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Who Watches the Gods?Chapter 2
Chapter 2：1106words
Update Time：2026-01-19 07:16:52
[Perspective: Typhon - Evelyn Thorne]
[Current System Status: Faith Power Monitoring Activated, Global Observer Mode]
Rain, the only baptism this city ever receives. It washes over the glass and steel skin of Nolant City, dissolving the holographic advertisements projected onto the clouds by corporate giants into streams of colorful, meaningless teardrops. Most billboards feature the same man's face—Odin. Sometimes he smiles, sometimes he contemplates, sometimes he gazes determinedly into the distance. He's the Hercules of this era, the most brilliant star of this "Age of Gods."
[Real-time data stream: Odin brand value $3.2 trillion, global influence index 98.7%]
They say this is an age of heroes.
I believe it's an age of theological overflow. And history has proven through countless cycles that when "gods" walk among humans, what mortals must do is anything but pray.
[Personal note: Three years since the Faith Power System was established, superhuman abilities are completely controlled by public sentiment. Tonight, I'll prove the fragility of this system.]
Beneath the foundation of the city, at a depth no geological survey satellite could penetrate, the "Kaleidoscope" pulsated silently like a cold heart. The air was filtered by circulation systems to absolute purity, mixed with the faint scent of ozone emanating from server matrices and the subtle hissing of coolant flowing through pipes. I loved this smell; it represented absolute cleanliness, rationality, and calculable power. The four walls were curved surfaces made of smart liquid crystal, displaying waterfall-like data streams—Nolant City's traffic monitoring, power grid load, real-time fluctuations in financial markets, sentiment analysis of social media... The entire city, deconstructed into a cold chess game composed of 0s and 1s.
This is my command center, my forge, the throne from which I, in mortal form, wage a blasphemous war against false divinity.
I sit upright in the commander's chair, surrounded by a galaxy of data streams. My existence, at this moment, simplified to a code name, a symbol that will soon become the nightmare of gods—Typhon.
"'Typhon' calling 'Gatekeeper,'" I speak. My voice, after complex encryption and modulation, transforms into an electronic sound devoid of any discernible age, gender, or emotion, echoing through the empty command center. "Target has arrived at Celestial Plaza. Meteorological parameters match the model, media attention has reached peak levels. According to the 'Divine Authority Management Department's' internal schedule, he'll stay for three minutes, conducting a routine 'Divine Grace Display.' The stage... has been set."
"All preparations are complete, miss." Sebastian's voice comes through the communication channel, steady as always, like the last polished cornerstone of the old world. "But I must remind you once more. What we're about to challenge is the Genesis Group's ultimate symbol of power, the foundation of this 'Age of Gods.' This action is tantamount to declaring war on the entire era."
"Isn't that precisely our purpose, Sebastian?" I gazed at the main control orb floating before me, which was livestreaming the grand scene at Celestial Plaza—Odin bathing in the cheers of the masses and the worship of camera flashes. He was bare-chested, displaying that perfect physique which scientists at Genesis Group referred to as "the evolutionary endpoint of humanity." He smiled and waved; every single movement meticulously designed by top image consultants from the Divine Management Department, exuding both leadership charisma and divine radiance.
He was the totem of this era, a false god crowned by capital.
"When a population entrusts its survival and hope to the absolute, unconstrained power of a single individual, no matter how benevolent that individual is portrayed to be, it essentially represents a regression of civilization," I said softly, as if speaking to myself, but also explaining my manifesto to Sebastian. "What we're doing tonight isn't simply an attack, but a ritual. We want to prove to the world that what hangs high above the clouds isn't some unreachable deity, but merely a more advanced life form that bleeds just the same. We're going to... kill a myth."
I waved my hand, issuing the first command.
"First movement, 'Lament of Mortals.'"
The command was issued, like an invisible baton falling. Throughout the city, all buildings belonging to Thorne Industries, as well as public facilities I had secretly infiltrated—subway stations, shopping malls, the giant screens in Times Square—their speaker systems simultaneously cut off the epic background music composed for Odin, and instead broadcast something entirely different.
