Kidnapped by "Aliens"?

"Holy crap? Bro, you're not online?" The bedroom door banged open. Seeing her brother burst out of the room, Ye Jiu—who was gnawing on a chicken foot—jumped in fright, almost dropping the half-eaten chicken foot. "Bro, it's not what you think. I actually did call for you..." Seeing her brother's grim face, Ye Jiu muttered guiltily under her breath, only to realize his attention wasn't on the opened takeout box at all. "I can't log in." "You can't log in?!" Ye Jiu froze, murmuring quietly to herself, "How come you always run into all the good stuff..." "Good my ass, there's nothing good about it." Dropping onto the couch, Ye Wei didn't care about the takeout in the slightest. He just stared at his sister and urged, "Hurry, put on your helmet and check if the server crashed." "Pfft—do you really think that's possible?" "Just try it." Unable to resist her brother's nagging, Ye Jiu, who had just logged off, helplessly slipped the helmet back onto her head. Watching his sister log back in, Ye Wei waited restlessly for five minutes—five minutes that felt as long as an hour. In truth, seeing Ye Jiu sit there motionless, he already knew the answer. Yet he couldn't help clinging to that one-in-ten-thousand sliver of hope, wishing he wasn't the only one with an issue. Regrettably, however, that was not the case. Moments later, Ye Jiu took off the helmet. Before she could speak, Ye Wei asked, refusing to give up, "Well? Is it a server issue?" Ye Jiu rolled her eyes at him and tossed the helmet aside. "Obviously, the issue is you." "..." Ye Wei sank into the sofa, completely abandoning the unrealistic fantasy of a server glitch. Since getting disconnected, he had tried logging back in over a hundred times, only to be rejected every time. First he hadn't been able to log off, and now he couldn't log back on. Ye Wei was caught between tears and laughter. "Damn it, why does every piece of bad luck always happen to me?" "I'm wondering too. My closed beta feels fake—I've never run into a single bug..." Ye Jiu muttered. Then something clicked, and she looked at her brother. "Right, aren't you close with Brother Guang? Why don't you ask him?" Ye Wei sighed. "I did. He said it might be an abnormal status... and that the new map five light-years away is still being tested and isn't under his control. He told me to get back as soon as I find an opportunity." To be honest, he felt Brother Guang cared more about the missile cruiser Orion than about him. The only comfort was that Brother Guang had assured him he was still alive—there was no doubt about that. Still, the thought of Jiang Xuezhou alone out there five light-years away made him anxious all over again. "Five light-years away... Even if I wanted to pass a message for you, I couldn't." Ye Jiu glanced at the ceiling, then turned back to him. "So how did you end up with an abnormal status anyway? Eat a poisonous mushroom?" Ye Wei: "...As if." Let alone mushrooms—even the water he drank came from his own rations. He hadn't touched a single morsel of the natives' "tribute." "Then what happened..." Scratching the back of her head, Jiu Jiu was bewildered too. With her brother's Perception stat, getting ambushed in the first place was already absurd enough, let alone being locked out of the game because of it. Ye Wei calmed down, thought for a moment, and said in an uncertain tone, "I think it might be hypnosis..." "Hypnosis?!" Jiu Jiu's eyes widened. "Wait... what would be the point of hypnotizing you?" Ye Wei shot her a glance and ignored the question, beginning to analyze things calmly. What would be the point... There was a huge point. Everyone had seen the "Progenitor" descend upon Doma City and witnessed the miraculous wonder he performed with their own eyes. His identity was beyond doubt. And right after that, in the name of the "Progenitor," his decree had been proclaimed— A sacred relic of the heavens had fallen into the mortal world, into the hands of the Sinners in the Forbidden Forest Valley. If this sacred relic was not returned to the heavens, calamity would befall the entire world. It was an ideal casus belli. The leader of Doma City could use this pretext not only to attack the "Sinners" in the Forbidden Forest Valley, but also to command all the warlords of the entire forest. Ye Wei felt a sharp twitch between his brows. "Holy hell... holding the emperor hostage to command the vassals?!" There wasn't just one suit of power armor; an old suit was sitting in his room. Although that thing was broken, as long as someone was strong enough, clomping around in it for a few steps wouldn't be a problem. And if there was one thing these barbarians didn't lack, it was strength. All that Tun Nan needed to do now was ensure he kept turning a blind eye—or better yet, kept both eyes firmly shut—and then get someone to impersonate