Chapter 9: Identity Revealed?

"No..."Chen Fan lowered his head, avoiding the gaze of the statue.He tried to hide the fear in his heart. "I'm fine."His mother frowned.As the person who knew him best in this world, she keenly sensed that something was off.To be precise, she had been noticing some changes ever since Chen Fan had locked himself in his room a few days ago.At first, she thought it was just the psychological stress of being newly chosen by the gods.But now, it seemed her initial guess might be wrong.She couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer and asked, "Xiao Fan, what's been going on with you these past few days?""Why do I feel like..."Her mother hesitated, but finally said what had been gnawing at her. "…you've become a completely different person?"At that moment, Chen Fan's heart skipped a beat.Damn it.Had his hidden identity been exposed so soon?Feeling the tension in the air around him, Chen Fan quickly thought of a response.Psychological stress?No, that excuse had been used already. He needed a new story.Should he tell her the truth and say that he discovered something wrong with the gods?Don't be ridiculous!Telling that to a devout believer would be like signing his own death warrant!He couldn't do that, and he couldn't do this... In a panic, Chen Fan felt his mind spinning.Just then, the voice of "Yi" suddenly sounded in his mind: "Chen Fan, don't fall into the trap of self-validation."Chen Fan froze for a moment, and then it clicked.The so-called "self-validation trap" is when someone, upon being questioned, immediately tries to prove themselves.But in doing so, they put themselves at a disadvantage.No matter how he answered his mother's question, he would fall into a cycle of self-proving.He couldn't perfectly prove himself, and his answers would only raise more questions for his mother. One lie often leads to more lies."Yi, thank you."Chen Fan silently expressed his gratitude."This is what I'm supposed to do."The voice of Yi continued: "Now think quickly about how to handle this. I can't analyze human nature, so I can't help with this one."Realizing that he had fallen into the self-validation trap, Chen Fan's muddled thoughts cleared up immediately.As the saying goes, "The one who asserts must provide evidence."But making his mother provide evidence was not an option.Why?Because, well, he was an impostor!If his mother really brought up one detail after another, wouldn't that just make him dig his own grave?So, the only way to solve this was to approach it from a different angle:Instead of proving himself, why not shift the conflict to a third party?Who was that third party? In his mind, no one would be better for that than the so-called gods!Chen Fan took a deep breath. "Mom, haven't you noticed?""Noticed what?"His mother looked at him in confusion, and even stopped her praying. "What do you mean?"Chen Fan put on a look of slight confusion and unease. "Lately, it feels like the god's attention toward us has been much more focused.""I remember, the god didn't used to... be so frequent...""Silly child."Before Chen Fan could finish, his mother interrupted. "Is this what's been bothering you?"Seeing Chen Fan nod, his mother smiled gently and turned back to face the statue. "Xiao Fan, the god is everywhere. He watches over every believer.""But not every believer is worthy of hearing the god's teachings.""You are the chosen one. The god personally selected you, so you deserve more."If this had been yesterday, Chen Fan would have scoffed at her words, but now...His mind was in turmoil!"Everywhere?"To Chen Fan, that wasn't quite right.The correct phrasing should be: The statue is everywhere!If he wasn't mistaken, the statue was simply the tool the so-called god used to watch over the believers!Reflecting on it, the moments when the god spoke always happened while they were praying to the statue!That's why the god hadn't noticed that the original host was dead, nor had it detected the strange events from last night—because the statue was in the living room, and it couldn't "see" what was going on inside the room!After piecing together the strange events, Chen Fan suddenly had a somewhat absurd thought.The statue could emit rigid synthesized electronic voices, respond to questions in a template-like manner, and monitor the surroundings…This...This wasn't a god statue, this was basically an intelligent speaker designed to look like a statue!And with those "voice-controlled incandescent lights" in the room...It was a full-on smart home system!Yi, realizing the same issue, became slightly more serious:"Look for a chance to approach the statue.""In visitor mode, the smart terminal has basic low-power scanning capabilities.""I can help you scan the internal structure of the statue."Chen Fan's heart leapt with joy!If he had known about this function earlier, he would've given the statue an X-ray first thing in the morning!"You didn't ask earlier..."Chen Fan: "...""Xiao Fan?" Seeing him standing frozen, his mother asked with concern, "Did you understand what I said?"Chen Fan quickly nodded in response.Not only did he understand, he was already thinking about giving the statue an X-ray!The god's mysterious veil had lifted slightly, and more doubts started to rise in Chen Fan's mind.What exactly was a "chosen one"?Were these smart home devices really a gift from the god?If they were... then this god must be really low-tech!And on top of that, couldn't the people of this world notice something odd?With these questions on his mind, Chen Fan slowly stood up from the prayer mat.Suddenly!"Bang!"A loud noise came from outside the door, interrupting Chen Fan and his mother.Before he could react, his mother's expression had turned grim."They're here again, those beasts are back..."She quickly ran toward the front door.Full of confusion, Chen Fan didn't want to miss this opportunity, so he jogged to catch up with his mother.When he reached the door, he heard loud noises and shouting from outside the wooden door."Damn it, it really is those bastards!"His mother clasped her hands together and began praying. "Lord..."Looking at her furious and disgusted expression, Chen Fan furrowed his brows and asked instinctively, "Who are they?""They?"His mother opened her eyes, gritting her teeth as she glared at the closed wooden door. "They are a group of rats living underground, hiding in the shadows!"Her face was twisted with rage.Perhaps her hatred clouded her judgment, but she didn't notice anything strange about Chen Fan's question.Rats hiding in the shadows?Listening to the noise outside, Chen Fan suddenly had a vague suspicion.Could it be that in this god-ruled world, there were "gangs" too?Didn't they say the god was everywhere?How could such a god not even deal with a small "gang"?