CHAPTER 340: CHAPTER 210: ARE THE GODS REALLY POWERFUL?_2

This is also a continuation brought about by that small change Shen Shi made earlier. In the latest history he knows, the Pope did not merely stand still like this; he quickly began managing everyone, establishing order, building confidence, and then further requesting meetings or even negotiations.

The Pope proactively boarded the spaceship with this purpose in mind.

But now.

She, having been controlled once, seemed to have lost that courage.

"Just wait." Shen Shi spoke.

Indeed, they need not do anything, treating the Pope as any ordinary Cosmic Person, and then waiting.

Time slowly passed.

More and more Cosmic People were arriving.

And an increasing number of Cosmic People were kneeling before the Pope.

The Pope realized she had to do something.

"Stand up..." he whispered, "This is a test given to us by the Gods."

With just this one sentence, it seemed to bring enormous courage to the others.

Their original communication system was actually suppressed within the Grotto Heaven.

Therefore, the Pope was unable to notify everyone at once.

However, after he spoke those words, the first person to stand up repeated that sentence.

"This is a test given to us by the Gods."

"This is a test given to us by the Gods."

"..."

The sentence began to be repeated again and again, with more and more people saying it, louder and louder, and those who were originally kneeling started standing up, collectively relaying this "divine oracle."

Their mental state seemed somewhat different.

But Shen Shi saw clearly.

A large part of them were actually treating it as a last resort, and a significant group dynamic was at play.

"Should we do something?"

"Will forbidding speech be effective?"

"According to the plan, once heavyweight figures have arrived, it’s about time to prepare for negotiations."

"This situation was not anticipated in the plan."

"..."

This situation somewhat exceeded initial expectations, so the human high command was in discussion internally. They were somewhat prepared for heavyweight figures quickly rallying people once they arrived, given the cultural characteristics of the Cosmic Civilization meant centralized authority and position.

Whether it was the faith brought by the Divine Court for nearly ten thousand years or the immense prestige established by King Yu over the last thousand years.

However, in their original estimation, after all previous actions, coupled with this display of overwhelming power, even the Pope was supposed to be unable to completely control everyone.

It only showed that humans had underestimated the power of faith, as well as the influence of herd mentality and the psychological effect of relying on a last resort when discussing plans.

This is also very normal.

Merely relying on the intelligence provided by Shen Shi, outsiders ultimately had difficulty fully understanding the culture of another civilization.

However, at this moment, Shen Shi’s voice came through.

"Do not take any actions; we should continue to wait."

Following this sentence, the discussions gradually quieted down.

The original plan had slightly deviated at this point, although not significantly, but the only one qualified to make adjustments was Shen Shi.

So after Shen Shi spoke, everyone else seemed to lose their function.

In reality, Shen Shi also understood that his individual authority was too heavy and was not without drawbacks for the whole civilization. Even in this seemingly well-developed Future World, after Sage Saint Shen Shi passed away, human civilization experienced various issues, and development once nearly stagnated.

However, this drawback couldn’t be avoided while Shen Shi was still alive.

After all, Shen Shi had a cheat.

At this moment, he quickly understood the future using Time Crystal and then made a decision.

After some time, he still gave an explanation.

"Establishing faith takes a long time, but sometimes breaking it can happen in an instant, especially since that Pope herself is actually on the verge of breaking. Once her faith completely collapses, it will influence everyone from the top down. Therefore, we only need to treat everyone equally and wait."

With Shen Shi’s words, some people suddenly realized.

In their view, Shen Shi probably observed the Pope’s heart relying on his strong Primordial Energy Mastery.

No one originally opposed Shen Shi, and upon receiving the explanation, the human side became even quieter.

What followed seemed to become Shen Shi’s personal action.

The spaceships controlled directly from the Cosmic Civilization kept coming and going, aided by powerful enough energy to control the entire civilization, they began transporting more and more Cosmic People into the Grotto Heaven.

As a B-level immigration warship, what truly makes Grotto Heaven formidable is its capacity for "immigration."

There’s no need to worry about not accommodating so many people.

Life may be inconvenient, but everything about everyone is under control.

Those who hadn’t undergone significant bodily modifications wouldn’t starve here; the air naturally contained invisible particles constantly supplying energy to their bodies, which wasn’t difficult for the Grotto Heaven. Once some people realized they wouldn’t go hungry, it sparked commotion within a certain range.

Given the technical level of the Cosmic People, this aspect remained incomprehensible.

Many other restrictions were in place.

The Pope originally intended to lead people to venture into this space, but they soon realized their actions were tightly regulated—only being allowed to move within a specific range. If they attempted to leave, they’d quickly lose control of their bodies and return to their original location.

Whether excessive crowding, mutual harm, or self-harm, all similar actions were equally controlled.

Even if emotions became overly agitated, the effect was the same.

Everyone felt as if they had become some sort of tool, a property, losing all freedom.

More troubling was.

Even the Pope couldn’t escape this control.

When the Pope lost self-awareness in front of everyone for the first time, some people’s faith completely shattered.

After all, their long-standing beliefs were rooted in concepts like "the Gods are omnipotent," "the Divine Court is the progeny of the Gods," and "the Pope is the embodiment of the Gods." However, here, the Pope faced the same treatment as them, utterly unresponsive, like a caged insect, a manufactured machine, a used tool.

The Pope sensed this change too.

But he was powerless.

Because his faith had long since collapsed.

And he understood the outcome if things continued like this.

Until finally, one day, someone couldn’t tolerate it anymore, crouching before the Pope, but not bowing their head, instead raising it and directly facing this former Divine Spirit.

"Your Holiness," the voice was extremely clear, "Please tell us, are the Gods really that powerful?"

"Impudent!" The Pope hadn’t said anything, but those around him couldn’t bear it.

"Do you know what you are saying?"

"Daring to blaspheme the Gods!"

"You will face the punishment of the Gods, the retribution of fate!"

"..."

Some emotionally agitated people even rushed forward, but before they could touch the person questioning the Gods, they first became expressionless, each one returning to their original position.

"Look!" This scene drove the kneeling questioner more frantic, "The omnipotent Gods can’t even punish me, a blasphemer, and the Pope, their embodiment, must follow the same rules. Your Holiness, please tell me, tell us, are the exalted Gods truly omnipotent?"

Around, more and more people had gathered.

Many were still furious.

But, lost, and even questioning individuals seemed to increase in number.