This stubbornness, this attitude, this seemingly foolish idea made Adam think these devils were utterly hopeless. However, of course, he wouldn't reveal these thoughts, so instead he sighed and said, "In that case, we can only hope that Hayden and his men won't interfere at crucial moments and disrupt our plans. Unfortunately, I'm not strong enough; I can't even defeat Hayden, so I can't share your burden, Princess."
Adam sighed, and as he spoke these words, his expression and every movement seemed so real. His injuries had not received any healing whatsoever.
So Adam's devil wife watched, her raised eyebrows gradually drooping. Suddenly, the great devil walked up to Adam and pressed her hand to his mouth and nose. Before Adam understood what this meant, he felt a warm breeze blow from her fingertips, entering his mouth, nose, and internal organs. In just a few seconds, this crimson warm breeze healed most of the internal injuries Adam had suffered from the backlash.
Adam quickly bowed his head in gratitude: "Thank you, Your Highness, for healing me."
"It's nothing," the great demon shook his head. "You know that controlling this red life force is just my most basic divine power. As long as I'm still alive, I can save me from any serious injury."
Then she looked Adam up and down, her eyes filled with disdain: "Mitra's gene-editing technology is really not that great. He's just a brat who only knows how to play with mind magic. The so-called new god body that they modified with their technology isn't actually that strong. It still relies on external forces. That's why you lost to Hayden, who is proficient in ancient magic."
"True power comes from one's own strength, and ultimate life depends on the magic of our old gods. Once this plan to overthrow the throne of the new gods succeeds, I will reward you with an even more powerful life form."
Wow, that sounds really good. So how come you were brutally defeated by Mithra four hundred years ago?
But Adam clearly wouldn't voice these complaints. Although he inwardly scorned the devils' boasting and arrogance, he would outwardly remain respectful. At least for now.
When this great devil's plan to overthrow the gods of capital is officially launched—no, when Adam's real plan is launched, this devil princess will realize just how ignorant and foolish she truly is!
Everything is ready. That day is coming.
267: Similar yet different forces
Two flowers bloom, one branch each.
Meanwhile, Hayden left the Mithra New Seattle branch building and teleported back to Newbeam City. He immediately gathered his team for a meeting. The reason, of course, was to quickly recount to everyone what had just happened.
As usual, Angela gently blew a breath onto Hayden during this process. The emerald green wind completely dispelled the remaining damage to his mental energy. With Angela around, Hayden and his companions' stamina was practically limitless. They could probably be brought back to life even if they were seriously injured, let alone killed.
Nevertheless, after listening to Hayden's words, the expressions of several people present became increasingly serious as Hayden continued to narrate.
“The devils are going to cause trouble within the Mitra Group. For us…” Alastor raised an eyebrow, “it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The devils will be suppressed anyway, but they can always inflict some damage on the Mitra Group before they are suppressed. This will give us more time to farm.”
The current strategic focus of this small group, centered around Hayden, is to first strengthen their internal capabilities. They need to "dig deep tunnels, build high walls, and stockpile grain to enhance their overall strength," establishing essential infrastructure such as life support networks to protect themselves amidst global economic upheavals. In other words, if the devil causes trouble within the Mitra Group, delaying or disrupting its original plans, Hayden and his group will actually have more time to focus on building their foundations.
But Pania became worried: "What if those devils really destroy the Mitra Group from within and create a restored dynasty of the old gods? Our New Sprout City and New Yatu are in the same state. If the old gods really want to restore the dynasty, we will be the first to be affected."
Her words left the other gods present speechless. Abigail, over four hundred years old, who had survived from the feudal era and now possessed a portion of Hecate's memories, directly retorted: "Impossible, absolutely impossible. Do you know that four hundred years ago, when those old god dynasties were at their peak, the Mithra Group was already able to crush them? Over four hundred years, giant corporations have only grown stronger, while most of the old gods have been killed. Although fallen angels are immortal, how many are still alive and unsealed?"
