It's time to become an evil god.

The two Awakened Ones responsible for capturing them sat opposite them, watching the two men intently as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Although I don't know what you're thinking deep down, if you're attempting to infiltrate the base by surrendering, I can tell you clearly that's a very wrong idea. You'd better think twice."

The old father scoffed at the young man's stern warning. He fiddled with his knuckles and said softly, "Even so, at least I'm a little better than you cowards who refuse to accept reality. Is there anything more shameful than choosing to join the government and become their henchmen because you're too afraid of that ultimate secret, and having that part of your memory erased forever?"

"You don't understand at all, you know nothing."

Although his memories had been completely erased, the young man's face still betrayed a nameless fear. He said in a deep voice, "I have never been afraid of anything, not even the current Project High Castle. But I have never been willing to actively erase a memory to forget a frightening truth. It can only be said that the truth was too terrifying for me to recall."

At that moment, the armored vehicle stopped. After the door opened, Bai Ge and his son were pushed and shoved out of the vehicle.

The old man lowered his voice and said, "No matter what happens later, don't panic."

"Old man, what secret do you have? Tell me now and I might still be able to help you. Otherwise, I won't care if you beg for mercy later."

"Don't worry, I'm just here to pick up something and find out the truth. If they don't stop me, I won't do anything outrageous."

Bai Ge rolled his eyes at him. He knew all too well his father's cheeky and annoying way of doing things. Even if he spoke to him in a friendly manner, he could still make the other person so angry that his blood pressure would explode.

The two were soon forced to separate. The old man was locked in a sealed room. When the hood was removed, he even squinted because he was not used to the bright light.

There was a frosted glass window in front of him, and behind the window was a blurry black figure staring straight at him.

The old man raised his hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light, a smile playing on his lips. He greeted the old friend as if he were seeing an old friend, saying, "I never thought we'd meet again in a place like this. You've been holding a grudge about not being able to catch me last time, haven't you?"

“I never imagined you would walk right into my trap, Mr. Bai Zhengyu. It’s been about half a year since we last parted ways. I never expected you to come here on your own this time. Tell me, where did you hide that intelligence? I can try to get you immunity.”

“I think you’ve got one thing wrong. I’m not here because I want to get some kind of immunity, but because I want to make a deal with those old guys behind you.”

"trade?"

The figure behind the glass window paused, remained silent for a few seconds as if considering the question, and then asked softly, "What kind of deal?"

Bai Zhengyu answered directly, "I want to see that machine, in exchange for the list of most of the escaped awakened ones, what do you think?"

"No."

The person on the other end seemed very wary of his father's actions, saying each word carefully, "I absolutely will not allow you to see it."

No, you will.

Bai Zhengyu seemed unconcerned about the other person's thoughts, and instead said softly, "What if I said I've already figured out the whole truth?"

He wasn't saying this to the man in front of him, but to the powerful figures hidden in the shadows, listening through the screen.

"The truth? What truth? I don't know what you're talking about?"

The man behind the screen began to tremble, as if the mere prospect of encountering the truth was enough to instill fear in him, making him instinctively want to cover his ears and run away.

"You must know the truth about those memories of the Awakened, you just don't want to face reality."

"Shut up."

The other person muttered to themselves, "Shut up, don't say any more."

Bai Zhengyu, however, didn't care about the other person's disheveled appearance at all. Instead, he explained word by word, "The machine that controls the whole world behind the scenes has forced and unknowingly pulled all of humanity into the same grand dungeon. In this dungeon world, seven billion people will continue to live peacefully, just like on Earth before. There has never been any cruel mechanism. They are completely unaware of the cruel world outside, continuing the life and death, the birth of children, and the everyday life within their own dungeon. Sounds wonderful, right? But everything is just unconscious behavior that is programmed and unfolds according to a set program."

The man on the other side of the glass window had fallen silent and stopped talking.

"However, such a massive program that requires supercomputing power is not perfect, and some minor bugs will inevitably occur during the hasty execution process."

After finishing, Bai Zhengyu pointed to his temple and said, "Some people will have strange images in their minds, and as bugs gradually accumulate, other memories that were previously covered up will resurface. In order to eliminate these very few sensitive intellectuals who have noticed the falsehood of the world and prevent them from revealing the truth in their madness, the mechanism's projection reveals a part of the distorted truth as a form of intimidation, and has reached an agreement with the high-level government of this world."

At this point, Bai Zhengyu paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Erase all humans who might awaken their memories."

Chapter 589 Divine Seal

"Shut up!"

