Chapter 9: The Divine Realm—Eden
Having divided the entire planet into two distinct kingdoms, Du Xin nodded with satisfaction.
"Now *this* looks more like a proper private planet. Excellent, excellent. As the God of this world, I really ought to have a Divine Palace of my own."
As he spoke, Du Xin waved his hand. The very center of the world began to sink inward; a circular ring formed, separating the core from the periphery, effectively splitting the entire world into two distinct sections. In the center, a new celestial body—a miniature planet with a diameter of one hundred kilometers—took shape. Four colossal bridges spanned the divide, connecting the two sections. These bridges were double-sided structures; for the moment, however, they remained in a "closed" state. Next, Du Xin relocated every living creature inhabiting this central celestial body to the outside regions.
"Let this place be known as the Divine Realm."
Immediately thereafter, a singular thought arose within the minds of every sentient being throughout the miniature world: *The Divine Realm—sacred, noble, and utterly inviolable.*
All the creatures within the miniature world ceased their activities and prostrated themselves in worship toward the Divine Realm.
"As God, I shall bestow rewards upon this world and extend My grace unto all under the heavens."
Having executed a truly magnificent display of divine grandeur, Du Xin drew forth a minute amount of energy and infused it into falling raindrops. As the rain descended upon the earth, every living creature absorbed the energy—some more, some less—and began to undergo evolution. A select few even began to awaken the faint glimmer of true intelligence.
The Ant Queen and the Mantis were particularly astute; they gathered a portion of the raindrops and absorbed them with frenzied intensity, assimilating dozens of times more energy than any other creature.
Du Xin, however, had no time to concern himself with such matters just then; he was fully occupied with the creation of his own Divine Realm.
Hovering in the air, Du Xin continuously pointed his finger toward the Divine Realm. With every gesture, a subtle transformation took place within the sacred domain. Lush grasslands and a myriad of flowers sprang into existence across the entire realm. At the heart of these gardens stood a colossal, double-sided palace—one façade facing the Kingdom of Ants, the other facing the Mantis Dynasty. Surrounding the palace lay a grove of fruit-bearing trees, and various animals—all imbued with an aura of divinity—came into being, each having been granted evolutionary energy by Du Xin. The fruit trees radiated a soft glow, the flowing streams shimmered with brilliance, and even the clouds overhead took on a vibrant, multicolored hue. "It's too plain; it doesn't look like a Divine Realm at all. I need to add something unique."
Drawing another wisp of energy from beyond the world, he watched as herds of white horses sprouted white wings, while others grew spiraling horns, galloping across the firmament upon clouds. Lizards transformed into majestic white dragons; lions grew wings and their heads shifted into those of eagles. Fruit trees ripened, and as their fruit fell to the ground, it transformed into sprites that took flight. These sprites, wielding magic, turned stones into knights and trees into scholars. Once this was done, the remaining energy coalesced into a faint, multicolored mist that circulated endlessly among the living creatures—a perpetual cycle of life that continuously strengthened them.
"Hmm, *this* is truly a god's private garden. Let's call it the Garden of Eden. The name for this energy needs to sound suitably grand, too—let's call it the 'Power of the World.'"
From that moment on, the sentient beings within this miniature world gained a new collective consciousness: the Divine Realm contained the Garden of Eden, and within it flowed the Power of the World—a force of infinite might. It was by mastering this very Power of the World that the God had created the entire cosmos.
"Creatures of the Divine Realm, you must uphold order, protect all living things, spread the God's teachings, and carry out the God's commands, casting His divine radiance across the world! The Stone Knights, imbued with the Power of the Earth, shall stand guard over the Divine Realm; the Sprites and Tree Sages, imbued with the Power of Life, shall nourish all creation; the Winged Horses shall be granted the Power of the Sky, and the Unicorns, the Power of Water."
Having successfully played the part of a divine oracle, Du Xin finally experienced the sensation of being worshipped and held in awe—a feeling he savored as he burst into hearty laughter.
"Wait, that won't do! The Garden of Eden needs an Adam! System, why hasn't the world spontaneously evolved any humans yet?"
"Host, the human form is exceedingly complex. The world requires further evolution before it can spontaneously generate humans. However, the Host is free to locate a human yourself and introduce them into this miniature world."
"But didn't you say earlier that this miniature world couldn't sustain higher-order life forms?"
