This child's initiative is truly unreliable. To change the situation, we can only rely on Angela to do something!
"Speaking of which, Master."
Thinking of this, Angela tried asking,
And when was your birth date?
Hayden's mind was filled with thoughts of "the timing changing," and he hadn't quite come to his senses yet: "It'll be around the next day or two, the end of December. What's wrong?"
Of course nothing.
However, Angela couldn't help but think that the winter solstice is the day with the shortest daylight and the longest night of the year. In other words, after the winter solstice, the days will gradually become longer and the nights will become shorter.
————————————————————————
The Sun (Reversed)
[Grand Arcana No. 19]
[Keywords: waning enthusiasm, gradual decline, arrogance, loss of purpose, lack of vision, loss of vitality]
The old gods of Central and South America once believed that in order to maintain the health of the sun, the old sun god should be killed and replaced with a new one periodically.
Volume Five: The Eternal Idol
142: It's not like she's a magical girl.
I know it's ridiculous to bring this up now, but I genuinely forgot about it before.
On the morning of the tenth day after Hayden took leave, Karen, far away in the wilderness, sent a message to Hayden.
We forgot to name this new city.
At that time, they were both extremely busy and for a moment forgot that they also needed to come up with a good name for this future base and new city. Unexpectedly, this matter has been delayed until now.
Hayden was naturally speechless: "...You don't even have a city name, how did the federal government approve your legal registration?"
This time, I obtained the permit through my father's connections. They knew I hadn't decided on a name, so they just sent me an administrative number and called it a day. But we can't let a city use an administrative number as its name forever, and names can't be chosen arbitrarily...
Karen was actually quite embarrassed.
After all, this city was mostly built by Hayden and Angela. Names possess extremely powerful magical significance and force; knowing a name and using a name are both ways of exerting its power, let alone naming something with powerful magic.
Traditional magicians with even a modicum of skill take the matter of naming seriously.
Because a name is also a kind of magic, powerful enough to influence the life of its user. For example, you certainly can't name yourself after a new capitalist god (those names are taken by them), but what if you named yourself after a dead old god?
A sorcerer named after a deceased ancient deity might be able to use items related to Him. For example, a sorcerer named "Osiris" might be able to use His artifact staff to destroy the undead—but in return, this sorcerer's life would be intertwined with that name. He might be betrayed by those close to him, assassinated, and then chopped into pieces and thrown into a river.
Of course, this is just a metaphor. Not every magician who chooses a name like this will end up like this—in fact, most won't, ancient magic is just that unpredictable—but a name is never something to be decided lightly.
Using the name of a god is like gazing upon His glory; be careful not to burn your eyes.
As for why Hayden dared to frequently borrow the names of various gods to steal their remaining divine power without suffering a backlash... it can only be said that he was exceptionally gifted and possessed the talents of a so-called wizard and prophet.
However, directly adopting a god's name as one's own is a different matter entirely. To directly use a god's name is tantamount to draping a part of His essence over one's own. It brings greater power, but also greater danger.
The city is neither human nor god, but as it was said a month ago, the city itself possesses divinity. Karen must not arbitrarily name this new city, otherwise it may hinder the operation and use of the barrier and city magic.
Conversely, if Hayden and Angela give the city a suitable name, it might enhance its magical power.
Thinking of this, Hayden didn't dare to make a decision on his own, so he called Angela over to help him think about it. As it turned out, Angela didn't care much about this kind of problem: "Master, you can just pick a name with a good imagery—Peace, Garden, Sprouts, etc., anything is fine."
Since Karen also trusted Hayden's classical magic skills more, Hayden had no choice but to figure it out himself.
What's your name?
Tree City? Bud City? Apple City?
It doesn't feel good enough.
“This city is indeed a tree city. But Angela said that we are going to do the impossible here, things that have never been done before in the world, so it can’t just be a tree city.”
Hayden thought for a long time before speaking.
"Its name is the City of New Sprouts. The old gods are dead, the new gods are old. We must begin a new chapter. We must do something newer than the new gods."
These words lacked the grandeur of Karen's "If one day I can ride the wind, I'll shatter the heavens and fight demons," but Karen still smiled slightly upon hearing them: "Not bad. You've finally shown some ambition. Then I'll do as you say, call it New Sprout City."
[By the way, I told you to go home and rest these past few days, so you didn't secretly work, did you? What have you been doing these past few days?]
Hayden scratched his head and answered honestly, "I'll catch up on anime and games."
How long has it been since he watched a new anime or played a new game?
You'll be shocked when I tell you—it's actually been almost half a year!
Since the [Bo Xun] incident, Hayden has been extremely busy. He's either developing new drugs or researching the various spells he's acquired. Moreover, Angela forbids him from staying up late. Unless there are very special circumstances (like what happened in New Tree City last month), Hayden needs to sleep eight hours a day, eat three healthy meals a day, and exercise appropriately.
