Back in the office at the Dolphin Hotel, Gerald pulled out his prized bourbon whiskey and poured a shot for Roy and Saltana each.
"Mr. Black, what was it you wanted to talk to me about earlier?"
"It's about the mirror world, and those monsters we caught."
Roy took a sip of bourbon before starting to explain the concept of the "Faux Humans."
Gerald's brow furrowed deeper as he listened, because Roy's description was so creepy it sent shivers down his spine.
"There are actually creatures like that out there? Mr. Black, are you sure about all this?"
Roy shook his head. There was no way he could confirm something like that to Gerald.
"That's what I was told. I haven't verified it myself. But one thing I'm sure of is that our world isn't the only one with life. There are a lot of weird and wonderful worlds out there that humans can't even wrap their heads around. These worlds occasionally bump into ours, leading to a series of unexpected events."
Saltana, who was sitting nearby, looked thoughtful.
"Roy, do you think hell and heaven fall into this category you're talking about?"
Roy nodded.
"You're right. Hell and heaven were indeed the first two otherworlds to cross paths with ours. Because of the interaction, we've been able to understand the cultures of those two worlds."
This was a purely scientific way of explaining hell and heaven, without any religious baggage.
Gerald rubbed his temples, feeling like his worldview was cracking.
"If you said that out loud, you'd definitely get some pushback from the religious crowd."
Roy scoffed.
"How do you know religion isn't just another form of colonization?"
Religious colonization had happened more than once in human history, which just gave Gerald more of a headache.
"Alright, alright, let's not go there! Mr. Black, what exactly is your point?"
"Every world's civilization is like a hunter walking through a dark forest. If a hunter in a dark forest discovers signs of other creatures, do you think they'll attack that creature? There are countless worlds in the universe, and countless civilizations. Every civilization is both hunter and prey. In this kind of environment, the best bet is to keep a low profile, not to go around waving a flashlight."
Roy gave a rough explanation of Liu Cixin's Dark Forest Theory, causing Gerald and Saltana to sink into contemplation.
After a long time, Gerald finally gave a wry smile. He had figured out that Roy was trying to warn him to be extremely cautious when it came to exploring other worlds.
"Mr. Black, your idea is very thought-provoking, but some things are out of my hands. Even to this day, NASA is constantly sending signals from Earth into space. Some people just think all aliens are friendly."
Roy rolled his eyes.
"Don't they ever think about what they've done to their own less advanced counterparts? Humans can't even understand each other, and they expect aliens to understand humans?"
Gerald downed his shot of bourbon in one go.
"Mr. Black, thank you very much for your reminder. I'll carefully report this to my superiors, but as for the outcome…"
Roy was already mentally prepared for that.
America had a real knack for messing things up, and the federal government was bound to screw itself over.
Fortunately, whether it was heaven or hell, they both considered Earth their turf. If there really was an interdimensional invasion, those two powers definitely wouldn't sit back and do nothing.
But thinking about it that way felt kind of sad. Humans couldn't even control their own destiny.
Shaking his head, Roy didn't dwell on it.
"Let's not talk about that anymore, Mr. Olin. If there's nothing important, I'll head back and get some rest. Also, I'm planning on going back to Gravity Falls in the next couple of days. There shouldn't be anything else going on in Los Angeles, right?"
Gerald gave a wry smile.
"Not for the time being, I don't think."
"Director, since there's nothing going on, I'd like to take a few more days off!"
As soon as she heard Roy was leaving, Saltana immediately asked for leave.
"Consider it approved."
Gerald approved Saltana's leave right away. On one hand, Saltana was his most capable subordinate. On the other hand, her connection with Roy was the foundation for the stable cooperation between FEA's Los Angeles branch and Roy.
Otherwise, Roy could work with any state's FEA, and Gerald wouldn't get any of the benefits.
The moment Roy saw Saltana's current look, he knew what she was thinking.
"Hey, Roy! I want to have a serious chat with you about this Dark Forest Theory!"
Roy thought: Where exactly does this "Dark Forest" you're talking about grow?
