002
Zhi Wei's mind was completely blank.
No—right now, she couldn’t even perceive the existence of her own brain.
The host—no, the host sphere—continued its routine announcement: "Zhi Wei, you have five minutes to prepare. The podium is equipped with available devices where you can place your speech notes and detailed proposals."
…What speech notes and proposals?
Five minutes. What could she possibly do in five minutes? She couldn’t even boil a packet of spicy chicken noodles in that time!
In that instant, her brain flickered into static, like an old, signal-less television screen, emitting a low, crackling hum from its bulky back panel.
She looked out at the audience, at the countless, densely packed figures shimmering like distant stars.
Those in the front rows were real people, their expressions so close she could read the skepticism in their eyes.
The figures further back were hazy, their faces and bodies blurred by a surreal glow, as if she were caught in a dream—yet it all felt unnervingly real.
Zhi Wei steadied herself against the podium, gripping it tightly. When she looked up again, she saw the floating crimson timer already counting down.
[5:00]
[4:59]
[4:58]
…
This wasn’t a countdown for a speech. This was the countdown to her death, the ticking clock to the afterlife.
She took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled slowly.
Forcing herself to stay calm, she reached out without hesitation and pressed her hand against the virtual display.
Things couldn’t get worse, she told herself. So she couldn’t just stand there like an idiot—that would be waiting for doom.
A stream of crystalline blue data flashed before her. Since she hadn’t given any specific commands, the display defaulted to today’s interstellar news feed.
[The 327th Divine Selection Begins Today…]
[Humanity’s Most Sacred Endeavor: A Historical Retrospective of the Divine Campaign…]
[After the Fall of the Last True God 3,270 Years Ago, the Decennial Divine Selection Has Given Rise to These Great Deities…]
Zhi Wei’s mind raced, absorbing and synthesizing the information.
The situation was clear now.
—She had transmigrated.
This was the future. Or perhaps a parallel future.
Here, gods existed. And 3,270 years ago, instead of the Shang Dynasty or the Zhou conquest, their god had died.
After that god’s death, the divine essence shattered, impossible to reassemble. The deity could not be revived—but humans could absorb the fragments and ascend as new gods.
Humanity had discovered this truth, endured trials, wars, and struggles, and eventually reached a consensus: every ten years, a grand election would be held. The final candidate would enter the Divine Hall, claim the divine essence, and become a new god.
Zhi Wei understood—but not fully. Mostly, she was just stunned.
…What a fair and democratic world!
But what did that have to do with her?!
She was here for an idol audition! She’d prepared singing, dancing, rap, fan service, and a moving backstory—and now they’d swapped idols for godhood?! What was she supposed to do?!
While her mind whirred at high speed, unnoticed by her, the crowd was watching.
The front rows were filled with real people, while the back was a sea of shimmering, indistinct figures—projections of viewers tuning in via the interstellar holographic livestream.
They couldn’t enter the Divine Hall, but they followed the preliminary rounds closely. The moment Zhi Wei registered, her identity as a "Wastelander" had been broadcast across the network.
The Wastelands—remote regions far from the interstellar core, stretching into the depths of the cosmos. They received no resources, no divine protection, and were synonymous with barbarism, backwardness, and incompetence.
Her profile listed no affiliated organization, no prior experience. And now, her origin in the Wastelands invited the worst assumptions.
On the livestream, unseen by her, the comments section was relentless.
[Who is Zhi Wei? Her profile just dropped—did she register on the spot? No prior leaks at all?]
[Wastelanders are so remote they probably sign up last-minute. This’ll be their one and only shot at the Divine Hall.]
[At least she’s not trembling. Looks serious, pretty composed.]
[Most of the Wastelands are polluted zones. Anyone from there is untrustworthy. How dare she even try the Divine Selection?]
[Since when do Wastelanders qualify? Did they scrape together the travel fees? Any campaign proposals? Pollution under control? Passed the contamination screening?]
The two commentators glanced at her profile, exchanging uneasy looks.
One cleared his throat and addressed the audience. "Well, Zhi Wei… We can see she hasn’t listed any affiliated Divine Campaign organization. She’s running independently."
With no prior speeches, proposals, or family gossip to riff on, the commentators had to improvise.
"The Wastelands… I don’t recall any candidates from there last cycle."
"Right. But I just checked—fifty years ago, there was one. Didn’t make it past preliminaries, though."
"Let me pull up her contamination screening report…"
Then, the commentator fell silent.
