Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 1177 - 623: What Would You Choose?

The story isn’t as complicated as one might imagine.

Twenty years ago, the lackeys of the alien invaders came to the Wei Family, seeking out the current Patriarch, Wei Bai.

The purpose was to have the human elites of the underground world collaborate with the humans on the surface.

Wei Bai was shocked to learn that there were still surviving humans above ground, and thus he engaged in a very formal meeting with them.

At that time, those lackeys of the alien invaders were very amicable and courteous; their demeanor could hardly be described as ”negotiation,” but rather as ”discussion.”

They informed Wei Bai about the situation above ground, presenting the state of the thriving cities through photos and holographic projections.

For the first time, Wei Bai saw the sky, and he was incredibly excited because his life’s pursuit was to lead the people of the underground world back to the sunlight.

The other party told him that as long as they allied and continued to collaborate, the humans who had long lived in the underground world could return to the surface and see the light again.

To Wei Bai, the condition seemed overly generous, too tempting.

But... he didn’t agree at that time.

”Those people never mentioned the alien invaders when talking to Grandpa; instead, they kept referring to... ’deity.’” Wei Shishi gazed blankly at the tabletop, speaking softly.

There were two people who spoke with him, a man and a woman, and when they mentioned ”deity,” their eyes carried a hint of fanaticism.

Initially, Wei Bai only thought of it as their belief and didn’t consider it further.

Because matters of belief are quite common in the underground world.

In this oppressive underground world with only three thousand meters of sky, it is hard for people to survive without belief.

The statues of Xu Xin and Xu Ying in the central city serve as the largest belief system in the underground world, one could even call it a religion.

Nearly half of the people in the underground world base believe in these two ”deities,” because these two ”deities” have given them the greatest hope.

”Of course, I don’t believe in you. Because our Wei Family is all atheists.”

Wei Shishi glanced at Xu Xin and said.

”Although our Wei Family has never fully disclosed your identity, we have hinted on several occasions that you are humans who have traveled through time using technological means and had your lifespan extended.”

”In the eyes of us Wei Family members, you are very powerful humans rather than deities. Of course, many people still hold you in high regard; for families like ours, respecting strength is inevitable, but that’s not belief.”

Xu Xin smiled wryly.

The deity they revered was not him, but the Xu Xin of that time and space.

He seemed... to have borrowed someone else’s prestige.

However, the Xu Ying beside him was indeed the ”deity” they believed in.

Wei Shishi continued.

With the pervasive atmosphere of deity worship in the underground world, Wei Bai initially didn’t pay much mind to the ”deity” the other party always mentioned for protection.

But as the discussions progressed, he gradually sensed something was amiss.

The other party never mentioned the greatest enemy on the surface—the alien invaders who invaded Earth a thousand years ago, slaughtered countless Earth life forms, and nearly exterminated Earth humans.

And from the descriptions provided, he quickly realized the other party were lackeys of the alien invaders!

He also saw the inadvertent revelation of a red mark on their wrist and instantly understood everything.

As the Patriarch of an age-old family, Wei Bai naturally didn’t lose his composure.

He continued extracting information from the other party with a friendly and positive attitude.

And that information only made him even more alarmed.

It was also at this moment that he learned of the so-called ”survivors.”

Indeed, he knew most of what happened on the surface.

Twenty years ago, three groups of survivors had already arrived on Earth’s surface.

As a leader in the underground world, he was indoctrinated from a young age; he loathed the alien invaders above ground to the core, so naturally, he couldn’t agree to this.

He tried many methods but failed to extract the means by which the other party arrived at the underground world and returned.

Without knowing how they reached the underground world, he didn’t know how to counter it.

The discussion ended. Neither failure nor success.

The reason Wei Bai provided was that deciding the fate of billions of people in the underground world isn’t easy, and he needed some time to contemplate.

The other party understood as well.

After that, the hidden factories of the Wei Family began fully manufacturing weapons and equipment; even though resources were already scarce at that time, the Wei Family still expended most of the reserve resources for stronger armament, just in case.

And during this period, Wei Bai also engaged in discussions with the Patriarchs of the other two families.

Because merely his Wei Family alone couldn’t solve such a significant issue.

However, the outcome wasn’t ideal.

The other two families didn’t have the legacy the Wei Family had, nor did they have past interactions with Xu Xin and the others like the Wei Family did.

They weren’t fixated on returning to the surface, nor did they hold deep-rooted resentment towards the alien invaders.

After all, these were events from a thousand years ago.

Events from a thousand years ago meant nothing to them; forty or fifty generations had passed without much impression or feelings.

Moreover, those rumors spreading about the surface being fraught with danger, akin to Hell, were propagated by them to prevent people from longing to return to the surface.