Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Yes, yes!”

Zhang Daniu said in a hurry, “This kid just ate 300-500 bucks of my casserole bone lettuce the night before, and the next morning, he ate a huge pan of fried dumplings and buns with an additional 100 bucks without batting an eyelid. He ate half a month’s worth of my food allowance. He even punched a hole in my wall and tore off such a thick dictionary. This is definitely a superpower!”

“I know all that.”

The hunter continued, “Of course, he is an Awakener who has awakened at least five memories. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to wound the Striped Tiger and force ‘White Night’ to show his true capability. Alright. Let me ask you another question. Why did the college student named ‘Li Yao’ come to you? Why did he analyze the ‘Ark Foundation’ and the ‘Apocalyptic Organization’ together with you?”

“I really don’t know.”

Zhang Daniu replied honestly, “He said a lot of weird and crazy things. I didn’t believe him at all, but circumstances dictated everything. I could only agree with him and try my best to deal with him. Finally, reinforcements from the Heaven’s Origin Sector arrived!”

“...Alright. Maybe you don’t know much more about it than we do.”

The hunter said, “Let’s put the weird college student aside for now. After all, we are more interested in you, Master Niu.”

“Me?”

Zhang Daniu’s voice changed once again. From his croaky voice, it turned into the cry of a hen. “Who did I offend exactly? I have always abided by the law and believe in organizations and the government. I don’t steal, I don’t rob, and I don’t act like a hooligan. I have nothing better to do than to stay at home and write books. Why are you all looking for me? And it’s either a stocky college student or a male agent in a black suit and sunglasses?”

“Yes. That’s what we need to figure out, too.

The hunter seemed to be showing something to Zhang Daniu, “Master Niu, please take a look at this. This is the latest ranking on the reading website of your novel . This... is the 98th place in the monthly votes ranking and the 114th in the recommendation ranking, right?”

“Yes, it is me.”

Zhang Daniu said shamelessly, “Oh my, this month’s monthly votes have actually made it into the top 100. Not bad, not bad. This is worth celebrating. Then, what’s the problem?”

“There’s nothing wrong. It’s just inconsistent with our previous operations.”

The hunter said, “Master Niu, you don’t need to be nervous. It’s true that the ‘Apocalyptic Organization’ has killed a lot of people in the past... In your words, ‘creator of the fantasy world’. Let’s not talk about whether or not this is a violation of the moral code or even ‘unhumanity’—believe me, we have a very reasonable explanation to ensure that such an obliteration is not against the moral code and humanity, but rather a necessary action to maintain the order of the world. However, whether or not it is good or evil, our screening of the ‘Erased List’ is very strict.

“Generally speaking, there are only two kinds of ‘creators of the fantasy world’ that are worth monitoring or even killing.

“Firstly, it could be a creator whose work is widely spread and influential enough to trigger the soul resonation of billions of people. For example, ‘Father of the Star Ring’ Galiot. In ‘World of Star Ring’ on the Internet, at most tens of millions of people are playing online games at the same time, and billions of people are influenced by derivatives and subculture. It is not hard to imagine how influential his words and actions will be and how many people will be awakened.

“Secondly, of course, we are not achievement theorists. Maybe some of the ‘observers’ have awakened their very early memories, and the broken, bizarre pieces do not constitute the most popular works. But at the very least, the creativity, creativity, passion, and sincerity that they show in their works cannot be concealed. In other words, at the very least, they are not popular. Even if they are not popular, at least there are certain highlights in their works that can be perceived by the experts in our organization.

“However, as for your work...

“Master Niu, I don’t know whether or not it will hurt your self-esteem, but the monitoring and erasing of online authors in the past can be measured in terms of influence and popularity. At the very least, you must rank in the top 50, the top 30, and even the top 10 in similar comprehensive rankings before you enter our sight.

“As for quality, let me see how I should comment on the quality of your book. I’ve read almost a hundred chapters myself. My personal conclusion is that you are not worth the resources of the Heaven’s Origin Sector to monitor and erase even a temporary worker. If anything happens to you, it is definitely not our doing but a real accident. Do you see what I mean?”

“Well, sort of.”

Zhang Daniu said, “No, I still don’t understand. You don’t want to erase me, and I don’t want to be erased. Isn’t this settled? I will write my book honestly, and you will be responsible for wiping out those people who are above me in the monthly votes and recommendation rankings. No problem. I have no objections. Then why are you looking for me?”

“It is not us who are looking for you, but someone from the Ark Foundation. More precisely speaking, ‘Red Pole’, the leader of the Ark Foundation, is looking for you.”

The hunter said, “You may consider the Ark Foundation to be a terrorist organization that harms the world. Such a terrorist organization will naturally be monitored and attacked by the entire world. As the leader of the terrorist organization, it is of paramount importance that you hide yourself and try not to leak any information. If you do, you might be attacked by the entire world. Do you understand?”

