Night God's asking price was shocking to Zhou Yi for a moment.
"Does the Light Core Body also lack money?"
"Of course, this is a world of energy, matter, and consciousness. No one can exist out of thin air," the other party said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Although the Church has its ways, as the god that the devotees follow, I sometimes still need to provide them with some funds. Otherwise, how would they believe in me? This is easy to understand, right?"
Zhou Yi thought to himself that it made sense.
"But with your strength, you should be able to get a lot of Light Seeds just by beckoning."
"Obtaining Light Seeds is not difficult, but the challenge is choosing the path that suits me best. Sometimes the process is far more important than the outcome."
Night God seemed to realize something: "Your focus is more on the material existence of the Outer World, you seem to have not explored much of this Inner World, no wonder you think that way."
"Concept Life is a higher form of life that emerges from the interplay between the Outer World and the Inner World. We move and operate in the Inner World formed by consciousness, and enter the Outer World formed by matter, where we can't directly change the material."
"This is also a simple natural law. I can easily destroy thousands of consciousnesses, but I can't pick up a stone."
The other person waved their hand and laughed, "Of course, that's just a joke. I'm not some destructive maniac."
Zhou Yi listened attentively.
Just from actions and behaviors, Night God's imitation of humans is indeed impeccable.
"Concept Life has its own way of obtaining energy, and our method is more efficient and straightforward, but most life forms on this side of the Outer World do not have this ability. What they need is a universal energy carrier, which is the Light Seed."
"So coming here, I need Light Seeds to help and promote them."
Night God's words gave Zhou Yi a general understanding.
However, there was still one core issue unresolved.
Zhou Yi did not beat around the bush, "It would be faster if you just seize it directly, right?"
The other person did not deny it: "That process would be recorded by the Great Holy Spirit, leading to changes in the concept itself."
"Like now, everyone perceives the Night God as a kind and wise deity. After plundering, I would be seen as a deity who deprives people of wealth, and such actions would change cognitive perceptions."
Zhou Yi seemed to somewhat understand, "Like alignment? You belong to the Order Side, and plundering would shift you to the Chaotic Side, or even to the Evil Side?"
"That is an interesting way to put it... you could see it that way."
Night God holding a small fan, spoke with a light tone, "To us, Order, Chaos, and Evil are essentially indistinguishable; they're just about taking the left, middle, or right path. However, these paths have different impacts on the life in the Outer World and consequently affect the feedback we receive."
"Actions on the Order Side, like my guidance and help to other lives, although harder, can continue to expand our influence and dissemination, gaining a large foundational community."
"But it's for this reason I need to acquire Light Seeds from here, which requires more acceptable methods such as exchange, excavation, or accepted tribute." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ noᴠelfire.net
"The Chaotic Side is hard to predict due to its erratic nature; nobody wants to follow an unpredictable fellow, making it difficult to gain any benefits."
"As for the Evil Side, they are often labeled as monsters; it's a path where supporters may surge briefly but vanish just as quickly. Because destruction itself is a double-edged sword, not distinguishing between friend and foe."
Zhou Yi took note silently.
He then asked, "Now, the deity from the Order Side, besides you, are there others?"
"As far as I know, no. Being a god entails huge pressure, and most of my kind are unwilling to do it."
Night God swayed the small fan, "Being a deity upholding order is a very tough job."
"In order to manage devotees here, I have to converse with them every day, solve their problems, listen to their pains, and even find ways to address their livelihood issues. Prolonging this, even I have often wished to dissolve the Church..."
Zhou Yi expressed his sympathy, "It's been tough. Please persevere."
"If it weren't necessary, who would want to bother?"
A wry and bitter expression appeared on the other's face, "The crisis on the Moon is imminent, I must expand my base of devotees to counter the weakening effects from there."
"I am also planning to train them, hoping that one day they can march there and eradicate the Moon Beasts... although this seems like a distant dream. Their development is far slower than I anticipated."
Zhou Yi expressed his solemn respect.
"Most Concept Life still operates in the Inner World, that's where we are more suited. By the way, would you like to trade with me? I can help you find hotpot."
The other person said, "Just transfer directly to the Church's account in Mechanical City, the account is called [Night God Church Donation Class One], and just remark it as [Exchange]."
In the Wasteland era, even gods have electronic accounts.
Zhou Yi opened his tablet and completed a transaction of 20,000 Light Seeds.
Then he showed the details to the other party.
"Thank you for supporting the Church."
Night God displayed a business-like smile, "Hold on for a moment, I will find the one you are looking for."
