I became Superman

Ming Lou said, "I told you before that the empire has a more important mission, so it cannot fail to strictly control the god-level aliens."

"I couldn't tell you directly back then because you weren't one of us. Now it's different, so I can tell you about the Empire, or rather, humanity's greatest enemy."

Seeing his serious expression, Zhou Ming became earnest and asked, "So, who exactly is the enemy?"

"Ancient Gods".

Minglou said in a deep voice.

"..."

Zhou Ming was silent for a moment, then asked, "What is an ancient god?"

Minglou said, "We know very little about the ancient gods, only that they were life forms that existed since the beginning of Earth's existence."

Zhou Ming was somewhat surprised.

The Earth was formed four to five billion years ago.

Putting everything else aside, just the fact that he's lived this long is quite impressive.

He asked, "Where are these ancient gods now?"

Minglou said, "The ancient gods are not a monolithic entity; they have many conflicts among themselves. Not long after the birth of Earth, they had a great war."

"This may be the largest war since the birth of the Earth; their battle directly tore the Earth apart."

"A part of the Earth drifted into space and formed what is now the Moon."

"etc."

Zhou Ming asked doubtfully, "As far as I know, the moon is presumably formed by an asteroid impacting Earth, sending some of Earth's material into space, which eventually formed the moon. Are the scientists just talking nonsense?"

Minglou said, "That's not contradictory."

"The moon being born from the battle of the ancient gods and the moon being born from an asteroid impact can both be true simultaneously."

Zhou Ming had a sudden realization.

If the asteroid that struck Earth was indeed summoned by the ancient gods, then it could indeed be said that the moon was born from the battle of the ancient gods.

Therefore, the power of the ancient gods should not be underestimated.

That was an impact that nearly caused the Earth to disintegrate. Its scale was countless times greater than any impact the Earth has experienced since, making it not comparable at all.

Zhou Ming estimated that even with his current abilities, he would need to take this seriously if he wanted to deliver a strike of the same power.

Minglou said, "After that war, the ancient gods fell into a deep sleep, and only then did life on Earth come into being."

"Although the ancient gods are asleep, they often awaken, and when they do, they destroy the intelligent species that have been born on Earth."

"According to the Empire's secret research, before the birth of humankind, Earth had at least three other intelligent life forms similar to humans."

"When these intelligent life forms reach a point where they can enter interstellar space, it will trigger the wrath of the ancient gods, causing them to awaken from their slumber."

"We humans are the fourth generation of intelligent life on Earth, and we are now close to the point where the ancient gods will kill us."

"Hey, Minglou, you're pretty trendy, aren't you?"

Zhou Ming smiled.

Minglou was both amused and exasperated, and said, "This is a very serious topic, don't change the subject."

Zhou Ming said, "Okay, okay, please continue."

Minglou thought for a moment and said, "I don't have anything else to say, that's just the situation."

Zhou Ming said, "I have a question. Since the ancient gods are asleep, why don't we go to where they are sleeping and kill them? Aren't sleeping ancient gods easier to deal with than awakened ones?"

Ming Lou said, "If it were that easy, it would be much simpler. In fact, the ancient gods are not on Earth right now, so this problem is a bit complicated."

As he spoke, he opened his arms and began to weave something in the air.

Before long, a smooth film appeared before the two of them. Minglou said, "Let's assume this is the universe we live in."

He then wove a small ball and dropped it into the membrane, which was immediately dented by the ball.

Zhou Ming said, "I know, this is relativity. Objects with mass will cause the spacetime around them to bend."

Minglou said, "More or less, but the situation of the ancient gods is slightly different. The ancient gods do not warp spacetime by mass, but by their own self-preservation mechanism. After they fall into a deep sleep, they can cause the space around them to curl up. Finally, when the curled space reaches its limit, it becomes a spacetime bubble that is detached from the universe and envelops the ancient gods in it."

Minglou conjured up an image of Earth in front of Zhou Ming, which resembled a large bubble surrounded by many smaller bubbles.

He said, "These are the spacetime bubbles that encapsulate the ancient gods."

Zhou Ming said, "It looks like a silkworm cocoon."

Minglou nodded and said, "More or less. The ancient gods are sleeping inside. Once they awaken, the spacetime bubble will burst, releasing the ancient gods back into the universe."

"This spacetime bubble has isolated us, preventing us from doing anything before the ancient gods awaken. But once the ancient gods awaken, we will face an enemy beyond our imagination."

"What a formidable enemy!"

With the most indifferent expression, Zhou Ming spoke with the most impassioned words: "Speaking of which, how do you know so much about the ancient gods? Aren't they sleeping in the spacetime bubble?"

Minglou laughed and said, "Not all ancient gods are hostile to us. Some ancient gods are on our side, but there are too few of them and their strength is far weaker than that of the other side. We still need to work hard ourselves."

"In fact, the so-called anomalies are nothing more than the offspring of the ancient gods' bloodline."

"The first great war caused the blood of the ancient gods to be spilled on the earth, and later it entered the flesh and blood of humans, where it awakened in them."

"Awakened beings, influenced by their bloodline, often exhibit disgust and murderous intent towards humans. Therefore, the Empire places special emphasis on guiding newly awakened beings to help them break free from the influence of their bloodline."

"Sounds pretty good."

Zhou Ming smiled and said, "If what you say is true, then we should be considered kindred spirits on the issue of ancient gods. In that case, let's have a pleasant cooperation."

"By the way, do you have a way to provide timely warnings of the Ancient Gods' awakening?"

Given the power of the ancient gods as Minglou described, without reliable early warning measures, one day when he opens his eyes, there might be a missing continent on Earth, or even the entire Earth might be torn apart.

Minglou laughed and said, "There's no need to worry about that. Before the ancient god awakens, the spacetime bubble will move closer to outer space."

"One of our fellow beings is an ancient god of listening, who can detect spacetime bubbles near the universe."

"The purpose of setting up our inspection headquarters is to be able to respond promptly when incidents occur. This is not only the case in the New Han Empire, but also in several major countries around the world that have set up similar institutions within their spheres of influence."

"In addition to its own territory, the New Han Empire also established five circuit inspector headquarters in East Asia and Southeast Asia."

"Since the establishment of the Inspectorate Headquarters, based on the guidance of the Ancient Gods, we have dealt with the awakening of the Ancient Gods several times. We have suffered heavy losses, with two emperors dying in battle against the awakening of the Ancient Gods. Fortunately, we have successfully kept them out."

"But the more modern we become and the more advanced science becomes, the closer we get to the extinction line of the ancient gods, and the more frequently the ancient gods awaken."

"I hope we can become friends who fight side by side in the future."