Chapter Twenty-Nine: Dog Meat

The Lord of the Stars was clearly pent up, his words tumbling faster and faster, his tone rising ever higher, like a dragon breathing fire. Sun Licheng, too, was innocent in all this; he had no desire to come here, and as for the Lord of the Stars’ current body—boss, it’s a goblin, do you think I’m happy about it?

Though goblin language lacked the depth and richness of invective one might find in certain ancient cultures, hearing it repeatedly was enough to fray anyone’s nerves. Just as Sun Licheng was about to retort, a figure wreathed in flames appeared in the light screen. The God of Magma—Sun Licheng recognized him instantly.

“Your Majesty, Lord of the Stars, please calm yourself. What this fellow did was wrong, stealing your body, but our priority now is to leave this place and restore you to life.” The Magma God soothed the Lord of the Stars, winking at Sun Licheng, signaling him not to act rashly.

Sun Licheng swallowed his anger, waiting in silence for the Lord of the Stars to settle down. Under the Magma God’s mediation, the Lord of the Stars finally ceased his tirade.

As the tension eased, the Magma God began to explain. It turned out that because the systems of the two worlds were entirely different, the divine lords could not convey information directly into Sun Licheng’s mind. Furthermore, Sun Licheng had used Tai Chi to generate a Tai Chi vortex within his body, capable even of fusing divine power, forcing the two lords to hide in corners to avoid being eroded, unable to use their divine power for anything else. Thus, the two gods were trapped inside Sun Licheng’s body, sharing his fears and frustrations.

Now, at last, they saw a chance to escape. Sun Licheng had learned ancient goblin language, and before him was an artificial goblin soul. Such artificial souls were easier to invade than the minds of true intelligent beings—their actions were more programmatic. So, while Sun Licheng was learning from Number 133, the Lord of the Stars successfully broke through the defenses and entered the light screen.

The Lord of the Stars had suffered greatly; as soon as his divine consciousness emerged, he raged at Sun Licheng, giving rise to the scene above.

Sun Licheng was stunned. He had never imagined there were so many secrets within his own body. Realizing these two had seen all his private thoughts, he felt deeply uncomfortable.

“Thank goodness I’m a man; otherwise I’d have strangled them both,” Sun Licheng thought fiercely.

But since two gods had appeared at once, Sun Licheng’s hopes of returning home soared. His eyes gleamed as he asked, “Master, who is the great lord beside you?”

After all that scolding, Sun Licheng still didn’t know the other’s identity.

Only then did the Magma God remember the Lord of the Stars had remained invisible, and quickly introduced him: “This is His Majesty, Lord of the Stars, one of the oldest deities of this world.” He then described the world’s general history.

This world was created by the Creator God. After countless ages, the Creator fashioned the first deities: the Lord of the Stars, Mother Earth, Lord of Order, the Three Sisters of Time, and the Goddess of Life. When these gods were made, the Creator then brought forth all manner of life and left the world.

As time passed, life flourished, and many new gods arose naturally. To protect the world, the oldest gods used their divine power to create a realm where all deities moved in, enclosing it within a barrier to limit the use of divine arts and prevent the gods from descending, safeguarding the world from catastrophic destruction.

For unknown reasons, a nation of goblins suddenly emerged, developing at a staggering pace. Within a few centuries, they amassed extraordinary power, even threatening the gods’ rule over the world. Thus, a war broke out between the realm of gods and the Goblin Empire. The conflict lasted over a hundred years; many gods perished, while others grew stronger. Ultimately, the war ended with the destruction of the Goblin Empire.

The war with the Goblin Empire had a profound impact, severely disrupting the balance among the gods. Soon after, Mother Earth mysteriously vanished, her divine domains left vacant—clearly fallen. As one of the oldest gods, Mother Earth held an exalted position and was well regarded, her disappearance widely attributed to a conspiracy. Suspicion fell on the Lord of the Stars, said to be seeking power beyond divinity, hoping to break spatial constraints and reach the Creator’s realm—the legendary world of the Creator God.

Though the Lord of the Stars denied it repeatedly, suspicion grew, eventually leading to the First God Realm War.

This war wrought even more devastation than the previous one against the Goblin Empire; numerous gods perished, and the fall of the Lord of the Stars marked its end.

