—[Is this... a miracle?]
—[Above, isn't that a redundant question? (rolls eyes)]
—[No, I mean, that I could witness a phenomenon of this scale in my lifetime... I (omitting 100 words of loyalty-pledging nonsense here)]
—[Sorry, I'm at a loss for words. Other than 'Holy Crap', I really can't find an adjective...]
—[Is this the kind of pomp you get when a Deity calls your name? My legs have gone weak.]
"Every Sunday..."
Qinghong's voice cut in from off-camera, instantly acting like a cool breeze that swept away the sweltering heat of shock within the comment section.
Her tone, previously cold and decisive enough to kill, had softened significantly. It was replaced by an ethereal majesty, with a lingering note of a young girl's playfulness.
These two distinct traits coexisted within her without any dissonance; instead, it felt like a higher-dimensional being looking down upon all living things, snapping everyone out of the daze caused by the divine scenery.
"This list... will refresh..."
As the camera panned back, Qinghong reappeared in the center of the frame. She tilted her head slightly, her sparkling eyes shimmering with the kind of cunning found only in a small animal that had just pulled off a successful prank.
She slowly held up—a single, slender, lily-white finger.
The viewers before their screens held their breaths. The emotional tension was at its peak as the bullet chat went into a frenzy of speculation:
—[1? That one finger means 1 spot? There are billions of people on the Blue Planet, and you're only giving out 1?]
—[Host, stop keeping us in suspense! My heart condition is about to act up from your baiting!]
Seeing that the moment was ripe, the corners of Qinghong's mouth curled upward, revealing two bright little front teeth.
"Congratulations..." She paused intentionally for a second, her voice trembling slightly with excitement. "You guessed wrong! It's one thousand names. Surprised?"
The bullet chat froze instantly. That sense of extreme scarcity caused the viewers, who had been cheering moments ago, to feel a sudden wave of suffocation.
Seeing this, she asked with feigned kindness, her tone melodious and lingering: "Family, aren't you surprised? One thousand spots, you know!"
The chat, which had gone silent, only saw a few comments drift by after a long pause:
—[Huh?]
—[Surprised... so surprised I want to call the police (crying)]
Qinghong paid no mind to the collective speechlessness.
Her tone turned tender, as if she were sharing her favorite candy: "Anyone who has ever treated life with kindness, protected plants and trees, or secretly reached out to help a weak animal in the dark... your names all have a chance to appear beneath this starry sky. This is the best 'Gift' for the Great Beast God, and for me."
She sniffed the air, as if she could smell the complex aura of humanity at this moment—a mixture of greed and remorse—and added mischievously: "But that's not all..."
The comment section fell into another brief silence. Someone tremblingly typed out a line:
—[Ok... may I ask the Host, what else?]
Before Qinghong could answer, the bullet chat exploded in a volcanic eruption. Dozens of identical messages with bold, red exclamation marks appeared:
—[Stop watching the stream! Look up! Quickly, look at the sky in real life!]
As if receiving a synchronized signal, all of humanity looked up at the firmament in unison.
In the midst of the flickering starlight of the night, the dark void was torn open by some Great Power. A magnificent, grand, and transcendent outline of a list was slowly emerging like a phantom.
"Oh my, was it discovered so soon?"
Qinghong sighed, her expression showing a hint of annoyance, like a child whose carefully prepared prank had been spoiled ahead of time. "I thought I could show off a bit more. It's all your fault, hmph!"
—[Host, we are surprised! Super surprised! My whole family is kneeling while livestreaming this miracle to our friend circles! (Thumbs up) ×10]
—[Host Qinghong, that list is so beautiful. Even if I never make it on there in this life, just seeing it is worth it! (Starry eyes)]
Having been coaxed back into a good mood, Qinghong's voice became lighthearted again. Her sharp senses allowed her to completely ignore any noise coming from the adjacent room—right now, she was the sole focus of this domain.
"Of course, since I've received gifts, this Host will certainly return the favor."
On the screen, she gave a mysterious wink to the camera. That smile held an almost animalistic instinct of seduction, like a forest elf leading a traveler toward an unknown treasure. "As for what the return gift is... heehee, it will definitely be what you want most. I won't let you down."
The audience reached a boiling point. The volume of the bullet chat was so high that it nearly caused the divine power connection to overlap. In a place Qinghong couldn't see, someone was so excited they actually fell off their chair with a dull thud.
Meanwhile, inside the bunker meeting rooms of various nations, the cores of power were thinking much further ahead.
Earlier, that singular roar and subsequent belch from the Wealth Devourer had already dealt a devastating blow to the physical defenses and financial systems of the entire world.
Now, this "return gift" had become their last straw—their only hope to recover losses and even reclaim the "right to interpret" nature itself!
If the previous orange light orbs were life-saving trump cards, then this "GratitudeList" was the elevator leading to a new world of myth!
Meanwhile, within the Karmic Pool of the Divine Realm:
The Wealth Devourer was busy spitting out gold ingots while rubbing its nose in dissatisfaction.
