Faust turned toward her.
"Oh?"
"Some of the corpses started moving."
Faust stopped walking.
"What?"
Leslie looked at him.
"Dead people."
She hesitated.
"Some of them mutated after they died. Their bodies started changing, and eventually they got up and attacked anything nearby."
Nex nodded.
"Basically zombies."
Faust's expression became serious.
"Zombies?"
"Yeah. Like something out of a horror movie."
Nex grimaced.
"Except they weren't acting. Those things were real."
Faust considered the information.
'Dead bodies undergoing mutation?'
That was unexpected.
He had anticipated significant changes in living organisms due to the catastrophe.
However, corpses becoming active again was another matter.
'That's outside my calculations.'
He considered several possible explanations.
The bodies might not have been completely dead when the changes began.
Alternatively, something could have replaced or restored the biological functions necessary for movement.
'Or perhaps something else was controlling them.'
Faust glanced toward the sky.
'Could this also be related to the intervention of those self-proclaimed Gods?'
The possibility couldn't be dismissed.
After all, those beings had already demonstrated technology capable of manipulating biological structures and transporting people between locations.
However, he had no evidence connecting them to the reanimated corpses.
'I'll have to examine one eventually.'
He made a mental note before continuing along the river.
For a while, the three walked in silence.
Then Leslie suddenly spoke.
"Faust?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
She looked toward the sky.
"Do you think what they said was true?"
Faust raised an eyebrow.
"They?"
"The ones who made the announcement."
Leslie paused.
"You know, those beings who said they created us."
Faust looked at her.
"The self-proclaimed Gods?"
"Yes."
She nodded.
"Do you think they really created humanity?"
Faust considered the question for a moment.
Then he let out a short laugh.
"Who knows?"
Leslie blinked.
"That's your answer?"
"What else do you expect me to say?"
Faust shrugged.
"We have no way to verify their claims yet."
He pointed toward the forest.
"They've demonstrated some remarkable abilities, but possessing advanced technology doesn't automatically mean everything they say is true."
Leslie nodded slowly.
"That's true, but..."
She looked troubled.
"If they really created us, then wouldn't that mean everything we believed about humanity was wrong?"
Faust looked at her.
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why?"
Leslie frowned.
"They said our planet was terraformed and that life was planted here as part of some project."
She paused.
"If that's true, then humanity might exist only because some alien civilization wanted to conduct an experiment."
Faust stared at her for a moment.
Then he laughed again.
"Is that all?"
Leslie looked surprised.
"Isn't that a big deal?"
"Of course it's a big deal."
Faust nodded.
"Scientifically speaking, it would change our understanding of life's origins."
He glanced toward the river.
"But does it change our current situation?"
Leslie hesitated.
"Well..."
"Think about it."
Faust looked back at her.
"Let's assume they're telling the truth. Let's say some advanced alien civilization created Earth and planted the first life here."
He spread his hands.
"Then what?"
Leslie blinked.
"What?"
"Do we suddenly stop needing food?"
"No."
"Do we stop needing sleep?"
"Of course not."
"Then does knowing who created us prevent those goblins from attacking the village tonight?"
Leslie shook her head.
"No."
"Exactly."
Faust nodded.
"Whether humanity developed naturally or was created as part of some experiment, we still have to deal with the world in front of us."
He continued walking.
"The real problem is how people perceive themselves."
Nex frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Faust looked toward him.
"Many people believe humanity is special."
He gestured toward the surrounding forest.
"But look at the world now. Animals are mutating, plants are developing strange characteristics, and some organisms are displaying abilities we don't understand."
He paused.
"Humanity isn't the only species capable of changing."
Leslie nodded.
"That's true."
Faust continued.
"What made humans dominant on Earth wasn't our physical strength."
He looked toward Nex.
"Compared to many animals, an ordinary human is weak."
Nex scratched his head.
"Well, yeah."
"A lion can tear us apart. A crocodile can crush us with its jaws, and there are countless other animals that can kill an unarmed human."
Faust raised one finger.
"But we developed tools, weapons, and technology."
He pointed toward Nex's spear.
"We learned how to manipulate our environment and work together."
Nex looked down at his weapon.
Faust continued.
"That's how humanity became the dominant species on Earth. We placed ourselves at the top of the food chain through our intelligence and ability to adapt."
