Chapter Two Hundred Forty [The Answer to Everything]
After this answer was spoken, both Chen Nuo and the Son of the Sun's expressions changed slightly. Vanel knelt on the ground, covering his head with his hands, his face strained and grave.
Only Star Sky Empress Lu Xixi and Bonfrey, who was far behind, were clueless about the Mother or the Seed, wearing puzzled looks.
Chen Nuo was trying hard to process this astounding answer and asked in return, "Then..."
"You want to ask where the Mother is, right?" the person smiled.
Fucking hell, of course I do! What do you think!
Although Chen Nuo didn't speak, his facial expression undoubtedly conveyed this.
"What about the others? Do you also want to know where the Mother is?" This person smiled, sweeping his indifferent gaze across everyone present.
"Hubby~ what exactly is the Mother?" Lu Xixi asked Chen Nuo in a hushed tone.
"Hmm... it's a long story. I'll tell you once we're outside," Chen Nuo answered in an equally low and rapid voice.
"...Okay." Lu Xixi seemed a bit dissatisfied and pouted, but then added, "You'll have a lot of questions to answer when we get out!"
"Like, when you told Selena to go 'field play' with you in the rainforest, what did you mean by 'field play'?"
"And there's more! That day I asked how you learned Japanese, you said you used to pick up girls in Japan! You had a Japanese girlfriend?"
Chen Yanluo's scalp tingled, and he clamped his mouth shut.
An alien invasion of Earth, and Empress Lu's fury. Which is more terrifying?
Not daring to get entangled with Lu Xixi over these issues any longer, Chen Nuo quickly spoke up, "Stop pretending! We're all here for the Mother! Where exactly is she?"
The person seemed to smile at this.
"The Mother... is on Earth."
"My ass she is, you motherfucking little cookie!" the old Son of the Sun cursed unhappily. "Who the fuck doesn't know she's on Earth?!"
Actually, the old man might not have been quite so irritable. But this person was standing not too far away, and despite the smile at the corners of his mouth and his gentle, pleasant voice, the eerie part was the look in his eyes as he observed people. It was devoid of human emotion, utterly indifferent and cold to the extreme!
Furthermore, under the oppression of the opponent's powerful spiritual power, the Son of the Sun, though a Natural-rank Controller able to withstand it, still felt the omnipresent pressure. This made him unable to suppress his irritation.
This person wasn't angered by the curse. Instead, he shook his head and said, "Little cookie? When we get out, I'll find a chance to try this thing you're talking about."
He paused before he seemed to sigh, his gaze cold, but his tone sorrowful, "When I say the Mother is on Earth, I mean it literally."
He spoke with such earnestness that both the Son of the Sun and Chen Nuo froze.
This person gently shook his hands and raised one hand to point toward the sky. The sleeves of his black robe fell away naturally, revealing a pale arm.
He pointed towards the sun and began his explanation.
"Your planet possesses unique natural conditions. It has a star at a suitable distance—not too far, or its water would freeze, and not too close, or its water would be baked away by the star's heat.
The planet's rotation speed is appropriate, and it has an atmosphere that prevents water from escaping.
All these conditions are suitable for nurturing life.
But in the vast universe, the boundless sea of stars, how many planets share conditions like yours?
Calculated in your units of time, it's a miracle that this planet has nurtured life for eons.
However, life and civilization have always been two distinctly separate things."
This statement was quite profound. The Son of the Sun raised an eyebrow, while Chen Nuo frowned, lost in thought.
The person continued:
"If nurturing life itself is a miracle, then for that life to evolve into a civilization is a miracle within a miracle. The probability of this is so small, so minuscule, so rare, that mere words cannot adequately convey it.
And you... do you truly believe that this small blue planet's ability to give rise to civilization, to produce so many creatures that have begun to awaken their intelligence, is merely a miracle within a miracle, a coincidence piled upon coincidence?"
Hearing this, Chen Nuo was the first to react, his body shaking violently!
With an expression of disbelief, he stared at this "Seed," and exclaimed, "Are you saying...?"
"You humans consider yourselves the masters of this planet—and you're not wrong. You evolved the fastest and most completely, forming a true civilization. You are the most intelligent animals on this planet.
But, are the other animals on this planet truly lower beings?
Dolphins in the sea use sonar to navigate, understand group behavior, and suckle their young. If a calf dies, the mother dolphin will linger by it for a long time.
Wolf packs in the wilderness submit to their alpha leader. They wage war, hunt, and migrate with organization and order!
Migratory birds move in flocks, with one leading and the others following.
Beehives are centered around a queen bee, who directs countless worker bees. If reproduction is needed, they can select the strongest worker bee and have it...
And then there are dogs, which you humans have domesticated from wolves.
The smartest dogs possess intelligence comparable to your human children."
Saying this, the person frowned slightly and apologized with a faint, regretful smile, "Sorry, I've seen a great deal and tend to get sentimental. Perhaps it's because I've just awakened that I'm being rather long-winded."
