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Chapter 194 Primal Life
Elori finally understood what kind of disaster had occurred on Earth.

The enemy has actually taken up residence on the moon!
“Don’t worry, the crystal cluster takes time to grow, so it didn’t destroy human civilization all at once,” Ning Fu said slowly. “Every few years thereafter, a crystal cluster will be shot down, and it will target the secret warehouses and laboratories of various countries where flesh and blood are stored.”

As the holographic image displayed the ever-increasing number of victims, Elori was numb. She could imagine how dark that time must have been for humanity. She had initially thought the disappearance of demons was a great thing, but compared to this level of slaughter, even a demon could hardly achieve it in a lifetime.

“It’s not that we haven’t fought back,” Raphael said this time. “We’ve modified rockets into missiles with nuclear warheads to attack the moon; we’ve deployed anti-aircraft weapons at the next impact site to intercept the falling crystal clusters… In short, we’ve tried everything we could think of, but with little success.”

Elori nodded silently... She didn't know much about technology, but it was already incredibly difficult for humans to land on the moon, let alone fight on the enemy's home turf.

“No wonder you want to build an underground city…” she murmured.

“Actually, that’s not the main reason.” However, Nymph said, “In the fight, humanity discovered that although crystal clusters are difficult to destroy, they do not have self-sustaining propulsion. Therefore, by using the shock waves generated by the continuous explosion of thermonuclear weapons, we can change their falling path in advance, causing them to deviate from their target and crash into no-man’s land, or even into the sea. In fact, we did this, fifteen years after the first city was destroyed.”

"However, this project called Star Destroyer was not carried out. Raphael should have told you the reason as well. These crystal clusters seem to be emitting an invisible radiation that can disfigure people and even make them lose their humanity."

"Along with Project Star Destroyer was Project Great Wall, which involved building underground bunkers to gradually relocate people underground. As long as humans hid deep enough, the crystal clusters could not penetrate them. Later, we also discovered that barriers made of rock, concrete, and natural soil could effectively resist mutated radiation, even at depths of tens of meters. Therefore, Project Great Wall gradually became the mainstream."

This is the origin of the Second New Paris.

No wonder most of the buildings on the surface have remained unchanged, Elori thought to herself. They were abandoned before they could be destroyed.

"Can these crystal clusters be destroyed?"

“Of course they can. They are indestructible only during flight. Once they land, they become a relatively hard substance. A bomb weighing around 1000 pounds is enough to crack them,” Nymph nodded. “But even if they are shattered, they still have the ability to mutate people. Moreover, those insectoid beings that have become aliens will spontaneously transport the broken and shattered crystal fragments to other places for storage, which is equivalent to indirectly expanding the influence range of the crystal cluster.”

“How could this be…” Elori frowned. “Not only did I see a bunch of hexagonal beehives in Triumph Square, but I also heard them talking!”

“The hives are the houses they built, and they most likely store crystal cluster fragments inside. As for conversation…” A trace of sadness appeared on the governor’s face, “They have become a species completely different from us. Even though the insectoids have hands and feet, their own language, and like to dress up like us, they can never be considered human. These monsters remind me of something: the soulless puppets created by demons—their appearance remains human, but their souls have been replaced.”

Elori fell silent.

After hearing what the other person said, she realized that it really made sense.

And did the demon really disappear?

Defying common sense, they banded together and attacked the hidden sanctuary where the Flesh Mother was kept. The lunar crawlers also destroyed the city containing the Flawless Crystal... no, the Flesh Cluster, and the Mind Ring made from small pieces of flesh not only protects people from demonic temptations but also blocks the insectoids' search; the two cannot possibly be unrelated!

“You don’t need to worry too much about those insectoids,” Raphael smiled and reassured them in a relaxed tone. “Their level is only around 100 years old. If it weren’t for the concern about the unknown radiation, with the current technological capabilities of the Second New Paris, we could easily blast them into dust.”

"We've talked enough about the past, let's get to the point!" "Yes, yes, this is the angel we've been waiting for!"

People around interrupted.

Elori felt nervous again.

The angel I've been waiting for so long... why do I feel like prey caught in a spider's web?
"Quiet!" the consul snapped impatiently. "She is the hope of the new Paris. How can we not explain ourselves properly?"

She looked at Elori and said, “I think you’ve noticed as well. The fact that humanity has been able to continue to this day, and even to have a technological explosion despite being in a very passive situation, is inseparable from artifacts. The most important artifact among them is the flesh and blood mass that the Angel Alliance calls the Flawless Crystal. Of course… people have now accepted its existence and given it a new name: Primal Life.”

“Primordial life…” Elori repeated unconsciously.

The other party nodded, “It is neither old nor dead, which is the ultimate form pursued by all living things. In this city, there is a piece of primordial life. It is a part taken from the mother Lucy. It was originally stored in the underground vault of the Louvre. After the new Paris was built, it was moved here.”

"What does this have to do with angels?" she asked cautiously.

“Of course.” Nymph smiled slightly, her eyes narrowing into slits. “After the birth of new angels ceased, the last archangel also relinquished the right to research and use artifacts. Those incredible objects no longer lay alone in glass cases like exhibits in a museum, and our development accelerated. After extensive research, we arrived at a bold hypothesis: the birth of angels, and even the birth of all humanity, is closely related to primordial life!”

"Huh?" Elori was shocked again.

Are these the same thing?
"The reason we have flesh and blood is because the primordial life was born this way. It created all living things, including humankind," the governor said. "Among them, some were more deeply influenced by the primordial life and thus gained greater power. These people are the angels who came later."

"And what about the demon?"

"Demons were originally human, but they received their power not from primordial life, but from ancient worms that inhabited the moon. We do not yet know their exact origins; perhaps they were extraterrestrial life forms that drifted there with a meteorite. Just as demons are skilled at turning others into their puppets and servants, they themselves are probably servants of the ancient worms."

This was the first time Elori had ever heard of such a theory.

Yet, deep down, she felt that this statement wasn't entirely without merit.

Angels aren't called angels because they're kind and righteous. While the Angel Alliance has indeed done many good deeds, it's essentially because maintaining a positive image is in everyone's best interest. Demons steal the souls of ordinary people to grow stronger, while angels gain soul power by killing demons; both are more like links in a food chain. If it were a fox eating a rabbit, or a tiger eating a fox, no one would see any difference. But once it becomes angels, demons, and ordinary people, it immediately acquires a meaning far beyond the food chain.

Especially after joining the Dimensional Authority, this idea became even clearer—in the Jiangcheng world, there is no distinction between angels and demons, and every ability user may target another ability user for plunder. The fact that they haven't completely fallen into chaos is due to the strong management of the Authority.

Therefore, if we set aside the titles of angels and demons, the fact that the two sides are hostile to each other, seize from each other, and kill each other is not because of a struggle between good and evil, but because of the rules engraved in their underlying genes. It is a concrete manifestation of the confrontation between primordial life and extraterrestrial ancient insects. This reason is actually easier for Elori to accept.

(End of this chapter)