64: Dawn of the Gods

His fingers were still pressing on the copper gear, the metal's chill seeping into his palm.

Shen Xiaochuan opened his eyes; the communication console screen had just dimmed before lighting up again.

He didn't move, staring at the string of faith points data for two seconds, then reached out to reopen the encrypted channel.

The signal connected quickly.

White Snow Princess's face appeared on the screen; she was sitting under a lamp, holding a pen with several sheets of paper spread out before her.

"You haven't slept yet?" Shen Xiaochuan said.

"I can't sleep." She looked up. "I've been thinking about what you said—'Everyone is like a Dragon'.

That statement is too heavy. It's not that I don't believe it, but I'm afraid no one dares to believe it."

Shen Xiaochuan leaned back in his chair. "That's why I'm going to make it happen.

I have the resources now, but I can't use them all alone.

I want to find some people—people who are truly willing to fight—and give these things to them."

White Snow Princess paused for a moment. "What do you want me to do?"

"You know many people," Shen Xiaochuan said. "Help me pick a few.

Not the strongest, and not the opportunists.

I want those deities who have been suppressed all along but are still persevering. As long as their hearts are with Huaxia and they are willing to work hard, that's enough."

White Snow Princess looked down and turned a page. "I have a few names on hand.

There's someone named Meng Tian in the western frontier. He has a B-grade talent and has guarded the border for three years without ever taking a step back.

There's also a research-type deity, Chen Zhanbei, who studies divine pattern energy and has had his results stolen by large divine domains."

Shen Xiaochuan nodded. "Them, then. Who else?"

"You know Zhang Heng too; he's an old acquaintance. He built a small divine domain in the northwest and has been quietly supporting newcomers."

"Add him in." After saying this, Shen Xiaochuan slid his finger across the panel, created a new group, and entered the name: Dawn Group.

The first person he pulled in was Zhang Heng.

The moment the message popped up, Zhang Heng replied.

【Zhang Heng】: Brother Shen? What... is this group?

Shen Xiaochuan typed: "I am Shen Xiaochuan. I will not be the only king; I want everyone to have the qualification to become a king. From today on, we will share resources and protect our land together."

The group was silent for a few seconds.

【Zhang Heng】: I... understand.

The second person pulled in was Chen Zhanbei.

He didn't speak, his avatar lit up, as if waiting for what came next.

Shen Xiaochuan continued to say to White Snow Princess: "Pull in seven more people. I trust your judgment."

White Snow Princess nodded and began to operate. A few minutes later, there were seven new members in the group.

【Meng Tian】: Am... am I hearing this right? Is it really Lord Shen Xiaochuan?

【Lin Xiaowan】: I'm in the southwestern mountains; I never thought I'd be able to join such a group.

【Zhao Yan】: Do we need to pay any price?

Seeing this message, Shen Xiaochuan replied directly: "No price. Only conditions—you are a Huaxia deity, you want to become stronger, and you want to protect this land."

The group was quiet again for a moment.

【Chen Zhanbei】: Can I apply for a blueprint for controllable nuclear fusion? I have the foundation, I just need the Materials.

Shen Xiaochuan immediately redeemed it from the Faith Mall and sent the link.

"Sent it to you. If it's not enough, just ask."

【Meng Tian】: My son just had his Awakening to a C-grade talent; does he... have a chance?

"Yes," Shen Xiaochuan replied. "All family members of members will be given priority for Awakening tests, and upon passing, they can directly claim a basic support package."

【Lin Xiaowan】: I'm crying. Really... I thought small divine domains like ours would always have to hide in the back.

【Zhao Yan】: I don't believe in free lunches. But you just sent Chen Zhanbei a blueprint, and the System records can be checked. This isn't fake."

Shen Xiaochuan said: "Dawn Group is not a temporary group. I will continue to provide resources. The first batch of support will be distributed immediately—Skill Book × 1, Summoning Scroll × 1, excellent grade weapon × 1, and a subsidy of 50,000 faith points. All free."

The group exploded.

【Meng Tian】: I... I have no right to say anything, but I swear, I will never betray Dawn Group in this life!

【Lin Xiaowan】: I'm willing to go to the front lines, as long as it makes me stronger!

【Zhao Yan】: I take back what I said earlier. I was too suspicious."

Shen Xiaochuan watched the messages scrolling up, tapped his fingers on the panel to pull up the material list, and began to process the distribution requests in batches.

"White Snow Princess," he said, "you will be responsible for unified distribution. Verify identities, register needs, and I will grant you top-level permissions."

White Snow Princess was stunned. "You trust me?"

"You are not just an executor," Shen Xiaochuan said. "You are the second-in-command of Dawn Group. We will manage it together."

