At this moment, shatter the dimensional barrier

The man, whose entire body was covered by a thick cloak, was curled up on the ground with his hands folded around his waist. The hood had slipped down as he curled up, revealing messy white hair. Underneath the thick clothes, his skin looked as if it had been burned by flames, and the burns had spread to his face.

"Rick! Hurry, hurry! Drink the 'Dye Remover'!" A petite, human-looking robot girl rushed out of the shadows, pulled a tube from her body, and shoved it into the mouth of the groaning man. (The Dye Remover is equivalent to the blood of a Machine Gundam; losing too much of it will cause them to lose their mobility, and over time their parts will break down.)

“Rick, you big liar, you said it would be resolved in an hour, but you inhaled such a large amount of ‘spiritual remains’ and endured it for two hours.”

“There’s no other way, cough cough cough…” Rick coughed with difficulty, trying to stand up: “Negotiation with an opponent like one of the leaders of the Forest Elves, otherwise my true identity will be exposed in an instant, cough cough cough.”

They all had to hide their human identities, because to other races, humans were beasts. Otherwise, who would want to listen to the voice of a beast?

With the limited power of humanity, the exchange of intelligence and information has driven the actions of every race. To have achieved this, it's unknown how many of those involved are still alive.

“With her superior intellect, she would never have imagined my suicidal act,” Rick said with a pained smile. “But the more ‘unexpected’ it is, the more ‘mystery’ it is, and the more it makes the other person take it seriously.”

"Cough cough." Rick coughed repeatedly as Shubi helped him up. He could no longer feel anything in his left arm and felt only burning pain all over his body. He smiled bitterly and said, "This arm of mine is completely useless."

"Shubi, how much longer do I have to live?"

"I won't let you die." Shubi's expression turned painful yet resolute: "Rick must live until Shubi dies."

Just as Rick was about to ask how long the lifespan of the Machine Racer was, a voice he had never heard before came from beside him, and a gentle golden light came into view.

[That's a really good guy, awesome.]

Rick's pupils constricted, his lips trembled, his heart stopped, and fear instantly enveloped his entire body. Shubi's functions were ready to escape with Rick at full speed 0.1 seconds after the sound appeared, but her body was completely immobilized.

For humans, being discovered is tantamount to death; any race other than humans could easily kill them.

And the sound was coming from such a close distance.

"Shubi!" Rick shouted instantly, but all he heard was...

"Rick! Run! I'm being restricted by an unseen force!" Shubi cried out in terror.

Rick instantly turned his head toward the direction from which the sound came, his eyes filled with fear and resentment. The plan was almost finished, but this unexpected turn of events had occurred.

Damn it! Can't you let me win just once, even just once!

What Rick saw at that moment was not any known race, but a figure that looked exactly like a human, yet was far more handsome than a human.

Rick's mind raced in an instant.

To be able to render a powerful machine like Shubi incapacitated in an instant, one must be an even more powerful race.

But none of the superior races have the same appearance as humans, whether they are the Winged Race, the Giant Race, or the never-before-seen Fairy Race. If we exclude some kind of illusion-generating power, then there are only those never-before-seen beings who dominate planets and control everything...

A divine species!!!

Los Saint nodded as he looked at Rick, whose expression was filled with despair and resentment.

"Very good. Although she is far from being as good as Fujimaru Ritsuka, she is already ranked second."

Luo Sheng remained silent, and the 'Stairway to Godhood' slowly appeared behind him.

Any living being that looks directly at the 'Stairway to God' can directly see the landscape and history of their world, a magnificent sight created by the gods and heroes.

Chapter 243: The Creator of Humanity, A Hymn to Courage

The moment Rick, a human, saw the appearance of Los Santos, his vision blurred, and not only his vision, but even his consciousness became blurred.

But a steadfast, steel-like belief kept his consciousness from becoming completely blurred.

'Is this...this the divine race that rules over everything?'

'Weak humans don't even have the right to look directly at you...'

But the next moment, everything around him changed, and his consciousness became incredibly clear.

I snapped out of my daze and found myself in an environment I had never seen before.

"I...I'm not dead?" Rick reflexively looked around, a conditioned reflex to any movement. This is an instinct for every human being; without such an instinct, humans wouldn't even have the right to survive in the cracks.

Passersby chatted and laughed as they walked past him, each carrying a square object in their hands. Some of them had metal rings on their wrists that projected a glowing screen similar to the control panel in the ruins of a goblin spaceship.

"Where exactly is this place?" Rick looked up, his mind tense. All around him were very tall and very large buildings, each made of blue or gray crystal, reflecting a dazzling light in the sunlight.

Moreover, a vermilion wooden building is suspended even higher up.

Between those buildings, humans flew in various flying vehicles, some large and some as small as a plank.

"Lolo, look! My dad bought me a flying skateboard with 'points'!" A little girl of about seven or eight years old flew past Rick, causing him to dodge in a panic. However, she was too slow to avoid the girl, and just as Rick thought he was about to crash into her, she passed right through him like a phantom.

"What's so great about it? My dad promised to buy me a flying skateboard if I successfully enter 'turbulence state'." The little boy pouted, pretending not to care, as he pedaled hard on his flying bike.

"Shy, shy, Lolo is a year older than me and hasn't entered 'turbulent state' yet." The little girl made a face: "If I've already awakened my abilities and Lolo hasn't entered 'turbulent state' yet, I won't play with you anymore."

"Huh? Why?"

"Since there has been no progress for so long, Luo Luo must be a bad kid. I don't play with bad kids."

"Nonsense, I'm not a bad kid!"

