These words made Karen raise her eyebrows immediately: "You didn't know? I thought you had secretly investigated my background before."
"They only found out about your father. My informant only said that your mother is probably a deity from the Norse pantheon, from the Wotan Mystic Technology Company."
So Karen nodded, and was about to speak when—
With a loud "bang!", the door to the reception room was suddenly slammed open again!
Before he saw the person, he heard their voice! Not only that, Hayden also sensed a chilling aura, an empty touch. The power of fear, cold, and darkness arrived, radiating hollow echoes from nothingness. This terrifying feeling even gave Hayden goosebumps.
Then a woman who looked to be no more than twenty years old, wearing a white dress, walked into the room.
"Karen, how can you call your father an old man?"
The woman spoke in a very calm voice.
Strangely enough, her appearance was quite different from Karen's or the other celestial maidens in the Peacock Palace. Although this woman was also beautiful, she was clearly not the kind of stunning beauty that Karen and the others possessed through genetic modification. At first glance, Hayden realized—this person was probably a mortal who had ascended to godhood.
However, her appearance was still strange. Her skin was as white as snow, the hair on the left side of her head was also snow white, but the hair on the right side was as black as ebony, and both of her eyes were the color of amber.
Besides, although this woman didn't possess the awe-inspiring "god of war" aura of the Peacock King, she had another kind of terrifying divine power. That kind of power was like that of a butcher; even without knowing a single martial art, years of slaughter could accumulate an aura of indifference towards life on a person's body.
...Is this woman Karen's mother?
Hayden didn't know what to do at this point, since it was someone else's business.
But then the woman strolled over slowly, and before you knew it, she was in front of Karen. With a slap, she grabbed Karen's face and started rubbing it: "You brat, you only come home after you've caught your man? I'd rather give birth to a piece of char siu than give birth to you!"
what?
"What the hell are you old geezers thinking...?"
However, before Karen could finish her rant, her body immediately began to slow down, slow down, slow down, and then stopped moving in place.
Her mother merely touched her, and Karen, this rising star who could be considered to have divine qualities, was frozen in place.
"Let her out again during dinner time, so she doesn't cause any trouble."
The goddess turned around, looked at the dumbfounded Hayden, and smiled slightly.
"You're my daughter's best friend? I'm Hela, the vice chief technology officer of Wotan Mystic Technology Corporation—well, looking at it this way, our names do seem quite similar?"
The word Hella means "hidden" in Old Norse, or the ancient Norse language.
But that's clearly not what Hayden is most concerned about right now.
"Hello, Ms. Hela."
He carefully grasped the hand that Haila extended.
"Excuse me, are you perhaps in charge of managing the Underworld at Wotan Corporation?"
Hayden probably shouldn't have asked such a question on their first meeting, but he simply couldn't take it anymore. The goddess Hela alone exuded pressure from the void. Mortals couldn't even stand before her.
Even more frightening was that Angela herself showed an awkward expression after Hela entered. There weren't many things that could make Angela dislike something, so Hayden immediately guessed the possible source of the aura.
Angela dislikes the underworld created by modern large corporations.
"You actually knew that? This is something that's not usually publicized."
Hela raised an eyebrow at this, a gesture quite similar to her daughter's.
"My main responsibility is managing Wotan Corporation's [Heim Underworld] and Necromancer Energy Conversion Center."
As she spoke, she gestured with both hands; a pure white alchemical flame of life ignited in her left hand, while her right hand condensed dark Styx necromantic energy.
Half-alive, half-dead; half-white, half-black.
Hayden finally realized why this goddess terrified him so much.
She is a semi-undead, a living dead, standing at the midpoint between life and death.
Moreover, he is a new god who simultaneously controls life energy and the power of death.
"Alright, Hela, you should treat your guests well. After returning from the underworld, go and use the sunlight to cleanse yourselves of the yin energy."
Finally, it was Peacock King who spoke first.
"Today we're entertaining guests for dinner, let's talk about anything else at the table."
The goddess of the underworld from the Wotan Company wasn't angry at her husband's words. She turned around with a smile and slowly walked away.
On the contrary, Karen was frozen in place like a stone statue and couldn't move.
Now Hayden understood why Karen had said her mother was a bit strange.
--------------------------
That being said, at this "family dinner" table, Hela treated Hayden quite warmly. She didn't ask Hayden anything difficult or awkward to answer; she mainly asked about his relationship with Karen from their time in college to their current work, and how Karen was doing lately. It felt like a mother showing concern for her daughter, chatting about everyday things.
The Peacock King was incredibly imposing, so Hayden couldn't relax at all when speaking to him. However, Hela, the goddess of the underworld, while she had just been deathly and terrifying, also spoke with surprising energy. Therefore, the more Hayden talked to her, the more bewildered he felt.
Hayden had become rather withdrawn since his parents' death, rarely interacting with anyone except a few close friends. Although he harbored resentment and prejudice against capitalists, now, dealing with Hela—the goddess of the Wotan Corporation, a shareholder, a true rentier, and a major capitalist—he found her not to be the kind of evil being heinous, but rather no different from a mortal sister or aunt, even quite friendly and approachable.
