Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 531 The Fate of Choice

September 557th, 10th year of the New Lunar Calendar.

Cruz Federation, Arctic Special Zone Q (old Arctic Zone), "British Luna" area, wilderness tourist group "Star Point".

boom!
A bright light that seemed to turn the night sky into day flashed by, and in the central square of this independent armed settlement, a white, pure, and sacred flame was ignited.

A few seconds later, as a very mechanical spell in the Central language passed by everyone's ears, the flame was powerfully controlled by a pair of white hands that looked like they were coated with several layers of putty used to paint the wall. It turned into a straight beam of light and rushed towards the stars lost in the darkness in the depths of the universe.

"This is already close to Sequence 4: The Power of Hope, Luo Nie." A heavy, low, mechanically synthesized tremolo appeared behind Luo Nie:
"Now we are only a little bit away. As long as the Lord of Machinery bestows any blessing upon you, you will truly gain the power that belongs to you and become the upper-class professional you desire."

"But, the Lord of Machinery created me, but gradually forgot me. I am like a doll made at random. For so many years, except for the first few years, I have never had any contact with Him." Luo Nie shook his head and smiled bitterly:
“When I was a machine, I longed for a [personality]. I thought that after I had a [personality] and gained the ability to advance to the Devil Source Rank, and the chance to become a god, I would be able to reestablish even the slightest connection with Him.

“But in reality, I only suffered the pain of being a human. The gods seemed to have taken hypnotic drugs and escaped into an eternal nightmare under the effect of the Sleeping Emblem. They were unwilling to shoulder the responsibilities of being gods, and were afraid of these crazy evil spirits and viruses in the Wasteland Era.”

As Luo Nie spoke, he walked forward, grabbed the emblem with the word "life" engraved on it, which was floating in the air, and put it back into the pocket inside his shirt, close to his heart.

Then, he casually kicked the white dust on the ground and turned to look at the man in the black windbreaker who had just made the mechanical vibration.

He is the founder of the "Wild Tourist Group", the current supreme leader, and the mysterious man called "Big Brother" by Marco and Talia. In the independent armed organization, "Big Brother" has always maintained an absolute sense of mystery. Not only does he have no name, but only this terrifying title that sounds chilling. He is also used to completely cover every part of his body with heavy equipment and clothing. Even the core figures in the "Wild Tourist Group" have never seen his true appearance since the moment they met him.

He always wears a leather windbreaker, a pair of old jeans filled with cotton, a pair of gray mecha gloves covered with patches, and a pair of thick-soled functional shoes purchased privately from the federal army. Overall, Big Brother's clothes are iron-gray, with a sense of shabbyness that matches the wasteland, yellow sand, wasteland, and ice field.

"Big Brother" heard complaints and disappointment in Luo Nie's words. He took two steps forward, raised his head slightly, stared at Luo Nie's beautiful sapphire eyes, and said:
“Luo Nie, disrespecting the gods will be punished. In our wilderness tourist group, even those who are willing to sacrifice their lives for their beliefs will bend their knees as strong as steel in front of the statues of the gods.

"Because only in this way will the gods slowly bestow their blessings on you and grant you what you so desperately desire. You know, the power of the gods does not entirely come from the Creator who is caught in nightmares. In fact, most of the power comes from 'faith'."

"'Faith'?" Luo Nie asked in a questioning tone. Apparently he had heard similar statements before.

"Of course, 'Faith'." Big Brother nodded and said:

"Just like you finally chose our 'Wilderness Tourist Group', you don't trust the cowards, traitors and sinners in the Federal Committee. You are also unwilling to fully trust the kid who used to be an 'alien monster' and the impulsive big guy beside him.

"You should not believe in the Chaos Group and the Enlightenment Cult, which have now become the playthings of the Monster Atto. These people are either relying on some illusory fantasies to create a disaster beyond our cognition, that is, the Cosmic Energy Evolution Platform plan; or, for their own pitiful interests and desires, they are pushing humans and the creatures on this continent into the abyss of extinction."

"That's true. Although I also smell a bit of cruelty here, relatively speaking, you are the most 'humane' organization." Luo Nie expressed his approval.