"Should we call Amy and Dahlia too?"
"Absolutely!"
Just as Roy, Saltana, Amy, and Dahlia were having an in-depth study session on the Dark Forest Law, a little something happened in Gravity Falls, thousands of miles away.
It was already two in the morning. The residents of Gravity Falls were long asleep, but one person suddenly sat up.
This person was Jennifer, or rather, Lilith, who was controlling Jennifer's body.
"Finally got Jennifer into a deep sleep. That little girl seems to be getting more and more suspicious of me."
Lilith stretched and yawned, then put on beautiful clothes and applied exquisite makeup.
Pulling an all-nighter like this wasn't because Lilith had a date. For her, clothes and makeup were like her armor. She wouldn't allow herself to be seen without them.
Especially since the person she was about to meet was very important. Lilith couldn't be too careful.
After getting fully ready, Lilith put on her high heels, left the Needleman residence, and walked towards the outskirts of Gravity Falls.
The only sound on the silent streets of Gravity Falls was the click of Lilith's high heels on the pavement, sounding hollow and eerie. Fortunately, there wasn't a soul on the street right now.
Half an hour later, Lilith arrived at a manor outside Gravity Falls. The large iron gates of the manor opened automatically, as if welcoming Lilith's arrival.
Soon, Lilith entered the mansion in the center of the manor and, guided by the lights, entered an incredibly luxurious living room.
"Welcome to my humble abode, Ms. Lilith."
In the center of the living room, a tall, beautiful woman was lounging on a sofa, looking at Lilith with a lazy expression on her face.
"It's my pleasure to accept your invitation, Your Majesty Belial!"
Belial didn't care about her image at all, but Lilith didn't dare to be presumptuous and bowed deeply to show her respect.
"Tsk tsk tsk! If you had been this polite in front of God back then, you wouldn't have ended up like this, would you? Just call me Elizabeth. That other name causes too much trouble when you say it too much."
Lilith looked up at Elizabeth. Although she had long suspected that there was something off about the history teacher at the Oak School, she hadn't expected that the other person would actually be Belial, one of the Seven Princes of Hell, the King of Sloth.
It was like you're taking a class at school and suddenly realize that the teacher giving the lecture is a big shot who has won the Nobel Prize or the Fields Medal.
"Then, Your Majesty Elizabeth, is there something you specifically wanted to instruct me to do?"
Lilith carefully chose her words, not daring to be even slightly negligent.
Elizabeth scrutinized Lilith, a hint of amusement in her eyes.
This made Lilith a little flustered. Times had changed. When she was first born, she did indeed have a terrible temper and even dared to speak loudly to God.
In the end, not surprisingly, she was expelled from the Garden of Eden by God and became the first witch.
During the time after leaving the Garden of Eden, Lilith had also had her moments of glory, such as becoming the wife of Samael, the King of Wrath. Although they later divorced, she did give birth to a large number of Hell's bloodline.
Almost all witches could be considered descendants of Lilith.
Until she was betrayed by her own daughter, Ophielina, lost her physical body, and slept for thousands of years, only recently awakening in Jennifer's body.
As the saying goes, a tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs. The current Lilith no longer had her former power. Otherwise, she wouldn't be hiding in Jennifer's body and playing dead whenever something happened.
Just as Lilith was feeling overwhelmed by the pressure, Elizabeth cast a barrier and finally spoke.
"Lilith, I'm glad you made the right choice, choosing me instead of Samael."
Hearing the name Samael, Lilith's expression changed slightly.
"That guy will never amount to anything!"
Well, the story between ex-husband and ex-wife always seemed particularly interesting to outsiders. Even Elizabeth showed a gossipy expression, which made Lilith feel a little speechless.
Could a dignified demon lord really be this human-like?
But then again, it was under the influence of demons that humans developed complex human nature. Otherwise, in the Garden of Eden, all humans were still silly and dull.
Elizabeth smiled.
"But Samael has been pretty active in recent years. Aren't you worried?"
Lilith looked straight at Elizabeth.
"If His Majesty, the King of Sloth, is willing to become my backer, then I won't have anything to worry about."