Du Xin couldn't help but ask, his voice tinged with confusion. Previously, the system hadn't even allowed the evolution of ants; yet now, it was apparently permissible to introduce high-level beings. "Replying to the Host: As the world evolves—while it currently lacks the capacity to spontaneously evolve high-level life forms on its own—it *can* accommodate them. If the small world's capacity for spontaneous evolution increases by a factor of one with each stage of global evolution, then its capacity to *accommodate* external life forms increases by a factor of... two."
Ignoring the System's playful antics, Du Xin instead fell into deep, serious thought.
"So, if it can't evolve life forms on its own... what if I scan human DNA—or even acquire actual genetic samples? Would you be able to manufacture humans then?"
"Negative. Furthermore, any humans the Host currently imports into this world would be incapable of reproduction."
Du Xin shook his head in resignation. Since the genetic engineering route was a dead end—and since he had no desire to go around kidnapping people (being human himself, after all)—he decided to shelve the whole "Adam" project for the time being and focus instead on simply nurturing the evolution of his world.
"And here I was, dreaming of creating 'Super-Humans'... *Super-Humans!* Like Superman! Wait a minute... aren't *I* a Super-Human now?"
A surge of excitement coursed through Du Xin. *That's it!* He could simply round up criminals and bring them into his world. *Then* he'd have his "Adams"!
With that realization, Du Xin immediately exited the small world—only to step right back inside a moment later.
"Alright, a superhero needs a proper costume. I can't just rip off the Avengers... but designing something original is going to be a real challenge!"
Du Xin began pacing back and forth across the grand hall of the Temple once again.
After much deliberation, Du Xin decided to go ahead and "borrow" some inspiration from Captain America after all. He created a persona: "Captain China." He fashioned a suit of incredibly durable battle armor, featuring a primary color scheme of red and gold. He also forged a shield—red-backed, emblazoned with a golden five-pointed star. Clad in a form-fitting bodysuit, complete with a matching helmet, he looked like the spitting image of Captain America... or rather, Captain China—come to life.
First, Du Xin put his current capabilities to the test. The results were staggering: his physical constitution was terrifyingly robust—his powerful strikes could effortlessly shatter a solid meter of stone, while his durability was such that he felt absolutely no pain from any impact. His reflexes were honed to the point where he could nearly dodge incoming bullets, and his top speed clocked in at a brisk 140 kilometers per hour—ironically, the least impressive of his newfound abilities. Most formidable of all, however, was his "Crisis Precognition"—an innate sense of impending danger that made it utterly impossible for any bullet to ever strike him.
Striking a rather flamboyant pose as he admired himself in a mirror, Du Xin stepped out of his small world with a look of supreme satisfaction—ready to take on the forces of crime. Two days later, Du Xin was on the verge of giving up. There was simply no work to be found. In this entire city, there wasn't a single serious criminal—at most, there were the occasional bus thieves, street pickpockets, or "Old Zhou" types swiping electric scooters. Yet, before he could even reach the scene, they had already been dealt with—either subdued by public-spirited citizens, arrested by the police, or surrounded by the urban management officers.
Standing dejectedly on the rooftop of a high-rise building, Du Xin finally understood why China didn't produce many "vigilante" movies: because there was simply no need for them.
"Absolutely zero productivity! Good thing I don't rely on this for a living, or I would have starved to death long ago."
Standing alone atop the building, Du Xin sighed.
"Sigh... it truly is lonely at the top."
"Hey, buddy! Let's talk this out calmly—don't do anything rash! Whatever difficulties you're facing, society and the country are here to help you. There's no obstacle in life that can't be overcome. It's okay if a guy gets cuckolded once in a while; don't throw your life away just to vent your anger. Don't give others the satisfaction while leaving your loved ones in sorrow. Buddy, listen to my advice: come on down..."
Du Xin's figure, silhouetted against the wind, seemed to grow even more disheveled; the shadow stretching out behind him appeared as if it had been outlined in thick, heavy strokes.
"You're the one who got cuckolded! I didn't! Get lost! I'm just in a bad mood and wanted to catch some breeze!"
Du Xin roared in frustration.
"Right, right, right! *I'm* the one who got cuckolded! Just come down first, buddy!"
As his attempts to explain himself only seemed to make matters worse—and seeing the crowd gathering below growing larger by the minute—Du Xin could only angrily cover his face and leap away.
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