My bizarre resurgence: My price is the ability to trade everything.

Su Mingyue's words left me unable to calm down for a long time.

"I can't tell which one is the real you..."

What does this mean?

Does that mean that one day I might completely become "someone else"?

"Don't overthink it." Su Mingyue's voice pulled me back to reality. "What you need to think about now is—how to survive the remaining two days."

"I know." I took a deep breath, "but there was just too much information."

"I know," Su Mingyue nodded, "but you need to know."

Why?

"Because your next opponent is not the Night Raven."

"Not a night raven?" I was stunned. "Then what is it?"

"It is Guixu."

We arrived at the General Administration's conference room.

Chen Xuan and Zhao Tiezhu were already waiting there.

"Sit down." Chen Xuan pointed to a chair.

I sat down, and Su Mingyue sat next to me.

"Today, I have something to tell you," Chen Xuan said, "about the Ruins of Return."

"What exactly is Guixu?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Guixu..." Chen Xuan pondered for a moment, "...is an organization. An organization that has existed for thousands of years."

"Several thousand years?!" Zhao Tiezhu's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

"Because the members of Guixu are not ordinary people," Chen Xuan said. "They are 'made' using rules."

"Manufactured?" I was stunned. "Humans can be manufactured?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said. "Gui Xu has mastered a technique—using fragments of rules to shape personality."

"Fragments of rules?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said. "As you know, rule-based anomalies are generated by rules. And some rules, under specific conditions, can be 'extracted'."

"The members of Guixu are 'artificial life forms' created using extracted fragments of rules."

"They have no parents, no past, only a mission."

"So that's how it has survived for thousands of years?"

"You could say that," Chen Xuan nodded, "but they aren't immortal either. They just live longer."

"What about the Night Raven?" I asked. "What's the relationship between the Night Raven and the Ruins of Return?"

"The Night Ravens are the 'outer perimeter' of Guixu," Chen Xuan said, "like... an intelligence agency."

"The Void will not appear directly before the world. They need the Night Ravens to gather information, develop their membership, and formulate their plans."

"And the Seven Apostles of the Night Raven are the representatives of the Ruins of Return stationed in the human world."

"The Seven Apostles?" I recalled the young man I met that night. "That agent... was he from Guixu?"

"Not entirely," Chen Xuan said. "He was an agent sent by the Seventh Apostle of Guixu. The true Seventh Apostle is Guixu's 'eyes' in the human world."

What is he doing on Earth?

"Observe," Chen Xuan said. "Observe who might become the balancer. Observe the changes in the rules of the world. Observe...you."

"I?"

"Yes." Chen Xuan looked at me. "He's been observing you from the moment you were born."

Why?

"Because you are the seventh Balancer," Chen Xuan said. "The seventh is the key to the 'Unity' plan."

"It's 'Return to One' again." I frowned. "What exactly is 'Return to One'?"

Chen Xuan remained silent for a while.

"Return to One... is the ultimate plan of the Ruins," he said. "They want to create a 'perfect world.'"

"Perfect World?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said, "In that world, there is no pain, no war, no death."

"That sounds good?"

"That sounds good," Chen Xuan nodded, "but do you know what the price will be?"

"The price is—everyone will lose their 'free will.'"

"In that perfect world, everyone is part of the rules. You don't need to think, you don't need to choose, you don't need to do anything."

"Because everything has already been arranged."

"Will you be happy?" Chen Xuan asked. "No, you won't."

"Will you be in pain?" he continued. "No."

"Will you live?" he asked. "In a sense, yes."

"But that's not 'living.' That's just... 'existence.'"

I was silent.

This reminds me of something Wang Zijian said.

"In that perfect world, you wouldn't feel pain, but you wouldn't feel pleasure either. You wouldn't get hurt, but you wouldn't grow either. You wouldn't die, but you wouldn't truly live either."

It turns out that the "perfect world" that Guixu pursues is such a place.

"Why did Guixu create such a world?" I asked.

"Because they feel...human beings are suffering too much," Chen Xuan said.

"pain?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said, "the founder of Guixu was a wise man from thousands of years ago."

"He witnessed too much war, disease, and death. He felt that humanity was living in too much suffering."

"So he decided to use his wisdom to create a world without suffering."

"But he overlooked one point—"

"Pain is also a part of life."

