Starlight of the Apocalypse

Yuwang called out to the electrons, "Hello!"

"?????"

What responded to him was still a bunch of question marks.

What now? According to the normal communication rhythm of Earth, they should at least answer with something like "Hello" or the silly "Have you eaten?" that Bei Yi always says. At the very least, there should be some kind of response, right? But it's just "???"—how can he continue this conversation?

"Hello!""My name is Yuwang.""I'm actually very big, and my body is made up of many of you electrons.""Nice to meet you!"...

He tried dozens of different ways to start the conversation, but always got the same response: question marks. Having experienced the miraculous power of the God族 artifact, he had no doubt about the item's effectiveness. Yuwang thought to himself, Could it be that while they have consciousness, it's still very primitive, or perhaps they're just too unintelligent to communicate at a linguistic level?

Since they couldn't converse happily, he decided to express himself through action. With that thought in mind, he began observing the electrons more closely.

The twelve electrons had been circling around him since his arrival, and when he started greeting them, their movement became somewhat more regular. He noticed one of the electrons trace a complex trajectory in the air that looked almost like it was drawing a lollipop.

Could it be hungry, or is it simply part of the sugar molecule, aspiring for such a "grand" goal? Yuwang chuckled at his own random thoughts. Forget it. I'll join in too!

With that, Yuwang began mimicking the electron's movements and tried to trace out a lollipop shape in the air. Unfortunately, he had no art training, and the trajectory he made was quite rudimentary. Naturally, the result was a series of "???????" from the electrons.

However, he noticed that some of the electrons started mimicking his actions. This is a chance I can't miss!

While "dancing" in the air, he communicated with the two human players through the necklace, asking them to simultaneously target one electron with their charges so they could pull it out while it followed his movements.

One of the human players was startled when he "heard" the voice in his mind, but being highly intelligent, he quickly calmed down. Gods have appeared; why be afraid of ghosts?However, he didn't immediately follow Yuwang's suggestion. Instead, he asked in his mind, Why? What? You think electrons might have life? That's unscientific… After a series of questions, he eventually agreed to try it, but by then, the electrons had already lost interest in following Yuwang's repetitive "dance" and had begun to drift freely.

The second human player, upon receiving the message, was also startled, but he didn't ask any questions. If we both try to pull the electron, who gets the credit? Only one person can be the champion of this central cave area, and we'll have to compete with the winners of other caves for the overall championship!

Little did he know that all of his inner thoughts were being transmitted to Yuwang through the necklace. Yuwang was getting frustrated, thinking, I'm putting in all this effort to help you, and you're hesitating, while others are just concerned with petty schemes. Seeing that the electrons were losing interest in him, he turned to the androids for help.

The androids, upon receiving Yuwang's message, quickly assessed its reliability and agreed on a strategy. Ten of them would align their charges in a straight line, asking Yuwang to direct at least one electron toward the line, thus maximizing the gravitational pull in that direction.

They quickly organized themselves, with the "smartest" android placing its charge at the front. This meant that the other androids automatically gave up their chance at the championship. All of this took only one second, because androids didn't need to communicate with language—they used wireless data.

Seeing this smooth communication, Yuwang sighed. If only humans could communicate this easily…

He then switched his flight trajectory and began drawing the simple "lollipop" shape that his father had once taught him about—a shape popular in ancient China over 200 years ago. Of course, due to his lack of artistic skill, it turned into the simplest butterfly shape. Despite this, two electrons took notice and began mimicking him.

After a while, Yuwang saw the right moment and suddenly changed direction, speeding toward the agreed angle.

As expected, the two electrons followed him and flew toward the new direction.

The spectators watched as three electrons flew out of the electron cloud, but the first one was not confirmed as valid by the referee system (it was actually Yuwang himself). When the second electron flew out, the referee system, based on the charges and identities, announced the winner—Android Ice Skin!

A thunderous applause erupted in the arena. This time, no one was concerned about whether a human had won, because this competition had been extremely difficult. In fact, most people didn't even know how many electrons there were in that nearly invisible cloud.

The two human players were filled with regret. If only I had listened to that voice from my mind earlier, one of us would have won.

"Now, I announce… the champion of the Central Cave Area is… Ice Skin!" Host Oyun Dalai announced loudly.

Another round of thunderous applause filled the square.

After the applause subsided, Oyun Dalai handed the microphone to Ice Skin for his victory speech.

Ice Skin took the microphone and said, "Please wait a moment, esteemed Princess, Vice Speaker, and Chief Referee. I don't believe I deserve this victory. Someone helped us behind the scenes, and the one who truly cracked the problem should be them, even though we don't know who they are!"

A buzz of murmurs spread through the crowd.

The judges quickly began a quiet discussion, and the Vice Speaker quietly asked Princess Sofia for her opinion.

Sofia glanced at Yuwang, who had already returned to his original size and was walking toward the podium from backstage. She waved her scepter, and the necklace that Yuwang had been wearing returned to her. After briefly consulting with the Vice Speaker, she stood and said, "Ice Skin is correct. It was Yuwang who noticed the key to the problem and guided the players to complete the task!" She then pointed toward Yuwang.

Yuwang suddenly became the center of attention for tens of thousands of people. He couldn't help but blush, though his darker skin made it less noticeable.

Seeing this, the judging panel quickly reached a consensus. One of the judges approached Vice Speaker Mahamud and suggested making Yuwang the champion of the Central Cave Area, arguing that according to the "strongest shall prevail" principle that Sofia had just mentioned, though he hadn't registered, his intellectual contribution to solving the puzzle made him the most qualified competitor.

After receiving Princess Sofia's approval, Mahamud officially announced that Yuwang would now be the champion of the Central Cave Area.

Yuwang took the microphone from the host and said, "Honorable Vice Speaker, I'm afraid I cannot accept this championship!"

The crowd erupted into confusion. What was going on? Didn't he want the championship? People began murmuring among themselves.

Seeing the confusion in the crowd, Yuwang took a deep breath to calm his nerves and said, "Although I helped the players by observing the electrons and providing them with clues, I saw how Ice Skin and the others did not seek credit. They immediately decided on the strategy for victory. I saw the selflessness and unity of the androids, and I believe this championship should belong to all of them!"

The crowd fell silent. The Vice Speaker looked helplessly at Princess Sofia for guidance.

Sofia smiled and said, "You all make valid points. How about this: the champion of the cave area will still be Ice Skin, who completed the task. However, because solving such a problem is rare even among our divine race, I've decided to award a special prize to Yuwang for his key assistance!"

With that, she handed her scepter to Yuwang and said, "This is a special artifact I've carried with me for many years. It contains the power of space manipulation. I'll teach you how to use it!"

Yuwang hesitated for a moment, but seeing Princess Sofia's warm smile, he knelt on one knee, took the artifact in both hands, and accepted the first gift ever given to a human by the divine race.