him, or even impersonate him directly. The whole plan would proceed smoothly. The real question was: how in the world had these people managed to hypnotize him?! ... While Ye Shi was racking his brains in vain, a squad of fully armed guards stood at the entrance to the temple at the roots of Doma City's Sacred Tree. These guards were the elite of the Doma tribe. Knotted muscles bulged like solid granite, their wooden vine armor was embedded with dark green crystals, and their upright spears jutted out like the horns of vicious beasts. In both equipment and strength, their caliber was top-notch. More than that— As temple guards, they possessed abilities ordinary warriors did not. Namely, psionic power. This special ability not only granted them the gift of communing with all living beings in the world, but also allowed them to project psychological suggestions and negative emotions onto a target. They could hearten a warrior plunged into despair, or make a restless wild deer bow its head meekly. As for hypnosis— That was merely fundamental. Against an unsuspecting target, they could make the subject fall asleep without even realizing it, only discovering they were asleep when they found themselves standing inside a dream. And when channeled through the Tree of Ein Sof, they didn't even need to stand face-to-face with their target. For this very reason, even though taking them all down would take no more than a single burst from an assault rifle, that presumed having the chance to shoot in the first place... Watching the "iron armor" carried out of the temple, Sa Kui's aged face betrayed a flicker of dread. At first, they hadn't been able to remove the suit, and he thought Tun Nan would drop the matter. To his surprise, the chieftain had drawn directly upon the power of the Tree of Ein Sof, gleaning experience from the past to figure out how to forcibly disengage the power armor. It hadn't been difficult. All it took was pressing a few key releases. After hesitating for a moment, Sa Kui finally succumbed to his inner torment. Looking at the chieftain beside him, he spoke in a trembling voice. "...You struck against the Progenitor." Tun Nan's face remained devoid of expression, entirely unmoved by Sa Kui's dread. "The so-called Progenitor is merely a slightly stronger human... His understanding of the Tree of Ein Sof does not even match ours, and in strength, he is far inferior to you and me." Centuries of springs and autumns had passed since the arrival of the second Day of Judgment and the departure of the Progenitors. Throughout those long years, the people of the Doma tribe had kept the Progenitor's teachings firmly in mind, never slacking in their communion with the Tree of Ein Sof. Yet when the Progenitor spoken of by the tribal elders truly descended before him, after his initial ecstasy and astonishment had faded, only disappointment remained in Tun Nan's heart. He felt... The man was nothing special. The ability to summon wind and rain was indeed shocking, but that same trick had been performed once long ago; centuries later, it was still the same old repertoire. It seemed the Progenitor's capabilities amounted to no more than that. Tun Nan's disappointment went deeper than that. Not only were their Progenitors as frail as before, but their understanding of the Tree of Ein Sof had also been left far behind by their descendants. Even now, the Progenitors had never grasped the power of psychic communication, forcing the tribe to try to decipher a language they had long abandoned—even repudiated—struggling to interpret those difficult calls as if trying to communicate with beasts. That was all Tun Nan saw in that man. Those who had once warned them never to neglect the study of the Tree of Ein Sof were now living just like the Sinners in the valley, perhaps even more ignorant. Looking at his fierce-eyed leader, Sa Kui bowed his head and said with a bitter expression, "The Tree of Ein Sof tells me this may bring disaster upon our tribe. I saw the future—fire spanning heaven and earth, and countless corpses..." "I saw the same vision you did, but the corpses I saw were those of our enemies. We will return the Progenitor's holy relic to its master, but on our own terms, not at their beck and call." With a careless look, Tun Nan uttered the words in a flat tone. He had already bested a god, and soon he would defeat the Sinners forsaken by the gods. The myriad tribes of the forest would be unified under one rule, and he would become the Human Sovereign sung of and passed down by tens of thousands. Such a future existed just the same. And he had seen it with his own eyes across countless leaves through the branches of the Tree of Ein Sof. Watching his unmoved leader, Sa Kui sighed softly and held his tongue. The future held many possibilities, as numerous as the leaves of the Tree of