White Snow Princess looked down, her fingers paused on the keyboard for a few seconds, and then she typed a line:

【White Snow Princess】: Received. The first batch list has been organized and is being connected to the System for distribution.

Ten minutes later, the first personal announcement for the entire server popped up.

【System Announcement】: Congratulations to Deity 【Zhang Heng】 for successfully overcoming the Bottleneck and promoting to a Special Grade Deity!

The group was instantly flooded with messages.

【Meng Tian】: Brother Zhang! You succeeded?!

【Zhang Heng】: The Skill Book in the support package just happened to complete my combat skill chain, and with the injection of faith points, I made it through in one go. Thank you, Brother Shen, thank you, Dawn Group!

Less than half an hour later, the second announcement sounded.

【System Announcement】: Congratulations to Deity 【White Snow Princess】 for upgrading her divine kingdom and promoting to a Special Grade Deity!

【Chen Zhanbei】: Sister White also made it up...

【Lin Xiaowan】: I just got the resources and have already started secluded cultivation. I want to fight too!

The third and fourth ones popped up one after another.

【System Announcement】: Congratulations to Deity 【Meng Tian】 for promoting to a Special Grade Deity!

【System Announcement】: Congratulations to Deity 【Zhao Yan】 for promoting to a Special Grade Deity!

Of the seven new members of Dawn Group, six broke through in succession.

The entire server leaderboard refreshed.

Among the top ten, Huaxia deities occupied eight spots. The top five were all members of Dawn Group.

The first trending topic on the Blue Star Channel popped up: #Dawn Group Rises Overnight#.

【Stranger Deity A】: What is this organization? How did so many Special Grade Deities suddenly appear?

【Stranger Deity B】: I looked at the list; they are all small deities who were ranked hundreds of places back. Have they all turned their fortunes around now?

【Stranger Deity C】: What exactly did Shen Xiaochuan give them? This is too exaggerated.

In the Main Hall of Skydome City, Shen Xiaochuan watched the trending topic on the screen, his lips twitching slightly.

He hadn't smiled for a long time.

The communication console kept beeping, all messages requesting to join Dawn Group.

He ignored them and turned to open the internal management interface.

The dedicated resource channel for Dawn Group had been established, and distribution records were updated in real time.

White Snow Princess was still processing the second batch of names, marking thirty-seven potential candidates, all from edge divine domains.

Shen Xiaochuan wrote instructions in the remarks column: Prioritize support for the western, southwestern, and northeastern regions; for anyone who has been suppressed, expedite the review process.

Just after he finished sending it, a new message popped up in the group.

【Chen Zhanbei】: Brother Shen, I used the blueprint you gave me to build a micro-reactor that can power a small divine domain for three days. Next, I want to try mass production.

Shen Xiaochuan replied: "Go ahead and do it. List the Materials you are missing, and I will supply them for you."

【Zhang Heng】: I have organized a newcomer training team here, and the weapons and Skill Books from the support packages are being distributed. Someone cried, saying they finally don't have to pick up what others left behind.

【Meng Tian】: The border line I guard wasn't disturbed tonight. The enemy seems to have retreated. Is it... because we've become stronger?

Shen Xiaochuan looked at this message, his fingers slowly clenching.

He knew what this meant.

In the past, they were suppressed because they were weak.

Now they had resources, support, and an organization.

No longer were they scattered sand.

He opened the server-wide map; the divine domain locations of Dawn Group members were lit up, distributed throughout Huaxia, like a circle of stars just rising.

Just as he was about to speak, the communication console suddenly vibrated.

System prompt: 【The first batch of support packages has been distributed, totaling 14 resource packages, with a cumulative consumption of 700,000 faith points.】

The next second, a new announcement popped up.

【System Announcement】: Congratulations to Deity 【Lin Xiaowan】 for promoting to a Special Grade Deity!

The group was in an uproar again.

【Lin Xiaowan】: I did it! I really did it! My mom is an elementary school teacher; she said as long as you work hard, there is hope. I have always believed in this sentence, and now it has really come true!

Shen Xiaochuan looked at her message, his fingers stopping on the keyboard.

He typed two characters, then deleted them.

He typed three characters, then deleted them again.

In the end, he only replied with one sentence:

"Continue."

He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.

The Main Hall was very quiet, with only the sound of the communication console constantly popping up new messages.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, his gaze fell on the corner of the screen.

The latest message in the Dawn Group was sent by Chen Zhanbei.

【Chen Zhanbei】: I have an idea: can we turn the micro-reactor into a mobile power supply vehicle to support border combat?

Shen Xiaochuan's fingers moved toward the keyboard.

His fingertips just touched the keys.