The Road of Resistance

Walking down the long staircase, Nan Yue could sense at least seven or eight forks in the darkness, with no idea where they led.

Finally, they stopped at a dead end.

Once everyone came to a halt, Fu Xi Ming pressed a spot on the wall, and the sealed dead end slowly opened to reveal the safe house inside.

It looked like a one-bedroom apartment, fully equipped with everything one might need.

Fu Xi Ming sat on the sofa while Lan Jing Shui went to brew tea for everyone.

Lan Jing Shui had clearly been here before, or perhaps there were many such safe houses and he was simply familiar with the layout from others.

Once she was holding a cup of hot tea at just the right temperature, Nan Yue looked at Fu Xi Ming.

"I am going to tell you the entire truth I discovered during the mission."

"After that, we can decide whether or not to continue our cooperation."

Fu Xi Ming keenly noticed the change in Nan Yue's phrasing; the person who had initially been so persistent in seeking cooperation and protection had suddenly become very cautious.

For a rare moment, Fu Xi Ming felt a flicker of tension.

Lan Jing Shui leaned back on the sofa, looking nonchalant.

He had been subtly observing Jiang Siyan, wondering what kind of truth could turn a person into what he was now.

Could it be related to Zhou Yang?

Nan Yue didn't keep them in suspense any longer, laying out the truth in a slow and steady voice.

The room became so quiet it felt as if no one were there, even the sound of breathing was barely audible.

A long time later, the silence was broken by the sound of Fu Xi Ming's lighter.

The flame flared up, but Fu Xi Ming held the cigarette between her lips without lighting it.

The silver lid of the lighter snapped shut, and she tossed the cigarette onto the table.

"Ah..."

Lan Jing Shui remained slumped on the sofa, one hand covering his face, revealing only the stubble on his chin.

"That is... quite a surprise."

Lan Jing Shui's voice was still lazy, but everyone knew this news was a bombshell to anyone.

"So, that friend you've been protecting is from the Federation."

Nan Yue nodded in confirmation.

"Is she trustworthy?"

Fu Xi Ming was an extremely rational person. Although she initially harbored strong hostility toward anyone and anything from the Federation, she knew this was no time for acting on impulse.

To put it bluntly, they were nothing more than expendables, pieces of trash; if not for this friend revealing the truth, would they have ever discovered it?

The probability was low.

And even if they did, what could they do?

They and the Federation were in separate parallel timelines, unable to reach each other; they could do nothing.

At least now, the appearance of Wen Xiang Yuan gave them the right to know the truth.

And... the possibility of revenge.

"Fine."

Fu Xi Ming didn't ask more. She and Nan Yue—no, everyone here—were now in the same boat.

Since Nan Yue trusted Wen Xiang Yuan, she had no choice but to trust her as well.

It was almost funny; she and Nan Yue had only met a few times outside the mission world, yet they had somehow become comrades-in-arms to save the world.

"I need to meet this friend of yours."

For the first time, Fu Xi Ming irritably tugged at her tie and unbuttoned her shirt.

She sat with her legs apart, staring fixedly at Nan Yue.

"I need to confirm a few things for myself."

"That can be arranged."

Nan Yue nodded; she had already mentioned this to Wen Xiang Yuan.

In the scavenger world, Nan Yue's influence was nowhere near Fu Xi Ming's.

Their plan needed the help of "Sharp Blade."

It needed Fu Xi Ming's recognition and participation.

"What do you plan to do?"

Nan Yue looked at Fu Xi Ming, unsure of which path she would choose.

It had truly become as He Jiu Chen said: exploration was meaningless, and it was better to just live and purify.

At least they could live out each day as best they could.

The things Nan Yue and Wen Xiang Yuan intended to do would inevitably result in many deaths.

If they didn't resist the Federation and spent their lives working on purification, they might live a bit longer.

But once they went to war with the Federation, the best-case scenario would be the Federation never noticing their intentions.

If they managed to disconnect the monitoring and operating systems, the scavengers would only have to face a period of chaos.

Once they dealt with the polluted worlds the Federation had already sent over, they would truly possess freedom.

But that was the best-case scenario. If the Federation stopped the operating system but didn't stop sending pollution...

Then the timing and frequency of everyone entering mission worlds would become chaotic, and multiple mission worlds might even overlap, losing all rules and forcing them to break through by sheer force.

That would be a true hell.

It was hard to say what others would want.

If people just wanted to live like this, they weren't necessarily wrong.

Fu Xi Ming remained silent for a long time. "I cannot make that decision."

"This is not something I, or even 'Sharp Blade,' can decide for everyone."

"We cannot keep this a secret either."

"Furthermore..."

Fu Xi Ming looked up at Nan Yue. "You just said the Federation already knows of your existence and that you can truly purify the pollution."

To put it bluntly, a scavenger's purification was just being a toy sent to appease the grudges of vengeful spirits; finding the patterns to escape the mission world was how scavengers survived.

This was because even a world constructed from resentment had to follow the basic laws of the original world.

This was a sliver of survival for the scavengers.

Scavengers had always believed they were truly purifying, using their own strength to cleanse the world amidst sacrifice and life-or-death struggles.

The reality was cruel.

They weren't purifying anything.

They were just mice used to distract the cat.

Sacrifice was merely the fate of the vast majority of those mice.

The truth of the world wasn't heroic; it was filthy and foul-smelling.

The scavengers needed to know what they had been doing and the purpose for which they were created.

And then...

They would choose the meaning of their own existence.

Whether to just live day by day like this, or... to fight for a meaning of their own.

Nan Yue nodded. Wen Xiang Yuan had gained Wen Gan Ting's trust through her own existence.

It was precisely because the man was interested in Nan Yue that he allowed Wen Xiang Yuan to contact her again.

If Nan Yue could truly devour and purify pollution, she was more precious than all the other scavengers who were just there to entertain vengeful spirits combined.

"So, the initiative might still ultimately lie with the Federation."

The Federation was, after all, the high and mighty entity that had created them.

It was possible that before they could reach an agreement or even take action, the Federation would strike first.

The worst-case scenario was... they would no longer need the scavenger world, only Nan Yue...

And many more like her.

"That is why we must move faster," Fu Xi Ming stated firmly.

Even if Wen Gan Ting had such thoughts, the Federation wasn't something the Wen family alone could control; for now, he was mostly just observing.