109: Chapter 109: The Tenth Planet and the Reward of Special Skills - Ancient Inquiry

"Dammit!!!" Jiang Zhe sighed in exasperation, picking up the pink hammer from the sofa and giving Xiao Yu's doggy head a tap.

"How is this possible?"

Steel Rain's beautiful eyes widened. She couldn't help but press her hands against her temples, feeling her materialist worldview completely shatter, utterly ignoring the insignificant damage from that hammer tap!

These two clear photographs of the deep blue and azure planets had been recorded by the Sumerians over six thousand years ago.

That's a gap of more than six millennia!

Wave after wave of shock hit; the online viewers were so stunned by Jiang Zhe's words and evidence that their scalps tingled.

"Blue planets, described as lapis lazuli... holy shit!"

"Both Uranus and Neptune are blue!!!"

"How did the ancients know they were blue? We only found out a few decades ago!"

"Damn it, did they see them, or were they even told about them?"

"This isn't astronomy anymore, this is straight-up metaphysics!"

"The Voyager probes took photos in the '80s, and they knew six thousand years ago? Pfft, screw materialism!"

"Who, or what, is the source of this knowledge?"

"..."

All the experts—Zheng Ming, Dr. Zhou, Teacher Chen Min, and the others—were utterly astounded.

They stared blankly at Jiang Zhe's knowing expression on the large screen, feeling bewildered and numb.

Seeing Xiao Yu's incredulous look, Jiang Zhe neither confirmed nor denied anything.

He placed the image of the clay tablet with its inscribed poem side-by-side with the two NASA probe photographs of the blue planets.

Spanning thousands of years, two utterly different methods of recording were describing the same terrifying possibility!

Someone, in an era before humanity invented telescopes or knew of universal gravitation, already knew about the existence of these two hidden planets at the edge of the Solar System, and had even witnessed their appearance and color!!!

The air in the living room seemed to solidify around the clay tablet and the planetary images.

Xiao Yu was stunned. She felt even her steel body couldn't withstand this kind of cognitive impact.

Jiang Zhe leaned back slowly on the sofa, his voice turning calm:

"Xiao Yu, here's the question."

"A civilization that seemingly mastered gene editing and surrogacy, that discovered the positions and colors of Uranus and Neptune over six thousand years in advance, yet appeared right at the end of the Stone Age, as if it descended out of thin air!"

"Their knowledge, far exceeding the era's understanding, even surpassing the limits of what was visible to the naked eye in astronomy at the time..."

It must be noted that astronomers of that time, using only the naked eye, could not see Uranus or Neptune.

No, ancient astronomers *worldwide* couldn't see them!

Only the Sumerian Civilization recorded them on clay tablets.

"Their knowledge..."

Jiang Zhe paused briefly, then asked, "Where did it ultimately come from?"

"By the way, in global myths of godly creation, they all use yellow earth—what you should know is, a woman's egg is... earthy yellow!"

As he finished speaking, Xiao Yu's vision swam, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

"Woman... egg... earthy yellow..."

She felt her steel body was no longer so steely, nearly shattered from within by her brother's words!

So, global myths had long recorded the entire process of divine creation?

And she was the only fool who thought they were just myths and legends...

She took a deep breath, shook her head vigorously to clear it, "They... who on earth are they?!"

Jiang Zhe, however, turned his head to gaze at the night sky outside the window. "According to the sumerian tablets, they called themselves the Anunnaki, meaning 'those who descended from the heavens.'"

"Their origin is also recorded on the tablets. They came from a planet within the Solar System with an extremely long orbital period around the sun, an incredibly distant orbit, spending most of its time in darkness and ice, far from sunlight."

"Currently, astronomers in the world speculate it is an as-yet-undiscovered..."

"Tenth planet!"

Xiao Yu furrowed her delicate brows. "Tenth? Did I hear that right? There's no tenth planet in the Solar System!"

"You heard correctly. This is just speculation based on the civilization mentioned on the tablets. Currently, the Solar System has eight major planets—no, wait; it used to be nine, but Pluto was demoted."

"And they came from the tenth planet, also called Marduk, or Nibiru—a colossal entity that takes over three thousand years to orbit the sun once!"

Jiang Zhe withdrew his gaze from the night and looked at Xiao Yu.

"Alright, that's the end of tonight's lesson. The information overload is already too much for you. We'll talk about the tenth planet later, in the context of astronomy and the cosmos."

He stood up and headed towards the master bedroom. "Next time, we'll continue from your last question—where exactly did the first consciousness originate!"

Closing the bedroom door, a series of pale blue panel prompts appeared before Jiang Zhe.

[Current Tutoring Session Evaluation Complete. Overall Rating: S!]

[Reward Money: 247,841 yuan!]

[Reward Attribute Points: +8!]

[Reward Bonus Attribute Points: +2!]

As the eight attribute points were added, Jiang Zhe felt an unprecedented surge of power, as if he had just stepped out of a hot spring.

A 'hiss~~' sound accompanied plumes of white steam rapidly filling the room.

He waved his hand, dispersing the mist in front of him. "Assign 2 points to Xiao Yu's physique."

He didn't want to live a long life only to have his sister die young.

He'd thought it over. At worst, they could both advance together down a non-human path.

[Bonus First S-Rank Evaluation Reward: Special Skill Draw Opportunity!]

"There's a draw too?"

A large golden roulette wheel materialized before him.

Before he could even raise his hand, the skill began drawing itself.

[Special Skill Drawing...]

[Congratulations on obtaining the skill: Wen Gu!]

[Skill Description: This skill originates from the divination method—'Fuji' (first tone) technique, dating from the late Eastern Han Dynasty, upgraded and transformed by the system. Upon activation, it consumes a moderate amount of mental energy to connect with the dreams of ancient people. The longer the connection, the greater the mental drain.]