He looked toward Leslie.
"So whether our ancestors came from some alien experiment or not, those abilities remain part of humanity."
Leslie considered his words.
"But now, other species are becoming stronger too."
"Exactly."
Faust nodded.
"Which means we can no longer assume our position is secure."
Nex sighed.
"That's definitely true."
He glanced toward the forest.
"Before the apocalypse, I never imagined I'd be afraid of running from a rabbit."
Leslie chuckled.
"A rabbit?"
"Hey, you never know."
Nex shrugged.
"With everything mutating, maybe the next rabbit we find will have teeth bigger than my spear."
Faust smiled faintly.
"That's certainly possible."
"Don't encourage him," Leslie said.
Nex laughed.
However, his expression soon became more thoughtful.
"You know, before all this, I used to think humans were special too."
He looked toward the trees.
"We had cities, cars, airplanes, the internet. We could travel anywhere we wanted."
He paused.
"Now look at us."
Nex raised his spear.
"I'm walking through some unknown forest with a sharpened stick, hoping I can find something to eat before monsters attack us tonight."
He shook his head.
"Sometimes it feels like we're living in a fantasy novel."
Leslie nodded.
"Especially with all these strange abilities."
She opened her notebook.
"Some of the animals I've seen are already showing signs of increased intelligence."
She looked toward Faust.
"And now we have this game, with monsters, profession cards, and fictional characters supposedly watching us."
Faust glanced toward the sky.
'The Imagin.'
He wondered whether any of them were still watching his group.
Agony had already established control over his system connection, but he hadn't yet determined how much information the spectators could observe.
'Something else to investigate later.'
Leslie continued.
"Speaking of the game, there's something else I wanted to ask."
Faust looked at her.
"What?"
"The announcement mentioned an invasion from the worlds behind the monoliths."
She glanced toward the surrounding forest.
"What do you think that means?"
Faust rubbed his chin.
"I can't say for certain."
He recalled the moment he touched the monolith beneath the ocean.
The energy surrounding it had distorted space before transporting him to the village.
'There was definitely some form of spatial transfer.'
Faust looked toward Leslie.
"My current guess is that the monoliths function as gateways."
"Gateways?"
"Yes."
He nodded.
"Possibly portals connecting Earth to other planets or dimensions."
Nex suddenly turned toward him.
"Wait."
Faust looked at him.
"What?"
"Are you saying we're on another planet right now?"
"Possibly."
Faust glanced toward the trees.
"Whatever happened, we were transported somewhere else."
He paused.
"But that doesn't necessarily mean we're on another planet. This could be an artificial environment, or a separate dimension."
Nex looked around.
"So we might not even be on Earth anymore..."
Leslie examined the vegetation.
"But the plants look normal."
"Most of them do," Faust replied.
"Which is interesting."
He gestured toward a nearby tree.
"If this is another planet, there are several possible explanations for why its environment resembles Earth."
Nex raised an eyebrow.
"Like what?"
"Perhaps the same civilization that supposedly terraformed Earth also altered this planet."
Faust shrugged.
"Or maybe we're still somewhere on Earth."
He looked toward the forest.
"We don't have enough information to determine that yet."
Nex considered the explanation.
Then his expression brightened.
"Well, if this really is another planet, shouldn't we explore more?"
Faust looked at him.
"Explore?"
"Yeah!"
Nex gestured toward the forest.
"Think about it. We could find strange animals, plants, maybe even ruins or something."
Leslie seemed interested as well.
"That would be useful for my research."
Faust shook his head.
"Not now."
Nex blinked.
"Why not?"
"Because we have a quest to complete."
Faust pointed toward the direction of the village.
"We still need to gather food, find edible plants, and return before the invasion begins."
He glanced toward the sky.
"There's no reason to risk getting lost when we only have a limited amount of time."
Nex sighed.
"Yeah, you're right."
He looked toward the forest again.
"Still, I can't help being curious."
"So am I."
Faust nodded.
"But we can investigate further after securing our immediate needs."
Leslie agreed.
"Besides, we don't even have a map of this area yet."
"Exactly."
Faust looked toward Nex.
"Let's focus on finding food for now."
Nex nodded.
"Alright."
He glanced around.
"Though I haven't seen any animals since we entered the forest."
Faust looked toward the trees.
'That's true.'