Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 360 The Twelve Dukes

This familiar greeting heralded the arrival of their reunion.

Han Su was momentarily dazed, unsure whether "Miss Ai" had remembered something or was just teasing him.

But that familiar memory has struck my heart with deadly precision.

He suddenly turned around and looked at Zero City, which was full of lights, but he couldn't see Miss Ai anywhere.

As before, Miss Ai has hidden herself away, and even the abyss that was previously cut out in Zero City has been filled in.

At this moment, there were hardly any living people to be seen on this battlefield. Only shadowy creatures that had escaped from the abyss wandered and howled. The battlefield was a crimson red, with blood flowing everywhere. The surroundings were empty, desolate, and oppressively silent.

Beside him, Lü Xiaoba, Lu Neng, and Chen Ji with the pot lid all slowly stopped fighting, straightened up, and began to breathe slightly faster.

On the opposite side, Chao Xiaobei, Song Yushi, Lan Huiguo, and Meng Qingtong were also cautiously restraining the spiritual power they were emitting, the two sides facing each other at a distance of less than twenty meters.

Their gazes met, filled with inquiry, curiosity, and a subtle excitement and a mysterious sense of destiny, seemingly distinct yet capable of replacing each other at any moment.

Then, they both turned their heads and looked at a corner of the battlefield.

There stood three or four remaining high priests in red robes, along with an elderly man in a Zhongshan suit in the very center, a young secretary, and Dr. Han.

At this moment, the elderly man in the Zhongshan suit was facing away from everyone, praying devoutly.

The young secretary trembled as she looked at the demons who seemed to have been pulled from a pool of blood.

It was only at this moment that Han Su noticed this person and saw his face, and suddenly, he was slightly taken aback.

Xu Ji?

How did Xu Ji end up in the Shou Shi Ren camp?
wrong!

After a brief moment of surprise, he immediately realized it wasn't true.

The young man had the same face as Xu Ji, but his demeanor, attire, and even the spiritual imprint he carried were completely different from Xu Ji's.

Moreover, I had asked Li Manman before, and she said that Xu Ji did not survive the Qinggang bombing, which is why Mr. Xu has been in so much pain.

His eventual suicide by shooting himself may also have been related to the loss of hope in life.

But why would there be someone in the Guardians' camp who looks exactly like Xu Ji?

...It doesn't matter anymore!
At least for this moment, the face that looked exactly like Xu Ji only slightly distracted Han Su, who then suddenly raised his head.

At this moment, his mind was clear, and his mental activity reached its highest level ever. He could sense the changes taking place in the world, and five strong senses of crisis were coming towards him from all parts of the world...

He can even determine the source of these crisis intuitions from their location.

Seawall City, Mountain City, Salem City, Wetland City, Cinnamon City.

The world's five major central cities have all reacted to this failed surgery.

Was it the elderly man in the Zhongshan suit who was praying who attracted these mysterious forces? Then his purpose was...?

...Destroy Zero City?

...No, the scene isn't that small!
"They are restarting civilization!"

Miss Ai's soft, gentle voice rang in his ears, surprising Han Su: "What?"

“I need time to access more data, but I can already glimpse the behavior of these deity worshippers.”

Miss Ai, or rather Li Manman, is adapting to her new identity and is quickly transmitting information to Han Su: "I have calculated through various sources that the five major central cities had already reached a civilization restart agreement before this operation began."

"If the surgery is successful, they will begin the tidal cleansing plan; if the surgery fails, they will immediately begin the restart of civilization!"

"..."

"A civilization reboot?"

Han Su felt a sense of oppression in his heart: "They can do this anytime?"

"Yes!"

Miss Ai's voice was soft, but she was absolutely certain: "This world has always been an extremely luxurious facade, a real breeding ground deliberately created to interfere with the world-destroying machinery."

"In reality, the entire prosperity has always been built on the abyss. Whether it is the angel of destruction or the descendants of those knights, they can push civilization into the abyss at any time."

"In this world, it seems that the one who carried out the destruction was the Machine Mother, but the descendants of the Twelve Knights were also deliberately pushing for it. The conflict between the two sides is not about whether to preserve this civilization, but about which races to preserve!"

"..."

At this point, one could already hear the difference in Miss Ai's voice compared to before. Not only did her voice contain more human touch, but her stance also began to shift significantly:
"Those who protect these cities are not necessarily nobles, and those who destroy and rebuild eras are not necessarily angels of destruction."

"When the twelve Grand Dukes standing at the pinnacle of the world realize that their control over this world has fallen below 50%, they will ruthlessly push this world into the process of rebooting!"

"..."

Han Su found it absurd: "If they have to restart civilization when their control is below 50%, doesn't that mean they've always had more than half of the world under their control?"

"Do not."

Miss Ai replied, "It's 100%."

In just a few simple words, the earth suddenly trembled violently. Even Han Su and the others who were speaking suddenly lost their footing. At their level of life, they felt as if they were about to be knocked to the ground.

The next moment, they felt only intense cold and a sense of emptiness as if their bodies had lost their anchor.

