Infinite Sun in the East China Sea

Chapter 420 Battle Escalation
When the Apocalypse Virus affects intelligent entities, it is difficult to avoid leaking their own information.

This influence is based on the dissemination of information.

While Zhao Yingkong was constructing a crystal within the bounded field to carry the power of resonant faith, she also obtained a lot of information and realized the true danger of this world... although that information may not necessarily be accurate.

Overall, this world is extremely difficult.

Many factors determine the combat power of a life form: scale, depth, intellect, path, structure... Breakthroughs in each of these aspects will greatly enhance combat power.

When combat power is low, scale and depth are often the core factors determining combat power.

Scale is the basic strength of a living organism.

The subtlety granted by gene locks or other ability systems is to improve the precision of control, which is an enhancement of depth.

To sweep across this world, one needs an extremely high depth of attack.

Only by erasing the world from the bottom up without any shortcuts can we truly achieve a complete sweep; otherwise, it is merely the beginning of the next cycle.

Destruction itself is also a form of creation.

Killing a person creates a corpse in the process, and the world is the same...

What is the end of the world in the eyes of one species may be the beginning of creation in the eyes of another.

The world of Guilty Crown has experienced three apocalypses.

This is actually equivalent to three eras of destruction and creation.

The apocalypse triggered by the Apocalypse Virus is now the fourth. It can be stopped, but it will inevitably come as long as the creatures living in this world are not perfect enough.

The East Sea Team's reincarnators either did nothing, passively enduring the Fourth Apocalypse.

Either take the initiative and make the Fourth Apocalypse come even more violently, in which case you can gain some benefits and have a chance to postpone the time of this apocalypse.

"Now you are only one step away from resolving this apocalypse."

Xu Feng admired Zhao Yingkong, who had become even stronger. The assassin had gained the greatest benefit in this world.

In a sense, this world was probably specially arranged for her by the Supreme God.

Breaking through to the intermediate fourth-order gene lock, the inherent barrier is sublimated into a spacetime realm that can record internal history, plus the void genome that transforms the light of the mind into weapons...

The numerous benefits made her feel as if she had enhanced several double A-level or even S-level skills.

Even if it were any other member of the East China Sea team, including Xu Feng himself, they wouldn't be able to gain so many benefits in this world.

These enhancements also allowed Zhao Yingkong to resolve the surface of the Fourth Apocalypse.

"The final step..."

A figure appeared in Zhao Yingkong's mind: "Do I still need to rely on Yuzuriha Inori's power? However, I can now use spacetime projection to let her attack remotely. She will not be in any danger until I fail."

According to the information she received, there are two ways to gain control of the enemy's abilities through the space-time boundary.

One method is to record that ability using the Apocalypse Virus and lock onto the moment of attack. However, this method has a lower limit, depending on how far the Apocalypse Virus evolves.

The advantage of this recording method is that once the abilities are stored in the Apocalypse Virus, they can be used indefinitely.

This can greatly enhance her abilities.

The second method involves creating an infinitely large space, allowing the 'attack' to continue to propagate within that space until it opens a door along its path, enabling it to influence the outside world. This method has an even higher limit, and it cannot be recorded unless it is a human capable of breaking the world's limits and completely destroying the entire world.

Moreover, the second method is almost like the person within the inherent barrier personally taking action.

Of course, since this is similar to storing a certain move in spacetime through a special storage device, the ability obtained in this way can only be used once.

If the enemy becomes a prisoner of the Reality Marble, then one can almost infinitely utilize the enemy's abilities... One only needs to lure the enemy to keep attacking within the Reality Marble, and after adjustments in time and space, all their attacks can land in the positions Zhao Yingkong desires at the right time.

Zhao Yingkong planned to use this method to borrow Yuzuriha Inori's power.

All that is needed is to arrange a relatively independent space and time specifically for the songstress, so that she can express her emotions through her singing in that space and time.

"In this way, the pure flower does not have to face the cruel war."

Zhao Yingkong returned to the battlefield where the Fourth Apocalypse was underway.

The inherent barrier unfolds.

After consuming a large amount of energy, the entire Ouma Mana, along with the Void Crystal, was brought into the Reality Barrier. The sky within a radius of hundreds of kilometers instantly turned from dark to bright, and the raging winds that swept in all directions disappeared without a trace.