With a furious shout, Bai Zhengyu merely observed the impotently enraged man before him with amusement, continuing his mocking tone, "What's wrong? You can't accept this? I have even more facts you can't accept. To put it bluntly, you're afraid to face the truth, afraid to face the truth of death, genocide, the extinction of civilization, and the return of everything to deathly silence. You lack the courage to accept reality, so you've remained holed up in this fictional world, gaining a false sense of security until the final, desperate death arrives. How insignificant the strongest ant is before the gods! A god's foot can crush an ant to pieces."

Click.

The glass window was smashed by a fist, and a man leaped in and stood in front of Bai Zhengyu. The left half of his face remained normal, but the right half of his face was like a withered corpse, devoid of moisture and flesh, which was extremely horrifying.

"Look at the state you've become, turning into something neither human nor ghost for the sake of that tiny bit of so-called power."

Bai Zhengyu said disdainfully, "You would rather give up real power and live a life of ignominy like ants? My friend."

"There is no hope."

A bitter smile forced across the living man's face, while the other half remained cold and expressionless. He said in a deep voice, "Actually… I encountered the same problem with that machine before. Its answer was that if humanity were to face a cataclysmic destruction, worse than any calamity, our chances of victory were zero, and the consequences of resistance would be far worse than death. Since we know we can't win, why can't we just live peacefully in this alternate world for the rest of our lives? This world has no war, no wealth disparity, and everyone can make up for their regrets in reality—it's the ideal Eden. And the price we have to pay is just a tiny bit of so-called freedom—oh no, even if it doesn't control us, we're still controlled by the ropes called fate."

"My choice was the right one."

The man kept emphasizing the correctness of his choice, as if in his eyes everything Bai Zhengyu had done was nothing more than the culprit who hastened the extinction of humanity.

“I don’t want all the players on Earth to live in a post-apocalyptic or dystopian world. Hand over the list of all the Awakened, and I will not only let you go, but I will also let the others go, as long as they are willing to cooperate and erase that part of their awakened memories.”

The man extended his hand to Bai Zhengyu, staring at him with an ambiguous gaze, and said, "Going against the choices of seven billion people worldwide is not a good idea."

“I am not going against the choices of seven billion people around the world. I am simply putting the choice of their destiny in their hands. The choice of whether to stay or leave is in their hands.”

Bai Zhengyu sighed silently, looked at the soundproof wall, and said, "I hope you can lead me to that machine smoothly. Originally, I didn't want to break off relations and fight. The supernatural powers you have now are just a gift from a dungeon called Terror Resurgence. Compared to the skills you had when you were qualified, scrolls and items are far inferior."

The two-faced man frowned, as if he realized that Bai Zhengyu was about to do something terrible, but the other man remained sitting obediently in his chair without making any move.

The impatient Two-Face shouted again, "What exactly do you want?"

"I won't do anything."

Bai Zhengyu suddenly raised his hands; the shackles had unknowingly rusted and corroded away. He patted the rusty fragments on his arms and explained, "I happen to possess a special item, the [Nano-Rust Worm]."

"Nano-rust insects? When did you...?"

The two-faced man was completely dumbfounded. His every move had been under his nose, so why hadn't he seen the other man's subtle actions?

"Right now."

Bai Zhengyu raised his right hand and said, word by word, "This parasite is harmless to humans, but it will continuously erode and corrode any metal around it. If it continues to corrode at this rate, I believe your base will become a dangerous building in less than ten minutes. Oh, and by the way, even the steel bars mixed in will be corroded. However, although it is harmless now, I cannot guarantee that it will not be harmful to humans in the future."

"I'm afraid you're not after this building, but rather that machine, aren't you?"

The two-faced man suddenly reached out and grabbed Bai Zhengyu by the neck, trying to strangle him. "If you die, everything will end."

"is it?"

However, a strange smile appeared on Bai Zhengyu's lips. "I am the only one who can control the nano-corrosion insects. If I die, they will continue to expand their corrosion, and the city will fall. The best outcome will probably be that the entire Xu City will become ruins overnight."

After speaking, Bai Zhengyu raised his hand, pointed to his wrist, and made a gesture as if he were looking at a watch.

Just as the two-faced man was caught in a dilemma, his phone suddenly vibrated. After answering the call, his expression changed, and his gaze shifted back and forth between Bai Zhengyu and Rust. Finally, he hung up the phone and let out a heavy sigh.

"As long as you release..."

However, Bai Zhengyu directly interrupted the other party's bargaining, "I can slow down the rate of erosion, and undo it? That'll have to wait until that machine answers my questions. Oh, and release my son too."

The two-faced man had no choice but to release Bai Ge from the interrogation room next door. Looking at the increasingly rusty corridor around him, he seemed to understand his father's intentions.

So you've been hiding this trump card all along?

A heavily armed team escorted the father and son deeper into the corridor. Wherever Bai Zhengyu passed, the metal showed signs of corrosion and rust, as if the entire base were a crumbling, dilapidated building.

