“He” has arrived!
The people on the tower who realized this became tense, their expressions as if facing a formidable enemy.
They were disrupting the domain of the King of aliens, even though the rules of the domain were “both humans and aliens cease hostilities.” However, the King still had the right to modify the rules and exert control over life and death.
No one could endure constantly having a sharp blade hanging over their heads, even though, up to this point, this blade had largely protected humanity.
—Even if it was truly for protection, these energies were still constantly eroding the world membrane. Once the world membrane completely disappeared, this world would be completely overrun. Who could be sure that the King wasn’t slowly boiling the frog? The most frightening knife was hidden behind him, and his slight kindness towards humanity was just an illusion he had created.
They had to save themselves.
But saving themselves also meant destruction, and they were very likely to anger the Alien King. After all, no one would tolerate the weak depriving them of control over the world.
Now their fears were confirmed.
“Quick, protect Mr. Su!”
“He’s going to destroy the world membrane! Stop him!”
The panicked crowd quickly opened up their defenses.
Now was a critical moment. Su Shiyu needed to continue injecting abilities without interruption to suppress. If the artificial world membrane was destroyed, everything would be lost.
This world membrane was the product of people’s all-out efforts to build, and there were no other backup materials.
Shen Jie stood at the edge of the world membrane, overlooking the panic of the people below.
Only two people remained motionless.
One was Su Shiyu standing in the center of the compass. The other was his lover, Zhong Lin.
Shen Jie remembered that two days ago, before Zhong Lin returned to the city, he had promised Zhong Lin that he would wait for him in the temple and not interfere with the “Heaven’s Replacement” plan.
Once the “Heaven’s Replacement” plan was completed and the lost lands were reclaimed after the mist receded and human reconstruction work entered a stable period, Zhong Lin promised him that he would accompany him to wherever he wanted to go.
Including worlds beyond the void.
“Five years… no, three years. At most three years,” Zhong Lin said. “Once everything stabilizes, we’ll set off.”
It was a difficult task to make a guardian who had been tirelessly devoted to their mission and whose sense of duty outweighed their own life, to set aside their responsibilities.
And for Zhong Lin to be willing to be with an alien was an even more difficult task.
Now, both difficult tasks had been accomplished. In this journey, he could still consider himself lucky.
“All right.” At that time, he replied to Zhong Lin with a smile on his lips, “By then, it will be our tenth anniversary since we got married.”
At this moment, Shen Jie looked at the shimmering illusion of the world membrane drifting before him.
The product rushed out in half a year was still too fragile.
It was like sewing a piece of paper onto a torn piece of cloth. When hit by the storms of the void, the most fragile part will still be damaged and won’t last for many years.
He sighed, and the longsword “Snow Burial” manifested in his hand.
Zhong Lin, who had been observing, suddenly frowned. His bone wings spread out, and he rushed towards the direction of the world membrane at the fastest speed.
But Shen Jie’s sword was always swift.
The first slash.
The chilling sword qi, like a curved silver moon, cut open a seam on the fragile paper surface. Destructive energy, like ink, eroded in from the crack.
Shen Jie raised his hand to wipe the blade.
His black hair and clothes were lifted by the high-altitude wind.
He seemed like a demon king ruling over the world.
The humans below emitted panicked screams. Perhaps in their eyes, he truly wasn’t much different from the demon king who would destroy the world.
Shen Jie thought lightly.
The second slash didn’t come. Because Zhong Lin had already arrived.
“Why?” Zhong Lin asked him.
Shen Jie tilted his head, looking at him with his strangely purple eyes, and said softly, “Lin Ge, I’ve deceived you once already. Why would you still believe that you won’t be deceived by me a second time?”
Zhong Lin noticed that when his lover looked at him this time, there was no emotion in his cold purple eyes.
The tender affection, the focused gaze at home, the soft and tender thoughts, all seemed like fleeting illusions, dissipating in an instant.
The current Shen Jie seemed no different from an alien.
“If you really want to destroy the world,” Zhong Lin spoke, his voice somewhat dry, “there’s no need to wait until now to act.”
“There’s no need,” Shen Jie said, holding the sword horizontally in his palm, “but it’s fun.”
“… Fun?”
