Otherworldly Desert Dust

This concert was something else, even came with its own stress-relief props.

No joke, stepping on this unknown material beneath our feet, the synchronized "creak creak" sound, it was just like tap dancing. Pair it with the Burial Love Family's favorite song, flipping our bangs—it was a renaissance of sorts!

"Bastards!"

"What are you bastards doing!"

"I, Tu Shanlan, will not allow you to desecrate our Savior of humanity like this!"

A tall, striking woman appeared at the entrance of the square, seemingly delicate yet displaying astonishing combat prowess.

She single-handedly parted the "celebrating" crowd, cleanly taking down anyone who stepped on the stone sculpture!

"Seriously, you're still buying into that god-making lie from a few years ago."

"Yeah, it was made up by the Old Faction, with no concrete evidence proving that person ever existed."

"Why should this square honor a fake Savior? It should display our Longevity Sect leader instead!"

"Exactly, who do you think you are to openly offend our Longevity Sect??"

In no time, a large number of angry people emerged from the crowd, resembling a new force steadfast in their musical faith, boldly confronting the Old Faction representatives.

No matter how strong Tu Shanlan was, she couldn't move the entire crowd in the square.

Similarly, outside the square, there were still a few people looking somewhat helpless, knowing well that this new force was engaging in disgraceful actions yet unable to suppress their madness. All they did was point fingers, not daring to truly step forward.

The crowd was massive.

Eventually, Tu Shanlan was pushed out by the crowd.

"Get lost! You Old Faction liars, stop disturbing our pursuit of Longevity!"

"Old Faction liars!"

"Liars!!"

Hearing these words, Tu Shanlan trembled with rage.

Never had she imagined that a day would come when someone who truly saved all of humanity would be labeled as fictional!

She had participated in the Outer Heaven Guest calamity, and there were so many real combat images, yet they were claimed to be AI-generated? Even though technology could now make many images indistinguishable from the real thing, such an important piece of history shouldn't be erased—besides, it wasn't even history, just five years ago.

In five years, the homeland had undergone a colossal change. With various otherworldly forces infiltrating, a multipolar situation had arisen. Their power was immense, so much so that it could alter the fate of all humanity, yet in humanity's toughest times, there had been an existence as strong as the Nuwa God End holding up the collapsing sky... Enjoy new stories from My Virtual Library Empire

The insults, sarcasm, vicious criticism, and collective rebuttal left the already tongue-tied Tu Shanlan even more at a loss. Tears began streaming down her face uncontrollably.

"Stop pretending. Get lost."

"Why are you doing this? Even if you have a new belief, why erase his traces??" Tu Shanlan was utterly confused and felt the world had gone mad.

"The Old Faction indoctrinated us with this person for many years, making us truly believe in a Savior. Now we've woken up and realized it was all your Old Faction's manipulation, controlling our living beings, living individuals, living souls!"

"Yeah, talking about sacrificing oneself for all humanity, that life doesn't have to be long but must be brilliant... Why should it be short? We want Longevity, even immortality!"

In the crowd, a few spokespersons pointed at Tu Shanlan and cursed furiously.

Isolated and helpless, Tu Shanlan realized she couldn't do anything alone. She carefully picked up the few remaining fragments on the ground and wrapped them in her clothes.

"You can have it, Old Faction lackey!"

"Take it all!"

The crowd picked up the debris on the ground and angrily hurled it at Tu Shanlan.

At this moment, a few onlookers couldn't stand it anymore and pulled Tu Shanlan away.

"Ah, young lady, everyone craves Longevity nowadays. Who wouldn't want to achieve Longevity? Why go against their frenzied pursuit? Stay true to your beliefs and find a quieter place to reconstruct a statue. Many old towns are being revived; there's still a group who believes in what you do." An elderly man spoke earnestly.

"It's not about belief for me, I'm a witness. If even I don't stand up..." Tu Shanlan's eyes turned red, unsure how to argue, and tears flowed again.

Aggrieved, indignant, and incredulous!

In just a few years, how could society change so drastically? Without that Savior, the entire homeland would have become a dead planet. How could they talk about Longevity when they couldn't even survive?

"Young man, comfort the girl." The old man handed Wu Hen a packet of tissues.

Wu Hen was also in a daze.

But he still took out the tissues and helped Tu Shanlan sit on a nearby park bench, then kindly wiped her tears.

"Don't cry, don't cry, you're such a beautiful girl, even with tear-streaked eyes you… Well, you still look beautiful. Haha, haha," Wu Hen said awkwardly.

"You don't understand... Besides, don't think I didn't see, you were stepping on the statue fragments just like them, and harder too. Now you're pretending to be a good guy!" Tu Shanlan was furious, glaring fiercely at Wu Hen.

Wu Hen felt even more embarrassed.

He was just joining in for fun.

Who knew it involved different beliefs?

Longevity Sect?

Sounds quite impressive, could there really be deities stationed here?

"I thought it was a concert by my favorite singer. It's been so long since I've felt this atmosphere. I'm an atheist, no faith, no party affiliation, a staunch atheist," Wu Hen declared.

Despite having just returned, Wu Hen's age left him with nothing but a strong-willed mouth.

"If you didn't resemble him so much, I'd have stomped you into the ground already!" Tu Shanlan said.

"Uh... Who are you talking about? Is the statue's owner important to you? If it's your belief, I won't offend anymore, but don't you recognize me? I even saved your life once." Wu Hen said to Tu Shanlan.

Wu Hen remembered her well, the woman who fought alongside him piloting the Red Eagle Mecha—he had dragged her out of the sea.

How many years had he spent in that Life Pod? Tu Shanlan looked much more mature now, and she seemed not to recognize him.

"You saved me?" Tu Shanlan looked at the pale, thin man before her in confusion.

He was so skinny, fitting the image of a ghost fire teenager. His skin was excessively white, as if he had muddled through those turbulent years in some dim internet café.

"I am Wu Hen. When you piloted the Red Eagle Mecha, we fought the Outer Heaven Guests together... By the way, what year is it now? To be honest, I just woke up." Wu Hen flashed a smile.

Tu Shanlan stared at the young man before her, her tearful eyes widening. The first emotion on her beautiful face was not shock but offended fury.

"Who did you say you are?" Tu Shanlan's tone was serious and grave.

"Wu Hen! The first time I introduced myself, you even called me Lord Wu Hen, haha," Wu Hen said with a laugh.

Tu Shanlan almost punched the man who dared to profane her belief, but upon hearing "Lord Wu Hen," her eyes widened even more, and her small mouth involuntarily opened...

Lord Wu Hen.

Tu Shanlan vividly remembered that being the last thing she said to Wu Hen, leading to her struggle and marginalization over the years. Whenever she found it hard to adapt to the world's monumental changes, she would repeatedly utter "Lord Wu Hen," as if truly gaining the spirit's protection!

"Impossible, impossible... If you are my Lord Wu Hen, then who is lying in the Patrol Tower..." Tu Shanlan suddenly realized something and frantically ran toward the tower.

"I just came down from there. Hey, hey, I'm really your Lord Wu Hen!" Wu Hen shouted.

(Continuing for 23 consecutive days, writing ten thousand words daily is exhausting. But I'm strong-willed, so I made a bold claim at the beginning of the month to challenge myself. To achieve my daily ten thousand words for the month, I hope you all can appreciate my efforts by giving some votes. Please~~)