Finally, the two-faced man stopped in front of the heavy concrete gate, his gaze turning solemn.

The door slowly opened, revealing the scene inside to Bai Ge. It was a complex machine that almost filled the entire room. The ceiling was covered with dense integrated wiring pipes that connected to a strangely shaped blood-red building in the center. The surfaces of the two spiraling pillars emitted an eerie, faint glow.

Bai Zhengyu was bathed in a strange, blood-red light, turning the entire corridor into a crimson world. Upon seeing the red light, the other security personnel present seemed to be drawn to it and lowered their guns.

"I've finally found you."

Bai Zhengyu said, word by word, "Divine Seal".

Chapter 590 The Behavior of the Two Qiaos

Upon seeing that bizarre appearance, Bai Ge's missing memories began to fill in slowly. He revealed an expression of sudden realization, especially when his father uttered the words "Divine Seal." At that moment, another set of missing memory fragments rushed back, and he instantly recalled his identity.

He is a player.

Currently undergoing the final trial.

Bai Zhengyu sneered and slowly said, "So that's why the program was so kind as to pull all of humanity into the instance to avoid a painful death. Its purpose wasn't to gently kill all of humanity, but to transform them into zombie variants to provide energy for the evolution game. That's your true nature, isn't it?"

The divine seal was silent and cold, only an endless red glow reflecting on everyone's faces. Seeing that the other party refused to communicate, Bai Zhengyu waved his hand, accelerating the corrosion of the rust insects. Instantly, most of the corridor was covered in rust. The floor beneath their feet became soft and fragile, as if it might collapse and shatter at any moment.

"what are you doing?"

The two-faced man standing behind him instantly ducked down, afraid to move lest the floor collapse under his weight. He could even see the deep, dark abyss below through the corroded rust holes in the metal.

"Since he avoids answering my questions, I have no choice but to take action."

Bai Zhengyu directed the rust worms to continue advancing towards the Divine Seal. Only then did everyone see the true appearance of those nanoscale insects. Swarms of rust worms, gathered together like a drifting green mist, rapidly advanced towards the Divine Seal, seemingly attempting to completely surround the bizarre double-helix machine and prepare for its final erosion.

Suddenly, a painful howl interrupted Bai Zhengyu's thoughts. He whirled around and saw the people behind him clutching their heads, groaning and crying for help. Their bodies were undergoing rapid changes. Strange spikes began to emerge from their backs, like extra arms, except the ends weren't palms, but sharp spikes. The soldiers frantically scratched their hair, pulling strands out, their skin torn like strips of cloth caught between their fingernails.

"It hurts so much, I'm in so much pain, someone please help me."

The soldiers had now transformed into terrifying monsters, their tattered clothes covering their bodies. Their bloodshot eyes, upon seeing Bai Ge and his son, drove them forward like madmen, desperately trying to tear them to shreds.

However, Bai Zhengyu remained calm and fearless, turning his back to the monster with an air of superiority. He spoke in a serious tone, "Can I trust you, brat?"

"No."

Bai Ge answered directly, "But I can collect your corpse."

"...No wonder he's my son, his personality is just like mine."

Bai Zhengyu turned around, facing directly at the group of bizarre, menacing monsters before him. These monsters had lost all basic reason and only knew how to slaughter the surviving survivors. The Divine Seal seemed to sense the threat and began to intensify its mental erosion and corruption. Even Bai Ge could hear faint whispers in his ear, as if someone was constantly nagging and bewitching him.

Bai Zhengyu spread his legs, put his hands on his waist, stared at the monster in front of him, and said calmly, "It seems that only that move can completely solve these problems. Back when your old man was in Hawaii, I learned American-style Iaijutsu."

"American-style Iaijutsu?"

Bai Ge was somewhat confused, but seeing his father's imposing demeanor, he slightly suppressed his inner hesitation.

The monster was only three or four meters away from them when Bai Zhengyu suddenly pulled out a Kalashnikov rifle from somewhere and unleashed a barrage of fire at the monster.

Da da da da.

The charging undead were felled one after another like harvested wheat. Bullets exploded upon impact, splattering flesh and blood that instantly smeared the walls. Undead, torn in two, struggled to crawl forward, brandishing their claws and driven by their killing instincts. However, the rusted, riddled-with-holes floor could not withstand their weight, collapsing instantly and sending a large number of undead tumbling into the darkness below. Only when a writhing mass of flesh remained on the ground did Bai Zhengyu stop firing. He gently blew on the red-hot muzzle and remarked with deep emotion, "This thing is much more useful than magic."

"This is what you call American-style Iaijutsu?"

Bai Ge looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, then stared strangely at his smug father.