The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

"Zhang Heng".

"The King of Bladesman?"

After a moment of silence, Elder An and Chi Zhengyang spoke almost simultaneously.

Chi Zhengyang nodded, his tense expression betraying his equally unsettled state of mind.

"A soldier saw through the scope on his gun that a figure was standing in mid-air above the safe zone."

He paused, as if recalling the description in the report.

"Based on their description of the target's appearance, it is indeed Zhang Heng without a doubt."

Ainz Ooal Gown, Zhang Heng.

The moment that name was uttered, the atmosphere in the room seemed to drop even lower.

Old An took a couple of steps and walked to the huge screen wall.

His gaze fell on one of the surveillance cameras, in which Zhang Heng was sitting on a bench outside a barbecue stall, smiling and eating barbecue.

Why?

Old Master An raised a question, which was directed at Chi Zhengyang, but also at himself.

"Zhang Heng... no, Ainz Ooal Gown, why did he suddenly attack Comrade Lin Mo?"

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Chi Zhengyang, his usually gentle face now filled with seriousness.

"Is it because of us?"

This problem is like a boulder thrown into water.

It was because of their involvement that the future Ainz Ooal Gown was affected by a chain reaction, which led him to suddenly take action against Comrade Lin Mo.

This speculation cast a shadow over Old Man An's heart.

If that's the case, perhaps we were wrong from the very beginning.

Chi Zhengyang clenched his fist, his knuckles making a slight cracking sound.

Your guess may not be accurate.

He walked over to Old Man An, his gaze also fixed on the monitor screen.

"And how can you be so sure that what's happening now isn't something Ainz Ooal Gown has already experienced?"

Old Master An was slightly taken aback.

Chi Zhengyang continued, "Don't forget, the Bone King has always paid close attention to the matter of the safe zone; in fact, you could say he's very knowledgeable about it."

"No one can be sure whether this is a sudden change in him or something that has happened over the years."

Old An fell silent.

Chi Zhengyang's analysis is not without merit.

They were like people standing on the upper reaches of the Yellow River.

They attempted to change the course of the entire river by altering the flow of the upstream water.

But don't forget that no matter how the upstream route changes, the outcome is already predetermined.

They will eventually all merge into the sea.

"Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that it's related to us." Chi Zhengyang's tone suddenly changed, and his expression became sharp.

"If it really was us who caused Zhang Heng to change so much, there is only one possibility I can think of."

An Lao's eyes flashed, and he almost blurted out, picking up where Chi Zhengyang left off.

"His mother."

Chi Zhengyang slowly turned his head, glanced at the young man in the video who was having a happy conversation, and then nodded heavily.

"This is the only possibility I can think of."

"And it's also highly likely..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Old Man An already understood what he meant.

It is highly likely that it was their intervention that led to Zhang Heng's mother encountering an accident in the original timeline.

But if we don't intervene, will all of this not happen?

This is like a dead knot.

An unsolvable knot about time.

Old Man An looked at the screen again, his heart heavy.

"So what do you plan to do?"

All superfluous expressions disappeared from Chi Zhengyang's face.

Instead, there was an almost ruthless decisiveness.

He walked to the control panel, the cold metal surface reflecting his expressionless face.

"check!"

A single word was squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a chilling, metallic edge.

"Investigate everything that happened back then thoroughly; it's better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free!"

These words were so menacing that they seemed to lower the temperature in the room by several degrees.

Old Master An frowned slightly, but after a moment, he agreed to Chi Zhengyang's method.

"I'm afraid it will involve far-reaching implications."

"Hmph!" Chi Zhengyang let out a cold snort, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"I never intended to let them go."

"I originally planned to take it slow and find them one by one."

He raised his hand and slammed his fist on the solid control panel, producing a dull thud.

"But now it seems we must take drastic measures against those guys."

Old Master An looked at him and gave him a reminder.

"Please pay close attention to the safety of Zhang Heng's mother."

Chi Zhengyang nodded and straightened up again.

"I'll be careful!"

The sudden ringing of the bell broke the deathly silence in the room.

Chi Zhengyang picked up the phone on the table; the screen displayed an unsaved number.

He pressed the call button and immediately turned on speakerphone.

After the cold electronic sound effects, Zhou Jian's voice came through the receiver, without any pleasantries, getting straight to the point.

"Report, I just came from the grocery store."

"Comrade Lin Mo called me over, just to ask me some details about when I first met Ainz Ooal Gown, and about Ainz Ooal Gown."

Chi Zhengyang's expression remained unchanged as he listened quietly until Zhou Jian finished speaking.

"Is there anything else?"

"That's all." The answer from the other end of the phone was crisp and decisive.

"Okay," Chi Zhengyang replied. "Just answer truthfully. You don't need to worry about anything else."

After saying that, he hung up the call immediately.

The room fell silent again, a suffocating stillness.

Old Master An's usually gentle face was now filled with solemnity. He paced slowly, as if he was pondering the information from the brief phone call he had just received.

After a moment, he stopped and looked at Chi Zhengyang.

"I think Comrade Lin Mo... probably doesn't just want to know about Ainz Ooal Gown."

Chi Zhengyang nodded; on this point, he and Elder An were of the same mind.

If Lin Mo simply wanted to learn about Ainz Ooal Gown, there was no need for him to go through the trouble of asking Zhou Jian.

After all, Zhou Jian had already explained everything about Ainz Ooal Gown.

There's no need to ask the same person again.

The other party must have a deeper purpose in doing this.

"The simplest and most direct way to deal with Ainz Ooal Gown's threat is..."

He paused for a moment, his gaze still fixed on the young man's figure on the screen.

"It's about finding a powerful enough helper."

"A powerful ally, one that even Ainz Ooal Gown would be wary of."

Old Man An took over his words again, and almost simultaneously mentioned the existence in the wasteland who was on par with Ainz Ooal Gown.

"The Weaver of Fate"

The moment the name was uttered, the atmosphere in the room seemed to grow even heavier.

If Ainz Ooal Gown is synonymous with power and death, then Queen of Fate is the embodiment of mystery and the unknown.

Another being that also stands at the top of the food chain.

Compared to Ainz Ooal Gown, the Fate Weaver Queen is more mysterious and unfamiliar.

They had only heard a few words about the Weaver of Fate.

"Comrade Lin Mo wants to find the Weaver of Fate and join forces with her." Old An's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible worry.

"This isn't a bad thing, but he didn't say it directly. Doesn't that mean he no longer trusts us?"

Chi Zhengyang: "I'm going to find him now and clear things up."

Old An grabbed Chi Zhengyang, who was about to act, and said, "Wouldn't it seem too deliberate for you to go now?"

"But do we have a better choice now?" Chi Zhengyang asked rhetorically.

With a crisis looming, misunderstandings could create a rift that could be fatal.

The best way to clear up misunderstandings is to speak frankly and directly.

If you sincerely clear up any misunderstandings, then there will be no more misunderstandings.

Even kindergarten children know this principle, but many adults fail to put it into practice.

The most crucial reason is that people care about saving face.

"Originally, I wanted to wait until everything settled down before explaining things to Comrade Lin Mo, but now I think it's better to be upfront about it."

"Even if we made a mistake, at least we should let him know beforehand."