The other tensed, forcing a joking tone. "What, is her contamination level so high she shouldn’t even be here? Did the receptionist mess up?"
"…It’s zero." The commentator stared blankly. "I really think the receptionist made a mistake. How is this contamination reading zero?"
"What?!"
As the commentators reeled, the chat fell dead silent.
It was common knowledge: excessive selfishness, greed, or prolonged exposure to polluted zones—any lack of piety toward the gods—would raise contamination levels.
High contamination led to mental degradation, twisting people into corrupted husks.
Normal contamination ranged from 5 to 60. Above 60, one’s devotion was questioned. But… in over three thousand years, no one had ever registered a zero.
The commentator hurriedly tried to contact Hector, then hesitated. What could he even ask?
Is the machine broken? This was the Divine Hall. Its screenings were absolute. If the Hall said zero, then zero it was.
Unaware of the uproar she’d caused, Zhi Wei kept her eyes on the timer, rapidly piecing together the news and her predicament.
Her throat tightened. She had to say something.
If she faltered, showed any sign of abnormality in this fusion of religion, politics, and mass devotion—she was dead.
She steadied her breathing, noting the timer now read 3:27.
…Think. What are you good at? Back in the internet corporate grind, as an underground idol—she’d never faced this, but hadn’t she handled similar crises?
During the meeting, not a single word from the leader's speech registered in her mind, but when called upon to speak, she had zero minutes to prepare—yet didn’t she still have to start talking immediately?!
When unexpectedly cued to perform an unpracticed dance during a show, how did she improvise and pull off that idol act?
In Zhi Wei’s mind, the information she’d glimpsed on the virtual screen flowed like threads, weaving into a dense net. She tried to survive in the gaps between its strands.
Now she knew what to say.
First of all, the Divine Election had been ongoing for over three thousand years.
Zhi Wei curled her lips into a faint smile, her gaze sweeping across the audience and locking briefly with those in the front rows, nodding in acknowledgment.
"In this grand cycle of electing deities, I am deeply honored to stand here today, collaborating with all of you to strengthen our collective understanding."
The audience: ?
Why did that sound so confusing?
Zhi Wei understood—they assumed she was here to campaign for godhood, so she had to play the part.
Running for godhood couldn’t be too different from an idol audition or an election. She needed to do something!
Even if she had no intention of actually doing anything, she had to make the audience believe she was!
Zhi Wei: "My first step will be to drill deeper into strategic approaches, forge stronger connections, lay out comprehensive frameworks, and ensure the faithful conversion of values."
The audience: ??
Perfect! Once she started spouting this kind of jargon, the words flowed effortlessly.
She could keep this up forever! The more she talked, the less nervous she felt!
Three thousand years, with elections every decade—meaning over three hundred deities had been chosen so far.
Three hundred was no small number. Compared to the single, omnipotent deity of three millennia ago, this current system was downright crowded.
"In my view, the divine verticals have become overly fragmented, lacking integration. This hinders impact delivery and makes it difficult to align granularity."
The audience: …What granules?
So, what was Zhi Wei planning to do? Nothing, really—but she could sell them a dream.
"I will empower collective divine governance, pinpoint key priorities, identify leverage points, thoroughly assess the situation, interlink connections, establish a new ecosystem, form a closed-loop matrix, break through existing barriers, and deliver a knockout combo!"
Finally, she’d crank up the audacity, add a touch of provocation—enough to make her sound like an unrealistic blowhard who’d be swiftly booted from the race.
That way, she’d gracefully bow out, free from this divine election nonsense, with all the time in the world to research how to return home.
Once she extricated herself from this mess, she’d be safe!
The thought energized Zhi Wei, her expression turning resolute.
Her eyes burned with intensity, her demeanor solemn and unyielding. She slammed a hand on the podium. "I will lead you all in restoring the glory of the One True Deity from three thousand years ago!"
The audience fell dead silent.
Even the commentators muted their mics.
Zhi Wei watched them eagerly. Come on, hurry up! I just spewed absolute nonsense—kick me off already!
After a pause, thunderous applause and cheers erupted.
"Oh heavens! She’s running for the position of the One True Deity!"
"This is the most groundbreaking manifesto I’ve ever heard—this is how you campaign for godhood!"
"As expected of a candidate with zero corruption levels! Such raw, heart-baring devotion—Zhi Wei! Zhi Wei!"
"She plans to reclaim fallen divinity and become our savior! What a magnificent campaign pledge!"
Zhi Wei: ???
Shut up! When did I say that?! Is that what you heard?!