“—To give humans their last hope, only to destroy it at the last moment, watching their expressions of despair,” Shen Jie observed the people below, lips curling up as he spoke, “I find it amusing.”
Zhong Lin’s crimson pupils stared at him and said, “Xiao Jie, you’re not like this.”
The Shen Jie he knew was not someone who would find “amusement” in the despair and struggle of others.
Not only because Shen Jie had once crossed through a sea of people to save him when his infection levels were critical. As far as he knew, Shen Jie had also prevented the escape of aliens from the research institute, saved dozens of people in the subway mist, and hundreds of people in the hospital mist.
All of these incidents left traces. With careful reflection, one could easily discover them.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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If it was truly for “fun,” Shen Jie could have just watched people struggle from the sidelines back then. Why go to such lengths?
“What do you want to do?” Zhong Lin asked in a deep voice.
But Shen Jie did not answer.
The curve of his lips narrowed, no longer smiling.
But the “Snow Burial” in his palm suddenly surged forward, slashing out a chilling arc—still aimed at that artificial world membrane!
However, the silver blade aura failed to materialize because this time Zhong Lin was faster and reached him before, grabbing hold of his sword.
The sound of the blade sinking into flesh.
Blood dripped from Zhong Lin’s palm.
“Xiao Jie,” Zhong Lin called out to him again.
Shen Jie’s pupils slightly contracted, instinctively taking a step back.
With the blade forcefully held, Zhong Lin clearly intended to use his own body to block any further actions from him.
Shen Jie lowered his eyelids, his whole body and the blade suddenly dissolving into black shadows, only to reassemble at the other end of the world membrane.
He raised his hand.
The second slash!
The crescent-shaped blade aura nearly pierced through the entire world membrane from top to bottom, forming a “cross” with the first slash, allowing more black destructive energy to seep in.
“We can’t let him continue, stop him!” Shi Chen’s voice came through Zhong Lin’s earpiece.
The cross-shaped blade marks had already cut through the entire world membrane, but the cracks were covered by golden energy to prevent complete rupture. However, there were now many more places that needed repair and energy offsetting.
Su Shiyu’s power might not be able to hold up.
Zhong Lin tightly clenched his blood-soaked palm, his bone spear taking form in his hand.
This weapon, fully extended from his own “Soul” ability, should have felt incredibly handy to wield. However, this time, he felt a great deal of difficulty wielding it.
Until now, he still didn’t want to use the bone spear against Shen Jie.
But Shen Jie had already raised his long blade, ready to strike with the third slash!
The bone wings flapped, the wind howled.
The two figures intertwined in mid-air. The long blade and the bone spear collided, emitting a piercing clash.
Locking eyes with Shen Jie’s cold purple gaze,
Zhong Lin suddenly felt a sense of deja vu, as if this scene had happened once long ago.
Under the tremendous force of interaction, the two collided and separated, rapidly increasing the distance between them.
Zhong Lin suddenly woke up to the fact that being able to swiftly approach and intercept Shen Jie with one slash didn’t necessarily mean he could block the second one.
A white light exploded outward from Zhong Lin’s center, chasing after Shen Jie and enveloping him within.
The realm of the highest domain of the “Soul” Rank One unfolded!
The sky and the world membrane disappeared from above, bone spurs hung upside down in the thick fog, resembling countless hidden white tombstones.
Below was the surging sea of souls, surrounding them endlessly.
The domain of the “Soul” Rank One, the “Soul Burial Ground”
And this was the moment Shen Jie had been waiting for all along.
He steadied himself, floating above the sea of souls, his right hand holding the long blade lowered, while his left hand was raised and then stabbed directly into his own chest!
“Xiao Jie!”
Zhong Lin shouted. He couldn’t afford to consider anything else now, flapping his wings urgently as he rushed toward Shen Jie’s location.
Was this another deception? Did Shen Jie make such a move just to disrupt his thoughts? After all, the body of the “Form of Annihilation ” was not as fragile as that of an ordinary human. Even if his heart was pierced, or his entire body was shattered, as long as his ability existed, he could immediately regenerate.
But Zhong Lin still couldn’t leave Shen Jie alone.