It felt as if only a thin layer of soil remained beneath one's feet. The once solid and heavy earth had now become like a thin eggshell, threatening to topple one over at any moment.

"Mr. Butcher..."

In his ear, Miss Ai's voice sounded more anxious. Han Su could hear the machines whirring wildly, Miss Ai drawing upon endless computing power to try and counter some change. And even in this struggle, she was still rapidly giving Han Su reminders:

"This world has entered its final countdown; we recommend returning to the castle immediately!"

"..."

"Are we going back to the castle now?"

Han Su has just regained control of mechanical fragment No. 01 and can summon Blink to descend at any time.

Or rather, the flickering has already begun.

The slaughter had stopped, but the ticking of the mechanical debris continued, growing louder and clearer.

The voice came from mechanical fragment No. 01. In order to activate it, I had poured endless mental power into it. At that time, mechanical fragment No. 01 was remotely locked, so this mental power had no effect.

Now that the remote lock on Mechanical Fragment 01 has been released, these mental forces have become the kinetic energy of Mechanical Fragment 01, and it has already started automatically.

The flashing might occur in a minute, or in thirty seconds, or even ten seconds.

But should we just go back like this?
Han Su was unwilling to accept this. He had only just learned about Li Manman's intrusion into the Angel of Destruction and had only just met Miss Ai, whom he knew well. He still had so many questions he hadn't asked her.

If he went back to the castle like that, how could he find Miss Ai, whom he knew so well, again?

Do we have to relive this life story again? Do we have to watch Li Manman make that choice again? Or even deliberately send her to prison?

At this moment, Han Su was somewhat unsure whether his current unwillingness had affected the No. 01 mechanical fragment, causing it to start up, but at a slower pace than before.

"I...can't...hold on...for...longer!"

At this moment, Miss Ai's voice became intermittent, accompanied by the mechanical roar. She began to change her gentle electronic voice, directly transmitting her mental power to Han Su:

"Only the twelve Grand Dukes can stop the Angels of Destruction from destroying civilization, and only the Angels of Destruction can stop the twelve Grand Dukes from restarting civilization..."

"But she is not whole now!"

"..."

What exactly are those things? Even Li Manman, who has now merged with Miss Ai, can't stop them?

Do not……

...In fact, it was only at this moment that Li Manman realized just how terrifying those monsters were.
Han Su gritted his teeth, and a certain spiritual intuition made him suddenly turn his head, only to immediately meet a pair of eyes in the distance.

It was Dr. Han, slumped on the ground, his hair wet, looking at me with a half-smile!

His lips moved slightly, as if he was whispering something, but Han Su didn't care at all. The moment he saw him, he made a decision and rushed out like lightning.

"Kill him!" "..."

Whether civilization restarts on this life's journey is none of my concern.

Returning to the castle is also not a problem.

But this person must die!

I had already announced to all my companions that I would hunt you down in any life storyline.

Including this one!
Time was of the essence, and Han Su didn't even have time to convey his thoughts to others. However, standing not far in front of Han Su, Chao Xiaobei seemed to immediately guess his thoughts, and suddenly rushed forward, shouting in a deep voice, "I'll help you!"

As he spoke, he pressed his palm down, and crimson blood seeped into the ground, lifting a huge stone slab, which he vaguely raised into the air.

Han Su looked into his eyes and immediately understood his thoughts. As he rushed forward, he suddenly raised his hand and flung the black briefcase in his hand. Then he stepped towards Xiao Bei, stretched out his palm, and pressed it onto the black briefcase without hesitation.

As the leader of the survivor squad, he had to shoulder the responsibilities of that leader.

The world is facing a civilization restart, and Li Manman made the choice to infiltrate the world-destroying machine. All of these issues are related to him. He doesn't know the trigger for all of this, but he knows it must be related to the box in Han Su's hand.

Before entering Zero City, Li Manman had told him about the box and the issue of "awakening," so now he had to know the answer himself.

"Tick-tock tick-tock..."

The sound of machinery turning reached Chao Xiaobei's ears, and he suddenly became somewhat dazed, staggering backward.

At this moment, Han Su used the piece of earth and stone he had raised to propel himself into the air. He flashed twice in succession while in the air, and with each flash, he got one step closer to his target. His left hand turned bronze and he grabbed at his opponent fiercely.

At this moment, Dr. Han was already in a state of feeling as if he had been abandoned by everyone.

He had been shackled with a special pair of handcuffs at some point. It seemed that those people did not trust him. They had protected him when he was undergoing surgery, but now that the surgery had failed, they had immediately restrained him.

"What the hell is this madman..."

Sensing Han Su's rapid approach, the person who looked exactly like Xu Ji and the old man in a Zhongshan suit who was kneeling and praying both visibly trembled and turned around with surprise and doubt.

Even at this point, they still want to kill?
How on earth did these people's brains grow?

As Han Su drew closer, Dr. Han suddenly raised his head, looked at Han Su, a smile appearing on his face, and said softly, "My child, this is the first time I've seen you so closely..."

