Chapter 922: Product of Failure |
Just as Liu Xing was about to send a text message, Shimada Sho shook his head and said, "Liu Xing, don't be in such a hurry. This is just a hypothesis for now, and I can't guarantee that Ii Naoyoshi came here to open that Dreamrealm gate. So I think you shouldn't tell your partners about this news in advance, as it might affect some of their decisions."
Liu Xing thought for a moment and put down his mobile phone.
As Shimada Sho said, if he told Yin En and others about this news, they would most likely change many plans because of it. After all, with the Great Old One almost upon them, who would have the mind to care about the Shimazu Family's headship struggle?
If the news is true, then it's fine, but if Ii Naoyoshi really intends to flee to Ryukyu, then things might get a bit troublesome.
Therefore, Liu Xing decided to wait for news from Shi Zixuan's side to see if Shi Zixuan had any way to determine the movements of Ii Naoyoshi and Liu Xuyu.
However, Liu Xing's face was still filled with two words—unease.
"Liu Xing, don't worry too much, because as the saying goes, two fists can't beat four hands. Although that unknown Great Old One created a batch of fairly strong henchmen for itself, their numbers are still too few. As long as that Great Old One doesn't personally intervene, its followers will definitely be besieged by all the secret cults and mythical creatures on the Island Nation. So, although they might cause some trouble, it will soon be quelled," Matsui Yui comforted Liu Xing.
Liu Xing sighed and shook his head, saying, "I know that as long as this unknown Great Old One doesn't act personally, its followers can't stir up much trouble, and at most, they will occupy Kagoshima City for a few days. But the problem is that ordinary humans can't accept this news. Once those traitors occupy Kagoshima City, the whole world will know about the existence of secret cults and mythical creatures, and even the news about the Great Old One will become known to the public. I can't imagine what the world would become then."
To this day, Liu Xing still remembers the year 2000 in the real world when many well-known prophecies mentioned that 2000 might be the end of the world. On New Year's Eve, serious riots occurred in many places worldwide. Although these events might have been maliciously guided, it also showed that humans are a species prone to chaos.
"Yeah..." Shimada Sho hesitated to speak and finally just shook his head. "I remember more than ten years ago, I went to Miskatonic University once because I had a human friend who was a professor there, and he knew my true identity. So he invited me over to conduct some genetic research to determine the genetic differences between Ghouls and humans. The experiment was a complete failure, and nothing was discovered."
"However, while waiting for the experimental results, I had nothing to do, so I attended a class as an auditor, and it happened to be a lecture on hysteria. The teacher of this class proposed a viewpoint that all humans might have hysteria. However, for some reason, hysteria is hidden in the deep subconscious, which is why humans are so fond of various fantasies. But it doesn't go so far as to make them go mad because of these fantasies."
"But since humans have always been social animals, they naturally have a certain degree of conformity. Therefore, humans are like those herbivores on the African savanna, easily frightened into running around by a single lion, even if you know that lion can't catch you. But when those around you start to run, you subconsciously follow, which is the cause of many stampede incidents—although you don't know why you're doing it, since everyone around you is doing it, you should do it too. And in this, there is also the hysteria in the deep subconscious of humans at play."
"When someone suddenly starts running in a public place, the people around will wonder why he is running. Most will think he has something urgent, but some might have a hysteria attack, associating it with something bad—he knows there's a bomb nearby! So this person with a hysteria attack starts running too, causing more people to have hysteria attacks, with terrifying images automatically appearing in their minds, making them want to leave quickly, so they start running too. In the end, everyone present will subconsciously start to run."
"Finally, the teacher believed that human hysteria, like conformity, is very likely preserved in the process of evolution because one of the biggest differences between humans and animals is that humans learned to make and use tools. So how did humans come up with making and using tools? It must have been a monkey or gorilla having a hysteria attack, suddenly doing something strange, then piecing together two unrelated things, resulting in a new tool. The brain subconsciously considered hysteria a good gene worth passing down."
Hearing this, Liu Xing started to get a bit confused, but he remembered hearing similar arguments in college, where some even believed that all human mental illnesses are not illnesses but inevitable results of further brain development.
"Liu Xing, you should know, right? Humans have a Pineal Gland on their foreheads, which looks like a vertical eye. Although it is useless to humans now, its existence indicates that it must have been useful to ancient humans, but it was hidden with evolution." Shimada Sho continued, "In some recent newspapers, I heard that some completely degenerated organs in humans are starting to evolve again."
Liu Xing nodded and said, "That's right, I've heard some related news too... But speaking of which, may I boldly ask how long you've lived, Shimada Sho? I remember your Ghoul race is also immortal."
