Chapter 39: The Way of Man
The video that went viral showed an endless stream of people kneeling on the street, with golden light falling on them, like waves of wheat rising and falling with the wind. In mid-air, a vast, fat golden statue nodded and smiled, gazing at the people below him, and a slight warmth gently caressed the devout people.
"Is this CG? Photoshop? Seeing a fairy in broad daylight? This is too amazing."
The questioning was short-lived, followed by a series of exclamations.
"I saw it."
"I saw it."
"I saw it, too."
Even Zhang Mai, who was playing games, looked up at the sky as if by telepathy.
Chen Xuan on duty, Liu Mei going to the toilet, Zheng Guofu drinking water, Kong Zheng stationed at the research institute... Everyone in Xia Country was attracted by the pressure and looked up at the sky.
Although it was thousands of kilometers away, the golden light was shining and glittering like stars.
Chen Xuan knew...
This is the Taoist Immortal expanding his influence. The real threat to the Taoist Immortal is coming along with this golden light.
Chen Xuan's phone rang, and Kong Zheng contacted Chen Xuan directly.
"Chen Xuan... submit a speech to me within twenty minutes. Content: announce the existence of ghosts and how to fight them."
"City Master Kong, I've already written it."
He had already thought about this day. Time is life. If he couldn't deal with the public opinion about the "Taoist Immortal's coming to the world" in time, it would be difficult to defend the South.
But fortune and misfortune are interdependent. If handled properly, it will enable people to better cooperate in resisting, not only the Taoist immortals, but also all subsequent ghost-like events.
All the stagnant police officers started working again. Some were exhausted, but none of them retreated. They wanted to buy time for Kong Zheng to make the announcement and prevent fewer people from suffering.
18 minutes later, everyone's cell phone was bombarded at the same time.
The Taoist immortal uses his brutal methods to gather believers, but humans also have brutal methods to resist invasion.
Text messages, social media, radio, television, computers, large screens, all software are pushing and jumping to the same video at the same time.
All the people who used to look up at the sky now look down at their mobile phones, or any large screen in shopping malls, schools, or factories, and all they see with their naked eyes are push notifications.
Chen Xuan looked at the video. Kong Zheng was sitting in front of the podium, facing the camera. In such a simple scene, such important news was to be announced.
Kong Zheng was only facing a camera, but behind the camera were hundreds of millions of Xia people. The cruel thing was that the masses didn't even have time to react and could only passively accept the indoctrination of information.
After a brief pause, Kong Zheng announced in a calm voice:
"My people, I am Kong Zheng, the ruling leader of the Xia Party and the mayor of Tang City."
"At 8:25 AM on August 3, 418, we saw a radiant image of a Buddha statue in the sky above. In the Upper City, this is a popular Taoist immortal, a stepping stone for human evolution, and a miraculous healer who saves the dying and the wounded."
"But I'm sorry to tell you that this is a ghost."
"What are ghosts? They are beings that harbor immense hostility towards humans and possess power that is absolutely superior to humans. They feed on humans and even assimilate them, yet humans are completely powerless against them.
"And so-called cultivation is treating humans like pig food, like a baptism before dinner."
Everyone's progress in playing the video was more or less similar, but when they heard Kong Zheng's words, they all expressed surprise.
Chen Xuan clenched his fists and watched the video nervously.
This was what he suggested to Kong Zheng in his report, to reveal the cruelest and most helpless side to everyone. This would involve great risks, but only the most direct words could tear apart everyone's remaining hope.
"In fact, this isn't the first time a 'ghost' incident has occurred. Before the Daoxian incident, there was also the 'Pen Fairy' incident."
As Kong Zheng spoke, the victim's body was covered with spots, he was itchy, sleepwalking, and the existence of two-dimensional mode was also revealed to everyone.
"To this day, even with our best efforts to control the 'Pen Ghost' incident, ten people still die every three days. If we resist, it will only lead to greater deaths."
"Faced with the deaths of hundreds of people in the Pen Fairy incident, it was I, Kong Zheng, who failed in my duty."
Kong Zheng bowed deeply, his body trembling as he bowed, and he found it difficult to speak to himself.
"At first, none of us believed that 'ghosts' existed. It was these victims who proved to us with their lives that ghosts do exist."
"Facing the evil spirits, we never thought of giving up!"
Kong Zheng did not sit down again. He leaned forward and repeated word by word:
"We didn't give up."
"We are still conducting research on ghosts and protecting the public from contact with them. Over the past few days, with so many questionnaires and surveys, we have effectively prevented the Taoist immortals from approaching our southern people."
"But as I said, if we resist, we will be met with even more ferocious attacks from the demons."
"Today's Taoist Immortal Shadow is the Taoist Immortal who treats us humans as fools. He just used the hope of evolution to harvest the lives of countless of our compatriots. But our compatriots are not stupid, and we should not be taken advantage of."
"I know."
"Perhaps you really need this hope. You are in the late stages of cancer and you are already very old. But I, Kong Zheng, still implore you to say something that goes against moral ethics."
"Wait a little longer."
"At this moment, we are not just individuals, but a collective of humanity. Your giving up may bring peace to your family and friends."
"We must blame the Shang Party for its inaction and complacency. If they had chosen to control the situation or exchange information with our Party at the very beginning, the people of the country would not have been put in danger."
"But unfortunately, we just contacted the Party and tried to issue a national announcement to fight against evil spirits, but they haven't responded yet. Time is of the essence now, and I dare not wait any longer."
"Whether you are the people of the South or the people of the North who are already suffering, if you can listen to what I say, then you must follow the steps below."
"The following method is from the summary of ghost incident researcher Chen Xuan."
"1. Please do not open or read any documents related to the 'Taoxian Sutra'. This will lead you to become a Taoist follower."
"2. If you are unfortunately opened, please seek help from the police as soon as possible, or choose to commit suicide to prevent yourself from being infected and spreading."
"3. If you receive a police notification, please promptly follow the instructions (currently). This will be effective until a new ghost-like incident occurs."
"I, Kong Zheng, solemnly declare that if our Xia Nation is eventually extinct, our country will also fall before the people."
"But all people must also protect themselves."
"From now on, we in the South have officially entered combat readiness mode for the 'Daoxian' incident. Please respond quickly from the North and be responsible to the people of the North."
"Repeat that again."
"Don't practice Taoism."
“Don’t practice Taoism!!!”