"Without pain, there is no joy. Without death, there is no appreciation. A life without pain... is not a real life at all."

"Does Guixu know this?" I asked.

"I know," Chen Xuan said, "but they don't care."

Why?

"Because they believe that 'real life' is the source of suffering. They think that by eliminating suffering, they can eliminate the source of suffering."

"And the source of eliminating suffering... is the elimination of humanity."

"Exterminate humanity?"

"Yes." Chen Xuan's voice turned heavy. "The ultimate goal of Guixu is 'reunification.'"

"To merge all of humanity's thoughts, emotions, memories...into one."

"After merging, there will be no more war, disease, or death. Because 'you' and 'I' will be indistinguishable."

"That's not about annihilating humanity, it's..." I murmured, "it's about 'assimilation'."

"You could say that," Chen Xuan nodded. "In the world of Unity, there are no 'individuals.' Only the 'whole.'"

"Like... an ant colony? A beehive?"

"More or less," Chen Xuan said. "Gui Xu believes this is the 'perfect' form."

"But I think this is the worst nightmare."

Silence fell over the meeting room.

I'm processing the information I just received.

Return to the Void... Night Raven... Seven Apostles... Return to One...

And that "Perfect World"...

"So the Balancer's task is to prevent the Ruins from returning to nothingness?" I asked.

"You could say that," Chen Xuan said. "The Balancers are beings chosen by the scales. Their mission is to maintain the 'balance' of the world."

"balance?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said. "The Void seeks to disrupt the balance and push the world towards 'unity.' And the balancers are the forces that will stop them."

"I am the seventh Balancer," I said. "And what about the first six?"

"Dead." Chen Xuan's voice was calm. "Every Balancer dies for their mission."

Without exception.

"Without exception?" I was stunned. "Then I—"

"You are the seventh," Chen Xuan said, looking at me. "According to the pattern, you will also die."

"But you're not 'following the rules,'" he said.

"What do you mean?"

"The first six balancers all have one thing in common," Chen Xuan said. "They were all 'chosen'."

"Chosen by the scales, chosen by fate, chosen by the world."

They had no choice. They could only accept their fate.

"But you're different."

"Me?" I was stunned. "How am I different?"

"You are the only one who 'chosen' to be the balancer."

"I...choose to become the Balancer?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said, "before you were born, your father made a 'deal' using the scales."

"He gives you a choice—you can choose to be the balancer, or you can choose to be an ordinary person."

"But if you choose to be a balancer, you may be able to break free from 'destiny.'"

"Break free from fate?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said, "to break the fate that every generation of balancers dies."

"As long as you survive."

I was stunned.

Survive...

So, my fate was something I chose myself?

"But..." I frowned, "what if I chose to be an ordinary person?"

"You will lose the scales," Chen Xuan said. "You will become an ordinary person."

"What about Guixu?"

"The Void will continue with their plans," Chen Xuan said, "but without the interference of the Balancers, they will ultimately succeed."

"So I have no choice?" I asked. "No matter what I choose, the result will be the same?"

"No." Chen Xuan shook his head. "If you choose to become the Balancer, you have a chance to defeat the Void."

"If you choose to be an ordinary person, Guixu will definitely succeed."

"Because no one can stop them."

"So..." I gave a bitter laugh, "I actually had no choice."

"You do," Su Mingyue suddenly said.

I turned to look at her.

"You have a choice," Su Mingyue said. "The choice of how to live."

How will we survive?

"You can choose to be pushed along by fate," Su Mingyue said. "Every day you wait for missions to be assigned, every day you live in fear, every day you think about how to survive."

"Or—" she paused, "you could choose to take the initiative."

"Take the initiative?"

"Yes," Su Mingyue said, "Instead of passively waiting, we should actively seek out the weaknesses of the Void."

"Weaknesses? Does the Void have weaknesses?"

"Yes," Su Mingyue nodded. "All rules have weaknesses. The Void is no exception."

"Do you know the weakness of the Ruins?"

"I don't know for sure," Su Mingyue said, "but I know one person who does."

"who?"

"Me," Su Mingyue looked at me, "and the things your parents left behind."

"The Book of Return to the Ruins?"

"Yes." Su Mingyue nodded. "The Book of Return to the Ruins records all the secrets of the Ruins, including their weaknesses."

"But I haven't told you because..."

