Chapter 749 - 471: A Space Odyssey

Chapter 749: Chapter 471: A Space Odyssey

The car drove along the roads of the new city. Both sides were lined with street-front shops undergoing renovation. In the distance, the clamor of machinery from construction sites echoed like a throbbing pulse. Just a few days ago, this place had been nothing but desolate wilderness. Now, a newborn city was rising from the ground—the scale of the Transformation was astounding.

There was a fair amount of traffic on the road. Half were construction vehicles, while the other half were long-distance buses and private cars. The passengers were all refugees migrating from other cities. They gazed out the windows, sizing up the new home where they would be living for the foreseeable future, their faces filled with joy and satisfaction.

Clean, spacious, and high-tech—who wouldn’t want to stay in such a great place?

What’s more, even housing and jobs were assigned for free. With conditions this good, what was there to be unhappy about?

At first glance, it seemed Gaia had just endured a catastrophe and was in a bleak phase of rebuilding from scratch. But in reality, that was just an illusion. The people of this land were now filled with passion and hope for the future. Everyone possessed a vigorous, upward drive. The entire nation was brimming with vitality, and it wouldn’t even take a month to recover to its pre-catastrophe state—or perhaps even surpass it.

"If they could see it now, they would be so gratified," Zhou Chen remarked, looking out the window.

"They," of course, referred to the first King of Gaia and the other forebears. It was their sacrifice that had made today’s Gaia possible. If they could just get one glimpse of the vibrant Gaia now, they would surely be overwhelmed with emotion.

"Definitely," Jiang Che said with a nod.

Zhou Chen kept driving and arrived at the central plaza. A colossal statue stood there: a man wearing a crown and a cape, standing firm with his sword planted before him. It glittered in the sunlight, his expression resolute as he gazed into the distance—in the direction of the sunrise.

Zhou Chen gave an awkward smile, because the statue was his spitting image.

"Not bad. Very impressive," Jiang Che said, tapping her phone a few times before turning the screen to show him. "It’s already on the cover of this issue of Time Magazine. The related topics in international news have surpassed a billion hits. Once this area is a little more developed, it’ll easily become a famous tourist destination in Gaia."

"It’s that popular?" Zhou Chen asked in surprise.

"Becoming a Crowned King in half a month, going from a poor kid to the ruler of a nation, and on top of that, all the things you’ve done... how could you possibly fly under the radar?"

"True..."

After yesterday’s meeting, the Life Church immediately began the work of integrating the Prayer System. After an afternoon of expedited deployment, as of nine o’clock last night, the Prayer System had been preliminarily connected to over a hundred hospitals worldwide, treating more than ten thousand critical patients and harvesting over two hundred thousand points of Wish Value.

And that was just the result of a few hours in a single evening.

People might not be overly interested in the series of events happening in Gaia. At most, they’d gawk at the drama for a bit and then go about their day. But when it comes to issues of health and disease, you can be sure no one will ignore it. After all, who doesn’t get sick sometimes?

That’s why the news shot to the top of global trending topics as soon as it was released. A large part of Zhou Chen’s current popularity came from this.

And aside from the medical field, Zhou Chen’s Prayer System business had also expanded into other Realms.

For example, Alchemy and Forging.

This was especially true for Materials Science, which was notorious for being like "Drawing Cards," "Witch’s Brew," and "Alchemy."

All it took was making a sincere wish, and materials that had seen no progress after decades of research could have an immediate breakthrough. Numerous probabilistic events would become certainties—something that was enough to drive scholars mad. Last night, less than two hours after the Prayer System was connected to top laboratories in various countries, news of major breakthroughs in research from several different Realms began to emerge from a number of them.

With the Prayer System involved in so many important Realms, Zhou Chen had undoubtedly become the most dazzling figure.

And in just one night, the Wish Value he obtained reached nearly five hundred thousand points.

But to his frustration, even after helping so many people realize their wishes, he hadn’t managed to take a single step up the Ascension Ladder, which was truly unexpected.

The Ascension Ladder also had the characteristic of becoming harder to climb the further one went. Yet he hadn’t even reached the Middle Stage. It was hard to imagine how difficult the Late Stage would be. Perhaps only by creating a large number of High-level Ascenders could he obtain enough Secret Power.

Of course, the actual situation would depend on the results after the Prayer System was rolled out globally. For now, too little time had passed to tell.

After arriving at the reserved restaurant and having lunch, Zhou Chen drove Jiang Che back to the Star Association.

In the parking lot, just as Jiang Che was about to open the car door to get out, Zhou Chen suddenly said, "Aren’t you going to give me a farewell hug?"

Jiang Che paused and asked in return, "Is that necessary?"

"Of course it is." Zhou Chen opened his arms. "It’s how couples express their affection."

"Alright." Jiang Che didn’t refuse, turning to the side to hug Zhou Chen. The warmth of his embrace felt grounding and reassuring; it was the kind of feeling that could easily become addictive.

"When you get off work, I have a surprise for you," Zhou Chen said with a mysterious smile.

Jiang Che nodded slightly. "Then I’ll be waiting for your surprise."

After seeing Jiang Che off, Zhou Chen prepared to take care of some of his own business.

