Zhou Yi took the rescue of the Old Humans seriously. He thought, if luck was on his side, he might even save one or two acquaintances.

Though this was a highly unlikely event.

But having hope was always good.

He first toured the Old Human Town created by the Night God.

It was a world fixed within the structure of the Three-Colored Gem.

Zhou Yi could project directly into it through the Black Gemstone.

The town had only a T-shaped main street, with houses of varying heights on both sides, some were self-built houses from the nineties, others were elevator buildings from after 2000. Facing the street were various small shops: building material stores, curtain shops, hardware stores, small convenience stores, car wash shops, dry goods and daily necessities stores, and small restaurants.

Sparse pedestrians, roaring cars coming and going, and nimbly weaving electric bikes, the street was frequently filled with hawking and selling sounds.

The familiar Old Human flavor came back instantly.

Zhou Yi was a bit surprised, "Are there already so many people now?"

Just what he saw, there were already dozens of people wandering around this town.

"Not many, the town currently has a total of 170 real people."

The Night God still dressed in her work attire: a white coat, glasses, and a hair bun.

She said, "There are over 300 others that I created as projections, in your Old Human terms, they are NPCs."

"It's difficult for Old Humans entering here to identify, because these NPCs are not rigid mannequins, they are connected to external Mechanical Life, operated by Lumi and others, for interaction and dialogue."

"If you buy something, you need to pay for it. The money is earned through participating in our research work as compensation. If you don't have money and want to take things, police will show up to arrest you."

"If accidentally hit by a car, you'll suffer severe injuries, and have to lie in the hospital for a long time. If you're unlucky, you might die here and have to wait for the next opening to come back."

"In short, things that cannot be done in Old Human society cannot be done here either."

She revealed a slightly smug smile, "This is a super realistic Old Human Town."

Zhou Yi was puzzled, "They know this is fake, yet are willing to come here?"

"Yes, they are willing."

The Night God was a bit puzzled, "Aren't you an Old Human? How come you don't understand at all."

She looked ahead.

There were two male Old Humans sitting by the road, drinking canned beer, seemingly having a delightful conversation, with smiles on their faces.

"When the past can never be revisited, all that's left is nostalgia and memories."

"The Seeder crafted a consciousness cage for them, designing it around moments of happiness and joy. But over time, they begin to sense something's off, yet are helpless."

"Just like alcohol, if it's all sweet, it's not alcohol. It must have a slight bitterness, a bit of aroma, a hint of intoxication, sourness, even spiciness—only then it's alcohol."

The Night God said seriously, "What endears alcohol isn't just its ability to relax and make one forget, but also the parts of its inherent bitterness."

"At least the Seeder hasn't focused much on this aspect."

Zhou Yi remembered.

The Night God loved alcohol and had several times let him drink so she could savor his consciousness fragments carrying the taste of alcohol. As Concept Life, she couldn't directly ingest alcohol, so it turned into this peculiar indirect form of alcohol scent sensing.

Zhou Yi looked towards the street.

A girl was flying a kite by the roadside, opposite her an elderly man was teasing a puppy, behind the man, a middle-aged person was peeling a boiled egg, slowly eating it...

Also, a child wearing a birthday paper hat, holding the hands of their mother and father, looked cheerful.

These were all Old Humans.

Except for that child's parents—they were NPCs projected by Mechanical Life, identified by Zhou Yi using the Light Core.

Noticing Zhou Yi had his eyes fixated on those NPC parents, the Night God said, "Coming here is entirely their own choice. They could choose never to come here, you know, there is no compulsion in this."

"But ultimately they prefer to come to this flawed, disappointing, possibly troublesome town rather than stay safely on the other side, alone as the protagonist."

"Eating too many sweets sometimes makes you want to drink."

"Everyone's been trapped in their own world cycles for too long, yearning to meet others, even if the outcome might not be good."

Zhou Yi remained silent.

He mused.

He seemed to be the same way.

A decade of Dead Sea hunting, eventually he left that comfort zone to come ashore and change.

Zhou Yi pulled back his thoughts and looked at the Night God, "You previously mentioned encountering some strange issues, what were they?"

"That, you know, coming here is a projection of Old Human consciousness. It's not their actual selves."

The Night God, hands inserted into her white coat pockets, said, "Massive projections into this gem-constructed space cause a lot of pressure, as these projections need to interact with the entire town."

"For instance, if a brick is broken, a corresponding gap needs to be created. If a car accident happens, it would cause a series of chain reactions."