Ein Sof. The Tree of Ein Sof had granted them eyes to behold the entire canopy, never expecting that its cleverest child would have his vision blinded by a single pretty leaf... Just then, a slender girl walked out from the entrance of the temple. Stepping before Tun Nan and Sa Kui, Dora bowed her head slightly. "The Progenitor is sleeping soundly. He has not awakened." Hearing "sleeping soundly," the corners of Tun Nan's mouth curled into a faint sneer, though he quickly masked it. Looking at the fair-featured temple handmaiden, he issued his command without expression: "From this day forth, you will tend to his daily needs. Grant his every request, save for one: under no circumstances is he permitted to leave the temple. Otherwise, you and your family will face the ultimate punishment." Dora lowered her head even further and said respectfully, "As you command." ... The atmosphere of war enveloped the entire forest, until even the birds perched upon the boughs unconsciously hushed their songs. In the name of the "Progenitor," representatives sent by the forest tribes gathered beneath the Sacred Tree of Doma City, holding a council channeled through the psionic powers bestowed upon them by the Tree of Ein Sof. In that council, they communicated in silence, sharing revelations drawn from the Tree of Ein Sof and the Progenitor's holy words. In the dream of revelation, they saw the fire and death Sa Kui had once beheld; they saw the forest reduced to ruins. Without question, that was the third Day of Judgment. And according to the oracle delivered by the omnipotent Progenitor, the third Day of Judgment was triggered by the holy relic left behind in the lands of the Sinners. To avert disaster, they had to reclaim the lost celestial relic before all was lost, and take back their "holy land" from the hands of the Sinners! In truth, they should have done this long ago! The outcome of the council was never in doubt. Every forest tribe agreed to send troops into the Forbidden Forest Valley, electing Tun Nan as the leader of all tribes. And so, a vast army began to gather toward Doma City. At the same time, in response to the imminent invasion by the forest tribes, the Senate of the State of Qiu held an emergency assembly, mobilizing young men from every clan to join the military and prepare to resist the Forest People's invasion. Amid the saber-rattling on both sides, a youth bearing a bow and arrows stepped into the Forbidden Forest enclosed by the mountains. Blessed with mountains on one side and water on the other, this forest was far more perilous than any woodland outside the valley. Even seasoned hunters would not casually venture deep within it. Qiu Ling didn't want to step onto this land either. Yet he had no choice. The State of Qiu stood on the brink of life and death. He had to find the holy relic in the Forbidden Forest before all was lost and return it to the Forest People's tribes to quell their wrath. This was not only the hope of the Senate, but also the decree of the "Progenitor." According to that Progenitor, this was the only way to save the living creatures of the forest. Though harboring a hint of doubt toward such an optimistic notion, Qiu Ling still resolved to complete the Progenitor's "trial." After all, it was one of the few things he could actually do. Whether it worked or not, he had to try. Fortunately, the Progenitor had not left him to face the forest's ferocious beasts alone. Guided by that flying silver metal disc, he had discovered a "divine bow" capable of splitting mountains and shattering stone out on the plains beyond the valley, along with several "twigs" capable of summoning fire. With these two divine artifacts, traversing the forest became effortless. Relying on his rich scouting experience, he soon tracked his way to the location of the relic that allegedly "radiated a holy aura." To his astonishment, however, what he saw was no mere holy relic, but the burning palace that had plummeted from the heavens during the second Day of Judgment! A trace of wariness—even terror—surfaced in Qiu Ling's eyes. He hovered near the pitch-black entrance, afraid to take a step forward. In contrast, inside the bridge of the missile cruiser Orion floating in geosynchronous orbit, an excited cheer erupted. "Found it!" Facing the terminal's holographic screen, Jiang Xuezhou pumped her fist excitedly, unable to keep from cheering aloud. Through the drone's camera, she clearly saw the wreckage of the Gemini! Green vines climbed all over the rust-mottled steel hull, yet they could not conceal its imposing majesty. Looking at the youth hovering indecisively at the entrance to the "ruins," she suppressed her excitement and urged him on in a solemn, otherworldly tone: "What we seek is right there... inside the temple before your eyes!" "Find it!" "And bring it out in one piece!"