[Important Warning: It is recommended to use in conjunction with the numerical hexagrams from the 'Book of Changes' as a medium!]

"Interesting!"

Jiang Zhe smiled, walked forward, and opened the window to let the white steam dissipate.

In his previous life, among the think tank members, some from Taoist and Buddhist esoteric backgrounds were proficient in this ability, mostly used to verify whether historical events matched current historical research.

As the name implies—connecting with the dreams of ancient people, also called 'invoking spirits.' However, what comes is not a god, but a form of esoteric communion with the consciousness [within the dreams of those who lived in the past].

He never expected to be rewarded with this ability himself, completely bypassing the complicated learning process and need for ritual tools!

...

At that moment, in the live stream room, even though Jiang Zhe had left the sofa view, the stream was still live; the viewers continued to buzz with heated discussion.

"It's over already? It's only half past midnight. Who can sleep now?"

"The tenth planet, Nibiru... I feel like I've heard that somewhere!"

"So curious about the origin of consciousness. I'm super hyped for the next one!"

"Haha, Xiao Yu's stream is over, but she's just sitting there on the sofa, dumbfounded. Hahaha!"

"Sleepless night ahead. I'm going to dig up Sumerian material now!!"

"Are we descendants of tools? My Feeling is very complicated right now!"

Not only were their Feeling复杂, but the experts felt the same.

At that moment, inside Qingfeng Temple.

Zheng Ming slumped weakly on the sofa, watching the motionless Xiao Yu on the large screen.

"The tenth planet, the Anunnaki, genetic grafting, blue planets... my brain is turning to mush!"

Uncharacteristically, he offered no rebuttal, because the grounds for his refute were also shake.

Although filled with Unwilling and Dissatisfied, he had come to a Deep understanding—Xiaoyu's brother's comprehensive knowledge and information quantity far exceeded his own specialized understanding of Sinology. However, much of it still required verification!

Beside him, Dr. Zhou Ming couldn't help but shake his head. "If these clay tablets truly aren't forgeries or fantasies... sigh, Feeling复杂!"

As a materialist doctor, even he couldn't help but shake for a few minutes, expressing respect for Jiang Zhe!

Celestial Master Zhang remained the calmest one, gazing at the tranquil Night outside the window,

"Visitors from the heavens, the work of creation..."

"If the next session really talks about the origin of the first soul, it will probably touch upon the fundamental question of whether humans are primarily physical bodies or souls. Very intriguing!"

...

In the Guangzhou Library, inside the teachers' office.

Teacher Chen Min looked at the academic webpage Jiang Zhe had opened and the photos of the sumerian tablets and planets, his expression shifting indefinite.

Finally, he let out a long sigh. "Perhaps, in the not-too-distant future, the preface of biology textbooks will really need to be rewritten!"

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu and Teacher Gao and others beside him were immersed in discussions about Nibiru, the tenth planet, and the origin of consciousness.

...

Kyoto University of History, faculty residential area.

In Professor Chen Runzhi's living room, the tea on the table had long gone cold.

Philosophy Professor Lao Wang exhaled a heavy breath. "From mythological metaphors, to genetic manipulation, to Advanced astronomical knowledge..."

"If this isn't an elaborately orchestrated super hoax, then we who have spent our lives studying humanity and civilization might all be standing before a door to truth that has never been opened!"

Professor Liu Guangyi wore a helpless smile. "I'm starting to feel that the most unnatural thing in the entire biosphere might be us humans ourselves."

Lao Qian was even more amazing. "Now I'm even more Suspect—if I watch a few more of his tutoring sessions, I might start wondering if humans are even from Earth at all."

Finally, Lao Chen stood up and clapped his hands. "Alright, alright, it's almost 1 AM. Everyone... hungry?"

"Come on, my treat. Let's go get foot massages, hot pot, and KTV!"

The other three looked at Lao Chen, faces full of Surprised.

"What's with the looks? Xiaoyu's brother has messed us four old guys up like this. You think you can still sleep? Of course, it's time for some senior nightlife. Can't let the students think we can't drink or sing anymore!"

And so, the four of them, Feeling澎湃, walked out of the living room with arms around each other's shoulders, heading towards the night market near the university district.

...

Huaqing University in Kyoto, lounge.

Li Mo looked at Professor Guan Jingming and found the professor looking back at him, both their eyes filled with the same Shock and bewildered.

"Professor Guan," Li Mo's expression was somewhat A mixture of feelings, "what should we... research next?"

Professor Guan was silent for a long time before speaking. "Research my foot! Go back to the dorm and sleep!"

He couldn't be bothered to Research the clay tablets and Sumerian Civilization. Just eavesdropping on Jiang Zhe's tutoring session had nearly shattered his Values. If he actually went and researched it, what would become of his materialist worldview?

Better to let those in archaeology, biology, and history deal with the headaches!

After hesitating for precisely two and a half seconds, Professor Guan suddenly felt a surge of inspiration and excitement. He immediately started jogging towards the Life Sciences dormitory building. Going upstairs, he pushed open the door of Life Sciences Professor Wu Yongnian's room. "Lao Wu, quick, it's urgent. I need you!"

Wu Yongnian, sleepy-eyed, looked at the impatient, fervent, and panting Professor Guan. Professor Wu immediately wrapped his small blanket tighter, feeling a tingling scalp. "You, you! What are you doing barging into my single professor's dormitory in the middle of the night? In broad... well, dark of night, you mustn't Depravity!"

"No hesitation! This isn't Depravity, this is a life sciences experiment!!!"

And so...