"Because the timing was wrong?"

"Yes," Su Mingyue said, "The things recorded in that book are too dangerous. If you read it when you're not mature enough, you might be 'corrupted' by its contents."

"erosion?"

"The Book of Return to the Void is no ordinary book," Su Mingyue said. "It is the diary of the Lord of Return to the Void. It records all his thoughts, plans, and... power."

"If you read it directly, you might be 'contaminated' by his ideas."

"pollute?"

"Yes," Su Mingyue said, "assimilated by the ideology of Guixu."

"Become one of them."

I gasped.

The Book of Return to the Void... is it really that dangerous?

"Then what should I do?" I asked. "How should I read that book?"

"You need a 'guide,'" Su Mingyue said, "someone who can help you filter out harmful content."

"who?"

"Me," Su Mingyue said.

"You?" I was stunned. "You can do it?"

"Yes," Su Mingyue nodded, "because I am also a Balancer."

"You're a Balancer too?" I was shocked.

"Yes," Su Mingyue said, "I am a descendant of the fifth Balancer. My family has studied the Void for generations."

"So you've been hiding your identity all this time?"

"Yes," Su Mingyue said, "My identity is top secret. Only Director Chen knows."

I looked at Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan nodded in confirmation.

"Now you know," Su Mingyue said, "From now on, we are true teammates."

"A true teammate..." I murmured.

"Yes." Su Mingyue extended her hand. "Lin Xiaofan, from today onwards, we will fight against the Void together."

"Are you willing?"

I looked at her hands, my heart filled with mixed emotions.

All of this happened so suddenly.

From an ordinary person just a few days ago to now standing on the front line against "Gui Xu".

I was completely unprepared.

but......

"Okay." I reached out and shook her hand. "Together."

Su Mingyue smiled.

That was the first time I saw her smile so sincerely.

"Then we're teammates," she said.

"No, that's not right," Zhao Tiezhu interjected. "It's 'the three of us,' we're teammates. Don't forget me."

"Yes, yes, yes," Su Mingyue said with a smile, "the three of us."

"Squad 777," I said.

"Squad 777," they both said at the same time.

Looking at them, a warm feeling suddenly welled up in my heart.

Maybe......

Maybe I don't have to bear all of this alone.

Maybe... it feels really good to have teammates.

After the meeting, Su Mingyue called me aside.

"There's one more thing," she said.

"What is it?"

"Regarding your deeper personality," Su Mingyue said, "I've made some new discoveries."

"What discovery?"

"While I was sorting through your father's belongings, I found a video," Su Mingyue said. "It was something your father left behind."

"It contains... the truth about the deeper personality."

"The truth?" My heart skipped a beat. "What is a deeper personality?"

Su Mingyue remained silent for a while.

"The deeper personality... is your father's 'residual consciousness.'"

"My father's...consciousness?"

"Yes," Su Mingyue said, "Your father was the sixth Balancer. When he sacrificed himself, he left a part of his consciousness in the scales."

"Then that part of consciousness... transferred to you."

"Transferred to me?"

"Yes," Su Mingyue said, "So your deeper personality is actually a 'projection' of your father."

"He has always been deep within your consciousness... protecting you."

"Protect me?"

"Yes," Su Mingyue said, "that night at the altar, the voice that stopped you from touching that copper coin... it was him."

"He saved you."

I was stunned.

turn out to be......

So that was my father's voice?

"Is he...is he still alive?"

"He's not exactly 'alive,'" Su Mingyue said. "He's just a wisp of consciousness. But he still exists."

"Can I see him?"

"Okay," Su Mingyue nodded, "but not now."

"Wait until you are strong enough."

"How powerful?"

"Powerful enough... to be able to converse with him," Su Mingyue said, "that requires your scales to be fully awakened."

How long does it take to fully awaken?

"I don't know," Su Mingyue shook her head, "but it shouldn't be too long."

"Your CP consumption has now dropped to 677. Complete two more days of missions, and it will drop to 607."

What does 607 mean?

"That means you can use the scales' 'advanced functions,'" Su Mingyue said. "Then you'll be able to talk to your father."

I nodded, feeling a mix of emotions.

Father......

So you've been watching me all along.

"Alright." Su Mingyue patted my shoulder. "There's been too much information today. Take a moment to process it."

Tomorrow is the sixth day.

"Get ready."