Columbia today was as peaceful as ever.
It was already June.
The sun overhead was gradually getting hotter. Many of the pretty girls on the street had switched to short skirts and stockings, brimming with youthful vitality.
Another month had passed since their return from Yan. Nothing had happened. Although the people living in Jessica's house were not ordinary, their lifestyle was even more ordinary than ordinary people's. The Nine-Colored Deer studied modern medicine and cooked. Jessica went to work to support the family. Ceobe and the other kids had classes at home. Although Ceobe's actual age and size meant she couldn't really be called a kid anymore, her mental age was no different from a child's.
Nian routinely discussed film art with Laurentina. Dusk was a routine homebody. Surtr and Skadi routinely wandered around idly. Lucas Reeve also routinely wandered around.
The world where only Jessica earns money to support the whole big family is complete.
"Hey hey hey!!"
Nian trotted up to Lucas Reeve, her eyes filled with excitement, as if she had something important to announce.
"Er..."
"I say... Nian."
"Can you not 'hey hey hey' all the time?!"
Lucas Reeve silently retorted.
"I don't think you should be the ninth of the twelve siblings. You should be the eighth."
"?"
Nian didn't know what meme Lucas Reeve was referencing again.
"Whatever! I'm here to announce something!"
Nian stood in the center of the living room, hands raised high, as if she had a major announcement.
"All eyes on me! I have an announcement to make."
Nian's voice was not quiet.
Everyone in the living room turned to look at Nian. Even Dusk, who was gaming upstairs, put down her controller and leaned over the second-floor railing to see what her idiot sister was about to say.
"Ahem!"
Nian cleared her throat and said with a straight face.
"I! Have decided!"
"I'm not going to make movies for now!"
Everyone: "Oh..."
Dusk, on the second floor, couldn't help but snip.
"After more than a hundred years, you finally realized you don't have what it takes to make movies? Congratulations."
"What!"
Nian clicked her tongue. "I'm not finished."
"I've decided, I want to film!"
"A documentary!!"
Everyone: "???"
Dusk couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "What's gotten into you now? You can't even film a proper movie, and now you want to film a documentary? Boring, boring."
With that.
Dusk turned and left. The others also turned back to their own business. They thought Nian had some major announcement, but it was just this.
Nian saw that the others didn't seem very interested.
She turned to look at Lucas Reeve on the sofa, her eyes sparkling.
"My confidant, my best friend, how about we film a documentary together?"
"Hold on!"
Lucas Reeve covered Nian's mouth to stop her from talking.
"First, answer a question. Why do you suddenly want to film a documentary?"
Nian explained excitedly, "The other day, Laurentina and I were watching movies, and we discussed what art is! And what is the purest art! It's showing the myriad states of life in the world! Using the screen to reveal the true, unknown world! *That* is art!"
"What's my purpose in making movies? To give the audience a laugh. But documentaries are different. Documentaries can show the audience different things, worlds they've never encountered, by filming the most authentic aspects of life! Besides, transportation on Terra is not very friendly to ordinary people. Many people never leave their small town or mobile city in their entire lives. They don't know how big the outside world is. A documentary can deliver the real world to the masses through the screen."
"Let people in Iberia know, oh... Ursus has so much snow... that kind of thing."
"How about it!!"
Lucas Reeve didn't immediately pour cold water on Nian's idea. Instead, he fell into thought.
"Actually, a documentary isn't a bad idea."
Lucas Reeve nodded.
A documentary was indeed suitable.
Because documentaries are different from regular theatrical films.
Documentaries don't need a lot of special effects or post-production. The post-production work is basically just editing and color grading. And the filming doesn't require a crew of hundreds like a theatrical film—director, field-crew, cameraman, actors. A documentary can even be filmed by one person.
Thinking about it this way...
It's really not bad!
At least a documentary doesn't need actors. That way, he wouldn't be forcibly dragged in by Nian to be the protagonist. He could just toss Nian a camera and let her go play by herself. At most, she'd need to find a professional post-production team to edit it after filming.
"Not bad."
Lucas Reeve nodded.
