I, the Rock King Emperor with 21 billion in power, have joined the chat group.

LV1 Bell: True Lord God is the best!

LV1 Bell: My goddess asked me to thank you for your teachings on her behalf.

Incurable villain (Accelerator): Tch, boring, what gods, acting like they're real.

Mind reader: What's wrong? What's wrong? What happened? Why did the True Lord turn into a god? Why do you all call him "Master"? Can anyone tell me about what happened this time? It feels very uncomfortable to be the only one excluded in this conversation.

LV1 Bell: Uh, sorry. Things are a bit too complicated. It's probably not appropriate to chat in the group. Let me talk to you privately, Nana.

Mind reader: OK, I've messaged you privately, Bear Grylls.

Red Iris Immortal: Thank you all for your help. The collapse of Changkong City has been initially contained, and about 7% of the survivors have been effectively resettled.

True Lord, with a promising future: It's only natural, no need for thanks. This is also part of the [contract].

Red Iris Immortal: Hmm, if I encounter any problems next time, I might invite everyone again. I will use my own points then.

The promising future: If given the opportunity, I will respond.

Red Iris Immortal: Yes, thank you.

Mind reader: Wow~~! Wow~~~!

Mind reader: Wow! Wow!

Promising Future True Lord: What's wrong??

Mind reader: Bell just told me, Lord True Lord, did you really wipe out the monsters of an entire city in one go?

Future Promising True Lord: In terms of uniqueness, it wasn't a one-time thing. Before using that spell, I had already observed the entire city through the earth for a while. While Accelerator and the others were fighting, I was focusing most of my energy on setting up the magic array that would cover the entire city.

Mind reader: Even so, that's ridiculously powerful! Even Miss Tohru doesn't seem to have such a strong ability! Are you perhaps the strongest in this group??

Upon seeing these words, Zhongli frowned slightly, pondering how to respond.

A private message popped up.

[Reimu the Shrine Maiden: Lord Zhongli, are you really not going to reconsider? Our Hakurei Shrine is a place blessed with outstanding people and beautiful scenery. As the main deity of our shrine, you definitely won't be at a disadvantage.]

[Future Promising True Lord: Sorry.]

[Miyako Reimu: Okay, then I'll compromise. Would it be alright if I asked you to occasionally make a guest appearance as the main deity of my shrine?]

[The Promising Future True Lord: Why?]

[Reimu the Shrine Maiden: My family's shrine is constantly occupied by yokai, and the gods rarely appear. We barely see any worshippers each year, and the offerings are even fewer. Therefore, I'd like to ask Lord Zhongli to help me stabilize the shrine, attract more worshippers, and help me collect more offerings.]

[The Promising Future True Lord: ......]

Even Zhongli was taken aback by such a blunt statement.

However, after some consideration, he partially agreed—he wouldn't refuse an invitation to travel to other worlds.

[The Promising Future True Lord: If it doesn't take up too much of your time, and it's only once or twice, I can sign a contract with you. However, you'll need to pay a price in return.]

[Reimu the Shrine Maiden: The price?? Hmm... Can I ask what the price is?]

[The Promising Future: The Price of Fairness. As the god of money and commerce, I understand the role of justice in transactions.]

[Reimu the Shrine Maiden: Then I'll trouble you, Lord Zhongli.]

After a brief private chat with the shrine maiden Reimu, Zhongli returned to the main interface of the chat group, only to find that the topic he was about to reply to had disappeared.

Nana's words, which could read minds, had already been scrolled down by the chat group's pens.

Zhong Li smiled almost imperceptibly and shook his head. Without bothering to look at the previous content, he simply followed the topic and chatted with many people in the group.

These group members, though separated from him by millennia in age and by a power level comparable to fireflies compared to the moon.

But this is pure chatting, without anyone worshipping it.

This made him think back to his old friends.

Are they all alright?

Are you getting used to living in the mountains?

Whew!

Zhong Li slowly exhaled a long breath, closed the chat group in front of him, and sat down on the sandalwood chair in the middle of the living room.

He picked up the purple clay teapot and poured himself a cup of steaming tea.

The best tea leaves of the year, fresh from those ancient tea trees on Qingyun Peak, float in the center of the teacup with the flow of water.

Raise your hand.

Pick up the teacup.

Gently blow away the floating tea stems.

Let the heat circulate a little.

Tomorrow, let's find some time to have a cup of tea with those old friends.

The End of Chapter Twenty-Two

"Nana, the ship is almost here."

On the boundless sea, a warship braves the wind and waves, speeding forward.

On the swaying deck.

