"‘Truth’? How come I've never heard of such a Ruling God?" Long Yuehong said as he closed the door to the second-floor office of the Cliff Village Public Hall.

They hadn't discussed the matter of faith with Old He for long, because the "Truth" he spoke of touched a blind spot in their knowledge. Even Genava, the intelligent robot with a vast database, and Jiang Baimian, the knowledgeable "folklorist," were at a loss.

At the time, Shang Jianyao had pressed him about which Ruling God it was, what its characteristics were, and what rituals were required to worship it, but Old He didn't answer, simply smiling and being evasive.

Given the obvious strangeness of the deity the other party believed in, given that Sunset City was related to the Ruling God "Siming," and given that there were some abnormal points, the calm and rational Shang Jianyao didn't force himself to make friends and get the target to say heartfelt words, planning to observe for a while longer.

This received Jiang Baimian's affirmation and praise.

Bai Chen pursed her lips and said:

"It might be another name for the 'Doomsday God,' or an incarnation, like the relationship between 'World Honored One' and 'Zhuang Sheng.'"

Jiang Baimian followed up:

"The wooden puppet on Old He's pendant is indeed very similar to the symbol representing the deity within the Anti-Intellectualism Church."

They are all people without facial features.

In the Anti-Intellectualism Church's doctrine, this is the symbol of the "Doomsday God."

"The Awakened abilities described by the village chief also seem to belong to the 'Doomsday God' domain." Genava, still wearing his robe, helped supplement the evidence.

"Old He denied that guess." Shang Jianyao had a "I believe everything he says" expression on his face.

After he clearly saw the pendant Old He pulled out, he immediately asked, "Doomsday God?"

Old He shook his head without hesitation, saying that "Truth" was not the "Doomsday God."

Jiang Baimian said, "Mm":

"In theory, it is something to be proud of if the deity you believe in is a certain Ruling God. There is no need to deny it, just like the major Buddhist sects all openly admit that 'World Honored One' is 'Zhuang Sheng.'

"However, the Ruling God 'Doomsday God' controls memory and is quite mysterious. The Anti-Intellectualism Church that worships him also inherits this characteristic, with a style of action that is both crazy and cautious, with arrogance revealing a touch of care..."

What she meant was that the Ruling God "Doomsday God" might be like that, with layers of false identities and multiple incarnations that no one knew about.

In this way, it would be normal for a believer of one of His incarnations not to know that their deity was the Ruling God "Doomsday God."

"But there is also the possibility that 'Truth' is another Ruling God, or not a Ruling God at all." Jiang Baimian added, "Remember Yan Hu? Before he fell asleep, he coexisted with his believers on Heartbreak Island as a deity. Similar situations are common in many places on the Grey Lands, especially during the chaotic years and the early New Era."

Shang Jianyao slammed his right fist into his left palm and said:

"I understand.

"'Truth' is a 'New World' expert in the 'Doomsday God' domain in Sunset City, perhaps even the only 'New World' expert, so he has gained the belief of some residents."

Bai Chen thought for a moment and said:

"But why would he make the symbol representing himself almost identical to that of the 'Doomsday God'? Isn't he afraid that his believers will encounter people from the Anti-Intellectualism Church and have confusion in their understanding?"

"It's possible that the symbolic symbol of the 'Doomsday God' domain is fixed. This has to be explained from the source of mysticism..." Shang Jianyao glanced at Jiang Baimian, forcibly putting on the posture of a folklorist.

Jiang Baimian rolled her eyes and said:

"The symbol corresponding to a Ruling God is not actually fixed.

"Do you remember the Vigilance Sect, the Fear Order, and the Hand of Friendship, which also worship 'Yougu'?"

These were the three cults that the Old Task Force had encountered in Redstone Town. They all worshiped the Ruling God "Yougu," but had different beliefs and symbols.

At the time, folklorist Jiang Baimian had taken the time to do some exploration.

This wasn't a very important matter, and it took Long Yuehong a little time to recall it:

"The symbol of the Vigilance Sect is a half-closed door, with a vague female figure in the darkness behind the door..."

He was most impressed by this, and sometimes his nightmares were based on it.

"The symbol of the Fear Order is a black female shadow, and the Hand of Friendship is a slightly glowing hand in the depths of darkness.

"Their common point is that they all have the meaning of darkness and gloom. Hmm, when these three cults debated, none of them accused the other's symbol of not being able to represent the Ruling God 'Yougu.'"

"It seems to be like that..." Shang Jianyao was quite frustrated and unwilling to admit it.