Then, he looked at Chen Nuo, his eyes and tone serious, "You humans think these are lower animals... but that's only in comparison to yourselves.
If there were no humans on this planet... these animals would actually have the conditions for evolution!
If humans hadn't been the first species on this planet to evolve into a civilization...
Then those I mentioned, along with many others I haven't.
Many have already taken the initial steps toward developing intelligence.
If there were no humans, who's to say they wouldn't have the chance to evolve into new civilizations?
Those life forms on your Earth that you call 'lower creatures'—
if you were to take these other species from your Earth and place them on a planet devoid of humans, allowing them to develop for thousands, tens of thousands of years, or even longer...
They could all potentially become higher animals. In the long course of evolutionary history, they might even make a great leap forward and cross the threshold into civilization!"
Chen Nuo's mouth went dry, his heart pounding violently!
"Do you know, in the vast universe, planets with life are exceedingly rare!
Among countless stars, the vast majority are utterly lifeless.
A planet harboring life is one in hundreds of millions.
And for those so-called life-bearing planets to possess even fungi, viruses, or single-celled organisms is already a probability of one in hundreds of millions!
Yet your planet, aside from humans, possesses so many wondrous creatures endowed with intelligence? ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel{f}ire.net
This is more than a miracle; it's a miracle of miracles!"
As he said this, the person's gaze no longer wandered, fixing solely on Chen Nuo.
His voice was very soft as he smiled and posed a question:
"Do you really think all this is simply a gift from heaven?"
Chen Nuo subconsciously took half a step back!
For a moment, his mouth was dry, his breathing rapid, his heart thundering like a drum!
Chen Nuo had an inkling of what this person was implying... But the more he considered that answer, the more astonishing, shocking, and unacceptable it felt!
"You want answers, so I'll give them to you," the person sighed softly. "I'm just afraid this answer is too far beyond your expectations, making it difficult for you to accept.
I fear that as the dominant civilization of this planet, its highest beings, your pride and dignity will not allow you to accept an answer that shatters your esteemed status as the 'Chosen Ones'."
The Son of the Sun could no longer hold back and rebutted in a low voice, "Absurd, utterly absurd! This... this must be a lie!"
Although it was a rebuttal, his tone sounded more like he was muttering to himself.
"Now then, let us discuss what I am, and what a Seed is."
This person, seemingly unbothered by their shock, continued speaking as if to himself.
Still, his eyes remained fixed only on Chen Nuo.
"If I'm not mistaken, you must be the only one among you who has seen the Mother, right?"
Chen Nuo instantly felt as if he had been completely seen through, and his guard went up!
"Don't be surprised. I can feel the strength of your spiritual power... It's not just strong; it's exceptionally Pure.
It's unlike the native life forms I've encountered on this planet. Some of them have evolved powerful innate abilities and possess strong spiritual power, but none are as Pure as yours.
This is the kind of spiritual power that can only originate from a Pure Spiritual Life Form.
On this planet, aside from myself, only a life form that has seen the Mother and interacted with her could possess spiritual power with this characteristic.
So, may I ask, you've seen a Mother... yet you stand here, still a... a... apologies, I've suddenly forgotten the word... it's one of your human terms..."
This person frowned in thought for a moment, then slapped his head and laughed, "Ah, yes... the word is...
With his train of thought restored, the person laughed, "If you've seen the Mother, then according to the proper procedure, you should have become a part of the Mother or one of her children.
But here you are, still a 'free' individual.
Therefore, based on my calculations and deductions... something must have gone awry.
So, the Mother you've seen must have died.
Hmm... did you kill her?"
Chen Nuo hesitated for a moment, a flicker of uncertainty in his heart.
"Very well, no need to speak. Your expression and the fluctuations in your spiritual power have already told me that, at the very least, the Mother you encountered is certainly dead.
As for how she died, I am not concerned."
"So, what is a Seed?" Chen Nuo suddenly unclenched his fists and asked seriously, "From what I understand, a Seed is a contingency measure. When the Mother arrived on Earth, knowing she was about to fall into a deep slumber, she scattered them.
Hoping that these Seeds would find and awaken her!
"And then, to rebuild the glory of the Mother's civilization on this planet," the person stated directly.
"...Yes." Chen Nuo shook his head. "Then what about you? You claim to be a Seed... so your mission should be to awaken the Mother. A Mother should be resting in this place, shouldn't she? Where is she? Why haven't you awakened her?"
"You're overlooking one point, a very crucial point," the person said softly,
His tone was earnest as he continued, his brow furrowed, "You are correct.
The Mother scattered the Seeds—entities such as myself—
hoping that these Seeds would find her and awaken her.
However... everything you've described is the Mother's will."
Chen Nuo's breath hitched, and he stared at this person in astonishment.
The person pointed a finger at his own nose, a pleasant smile on his face.
"But, what about my will?
What if, by some chance, my will conflicts with the Mother's will?
What if I suddenly changed my mind, and I no longer wish to awaken the Mother?"
At this, the person abruptly stopped speaking, his brow furrowed deeply.