A soldier standing ramrod straight is chatting with a female high school student in a school uniform.

The soldier looked kind and gentle, but his words were anything but harmonious.

"Nana, you still remember your goal, don't you?"

“Yes, I remember, Mr. Tsuruoka. Kill those enemies of humanity who are about to cause great harm to mankind,” Nana answered without hesitation.

"Very good, don't forget your responsibility. Those monsters, who are completely different from ordinary people, are the enemies of all humanity. Their existence is the reason why this world cannot be at peace."

Hegang nodded in satisfaction and continued to instill his theories into the girl in front of him.

"On a smaller scale, many heinous crimes in society are caused by people with superpowers. The serial murder of children six months ago, the case of imprisoning a girl a year ago, the Akihabara bombing two years ago, and the terrorist attack by the Natural Flow cult ten years ago were all caused by people with superpowers using their abilities."

"Even your parents died at the hands of a superhuman."

"On a larger scale, whether in Africa, Syria, Afghanistan, or even South America and Mexico, warlord organizations composed of superhumans are wantonly slaughtering civilians."

"They have abilities that surpass those of ordinary people, so they feel that they are far superior to ordinary people."

"With a sharp blade in one's heart, the desire to kill will naturally arise."

"They no longer value the laws governing ordinary people, nor do they care about the lives of ordinary people."

"The existence of such a group has brought this society to the brink of collapse."

"Only by eliminating them all can we be responsible to humanity."

"Do you understand, Nana?"

As Hegang recounted his story, Nana's gaze gradually hardened.

She looked at the soldier who had raised her and slowly nodded.

"Yes, sir! I understand!"

----As expected, the superpowered individuals in this world are different from those in the chat group.

---The people in the chat group also have superpowered individuals in their own world. Superpowers are commonplace, and they don't consider themselves superior to others.

They help ordinary people, travel to other worlds to maintain peace, and provide disaster relief. They are like superheroes in movies.

---In my world, superpowered individuals consider themselves superior to ordinary people, thus becoming enemies of humanity. Just like in the movies, those with this mindset are the supervillains who oppose humanity.

---So the superpowered people in my world are enemies of humanity. If not, why did they kill my parents and commit so many horrific crimes?

"Good that you know." Hegang nodded in satisfaction: "Remember, trust your phone. What it says is absolutely true. It's a result about the future calculated by supercomputers from several countries. You just need to trust it and do what it says."

“Yes, Mr. Tsuruoka.” Nana nodded firmly.

"That's good. Just wait and see. Your work is sacred."

After saying this, Hegang straightened the brim of his hat, which had been ruffled by the sea breeze, and turned to leave.

Nana was left standing alone on the deck, lost in thought.

.......

He leisurely blew on the tea leaves in the cup, disturbing their movement.

Zhongli picked up the teacup and took a small sip.

The morning sunlight wasn't particularly bright, and the storyteller on the platform not far away was about to tell a story in a vivid and engaging manner.

This is a story from ancient times, before Liyue was even established... Back then, Liyue was a place of rugged mountains and treacherous waters...

"Is this Liyue's unique feature—storytellers?"

A voice that seemed to carry a cynical air entered Zhongli's ears from beside him.

Prince Dadalia, the last executive officer of the Winter Kingdom, sat to Zhongli's left, sipping his tea with a hint of curiosity as he listened to the storyteller's tale.

"It's somewhat like Mondstadt's Bard, but the written descriptions are more down-to-earth. The history is also described in much more detail."

Zhongli gently put down his teacup, turned his head seriously, looked into the young master's eyes and said calmly, "Generally speaking, the customs and habits of Liyue and Mondstadt are very different, and the various rules that can be derived from them are also very different."

"It is quite common for the same art to develop in different forms."

"Hahaha." Young Master Tartaglia chuckled twice: "As expected of Mr. Zhongli, who is known as the encyclopedia of Liyue who knows everything. He also has his own insights into art."

"I'm a little curious, Mr. Zhongli, with your vast knowledge, is there anything you don't know?"

This was originally a question that D'Artagnan asked casually; he didn't expect Zhongli to give him a detailed explanation.

But little did anyone know, these words seemed to touch a nerve with Zhong Li.

He crossed one arm over his chest and rested the other on his chin, pondered for a moment, and then earnestly replied to D'Artagnan, "Lately, I've been thinking a lot about how our world really exists."

"The sun hangs high in the sky, but just how high is the sky? The stars in the sky are considered the 'Constellations of Fate,' but how do they exist?"

"If there are other worlds, how are they different?"

“I know nothing about these things.”