With all that commotion, how could Hayden possibly have time to watch anime every day? He could probably only catch one or two of his favorite new shows each week. As for gaming, it was even worse—he had some money but no time to play.
So, although Karen's insistence on Hayden taking a month's vacation sounded a bit funny and awkward, Hayden was actually quite excited. He had already played Europa Universalis 24, a real-time strategy game from a subsidiary of Wotan, for three days, and was planning to switch things up by playing some new battle royale games.
Okay, stop with your gaming advice.
Unfortunately, Karen, who received an elite education from a young age and grew up with a heart full of ambition to change the world, never played games. Although she was a god who betrayed her own class and genuinely wanted to do good for the world, even getting into a public university and working as a corporate slave under an assumed name for seven years, there were some things—mainly entertainment—that she was still a bit out of touch with reality.
Hayden could totally understand this... So as Karen's partner, her comrade, her fellow traveler, he had to help Karen get down to earth, right?
He spent his ten-day break playing games every day, all for Karen's sake!
Believe it or not, that's what Hayden claimed.
Karen wasn't stupid, of course she didn't believe it. But she never really cared about these kinds of things anyway. Hayden usually contributed so much, as long as he wasn't obsessed with spending a fortune on games, she would definitely turn a blind eye.
Angela, on the other hand, was more interested in what Hayden usually liked. Moreover, she had always been both interested in and wary of things related to the modern astral network, so she tilted her head curiously and listened from the side.
After Hayden and Karen finished their communication, Angela pressed further, "Master, how exactly do these games and various forms of entertainment on the Astral Network work?"
These words really surprised Hayden.
Angela has been by his side for over a year, and Hayden seems to have never really taught her about modern entertainment; he's been busy making money and reforming society all day.
So now comes the problem.
What otaku, after getting a robot wife, wouldn't want to teach her all sorts of modern entertainment methods and play games with her?
Moreover, Angela will be identified as a living person within the StarNet system, not an AI device.
"Great! I've got the advantage now that I'm playing with a robot!"
Hayden was overjoyed at this thought.
He quickly told Angela the name of a newly released and very popular battle royale game, asking her to look it up online on her phone first. Then he ran off to help Angela prepare her things—you might remember that although Angela is a mechanical doll, her connection to the StarNet requires a human user device. Hayden even bought Angela her own phone for this purpose.
Despite the significant progress made this year, the modern internet remains one of the things Angela understands least about the world.
However, when Hayden returned excitedly with his equipment twenty minutes later, he found Angela watching a video of a virtual streamer playing PUBG on her phone's projection screen.
Watching streamers play battle royale games is nothing special.
However, Angela looked at the video and the comments scrolling across it with a very strange, or rather, very confused expression. It was as if she were watching something completely incomprehensible and alien.
Then she heard Hayden return, and immediately turned around, looking confused, and asked, "Master, what are you doing?"
"This is……"
Hayden paused for a moment, then realized that this was actually quite difficult to explain.
"This is... a lot of people watching another person play a game online together."
Angela was even more confused after hearing this answer: "Why don't they play by themselves?"
Ah this
...That sounds like a question a mother would ask.
Actually, Hayden doesn't watch broadcasters much.
He used to occasionally watch virtual idol streamers sing and dance, but ever since Angela arrived over a year ago, she's practically spoiled him with her singing—Angela's singing literally makes the whole world stop and listen, like something out of a fairy tale. Plus, Hayden hasn't had time lately, so why would he bother watching streamers?
Yes, that's right, the most important thing is still time.
So Hayden listened, thought for a moment, and quickly replied, "Because many games require a lot of time and effort to play, not to mention the time needed to practice skills."
"In a work environment where everyone works 996 or even 997, of course more people would prefer to use their spare time to watch streamers play games."
The first thing Hayden thought of, and the most reasonable reason he believed, was the issue of time.
I believe many people have said similar things.
"Is that right?"
When Angela heard him say that, her face showed a mixture of disbelief and doubt, and she frowned.
Is it really just a matter of time?
What else could it be?
Hayden, however, could not understand what she meant.
But he's not stupid; he can tell that Angela probably isn't in the mood to play games with him right now.
"Actually, besides game streamers, there are many other popular types of streamers."
So Hayden thought for a moment and decided to take this opportunity to introduce Angela to more of the entertainment culture of the modern internet. He tapped the projection screen and brought up more videos.
"Some people play games, some livestream drawing, some sing and dance at concerts, some just chat with fans during livestreams, and some even act out short dramas with several streamers... There are many more. These are all common forms of leisure and entertainment in modern internet culture."
The profession of online broadcaster, from the birth of StarNet to today, has remained essentially unchanged despite continuous technological advancements. If there is any significant difference, it's probably that the proportion of modern virtual broadcasters has increased.
