The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’
Chapter 287 - 200: Hope Persists_2

Chapter 287: Chapter 200: Hope Persists_2

That was a cerulean, clear sky, with white clouds floating in various shapes, like a long-lost dream.

The vibrant sunlight covered the earth, bringing a joy that came from deep within their genes. It not only illuminated the Wasteland World but also the hearts of people cloaked in darkness for too long.

They observed the familiar yet somewhat strange world and realized how colorful it was!

The light shone on those piled-up glass bottles, refracting into a myriad of colors like gems in a dream.

Sunlight fell like golden scales, lightly sprinkling on the tranquil water’s surface. Each beam seemed to be nature’s finest stroke, sketching a floating painting of light and shadow.

A gentle breeze passed through, the water surface swayed gently, and those light points danced along with it, like countless little elves leaping on the surface, shimmering.

And those beautiful girls stood under the sunlight, their necks as white as swans. They seemed to glow, too.

Everything was enchanting.

"The sunlight, so beautiful!"

A so-called poet, inspired, recited on the spot: "Ah, sun!"

But unlike the safe zone, countless disturbances were occurring in the ruins of the old world’s relics.

Those mutated creatures evolved rapidly over two hundred years, developing various adaptations for the dark environment. They could survive in absolute darkness without any light, but once exposed to sunlight, they died as quickly as fish out of water.

Since each mutated creature was uglier than the last, this phenomenon was called "death upon seeing light."

These mutated creatures were experimental subjects that had escaped from the lab when the Deep Space was attacked by space pirates. According to the research records at that time, the initial experimental subjects were very fragile and likely wouldn’t survive more than three days in the wild.

Yet they not only survived but also reproduced into a tribe, undergoing rapid evolution. Researchers scratched their heads, unable to figure out why. Obviously, they were so delicate in the lab...

"Ah!"

Several screams echoed from the danger zone. The few remaining phantoms met their final destruction under the sunlight. The followers of the Goddess Night Cult stared blankly at this spectacle, at a loss, as if the sky were falling.

[Mission "Endless Night" has been completed.]

[Return countdown—9:59]

Zhou Yuan heard the system prompt in his ear. He knew he definitely didn’t have time to return to the ecosystem, so he found a companion nearby and made a request,

...

"Summer."

In Fire Seed Town, Qiao swallowed a gulp of saliva, "Do you think...he did this?"

"It must be." Summer nodded firmly, then suddenly slapped the back of Qiao’s head, "And for the umpteenth time, use honorifics!"

She sighed somewhat regretfully. She should have taken Zhou Yuan by force back then. Perhaps she could have left a child, a divine child!

At the very least, she should have taken some genetic material... Why didn’t she? Even if she didn’t know he was a deity, facing such a handsome man, she wouldn’t have let him go.

Summer felt a bit lost, wondering why she hadn’t gone down that route.

"Truly a holy deity; in his presence, not a single impure thought arose." She muttered to herself.

Just then, countless gasps erupted.

Summer quickly looked up and was stunned, mouth agape.

A vast holographic image appeared in the sky, projecting the figure of Zhou Yuan!

"The long, vast night ends here."

Zhou Yuan opened his arms, solemnly and sacredly proclaiming to the Wasteland World, to the sky and earth,

"I am the Breaker of Dawn, the Navigator, the Origin of All, the Lord of Darkness and Void where all returns.

Those who recite my true name shall glimpse immortality in the cycle of rebirth!

O people of the Wasteland World, enjoy the bright future that belongs to you. I promise, the sun will rise again!"

...

"Is this enough?"

S1’s usually cold face twitched a few times.

What was that word again?

Chuunibyou?

Even the most composed person could hardly refrain from laughing at this Chuunibyou-like remark.

"Pfft..."

Someone couldn’t hold back and laughed, then hurriedly punched themselves to calm down, their face turning red.

Zhou Yuan scrunched his toes but smiled calmly and said, "Yes, this is enough. However, I might need your assistance in the future if the cult has any issues..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture.

"As long as it’s not total annihilation, it’s fine."

Zhou Yuan made a two-pronged plan. To prevent future uncontrollable extraordinary persons from becoming unerasable dangers, he selected some crew members and bestowed the Night’s Blessing on them for control.

S1 nodded, then pondered for a moment and asked, "Where exactly are you from?"

"You might not believe me if I tell you."

Zhou Yuan smiled, "I am from Earth."

Earth... Hearing the name of their homeland again, S1 fell silent, thinking of many things in an instant.

"Great deity, here are the items you requested."

A crew member walked over, holding a metal box.

Inside the box was a palm-sized protective shield for a man-made ecosystem, and several USB drives with universal connectors.

These USB drives contained many of the top black technologies developed by this human civilization, such as annihilation reactors, star-level shields, etc.

Zhou Yuan initially thought they wouldn’t give them, but unexpectedly, they were very generous and gave them without hesitation.

Apart from his good looks, they probably feared his terrifying strength, afraid he might resort to force.

All in all, he was about to make a fortune!

"Time is almost up; I must go now."

Zhou Yuan put away the metal box, waved goodbye to everyone, and smiled, "May we meet again among the stars."

——[Teleport]

In an instant, Zhou Yuan’s figure disappeared.

The central command room fell into a strange silence.

"Is this... Supernatural Power?"

S1’s gaze deepened, filled with countless emotions.

...

Wasteland World.

With Zhou Yuan’s "divine proclamation," the entire Wasteland World erupted in excitement.

A new religion was thus established.

But the question arose, what should it be called?

They couldn’t just add "cult" at the end of that long honorary name, could they?

"Origin of All, Return of All..."

After thinking for a long while, a wise man said, "The Origin of All symbolizes the beginning and birth of all things, while Return of All means that all things eventually return to a fundamental source..."

A sudden enlightenment flashed in his mind, and he suggested, "Why not call it the Origin God Cult?"

"Sounds...not bad?"

"Then let’s call it the Origin God Cult."

"Origin God!"

·

Two months later.

The damage to the Deep Space had been completely repaired.

After collecting high-energy particles and heavy metals produced by a supernova explosion from a nebula, they finally received communication signals from the other two star-level starships.

"My God, Deep Space, is it really you?"

"Damn, I thought you were... God, it’s a miracle."

"We wandered through the Silent Belt for two hundred years..." S1 kept it short, briefly summarizing the two centuries of hardships in a few words.

"I have some bad news for you."

S1 frowned, "What is it?"

"Betelgeuse exploded." The voice said heavily, "We’ve lost another potential home."

The gamma-ray storm produced by the stellar explosion was enough to kill all life. That galaxy would remain a forbidden zone for life for a long time and could not become a new home for humans.

S1 was silent for a long time, "Is there a new target?"

"Yes, but it is even farther away, possibly requiring nearly a thousand years of travel. Who knows what might happen by then." The voice said with a bitter laugh.

"Don’t be discouraged. The universe is vast, and we’ll find a new home eventually." Another voice spoke firmly.

"That’s right."

S1 nodded, "Hope never dies."