The world itself contains Zhao Yingkong and records all of Zhao Yingkong's information.

However, Zhao Yingkong's inner world also contains the world's messengers, who attempt to record the various abilities of the Apocalypse Virus in order to retaliate in kind.

All the Apocalypse Virus in this area will be unable to reappear in the real world until Zhao Yingkong is defeated.

The ongoing Fourth Apocalypse also came to a halt due to the disappearance of its core.

It was as if everything that had just happened was an illusion, as if those humans who turned to dust in the apocalypse had never existed.

Within the Reality Barrier, the will of the Apocalypse Virus, or rather, Mana Ouma's eyes were bloodshot.

She glared angrily at the humans who were stopping her.

This 'Eve' keeps creating more and more 'time-space projections Zhao Yingkong'.

Zhao Yingkong was too lazy to continue thinking about how to deal with those spacetime projections. She simply let the Apocalypse Virus in the spacetime world project the same image of herself, projection against projection... She had only just acquired this ability and had not collected enough information. She was not originally capable of projecting such powerful beings.

But that powerful being was the person she knew best, which allowed her to replicate the actions of the Apocalypse Virus consciousness.

Each 'Zhao Yingkong' was consuming each other within the inherent barrier.

The battle between the two instantly turned into a numerical clash.

"If the Apocalypse Virus's consciousness doesn't suddenly become stronger, the inherent barrier can probably last for another half an hour. If there's no interference from spiritual prayers, this time can be extended to an hour."

Zhao Yingkong spent a few seconds calculating her current situation.

"Next, it's up to Yuzuriha Inori..."

"Unleash all your abilities in the world I've created!"

Zhao Yingkong returned to Yuzuriha Inori's side like a streak of light, and brought the songstress, whose mind was gradually returning to normal, into her Reality Marble. She and the Apocalypse Virus were in the same Reality Marble, but not in the same location.

When Yuzuriha Inori first arrived in this unfamiliar area, she looked somewhat surprised.

But then she placed her palm on the crystal beneath her feet, and anger, crying, fear... negative emotions were transmitted to her consciousness through the crystal.

This deeply moved the naive and innocent songstress.

She instinctively wanted to alleviate their suffering.

Not knowing what to do, she could only keep humming the songs she used to sing to herself when she was in pain, like lullabies to soothe a child. After a long time...

The purple crystal became crystal clear.

It's as if the impurities inside have been purified.

"My singing must have brought them joy... Were they... saved?"

A thought inexplicably popped into Yuzuriha Inori's mind. She looked around and realized that the negative emotions she had just dealt with were only the tip of the iceberg.

"Can I save everyone here?"

The songstress seemed somewhat insecure.

But her choice was to continue.

In any case, the next person to be saved will be happy because of it.

Just as Yuzuriha Inori began singing her next song, the Apocalypse Virus in this space resonated with her voice, expanding the range of its influence.

"Hell and heaven are essentially the same place... When sins are cleansed and intellect disappears, the original icy hell becomes the Garden of Eden."

Zhao Yingkong had a vague understanding.

Because fear can arise, people only feel fear when faced with things they fear. In the eyes of humans in heaven, demons, monsters, and ferocious beasts are not worth fearing. Even if they are about to die at the hands of those monsters and become their food, they will not be afraid. They will only use pure eyes to convey God's will to those monsters.

"Is this the kind of human being that is perfect in God's eyes?"

Zhao Yingkong felt a chill run down her spine.

Fear is one of the driving forces of human evolution. In order to force the reincarnators to unlock their genetic locks, the Main God Space constantly throws them into horror movies. Of course, once the reincarnators are strong enough, they are no longer limited to horror movies.

Are humans who experience no fear the only perfect humans?

"If this is the truth about heaven, I'd rather go to hell!"

Yuzuriha Inori's singing greatly reduced the mental stress she experienced.

That sound could also effectively counteract the apocalypse launched by Sakura Mana. The structure of Zhao Yingkong projected by the Apocalypse Virus was much weaker, making it much easier to defeat them.

She could not have held on for very long.

But with Yuzuriha Inori's help, her body, which was constantly approaching its limit, was also constantly pushing the limits it could withstand.

