Chapter 23

Chapter 23

◎Morning Enlightenment◎

"I heard one of your miniature worlds was destroyed?"

The room featured snow-white walls, while the floor and ceiling, like the clearest mirrors, reflected two figures.

The one who spoke appeared to be about sixteen, still very much in the throes of adolescence—otherwise, he wouldn't have dyed his hair Barbie pink and styled it into wild, laser-like dreadlocks.

The other, however, presented a stark contrast.

Chao Wendao wore loose white robes with a slightly open collar. His hair, longer than typical for a man, fell softly over his nape and shoulders, jet-black, making his entire being appear composed solely of black and white.

Pure and serene.

His face seemed meticulously sculpted by the most discerning artisan, from the sharp angles of his bones to the delicate shaping of his veins and flesh—every detail was flawlessly natural.

Lu Dongfa, with his Barbie-pink hair, pursed his lips and cast an envious, resentful gaze at Chao Wendao for a long moment before sighing deeply. No matter how many times he looked, he never grew tired of his friend's face.

Chao Wendao was the first deity to exist; from his appearance to his bones, limbs, and flesh—every part of him was nurtured by the purest, primordial essence of heaven and earth.

Just like his name, tsk tsk tsk, how beautiful, that too was a gift from the heavens.

The creation of gods was akin to Nuwa sculpting humans. The first figure was crafted with painstaking care, fearing any imperfection in a limb or any flaw in the features. But for those that followed, efficiency took precedence—dipping ropes in mud and flinging them about sufficed.

Later deities like Lu Dongfa, though not truly unsightly, could never achieve such perfection again.

Even his name was pieced together after hearing myths about a powerful and beautiful fallen angel named Lucifer, then racking his brain to come up with the phrase "don't ask from east or west" before merging the two.

Chao Wendao let out a soft "Mm," but didn't even open his eyes. He held a Rubik's Cube-like object in one hand while gently stroking it with the other.

The cube was entirely transparent, with a core inside emitting black energy. Its decaying essence spread outward, causing the once-gleaming cube to take on a withered hue.

"This world is dead. Shall I discard it for you?"

Just as Lu Dongfa reached for the decaying cube, a split second before his fingers could touch it, Chao Wendao abruptly opened his eyes and withdrew his hand.

His pupils were utterly black—not the lifeless black of RGB (0, 0, 0), but a lustrous, shimmering darkness. Any designer who saw it would surely exclaim, "This is the 'kaleidoscopic black' I’ve been searching for!"

"I want to keep it as a memento."

He stroked the cube twice more before tucking it into his sleeve.

Lu Dongfa couldn’t comprehend it. "What’s worth keeping as a memento?"

As the most revered primordial deity, Chao Wendao had an unusually austere nature compared to other gods.

Lu Dongfa had transformed his divine realm into something resembling a nightclub, filled with blaring music and pounding beats, multicolored lights flashing from all directions onto the dance floor—enough to blind anyone’s 24k titanium-alloy eyes.

Other deities’ divine realms, while not as extreme, each had their own unique characteristics.

But Chao Wendao’s divine realm was as plain as he was—nothing but white, everywhere. Every time Lu Dongfa stepped inside, he wanted to bolt immediately, feeling like his pink hair was polluting the sickeningly pure space.

Another vivid testament to Chao Wendao’s minimalism was his indifference toward the worlds he created.

He cared deeply about the process of creation—Lu Dongfa had once seen him work day and night, piling up canvases ten layers high across the divine realm floor. A year later, he emerged, smiling slightly, saying he had painted a series of interconnected worlds.

But once they were made, he didn't care at all about their survival.

A new force had emerged—Systems.

They were artificial entities, incapable of creating miniature worlds like the innate deities, but they could seize worlds crafted by gods and become deity-like beings themselves.

Their method of conquest was breaking the original world’s rules.

Every miniature world had its own governing rules, whether reasonable or not—it was the core governing its operation. Once the rules were shattered, the world would wither like an unwatered plant, its functions disrupted, allowing Systems to invade.

For true deities, preventing System invasions was simple. They possessed a brush that could alter any rule in their worlds at will.

But Chao Wendao was an exception.

Over the years, he had turned a blind eye to the fate of his worlds. Systems targeted him, ruthlessly claiming his territories, leaving him—the first deity—with fewer and fewer worlds under his control.

"I met a girl."

"She wanted to break that world’s rules."

"I found the idea intriguing, so I helped her."

Chao Wendao spoke softly.

Lu Dongfa’s eyes widened. "Y-you—not only did you not stop her, you helped her? Are you insane?"

Chao Wendao glanced at him. "I thought she was right. The new rules she created were better than the original ones."

"Don’t you think we’re all just bored? We mechanically impose rules, creating so many worlds, yet never once considered what these rules would bring to humans—whether they were truly reasonable. We’ve never even stepped into the worlds we made. This time, when I went, I saw many things I’d never seen before—all created by humans. There was even a horrible beverage called coffee."

Chao Wendao sighed. "I want to see her again."

Lu Dongfa said with a dark smile. "If it’s as you say, that girl is probably about to die."

Chao Wendao frowned. "Why?"

Lu Dongfa: "She’s a human girl, right? An outsider to the world? She was pulled in by a System to complete tasks—such people are called Hosts. When she broke your world’s rules, the brush you used to modify that world would automatically become hers. But Systems don’t work for free. They’ll kill the Host to claim that brush."

A hint of concern crossed Chao Wendao’s face.

Lu Dongfa gestured helplessly. "You can’t save her. The world she originally belonged to likely belongs to another deity—you can’t interfere."

Chao Wendao: "No, there’s another way."

"Oh?" Lu Dongfa looked at him with interest. Chao Wendao pulled out the nearly withered cube from his sleeve—the symbol of his lost world.

Suddenly, he forcefully threw the cube!

At first, Lu Dongfa didn’t understand what Chao Wendao was doing—but when he saw the cube’s path, his expression contorted in horror. "Have you lost your mind?!"

The withered cube soared through the air, colliding with a radiant one, triggering a chain reaction as several nearby cubes crashed into one another. In the next instant, all the affected cubes were linked together by an invisible thread.

Those cubes were part of the series Chao Wendao had spent an entire year creating—each themed around "overbearing CEOs."

Chao Wendao smiled in satisfaction. "Now, the settings of the other worlds have merged with the destroyed one. The System will be forced to keep her as its Host if it wants the brush."

"But," Lu Dongfa’s face showed fear for the first time, "Chao Wendao, if she breaks all the worlds you’ve created… do you know what the consequences will be?"

Shen Ruzhen finished her long day, showered, and went to bed.

She had a dream.

She dreamed of a pen glowing with golden light.

One end of the pen touched her heart, while the other was violently yanked by an invisible force!

"Hiss—"

Shen Ruzhen's entire heart clenched in pain!

Her eyes flew open.

"Author's Note"

Posting a bit late.

Didn't mean to leave you hanging here, but I was exhausted, so...