The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 151: Worldview

Seriously?! Again?!

Does someone up there have a grudge against me? Am I doomed to highwire acts like finding the spy?

Gao Yang was practically shouting in his head, but he didn’t let it show.

“A member of ours had Mindreading and could’ve easily identified the spy. Unfortunately, an assassination happened not too long ago.”

Yan Feng’s eyes flickered. “So your Lie Detection is even more valuable to us.”

“You want me to find the spy for you?” asked Gao Yang.

“No, there’s no need to wake the sleeping dog now.” Yan Feng smiled. “You’ll be of help when the time comes.”

True. Dragon only asked me to help with Lie Detection once he was ninety percent sure of his suspicion. That’s the safer way.

Gao Yan thought for a moment and looked up at him. “Then why tell me now? Have I earned your trust already?”

Yan Feng said honestly with a smile, “No, trust comes with time and achievements. You’re far from getting there.”

“I told you now because I want you to be careful. After all, the spy won’t sit around doing nothing once they know that an awakener with Lie Detection joined the Guild.”

“Thank you for the warning. I’ll be careful.” Gao Yang nodded. That was a reasonable explanation.

Yan Feng checked his watch and looked out of the porthole behind him. “We’re ten minutes away from reaching the pier.”

“I’ll get off there,” Gao Yang said.

“No, you stay. I’ll get off at the pier, and you the one after that.”

Gao Yang nodded. Since there was still time, it was better to start a conversation than staying in this awkward silence.

“Mr. Yan.” Gao Yang considered his choice of words. “May I ask you something personal?”

“Go ahead.” Yan Feng nodded easily and joked, “I’m afraid I can’t tell you about celebrity gossip.”

Gao Yan shook his head with a smile. “No, there’s something else I’m curious about. You are a mega star. You must have been going around the world for productions, public appearances, awards, and other programs.”

Yan Feng paused, his gaze turning appreciative. “So you’re asking about the worldview.”

Gao Yang admitted, “I’ve been thinking about it because there are things I can’t figure out.”

“Most of my shoots are done at a production site called Shudian World Studio[1], and the other activities on a handful of ‘isolated islands’. I haven’t exactly traveled around the world.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Before my awakening, I did dream about traveling the world, but after my awakening, I’ve been doing my job dutifully and playing the part of Yan Feng, the actor.”

“There must be other humans with the same dream.”

“And they’ve either awakened, or died.”

Gao Yang nodded. “Makes sense.”

“I understand your confusion,” Yan Feng said. “I’ve been bothered by it as well.”

The man picked up a glass of red wine and swirled it around, reminiscing a distant past.

“When I was young, there was a director I really liked. I consider every work of his a classic, and I’ve watched them dozens of times. Only a few years after I became an actor, I shot to fame due to a drama series, and driven by my ego, I told my agent to contact the director, hoping to star in his next film. My agent was excited and told me that he would contact the director for me. Guess what happened next?”

Gao Yang shook his head.

“The next day, my agent forgot about it, and I forgot to bring it up because shootings kept me busy. A few months later, I awakened by chance. And later, I learned that the director didn’t exist, neither did his home country and everything around him. At least he didn’t exist on the isolated islands we know of.”

“I’ve always wondered what would have happened if I had insisted on contacting the director.”

Yan Feng curled his lips slightly. “I probably would’ve found out immediately that the director didn’t exist, and the contact information was false. Then I would have either lost my mind or got eaten by monsters.”

Gao Yang understood his feelings. “I’ve always wondered if most of the novels, films, and dramas I’ve enjoyed, the games I’ve played, the songs I’ve listened to, and the celebrities I’ve liked actually never existed.”

“But how, then, do these nonexistent people and things continue to play their parts in such a realistic and systematic way, so much so that it seems like a real world? Why would the Heavenly Way go to the lengths to create such a complicated setting?”

Yan Feng didn’t say anything, but instead observed Gao Yang again.

Gao Yang couldn’t stop once he got started. “I mean, why didn’t the Heavenly Way create a simpler world?”

“Put aside where humans came from, wouldn’t it be easier to instill in humans at birth that the world was only palm-sized, and we all lived on this isolated, palm-sized island? Wouldn’t that lower the risk of humans finding out the truth and awakening?”

“Why did the Heavenly Way create such a large, complicated worldview instead? Isn’t it asking for trouble?”

Yan Feng had been listening with his full attention, and he looked at Gao Yang with approval. “I know you’re something else, Seven Shadow, but it surprised me how far you’ve gotten on your own. You are just like us, meant to be a leader.”

Gao Yang broke into sweat. I’m not strong enough for such high praise. Please stop talking me up.

“I have a speculation for that,” Yan Feng said.

Gao Yang’s eyes glinted. “Perhaps yours is the same as mine.”

Yan Feng chuckled. “How about we type out our theory on our phones?”

“Of course.”

They each took out their phones and typed an answer before comparing notes.

Gao Yang: The fake world used to exist for real.

Yan Feng: A real world existed in the past.

They exchanged a smile and took back their phones.

Gao Yang was surprised. It made sense for him to think of the possibility because he had transmigrated here from the real world. He didn’t expect Black Tortoise to come to the same conclusion.

“It seems that we both think this fake world used to be real, which is why the imitation is so perfect. The Heavenly Way doesn’t have to create anything from scratch, only to replicate and reproduce what was there.”

Gao Yang nodded. “Do the higher-ups of the Guild all think the same as you?”

“No, the mainstream view is a different one.”

“They believe that the isolated islands we live on and the fake things filling our world are all created by the Heavenly Way. It’s like a game where everything is procedurally generated with data, including history, culture, economy, art, and technology. They become the backdrop of the isolated islands as they are continuously generated and developed.”

Gao Yang fell into thought. That explanation made sense as well.

He wanted to ask Yan Feng why the Heavenly Way would do it, but he knew it was a question the man couldn’t answer.

Click.

The door pushed open. A middle-aged man in formal wear stood outside with a briefcase under his armpit. He was about 1.75 meter tall with a slim build and narrow shoulders, his hair combed neatly up to reveal a fair, curved forehead. With a pair of finely made rimless glasses, he gave the impression of a conscientious, competent professional.

His brows knitted into a downward angle. “We’re going, Old Yan.”

“Alright, a moment,” said Yan Feng.

“Hurry. You need to go to the set after shooting the show. There’s no time to dally.” The man closed the door.

“My agent, a white face.” Yan Feng curled his lips into a resigned smile. “He’s a good guy all around, but he’s a workaholic and very strict with me.”

“That’s why you’ve been popular for so long,” Gao Yang offered flattery.

“Hopefully that’ll continue as you said.” Yan Feng rose to his feet with a smile and straightened his sleeves and collars. “See you.”

He walked out of the cabin. After a few minutes, the yacht started moving slowly again.

Gao Yang sat by the porthole, looking out at the river at night. He lost his focus at some point.

As the yacht quietly sailed along the river, it was the perfect time to think about the existential philosophical questions: where did I come from, where am I, and where am I going?

Gao Yang was just about to follow the thoughts when on the other side of the porthole, a head suddenly popped into view.

1. A reference to Hengdian World Studio, a mega film studio in China. Heng means horizontal, and shu means vertical. ?