Thump, thump, thump!...
"Everyone come over! Hurry up!"
One morning, a group of fully-armed Peace Party soldiers was beating drums on the vacant streets. Countless survivors woke up from the noisy sounds, their eyes lighting up in anticipation at the sight of the Peace Party members rallying everyone together.
"What’s going on? Is the Peace Party recruiting? Count me in!"
"Me too..." The survivors had witnessed the good meals provided to Peace Party members and aspired to live like them. Eagerly awaiting the Peace Party’s planned event, they swarmed the place like starved wolves hungry for meat. Soon, the square was teeming with people.
"Is the Peace Party giving out food?"
"Our leader is such a wonderful person!"
"Only our leader is truly strong! Long live our leader!"
In the center of the square, people greedily eyed the object covered by a red cloth, thinking it contained food.
Ruan Chao’en watched the scene unfold with an eerily crooked smile.
"Alright, everyone, calm down. I’m going to explain to you why we call ourselves the Peace Party and what exactly our responsibility is!"
"Huh? What’s that?" Confusion flickered in the people’s eyes.
Ruan Chao’en responded with his devilish grin.
"You must think our Peace Party was established to uphold peace among humans. But that’s not the case. We’re here to maintain peace between humans and nature!"
The Peace Party’s soldiers promptly adjusted the various projection devices, and an image on the blank wall behind Ruan Chao’en appeared. The projection displayed an image of a person posing with a tiger.
"It’s because the world has granted us bounties that we are able to live on it. In this vast universe, Earth is a mere speck of dust, and us humans are nothing more than inconsequential bacteria! We’re parasites living off Earth’s body. Before the Apocalypse, we were not the rulers; we couldn’t control everything; we were the ones being ruled. The order we set up could only function within the greater regulations set by the world."
"We cannot overstep boundaries because we are the ones being ruled. If we want to live on this world, we must follow the world’s will, making peace with all things. Everyone, see this image? A ferocious tiger can live in harmony with us. Similarly, other entities can too, provided we find the right approach."
"As far as we’re concerned, the Earth is our means of survival. However, from Earth’s perspective, we’re nothing at all. Humans before the apocalypse drastically exploited the Earth’s resources, virtually emptying everything it had to offer, without ever truly acknowledging its formidable strength. Three years ago, that strength was unleashed!"
"We are a virus to Earth, posing a danger to it. The Apocalypse is Earth’s way of eradicating us! The onset of the black rain of the apocalypse happened without any warning, appearing out of thin air. Strange, isn’t it?"
Ruan Chao’en made gestures with his hands in front of his chest, speaking in an unusually peculiar tone.
Indeed, at the onset of the apocalyptic black rain, nothing seemed amiss. An hour before its arrival, people were carrying on with their lives as usual, and nothing out of the ordinary was broadcasted on television.
But an hour later, the sky darkened worldwide, with clouds as red as blood. Even after numerous investigations, GJ’s researchers found nothing unusual. They simply reasoned it as an abrupt shift in weather distorting the atmospheric front.
Then, the black rain fell, marking the beginning of the Apocalypse. Everything started from then on.
Thinking back to the initial explosive onset of the Apocalypse, people sensed something peculiar. However, Ruan Chao’en’s words seemed to make sense. How else could the black rain form?
"Bizarre, isn’t it? This is the world’s will punishing us! Those zombies are Earth’s messengers! They’re here to eradicate us viruses! But what if the viruses don’t want to die? What do we do?"
"Our Peace Party upholds world peace because we all want to survive. Every existence has its own rationality. We humans need to adapt, and by nature, we’re an extremely adaptive species!"
Ruan Chao’en’s impassioned speech echoed throughout the square, met with silence from the survivors, unsure what the Peace Party’s intentions were in telling them all this.
"Quite the smooth talker. What’s your take on this, Old Wang?"
In a corner, a man in his thirties sneered, asking Old Wang, who was wearing a grey coat. This Old Wang was none other than the fortune teller Tang Ye met at Yindan Base.
However, his presence at Qinshan Base was rather baffling.
Without a word, Old Wang took a worn-out bowl in front of him and passed it to the man.
"What are you doing?"
"Do you believe in the existence of a god in this world?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"I’m asking, do you believe there’s a god in this world?"
"No, and don’t try to swindle me. I’m not that easily fooled."
"Heh, just look. This bowl moved from me to you. How exactly did it move over?"
"Why even ask? Obviously, it was your hand."
"Exactly, the bowl moved because of my hand. Then, does the Earth stand still or move?"
"It moves...what are you trying to say?"
"Patience. If the Earth moves, what causes it to move? You might say the universe is moving, but then again, what makes the universe move, given its immense size?"
"Er..." The man was stumped, but Old Wang continued, "Every matter in motion requires a hand to manipulate it, just bowl. The bowl moved from me to you because of my hand. As for what caused the black rain to fall, who knows? Humans are yet to fully explore and understand the Earth, let alone the universe. Whether or not God exists isn’t entirely clear, but what if there is one?"
Old Wang gazed into the sky, his eyes deep and unreadable, and went on, "Our eyes can see what they’re allowed to see, but they have their limits. We can only see objects within the red, blue, and green color spectrum. Suppose there’s a color we humans have never known or seen, one we’re unable to perceive. It could be a vivid color, capable of rivaling the three primary colors. But since we can’t see it, we can’t perceive the objects it presents—like God, for instance."
"There’s definitely a hand pulling the strings in this world, but our eyes are restricted. We can’t feel or see it. Our ears hear sounds, our noses smell scents, our eyes see objects, and our mouths taste food. Just because our senses can’t perceive certain things doesn’t mean they don’t exist. It’s simply because we lack the necessary organs."
"If we had them, we could be like gods, able to see the rules governing the universe or this world, and even manipulate them!"