Shimada Sho was first taken aback, then laughed and said, "I know what you want to ask, Liu Xing. Yes, our Ghoul race, like most other mythical creatures, is immortal. Or rather, immortality is the minimum threshold for mythical creatures because only a race not troubled by death can possibly evolve more powerful abilities and create stronger technology; so I don't know how many years I've lived, but I remember I was one of the first Ghouls to set foot on Earth."
"Due to the Yis People, Liu Xing, you should have heard how chaotic ancient Earth was, with various mythical creatures and Great Old Ones occupying different territories on Earth, fighting each other every day. Moreover, mythical creatures from the technological side, like Ancient One and Migo, were keen on using primitive Earth creatures for genetic research, creating many new races. Just those I know of number in the hundreds, but only a few races have survived to this day, with the most famous being the Shoggoth and Chulchu People."
"As for you humans, you were actually influenced by those mythical creatures too. Although the races they created are extinct, some special genes of those races were preserved in the descendants of other races due to hybridization. Thus, if you insist on saying it, all creatures on Earth today are relatives because, genetically, all creatures on Earth have some similarities... But honestly, you humans are indeed quite lucky, with genes that just happened to allow you to become what you are today, rather than evolving into gorillas or monkeys."
"So how did we humans become the dominant species on Earth? Logically, if any mythical creature race had stood up to stop humans on their path to rise, humans couldn't possibly occupy Earth like they do now," Liu Xing couldn't help but ask.
Shimada Sho and Matsui Yui exchanged glances, both speechless for a moment.
It seems there must be some secrets among them.
Seeing this situation, Liu Xing could only analyze by himself: "Could it be that because there are quite a few Great Old Ones sealed on Earth, you gave up the idea of controlling Earth?"
"More or less."
Matsui Yui, who had not spoken all along, suddenly replied: "There are indeed too many Great Old Ones sealed on Earth, and their sealed locations are arguably the most important places on Earth. For example, beneath the ancient city of R'lyeh is a rich mining area. If the great Cthulhu weren't sleeping there, the Mi-Go might have swarmed over and turned that mining area upside down; as for the area with the most sealed Great Old Ones on Earth—Saven Valley, there's a naturally formed underground maze hidden below, where a large number of natural treasures grow. For mythical creatures like us, eating just a few can double our strength."
"In short, the resources on Earth that are useful and exploitable for us have already been collected, so most mythical creatures have already left Earth to continue competing for resources on other planets. Only a few remain on Earth for various reasons... Well, the main reason is because of those sealed Great Old Ones. Creatures like Matsui Yui stay on Earth to guard and awaken the Great Old Ones they worship, while we Ghouls monitor the dynamics of these Great Old Ones to adjust our arrangements on other planets. As a result, for a long time, our Ghoul clan left only a few dozen people on Earth." Shimada Sho continued.
Hearing this, a phrase popped into Liu Xing's mind—when the cat's away, the mice will play.
"However, Liu Xing, don't underestimate yourself. The fact that you humans have developed to this state in such a short time is already enough to amaze us." Matsui Yui pointed to a hunting rifle hanging on the wall and said, "Initially, we mythical creatures didn't take the rise of you humans seriously at all. We didn't think you had a chance to become a new mythical creature race. The reason is simple: although hybridization can pass on the advantages of both parties' genes to the next generation, it also makes the next generation's genes more fragile and difficult to continue reproducing, like the mules and hybrid rice you humans are familiar with. They have many advantages but cannot reproduce the next generation."
"Although your situation with other animals is slightly better, allowing you to reproduce the next generation, your lifespan is severely limited. Unless you undergo genetic modification, you can't expect to live past a hundred years. So, initially, we didn't think about stopping you. Only a few mythical creatures would bother you for a change of taste... just like how you humans occasionally eat chicken, duck, or fish after getting used to pork, beef, and lamb."
"But what we didn't expect was that after a long period of evolution, you developed intelligence comparable to us mythical creatures. In just a few thousand years, you created various weapons capable of harming us. By the time we realized it, we found ourselves unable to deal with you, or rather, we were unwilling to pay the high cost to eliminate you."
"For example, if we Deep Ones on Earth gathered to attack you humans, although we could eventually turn you into history, we would suffer heavy losses, with the worst-case scenario being only one in ten surviving. After all, if you humans went crazy and detonated all your nuclear weapons, all Deep Ones involved in ground attacks would be doomed, and other mythical creatures would seize the opportunity to cause us trouble, like our arch-enemies, the Byakhee, who would definitely take advantage of the situation."
"But most importantly, now many mythical creatures are curious about your human genes because, apart from having a relatively short lifespan, you are almost no different from us mythical creatures in other aspects. So, like us Deep Ones, we thought of intermarrying with you to see if there's a way to create a new race, resulting in the failed product of Deep One Hybrid... in a sense."
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