Rick touched his body and swallowed hard. "Is this... an illusion?"

They used to use illusions when they encountered vampires before.

If you encounter a vampire, you will definitely be sucked blood.

Vampires are no longer a significant threat to humans; they only want to drink blood. Although many have been killed by their vampires, many more have survived.

It is said that humans who have been sucked blood cannot see sunlight, or they will die. However, the whole world is shrouded in the smoke of war, and no one has ever seen the sun.

"Sunshine..." Rick looked at the blue sky and white clouds, the gentle sunlight shining on his face. Is this sunlight? Although he knew it was an illusion, it was so beautiful.

He didn't know what to do. Weak humans facing a race stronger than themselves could only wait for death.

Will I die?

Rick walked through the 'illusion' with the most pessimistic mindset.

One day, two days, three days...

He was getting to know this 'illusion' better and better. Apart from not being able to touch the humans in the illusion, he could touch the buildings when he actively touched them. He could even ask the 'humans' questions and they would talk to him vividly, just like real humans.

Gradually, he discovered that this 'illusion' was frighteningly large, like an entire world, and he could visit not only the planet he was on but also other planets.

Upon entering the library, he discovered it possessed a complete text, and it took him several days to barely learn to read it.

He was shocked to discover that the knowledge here was also true.

History, science, cultivation, supernatural powers—it seems that all of these are things that can be learned.

After some time passed, he felt a little self-deprecating, thinking that the gods in this illusory world were so kind to humanity, like a father or mother protecting and nurturing human growth.

Haha, is this illusion meant to mock humanity's pathetic fantasies?

A long time passed, and Rick traveled to the land where the gods resided.

In Mesopotamia, they met the goddess Venus, who, amidst the praises of all humankind, used her divine power to make the boundless wheat fields grow abundantly and yield a bountiful harvest.

In an arena in the United States, they encountered the Sun Goddess, who loved competitive fighting. Despite being a goddess, she humbled herself and participated in track and field games with humans.

They arrived on the moon and met the goddess of justice, whom humans called a 'superstar,' who sang and celebrated with the people of the kingdom.

In those kingdoms, I also encountered high-ranking superhumans as powerful as the superior races, and watched them fight monsters and fallen beings.

Finally, after several days of interstellar travel aboard a spaceship, they arrived at 'Mars'.

As soon as they stepped off the spaceship, they saw a magical beast that had emerged from a spatial rift and was capable of changing the world being suppressed by a rock spear the size of a mountain, eventually forming a towering mountain.

This is the power of the God of the Covenant.

"It's supposed to be an illusion, but why does it feel so real? It's like another world." Rick walked through the bustling streets of Liyue Harbor. The long journey and all the experiences he had gone through made him unable to bear his emotions any longer. He knelt on the ground, biting his lip tightly, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Is this place so beautiful, trying to make me completely immersed in this imagined world and ultimately destroy myself?"

"I am just a human being. Do I deserve to have a god who controls everything build such a beautiful fantasy world?"

Rick erupted in anger, pressing his hands to the ground, his fingernails digging into the earth, but no matter what he did, he wouldn't let himself get hurt, because this was an illusion.

Having seen and experienced such a wonderful world, would you still want to return to that apocalyptic world where survival depends on the sacrifice of a few to ensure the survival of the majority?

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Rick pounded the ground with his fists. "Even if it's wonderful, this is still an illusion, a virtual world! Let me go back! Even if it's hell, I want to go back!"

Everyone's waiting for me!

What will happen if he dies? Perhaps nothing will change, or perhaps the next time they encounter danger, they will suffer heavy casualties.

Rick was never the calm and absolutely rational person he appeared to be; he simply hid all his emotions and feelings inside, only daring to vent them when he was alone.

Everyone trusted him so much that he had to lead the majority to survival. Only by coldly issuing decisions that sent a few to their deaths could the majority live.

“This is not an illusion.” A gentle voice came to Rick’s ear.

Rick stopped crying instantly, his expression stiffened, and he looked up to see the divine being standing before him, appearing in human form.

There was no oppressive force to crush people, nor any powerful characteristics; he was just like a gentle, ordinary person.

“This is exactly what I look like; I am not imitating humans,” Los Saint said with a smile, looking at Rick, who still wanted to return to Hell even after seeing such a perfect world.

"The birth of humankind is itself a great and diverse event."

"There are humans born naturally, and there are humans created by God."

"Humans are not born with power, but that does not mean they are weak."

"Whether humans are naturally evolved or created by God, they are endowed at birth with two things that other races can only dream of."

"Courage and miracles."

Looking at the god who seemed like a gentle older brother and a dignified father, Rick finally asked the question that had been on his mind: "Great god who rules the planet, what do you want a human like me, who is as insignificant as grass, to do?"

“Can’t you listen?” Los Saint shook his head. Rick, who survives in the cracks, is the most stubborn, the most steadfast in his beliefs, and his worldview is as firm as steel.

"You can think of me as the god who created humankind, and all humankind are my children."

He can indeed create humans now, and he can directly exercise the power over life, not to mention 'omnipotent divine power'.

But he wouldn't do that. It always felt a bit awkward to create something of his own. After all, he was originally human, so he preferred to go and... cough cough, to immigrate to other worlds of humans.

"A god who created humankind?" Rick stared in disbelief at the divine being before him.

Humans lack 'elven adaptability' and are animals that were not created by any god and acquired intelligence; this is a consensus among almost all races and among humans themselves.

"Although I am not the creator of humanity in this world, I believe that all humans should be my children," Luo Sheng said with a smile.

'This world…' Rick instantly grasped the key information.