Ren Yi’s brows furrowed deeply as a faint sense of unease washed over him.
Zhang Qiuqiu had already collected Extinction’s soul. Without a doubt, he was the Instance Clearer they had been looking for.
Yet the strange thing was that in this Instance Clearer’s memories, there wasn’t a single trace of the “method of salvation.”
From Extinction’s reaction just now, it wasn’t hard to deduce that he was a mutant who had retained a portion of his human will.
But it was obvious that when he was twisted into this monstrous form, he had neither the company of “parents” nor the guidance of the Alliance.
His will had likely been driven completely insane long ago by this chaotic world and his own bizarre mutation.
Could it be that his mental state was so fractured that he lost the relevant memories?
Ren Yi quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought.
If this “method of salvation” was truly the “completion reward” granted by the world’s will of the Three Cities World, then the world’s will would have firmly etched that information into the Instance Clearer’s mind.
It was like leaving a will—you wouldn’t choose someone with Alzheimer’s to be your executor.
No matter how one looked at it, the world’s will was an existence far superior to an ordinary Anomaly; it wouldn’t make such a mistake.
In that case, only one possibility remained.
From the very beginning, the “method of salvation” had been nothing more than the unsubstantiated claims of the Xin King during the Three Cities Meeting.
That guy had been lying the whole time!
If that were the case, then when Ren Yi had spoken up during the meeting, the Xin King had probably already realized that he, the “Son of God,” was a fake. But to maintain his own lie, he hadn’t exposed him.
But why? Why would the Xin King do something so bizarre? Why go out of his way to deceive the Holy City and the Royal City on the other side of the world?
The current state of affairs in the Holy City and even the Royal City could be said to have been single-handedly engineered by the Xin King’s false reports.
It couldn't be that he felt all hope was lost and, to prevent his distant compatriots from falling into despair, he simply found them something to do, could it? That reason was far too forced.
However, being on the other side of the world, there were no answers to be found for these questions.
Just as Ren Yi’s thoughts were in a jumble, Zhang Qiuqiu asked her second question.
“What happened to this world? Why did humans turn into mutant beasts?”
This time, the soul finally reacted.
“The Descended One... soul experiment... liar... the soul changed...”
Fragmented words drifted out. After listening, Ren Yi and Zhang Qiuqiu finally managed to piece together the general sequence of events.
After a technological explosion in the Three Cities World, the existence of the soul was discovered for some unknown reason. However, an experiment went out of control during the research phase, and a form of radiation spread across the entire world, causing the souls of all humanity to mutate.
The mutation of the soul quickly triggered physical mutations, and eventually, the entire human population of the world turned into mutant beasts. Overall, it was a fairly common apocalyptic scenario.
The only unique point was the appearance of a “Descended One.”
From Extinction’s accusations, it wasn’t hard to guess that this “Descended One” was likely the one who had informed the Three Cities World of the soul’s existence and was the culprit who indirectly caused the subsequent apocalypse.
“Who is the Descended One? Tell us everything you know about him,” Ren Yi followed up immediately.
The soul froze again. Just as Ren Yi thought it didn't know, the blurry shadow suddenly began to tremble violently.
“The Descended One...” the soul murmured softly. In that moment, the soul, whose will had already dissipated, seemed to suddenly awaken, its tone filled with bone-deep hatred.
“The Descended One... Azure!”
After a piercing screech, the cluster of soul rapidly dimmed and fell silent once more.
Zhang Qiuqiu was startled and hurriedly pulled the soul back into the crystal before tossing it to Ren Yi.
“I can’t ask any more. Its energy is exhausted. If I push it, it’ll fall apart.”
“Hold on, Class Monitor. This is a lot to take in,” Ren Yi said, rubbing his head. “Did you hear what it just said?”
“I heard... Things in this world go deep.” Zhang Qiuqiu’s eyes twitched slightly, looking a bit dazed.
Without a doubt, this “Azure” was the very same “Azure God” whose name was shouted daily by everyone in the Holy City from the peak of the mountain.
