Void Jigsaw Puzzle

After hearing Pierce's words, Zhong Chenmu was quickly overwhelmed by a feeling of grief and powerlessness.

After a long while, he finally adjusted himself. Seeing Pierce still standing in front of him, he asked, "Professor Pierce, the phenomena you just described may be true, but they are not direct evidence of a 'broken civilization', right? Is it possible that our memories are simply faulty?"

Pierce's expression remained steady. "If an individual behaves like this, it can naturally be considered a memory error, or even a mental illness. But what if a group behaves like this? Isn't this a problem of civilization? Besides, I have direct evidence."

"Direct evidence?"

"Yes..." When he said this, Pierce's eyes were like sharp swords, staring straight at Zhong Chenmu, and the light blue in his eyes seemed like dancing blue flames.

Zhong Chenmu was not afraid at all. He met the gaze and waited quietly.

"I've seen the crack with my own eyes. Beyond the crack is a much wider world." Pierce said word by word, continuing to examine the young man in front of him.

Zhong Chenmu asked, seemingly understanding, "Cracks? You mean, cracks appeared in Wuming City? But isn't it normal for there to be a vaster world outside of Wuming City? Isn't the starry sky we can see right now outside of Wuming City?"

"That's two different things. The world beneath the starry sky is far greater than Nameless City, yet none of us know what lies beyond Nameless City. Doesn't this simply prove that the civilization within Nameless City is incomplete? And I once saw a crack in the sky above Riverbank Road. Through that crack, I sensed a greater civilization and a wider world."

When he heard "River Bank Road", Zhong Chenmu's heart skipped a beat.

He controlled his expression and asked, "A crack above the riverbank? The more I listen, the more confused I become."

Pierce said, "Xiao Zhong, I don't need to explain all this to you. We in the Prophet Society are completely free to come and go. If you have any doubts, you don't need to join us... However, I happen to be very optimistic about you. I've been like this since the first time I saw you in the library, so I'll say a little more, but you don't have to tell anyone else."

"I promise not to tell anyone else!"

"One night a few days ago, I saw from afar at home a brief backflow of river water on the bank not far from the intersection of He'an Road and Shanshui Road. Let me describe it this way, because it was a bit far away and I couldn't see the details clearly, I just noticed that the river suddenly 'jumped' and hit the shore..."

Pierce squinted his eyes as he described the scene he had seen that night. He still felt a little unreal.

Why did the river water suddenly jump up?

Is it because of that crack?

However, he did not notice that the young man in front of him was even more restless at this moment.

Zhong Chenmu felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat. He tried hard to control his eyes from widening and to keep his breathing steady.

"Wasn't that exactly when Guo Ling jumped into the river to commit suicide? However, it seems that Pierce didn't see what happened specifically, and didn't even notice that Guo Ling and I were at the scene..."

He felt a glimmer of hope again.

"...And at that moment, a crack appeared in the sky above that area, perhaps tens of meters high—of course, this is just my estimation from afar. If you compare the night sky at that time to a flat, smooth piece of cloth, the crack was like someone cutting the other side with scissors. Although the crack was small and didn't last long, I could deeply sense the strong aura of civilization coming from beyond the crack."

Having said that, Pierce closed his eyes, raised his chin, opened his arms, and muttered to himself: "I am the prophet. Only I can feel the call of the external civilization. Only I can get rid of this broken civilization. Only I can lead the poor people to find their loved ones..."

Zhong Chenmu ignored his sudden sense of ritual, but the feeling of being watched that had appeared from time to time in the past two days once again strongly attacked his mind.

"What on earth is this..."

He looked around but found nothing.

He also noticed that the women who were distributing lunch boxes at the podium where Pierce was giving a speech, or the women Guo Ling called the "Secretariat", were walking towards him.

They maintain graceful postures and neat steps. Each person's temperament and appearance are different, but they maintain an overall sense of unity. Under the night sky, they seem like holy goddesses.

Zhong Chenmu counted them and there were twelve in total.

They silently came to a place not far from Pierce, who was closing his eyes and whispering to the sky, and consciously formed a semicircle to surround him.

And opposite him was Zhong Chenmu.

Only then could Zhong Chenmu see the appearance of the twelve women clearly.

This was the first time he could remember seeing so many mature and beautiful women at such a close distance. His heart beat faster and his cheeks felt hot.

They all look to be around thirty years old. Time has given them charm, but has not completely taken away their youthfulness. Each of them has her own style, and even her skin color and hair color are different, but they all wear slim-fitting and figure-revealing cool-colored suits.

They looked at Pierce silently and devoutly, like satellites faithfully orbiting a planet.

As for the handsome young man opposite Pierce, they didn't even glance at him.

"Ah...you're all here...that's great, let me introduce you..."

At this moment, Pierce opened his eyes, a light blue glow in them that was compelling. He greeted the twelve women and continued, "This young man is Zhong Chenmu. I believe he will join us and has great potential in the future."

Then, he looked at Zhong Chenmu confidently: "These twelve are the 'Twelve Apostles' of our Prophet Society. They have helped me a lot. Although they each have their own names, I still suggest that you call them by code names: Grape Moon, Mist Moon, Frost Moon, Snow Moon, Rain Moon, Wind Moon, Bud Moon, Flower Moon, Pasture Moon, Harvest Moon, Heat Moon and Fruit Moon..."

Pierce read it and pointed at the corresponding woman.

It was not until this time that these women looked at Zhong Chenmu with enthusiasm, as if they had been in the off state just now and Pierce pressed the "start" button.

Zhong Chenmu nodded and greeted them in a panic. Facing the fiery gazes, he couldn't remember the twelve names at all.

However, he remembered the one called "Pu Yue".

Because the blonde woman took the initiative to come forward and gave him a hug.

He only felt a gust of fragrant wind blowing into his nostrils, and his whole body was wrapped in warmth, and he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.

Pu Yue smiled sweetly: "Since the Prophet has given the order, please follow me to fill out the membership form."

After saying that, he took Zhong Chenmu's hand without saying anything and walked towards the platform.

"Wait!" Zhong Chenmu only felt the soft and comfortable touch. He did not struggle, but turned his head to look at Pierce: "Do I have to pay to join the club?"

Pu Yue covered her mouth and smiled, then answered for Pierce: "Of course not."

Zhong Chenmu continued to stare at Pierce. "If you don't charge, where will your funding come from? How will you make a profit?"

At this moment, Pierce's eyes flashed, and he said seriously, "What a broken civilization indeed... Your imagination is so poor... I am a prophet, and I want to lead you out. This is my pursuit, and if we can achieve it, it will be the greatest value of our Prophet Society."