God's question plunged the boy into deep thought. He felt that if he could organize his thoughts clearly, he would find the answer. He pondered:
"That's right. Drawing isn't wrong when it comes to storing information. But if it's not wrong yet I can't use it, wouldn't that still make it useless?"
He kept thinking, feeling as if he was close to the answer but always missing something.
God simply smiled and looked at him. These small challenges were within the scope of what He allowed Himself to assist with.
Though He knew the answer, He naturally wouldn't provide it directly. Teaching someone how to fish is far better than giving them a fish when they're not starving.
Suddenly, the boy's eyes widened, and a big grin spread across his face as he laughed:
"Ha ha ha! I get it, I get it! Drawings can indeed be used to store information, but they're not convenient. I'll make them simple enough and efficient enough to store information."
Clap, clap, clap...
God looked at him with satisfaction, clapping as He said:
"Your thoughts are very good. Once you've identified the direction, you're bound to achieve results in the future. Do you have a more specific idea for it yet?"
The boy sank into thought again. What he had now was just a future direction, but the exact destination remained unclear.
He paced back and forth for a while before asking:
"Could you give me a hint?"
Hearing this, God chuckled and remained silent for a moment. After deciding that this question wouldn't breach His self-imposed rules, He said:
"What do you think are the essential qualities of something that can easily store information?"
Without hesitation, the boy replied:
"Ease of use. I wouldn't choose drawing because it's too difficult and time-consuming. Furthermore, it has to be specific; otherwise, it can't capture my complex thoughts. And it must make use of the experience I already have to create it."
"Oh, quite a detailed thought process. Then, what is something you frequently use that's related to information in a specific and detailed way?"
The boy furrowed his brows, thinking the question seemed somewhat unrelated. But moments later, his eyes lit up as if he had suddenly understood everything.
"Ha ha ha! I get it, I get it! It's the language we use to communicate. If I can transform it into a simple form of drawing, it will surely meet my requirements. I've figured it out! I'll call it words, and the act of recording words in this world will be called writing."
And thus, for the first time on Earth, two new concepts were born. By chance, and with some guidance, human civilization took another step forward.
Of course, there was always someone watching closely to lend a helping hand when needed. Otherwise, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
Usually, God only guided subtly, but this time, it so happened that God was visiting Earth, so the hints were much clearer.
"Well done! So, how do you think writing should be created?"
The boy fell silent for a moment. Saying it was easy, but when it came to execution, he was at a loss. He didn't know how to create writing that would be suitable.
Many questions swirled in his mind: What does simplicity mean? What should the characters look like? How can they fit the language he commonly used?
He felt he had no clues at all. It was, after all, the first time he'd thought about such questions in his life. Helplessly, he sighed:
"Haiz, I'm not entirely sure, but it definitely has to be closely tied to the language I'm using. To achieve that, I'll need to fully understand the language I'm speaking. This will probably take quite some time."
God wasn't disappointed at all. To be honest, humanity had progressed more in this single day than it had in the past hundred years.
This boy officially marked the beginning of a new era today. Humanity had taken another step toward becoming divine.
"Today is a memorable day. Should we record it?" God asked.
The boy nodded enthusiastically and replied:
"Of course we should record it. Today is a particularly important beginning—how could we forget it?"
Saying that, he ran off to a large, relatively flat rock face. Grabbing a piece of stone, he scratched a line on the surface and said:
"Today is the first day. Let's see how many days it will take for me to finish this task."
"Ha ha, then it depends on your abilities. I'll head back now. If you have any questions, feel free to come find me. But don't tell anyone in the tribe that I am God. Wait until you've truly created something useful for them, then I'll reveal my identity. Do you know why?"
The boy rolled his eyes in thought for a moment before answering:
"It's because they need an example to understand the wonder of what I'm about to do. Once they grasp it, they'll understand that God's role isn't to be prayed to."
God smiled and patted the boy on the shoulder:
"Very good. I'm looking forward to seeing your future. But you'd better hurry; this body of mine won't last much longer. After all, I'm already at the age of an elder."
The boy nodded, then suddenly froze. He asked:
"Can gods die?"
"No, gods don't die. But if a god plays inside a mortal body, that body can die."
"Does that mean humans are truly born just to die?"
"Ha ha, you're not yet knowledgeable enough to understand this fully. But I can tell you one thing: all the necessary hints to becoming a god have been placed in this world. They are incredibly accessible, but you've never looked at them the right way. It's like how you looked at the river and had a strange thought.
The river has existed for countless years, and humans have known about it for just as long. So why are you the first to truly dig into this clue? Step by step, you'll come to understand everything. Maintain your current way of thinking. Feel this world, all the rules are around you."
With that, God left, returning to His role as an ordinary elder in a primitive tribe. The joys of a god are difficult for mortals to comprehend.
Not that gods are entirely different from mortals. Mortals simply haven't lived long enough to realize how much they resemble gods.
Left alone, the boy stood there and said:
"Maybe I should think of a name for myself. Xi Ming Dong doesn't sound bad. Xi will be the surname, Ming will be the middle name representing light, and Dong will be the given name, signifying the direction of the sunrise."
And thus, another new concept—the act of naming—was created today. However, until writing was perfected, it wouldn't become widespread.