This is really an old-fashioned way of unfolding—Hao Ren couldn't help but think so.
The ancient civilization of the last era was dragged into the cracks of time and space due to an unknown natural disaster (the Big Bang of the Kingdom of God), and the surface world was destroyed. Survivors relied on powerful technology to build a large-scale refuge group inside the planet. And linger in it. As time passed, the disasters in the surface world gradually subsided, but the survivors in the underground shelters were cut off from civilization due to years of isolation and drastic changes in the environment, and turned into monsters or simply perished, while the shelter facilities they left behind became The dangerous "big tunnel", filled with deadly poisonous gas and endless monsters, is regarded as a scourge by the new civilizations of the surface world...
Hao Ren can even boldly guess that if these assumptions are true, then the so-called poison gas in the Great Tunnel should actually be the normal atmospheric composition of this planet 10,000 years ago—it was the foundation of the civilization of the previous generation, but it is now A season of ecological disaster.
But can a mere 10,000 years really produce such a huge change? Or, after this planet was dragged into the dark realm, what other great changes took place here, which greatly catalyzed the process of ecological evolution
I am afraid that these problems can only be understood after entering the Great Tunnel.
Originally thought that turning into a mercenary in a daze and signing a guard contract with a reckless female magician was just a trivial episode, but he didn't expect that this incident would lead to such important information. Hao Ren couldn't help it. I don’t lament my good luck: If Liya didn’t come out suddenly and mention the Great Tunnel, I really don’t know how long I would have to lead everyone around this world to get in touch with the secrets of the bottom world: After all, for this world For most normal people, the Great Tunnel is an object worthy of respect and staying away, and a bold "scholar" like Leah is a rare species.
Hao Ren made a decision, and closed the book of geography in front of him again: "Everyone recharge your batteries today, get ready, follow Leah to the vicinity of the big tunnel tomorrow, and try to find the entrance to the underground... "
But before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by a sudden communication from Nolan: "Boss! You better come out and see this!"
"What's the situation?" He didn't expect that Nolan, who was performing a security mission at high altitude, would suddenly receive a message. He thought it was some accident, "The enemy?"
Nolan's tone was hurried with shock: "No! It's the sky! There are incredible things in the sky!"
Several people immediately looked at each other, and then ran to the large floor-to-ceiling windows of the library in unison, opened the windows and looked up at the dark night sky outside.
Even the cat girl was taken aback by what she saw, her eyes widened: "... Meow meow?"
In the dark night sky, a fragmented world is slowly moving across the sky!
Those are several huge shadows, bigger than any satellite or star that Hao Ren knows can cast in the sky. Ordinary people can tell with their naked eyes that they are some shadows floating in space without using any optical equipment. The Shattered Continent in . Among them, the three largest continental fragments are distributed in a zigzag shape, on which you can clearly see raised mountains and deep rifts, and even some faint lines that seem to be traces of man-made objects; and in these three Between the continents in the sky, there are countless large and small black spots: those are floating islands floating around the continents.
All this undoubtedly once belonged to a whole planet.
The surface of the Shattered Continent is not completely dark, and some dark red or dark yellow lines can still be seen in their depths. Those faint rays of light seem to be magma that has not completely cooled down—of course, it is also possible that something else is still emitting. Peripheral vision.
While everyone was astonished, these lands hanging upside down in the sky were still moving in the sky at a speed visible to the naked eye. At this moment, they had gradually reached the center of the night sky, and their huge scale covered almost one-third of the sky. It was silent, but with an astonishing sense of oppression and solemnity. Hao Ren even felt an auditory hallucination in his mind. He heard a dull sound like a giant tree rolling on the ground: boom, boom...
These auditory hallucinations were interrupted by a crisp voice that suddenly came from the side: "Ah, what are you doing lying neatly in front of the window?"
Hao Ren came back to his senses all of a sudden, and was surprised to see Leah standing not far from him: she was standing outside the window, the air was under her feet, and some tiny shimmering runes were swimming around her , isolated from the cold air from Changfeng Ridge.
The lady magician seemed to come out for some fresh air after studying.
"Aha, I'm just out for a walk, don't act like a ghost." Noticing the surprised expressions on Hao Ren's and his party's faces, Liya waved her hands carelessly, "I know it's okay to just stand outside the window and say hello to someone." It's a bit scary, but you who are well-informed shouldn't be scared, right?"
"Uh... oh, that's nothing," Vivienne quickly came back to her senses, and put on a gentle smile, "We're just looking at the night and... the scenery in the sky."
"Oh? Oh, so you are looking at the Broken Heaven," Liya followed Vivienne's line of sight, and when she turned her head, she had a clear smile on her face, as if she didn't seem to be that kind to Hao Ren and his party. There was a lot of fuss about the group looking at the sky in the middle of the night, "Indeed, no matter when you see it, no matter how many times you see it, it is a very charming scenery, isn't it? It's just that I didn't expect you adventurers who have traveled far and wide to have this kind of elegance. You like to read books, and you also look up to the broken heaven, I would think you are actually a bunch of scholars who came out to study."