"In essence, it requires constructing the entire town from the ground up, including every stone, every grain of sand, matching the true characteristics of the material side...otherwise, it could become a situation where something is broken and the inside is emptiness."

Zhou Yi understood: "So you need a full set of realistic physical engines to fix the bugs?"

"Yes, exactly. So it's necessary to retrieve a lot of data from Mechanical City and then gradually build it up layer by layer, which is much harder than it seems."

"Unlike dreams where you can completely ignore such things because dreams are short and inherently imprecise. But replicating the Old Human World, you must ensure these foundational consistencies, otherwise, it's like building castles in the air, and there's no way people would want to stay long-term."

Night God showed high standards of self-requirement in her work.

"But this is a problem that can be solved over time, there's another issue that's currently more troublesome."

"A mysterious creature has appeared in this town."

"A creature?"

Zhou Yi was stunned.

"Yes. See for yourself."

Night God grabbed Zhou Yi's hand. Instantly, Zhou Yi gained her perspective.

There were many humanoid shadows in the town, each following behind different Old Humans.

One followed a child with NPC parents, its body forming a kind of ethereal connection with the child, as if extracting the former's soul.

Another one was behind the two men drinking by the roadside, absorbing some form of energy from them in the same ethereal way.

It reminded Zhou Yi of the Dementors in "Harry Potter."

"What are they?"

"Not sure. All that's known is they are actually a single entity but can appear in different areas simultaneously."

Night God, somewhat gloomily, said: "This blurry consciousness, I only recently discovered it. It lurks everywhere sneakily, specifically appearing beside the Old Humans, absorbing the consciousness fragments they emit. It's unclear how it slipped in, very peculiar."

"In fact, I've already cleaned and eliminated it several times."

"But it won't be long before it is reborn."

"The town monsters have no other essence; they are simply consciousness monsters formed by aggregating various consciousness fragments."

"So I suspect it's a byproduct created by the Old Humans themselves. Here, they generate a large quantity of special consciousness fragments, and their interactions accelerate this process."

Zhou Yi's mind popped up with a thought.

Could it be the hatching of a Dream Demon?

He immediately called in Lumi, asking this Dream Demon employee to enter the projection town as well.

After observing the town monster on-site, Lumi's face showed a peculiar expression.

"Chairman, they're not Dream Demons yet."

"Not yet?"

"There's a certain similarity to Dream Demons... It's a collective consciousness born based on this town and these Old Humans, which can be considered a prototype of Concept Life."

Zhou Yi was taken aback: "Can Concept Life be born so quickly? What does 'not yet a Dream Demon' mean?"

"Chairman, have you heard this saying?"

Lumi said solemnly: "A dream is the myth when awake, a myth is the dream when collectively asleep."

"The earliest Dream Demon was just an ordinary and fragile consciousness. But after learning to create dreams, it gained an exclusive space for existence, thus becoming a Dream Demon."

"As far as I know, the very first consciousness life form was what turned into a Dream Demon, gradually acquiring self-awareness. Dream Demons are the most active group on the consciousness side, indirectly facilitating the birth of a large number of Concept Lives by constantly stimulating the imagination and memory of material life."

"The collective consciousness in front of us fits the history of Dream Demons."

"It is the firstborn Concept Life here and serves as the connection point of consciousness for all Old Humans in the town."

Lumi couldn't help showing a rare bit of excitement, staring intently at the black monster: "Here, it re-enacts the scene of the first Concept Life's birth at the beginning of the world."

"Because this place is completely sealed, with material provided by gemstones and the consciousness side formed by projections. The interaction between consciousness and matter fulfills all conditions for a foundational world."

"It's truly fortunate to witness such a scene."

Zhou Yi listened, feeling a bit bewildered.

Is this... did Night God create a secondary genesis?

It really does fit her proclaimed divine identity.

"Most importantly."

Lumi looked intensely at the town creature: "The initial Concept Life is also the prototype of the Great Holy Spirit. But over time, it gradually becomes a stream of consciousness without self-awareness, like a giant Dead Sea Master."

"Now, theoretically, it can be selectively nurtured and altered."

"Chairman, if it can be cultivated into a powerful new Great Holy Spirit, it can be used to drive the Earth Great Saint Spirit, even causing a massive impact!"

"Only Great Holy Spirits can influence and interact with each other, using abilities unique to them! The value is immeasurable!"

Zhou Yi touched his chin thoughtfully.

This sounds quite impressive.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.