However, by the time he approached, Shen Jie had already taken his hand out of his heart. Shadows dripped from him one by one. And in his palm, there appeared a faint white light.
It was a pearl.
The size of a pearl, pure white, crystal clear, well protected, without a single flaw on its surface.
Zhong Lin’s pupils contracted. Through the perception of his soul origin, he quickly knew what it was. “Is this… the ‘key’?”
After inheriting all aspects of the “self” from all worlds and becoming Rank One, the only thing he lacked was “awareness” and “memory.”
How could this thing be in Shen Jie’s hand?
Shen Jie lowered his head, gazing at the pearl, his palm tilted, and the pearl rolled from his hand into the surging sea of souls.
Like a tear shed by a deity.
In the instant the pearl fell, the sea of souls suddenly began to tremble violently!
Zhong Lin realized that because he was within the domain’s range, the sea of souls was a part of him, and therefore, when the “key” fell into it, fusion began directly.
The evolution that he failed to complete when he ascended to Rank One was restarted.
The surrounding waves surged, consciousness elevated, entering into the convergence point of consciousness in higher dimensions, while the main body would fall asleep during the evolution process.
— Can’t fall asleep now!
Zhong Lin thought of something and looked towards a figure not far away.
Shen Jie… Shen Jie was still there—
—-
The supreme domain closed due to the slumber of its controller.
Shen Jie returned to the real world.
Seeing him reappear unharmed, everyone’s gaze was filled with both shock and fear.
Holding the “Snow Burial” in his hand, Shen Jie didn’t swing his blade to attack the world membrane again. Instead, with a flash, he appeared atop the Observation Center Tower the next moment!
The wind was bitter cold on the tower. Dressed in a black suit, his long hair danced wildly behind him, a long blade resting in his palm, his purple eyes gleaming like a fierce demon.
He was simply the king of demons.
“Ah! Ah! Ah!”
Some guards, feeling like they were facing a formidable enemy, were directly scared into screams.
[Host!!! Don’t come any closer!!!]
Not only the people but even the system let out a cry of alarm.
It didn’t understand, not at all. Why would the host continue playing pretend to save the world while also destroying it at the same time?
Initially, it thought the host genuinely wanted to turn over a new leaf and be a good person, but that notion shattered when Shen Jie arrived to disrupt the “Heaven’s Replacement” plan.
The Great Demon King’s thoughts were truly unfathomable.
Could everything Shen Jie did really just be for fun?
The system felt like crying.
“Protect Mr. Su quickly!”
A young ability user shouted, ready to rush forward and launch an attack.
“Don’t be rash!” A senior ability user beside him quickly held him back. “Only Rank One can counter Rank One. If you go up there now, you’re just walking into death.”
“But… the only Rank One for all humanity is Mr. Zong. But Mr. Zong…” The young ability user looked at the sky, where the person he was searching for was not in sight, his voice trembling.
Zong Lin was already the strongest ability user in humanity. But after encountering the Great Demon King, he disappeared in less than half a minute. Now, if it were them, how long could they hold on?
The gap between Rank One and Rank Two was like a chasm, and as Rank Four, he couldn’t even imagine how he could fight against a monster whose ability could instantly cover the entire world.
Humanity might truly be facing extinction today.
“Don’t panic, don’t panic, we still have the savior,” the elder ability user said.
“The savior? Mr. Su?” The young man was stunned. Weren’t they sent to protect Mr. Su? Why did it seem like now they were supposed to rely on Mr. Su to protect them?
“Don’t you feel it yet? Mr. Su’s strength is already on par with Rank One,” the elder ability user said. He looked at the young figure standing before them, feeling somewhat emotional.
He was the evaluator at the Ability Center. Six months ago, it was his responsibility to evaluate Su Shiyu’s ability and discovered the existence of this genius “Life” ability user .
That was probably a moment he would remember for the rest of his life.
In the past six months, the evaluator had witnessed firsthand how the other party’s rank had skyrocketed like a rocket.
Just a week ago, when the evaluation was conducted, the savior’s rank was still at Rank Two — an incredibly incredible rate of advancement. According to their calculations, as long as Su Shiyu’s ability was amplified and launched by the Compass Energy Compressor, and with the combined support of all the “Life” ability users in the world, completing the “Heaven’s Replacement” plan would not be a problem.