Beyond the visible wounds, the First God Realm War shattered the order of the gods. Many deities grew arrogant, stratification and oppression arose, and tales of reaching the Creator’s world spread, stirring deep desires within the gods.

Where there is oppression, there is resistance. In response to the chaos, some gods rose up, chief among them the Magma God, known then as the God of Earth.

After inheriting part of Mother Earth’s divine domain, the Magma God became the God of Earth. Newly ascended, upright and volatile, he used his immense power to curb the strong gods’ oppression of the weak. But the root of the gods’ exploitation was their craving for divine power, which was needed to become mighty enough to break spatial boundaries and reach the Creator’s world. The God of Earth’s actions soon brought trouble upon himself.

The newly ascended God of Light led his allies to attack the God of Earth, sparking the Second God Realm War. The outcome was clear—after all, the Magma God now stood before them.

“Truly breathtaking,” Sun Licheng mused, though none of this mattered to him. His only concern was returning home.

Given he was speaking with the oldest god of this world, who must possess formidable power, Sun Licheng asked, “Your Majesty, Lord of the Stars, I did not wish to occupy your body; could you use your power to send me home?”

The God of Earth, still immersed in reminiscence, was startled by Sun Licheng’s question. Shouldn’t the mood be somber?

Ignoring the annoyed God of Earth, the Lord of the Stars pursed his lips and explained, embarrassed, “I cannot fulfill your wish. My divine power is greatly diminished, and your world is beyond my understanding. To return you home, I need the power of the Wheel of Order. Only by completing the God of Earth’s task can he use the Wheel of Order to send you back. Otherwise, unless the Creator God appears, no one can do it—not even a god. Of course, you are my creation and my hope for resurrection, so I will give you all my support to help you return.”

“So, there’s no way in the short term,” Sun Licheng said, deeply discouraged. Yet after a moment, his expression became resolute.

If he could complete the God of Earth’s task and gather seven fragments of divinity, he could still go home. Now, with another powerful god aiding him, his chances had greatly increased. All he had to do was work hard.

“Keep fighting, Sun Licheng! For your wife and children, you must persevere!” Sun Licheng clenched his fists, silently cheering himself on.

“By the way, where did Number 133 go?” As things calmed, Sun Licheng realized the sounds of battle outside had faded, and remembered Number 133.

No sooner had he asked than Number 133 appeared in the light screen, standing beside the Lord of the Stars.

“How goes the battle outside?” Sun Licheng asked.

“The enemy has been expelled from the ship. The battle puppets have sealed the breach and are facing off against the centipede monsters; for now, they cannot get in,” Number 133 replied after gathering information.

Sun Licheng walked to the hatch, pressed his ear to the wall, listened for a while, then carefully moved the cabinet blocking the door and opened it.

The corridor was a mess; several centipede monsters lay decapitated, and a huge centipede head was entangled with a battle puppet, clearly lifeless.

Sun Licheng listened again. Outside was silent, so he closed the hatch and turned to ask Number 133, “How strong are these battle puppets?”

“These battle puppets can handle intermediate magical beasts. Against high-level beasts, several mechs working together can manage. However, after so long, their bodies have aged, and their weapons are near the end of their lifespan. Also, you’re using dark attribute magic crystals, so their combat power has dropped sharply. Currently, the ship has twenty battle puppets left,” Number 133 answered, expressionless.

Feeling secure, Sun Licheng asked the Lord of the Stars, “Your Majesty, since you’re so uncomfortable inside me, could you come out?”

The thought of two beings living in his mind, watching everything he did as if on a live broadcast, made Sun Licheng very uneasy. Even in a different world, some privacy was necessary.

“I’d like to come out, but ordinary animal bodies cannot withstand my divine power. Unlike you, who were created entirely from divine power, with a reinforced brain, their heads would explode if divine power remained too long. That’s why those possessed by gods die after the possession ends.”

To be honest, the Lord of the Stars had long wanted to leave Sun Licheng’s body, but he’d found no suitable replacement.

Hearing this, Sun Licheng was frustrated, and the other two gods looked constipated.

“If the brain can’t handle divine power, then it’s a matter of computational capacity. Calculation... I’ve got it. Parallel computation!”

Sun Licheng slapped his thigh, struck by inspiration.

Seeing his excitement, the two gods were curious and pressed him for details.