It wasn't noise, but a carefully edited compilation of the most heartbreaking testimonials from members of the "Superhuman Disaster Victims Association."
"...My factory, three generations of hard work, completely destroyed just because Odin 'accidentally' threw a building while fighting that monster. The insurance company called it an 'act of divine force majeure.' The compensation from Genesis Group wasn't even enough to cover one month of my loan payments..."
"They say my daughter's disability is 'a necessary sacrifice in the great narrative.' A girl who loved dancing became just a shot in their propaganda video, an insignificant price paid to highlight the hero's greatness..."
Those mortals who lost everything in the "collateral damage" of the "gods" maintaining peace—their voices filled with despair and pain—came together through thousands of loudspeakers, merging into a flood of accusations that drowned out all hymns of praise for Odin.
The Celestial Plaza fell into momentary silence. Then came the crowd's unrest and anxiety.
On the main control orb, Odin's standardized smile froze for the first time. He could stop a tsunami, yet he couldn't silence thousands of broken souls. From his micro-expression analysis, I could see a flash of confusion and irritation deep between his brows. His heart rate, at that moment, showed an abnormal fluctuation of 0.3 seconds.
[Faith Power System Live Report]
Odin Trust Value: 94.7% → 91.3% ↓Continuing to Decline
[System Analysis: Negative Emotion Spread Rate Exceeds Expected Model by 847%]
On the sidebar of the main control orb, the curve representing Odin's public trust index began to slide downward at a visibly slow but steady pace. Each percentage point drop meant a subtle weakening of the power within him.
"The public opinion field is fermenting," Sebastian reported. "Genesis Group's PR team has already begun to act. Their response is quick, defining this as 'an organized and despicable act aimed at desecrating a hero's reputation.'"
[Genesis Group Emergency Meeting - Inserted Perspective]
"Damn it! Why is the faith power system so sensitive?" a director roared. "We built this system to control them, not to let some unknown enemy manipulate it!"
[Perspective Returns to Kaleidoscope Command Center]
"Let them scramble," I coldly watched all this. "Myths cannot be defiled, they can only be shattered by new, more impactful facts. Now, initiate the second movement, 'Twilight of the Idols.'"
[Current System Status: Faith Power Monitoring Activated, Global Observer Mode]
Rain, the only baptism this city ever receives. It washes over the glass and steel skin of Nolant City, dissolving the holographic advertisements projected onto the clouds by corporate giants into streams of colorful, meaningless teardrops. Most billboards feature the same man's face—Odin. Sometimes he smiles, sometimes he contemplates, sometimes he gazes determinedly into the distance. He's the Hercules of this era, the most brilliant star of this "Age of Gods."
[Real-time data stream: Odin brand value $3.2 trillion, global influence index 98.7%]
They say this is an age of heroes.
I believe it's an age of theological overflow. And history has proven through countless cycles that when "gods" walk among humans, what mortals must do is anything but pray.
[Personal note: Three years since the Faith Power System was established, superhuman abilities are completely controlled by public sentiment. Tonight, I'll prove the fragility of this system.]
Beneath the foundation of the city, at a depth no geological survey satellite could penetrate, the "Kaleidoscope" pulsated silently like a cold heart. The air was filtered by circulation systems to absolute purity, mixed with the faint scent of ozone emanating from server matrices and the subtle hissing of coolant flowing through pipes. I loved this smell; it represented absolute cleanliness, rationality, and calculable power. The four walls were curved surfaces made of smart liquid crystal, displaying waterfall-like data streams—Nolant City's traffic monitoring, power grid load, real-time fluctuations in financial markets, sentiment analysis of social media... The entire city, deconstructed into a cold chess game composed of 0s and 1s.
This is my command center, my forge, the throne from which I, in mortal form, wage a blasphemous war against false divinity.
I sit upright in the commander's chair, surrounded by a galaxy of data streams. My existence, at this moment, simplified to a code name, a symbol that will soon become the nightmare of gods—Typhon.