"We come from a very remote place, where there are not many educated people, but we are different among them, and it is precisely because we are curious about the outside world that we have traveled all the way here together," Hao Ren carefully weaved himself The background of this group of people, and tried to continue the topic, "If this lady scholar has time, how about telling us something about the broken kingdom of heaven?"
"Aha, I have a lot of time, but the topic you asked for is too broad, how can I talk about it?" Known as "Miss Scholar", Liya is obviously in a very good mood, although her words Talking about trouble, but still opened the chatter box, "Some people say that it used to be a country where gods lived, and some people said that it was a twin planet with our world, but it was destroyed by war, and some even said that it was an 'old world. The world' is the place where the ancestors once lived. Later, when disasters came and the world was destroyed, the ancestors used some lost ancient magic to create a new world on the other side of the old world, which made the current Laherien, and Transferred us all here—while the shattered old world floats forever in the skies of Laherion. Which one do you think is more reliable?"
Of course Hao Ren supported the first one, but he didn't know how Lia would react, so he didn't say it directly, but asked instead: "What do you think?"
"Put the question back? Tsk tsk," Liya smacked her lips, not dissatisfied, "I am a scholar, although I also study myths and legends, but I first look at those legends from the perspective of a scholar, not a believer —So I am more willing to believe the third theory. There is the old Laherien, the place where our ancestors lived. Whenever we look up at the sky, we are looking at the direction of our hometown... What a feeling. "
Hao Ren was a little speechless: "...Is it because of emotion?"
"It's because of the power of people." Leah, who has always been reckless, showed an unusually emotional expression at this time, "We are mortals, and our ancestors were also mortals, but when the old world was facing destruction, they had the ability What a power it was to create a new Laherion out of nothingness, and save so many races from the tearing earth? Although these incredible ancient powers are now lost, But think about those ancient lighthouses that occasionally appear in the sea of mist, think about the incredible ruins underground, think about the mechanical palaces that still hover in the sky near the highest peak... Which one is not a miracle to us today? But those They were all created by our ancestors with their own hands, not miracles... why are some people turning a blind eye to these things?"
Hao Ren didn't know what to say for a while, because he didn't know the newly-acquainted magician lady in front of him, nor did he know the background information of this world. He could only roughly understand the other party's thoughts from a few words from Leah: She supports the third statement about the broken heaven because she firmly believes that the power of man is enough to shape the world.
Vivienne was a little curious: "You seem to be very dismissive of the 'Kingdom of God' theory of Broken Heaven?"
"It's not that I dismissed it, but I didn't take it as a theory at all," Liya sneered, "declare that the ruins in the sky are places where gods lived? Then you can directly explain the unsolved questions about the broken heaven The mystery is all pushed to the miracle, whether it is its running track or those floating structures that violate the laws of nature, it can be explained by "God's design". Anyway, it can neither be proved nor falsified. It's not what scholars should say."
Nangong Sanba reminded: "But it is still called the Broken Heaven, not the old Laherien or the old world."
"Yes, it's still called Broken Heaven. After all, it's a name that has been passed down from ancient times, but this name doesn't mean anything," Liya said nonchalantly, "If it really is a place where gods once lived, Then why did it become like this? Where is the god living there? If the god there is dead, wouldn’t the god be useless? A god who can’t even keep his own home, There's nothing to be afraid of."
This can almost be said to be quite deviant. Even in this world where theocracy is declining, few people would preach these things so openly, but Liya obviously doesn't care about these secular rules at all, even in the face of a group of gangsters. She hadn't known the mercenary for long, and she didn't mean to be cautious in her words and deeds.
Of course, Hao Ren didn't have any opinion on these remarks made by Liya.
Although he immediately associated the fragmented continents in the sky with the founding star, and he was well aware of the inseparable connection between this "dark realm" and the gods, but he had no intention of forcibly reversing the attitude of the magician lady. idea.
Liya's perception of this world is her own business, and Hao Ren feels that he has no right to interfere in this regard.
"Ah, I seem to have told you a lot of incomprehensible things," Leah said with a smile, "Is it impacting your worldview? You must be more supportive of the Kingdom of God."
"I do support the theory of the Kingdom of God, but I don't object to your statement." Hao Ren smiled, "The power of man is great, and often it is so great that it can make God dumbfounded, but the two are not brought together. It is necessary to compare, because God has things that God should do, and there are things that humans should do... "
"It's a very novel idea," Liya couldn't help but look at Hao Ren more, "If you haven't become a mercenary, I'm afraid you really have the potential to become a thinker. Well, I should go back and rest, breathe Enough fresh air, I'm getting a bit cold."
"Then we'll see you tomorrow, Miss Magician."
"I'll see you tomorrow—you'd better rest early, too, we're leaving tomorrow."