Sun Licheng recalled the special metal plates etched with magic arrays inside the crystal ball, and thought of parallel and cloud computing on Earth. The main purpose of parallel and cloud computing was to harness the power of clusters, achieving computational abilities impossible for a single chip. A god’s brain was much stronger than a normal creature’s, but now there was no way to find a divine body for possession. By assembling many special metal plates into a computational cluster, they could theoretically bear the gods’ divine power.

“Sounds feasible,” the two gods agreed, nodding thoughtfully.

Moreover, the Lord of the Stars was intrigued by Sun Licheng’s mention of cloud computing—it meant he could set up an extra avatar, making him virtually indestructible and vastly increasing his security.

“But the battle puppets here are mostly unusable; they can’t contain divine power,” Number 133 interjected, dousing their enthusiasm.

“A ship this large must have backup puppets. Do you know where they are?” Sun Licheng’s eyes lit up.

“There are a few in the cargo bay. They’re the latest models developed by the Goblin Empire, but not combat types,” Number 133 replied after thinking.

This unexpected boon delighted Sun Licheng; since the newest puppets were unused in the cargo bay, they must be well maintained—ideal for housing a god. Whether combat models or not didn’t matter; for gods, anything in their hands became a divine artifact, even with only the faintest trace of divine power.

“What advantage do I gain by helping you make a new body?” Sun Licheng’s question poured cold water on the excited Lord of the Stars.

Seeing the crafty look on Sun Licheng’s face, the proud Lord of the Stars felt an urge to punch him until his face blossomed.

“Nothing!”

“That won’t do. Labor deserves reward. The Magma God at least gave me the power of flame and elemental guidance. You’re a god, and a pretty impressive one; surely you realize that, don’t you?”

Cornered, Sun Licheng straightened up, adopting a rogue’s air.

“I gave you this body!” the Lord of the Stars roared.

“Heh, that doesn’t count. Besides, you didn’t give it to me willingly,” Sun Licheng replied, picking his ear, ignoring the Lord of the Stars’ darkening expression.

“All right. I’ll give you the method for creating magic arrays.”

Seeing Sun Licheng’s stubbornness, the Lord of the Stars finally relented.

“That’s good, but I don’t think it’s enough,” Sun Licheng smiled, even more pleased.

“How about this: I’ll adjust your body, minimizing pain and accelerating your recovery. How’s that?” said the Lord of the Stars.

“Of course, don’t expect invulnerability. In this world, you’d best keep a low profile; otherwise, just one god from the realm could teach you a lesson about being a proper goblin. Being vulnerable helps hide your special origins,” he added, seeing Sun Licheng about to speak, quashing his unrealistic hopes.

This was a world of magic, not an era where all the gods had perished and magic faded; the gods still possessed formidable power. If Sun Licheng became invulnerable, he’d surely rush headlong into disaster, and the hope for the two lords’ resurrection would vanish.

Seeing the Lord of the Stars’ grim face, Sun Licheng knew he’d better not push his luck, and righteously agreed to help create a temporary body using the mechanical puppets.

Soon, Number 133 marked the cargo bay’s location on the screen. The cargo bay wasn’t far, but required traversing a long corridor, likely littered with obstacles—a troublesome task.

“Number 133, do you have any ideas?” Sun Licheng asked, frowning at the screen.

Number 133 considered and replied, “There’s a damaged dog-type puppet in the control bay; it might help you.”

“Where? Where?” Sun Licheng was elated at the mention of a mechanical dog—a favorite of any explorer.

Guided by Number 133, Sun Licheng found the mechanical dog beneath a crate, its right front leg damaged. But that didn’t matter; what thrilled Sun Licheng was that the dog had a small energy slot for a single magic crystal.

He rummaged through his little pouch, found a small magic crystal, fitted it in, and soon, with a series of mechanical sounds, the mechanical dog’s eyes flashed blue. It struggled upright, a bit unsteady on its right front leg, but able to walk and even leap a little.

“Number 133, can I name this mechanical dog?” Sun Licheng asked.

“Certainly, you are its commander; you may name it,” Number 133 replied.

Sun Licheng straightened up, and loudly declared in goblin language to the mechanical dog, “Your name is now Dogmeat.”

Hearing its new name, the mechanical dog hopped twice, clearly excited.