The villains are redeemed, and the heroines cry and beg for forgiveness.

He had an incredibly strong thought in his mind—that he must find out the whole story of his origins!

He had a feeling that once he understood everything, whether he got out or not wouldn't matter anymore.

......

In the light screen.

After the "Chief Executive" saves Rouqing, the scene flashes again, jumping to another scene.

It's the deep sea!

The screen then returned to the scene of Gu Ran confronting "Deep Water" and "Big Group Consciousness" in the sea eye.

"...It seems you've gained a deeper understanding of the truth about this world..."

"...But you're still resisting merging with me...that's strange..."

"...Why would you resist? Don't you yearn for the end of life, the essence of evolution?"

"Deep Water" and "mass consciousness" are truly perplexed; they cannot comprehend that such a thing could exist in this world.

From the moment life appeared, wasn't the goal of survival and evolution?

Now there is a chance to achieve ultimate evolution and eternal existence, yet some life forms refuse it?

Gu Ran sensed the confusion surrounding "deep water" and "mass consciousness." If he weren't in the deep sea, where he was afraid of seawater rushing in, he would have grinned.

He "spoke" through a spiritual connection with "deep water" and "mass consciousness":

"That's why I don't want to merge with you; our values ​​are completely incompatible."

"Human beings are such boring yet diverse life forms. From the moment you are born, your life form may be evolving towards the ultimate goal. Your species only allows one thought and one voice to exist. But humans are different."

"There may be people among you who, like you, pursue the essence of evolution, but most people will not strive for such an ethereal goal."

"Humans have many weaknesses; they feel thirsty, hungry, in pain, and tired. But it is precisely because of these weaknesses that humans have the ability to enjoy happiness."

"Because we experience thirst and hunger, humans have developed more sophisticated eating organs, enabling us to enjoy fine wines and delicacies; the sense of touch brings pain, but it also allows us to enjoy the beauty of various bodily sensations; the mind can become fatigued, but this also brings the comfort of mental relaxation."

"Because of these things, humankind has given birth to its various cultures, which eventually formed something that life forms like yours simply cannot comprehend—civilization!"

"The world is complex, life is diverse, and the pursuits of each individual should be the same."

"I will not give up what I have as a human being for some so-called ultimate goal of life or the essence of evolution."

Gu Ran didn't know how much of what she said was understood by the other person.

But the result doesn't matter anyway; this was just a delaying tactic.

If you can buy yourself some time, you've achieved your goal.

The previous sneak attack by "Deep Water" and "Mass Consciousness" did have an impact on him, because the fusion caused a massive amount of information to appear in his mind.

These were all transmitted from the "deep water" and the "mass consciousness," and he had to categorize and organize this information in his mind.

Otherwise, if the information is chaotic, there could be serious consequences.

For example, if one allows memories of the "general leader" to accumulate and combine in their mind, they may gradually develop a disorientation that makes it difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

Information that he has not yet verified will formally replace the correct information in his mind, and the consequences will be very serious.

This might subconsciously make him think of himself as the "general leader".

But he was not unaware of the history of the Human Alliance. How could the kind of world-ending catastrophe depicted in his memory have occurred in that era?

That's absolutely not true!

Although he immediately dismissed the authenticity of those memories, a moment of hesitation arose in his mind.

—Because of the attitude of "deep water" and "mass consciousness".

Its attitude was strange, as if it believed these were secrets about the truth of the world.

It was as if those memories were the truth of the world, and his perception was wrong.

This sense of contradiction prevented him from immediately refuting the concepts of "deep water" and "mass consciousness".

He needs more relevant and useful information to make a judgment.

However, now that his talks with "deep water" and "mass consciousness" have fallen through, he may not be in a good position to stay in the deep sea any longer.

However, the eye of the sea is the other party's home turf. He had just tried to surface immediately, but failed.

His recent failure made him realize that, given the opponent's capabilities, no matter how many more times he tried, he would never be able to successfully surface and escape from the eye of the sea.

He has to find another way!

This is also why he was willing to spend more time communicating with "deep water" and "large group consciousness".

He needs time to come up with a solution.

Just now, while Gu Ran was "conversing" with "Deep Water" and "Group Consciousness", he quickly reviewed his "arsenal".

If he just wants to find a way to get out of here, then he actually has a way.

Because the spatial artifacts that brought him to the sea can also take him back.

It's just that because it's in the deep sea, there's "deep water" everywhere, so the space it creates is actually different from other places.

Opening a spatial portal may result in some unexpected situations, such as coordinate confusion or the portal being flooded by deep water.

Therefore, he had not previously considered using a spatial portal as his first option for escape.

But now the situation is different. He has confirmed that he cannot escape by directly rising to the surface, so using spatial items has become the best option.

Despite the various unforeseen possibilities, Gu Ran still considered using spatial artifacts to be the safest method.

However, there are two reasons why he is not so keen on using spatial artifacts to escape at the moment.

One reason is that this is a sea eye, and the structures on top of the sea eye are already quite dilapidated. Furthermore, a "deep water" and a "large group of consciousness" have emerged here.

If left untreated, it could lead to an eruption of the sea eye.

Another reason is...

He looked in Ariel's direction.

If he doesn't leave, then he'll have to confront "deep water" and "mass consciousness" head-on.

Does he have a way to overcome the "deep waters" and "mass consciousness"?

"...I truly don't understand those useless human emotions..."

"...But it doesn't matter anymore, because this time you won't be able to resist me..."

"...What you just faced was not all of 'me.' The underground world is too vast; I don't even know how big, how wide, or how expansive 'I' truly am..."

"...Before, my strength was too weak, so you ousted me..."

"...But now, compared to before, I have accumulated a large number of 'me'..."

"...You will no longer be able to resist me..."

Gu Ran suddenly realized.

It turns out that this seemingly simple-minded guy with "thick eyebrows and big eyes" was also using a delaying tactic, intending to use stronger force to "force himself on her".

Thinking about this, Gu Ran couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency.

After receiving a massive amount of information from "Deep Water" and "Swarm Consciousness," he also gained a deeper understanding of these life forms.

This is an extremely terrifying life form.

The “deep water” is spread all over the earth, and no one knows how big this area is, not even the “deep water” and the “mass consciousness” themselves.

However, all of these "deep waters" should be connected underground.

To some extent, "deep water" is a whole.

The "mass consciousness," a life form born from "deep water," has its body in all of "deep water."

Its consciousness can cover all the "deep water" connected underground. It can think as a whole or as a separate life form like the "evil god consciousness" of Far East City.

Individual consciousnesses that separate out can also return to the "large group of consciousnesses," and they will not feel that they have been swallowed up or have suffered a loss.

This feeling is perhaps similar to how humans return to a warm and welcoming home.

Although it's not quite the right word, the feeling is pretty close.

Gu Ran's first thought was that such a life should not exist in this world.

It's absolutely terrifying and full of bugs.

Their enormous bodies, seemingly endless, can separate or integrate, exist independently or unite, making them an insurmountable enemy for humanity.

Fortunately, such life is limited by the location of its "body" and can only stay underground.

If the "deep water" were to completely erupt, it would be a catastrophe comparable to the end of the world for humanity.

An apocalyptic catastrophe?

A thought suddenly struck Gu Ran: Could it be that "deep water" and "mass consciousness" could transform into a cataclysmic disaster?

Following this line of thought, Gu Ran thought of "the chief executive," and then of the great flood.

During a major flood, where are the "deep-water" and "mass consciousness"?

Why is it as if I don't feel its presence?