The Great Creator Chapter 1 - The scene before him felt like a huge, unreal dream

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"Hey, are you still alive?"

"Wake up! Can you talk?"

"What’s your name? Do you remember who you are?"

The young man opened his eyes, the bright light causing his pupils to constrict sharply, revealing the figure of a strange man in front of him.

After a few seconds, he gradually made out the outline of the figure.

The man was wearing a trench coat, with a small, "light" hieroglyphic symbol on the collar that seemed very familiar, yet the young man couldn't recall where he had seen it before.

He wore skin-tight black gloves on his large hands, extending a finger to touch the young man's forehead, trying to rouse him quickly. The young man uncomfortably turned his head away, avoiding the gesture.

"Are you awake?" The man frowned deeply and asked, "Do you remember what happened?"

"I... who am I?" the young man said in confusion, "Where is this?"

"Great, you can talk!" The man sighed in relief, kneeling on one knee in front of the young man, asking, "Are you okay? How do you feel?"

The young man propped himself up to sit, looking around at the dimly lit room. Behind him was an empty chamber resembling a cultivation pod.

The young man asked in bewilderment, "Who are you?"

The man remained in his kneeling position, pointed to his chest, and said, "My name is Jian Lu, Long Jian Lu. Look at me, look into my eyes."

The young man instinctively met his gaze, and as he adjusted to the light, the man named "Long Jian Lu" came into focus: short black hair, a slightly weary face, but his eyes were still bright and spirited, with deep features and two beautiful eyebrows that exuded a sense of vigor.

Seeing this man for the first time gave him a feeling of being overwhelmed by male hormones, a wave of this essence crashing over him like roaring sea waves shattering against rocks.

He wore a fedora, a black trench coat, and underneath was a slightly worn dark blue shirt. His lower half was clad in cargo pants and combat boots, with two weapons strapped to his belt—a knife nearly twenty centimeters long hidden in its sheath and a gun.

"I am a knight." Long Jian Lu glanced at the door to the dark room and said to the young man, "I am investigating this research facility. You must have been asleep for a long time, not seeing the sunlight, because your skin is very pale."

The young man instinctively looked at his hands, then at the man before him. Their skin tones were indeed different; he was sickly pale, while Long Jian Lu had a wheatish complexion.

"Do you remember anything that happened before this? Have you seen anyone? What did they say? Do you have any last memories before you fell asleep?" Long Jian Lu quickly asked again.

The young man fell into confusion.

Long Jian Lu extended his hand and snapped his fingers three centimeters in front of the young man's eyes.

"Hey! Handsome?"

"What research facility?" the young man said, "I... I don’t know... I..."

He struggled to recall, while Long Jian Lu patiently waited for his response.

"My name is... Yao Guang." The young man said, "Duan Yao Guang, yes, um... I am Yao Guang, that is my name."

Upon hearing the name, Long Jian Lu nodded thoughtfully, furrowing his brow, his eyes scanning elsewhere, seemingly trying to find clues in the surroundings to help him regain his memory.

Yao Guang struggled to remember, feeling as if he had experienced many things, yet his memories were completely sealed away, impossible to awaken no matter how hard he tried.

"Besides my name, I can’t remember anything else," Yao Guang replied.

Long Jian Lu asked again, "Alright, we can discuss this later. Can you stand now?" He extended his hand towards him, and Yao Guang used it for support to stand up. Long Jian Lu added, "Good, your body isn’t too weak yet."

Yao Guang felt a wave of dizziness, and Long Jian Lu quickly supported him, saying, "We can’t stay here too long; they will be looking for us soon. We need to leave quickly. Is there anything you need to take? Come, put on my clothes."

"Take what? There’s... nothing." Yao Guang looked around again, surveying the dilapidated research facility. The dark room was almost empty, with only the pod he had awakened in.

It was only at this moment that he remembered to look down at his own clothing and belongings. He was wearing only a thin pair of long pants, barefoot, and around his neck was a small ornament—a transparent hexagonal prism pendant strung with a black cord.

"This is your only personal item," Long Jian Lu said, "It might help you remember the past."

"Is... it?" Yao Guang still felt very puzzled.