"Achoo!"
A massive sneeze rang through the DivineRealm like thunder, causing a jumbo-sized gold ingot to fall into the pool with a heavy thud, splashing waves of golden light ten thousand feet high.
"Who's badmouthing me behind my back?" the Wealth Devourer muttered, its eyes full of the haughty vibe of "I'm busy, don't bother me."
At the border of the southwestern mountains, the wind carried swirling sand.
The lingering prestige left by the WealthDevourer after its disappearance had not yet dissipated. Leader Chen of the SWAT squadron was speaking into his tactical radio, reporting to headquarters in a husky voice.
"Report: the scene is under control. The target... target 'Sato' has left. According to reports from the two Guardians who were escorting him—before the surge of Divine Power, the originally human-shaped 'Sato' reverted into a fancy rat right before their eyes and is currently... missing."
On the other end of the channel, the intelligence team's voice cut in urgently: "Leader Chen, we have internal intel. Please proceed immediately to a location called 'The People's Hospital'. We suspect there is a high probability the target will be there."
"Copy that. Is the source reliable?"
"There's no issue with the source, I can guarantee that. Furthermore, the hospital you're heading to is where the target's owner—Tian Shuangxin's mother—is staying. We estimate the target is moving in that direction. Suggest pulling surveillance footage along the route immediately!"
By this time, Zhizhi no longer needed to crawl through dark, damp sewers to evade pursuit and bullets. Its tiny body sped along the edge of the asphalt road, its limbs moving so fast they left afterimages laced with faint streaks of golden light.
Just moments ago, after confirming that those Guardians were out of danger, it had immediately followed the glowing red thread. Its small nostrils twitched slightly. It could feel that the world had changed; it had become filled with kindness toward small lives like itself.
It knew this was the work of the Great BeastGod and Qinghong. Just like now, it didn't need to hide from humans, because at this moment, all of humanity was looking up at the stars. It was like a tiny, unnoticed spark of light, sprinting steadfastly toward the end of the red thread.
The air seemed to carry a faint scent of strawberry cookies, letting it know that Mama was not far away. With that thought, as if it knew no exhaustion, it accelerated with determination.
In contrast to Zhizhi's light footsteps, TianShuangxin was undergoing an ordeal of physical limits.
When she burst out of the hospital doors, the streets were deathly silent. The earlier descent of the "Rods from God" had been like a rehearsal for the apocalypse; the taxi drivers who should have been waiting at the hospital entrance had long since abandoned their cars to flee for their lives.
The entire road was empty, save for the frantic tap-tap-tap of her disarrayed footsteps.
"Zhizhi... wait for me..."
She had no time to cry. She could only drag her aching legs, running wildly across the desolate road. The invisible red thread tied to her fingertip was glowing hot, guiding her through the ruins and the panic. Her breathing was ragged like a broken bellows, and her lungs burned, but she didn't dare stop.
Midway, a fleet of SWAT armored vehicles roared past—it was the First Squadron, returning after a fruitless hunt for the CIA remnants. The wind kicked up by the massive tires tossed the fallen leaves at the roadside.
Zhizhi hid in the shadow of a lamppost, quietly watching these "machines of violence", which once seemed impossibly tall and formidable, disappear into the distance.
No one noticed this tiny fancy rat swimming against the current.
Until... at the turn of the next street corner.
Tian Shuangxin finally hit her limit. Her strength gave out, and she nearly collapsed. She grabbed her knees firmly, sweat dripping from her pale face onto the scorching ground. She gasped for air, her vision blurred by tears. "Zhizhi, my Zhizhi. Mama is coming to save you..."
Before her voice could fade, she lifted her head, her blurry gaze looking forward.
"Squeak-squeak!"
A crisp, joyful cry—one no longer carrying any trace of misery—suddenly rang out in the silent street.
Tian Shuangxin's eyes snapped wide. Under the intervention of the healing power from the orange light orbs, her strength slowly returned and her vision cleared.
Under the dim, yellow afterglow of a streetlamp, a fancy rat—impossibly clean, with eyes as bright as a galaxy of stars—was perched on the curb. It was shaking its little head frantically at her, grooming its cheeks with its paws.
It was the figure that had appeared in her dreams ten thousand times, the only treasure the Deities had returned to her after she had lost the entire world.
Zhizhi's limbs exerted a sudden burst of power, and it transformed into a bolt of golden lightning, cutting through the deathly silence of the street.
It no longer needed to hide; it no longer needed to be humble. It sprinted wildly across the open road, every "squeak" sounding like a declaration of war against a world that had once owed it so much.
"That is my Mama. That is my harbor."
In front of those gentle eyes, it could finally use its most primal, proudest frequency to cry out the grievances and love accumulated over two lifetimes.
"Squeak—!"
The moment Tian Shuangxin tightly embraced that swirl of golden light, one of the thousand empty astral vortices in the real night sky suddenly erupted with a dazzling, warm orange glow—as if announcing to the entire Blue Planet:
— At this moment, Kindness has returned to its throne.