Li Qing approached the gss window of the boratory.

  The Tower of Babel had grown another level.

  The third tier had emerged, resembling an imperial marvel that seemed to be nurturing an entire civilization.

  Now that the Tower had reached its third tier, Li Qing could roughly discern its architectural structure.

  Astonishingly, it resembled an ancient Huaguo pagoda—an octagonal, pavilion-style tower, reminiscent of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King's demon-suppressing pagoda. Each tier was adorned with windows, exuding a profound cssical charm.

  "Incredible," Li Qing mused. "How could their Tower of Babel's structure be so... strikingly simir? Or is this merely a coincidence?" He pondered deeply, realizing that this century-spanning wonder, built by billions across an entire civilization, must represent the most perfect and fitting architectural blueprint for their collective vision.

  Moments ter, figures approached from the distance—more infiltrators: a group of Tempr Knights.

  "Great God!" The Pope arrived with a retinue of Cardinals, their fervor bordering on fanaticism. This had likely become a routine pilgrimage, a regur divine audience orchestrated by the Church.

  They began recounting recent events.

  Ever since the Border Miracle Battle of the God-Descendant Holy Knight Order, the entire kingdom had been thrown into turmoil.

  The divine gifts of inherited bloodlines.

  The life-bestowing Divine Artifacts.

  This was a symbol of Divine Authority, a Chosen One who had captured the world's attention. In subsequent battles, the divine blessings granted him terrifying power that inspired awe and dread.

  Coupled with the looming threat of Judgment Day and the ever-watchful gaze of the mysterious surveilnce cameras, more and more citizens grew fearful of God's immense power and secretly pledged allegiance to the Holy See's growing influence.

  Now, the Holy See had become a force the entire Empire could no longer ignore, a thorn in the side of Emperor Atabia himself.

  As a result, a schism began to form within the popuce.

  Li Qing could clearly see the fruits of their bor.

  Their test covert border crossing had gone unpunished by rge-scale purges, proof that their power had solidified. Infiltrators within the Empire were secretly practicing their faith, acting as internal allies!

  Li Qing found this perfectly logical.

  Brute force alone cannot subdue the human spirit; spiritual annihition is the most terrifying weapon.

  Moreover, their Doctrine contained the distilled essence of countless philosophical truths: righteousness, integrity, and self-sacrifice.

  Having long cked a spiritual culture of their own, the Atabians were naturally captivated, growing ever more aware of their "Original Sin" and yearning for divine salvation.

  At that moment, a significant number of people began chanting, "Welcome the Lord's descent! The Tyrant reigns, and this corrupt and decadent world needs salvation!"

  Even the stubborn Atabians couldn't remain obstinate forever.

  Li Qing smiled faintly. Death had failed to break their spirit, but faith could—the most terrifying scythe of all.

  The Pope decred fervently, "Great True God! We have already seized control of one-tenth of the Empire. Overthrowing the Atabian Tyrant Emperor is within our grasp!"

  "Yet they seem to have disregarded our infiltration. Knowing that with divine blessings, the people's defection is inevitable, they have focused all their attention on the Tower of Babel, firmly believing in the power of this God-Sying Divine Artifact!"

  "But precisely because of their negligence, we will soon completely overthrow their rule!" The Pope's fervor intensified.

  Though Li Qing doubted that toppling the era's strongest man would be so simple, he merely replied, "I am always with you."

  Then, he opened his eyes again.

  One second.

  Two seconds.

  The Popes were once more bathed in God's baptism.

  "What is this?!"

  "God's baptism!"

  And the newly converted believers were transformed into fanatical devotees.

  He dangled a few treats before them, then maniputed the foolish masses and the Wise Ones at the top into fighting each other. After watching the daily spectacle for a while, he decided there was nothing more to see.

  The entire Atabian popution had focused their energy on the Tower of Babel, a colossal structure towering like Mount Everest for these mite-sized humans. He remained nearby, settling into an armchair by the living room window at a discreet distance of seven or eight meters, where they wouldn't notice him.

  He logged into his account.

  To his surprise, the video had amassed over 1.7 million views in a single day, accompanied by a flood of comments.

  - Amazing! Cthulhu! R'lyeh! The creatures inside even resemble those from Lovecraftian lore.

  - What's that massive white pilr? A sacred spire piercing the clouds? Could it be the seal imprisoning Cthulhu himself?

  - Exquisite! A city straight out of mythic epics. The rippling water, the human models, the architecture—every detail is fwless! This utterly demolishes all other game CG effects teams!

  - God-tier work, master!

  - Wait, why hasn't the camera angle changed once?

  - Idiot! Maintaining a static overhead view with such intricate details is far more technically demanding. Why compin? We get a full panoramic view of the city, complete with moving people and even Tempr Knights cshing in battle. It feels like a real, living metropolis!