This was the second time that Li Yao had heard the name ‘Red Pole’. It turned out that the man was the leader of the Ark Foundation.

However, why was Hunter—Hugo Smith’s theory so strange? Why was the Ark Foundation the terrorist organization that endangered the world?

Since he had admitted that his organization went on a killing spree in the T3 exhibition, there was no way that he could wash away the accusation. Shouldn’t the ‘apocalypse’ be the terrorist organization?

“I—I think I understand.”

But Zhang Daniu continued, “Just like the terrorists hiding in the mountains and deserts. I remember that there was a very famous leader of a terrorist organization two years ago. The one with a long beard and a big bun. His whereabouts were leaked by his mobile phone, and he was killed by an assault team and a few missiles.

“Yes. For the leaders of terrorist organizations, ‘existence’ is the most important thing. It is extremely irrational to show up without a good reason unless the mission is so important that they have to take the risk no matter the cost.

The hunter said, “Believe me. ‘Red Pole’ of the Ark Foundation is definitely not an irrational guy. He never makes mistakes or takes risks.

“However, he issued a very clear command from the mysterious ‘Ark’ that was enshrouded in mist and twisted force fields all year round. He gathered a lot of resources and prepared to kidnap you in Jiangnan City—to the point that he partly exposed himself.

“Huh?”

Zhang Daniu was shocked. “Kidnap me for what?”

“I don’t know. That’s not all.

The hunter continued, “Almost at the same time as the ‘Red Pole’ issued the command, the ‘Prophet’ of the Heaven’s Origin Sector received a revelation and learned of your existence. He asked us to follow the lead and investigate. The more we investigated, the more surprised we became. As it turned out, the ‘Red Pole’ did not only notice you now but also half a year ago. But at that time, he was too scared to attack us and simply kept an eye on you in secret. It was not until the arrival of the apocalypse and the collapse of the world that he took action.

“Therefore, please tell me, Master Niu. Why did a relatively ordinary writer such as yourself receive the attention of ‘Red Pole’ from the ‘Ark Foundation’ and ‘Prophet’ from the ‘Apocalyptic Organization’? What secrets does the novel ‘Forty Thousand Years of Cultivators’ boast?”

Zhang Daniu was silent for a long time.

He seemed to be thinking hard.

“I don’t know much about the structure of your two organizations, but it sounds like the ‘Red Pole’ of the Ark Foundation and the ‘Prophet’ of the Heaven’s Origin Sector are both leaders, right?”

Zhang Daniu asked.

“That’s right.”

The hunter said.

“Then, it is only natural that the leaders of the two superpowers are people who possess extraordinary wisdom and know mysteries that ordinary people cannot.

Zhang Daniu asked again.

“Indeed.”

The hunter said.

“Then, is it possible that—”

Zhang Daniu said, “The leader of the Ark Foundation, ‘Red Pole’, and the leader of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, ‘Prophet’, read my novel at the same time and discovered my talents that were hidden between the lines and beyond the comprehension of ordinary people?”

“...No.”

The hunter said coldly.

“I—I don’t know.”

Zhang Daniu sounded like he was about to cry. “Hunter, you have to believe me. You have to believe me no matter what. Look at me. Do you think I’m the type of person who is firm and unyielding, unafraid of violence, and can remain silent in the face of coercion and coercion?”

“It does not look like it.”

The hunter pondered for a long time. “Generally speaking, ‘Observers’ are the anomalies among the awakened. They may not have awakened tremendous strength, but they can often observe the deepest part of their soul and remember the countless secrets of the distant past. Supported by the ancient memories and secrets, they boast a strong and pure soul, personality, and will. They can be down and out, but they can be extremely proud. They are incompatible with the world because they have their own splendid, self-sufficient world. They are the kings of the world they created. Until the moment their body perishes, they will fight to defend their world. Honestly speaking, you don’t look like such ‘Observers’.

“I don’t want to be an ‘observer’, either. Why don’t you just let me go? I promise I won’t tell anyone—I’m a tight-lipped man.”

Zhang Daniu said pitifully, “Or rather, do you have any memory erasing equipment? Like in the movies? A small stick. A crack. Let me forget everything that happened in the past three days!”

“No.”

The hunter said, “Generally speaking, we wipe the memories of our targets with pistols.

“...” Zhang Daniu.

“Besides, I am not responsible for judging whether or not you are an ‘observer’. I am only responsible for bringing you back. The ‘prophets’ will figure everything out later.

The hunter said casually, “You can choose to cooperate with me. In your words, go back with me in one piece, or resist and let me pack you up in a special way. Which way do you like, Master Niu?”