiple areas, and perhaps those symbols do not directly represent the zodiac year, but symbolize a certain area below.
"For example, the woman behind the door corresponds to 'vigilance', the black female shadow corresponds to 'fear', and the glowing hand in the dark corresponds to 'friendliness'."
Jiang Baimian nodded:
"This is more common in folklore, religion, and occultism.
"So, as a strong player in the 'New World', the domain that 'Truth' masters is related to memory, which corresponds to the symbol of 'Anti-Intellectual Religion'?"
Regarding this speculation, Bai Chen, Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao all expressed their approval.
Just when Jiang Baimian was about to move on to the next topic, Shang Jianyao suddenly laughed and said in a low voice:
"I thought of another possibility."
"What is possible?" The honest Gnawa was very cooperative.
Shang Jianyao looked around and said:
"Substitute!
"'Truth' uses the symbol of 'last man' in order to one day replace the other."
"Have you read too much Old World entertainment materials?" Jiang Baimian's first reaction was angry and funny.
Immediately afterwards, she thought:
"This is not impossible, after all, we are not very clear about the form of existence of the elders and the specific situation of the 'new world'."
"If the elders will also be weak, fall, and replaced, many things can be explained." Bai Chen thought of the destruction of the Fourth Research Institute, and thought of what would happen to the new deacon when the thirteen deacons mentioned by Shang Jianyao occupied each month.
Papa, Shang Jianyao applauded, but Long Yuehong's heart was inexplicably heavy.
Jiang Baimian exhaled slowly and said:
"This is just speculation for now.
"What is more worthy of our concern now is why does the 'Si Ming' sect in the end of the year allow 'truth' preaching and developing believers?
"Moreover, the two sides get along quite well."
"Doesn't the big boss always care about believers and doesn't like to get along with humans as a senior?" Long Yuehong replied reflexively.
"The big boss is the big boss, and the top management of the 'Siming' sect is the top management of the 'Siming' sect, and the two cannot be completely equated." Jiang Baimian explained, "Since the end of the year city has made its belief in the big boss public, the elders there should not allow other sects to appear, unless they can't be defeated or have some realistic considerations."
This is determined by the characteristics of religions themselves, and they will instinctively exclude other beliefs until they are limited by reality, and will not consider integration or coexistence.
Except for the strange ones that resemble friendly hands, of course.
"Maybe you can't beat it." Shang Jianyao looked gloating, "The big boss doesn't care much about practical matters, and there are relatively few strong people in the 'New World' who believe in 'Destiny' in the city at the end of the year.
Long Yuehong muttered:
"Maybe the cost of just destroying the 'truth' is too great, so it's better to cooperate."
Bai Chen glanced at Jiang Baimian:
"Another possibility is:
"'Truth' is closely related to the big boss and is an ally of a certain camp in the 'New World'."
"Hmm......" Jiang Baimian nodded slowly.
Everyone else didn't know what to say for a while, even Shang Jianyao just said to himself:
"The relationship between the big boss and the 'last man' is not good?"
No one answered him.
After a while, Jiang Baimian glanced at the team members and said:
"While the people in the city have not yet left, I have been in contact with them more in the past few days.
"After that, if you have the opportunity, you can ask him about the specific location of the end of the year city and visit there, forget it, I won't consider this matter for the time being."
"Why?" Long Yuehong asked a puzzled question.
Jiang Baimian smiled and said:
"Do you want to jump under the nose of the big boss? That may be a place that the big boss focuses on."
"Yes." Long Yuehong came to his senses.
The guiding spirit of the "Old Tune Team" to formulate this plan has always been to find clues from various experiments on the marginalization and in the ruins of cities that do not belong to "Si Ming".
…………
In the evening, Shang Jianyao entered the "Spiritual Corridor" again and pushed open the door of the "506" room.
As soon as he entered the dream, he saw the vague female figure sitting on the single sofa in the living room, got up to greet him.
"You're finally here!" The female figure said in a hysterical tone, "Ask, ask! I'll tell you everything!"
"Are you sick?" Shang Jianyao asked with concern.
"No!" The female figure shouted, "I want to get rid of this nightmare completely! Don't look for me anymore!"
Shang saw Yao rubbing his chin and said to himself:
"The psychological pressure accumulated in reality causes you to think and dream day and night, and your mentality completely collapses in the dream, and you urgently need to vent it?"
Without waiting for the other party to respond, he asked instead:
"Who is the old man in the depths of the laboratory?"
As he spoke, Shang Jianyao took two steps back, ready to escape from this dream at any time.
The female figure was silent for a while, and replied in a slightly erratic tone:
"Dawn ......"
(End of this chapter)