"This is 'faith'. Only 'faith' can maintain 'existence'." Big Brother explained in an affectionate but still trembling tone:

"Humans 'believe' in gods, and gods 'exist' because of human 'needs'. The stronger the human 'belief', the stronger their power will be. Once no one 'believes' in them anymore, their 'existence' will slowly weaken.

"Because gods are different from humans. Gods will not experience the process of physical death like humans. They do not have physical bodies, so naturally they cannot be truly 'killed'. Only when humans no longer 'believe' in them and gradually forget their existence, will they truly die." "'Really die'?" Luo Nie murmured, looking up at the dark starry sky.

"That's right." Big Brother further explained:

“The physical death of gods that we have seen is nothing more than the destruction of one of their projections into this world. They always exist in a higher dimension than us humans, and their superior creator is a ten-dimensional creature that exists in the form of an energy body.

"The 'death' of the gods actually means disappearance, a complete disappearance, as if they had never existed. When the last human who believed in them died, the memory of them would also disappear from the minds of other gods."

"And then?" Luo Nie asked.

Big Brother paused, and after a violent cough that was enough to send him away, he took a breath, took a few deep breaths, and continued:
"Then... all records about them, even the few words buried deep under the yellow sand thousands of meters away, will disappear. Except for the Prophet professionals recognized by the Creator, no one can spy on their existence in any way.

"After all, it's as if the gods who have disappeared have never appeared. It's simply nonsense to try to find their traces."

"Then, Mr. Big Brother, will the Lord of Machinery eventually disappear as well?" Luo Nie pursed his lips and asked the question that concerned him most.

"In theory, yes." Big Brother gave a positive answer:
"Compared to the Human Era, the Steam Era is advanced and progressive. It led an era, a brand new era of steam machinery. But one day, electricity and light energy will replace steam, and protons and points will replace machinery. When we have the power to transcend dimensions, the Master of Machinery will be forgotten by everyone and eventually disappear in the dark universe."

"So, well, actually, the reason why I couldn't get in touch with the Lord of Machinery for all these years is not because He forgot me, but because humans quickly forgot Him. The less 'faith' humans have in Him, the weaker His power becomes, until He can no longer escape from the divine domain that binds Him, right?" Luo Nie speculated.

"That's right." Big Brother closed his eyes and nodded slightly.
"So, what you need to do is not to complain here, but to contact the power of 'divinity' and 'godhead'. If you are an ordinary human, if you contact these powers without any precautions, you are doomed to explode and die, or bleed from all seven orifices and fall into madness. But you are the product of the Lord of Machinery, and you have obtained the extremely rare [personality], so you will definitely be able to control this power.

"When these powers finally spread to every corner of your body, you will gain a short-lived 'spirit'. By consuming your vitality, you will gain the opportunity to communicate with the Master of Machinery."

"So, if I want to truly have the opportunity to communicate with the god who created me, the Lord of Machinery, I must enter the 'Red Fantasy Ruins' behind that small hill, right?" Luo Nie said without waiting for the "Big Brother" to answer:

"In fact, Mr. Big Brother, even if you hadn't persuaded me, I would have entered without hesitation. Because I smell the scent of 'destiny'. I am sure that in the deepest part of the 'Red Fantasy Ruins', there are the humans I am looking for."

"Oh, who is he?" asked Big Brother with great interest.

"He was a poor man, but he was infused with an uncontrollable red magic power. He had struggled in every corner of the Rinie Empire, trying to find a way to end the wasteland and return to the original world. However, fate played unfunny jokes on him again and again.

"After killing the 'Daughter of the Mechanical Element', he was expelled to this land of ice and snow by the 'Fire of Heavenly Punishment' set by Ivante in advance. The Hinet people called him Light Sugra, while the Crusad people called him the evil god 'Echo'."

As Luo Nie spoke, he took out the 30-centimeter-long "Mad Bear" pistol that originally belonged to Wright from his waist. He carefully examined the dirt and blood on the surface of the pistol that could not be washed off, and continued in a childish voice that only belonged to young people:

"In fact, after the failure of the battle of 'Silent Highlands', I had already lost hope in this dirty wasteland world. The reason why I dragged this broken soul wrapped in a complete body here is to return this pistol to its owner in person."

(End of this chapter)