Genava let out a slightly synthesized voice:

"Each Ruling God controls multiple domains. Perhaps those symbols do not directly represent the Ruling God, but rather symbolize a certain domain below them.

"For example, the woman behind the door corresponds to 'Vigilance,' the black female shadow corresponds to 'Fear,' and the glowing hand in the darkness corresponds to 'Friendship.'"

Jiang Baimian nodded:

"This is relatively common in folklore, religion, and mysticism.

"So, 'Truth,' as a 'New World' expert, controls a domain related to memory, which corresponds to the symbol of the Anti-Intellectualism Church?"

For this guess, Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Shang Jianyao all expressed their approval.

Just as Jiang Baimian was about to move on to the next topic, Shang Jianyao suddenly laughed and said in a suppressed voice:

"I've thought of another possibility."

"What possibility?" The honest Genava was very cooperative.

Shang Jianyao looked around and said:

"Replacement!

"'Truth' uses the symbol of the 'Doomsday God' in order to replace him one day."

"You've watched too many Old World entertainment materials, haven't you?" Jiang Baimian's first reaction was amusement mixed with exasperation.

Immediately afterwards, she became thoughtful:

"It's not impossible. After all, we don't know much about the existence of the Ruling Gods and the specific situation of the 'New World.'"

"If Ruling Gods can also be weak, fall, and be replaced, many things can be explained." Bai Chen thought of the destruction of the Fourth Research Institute, and thought of what would happen if a new Ruling God was born when Shang Jianyao mentioned that the thirteen Ruling Gods filled every month.

Clap clap clap, Shang Jianyao applauded, while Long Yuehong felt inexplicably heavy in his heart.

Jiang Baimian slowly exhaled and said:

"This is just a guess for now.

"A more important point for us to care about now is why the 'Siming' sect in Sunset City would allow 'Truth' to preach and develop believers?

"Moreover, the two sides get along quite harmoniously."

"Isn't the Boss always indifferent to believers and doesn't like to interact with humans as a Ruling God?" Long Yuehong replied reflexively.

"The Boss is the Boss, and the higher-ups of the 'Siming' sect are the higher-ups of the 'Siming' sect. The two cannot be completely equated." Jiang Baimian explained, "Since Sunset City has openly declared its belief in the Boss, the elders there should not allow other cults to appear, unless they can't beat them or have some practical considerations."

This is determined by the characteristics of religion itself. They will instinctively reject other beliefs until they are restricted by reality, and then they will consider integration or coexistence.

Of course, the oddballs like the Hand of Friendship are an exception.

"Maybe they really can't beat them." Shang Jianyao looked gloating, "The Boss doesn't care much about practical matters, and there are relatively few 'New World' experts in Sunset City who believe in 'Siming,' so they can't do anything about 'Truth' at all and can only compromise."

Long Yuehong grumbled:

"Maybe it's just that the cost of eliminating 'Truth' is too high, so it's better to cooperate."

Bai Chen glanced at Jiang Baimian:

"There is another possibility:

"'Truth' has a close relationship with the Boss and is an ally of a certain 'New World' faction."

"Mm..." Jiang Baimian nodded slowly.

Everyone else didn't know what to say for a while, and even Shang Jianyao just muttered to himself:

"The Boss and the 'Doomsday God' don't have a good relationship?"

No one answered him.

After a while, Jiang Baimian looked at her team members and said:

"While the people from Sunset City haven't left yet, let's interact with them more these few days.

"Afterwards, if there's an opportunity, we can get Wei to ask for the specific location of Sunset City and visit there. Forget it, let's not consider this matter for now."

"Why?" Long Yuehong asked in confusion.

Jiang Baimian smiled:

"Are we going to jump around under the Boss's nose? That place might be a place the Boss is focusing on."

"That's right." Long Yuehong realized.

The guiding spirit of the Old Task Force's plan this time has always been to look for clues from marginalized experiments and city ruins that do not belong to "Siming."

...

In the evening, Shang Jianyao entered the "Mind Corridor" again and pushed open the door to room '506'.

As soon as he entered the dream, he saw that blurry female figure sitting on the single sofa in the living room, getting 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 completely get rid of this nightmare! Don't look for me again!"

Shang Jianyao stroked his chin and muttered to himself:

"The psychological pressure accumulated in reality leads to thinking during the day and dreaming at night, and in the dream, the mentality is completely collapsed, and there is an urgent need to vent it out?"

Without waiting for the other party to respond, he turned around and asked:

"Who is the Ruling God deep in the laboratory?"

As he spoke, Shang Jianyao took two steps back, ready to escape this dream at any time.

The female figure was silent for a while, and replied in a slightly erratic tone:

"'Dawn'..."