And then it vanished.
The conversation with Night God corrected many of Zhou Yi's habitual ways of thinking.
For instance, the Church.
The Night Church of the Wasteland era is unlike any church in human history.
It was born out of the lunar crisis, necessitating Night God's search for devotees to harness external powers to address the problem with Moon Beasts.
The more devotees it has, the stronger its power becomes.
Thus, the Church naturally has an expansive tendency.
A virtual deity appears perfect due to distance.
As a real existing deity, Night God has to travel everywhere, earning money, recruiting people, appeasing devotees, maintaining a good image... perhaps due to the lack of a professional team, it must handle everything personally.
Zhou Yi thought it was a pity.
Having never worked as an agent or in an entertainment company, he could have otherwise collaborated with Night God, setting up a backstage team, turning it into an idol goddess.
Various thoughts flashed through Zhou Yi's mind.
Suddenly, Night God reappeared.
"I've found the 'Hotpot' you described."
"However, it is currently asleep."
Night God said apologetically, "It seems very weak and cannot wake up any time soon."
"But I know of a similar Concept Life, quite similar to Hotpot. It, like me, belongs to the Order Side, is harmless, and easy to get along with."
Zhou Yi was doubtful, "Who might that be?"
"It's called 'Land,' an ancient Concept Life whose prototype is the land of the Outer World."
Is this the Land God?
Since Hotpot was asleep, Zhou Yi decided to give it a try: "That works."
Night God's figure flickered for a moment.
A strange shadow slowly emerged beside it.
The shadow resembled a clay sculpture with no facial features or arms, its lower half shrouded in mist.
Night God introduced, "This is 'Land.'"
Zhou Yi nodded slightly, "Hello, I am Zhou Yi."
The other's voice was deep and resonant, transmitting through the ground beneath their feet into their bodies.
"Then you two take your time," Night God waved goodbye and said, "I'm off to take care of my followers now."
A voice rang in Zhou Yi's mind.
"Land may not focus as much on the Outer World as I do, but its inclination is also towards the Order Side; it merely doesn't manage followers like I do. It's more introverted and avoids attention, caring only about its prototype from the land, which is why while it occasionally appears here, few know about it."
"I hope you can reach a cooperation."
Night God gave a little hint.
After it left, only Zhou Yi and Land remained.
The other was silent as described.
Zhou Yi had to start the conversation himself: "Honestly, we are working on land reclamation here. I wonder if you have any suggestions?"
Land was still sparing with words.
Zhou Yi felt a bit of a headache.
With this situation, not to mention cooperation, even chatting was challenging.
Zhou Yi continued, "Because our Sand Port Region is limited in size and most of the world is submerged by the Dead Sea, land is an extremely precious non-renewable resource, so I want to reclaim land from the sea."
The other responded with a word.
It was unclear if that was approval or just acknowledgment.
Zhou Yi bravely continued, "I'd like to ask, if the silt from the bottom of the Dead Sea is dredged up, is it feasible to use it for growing crops?"
Land still responded with one word answers.
Zhou Yi cursed internally.
No wonder Land's influence and spread were almost non-existent. With such a passive form of Concept Life, sparing as squeezing toothpaste, how could it attract followers?
It and Night God represented two extremes: one fully engaged in the world, the other completely reclusive.
But having spent 20,000 Light Seeds, he couldn't just waste it.
Zhou Yi had to be patient and try to extract more information, "Does the concept prototype you originate from refer to all land surfaces of this world?"
"Only the parts not covered by the Dead Sea."
That is to say, land in a narrow sense.
According to Night God's description, the strength of the prototype affects the Concept Life itself. This means, expanding the land will also make this Land stronger.
Zhou Yi tried to confirm.
The clay figure standing on a cloud answered, "The larger the land, the stronger I am."
Zhou Yi curiously asked, "Nowadays everyone is engaged in land reclamation and island building, are you also promoting it behind the scenes?"
Land said, "I have not conversed with the Outer World for a long time."
It bid farewell and left.
Suddenly, the clay figure slowly turned to the east.
"Is that... sky land?" it wondered.
Zhou Yi also looked over.
That was the Eastern land reclamation pilot zone, now above the elevator-supported islands, a wide and stable layer of soil was spread.
From a distance, it resembled a giant mushroom with a huge flat cap.
Zhou Yi was also puzzled.
What's going on here?
The normally calm Concept Life finally showed a significant emotional fluctuation, "No wonder Night God asked me to come here, this place is indeed unusual."