The gods present basically all agreed with Abigail's conclusion. Interestingly, although the members of this small group had different opinions and, except for Hayden, were not convinced by each other, they were completely in agreement on the fact that Pania was stupid.
Similarly, no one believes that a few devils rebelling from within can do anything to the Mitra Group, and they don't even believe that they can really cripple the Mitra Group.
But at that moment, Hayden spoke up, saying to everyone, "Don't underestimate these devils now. Adam might really have some strange new tricks up his sleeve. His 'artificial angel' is very strange. There might be something very strange inside his angel doll."
Words spoken by Hayden carry a completely different weight than those spoken by Pania. The lesser gods present exchanged glances again, some hesitant, some even tense. After all, Hayden was indeed their prophet. It was like the Norse gods of Wotan, who felt uneasy upon hearing ominous prophecies about the future.
Only Karen, seated at the head of the conference room, remained as calm as ever. After listening to Hayden's words, she simply asked, "What do you find strange about it?"
This was a difficult question to answer, but Hayden hesitated for a moment before honestly explaining, "I feel that Adam may currently possess a power very similar to mine. Similar yet different, yet undeniably powerful and extremely dangerous."
A power very similar to, yet different from, Hayden's?
That sounds strange. To be honest, Hayden doesn't seem to have any core power. His power is either borrowed or acquired; as a magician, his pure magical power is probably less than Professor Albion's. His greatest strength is probably his quick wit and ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
But Kallen is Kallen, one of the people in the world who understands Hayden best. When she heard Hayden mention a power very similar to his, her first glance wasn't at Hayden himself, but at Angela standing behind him.
Amidst the tension between humans and gods, only Angela remained as relaxed as ever. However, Karen knew one thing very well: behind all of Hayden's chaotic powers and spells, his connection with Angela, or rather, the power of the Outer Gods that Angela represented, was Hayden's strongest "power."
“If Adam had only made a contract with some fallen angel, you wouldn’t have said it like that.” So Karen finally frowned. “He only called that doll an ‘artificial angel,’ without giving it a name… Could it be that he really was an angel ‘created’ by humans? A real angel connected to Outer Gods?”
Everyone sitting in the central conference room of New Sprout City knew how absurd and unbelievable Angela was. As long as she stood behind Hayden, she was everyone's greatest support (only Karen remained uneasy about Angela). But if the enemy also had someone like Angela behind them, then it wouldn't just be a matter of unease, but genuine fear.
Could it be that these fallen angels and old gods attempting to restore their former glory have actually gained new power in the modern world, which has already been ravaged, even greater than it did in its heyday four hundred years ago? If not, no matter how they try to restore their former glory, they will only be crushed by the gods of capital, right?
Unfortunately, no one here could answer the question. Everyone looked at each other, unable to come up with a good solution for the time being.
A long silence followed. After a while, Professor Albion, who had been sitting there since the beginning of the meeting and hadn't spoken until after Hayden's account, finally spoke up: "Hayden, you said Adam asked you for the [Name-Breaking Ritual] that Hecate once used. Did you really give it to him?"
Hayden nodded.
Pania, standing to the side, was immediately somewhat frustrated: "Uncle, why don't you change the details of the ritual first? Like changing all the 8s to 6s, or changing 'palms facing the sky' to 'feet facing the sky' or something like that. Then we'd see how he turns the ritual into a self-destruction, that would be quite comical."
Hayden was speechless: "You read too many martial arts novels. I'm not Hong Qigong. Besides, I'm actually a very trustworthy person, okay?"
Even if Hayden truly followed the example of that Northern Beggar, there's no guarantee Adam wouldn't discover the inconsistencies in the ritual documents. So why is the old professor asking this now?
Everyone sitting in this conference room, whether or not they were Professor Albion's students (although half of them were), held the old professor's academic authority in high esteem. Now, hearing him speak, everyone naturally quieted down, looked at the professor, and waited to hear what he had to say.
