Above The Sky-Chapter 1928: At the End of the Volume: The Path Straight to the Stars (Part 3)
Ian exhaled deeply and looked to the earth, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.
——Do you want a perpetual motion machine? Go and build a world where everyone has dignity, and everyone owns a future and aspirations! I’ve placed infinite power there!
No one doubted the authenticity of Ian and the perpetual motion machine’s words. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
This was not a matter that could be lied about; the power contained in the perpetual motion machine was absolutely genuine, even more real than the world itself. Even if they themselves weren’t real, the perpetual motion machine couldn’t possibly be fake.
Thus, a constraint difficult for all the strong to accept appeared plainly in front of them all.
——From now on, those ordinary people who are deemed meaningless, those complex beings who grow and perish like weeds in their eyes, now have the right to decide who is truly the strongest.
Whoever allows the people to live happily, can gain control of the perpetual motion machine!
It’s too much divine intervention from machinery! It’s too excessive!
Indeed, some of the powerful thought this way. They had exhausted their minds to make their countries dominate or to gain more voice on the Terra Continent, and now someone was telling them that all their previous efforts were in vain, that the most meaningful thing instead was to treat the citizens of their country well and gain their support?
Not only that, they had to let people from other countries know about this too, and make them long for life in their country?
It’s too much. Isn’t this turning the powerful into servants of the ordinary, pandering to them!
But there were also some smarter strong ones who keenly perceived that this vote was not a simple populist vote.
The civilization behind the perpetual motion machine, that civilization named the Star God, was not merely a proponent of democracy. On the contrary, it was a highly tolerant civilization that embraced absolute dictatorship, monarchy, oligarchy, gestalt consciousness, mega-corporate systems, and even differentiated hive forms.
Simply put, the Star God, as a Transcendent Species, did not possess any human cognitive political stance—those notions were too small to describe even a fraction of the Star God’s will.
He clearly knew that the present Terra was pure elite politics of the strong—the inner logic of the perpetual motion machine did not rule this out, hence even if it’s a nationwide vote, it’s not to say anyone has the qualification to become a candidate for people’s vote, but only the truly strong, those who become actual rulers of a place, can become candidates to participate in this voting competition.
So how does one become the actual ruler?
The perpetual motion machine did not give any restrictions. Even if you lead an army to defeat the free inhabitants of a place and gradually gain their recognition through good governance, it’s the same.
Even if you invade, bringing benefits to your country, and let militarism prevail within your country, generating frenzied worship for yourself, it’s not against the rules.
This is not forcing all strong ones to bow down to ordinary people or serve them.
On the contrary, this is a war.
And the cards for this war, the foundation for the war, are still the people in their hands.
Only this time, what they need to spend is not the blood and lives of the people, but their laughter, happiness, and peace.
This is the only restriction imposed by the perpetual motion machine: Do not waste human lives meaninglessly or without cause.
He has added tremendous value to all lives but has not changed the rules of the game.
——Human life is a resource more precious than you can imagine, do not waste it casually.
Apart from this, what they need to do is no different from the past at all.
The Star God and the perpetual motion machine are both merciful, but also ruthless. Even if humans themselves choose the path of extinction, choose to slaughter their compatriots, even God would remain silent, at most letting out a sigh.
But precisely because of this.
There also was a frenzied strong one, losing his sanity due to these ’excessively harsh conditions.’
[Damn humans!]
Dark Mountain Range suddenly erupted with a dark, fierce stream of light, a sharp claw tearing through the sky, striking with utmost resolve straight at Ian beneath the firmament, under the perpetual motion machine.
This assault could not surprise Ian; the Prophet who had foreseen this looked towards the direction of the attacker and softly rebuked: [Hollow Behemoth, Chasm Imprisoner, Dark Mountain Range’s Sovereign... indeed, an isolated loner like you, a Fifth Energy Level without any supporters, no wonder you’re so defenseless and out of control]
The assailant was one of the solitary Titan Beasts and Abyssal Alien Forms in the Dark Mountain Range, the ruler of the shadow space-time in the southwest of the Titan Domain, the King of Shadow Wraiths, a purely magical beast with forms that were infinitely variable, with shadow negative energy as its body.
The lifeform of the King of Shadow Wraiths differs from most creatures in this world; it lives in the dim star clouds where dark matter converges, with shattered space-time as its home. Since ancient times, the King of Shadow Wraiths has been entrenched in the northwest of Terra, within the Dark Mountain Range, living a life of solitary wandering.
He has few kin and hasn’t established his own Beast Kingdom. He doesn’t even possess much of a psychological or capability inclination for communal cooperation, because his essence is a super life form occupying a portion of the starfield, a solitary Behemoth.
In the past, as a Fifth Energy Level, he could always earn respect from all nations, being their competitor and partner; mortal fear and subservience were his only pleasures—yet now, Ian’s and the perpetual motion machine’s appearance has nakedly stripped away his superiority.