  - I've downloaded the full version! It's over a gigabyte for just ten minutes—ultra-high resolution, every frame a stunningly beautiful wallpaper. You can even zoom in to see the daily lives of the Atabians on every street.

  Li Qing, bored and with time to kill, began reading through the comments one by one.

  They certainly know quality when they see it.

  But he soon noticed a flood of messages:

  "Oh no, someone's stolen your video, UP!"

  "Someone's pirating your hard work!"

  "You forgot to watermark this video!"

  "Watermark?" Li Qing frowned and clicked on a video link in the comments.

  The marketing account's video featured an enrged map of the undersea city, R'lyeh, with a street scene clipped out and frozen on an Atabian woman.

  Pay attention! This woman is Xiao Mei, a resident of the underwater city of R'lyeh for seventeen years. She steps out onto the street and cshes with her neighbor, Xiao Shuai. A fanatical devotee of Cthulhu, she's secretly working to awaken the Evil God...

  The camera followed as Xiao Mei and Xiao Shuai donned their exoskeletons and began fighting in the street.

  "........"

  Li Qing fell silent for a moment.

  What was merely the daily routine of ordinary Atabians had been transformed into a captivating and narrative-rich spectacle.

  He clicked on another video.

  The screenshot showed a patrol captain on a city street.

  Pay attention! This is General A'Qiang, the leader of Aya City. He's leading his troops on patrol, having just received intelligence that cultists are hiding within the city and a skirmish is imminent...

  Li Qing watched for a while.

  His original video, shot from a high-altitude perspective, was incredibly detailed. Even when zoomed in, the streets remained crystal clear.

  The marketing accounts weren't directly copying his footage. The original was simply a dry, aesthetically pleasing time-pse. Instead, they focused on individual characters within the scenes, cropped out segments, and fabricated entirely new stories to go with them, narrating based on the visuals.

  One particurly audacious account had even created a "R'lyeh City Chronicles" series, churning out over a dozen episodes based on different streets. Each installment featured unique footage, yet the overarching narrative surprisingly managed to remain coherent—a truly absurd feat.

  Li Qing felt speechless as he scrolled through these "R'lyeh City Chronicles" marketing accounts, but he wasn't particurly angry.

  If this had been the result of hundreds of hours of painstaking work, he would have been furious!

  But he had merely recorded it casually.

  But that didn't stop Li Qing from pying the victim and milking the situation for attention. He casually posted a comment and pinned it to the top:

  "Waaah, this is so painful! I forgot to add a watermark, and my hard work was stolen! Please remember, this video is the original source!"

  Then he ignored it, only to find his inbox flooded with private messages from people impressed by his skills.

  Game studios wanted to hire him.

  Film companies sought him for CG work.

  Li Qing didn't even bother replying. No amount of tedious money was worth the hassle.

  His attention was drawn to messages from major content creators. They valued their reputations and wanted permission to use his video in their own content.

  Li Qing replied to each one: "Sure, but it'll cost you."

  They were all surprisingly agreeable.

  An hour ter, the video's monetization earnings hadn't arrived, but Li Qing had already made over ten thousand yuan.

  "Not bad for quick cash," he mused.

  He briefly considered posting another video to keep the hype train rolling, but then decided against it. This had all been just a casual experiment anyway. His true ambitions y elsewhere.

  Money was enough for now. He'd rex for a while before deciding what to do next.

  Besides, each video took hundreds of hours of painstaking work to create. He couldn't churn them out too quickly—excessive activity would only draw unwanted attention.

  The next morning, Li Qing went through his usual routine of washing his face and brushing his teeth before checking the boratory's surveilnce feed.

  The sight that greeted him was utterly shocking.

  The previous day, they had only managed to construct towers two or three stories high. Now, overnight, they had mastered the technology, erecting an eighteen-story skyscraper from the ft ground.

  The pristine white tower, gleaming like jade, pierced through the sea and soared into the clouds, resembling a massive sugarcane stalk pnted in the ocean floor.

  Simultaneously, a subtle coded message from his insider within the Church appeared on the Crystal Wall.

  It was a warning that the situation had reached a critical point, signaling the final confrontation.

  "The Atabians must have realized things were going wrong," Li Qing muttered to himself. "With the mortal factions rapidly dividing and embracing different faiths, the Emperor is accelerating the construction of the Tower of Babel. He's about to initiate the final showdown."

  Li Qing was astonished. After a moment's thought, he decided that if his Church was unching its final battle, he needed to lend them his support. If they could overthrow Emperor Atabia and install his own followers in power, that would be truly satisfying.

  "Finally, a glimmer of hope," he thought. Without even finishing his breakfast, he grabbed his prepared world-ending tools and hurried out.