"That's a good idea. Filming the most authentic side of humanity. I support you."
Lucas Reeve didn't say the next sentence.
*Finally, I don't have to be an actor.*
"So, what do you want to film?"
Nian didn't even have to think.
"The Daily Life of a God."
Nian said excitedly, "Look, 99.999% of people on Terra have never seen a god in their entire lives. That term is just something from legends to them. So, let's film it, broaden their horizons! How about it?"
"Pfft!"
Lucas Reeve couldn't help but snort. Luckily, he was in his soul form, so there was no saliva, otherwise he would have sprayed Nian in the face.
"Forget it."
"Gods are inherently a secret to ordinary people. Even the absolute top leaders of many countries aren't sure if gods exist. If you dare to film that, I think Yan will probably dispatch a team of Celestial Masters to arrest you and escort you to Yumen City overnight, ending your one-year-plus vacation early."
"But... then what should I film?"
Nian fell into thought. She really didn't know what to film.
Although this idea came after watching many documentaries with Laurentina, Nian really didn't like many of them. For example, 'A Bite of Yan', 'The Gluttonous Feast of Victoria's Top Tycoons', 'Exploring Life in the Ice Fields'.
These were really boring in Nian's opinion. Except for the hotpot episode of 'A Bite of Yan', the rest were pretty dull.
So, Nian felt she had to film something special!
Something that could stir people's emotions and resonate with them.
"How about this."
"Go film the Infected."
Lucas Reeve suddenly thought of a topic.
"The Infected aren't rare on Terra, but many ordinary people don't understand them. You can use your camera to reveal the current living situation of the Infected. That will easily resonate with people. And your documentary... will win the Columbia Award for Best Documentary."
"!!!"
Nian's eyes widened, staring at Lucas Reeve in disbelief.
"As expected of my confidant! You can come up with such a great topic just by thinking for a moment!!"
Nian's eyes were shining. She could already see the distant future, standing in the grand theater, holding a 'little golden man'.
Cool! So cool!!
"I'm going to write the outline right now!!"
Nian excitedly ran back to her room. Lucas Reeve, having finally found something for Nian to do that wouldn't trouble others, also nodded in excitement.
A documentary about the Infected...
It should be pretty good.
No one had filmed this topic yet, because the status of the Infected was too sensitive in many countries on Terra. Even if some directors wanted to, they wouldn't dare. Especially in countries like Ursus and Siracusa, which directly demonized the Infected, turning it into a sensitive topic.
And by using a documentary to show the most authentic side of the Infected today, perhaps it could slightly change a small portion of people's perception of them.
Just as Lucas Reeve was thinking.
Suddenly.
The door to Jessica's villa was suddenly pushed open.
A 'fully-equipped' girl rushed in.
"Hey hey hey!! I'm here!!"
"Sisters, I, Magallan, am back!!"
The little penguin, not seen for a long time, looked a bit disheveled. Her Rhine Lab outdoor work uniform was covered in all kinds of dirt. Even Magallan herself was covered in dust. Her cute, round face was smeared with grime, as if she had just come from a construction site.
Just as Magallan finished speaking, she took a closer look and fell into deep thought.
"Who are you guys?"
Because the only ones in the living room at this time were the Nine-Colored Deer, Saga, Surtr, Skadi and Laurentina, and Nian on the stairs.
Six completely unfamiliar faces made Magallan think she had gone to the wrong place.
She frowned and nodded apologetically.
"Sorry, wrong place."
She politely retreated and closed the door again.
"Who was that?"
Laurentina asked Surtr beside her, a popsicle dangling from her mouth.
Surtr shook her head.
"Don't know... must be the wrong house, right? Also... that's my popsicle."
Half a minute later.
The living room door was pushed open again.
Magallan walked back in.
"This is the right place. I'm not wrong, am I?"
She was a little unsure. After all, she had only been gone for half a year. How had Jessica's house changed so much? Even the layout of the living room was different. There wasn't this much stuff in the living room before.
Did she sell the villa?
"Excuse me."
Magallan asked Skadi, who was closest to her.
"Miss, excuse me... is this Jessica's house?"