A true warrior dares to face dripping blood. ’And as long as I’m shameless enough, it’s no big deal.’

With this thought in mind, Zhou Chen vanished from the car. The next second, he appeared in an agency office in America.

Marvin, who had been leisurely eating pizza and watching TV with his feet propped up on his desk, was instantly dumbstruck. His mind went blank. He hadn’t expected Zhou Chen to appear so suddenly.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Marvin abruptly spat out the half-chewed pizza in his mouth, shot to his feet, and bowed. "Mr... Mr. Lamp God..."

This was no longer a secret to those who used the Prayer System. After seeing the news, it wasn’t hard to deduce that Zhou Chen was the Lamp God. At first, some people thought Zhou Chen was simply one of the Lamp God’s capable subordinates, an exceptional individual who was promoting the Prayer System’s business to rake in Wish Value. But on second thought, that didn’t seem right. Would the Lamp God allow a follower to do such a thing with so much fanfare? Combined with various news exposés and leaks, Zhou Chen’s identity became completely equated with that of the Lamp God.

"How is the mission I gave you coming along?" Zhou Chen did his best to appear both approachable and unfathomably profound.

"It’s done. The Saw Murder Association held a gathering not long ago. I got a tip from an informant and went over and wiped them all out in one go. But there are still some stragglers hiding in various countries, and they’re not easy to find," Marvin answered truthfully.

"Mm," Zhou Chen nodded, settling the mission and giving Marvin his payment.

"Mr. Lamp God, are there any other missions for me? I guarantee I’ll complete them!" Marvin asked hastily.

"Yes," Zhou Chen said. "I need you to build a church."

"You’re going to establish the Prayer Church?" Marvin became instantly excited. This was a golden opportunity for fame and success. He might even be able to snag a position as a Regional Bishop.

"The relevant documents have been sent to your email. Do it as soon as possible. Don’t disappoint me."

"As you wish!"

Leaving the agency, Zhou Chen instantly returned to Jinzhu, arriving at Jiang Che’s former office.

CLATTER.

The pen in Lin Ya’s hand fell to the floor. Her eyes went wide as she stammered, "L-Lamp..."

"Are you adjusting to working here?"

"Yes, I love my work here!" Lin Ya’s face was flushed with excitement. After finding out that Zhou Chen was the Lamp God, her greatest wish had been to see him one more time.

’The man who avenged my parents is the Lamp God himself!’ Her heart churned with unstoppable emotion. ’What sort of compassion and mercy is this?’ She deeply understood what it meant that God loved all people. It also meant that the Lamp God had truly been watching over her all this time!

"Mr. Lamp God, I want to follow you for all eternity!" Lin Ya pleaded devoutly.

Zhou Chen nodded. He actually had quite a few believers, but there weren’t many as devout and fanatical as Lin Ya. If he wanted to build his own Church, Fanatics were essential.

"I need you to establish a church in Jinzhu. You will serve as the Regional Bishop of the Prayer Church."

"Me?" Lin Ya’s mind went blank, and for a moment, she forgot to breathe. "C-can I do it?"

With a mere thought from Zhou Chen, a powerful aura erupted from Lin Ya’s body. In the next second, she miraculously ascended on the spot, becoming a Tier Four Uncrowned.

"I believe you can."

’Mr. Lamp God believes in me... He’s always had high hopes for me. I absolutely cannot let him down...’ Lin Ya’s gaze grew resolute.

Next, Zhou Chen personally met with a few more devout followers, giving them the task of building churches and recruiting more believers. With the Star Association devising strategies and providing support from behind the scenes, giving them the green light all the way, there was no chance of anything going wrong.

After everything was settled and seeing that it was about time, Zhou Chen returned to Gaia and, not long after, picked up Jiang Che from work.

"What’s the plan?" Jiang Che asked.

"First, dinner, then a movie. It’s the latest monster blockbuster about humanity polluting the ocean with nuclear wastewater, causing sea creatures to mutate into giant monsters. So, humanity has to build giant robots to fight them..."

"Sounds like a pretty cliché story... Oh well, as long as we’re not going to an amusement park," Jiang Che said calmly.

"Hm? You don’t like amusement parks?"

"Of course not, they’re boring. Drop towers, roller coasters... you can already fly. Do you still think that stuff is thrilling?"

Jiang Che looked at Zhou Chen and asked suspiciously, "Your so-called surprise isn’t some tired old cliché like a fireworks confession on a Ferris wheel, is it?"

"Of course not. You’ll find out when the time comes."

They’d eaten dinner, seen the movie, and even held hands. No kiss yet, but it felt like it was getting close.

Zhou Chen and Jiang Che walked hand-in-hand along a park path, chatting idly and enjoying the rare moment of peace.

After walking for a while, Jiang Che spoke up. "So, where’s this surprise? It’s not at a hotel, is it?"

"It’s coming right up," Zhou Chen said with a smile.

Suddenly, the world around them shifted.

All the ambient noise vanished, replaced by an eternal silence.

The deep, dark Cosmos, dotted with the light of countless stars, unfolded before their eyes. It was a desolate and boundless World.

"Welcome to the Cosmos, my lady."

"You are about to experience an unforgettable journey through space."