After all, with today's technology, creating a realistic virtual form in StarNet is incredibly cheap. With just a little money, everyone can make their virtual form in StarNet look exactly what they want, depending on the specifications of their equipment and their own technical skills. Even if someone is physically unattractive, a little money can make their StarNet avatar look very attractive.
In comparison, the cost of cosmetic surgery, biochemical alterations to one's physical appearance, or simply replacing one's body is at least several zeros higher. Especially in reality, the cost of changing one's body is something even ordinary gods might not be able to afford.
Furthermore, thanks to advanced modern satellite network technology, consumers enjoy virtual YouTubers in a more sophisticated way. After fully projecting their consciousness onto the network, viewers can experience an almost immersive feeling, as if they are right next to the virtual YouTuber. This experience is so extraordinary that watching virtual YouTubers stream games has already become a billion-dollar industry, not to mention the total value of other types combined.
"Even someone like me who doesn't watch virtual YouTubers much knows that Mitra Group has a large virtual YouTuber idol company, and their most popular virtual idol group has become famous all over the world."
As Hayden spoke, he helped Angela pull up the video feed.
"What were their names again? Let me see... [Five-Colored Celestial Maidens]? What a strange name for a group. They're not magical girls."
Actually, although Hayden made some sarcastic remarks about the group's name, the fact that the "Five-Colored Celestial Maidens" group has become the world's most popular virtual idol group speaks volumes about their merits. Red, yellow, blue, green, and white—the five adorable girls each have distinct personalities and character designs, yet they share the same backstory. According to the idol company's official description, they are goddesses who descended from another world in cyberspace—frankly, it's quite strange, but that's pretty much the background setting for virtual idol streamers, so it's something to laugh off.
The key point is that even someone like Hayden, who doesn't watch idol streamers, has seen people online say that these virtual idol streamers, selected, trained, and managed by the idol company under the Mitra Information Group, are all incredibly talented. While typical virtual idol streamers only know two or three things, these top virtual idols managed by the Mitra Group can do everything—singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, calligraphy, painting, and more. And not only that, each one has their own unique specialty.
For example, the red celestial maiden [Miaoshan] is a world-class gamer with excellent rankings and records in hundreds of different games; the blue celestial maiden [Miaoyin] has a first-class voice and singing skills, no less than those of a true professional singing celestial maiden; the yellow celestial maiden [Ganlu] is in charge of dance and martial arts; the green celestial maiden [Miaoyuan] is skilled in all kinds of musical instruments; and the white celestial maiden [Mira] is responsible for being lively, cute, and loved by everyone, and every time she appears, she can arouse waves of cheers and respect from fans—although it sounds a bit funny, objectively speaking, the quality of this [Five-Colored Celestial Maidens] group is indeed top-notch in the entire industry.
Do other companies also create virtual idol streamers? Of course! The market is so big, who wouldn't want a slice? Not just the major corporations, even some smaller companies launch their own virtual idols. But when it comes to the overall quality of the idols, their skills, and promotion, ultimately, only the companies with the largest capital can produce the best.
This was actually the first time Hayden had ever looked into these virtual idol streamers online in detail. After all, he hadn't watched these shows much before, and after Angela came along, he became even less interested.
"Wotan also has a Valkyrie girl group, and Mars Group's are all fairy costumes. As for these smaller companies... as expected, the technical capabilities of their costumes can't compare to the idols produced by the big companies. The quality and detail of the costumes that the big companies create for their virtual idols are just too good."
Even Hayden, who personally spent a fortune creating the doll shell for Angela, had to admire the quality of virtual idol costumes these days. Big companies, of course, do a better job in this area than Hayden… but that's not a big deal.
With a relaxed holiday mood, Hayden scrolled down little by little to see what interesting virtual YouTuber programs had been updated online recently.
Until he saw a self-introduction video uploaded a few days earlier, featuring a new virtual idol streamer.
The name of this newly debuted virtual idol instantly ruined Hayden's leisurely holiday mood, and even scared him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.
Because the streamer's name is—
【Magical Girl Pazuzu】!
143: I'm so cute, send me money!
【Magical Girl Pazuzu】!
The name alone was enough to make Hayden's hair stand on end.
Even Angela frowned when she saw the name.
Using a demon's name is no joke. Besides, this is Pazuzu, a great demon whose name is heard as soon as it is called, and which can come and devour you on the wind after being called three times. It is very skilled at manipulating the power of name magic.
Pazuzu should have been obliterated by Kallen's climate control system by now. However, despite its limited power, it is, after all, a cunning and powerful demon that has lived for thousands of years. Perhaps it truly possesses a secret technique to escape and possess another?
Hayden felt a surge of nervousness at the thought.
Can the great demon, annihilated to dust by the absolute power of the new god of capital, come back to life, or escape and possess another living person?