Elizabeth burst into laughter.
There was a clear gap in strength among the Seven Princes of Hell. Belial, Leviathan, and Lucifer could be called the Upper Three Pillars.
Leviathan was the first creature born in Hell, representing the purest forces of Hell.
Belial was born from the initial emotions, representing the most primitive thinking of all intelligent beings.
As for Lucifer, he was once the Vice-Regent of Heaven, and his status was different from all other demon lords. He was the governor sent by God to Hell, making him the one with the most complex identity.
From this, it could be seen that the forces of Hell were actually divided into these three camps: Leviathan, representing the populist forces of Hell; Lucifer, leaning towards the colonial forces of Heaven; and Belial, who didn't take either side and purely looked out for himself, representing the neutral faction.
According to the alignment chart, Leviathan would be chaotic evil, Lucifer would be lawful evil, and Belial would be neutral evil.
Under the influence of the Upper Three Pillar demon lords, the Lower Four Pillar demon lords also made their choices.
Among them, Mammon, the King of Greed, and Samael, the King of Wrath, stood on Leviathan's side. These two were also the most active demon lords on Earth in recent years.
Asmodeus, the King of Lust, leaned towards Lucifer. She only wanted to have children and didn't want to disrupt the existing world order.
Finally, Beelzebub, the King of Gluttony, who held the title of Hell's Prime Minister, had a more ambiguous attitude, constantly wandering between different camps. No one could figure out what he was planning.
"Lilith, excellent! I don't think you'll regret making this decision in the future, so I've prepared a little welcoming gift for you!"
As she spoke, Elizabeth snapped her fingers, and a figure immediately appeared beside her. It was Lilith's daughter, Ophielina. The girl was lying motionless on the carpet.
Lilith's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't expected to find what she had been searching for so easily.
The daughter she had been painstakingly looking for had appeared right in front of her.
"Your Majesty Elizabeth, how did you find her?"
"Hehe, I've always had pretty good luck. This little thing just ran right into me."
Lilith was speechless. The lucky ones could really do whatever they wanted, making her, a seasoned unlucky person, very envious.
However, Lilith knew that things definitely wouldn't be this simple. Elizabeth's conditions couldn't possibly be this straightforward.
"Your Majesty Elizabeth, is there anything I can do for you?"
Elizabeth really liked Lilith's ability to read the room. It saved her a lot of breath.
For the King of Sloth, being able to say one less word would make her happy.
"It's simple. I want you to sign this contract! This world is undergoing earth-shattering changes, which means a transformation is coming. I need some allies to deal with the potential disasters. Coincidentally, we've both chosen to bet on Roy. Why don't we team up?"
A piece of parchment and a quill pen floated in front of Lilith. Lilith gritted her teeth and signed her name without even looking at the contents of the contract.
"Aren't you going to look at the contract?"
"If Lady Elizabeth wanted to harm me, she wouldn't need to go to so much trouble! And as you said, we've both placed a big bet on Roy. What do humans call it? Oh, right, 'angel investor'! We should naturally cooperate with each other."
"Very good! I like people who are decisive. You can take your daughter and leave. If anything comes up, I'll let you know."
Lilith immediately left Elizabeth's manor with her daughter, Ophielina.
Only then did Lilith breathe a sigh of relief. Talking to a great demon lord like Belial required her to be on edge at all times.
The past ten-odd minutes had been no less exhausting than Lilith fighting Roy for an entire night. Her back was still sweating cold.
"I wonder how Roy gets along with the King of Sloth? They've actually managed to coexist peacefully until now!"
Lilith recalled the times Roy and Elizabeth were together. It could only be described as unrestrained. If she had to guess, she would have been scared stiff.
"I should really give my good daughter a proper interrogation!"
Lilith looked at Ophielina and sneered. She had been waiting for this day for a very long time, so long that she herself had forgotten how many years it had been.
Touching Ophielina's cheek, Lilith murmured to herself.
"Ophielina, my dear daughter, I will take good care of you!"
Here's another picture of Teacher Elizabeth.
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