"'Typhon' calling 'Gatekeeper,'" I speak. My voice, after complex encryption and modulation, transforms into an electronic sound devoid of any discernible age, gender, or emotion, echoing through the empty command center. "Target has arrived at Celestial Plaza. Meteorological parameters match the model, media attention has reached peak levels. According to the 'Divine Authority Management Department's' internal schedule, he'll stay for three minutes, conducting a routine 'Divine Grace Display.' The stage... has been set."
"All preparations are complete, miss." Sebastian's voice comes through the communication channel, steady as always, like the last polished cornerstone of the old world. "But I must remind you once more. What we're about to challenge is the Genesis Group's ultimate symbol of power, the foundation of this 'Age of Gods.' This action is tantamount to declaring war on the entire era."
"Isn't that precisely our purpose, Sebastian?" I gazed at the main control orb floating before me, which was livestreaming the grand scene at Celestial Plaza—Odin bathing in the cheers of the masses and the worship of camera flashes. He was bare-chested, displaying that perfect physique which scientists at Genesis Group referred to as "the evolutionary endpoint of humanity." He smiled and waved; every single movement meticulously designed by top image consultants from the Divine Management Department, exuding both leadership charisma and divine radiance.
He was the totem of this era, a false god crowned by capital.
"When a population entrusts its survival and hope to the absolute, unconstrained power of a single individual, no matter how benevolent that individual is portrayed to be, it essentially represents a regression of civilization," I said softly, as if speaking to myself, but also explaining my manifesto to Sebastian. "What we're doing tonight isn't simply an attack, but a ritual. We want to prove to the world that what hangs high above the clouds isn't some unreachable deity, but merely a more advanced life form that bleeds just the same. We're going to... kill a myth."
I waved my hand, issuing the first command.
"First movement, 'Lament of Mortals.'"
The command was issued, like an invisible baton falling. Throughout the city, all buildings belonging to Thorne Industries, as well as public facilities I had secretly infiltrated—subway stations, shopping malls, the giant screens in Times Square—their speaker systems simultaneously cut off the epic background music composed for Odin, and instead broadcast something entirely different.
It wasn't noise, but a carefully edited compilation of the most heartbreaking testimonials from members of the "Superhuman Disaster Victims Association."
"...My factory, three generations of hard work, completely destroyed just because Odin 'accidentally' threw a building while fighting that monster. The insurance company called it an 'act of divine force majeure.' The compensation from Genesis Group wasn't even enough to cover one month of my loan payments..."
"They say my daughter's disability is 'a necessary sacrifice in the great narrative.' A girl who loved dancing became just a shot in their propaganda video, an insignificant price paid to highlight the hero's greatness..."
Those mortals who lost everything in the "collateral damage" of the "gods" maintaining peace—their voices filled with despair and pain—came together through thousands of loudspeakers, merging into a flood of accusations that drowned out all hymns of praise for Odin.
The Celestial Plaza fell into momentary silence. Then came the crowd's unrest and anxiety.
On the main control orb, Odin's standardized smile froze for the first time. He could stop a tsunami, yet he couldn't silence thousands of broken souls. From his micro-expression analysis, I could see a flash of confusion and irritation deep between his brows. His heart rate, at that moment, showed an abnormal fluctuation of 0.3 seconds.
[Faith Power System Live Report]
Odin Trust Value: 94.7% → 91.3% ↓Continuing to Decline
[System Analysis: Negative Emotion Spread Rate Exceeds Expected Model by 847%]
On the sidebar of the main control orb, the curve representing Odin's public trust index began to slide downward at a visibly slow but steady pace. Each percentage point drop meant a subtle weakening of the power within him.
"The public opinion field is fermenting," Sebastian reported. "Genesis Group's PR team has already begun to act. Their response is quick, defining this as 'an organized and despicable act aimed at desecrating a hero's reputation.'"
[Genesis Group Emergency Meeting - Inserted Perspective]
"Damn it! Why is the faith power system so sensitive?" a director roared. "We built this system to control them, not to let some unknown enemy manipulate it!"
[Perspective Returns to Kaleidoscope Command Center]
"Let them scramble," I coldly watched all this. "Myths cannot be defiled, they can only be shattered by new, more impactful facts. Now, initiate the second movement, 'Twilight of the Idols.'"