After March arrived, this place became increasingly lively. As malls and supermarkets gradually reopened, the Safe Zone began to regain a hint of its pre-apocalyptic prosperity.

Walking into the supermarket, looking at the bustling crowd, Chen Shouyi almost felt as if he had returned to the past, if not for the gasoline lamps replacing the electric lights overhead and the meager selection of goods on the shelves.

He walked to the toy section of the supermarket and swept all eight boxes of Barbie Dolls, each measuring about fifteen centimeters, into his shopping cart.

These were likely old stock, and it would likely become increasingly difficult to purchase them as time went on.

Fortunately, each box of Barbie Dolls came with eighteen outfits, totaling one hundred forty-four outfits across the eight boxes. The Shell Lady could wear them for several years, and if she was frugal, with some mending and patching, they could last her over a decade.

Next, he moved to the adult clothing section and filled his cart with a huge pile of goods for himself.

He tended to wear out clothes and shoes quickly these days.

The clothes and shoes he bought might last ten to twenty wears if he's lucky; if not, they might be ruined after just one wear. For him, no matter how good the clothes are, they all end up the same way.

After checkout, he walked out of the supermarket and glanced up at the sky—it was yet another overcast day.

......

Unlike the universe where Earth existed, the alternate world was made up of a multi-layered structure. Besides the main world, there were countless demi-planes attached to the main plane, resembling a giant bubble surrounded by numerous small bubbles.

These bubbles varied in size; some emitted a dull sheen, while others glowed faintly.

Some were gradually disintegrating, like a balloon being punctured, with a vast amount of matter ejecting outward, forming a spectacular yet terrifying stream of material.

Others were gradually taking shape, with the surrounding space bizarrely distorting, as countless substances were drawn in, forming a massive vortex.

In one of the small planes emitting a hazy glow.

It appeared abundant with bird songs and fragrant flowers, lush shades of green, overflowing with life. Numerous tribes, large and small, here worked with the rising sun and rested with its setting, living a happy, peaceful, and simple life.

These people were not ordinary life forms but were special creations under the Divine Country's laws from the souls of deceased followers; every follower, based on their age at death and the extent of their devoutness in life, was able to coalesce a brand new body under these divine laws.

They were known as Petitioners.

The degree of a follower's devoutness determined the age of the Petitioner's body, as well as its strength; the more devout the follower, the younger and stronger the body, and the less prone to illness.

Indeed, they would still experience birth, aging, sickness, and death, but as long as a certain devoutness level was maintained, they could revive again; if their devoutness was robust enough, they might even live eternally.

Therefore, the more ancient the god, the larger the number of Petitioners, often tens or hundreds of times greater than their terrestrial followers.

However, these Petitioners could not be compared with terrestrial followers because their very existence depended on consuming the Divine Country's strength. A hundred devout Petitioners might not even be as beneficial to the deity as one devout terrestrial follower.

Nonetheless, numbers compensated for everything; a god who had been around long enough would find the Power of Faith provided by Petitioners often surpassing that of earthly followers, even by several times.

Here, there was little danger, and no need to worry about sustenance; every Petitioner lived a calm and harmonious life.

However, such scenes were only in the past; at present, the Divine Country was facing a tremendous upheaval.

...

Inside a simple yet majestic palace, a Giant with a waist girded by a beast hide emitting brilliant hues sat high on the Divine Throne, his brow furrowed.

His entire body muscled and knotted, standing six to seven meters tall in just the upper body, bearing a primitive appearance and exuding a rugged yet resolute aura. To one side of the Throne rested a Giant Axe, three to four meters long, adorned with countless mysterious patterns.

He was the God of Courage, Dabono.

At that moment, He seemed to sense something and raised His head, His gaze piercing through the grand palace, through the clouds, looking toward the endless sky. The entire demi-plane was shrouded in clouds, with lightning and thunder, resembling an apocalyptic scene.

At this moment, centering on the palace, nearly ten million Petitioners were positioned over several hundred square kilometers, a black mass kneeling down, fervently praying loudly, their voices echoing through the Divine Country.

With a thunderous boom, a massive meteor, ablaze with fierce flames, descended from high above with an annihilating momentum, swiftly parting the dense clouds, tearing open a massive gap several kilometers wide.

Before even reaching the ground, the violent gale caused distant forests to lean to one side.

Seated on the Divine Throne, Dabono's hand moved slightly, but He let it drop again resignedly.

This was a sign of His divine rank about to fall; futilely expending Divine Power only worsens the situation instead of improving it.

The Divine Country is a demi-plane, but a demi-plane isn't the Divine Country.

If the demi-plane is compared to a program, then the Divine Country is the demi-plane with a controlled backend; through countless years of divine transformation and influence, the entire Divine Country has long been closely intertwined with Him, melding with His divine rank and position, becoming His domain and stronghold.

Here, His power can be amplified geometrically; a mere thought could turn mountains into seas, deserts into forests, breath into clouds, and sighs into rain, shifting the colors of the world, inciting storms.

Yet nothing in the world is flawless; once a divine rank falls, the Divine Country cannot be maintained and will inevitably encounter severe damage as well.

Two consecutive outpourings of Original Force caused His strength to diminish continuously; even the transmission of Power of Faith became harder, suffering severe losses; of the ten portions of faith energy, less than half remain, almost unable to sustain His divine rank, on the verge of falling back to a Demigod.

Especially recently, as conflicts between the gods surged in chaotic disorder, He absolutely didn't wish His weakness to be detected and attacked, leading to eternal slumber.

After about ten seconds, the enormous fireball finally crashed heavily into a forest.

With a "boom," the entire Divine Country trembled violently.

A giant mushroom cloud slowly rose, endless shockwaves mixed with flames rapidly spreading around, about to approach the outermost Petitioners. But all Petitioners showed no sign of fear; even in the face of imminent death, they continued to pray loudly.

Finally, Dabono extended His hand, and an invisible yet gentle force instantly spread.

The originally destructive shockwave turned into a gentle breeze upon contact with this force.

The Divine Country may suffer damage, but the Petitioners must not endure any losses.

Although Petitioners can revive after death, if the deity stood by and watched followers die without intervention, doubts might infiltrate their revived belief, even affecting more Petitioners.

In such times, wavering faith would be disastrous for Him.

After the meteor's passing, the Divine Country seemed to temporarily channel the unrest, finally stabilizing again.

Dabono picked up the massive War Axe and stood up from the Divine Throne, observing the now devastated Divine Country, a flicker of distress and ferocity crossed His face. The ordeal of the Divine Country this time solidified His resolve.

ps: I spent the day playing with my child, so there's only one update today.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.