"Next, we just need to wait for the turning point... When Inori and I have resolved all the negative emotions of the resonance, that will be the time when Mana Ouma is defeated."

She cannot readily accept all of humanity's sins as quickly as the 'gentle' Ouma Shu.

But with Yuzuriha Inori's help, it's possible to take it slow.

Just as Zhao Yingkong and Yingman Mana were locked in a stalemate, the battles in the other two areas also reached a fever pitch.

The next stage of the battle involves Xu Feng and the 'Will of Evolution'.

Zhao Yingkong's rise to the mid-level fourth tier within this world greatly enhanced her 'Will of Evolution'—humans in the Apocalypse can acquire extraordinary abilities, but few reach this level; otherwise, the battles in Guilty Crown would have been even more intense.

Now, the 'Will of Evolution' can make the boy infected with the Apocalypse Virus even stronger, making the Void's strength closer to the true Light of the Soul than the Void in the original story.

Its own image was even affected, changing slightly in the direction of Zhao Yingkong... The figure in the light, its pectoral muscles became somewhat exaggerated.

Zhao Yingkong's Annihilation Sword move turned into a basic attack using 'Will of Evolution'.

The Apocalypse Virus possesses all the abilities of the 'Will of Evolution'.

Moreover, the core ability of 'Will of Evolution' is even stronger. The Annihilation Sword it displays is far superior in both size and destructive power to the other self that Zhao Yingkong pulled out.

The 'Will to Evolve' is almost like Zhao Yingkong elevating her realm to the level of Xu Feng.

Fortunately, their battlefield is outside the world.

If this were within the world, it would be enough to cripple Earth in just a few moves, and the aftershocks could wipe out humanity.

But just as Xu Feng knew there were risks in the second Void Genome, he still let Zhao Yingkong use it. Similarly, getting benefits from the enemy allowed both sides to maintain a tacit understanding in the previous battles.

Zhao Yingkong's evolution to the mid-stage of the fourth tier meant that the 'Will of Evolution' that benefited from it did not use too many means to interfere with reality.

It hopes that this powerful, foreign female can continue to evolve amidst danger.

Whether it succeeds or not, it will make it stronger.

Previously, it had been unable to break through Xu Feng's obstruction and could only make plans through its subordinates who were influenced by it.

Now, the Reincarnators' advantage is too obvious, and there is a faint trend of successfully breaking the fate. The 'Will of Evolution' no longer cares about gains and losses, but only intends to complete its own round of apocalypse as soon as possible and turn this civilization into a part of its power.

"This 'will to evolve' did not exist in this world naturally; it is an artificial construct, and it even possesses a core... Once we grasp its core, destroying it will not be too difficult."

The so-called 'core' that Xu Feng mentioned may not necessarily be a large object; it could even be a smaller 'world'.

Just like the utopia that Gai Tsutsugami introduced to Shu Ouma at the end of the story...

Completely destroying the world of Guilty Crown would be troublesome, but Xu Feng felt that destroying only the core shouldn't be too difficult.

"There are still nearly two hundred days left in the mission. We might eventually find something by slowly searching for the core. For now, let Ying Kong get all the benefits she wants. She wants to be Adam, Eve is hers to be too, and even the position of Satan is not out of reach."

Right at the moment of the confrontation.

Xu Feng also noticed that the 'Will of Evolution' had once again influenced the interior of the world.

It intends to incite the forces it influences to wage war.

"After realizing that the barriers between people will be relatively reduced due to the efforts of Sakura and Yuzuriha, are they preparing to use war as a means to increase the barriers between people?"

This is tricky.

Building is much more difficult than destroying.

After humanity within the world began preparing for war, the frequency of the 'Will of Evolution' attacks decreased significantly.

It seems to have deliberately given Hsu Feng another chance to intervene.

"Are you still hoping I'll use offensive abilities on my own initiative? To be precise, you're even expecting me to have abilities that can interfere with others..."

After a moment of thought, Xu Feng discovered that the Donghai team was also in trouble.

Whoever leaves the God's protective shield to make a move will inevitably make the 'Will of Evolution' even stronger.

"It's a calculated move... but I choose to trust my teammates!"

(End of this chapter)