But today, when he saw the dense golden light burst directly from the Observation Center Tower to the surroundings, the evaluator realized that Su Shiyu had already ascended to Rank One.
Now, even without the assistance of other “Life” abilities users, Su Shiyu alone could save the world!
Initially, he thought the recent widespread belief in the “Savior Star” cult in the city was exaggerated, but now he had no choice but to believe it.
Perhaps Su Shiyu was indeed the angel sent by heaven to save them?
[…]
Listening to this group of people thinking they were having a secret conversation, the system now felt despair. Extremely desperate.
No one knew better than it did that the savior and the Great Demon King were one!
Their hope was non-existent; the Great Demon King had no heart at all. He could even attack Zong Lin, how would he care about them.
[Host, can you tell me what you really want to do?] the system tremblingly asked.
Su Shiyu didn’t answer.
The story had unfolded according to everything he had arranged and was now approaching its final act.
At this moment, however, someone stepped forward and stood in the way of Shen Jie.
— It was Zhu Wu You.
“Shen Jie,” Zhu Wu You held a bow and arrow, his face pale as a ghost, “I didn’t expect Zong Lin to trust the wrong person. Yet here you are.”
Shen Jie said lightly, “Move aside.”
Zhu Wu You didn’t move.
His long sleeves hung down, a blood-red talisman quietly burned to ashes in his hand.
“Fate” Rank Two, “Divine Prayer,” had been activated.
— Pray to the supreme gods above the rules, paying different costs depending on the degree of the request.
And this time, Zhu Wu You’s request was to borrow power from the river of fate, temporarily becoming the strongest version of himself among all time and space nodes.
The cost was his soul and life.
Zhu Wu You’s aura suddenly surged, directly breaking through the boundary from Rank Two to Rank One.
Black lines appeared on his face, and his hands transformed into several vines swinging towards Shen Jie.
Although this attack looked fierce, its speed was relatively slow. The strong point was that it possessed the attribute of “hundred percent accuracy.”
Since he was bound to be hit, Shen Jie didn’t dodge. He simply raised his arm to block, and the power of destruction overflowed from his body at the same time. The vines were corroded sizzlingly, but they still clung tightly to his arm, unwilling to let him move forward.
Shen Jie: “Why bother.”
Zhu Wu You’s state of transformation was constantly intensifying.
Years ago, an ability user from Base S had predicted that he would degenerate into a Rank One alien, prompting them to launch a preemptive hunt against him.
This prophecy itself was not wrong.
Indeed… at some point in the future, he would degenerate into a “Fate” alien, Rank One, the “Tree of Destiny.”
At this moment, Zhu Wu You’s consciousness was already completely connected to his future self as Rank One.
Zhu Wu You tilted his head back.
He saw in that future, the world was desolate and destroyed, Zong Lin had long since disappeared, and there was no Su Shiyu either.
He, together with the ability users from Base S, had painstakingly killed Wu Yan, forcibly devouring the “Fate” crystal core, ascending to Rank One, hoping to fight for the last glimmer of hope for humanity.
Although ultimately unable to resist degeneration, relying on the last human will, he ignited his origin and activated “Divine Prayer.”
Zhu Wu You was actually not someone who believed much in gods. Even though his ability was called “Divine Prayer”, what he was praying for at this moment was still the strongest version of himself in the river of destiny.
But that strongest version of himself was trying to pray to the “gods.”
— Seeking the gods of the nine heavens, no matter the cost, requesting to bestow upon humanity the “Savior Star,” changing the fate of humanity’s demise.
At that time, Shi Chen had already passed away, and Ke Xi Ya inherited his research. He successfully created exoskeletons that could combat aliens through consciousness links, as well as an artificial intelligence system created from “Soul” energy crystals.
“If we could bring back the exoskeleton technology and intelligent system in advance, ordinary people would also have the ability to resist aberrants. Perhaps humanity wouldn’t have suffered setbacks until today,” Ke Xi Ya said.
“And, and,” Chen Shushu raised his hand beside him, “If we could know the future in advance, then we could definitely prevent many tragedies from happening, right? In that case, we need a future instruction manual — and we have it!”