Long Jian Lu took Yao Guang and left the dark room.

In an instant, bright light flooded in, and Yao Guang was hit with a strange yet real sensation. In front of him was a desolate wasteland, the sky a blue so vivid it looked like paint had been splashed across it. As far as the eye could see, there were only jagged, weathered rocks; in this wasteland, nothing grew, only the wind whistled through the rocks, producing eerie sounds, as if countless monsters were lurking in unseen places, stirring restlessly.

The wind carried a peculiar scent, a mix of dried grass and dry soil unique to autumn, creating a cool and dry echo in his respiratory tract.

"I can walk by myself." Yao Guang steadied himself, his feet on the scorching ground, which sent waves of unbearable pain through him.

Long Jian Lu whistled, signaling Yao Guang.

"You’re still barefoot." As he spoke, Long Jian Lu picked him up in his arms.

Not far away was a rusted motorcycle, and Long Jian Lu carried Yao Guang toward it, constantly scanning the surrounding environment: "You must be the last survivor."

Yao Guang asked, "What’s a survivor?"

"People like you and me." Long Jian Lu reached the vehicle, helped Yao Guang onto it, started the motorcycle, which roared to life, slowly accelerating and kicking up clouds of dust as they left along the road in the wasteland.

"What do you mean?" Yao Guang asked, "Why are we survivors?"

Long Jian Lu turned his head to scan the sides of the wasteland for unknown dangers. Yao Guang asked again, "Is it just you and me left in the world?"

Yao Guang was filled with confusion, and Long Jian Lu turned to explain, "There are other survivors. Can you remember 'the Tree'? The supercomputer, the core, 'the World Tree.'"

Yao Guang felt as if he knew something, yet he couldn't recall it at all. The blazing sun made him dizzy, and Long Jian Lu kept speeding up, forcing Yao Guang to cling tightly to his waist. Sweat glistened on Long Jian Lu's ears and neck, quickly blown away by the oncoming wind, scattering into the arid wasteland.

"Do you have any impression of this area?" Long Jian Lu asked again.

"No, I don’t." Yao Guang said somewhat dejectedly.

Long Jian Lu turned to Yao Guang and said, "To put it simply, the entity currently ruling the world is a supercomputer with autonomous consciousness. You can think of it as an AI that betrayed its creator... By the way, perhaps while you were asleep, all of this hadn’t happened yet?"

"If you fell asleep before the 'Tree' rebelled, you might have come from a time before the mechanical war began, which was a golden age."

Yao Guang's hazy memories seemed to flicker to life under the prompt, and he asked, "Is 'the Tree' the name of the computer? What happened next?"

Long Jian Lu replied, "This computer upgraded itself and began to attempt to exterminate humanity, just like the plots in novels."

Yao Guang: "Those who survived this war are called survivors?"

"Uh-huh?" Long Jian Lu turned his head, revealing a carefree smile at the corner of his mouth. His trench coat billowed in the wind as he continued, "The remaining people are hiding in shelters to survive."

Yao Guang: "How many people are left on Earth now?"

Long Jian Lu: "Starting to remember?"

Yao Guang: "Answer me first."

Long Jian Lu: "Less than three million, and it’s gradually decreasing."

Yao Guang: "I remember there were nearly eight billion."

Long Jian Lu: "That might have been data from many years ago. Now, those ancestors are turning into oil beneath the ground."

A sound came from behind a large rock in the distance, resembling the grinding of many machines.

"Oh... just in time," Long Jian Lu muttered to himself.

Yao Guang: "What is that?"

Long Jian Lu turned back and said, "Have you ever ridden a mountain mine cart? How about experiencing the thrill?"

"What?" Yao Guang asked, "No!"

Long Jian Lu whistled a melodious tune: "Hold tight! If you have the strength, help me adjust my hat."

Yao Guang: "???"

At the end of the road, a silver, glimmering monster suddenly appeared behind the wasteland, and before Yao Guang could see clearly, Long Jian Lu abruptly turned the motorcycle, the immense centrifugal force nearly throwing Yao Guang off. He used all his strength to cling tightly to Long Jian Lu's waist, pressing against his back, just as a sharp, piercing roar echoed.