Of course, this could be because Hela was originally a mortal who ascended to godhood. But Hayden always felt that wasn't the case.
Meanwhile, Karen, who was eating at the same table, was much more subdued... or rather, seemed quite dejected.
"What happened to you?"
So Hayden found an opportunity to ask quietly.
Karen did not answer him.
When she barged in, her father said her skills were practically rusted. And when her mother barged in, she froze her in one move. Keep in mind that while Hela is an intimidating goddess, she's not actually a combat-oriented deity.
Although Kallen is not a god, her combat talent was designed to be no less than that of the War Gods.
It's normal to lose to your mother, but to be caught off guard and subdued in one move—has her skill really become rusty? Only the person experiencing it knows the truth. Karen herself knew very well that she hadn't practiced martial arts for twelve years. Since starting university, she hadn't even touched the swords, spears, or axes in the warehouse.
Now that Peacock King's words are before us, aren't they true? Karen's skills have indeed rusted; she's even lost her fighting spirit. And when your father sees you so clearly, you can't help but wonder if he's right in other matters as well.
But she shouldn't have regretted it. Didn't she already know? Martial arts can't save the world. If Peacock King and Mithra Bodhisattva were to fight one-on-one in the arena, Peacock King would almost certainly win. However, in reality, Mithra is the Bodhisattva who controls the greatest power, wealth, and energy in the world, while Peacock is merely a secondary deity.
Despite knowing this, Karen still fell silent because of her father's words, feeling somewhat disappointed.
It's difficult to balance doing business, developing new technologies, making money through entrepreneurship, and practicing martial arts. Even if you have extraordinary abilities, a day only has twenty-four hours. Perhaps you're immortal, but aren't your competitors also immortal? If you spend two more hours practicing martial arts and two fewer hours on business, your business rivals might surpass you.
Capitalists themselves are nothing more than slaves bound by this marketplace. This is terrifying.
Her father probably wanted her to continue practicing martial arts and cultivating her skills. But that wasn't what Karen wanted.
So, although the meal was actually filled with delicacies like dragon liver and phoenix marrow, leopard fetus and unicorn meat, Karen ate it with a bitter taste, feeling distressed and unsatisfied.
And so, Hela and Hayden were the ones who spoke most at the dinner table, while Karen and Peacock King didn't say much.
Finally, just as Hayden finished explaining how he and Karen had built a strong relationship of mutual trust and how they ended up cooperating for the same goal, Karen seized an opportunity to pause and suddenly spoke:
"Dad, Mom, I won't give up my current career to go home. I also won't go back to Mitra Group to work in human resources. No matter how much money I can earn or how much power I can wield as a senior executive in a big company—"
Before she could finish speaking, the Peacock King lightly tapped the porcelain cup in front of her with his fingernail. A powerful "hum" resounded, instantly forcing Karen to stop speaking.
神技
If the Peacock King wanted, he could simply take a porcelain cup to the battlefield and tap it, and the sound waves would obliterate thousands of mortals.
“If I really wanted to bring you back and force you to go home, I would have done it long ago. Your skills are rusty; I wouldn’t need to go to great lengths to take you down, and I wouldn’t need to worry about you fighting to the death.”
Then, Peacock King calmly said...
"You didn't rely on me or Hela's help; you withstood the petty sabotage from the two deputy directors, Huanxitian and Tujinitian, which proves your ability to survive independently. Even if you're a bit arrogant now, I won't say anything more. Results are everything and can shut everyone up."
Huanxi Tian and Tujini Tian, the two deputy directors!?
Hayden and Karen then realized that it was actually two top executives from the Mitra Corporation who had teamed up to sabotage them. Although neither of them had personally intervened, relying instead on business and political maneuvering and their underlings, it was truly remarkable that they had managed to hold on!
"Especially that séance you created. After the executives saw that séance, they all thought you were powerful enough. Since you already have such séance abilities, they probably won't easily send demons to attack your businesses anymore, because it's easy to lose money."
Having the ability to summon spirits, and the fact that a summoned wizard can instantly kill a high-ranking demon, means that even if Kallen is preoccupied with other matters and unable to attend to others, her subordinates can still exert formidable combat power and defend the battlefield. Such abilities form the basis of divine authority, enough to make other gods consider the cost of attacking.
"With such achievements, I naturally have no reason to stop you from now on. Be careful when you go out on your own."
After speaking, the Peacock King picked up his porcelain cup and took a sip of tea, appearing quite calm—however, he forgot that his cup was already empty, and thus felt like he had drunk nothing at all.
Karen and Hayden were stunned by what the Peacock King had said.
"Don't mind him, that's just how my husband is, all bark and no bite."
Hela waved her hand, explaining to Hayden while scolding her husband.
“But my foolish daughter, there are some things your father doesn’t want to say, but I still have to say them—the recent market competition is more troublesome than you imagine, which is why your father has always been worried about you becoming independent.”