Ren Yi had always assumed the name of this god was just a fabrication of religious legend. He never expected that such a person actually existed.
So, was this Azure an alien or an entity from another dimension?
Had it come to this world as a Descended One, using high technology or some kind of Anomaly trickery to play god, eventually being revered as a deity by the people of the Holy City?
Wasn't this operation strikingly similar to how he was currently pretending to be the Son of God?
The main question now was: is this Azure still alive? If so, where is he?
“We only got to ask three questions,” Ren Yi said with some regret.
There were still many things he hadn't cleared up, including the most important issue of “Azure” and why the three cities were immune to the soul mutation.
Ren Yi turned to Zhang Qiuqiu. “Class Monitor, are you still sure you want to let yourself be captured?”
Zhang Qiuqiu fell silent for a moment, then gritted her teeth. “To be honest, I haven’t fully adapted to this body yet. It’s all machine guns and cannons out there. I’m not confident I can escape. I need at least a couple of days to master this body before I run.”
She paused and added, “Besides, I don’t think this ‘Azure’ is in the Holy City. In the basic memories I’ve obtained, there’s never been any mention of divine miracles. What about you? What’s your plan?”
Ren Yi nodded. “I still have three nests left to clear... Right now, the most urgent thing is to figure out how to deal with the people from the Holy City.”
Just as he finished speaking, Ren Yi’s senses suddenly flared.
Boom!
A thunderous sound erupted as the obstacles at the entrance of the abandoned gymnasium were blasted aside. Immediately after, chunks of earth and stone moved to the sides of their own accord.
Before the dust could even settle, Gawain rushed in, shouting, “Your Excellency! Are you all right? Where is that bastard Tarol?”
Then, Gawain saw Tarol’s wretched corpse on the ground. His expression changed instantly, and his words died in his throat.
Ren Yi didn't answer. His gaze moved past Gawain to the person walking slowly behind him—a white-bearded old man. It was the Pope.
The old man had arrived a bit slower than he had expected.
The moment Ren Yi had sensed the commotion, Zhang Qiuqiu had already nimbly collapsed to the ground to play dead, handing over the task of dealing with the Holy City folk entirely to Ren Yi.
“Tarol has sacrificed himself,” Ren Yi spoke first, his voice carrying a well-measured tone of grief. “But his sacrifice was not in vain. Fortunately, we have fulfilled our mission—we have captured Extinction alive.”
“This...” Gawain’s gaze shifted between Tarol’s body and Extinction. He had originally intended to hold Tarol accountable, but now he couldn't say a word, left only with silence.
The Pope walked slowly to the side of the prone Extinction and gazed at it for a moment.
“You have worked hard, Your Excellency,” he finally spoke. “The Holy City will remember Tarol’s sacrifice.”
As Ren Yi had expected, before obtaining another method of salvation, the Pope had no intention of dropping the facade.
“Gawain, help me seize this Extinction and bring it to my tent.” A look of hatred appeared on Ren Yi’s face. “It killed Tarol. Even if I cannot kill it, I will torture it severely to appease the hatred in my heart!”
His purpose for saying this was, of course, to gain custody of Zhang Qiuqiu.
As expected, the Pope raised an objection.
“Your Excellency, Extinction is a very special mutant beast. It might be better to hand it over to us for research.”
Just as Ren Yi was about to continue arguing with the Pope, the Pope suddenly changed his tune.
“Of course, it can stay with Your Excellency first. Once you have vented your anger, you can hand it over to us for research. I promise you may be present for the entire duration of the study.”
The old man actually gave in? Ren Yi was somewhat puzzled.
Shouldn't the Pope be extremely desperate to know the method of salvation?
Wasn't the Pope afraid that Ren Yi would keep “venting his anger” for seven or eight days, right until the Calamity descended, without ever handing over Extinction?
But there was no reason not to accept such a favorable situation. Once they were in the camp, it would be even easier for them to escape using the seeds he had planted earlier.
Thinking of this, Ren Yi and the Pope locked eyes. The young man and the old man both wore knowing, brilliant smiles.
Rate on N.U.
