I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 288 - 288 287.Birthday_1

Chapter 288: 287.Birthday_1 Chapter 288: 287.Birthday_1 Jiangcheng District, inside a barbecue restaurant.

From the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could overlook the night view of Lingjiang. Pleasure boats swayed on the river, and on the riverside promenade, people came and went, with a variety of shops lining the way, attracting pedestrians to pause.

Tomorrow would be the first day of the college entrance examination; there were also some related banners on the streets, but for Lu Ban, all that was something from several years ago.

What made this barbecue restaurant famous was its butter-aged steak. The so-called aging process involved using certain methods to store fresh meat for a period, enhancing its flavor, somewhat similar in technique to the production of ham.

However, Lu Ban didn’t actually think the aged meat tasted that much better, and even felt that cutting away so much meat was a bit wasteful.

He was a frugal person, not caring about costs did not mean he would spend money rashly.

But after all, this was the restaurant Qin Tiantian had picked, so a bit more expensive it would be.

After ordering the food and while waiting for the chef to prepare it, Lu Ban glanced at Feng Yu across the table.

“Why did you think to come here today?”

Upon hearing that, Feng Yu blinked and said with a somewhat amused tone,

“Of course, it’s because of you.”

“?”

Qin Tiantian looked at Lu Ban, then at Feng Yu, and sneakily sipped her tea.

“You didn’t forget that today is your own birthday, did you?” Feng Yu asked.

“Today is my birthday?” Lu Ban was also surprised.

“So you were born on June 6th?” Qin Tiantian was also surprised.

“No, why are you surprised?” She looked back at Lu Ban.

“I usually don’t pay attention to these things, I didn’t celebrate it last year.”

Last year at this time, Lu Ban was still an unknown scrambling for a living, and in just one year, he had already become one of the country’s highest-grossing directors, which could only mean that sometimes the course of history is far more significant than personal struggle.

“Then today you should definitely treat us.” Qin Tiantian picked up the menu, deciding to order some more.

“Shouldn’t you guys be treating me instead?” Lu Ban retorted.

“Tsk, such a small-minded man.” Qin Tiantian put down the menu; she didn’t care too much either, after all, she had already ordered a lot, probably more than they could finish.

“I heard you’re planning to show your movie overseas?” Feng Yu did not join in the playful banter and asked again.

“Yeah, I think it’s necessary now to explore the international market to grow bigger and stronger,” Lu Ban answered decisively.

“Quite ambitious.” Feng Yu laughed, and at this moment, the waiter brought the appetizers, and the three of them began to eat officially.

They talked and ate, and by the time they finished, it was ten o’clock.

After dropping off an extremely sleepy Qin Tiantian at her home, Lu Ban went for a walk with Feng Yu in the residential area.

“It seems you’ve found a way to resist the pollution,” Feng Yu said as she walked ahead. In the early summer sky, one could spot a few stars, and if it were someone else, they might try to identify their constellations. But to Lu Ban, the stars in the sky might all be enemies.

“That’s right, in order to counteract the pollution from the Foreign Domain, one must first immerse oneself in the pollution, and that’s what I’m doing now,” Lu Ban nodded and said.

“You have already discovered one of the fundamental rules of this world.”

Feng Yu said in a tone akin to praising a student who had solved a math problem correctly.

“All knowledge in this world is accompanied by pollution; the planet is the same. The more humans explore knowledge, the more they understand the world, the greater the impact of pollution on all of humanity. Look, humans who lived like insects in caves millions of years ago can now effortlessly destroy themselves.”

“Are you referring to nuclear war?”

Lu Ban somewhat understood Feng Yu’s explanation upon hearing it.

Originally, humans were merely creatures like other animals, their personal limits extending only to a few miles around them. But as humans evolved and accumulated knowledge, the scope of their influence widened, and the depth to which they could impact themselves and their surroundings became more severe.

This pattern is the same as that of pollution.

However, the pollution brought about by such knowledge is minor, and because it occurs over a long time span, the consequences are also less severe. This is nothing compared to directly witnessing those indescribable beings in the Foreign Domain.

In fact, if primitive man suddenly saw today’s cars and mobile phones, he might be excessively shocked and worship them as divine beings, and his sanity would be diminished.

“Yes, to become stronger in the Foreign Domain, one needs more knowledge. The more knowledge acquired, the more pollution the individual will suffer from. The more insane one becomes, the more powerful they are. The divine beings you’ve seen, the vast majority have fallen into madness, and a small portion are on the brink of it.”

Lu Ban couldn’t tell for sure, but he sensed a hint of self-mockery in Feng Yu’s tone.

“Is there a way to become stronger without succumbing to madness?”

Lu Ban couldn’t help but be curious.

“As of now, there isn’t.”

Feng Yu shook her head.

“However, once pollution spreads and the mad knowledge becomes common sense in the Foreign Domain, the overall strength of the Foreign Domain will be elevated, much like what you’ve witnessed.”

This was easy to understand. A primitive man might faint at the sight of a mobile phone, but given time and opportunity to learn, he could learn to use a mobile phone. By that time, the mobile phone would become common sense to primitive man. He wouldn’t be shocked by its appearance, but his perception would have changed forever.

“Is the Silent Lands deliberately trying to deepen the pollution of the Foreign Domain within a controllable range?”

Lu Ban asked another question. His current actions, from another perspective, were also causing the world to become progressively polluted, which was clearly something the Silent Lands seemed pleased to see.

And it was for this reason that Lu Ban temporarily considered the Silent Lands as allies, or at the very least, not enemies.

“In your understanding, yes, but the deeper reasons are not so.”

Feng Yu stopped walking and turned back to look at Lu Ban.

“What are those reasons?”

Lu Ban inquired, pausing briefly before raising his hand.

“Do these reasons also involve a certain degree of pollution?”

In the Silent Lands, knowledge equates to pollution. When knowledge is acquired passively, the effect of pollution deepens, leading to a decrease in sanity and corresponding bodily mutations. If the knowledge is gained through personal exploration, then the pollution is relatively minor, with less impact on the body.

These were all experiences Lu Ban had personally encountered.

So, to some extent, there indeed exists an entity in the Silent Lands that exudes verbal firepower.

If one independently acquired knowledge of a certain depth of pollution, then in the face of an enemy, it was entirely possible to speak out this knowledge directly. If the opponent had weak tolerance, they might be directly corroded and mutated.

It was similar to the murmuring of Lu Ban’s august presence.

“Of course, and it involves profound pollution.”

Feng Yu smiled.

“This trip of mine was to verify this, and I have found my answers, but at a price.”

She suddenly leaned in close and pulled down the neckline of her dress, near where Lu Ban stood.

Lu Ban saw that there were no pleasing scenes that the masses were eager to see.

Instead, a vast, toothy maw spread across Feng Yu’s chest, out of which countless wriggling tentacles were attempting to close the abyssal gape. Deeper within, numerous eyeballs moved, spying on Lu Ban through the crevices.

It was as if her entire body had become a hollow shell, with only this large mouth remaining, attempting to masquerade as a human form.

Lu Ban looked up and saw that Feng Yu’s smile had not changed at all.

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