But Professor Albion was unusually silent for a while. He stared at Hayden and Angela for a long time before slowly saying, "Actually, I've been researching the [Name Transformation and Fate Breaking Ritual] recently."
"Hayden, you and Lady Abigail both witnessed Hecate performing this ritual. Lady Abigail even inherited Hecate's memories and knowledge about the ritual. So, can you truly understand the essence of this ritual?"
This question caused Hayden and Abigail to exchange a glance. Finally, Abigail, who already possessed knowledge of the ritual, spoke up: "The true name represents the self, and the true name is connected to destiny. Severing one's true name signifies transcending destiny. It can also be used to prevent magical attacks targeting the true name."
Hecate did exactly that. By severing her true name, she prevented Hayden from attacking her with the "Great Project." To put it another way, it's like suddenly "cutting off" your own IP address, making your IP "non-existent." Others' magic naturally loses its target—of course, this is inherently illogical, which is why it's a "secret ritual" that requires a special artifact.
However, Professor Albion shook his head after hearing Abigail's definition.
“Hayden, Ms. Abigail, you both need to think about this from a different perspective. Cutting off one’s real name also means becoming nameless. However, life must have a name to define itself; without a name, it is not a true birth.”
"Then how could the true goddess Hecate of the Dark Moon, after severing her original name, with her pride, possibly be willing to remain an incomplete, nameless being forever?"
"After destroying her original destiny, she will naturally give herself a new name... and a name that she truly wants. She will naturally want to create a brand new destiny for herself."
"And wasn't Adam, that child, the same?"
268: Build high walls and store plenty of grain.
“To sever one’s true name also means to become nameless. However, life must have a name to define itself; without a name, it is not a true birth.”
"Then how could the true goddess Hecate of the Dark Moon, after severing her original name, with her pride, possibly be willing to remain an incomplete, nameless being forever?"
"After destroying her original destiny, she will naturally give herself a new name... and a name that she truly wants. She will naturally want to create a brand new destiny for herself."
"And wasn't Adam, that child, the same?"
Professor Albion said so.
That makes a lot of sense.
These words jolted Hayden completely back to his senses. And in retrospect, it shouldn't have been strange at all. Hayden now remembered that Adam had said something similar to him a few years ago.
"I did all this so that I could have a good ending."
"I did all this to defy fate—to change my own destiny."
"Hayden, do you understand what I'm saying?"
Adam once said something like this to Hayden. He confided in Hayden that all his efforts and struggles were for the purpose of not being a lower class, but a higher class, and that he would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
Everything was for the purpose of changing his own destiny, which perfectly aligns with the profound principles of the "Transformation of Name and Breaking of Fate Ritual".
Following this line of thought, the spell that erases a name and the spell that adds a new one certainly wouldn't be the same. However, everyone present knew that Hayden had previously given new names to Abigail and the [Dead Sea Child], and they couldn't help but look at him: "Hayden, you didn't teach Adam the [Name-Giving Spell], did you?"
Hayden quickly shook his head: "How could I be that stupid?"
If Adam and Hayden both wanted these two technical documents, Hayden would have realized it by now.
Even so, it doesn't mean everything is perfect. Professor Albion nodded, then turned to Abigail and asked, "Madam, does the knowledge and memories left by Hecate include the [Name-Giving Technique]?"
Hayden possesses the [Art of Naming]. His "ability" stems from his repeated encounters with the wisdom of the higher realms in the Fallen City and the Dead Sea, allowing him to naturally comprehend this "art" from the "Tao," and indirectly through the supreme power of the [Sword of Words]. However, this doesn't mean others, especially the Fallen Angels, wouldn't possess the same technique. Rather, the risk involved is immense.
However, Abigail shook her head, her expression slightly embarrassed: "I don't have any. But the memories and knowledge Hecate left with me are at most only about 30% to 40% of the original."
Looking back now, it wasn't that Hecate lacked the ability to name things; it's just that Abigail simply didn't inherit that knowledge. But did Adam possess it?
