How Majestic Is Mount Tai?

Supernatural forces X modern technology.

In the myths woven by humanity, faith gathers through incense offerings and deities, coalescing into a supreme being known as the Heavenly Way.

Modern technology sees religion as the earliest form of “thought-energy management technology” invented by humanity.

Scientists have discovered that when enough people direct their intense emotions, desires, and prayers toward one specific concept, an “aggregate of consciousness” forms in the quantum field.

And that is how a god can be made.

The government swiftly established a special agency.

China’s Bureau of Geomantic Energy and Anomalous Phenomena Research set up its first large-scale “Faith Guidance Station” on Mount Tai.

Project codename: Daiyue.

- - - -

Amid gentle, lingering white mist, arms wrapped around each other, chests pressed together.

His fingers slid through slightly damp long hair and came to rest on the other person’s equally smooth shoulder.

“The general has lost too much blood! Hemostats, quickly! Where’s the blood bag?!”

Distant voices came from the void. His reason was fading, and he clumsily chased the lips and tongue he could barely make out in the mist.

“Tell them if the plasma isn’t here within three minutes and the general dies on the operating table, they can explain it to the Federal Military Command themselves!”

The shrill words crashed into the silent void. He didn’t want to pay attention; they were just noise.

A finger touched his bare tailbone, counting each vertebra one by one. Wherever it went, ripples stirred through all his senses.

He’d had enough of this tantalizing, fruitless longing. He frantically searched with his lips, and in his confusion bumped into the other person’s Adam’s apple. The man let out a muffled groan.

“...Dr. Mela! You’re finally here!”

“Everyone, clear away from the bed. Get the defibrillator ready.”

The voices came from another world, while at that moment, he finally got what he wanted.

The whole world was scorching, and only that person’s lips and tongue were a cool refuge amid the flames.

The tip of that tongue seemed to hold a piece of ice. It brushed across the sensitive spots in his mouth, and he let out a hazy, suggestive moan. Their breaths tangled together. All around them was emptiness, and all they could hear was each other’s panting and soft breaths.

“Set the energy to 200 joules, biphasic. Charging. First charge complete. Clear!”

Suddenly, the man raised a hand and pushed against his chest. His reactions were sluggish. He raised a hand in confusion, barely managing to close it around that cool, long hair.

The push sent him plummeting. The surface of the sea closed over his head, and icy water surged in from every direction.

“, Gasp!”

He abruptly opened his eyes and sucked in great gulps of air. The clean, distinctive smell of the Federal Hospital’s ICU finally filled his lungs.

Several people stood gathered at the foot of the bed, all dressed in crisp Federal officer uniforms. When they saw him wake, they crowded around him in delight.

“General Ling! You’re finally awake!”

A flood of information poured in, battering his cerebral cortex as it had only just regained consciousness.

He remembered.

His name was Ling Yue.

General of the Federal Army’s Seventh Squad.

- - -

After recovering from his injuries, he returned to the military, only to find that Zhang Dai, a well-connected “expert,” had been parachuted in from the Science and Technology Bureau.

Ling Yue watched him slack off with top-of-the-line equipment, ride around in luxury cars, and pad his resume. The man was the textbook definition of a golden boy with connections.

Because Ling Yue despised people who relied on connections, the whole team shunned this frail beauty who seemed to have wandered onto the wrong set.

Until Ling Yue discovered that

although Zhang Dai drove a luxury car on missions, he’d only gotten his license last week;

although his wallet was stuffed with black cards, he kept borrowing small bills and spare change from Ling Yue.

On Mount Tai’s sacrificial rites day, Ling Yue stared at the statue, deep in thought: Isn’t this model identical to the person I had an online romance with in my dream?

Theme: People need faith.