Skadi nodded blankly.
"!!!"
"It really is!!"
Magallan finally breathed a sigh of relief. As if she was back home, she dropped all her measurement equipment on the floor and sat on the sofa. Only then did she notice the soul-form Lucas Reeve, who had been watching her silently from the corner of the living room.
"Holy crap!"
"Finally, someone I recognize! You, Lucas Reeve! You were in the living room, why didn't you say anything? Do you know how awkward I was just now?"
"Er... I thought it was pretty funny."
Lucas Reeve said with a joking smile.
"Where have you been? Seven months passed in a flash. And not a single word. Jessica was just talking about you, thought you were dead. She even went to Rhine Lab to ask about you."
"Really?"
Magallan asked excitedly.
"You guys really missed me that much?"
"Nope, I made it all up."
Magallan: "???"
"Hahaha..."
Seeing Magallan's cute little penguin face fall into confusion again, Lucas Reeve couldn't help but laugh.
"Just kidding. Jessica was just talking about you yesterday. Didn't expect you to come back today. I just notified her, she should be back soon."
"So where were you for these seven months?"
The Nine-Colored Deer saw a new guest had arrived and poured a cup of her own blended flower tea, handing it to Magallan.
Magallan was stunned looking at the Nine-Colored Deer. She asked Lucas Reeve in a quiet whisper.
"Did you guys hire a maid? She's way too beautiful. Even as a girl, I'm stunned. Tsk tsk..."
Lucas Reeve quickly materialized a hand to cover Magallan's mouth.
"Don't! Don't talk nonsense!!"
Magallan was startled by Lucas Reeve's reaction and quickly realized she had misspoken.
"So, where were you for these seven months?"
Magallan coughed.
"A lot of places! First, I went to the Sami polar research station for two months. Then I went to Ursus. Do you know how chaotic Ursus is right now? There's this organization called the Reunion Movement causing destruction everywhere. I heard... there's an evil god misleading them. Tsk tsk..."
Lucas Reeve: "???"
"And then?"
"Then I went to Iberia!"
Magallan got more and more excited as she spoke.
"Did you know? Iberia's coastal cities are just like hell!! I even went to a city called Saltwind City. Hiss... the people inside were like... zombies. Walking corpses. It scared me to death."
Lucas Reeve: "??"
"And after that?"
"A month ago, I even went to Yan!! You know what I ran into? I was in Shangshu surveying the natural scenery. It was late at night, I was taking a walk after dinner, and then *BOOM*! The pleasure house not far in front of me exploded! A Celestial Master was floating in the sky, and a bunch of soldiers surrounded the pleasure house. I heard from passersby that there was an evil god inside!"
"Then, I don't know what happened, but about an hour later... at night, mind you... the sky suddenly lit up. And then multicolored particles started falling. I swear! I, the great explorer Magallan, have roamed Terra for so long, and this is the first time I've ever seen such a strange phenomenon! It was so exciting, tsk tsk..."
Lucas Reeve: "???"
"Then I went to Higashi! You know what happened?"
"What?"
"I discovered a secret of this world! There might really be gods in this world!! Gods aren't just fictional things in novels!! There might really be gods!"
Lucas Reeve was speechless. He just stared at Magallan silently.
Not just Lucas Reeve.
The Nine-Colored Deer also stopped what she was doing and watched her silently.
Surtr was eating her popsicle. Nian was still leaning over the staircase. Dusk must have heard the commotion and came out of her room.
The five of them just stared at Magallan silently, saying nothing.
The large living room fell into a strange silence.
Magallan thought this group had been stunned by her words. She puffed out her chest proudly.
"I know you find it hard to believe, but... I still want to say, I swear on my name as Magallan, the most famous explorer! There really are gods in this world! Not a soul like you, Lucas, but like... a real, physical god!!"
"Oh...."
Lucas Reeve just said "Oh" and nothing else.
And at the front door.
Jessica and the other two happened to return at this exact moment. They overheard Magallan patting her chest and making her guarantee. The three of them also said nothing, just staring at Magallan as if she were an idiot.