Recalling the strange song magic at the end of [Artificial Angel] that was somewhat similar to [Sword of Words], Hayden scratched his head and couldn't help but sigh—it seemed that Adam had probably really created something similar.
“No wonder you said that Adam is similar to you yet different,” Abigail said, probably thinking the same thing. “You two are both very good at piecing together random parts into what you need.”
Hayden waved his hand dismissively: "What do you know? This is called the wisdom of the working class. When I was in college, I already knew that I could use cheap rum instead of champagne as a potion ingredient."
"No wonder I heard when I was a junior that some monkeys in the lab next door went berserk and turned into gorillas during drug trials." Karen shook her head weakly. "How did you even manage to graduate? Was it all thanks to the professors protecting you?"
While Hayden boasts about the "wisdom of the working class," when it comes to potion-making skills, there are three people here who are better than him. Moreover, Abigail, that old witch, climbed up from the bottom of society four hundred years ago, and she has all sorts of ridiculous money-saving tricks for potions—but that's not the point right now.
"Hayden has never really caused any major trouble. Although he occasionally breaks some equipment and tools, including mice and monkeys, he has never actually injured or killed anyone. At that time, he was mainly trying to develop cheap potions by figuring out low-cost alternatives to these ingenious techniques. Of course, I have to protect him."
Professor Albion calmly picked up the conversation.
"If it weren't for a series of coincidences, I would have always thought that Hayden might have become an outstanding figure like a god of medicine. But that's getting off-topic. Let's get down to business—no matter what, a large-scale magical ritual pieced together is very unreliable. Especially since I've been researching this [Name Transformation and Fate Breaking Ritual] recently. It actually requires many conditions to be performed and is very complicated."
And so, the old professor explained some details of the [Name-Changing and Fate-Breaking Ritual] to this group of people who were not familiar with the specifics. Although changing one's fate and creating a new one sounds wonderful, this extremely profound ancient magical ritual is definitely not simple to perform in practice. If Professor Albion's research results are correct, then to sever one's original name, it is necessary to simultaneously have another person closely connected to oneself "receive" that name.
As Angela once said, nothing that has ever existed truly disappears. Forcibly severing one's true name requires giving that name a new place to belong. For Hecate of the Dark Moon, that "place" is Abigail, her agent with whom she has a four-hundred-year-old pact. The two share a pact between a witch and her benefactor, which has lasted for over four hundred years; their connection is strong enough for Abigail to passively accept the name "Hecate."
But everyone knows that Hecate was forced to perform the ritual while being beaten to the ground by Hayden, which is why 30-40% of her knowledge and memories were transferred to Abigail along with her name. As for Hayden using his supreme wisdom and the "sword of words" to forcibly combine the two names into "Abigail Hecate," that's his skill... I digress. In short, Adam also needs an object with whom he has a strong emotional connection to receive his current name, and he needs a ritual that is more complete and reliable than the one Hecate underwent.
So, who will Adam choose to take his current name? Who will be this person with whom he has a close enough relationship? The first person that comes to mind is, of course, his devilish wife. But when Hayden came to his senses, he found that Karen, Professor Albion, and even Abigail were all looking at him.
Hayden wasn't stupid; he immediately realized what was going on: "You don't mean Adam is planning to use me as a 'sacrifice,' do you!?"
“It’s entirely possible,” Professor Albion said calmly. “Synergistic connections are largely linked to emotions. Brotherhood, friendship, all forms of love—and hate—are all strong sympathetic connections that can be used to transmit magic.”
"Hayden, you and Adam were best buddies in college, sharing a dorm room and practically inseparable. As for now, I know you've basically fallen out, just one step away from a complete falling out, but even so, the changed form of your relationship still retains a strong connection."
(Note: All student dormitories at Changqingzhou University are double rooms.)