As she spoke, her expression became unusually serious, and she gently tapped the wooden tabletop.
"You want to be independent and face life's ups and downs on your own? That's great. Although your mother isn't interested in your ideals of purifying the earth's pollution, she won't object either. Everyone can have dreams. I also climbed up from being a mortal necromancer."
"However, now is not a good time to start your own business. Do you know how much the number of middle-class people going bankrupt and jumping off buildings has increased in the past year? Do you know that recently, even employees of large companies have started to die from overwork? The current situation is not good, very bad. If you want to be independent now, you will not be facing a gentle breeze, but a storm."
These words finally brought Hayden and Karen back to their senses. The two quickly exchanged a tense glance, both understanding the implication.
What does Hela mean by saying this? If both she and Peacock King think this way, what does that signify?
Market conditions are changing, and it's not just a small-scale, ordinary deterioration.
"It won't be today, it won't be tomorrow, and it probably won't be next month either."
Then Peacock King spoke, continuing the conversation.
"But a storm is coming. This storm may even shake the thrones of some gods."
A storm is brewing.
Moreover, it could even escalate into a war.
Because this wind could shake the throne of the gods of capital.
Therefore, every god would definitely do everything in their power to protect their own interests, tearing each other apart.
“At times like these, it would be extremely unwise to give up your innate strength and the gifts your family has given you.”
Thus said the Peacock King.
101: I vow to liberate all sentient beings.
Modern deities have different true forms and origins.
However, regardless of whether they are new or old, they have all lived for at least a century and are powerful and influential. They have accumulated a great deal of wealth and knowledge, and have continuously seized resources and information from all areas within the reach of capital, making them, in a sense, the heart and brain of society.
It is said that the eight bodhisattvas on the board of directors of the Mithra Group, and Wotan (also known as Odin, the Germanic name for Odin), the chairman of the Wotan Company, all possess the supernatural power to see through the causes and effects of the past and future.
That being said, Hayden did not believe that such supernatural powers were completely omniscient, otherwise the observation and interference between a large number of omniscient beings would certainly become very painful.
Even if they don't possess the ability to foresee the future to a certain extent like Bodhisattvas or Odin, the admonitions given by Peacock King and Hela can still be considered prophecies or predictions based on reasonable grounds. Peacock King, for example, is among the oldest intelligent beings in the world; Hela, though much younger, a new deity who ascended to heaven from mortal form only a few decades ago, is still over a hundred years old.
Their predictions, based on experience, knowledge, and intelligence, are entirely different from Hayden's occasional premonitions that skip the process and go straight to the result.
Hayden was utterly exhausted, even his usual intuition was dulled. But even in his most tired state, he could still sense that the words of the Peacock King and the goddess Hela were well-intentioned and highly credible.
As for Karen, she's not stupid, and she naturally understands that her parents aren't there to trick her.
But what kind of personality does she have?
To put it bluntly—is Karen afraid of death?
Karen was truly fearless. She genuinely ran away from home in her teens to study, hoping to alleviate the suffering of the world. She truly believed that rather than continuing to be a capitalist's daughter at home, it was better to bravely take a chance, even if it meant dying and becoming nourishing flowers in spring.
What's even more frightening is that it's not surprising for teenagers to think this way; many people have been young once. What's frightening is that this woman has remained a naive young woman until she's almost thirty. Although she has suffered a lot over the years, even having to work as a corporate slave for several years, which has tempered her will, the ideals in her heart have never been extinguished and have been secretly burning in her heart until today.
Although part of her determination came from Hayden's encouragement a year earlier, Karen is essentially a determined and particularly stubborn person.
More than six months ago, she seized an opportunity and immediately turned her life around by starting her own business, Dream Flower. It wasn't to make money for herself, but to develop pollution-removing technology so that more people could have a better living environment. Her determination stemmed from a deep-seated belief, not from cognitive dissonance or a wealthy heiress's act of charity.
To some extent, Karen is stubborn and a bit too rigid.
Now that Peacock King and Hela are telling her that a great storm is about to sweep across the world, and may even shake the throne of the gods, and that it is time to lower her head and avoid the storm, how could Kallen be afraid?
Ever since she was twelve, she had been trying to defy the prevailing trends of the world. She had long been fighting against this pattern and reality. Even if she didn't yet know the solution, she at least knew that this kind of thing couldn't be solved by cowering in the dark.
"I have already staked my fate on this stage, betting on whether I can change the world."
That's why Karen said so coldly at this moment.
"Do you expect me to bow my head and stop now? Absolutely not, as you all know. And if I don't bow my head and instead rely on you, I'm just transferring the pressure to you."
These words made Hela turn her head and exchange a glance with Peacock King. The latter remained calm, but Hela seemed somewhat surprised, as if she hadn't expected her daughter to say such a thing.
That's why Karen continued, uttering that crucial sentence: "I will prove that there are other ways for everyone to survive, besides the outdated and corrupt paths you have planned, besides the ridiculous rules of this world now. Moreover, this new method can liberate all beings from the suffering brought about by the current world."