After saying this, he dashed back to his room and brought out his cherished masterpiece, “Ta-da! My autobiography, ‘I Became a Hero in the Apocalypse!'”
Ke Xi Ya was speechless, “This title sounds familiar to me somehow.”
Chen Shushu rubbed his chin, saying, “Back when the city was still around, I serialized it on forums. My pen name was ‘Second Young Master Chen.’ Have you heard of it?”
Ke Xi Ya replied, “Probably…? Your online fiction titles are getting more and more alike, they all look the same to me, I can’t really tell.”
“Although it’s an online fiction, it’s also my real autobiography. Except for a bit of artistic embellishment in the emotional experiences, all the information is true and can be taken as reference… ahem.”
“The book isn’t finished yet. Tomorrow is the final battle, and I don’t know how it will end.” Chen Shushu scratched his head, smiling to show his white teeth, then handed the thick book to Zhu Wu You. “So, I leave the ending to you. No matter what happens tomorrow, remember to give me a heroic ending!”
Although everything about the future was already recorded in the “archives” of the artificial intelligence system, Zhu Wu You still accepted the book at that time.
But he also knew that these things were actually far from enough.
Tomorrow would be the final battle. According to the calculations of the intelligent system, the possibility of humanity winning was less than 0.1%.
They were in the “Last Eden,” the core area that escaped from the bottom of the city when it fell, a mechanized mobile core area. They had been wandering on the earth for ten years.
In these ten years, they had witnessed countless human bases being destroyed in wars. And now, this isolated island surrounded by countless aliens was finally about to fall.
As a remedy for humanity’s defeat in the final battle, he would devour Wu Yan’s crystal core, forcibly ascending to Rank One, disrupting “Fate,” briefly opening a temporal passage for time travel, allowing the artificial intelligence system to bring items back to the past, find someone suitable to entrust the mission to, inform the future, and change it.
But would this alone be enough to change the ultimate fate of humanity’s demise?
It’s very difficult.
Humans faced not only the aliens on the ground but also the fate of the world’s impending destruction.
Only the gods could change destiny.
The next day, the final battle. Chen Shushu fell. Aliens invaded. Humanity’s last base fell.
He devoured Wu Yan’s crystal core, activated “Divine Prayer,” and requested the gods to bind the person who could save the world to the system and grant the system the tools to save the world.
A god… granted it.
At that moment, Zhu Wu You suddenly understood something.
He sensed the system’s presence on Su Shiyu.
— Su Shiyu should undoubtedly be the Savior Star he had once prayed to the gods to bestow upon humanity.
But, at the same time, he also felt the familiar presence of the high and mighty god that he had vaguely sensed before—
Right before his eyes.
On Shen Jie’s body.
Zhu Wu You opened his mouth, his voice hoarse.
“The one who granted my request… is you.”
Have a feeling Shen Jie is doing all this to use the feather to help Zong Lin control his infection 😭
It’s a full cycle crazy. Thanks for the chapter.
Thank you for the chapter!!!!!!🫶🫶🫶🫶
I WONDER WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT!!!
New chapter, new cliffhanger. I wish I had the patience to save up a few!
Thank you for the chapter 😍 ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Ahhh this explanation for the system and book mixup is too perfect. Really adore what the author is building
1
Goosebumps 🫨. Thanks for the chapter.
Inception hahaha
I have no words
I feel so cold. 🤕
Zong Lin, pls trust Shen Jie!! 😣😣
Thank you for the chapter!! <3
!!!
Thanks for the translation!
WE R SO CLOSEEEE!!!!!!🙏🙏
Man, the last timeline was really too tragic and now I’m crying with this one. 😭
Cause of death: Cliffhanger 💀
Thanks for the update 💗
It’s the end of the worl—wait for next chapter. KO by the cliff that was hanging there… Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️
wuuuuu, I remember I cried buckets reading this scene, I had a keen sense for bad omens and I was right 😭😭😭 literally spent the whole afternoon bawling like a big baby, my mum and dad repeatedly shouted at me to shut up and even asked what was wrong with me did I break a bone or sum (did not help I cried even more) but god d@mn thank god the ending was actually bittersweet and they eventually reunited, I’ll still regard this as a bad ending though 😭😭😭🤧❤❤❤