Hayden, as a wizard, certainly understood this principle. Even hatred is a way of showing respect for the existence of others. If you care about someone to the point of preferring them dead rather than alive, it at least means that you are thinking about them.
Only indifference and utter nonchalance can completely sever ties (connections). However, Hayden was not that kind of person.
So Karen, who had been listening to this from the beginning, finally spoke up: "Hayden, you should stay inside the barrier of Newbeam City for the time being and not leave the city easily."
"This is ridiculous," Hayden muttered weakly. "Are you worried that I'll get hit by ritual magic from a distance as soon as I step out of the barrier, and then Adam will possess me?"
He was joking. However, judging from the expressions on everyone's faces now, it seems like they might actually be thinking that.
“The barrier of New Sprout City is very strong, and it is becoming stronger every day as we strengthen its infrastructure. Even my father could not penetrate it remotely…” Karen hesitated for a moment, then thought better of it and decided not to make any too definitive statements. “Even most of the Great Gods of the Bright Kings could not penetrate our barrier remotely and affect you inside it.”
At least it proves that even Freya, a great goddess skilled in magic, couldn't do it, which is already a very good result.
"So for the next period of time, unless there is a life-or-death situation, I hope you will not leave the barrier area of New Sprout City."
Karen's bright amber eyes were fixed intently on Hayden, her tone equally serious. The others were much the same. None of them could afford the risk of losing Hayden. Even Hayden himself had to admit it was a wise and rational decision.
Hayden is undoubtedly the core of this small group. He is the one who allows this little group of gods to exist. But precisely because of this, the day will always come—there will always be times when everyone is afraid to let Hayden go out and do things.
Hayden understood this principle as well.
So he just made a rather unfunny joke, lacking any enthusiasm: "So am I just going to stay home and become a shut-in? Who's going to handle the external affairs and public relations afterwards?"
"Our main focus right now is on farming. There are so many things to do in the city, you definitely won't complain about having nothing to do. As for foreign affairs..."
Karen placed a finger on her face, seemingly lost in thought, then nodded to Pania.
"Panya will be in charge of foreign affairs and public relations."
Pania's protests almost drowned out Hayden's objections.
--------------------------------
Fortunately, it turned out that Karen was just joking.
...She was joking, right?
"Alright, alright, anyway, there are still a lot of things I can do in the city."
Now that everyone had reached a conclusion in the meeting, Hayden was quite open-minded and immediately prepared to get back to work. In fact, he had always been like that; as long as he had something to do, money to eat, and internet access, he wouldn't really mind staying at home for three years.
The others were relieved to see that Hayden had no objections.
As for Angela... well, she never panicked from the very beginning.
“I’m very interested in what Hayden relayed about Adam’s words regarding the economic crisis and the Great Depression.” Thus, to conclude the meeting, Karen announced, “Although we don’t know whether the so-called Great Depression is real or not, according to that logic, our most important task next is to stockpile real goods and strengthen our production capacity, because fiat currency will probably be useless by then.”
Pania asked curiously, "Does this mean we'll have to barter with other companies? Wow, this isn't a post-apocalyptic novel."
The others weren't as optimistic as Panya, and besides, everyone was starting to realize that Panya was quite prone to making prophetic statements... Was this something she and Hayden had in common?
But in any case, this is the only solution Hayden's team has come up with this time; it's a passive approach they had no choice but to take.
...However, as the meeting ended and everyone was preparing to go home, Professor Albion called out to Angela while Hayden was playfully fighting with Pania.
“Your Excellency, I must ask you something.” He spoke to Angela with both humility and directness, “What do you think that artificial angel Hayden saw was?”
Angela glanced at Hayden beside her, then turned back and tilted her head again: "I didn't see that so-called angel doll with my own eyes, so I can't be sure. But it's obvious that creating another me is definitely impossible."
“I agree with that view, especially since it was probably something Adam did in private.”
The professor nodded, but he was still clearly very worried. "But what exactly could it be?"
In contrast, Angela didn't seem to care much about the matter.