Chapter 247: Religious Propagation and the Independence Tower

10 years.

A decade, a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of things.

Finney and his team of officials and scholars successfully introduced the new rules to the Olive Branch Civilization lives within the simulated reality.

In the later stages, they were no longer limited to just teaching.

After all, their numbers were small, and even if they could make 1000 Olive Branch Civilization lives realize the flaws of the Gaius Glory in a week, they could only change 52,000 lives in a year.

In 10,000 years, that's 520 million.

What's the point?

So, in the later stages, they collectively decided to adopt a religious approach to their mission.

They split into two factions: one adopted Buddhist scriptures, and the other Christian doctrine. Both factions excelled in their propagation speed, and their leaders could remain as abbots or bishops in the church, maintaining the stability of the religion. This way, they didn't have to bear the burden of preaching all the time, as they could delegate the task to missionaries.

The reason they chose these two religions was that, aside from the human civilization, no other civilization in the Federation had religious beliefs.

Or rather, their religions were limited to a superficial worship of nature, without elevating to the level of a true religion.

With this new approach, the plan was successfully carried out.

Even Chu eventually converted to Buddhism, reciting sutras daily and rocking back and forth while striking a wooden fish.

When the 10 years were up, and the simulated reality faded away, Chu and the other Olive Branch Civilization lives finally came to their senses.

The Buddhist robe on Chu's body disappeared, along with the wooden fish in front of him. He remained frozen in the motion of striking the wooden fish for a long time before snapping out of it.

"Amitabha, well done... Ah, forget it!"

For a while, Chu struggled to adjust, but he soon sent a message to all Star City citizens via the internet.

"I never imagined that the Gaius Glory would leave a backup plan within our bodies. In this situation, we have no chance of defeating the Gaius Glory and regaining our individual freedom."

"To resist the Gaius Glory, we must have our own glory."

"I propose that we create an Independent Glory here. We should also have a faith, and that faith should be in ourselves. We must stand for independence!"

Chu's call received a response from billions of Star City citizens.

Initially, the citizens of Star City didn't have strong feelings about the Gaius Glory because most of them had been in that state from the beginning. The new socialist ideology was the foreign element, the invader in their lives.

However, when socialism brought them new conveniences and freedoms, and they were forcibly dragged into the Gaius Glory again, their resentment towards it intensified. This hatred peaked the moment the simulated reality was lifted.

Chu's plan received an astonishing 98.4% approval rating.

Such a high level of support was unprecedented in Star City, not even within the Federation itself.

It's challenging to achieve 90% support, let alone from a small group of just a few dozen people, let alone a scale of billions.

Riding on this wave of support, Chu quickly formulated numerous plans.

The primary goal was to establish the Independence Tower, which was not just a symbol of faith but also a repository for the consciousness of Star City citizens. If Star City citizens were ever influenced by the Gaius Glory again, this stored consciousness could awaken the affected individuals.

This was the best solution Chu could think of at the time.

It was common knowledge that the bodies of the Olive Branch Civilization lives had secret keys and needed to be replaced entirely. However, Star City couldn't accomplish this at the moment.

There were simply too many lives in Star City.

The fastest and most efficient solution was to defeat glory with glory.

During this process, Chu also sought out Finney.

"Thank you for saving Star City, or rather, for saving me."

"The Second Leader discovered that the deadly weapon couldn't destroy Star City, so he used the Gaius Glory to assimilate it. After assimilation, he wouldn't destroy Star City, and most citizens would be fine. Only I and a few others would be sent to the Second Leader for arbitration."

"It's both laughable and tragic. This time, I finally understood what the Gaius Glory truly is, and I can no longer tolerate them controlling us like this."

Finney could sense Chu's anger, and the feeling of being controlled was undoubtedly unpleasant.

If it were just the Gaius Glory itself, Chu might not have been so angry, as the Gaius Glory represented all the lives of the Olive Branch Civilization.

However, this time, the control was exerted by an individual.

A king and his subjects!

Just as a king cannot understand his subjects, subjects cannot understand their king.

The Olive Branch Civilization had been pretending that there was no king, so naturally, there was no one to rule over them.

But now, with the king exposed, the subjects felt constrained and restricted.

The lives of the Olive Branch Civilization had self-awareness, and they were not much different from other life forms. This had its advantages and disadvantages.

The disadvantage at this point was that lives disliked being constrained and restricted.

Order was the enemy of life, and chaos was the essence of the universe!

Life sought order because order brought rewards, and order made life happier. As civilization advanced, the pleasures life could experience became more diverse.

If order couldn't bring happiness to life, then chaos would prevail.

"The Federation can help you," Finney said, repeating words he had spoken to Chu long ago, a phrase that every Federation official would say to Chu.

Chu hummed in response.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to."

"But this is an internal matter for our civilization. You've overstepped your boundaries this time. I'm here to thank you, but also to warn you."

He didn't want the Federation officials to think that they could do whatever they wanted in Star City after saving it. This was Chu's primary purpose for coming here.

There was also another reason.

"I know the Federation has a technology that can quickly absorb stellar energy, and I need that technology."

Star City itself was wrapped around a star to absorb its energy more efficiently, but the Olive Branch Civilization didn't have much development in this area because they didn't have such a need before.

However, this time, Chu clearly understood the power of this technology.

"What do you want in return?" Finney asked.

Chu thought for a moment before making his decision.

"What about the manufacturing method of Star City?"

Finney's eyes lit up at this suggestion. "Are you serious?"

Star City's structure was very strong and ideal for starships. With this technology, the Federation's starships would be significantly enhanced.

Chu nodded in affirmation.

He also had his own thoughts. The structure of Star City was similar to that of the Olive Branch Civilization lives, and he was concerned that Star City might also have a secret key, possibly held by the First Leader.

If the First Leader took action, Star City might face collapse.

By handing over the manufacturing method, Chu was also relying on the Federation's knowledge to solve this potential problem.

In the end, this trade was a fair deal for Chu.