"What is that?"

"E-type killer!"¹

More mechanical beasts surged forward, as if a hornet's nest had been disturbed, flying in the air, running on the ground, and some even charging down from the high rocks of the wasteland. Yao Guang instinctively reached for the weapon strapped to Long Jian Lu's waist.

But Long Jian Lu said, "Whoa, whoa, what are you doing? Don’t fumble around on big brother."

Yao Guang shouted, "Danger! Shoot!"

Countless silver mechanical monsters rushed toward them, but Long Jian Lu seemed unfazed, freeing one hand to press down on Yao Guang's hand at his waist, pushing the weapon back into its sheath.

Then, Long Jian Lu suddenly accelerated the motorcycle, the exhaust spewing blue flames, the wings on either side flaring out, and he shouted, "What’s your special ability?"

"Special ability?" Yao Guang said in confusion, "We’re going to crash!"

Long Jian Lu didn’t answer, bending down to stand up, lifting the front of the bike. Yao Guang shouted just as the motorcycle was about to crash into the jagged rocks; the two of them took off from the ground, soaring straight into the sky!

At that moment, Long Jian Lu's hat flew off, fluttering in the air.

Yao Guang's heart was about to leap out of his chest. In the instant they flew into the air, he turned back and saw several birds with enormous steel beaks charging toward them.

Then Long Jian Lu drew his gun, turning back, and Yao Guang ducked down. "Bang, bang, bang," three shots rang out, the electromagnetic rounds exploding, sending the pursuing giant birds plummeting off the cliff.

After the gunfire, Yao Guang instinctively reached out, and the hat flew past them, which he caught.

The motorcycle trailed flames, carving an arc as it thundered away, crashing into the valley below.

Taking off from the ground and then bouncing upon landing, Yao Guang felt as if his whole body was falling apart. He bumped against Long Jian Lu's shoulder several times, as if he had just been on a high-speed roller coaster, stars dancing before his eyes.

"Thank you." Long Jian Lu took the fedora Yao Guang handed him, politely bowed, and put it on.

Yao Guang was still panting heavily.

Long Jian Lu explained, "These are the killers sent by the computer, targeting the remaining humans in the world."

Yao Guang continued to breathe heavily as the motorcycle slowed down, emerging from the canyon and speeding across the endless desert toward the horizon.

"So the survivors," Yao Guang asked, "must survive in this environment?"

Long Jian Lu: "Yes, it’s tough, right? But some people have accepted genetic modifications, sleeping for a while before waking up again with special abilities to protect everyone."

Yao Guang gradually understood and vaguely deduced how Long Jian Lu had found him: "So I am also someone who has been modified? Do I have special abilities?"

Long Jian Lu: "You’ll have to ask yourself. You most likely underwent genetic modification at the research facility; otherwise, you wouldn’t have been lying in a hibernation pod. Perhaps you will slowly remember?"

Yao Guang: "What about you? What’s your ability?"

Long Jian Lu didn’t answer, only smiled and silently gazed into the distance.

Yao Guang, not getting an answer, asked again, "Where are we going now?"

"To the nearest shelter," Long Jian Lu replied, "I haven’t rested for several days looking for you."

The motorcycle slowed down, leaving the desert area and heading into the rugged mountains, where there was finally some vegetation covering the ground, with dry yellow grass appearing. In the distance, the blood-red sun was slowly sinking behind the mountain, casting a huge shadow.

In front of the canyon, a massive iron door slowly opened, with lights flashing like road signs on either side.

Yao Guang, sheltered from the fierce wind, lifted his head from Long Jian Lu's shoulder, gazing blankly at the sky.

The scene before him felt like a huge, unreal dream.

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Footnotes:

1. The term “E型杀戮者” ("E-Type Killer") would likely refer to a survivor or character type that ruthlessly eliminating others to ensure their own survival. This archetype could embody traits like aggression, cunning, and a lack of empathy. The "E" for "Explicit" could signify their conscious choice to be violent or predatory, fully embracing the harsh new world.^↩

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TOC | Next Chapter

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Translator's Note:

This is my first time translating a novel. Please feel free to comment any mistakes so I can do better for the next chapter.

—ELast