"This hatred is good..."

"Keep your hatred for me; only this hatred can break through the boundaries set by those people..."

"..."

Facing Han Su charging towards them, the four surviving high priests in red robes paled and shouted in unison:

"I offer my body as a sacrifice, and my life is dedicated to the gods!"

"..."

The four of them were very nervous. Faced with this battlefield, they had given up the idea of ​​attacking, but they could not allow Han Su to kill Dr. Han.

Because they knew that the restart plan had begun, and that only the chief priest of the world, Secretary Xu Qiao, and Dr. Han could board the Ark of Civilization, the four of them had to hold onto these three people tightly if they wanted to survive.

Therefore, even though each of them was at a higher level of life than Han Su, none of them wanted to use offense as defense. Instead, they all chanted incantations and summoned the abyssal creatures that had been left in reality, attempting to build an absolute domain around themselves.

It's just a matter of guarding against a sudden attack from someone with four layers of golden cells; it's really not difficult.

But as soon as Han Su noticed their lips moving slightly, he immediately activated something.

Mechanical fragment No. 04.

He acted out of anger, but his purpose was not to vent his anger and was stopped by the other party.

It was for the purpose of actually killing someone.

So he activated the only machine that could possibly help him. As he approached, the No. 04 mechanical fragment began to freeze everything around it at lightning speed.

The four red-robed priests slowed their chanting, their spiritual power permeating reality also began to slow down, and even the abyssal creatures wandering around, frantically polluting reality, slowed down.

Han Su froze time around him, and finally used this to invade their territory.

Copper-colored blood seeped from inside the box, coalescing into a longsword in his left hand, pointing directly at Dr. Han.

Not far away, Bai Shixing, a member of the survivor squad holding a sniper rifle, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

It feels somewhat familiar.

But never mind, he was just wondering how civilization had restarted.

Damn it, didn't we agree that if we made a big fuss, we'd be offered amnesty?

……

……

"You used every method to kill me, that's really good!"

Within the influence of mechanical fragment 04, everything had slowed down, except for Dr. Han, who was wearing shackles. He seemed completely unaffected, while Han Su's speed seemed to slow down as he pointed at his bronze-blooded longsword.

But he seemed to be in a very good mood, even a little excited, looking deeply at Han Su: "This is a move I didn't expect."

"So, I'm going to give you a reward..."

"..."

As he spoke, he suddenly straightened up and stepped forward, letting the tip of the bronze-blooded longsword pierce his forehead.

At this point, he was already bound by shackles and had lost the ability to penetrate with his mental power, so he was unable to transmit complex information in a very short time.

However, as the bronze-blooded longsword pierced his forehead, a clear spiritual power was quickly transmitted to Han Su along with the gushing blood: "The heart of the Angel of Annihilation is the core of everything, and also the emperor's throne!"

"Now this throne has been divided into seven parts, each with a corresponding spell, which is the final restriction that the Twelve Knights used to control this weapon."

"You have authority, so you can operate these machines, but that doesn't mean you are their master. For example, I have a very good spell to control the logic machine that decides whether you stay or go back..."

"..."

At this moment, the bronze-blooded longsword had already pierced his forehead and was still penetrating deeper.

But his smile remained unchanged as he softly uttered eight words: "Twenty-seven lives, all must be paid for with blood!"

The next moment, the bronze-blooded longsword pierced his forehead, but everything around him suddenly became illusory.

Mechanical fragment No. 01 was already in operation, and because of his eight words, its operation accelerated instantly. Han Su felt that the world around him suddenly became unreal.

In an instant, the air was filled with the stench of blood, the tingling sensation like a faint electric current as mental energy brushed against the skin, the tangible feel of the bronze-blooded longsword in the hand, and the clear and powerful mental energy.

All vanished in an instant, like fireworks bursting into flames.

He felt himself surrounded by shimmering light, a powerful force pulling him deeper into spacetime.

My mind was in a daze, and the sheer volume of information I was trying to retain created an immense sense of heaviness.

But all of this pales in comparison to the final incantation uttered by that man:
"Twenty-seven lives, all must be paid for with blood..."

"..."

This is his own incantation, how could he know it?
In that instant when his heart was filled with overwhelming shock, Han Su only saw a blurry face before him, revealing an extremely confident and insane smile, an arrogance that seemed to be the result of someone's personal ability being proven by the entire world.

"Do you understand?"

"my child!"

“You’re not smart, and you’re not capable. Once you go back, the only thing you can do is be an obedient child…”

"..."

Beside him, an elderly man in a Zhongshan suit suddenly turned around, his expression revealing a fear that one only shows when discovering some earth-shattering truth.

He looked urgently at Han Su, then turned to Dr. Han: "So you already..."

Countless faces began to fade before Han Su's eyes, everything became unreal. Only in this unprecedented shimmering light did Miss Ai's aura envelop Han Su, and she softly replied:

“Mr. Butcher, I’ve spotted the secret battlefield…”

(End of this chapter)