Heavy rain poured down, blood trickling off his body, mingling with the downpour.
Feng Qi looked back. Only he remained standing; all the human warriors lay in pools of their own blood.
The Domain creatures ignored him. After shattering the statue of him, they tore through the steel walls and continued their rampage eastward, unstoppable.
The outcome of this battle had been sealed from the beginning.
He was but a participant and witness, powerless to change the inevitable.
Without the Blood Source ability, he hadn't managed to kill even a single Domain creature. All his efforts during the battle had been futile.
[These Domain creatures seem to be controlled, and it looks like the entity controlling them has given strict orders not to attack each other. Otherwise, you'd have been dead long ago!] the narrator's voice echoed in his mind.
Feng Qi didn't respond.
He'd noticed it too—there was no infighting among the creatures, an unusual phenomenon.
Initially, he had wanted to die alongside the warriors, but the controlled Domain creatures hadn't even acknowledged him. It was as if some mental manipulation ability was guiding them all, pushing them forward with the expanding Domain field.
Turning toward Star City Shelter, he saw that the survivors had already retreated underground. They were safe now.
The horde of Domain creatures smashed through the steel walls, leveling everything in their path before continuing their march eastward.
Standing amidst the carnage, Feng Qi was haunted by a troubling thought.
If the shelter's resources were sufficient to sustain its residents under stable population conditions, why had the shelters in his previous future journeys always been empty? Not even the remains of dead survivors were ever found.
His mind wandered to the Crimson Research Institute's shelter.
The situation there had been eerily similar. The residents had vanished without a trace, leaving no explanation behind.
It was as if the inhabitants of these shelters had collectively disappeared into thin air.
Feng Qi turned his gaze westward. The thick mist, laced with creeping whispers, rolled forward with the expanding Domain field.
As the mist surged, vague human-like faces appeared within it, their ghostly eyes locking onto Feng Qi. The expressions seemed puzzled, as if surprised by his immunity to their control.
Suddenly, a tendril of consciousness pierced into Feng Qi's mind. A raspy voice echoed in his thoughts:
"Are you sentient?"
Feng Qi remained silent, bending down to pick up a discarded battle axe. With measured steps, he advanced toward the mist.
"Sentient, my ass!" he shouted.
No matter how powerful the enemy was, he had no intention of retreating. He would rather die fighting than live in fear.
"Are you human? A human transformed into a Domain creature? No… how peculiar," the voice mused.
Ignoring the inquiry, Feng Qi gripped the axe tightly and pressed onward.
Suddenly, a massive hand emerged from the mist, splitting into countless chains that wrapped around him, immobilizing him completely.
He struggled against the chains, but his strength was insignificant against the overwhelming force of the mist.
Just as he was being dragged into the mist, a silver spear streaked through the sky, embedding itself firmly in the ground before him. The mist halted its advance instantly.
The raspy whispers ceased, and the mist recoiled briefly before forming two colossal hands, which slammed toward the silver spear.
The spear emitted a radiant light, shaking violently as it dispersed the mist's attack.
Before the mist could regroup, a figure appeared before the spear, catching it effortlessly.
It was Mu Yan. Dressed in silver battle armor, she held the spear in one hand and pointed it toward the mist.
"You're finished!" she declared coldly.
"You'll have to find my true form first," the raspy voice retorted mockingly. "Besides, you're in no position to talk. The eastern spatial node is about to open. Hahaha!"
"You think you've won?" Mu Yan's tone remained icy.
"I haven't won, but humanity has already lost. No one will survive."
"As long as I stand, humanity will endure!"
"That's your delusion. Let me show you something I've prepared for this day."
The voice from the mist fell silent as an eerie, urgent whisper spread through the air, echoing like a demonic chant.
Before Feng Qi and Mu Yan's disbelieving eyes, human figures began emerging from the ruined city.
One after another, they walked out of the shelter.
Their eyes were dull, devoid of life, as if under some form of control.
"Watch closely," the voice taunted.
The figures stopped in unison. Suddenly, green flames ignited across their bodies, consuming them instantly.
In mere moments, the survivors of the shelter were reduced to charred husks, then reanimated as walking corpses.
They had become zombie, pawns in the enemy's game.
The swirling blood mist rose from the survivors' bodies, merging into the air and forming dense crimson clouds that surged rapidly into the encroaching fog.
"Die!"
Mu Yan's silver spear thrust forward into the fog, unleashing a whirlwind that scattered the mist backward. The silver radiance corroded the fog like sunlight dissolving shadows.
The raspy voice echoed again from the mist.
"Mu Yan, do you understand why humanity has lost? The seeds of your defeat were sown long ago, embedded deep within human civilization. Now, these seeds have grown strong, and the time for humanity's extinction has come."
From all directions, clusters of blood mist continued to flow toward the fog, merging with it.
"Not just tens of thousands, but millions—even billions—I can obliterate with a snap of my fingers. I've prepared for this moment for over a millennium. The seeds I planted have thrived, and humanity's fate has been under my control from the very beginning."
Mu Yan's hand gripped her spear tighter as she prepared to charge into the fog. But at that moment, starlight shimmered across the eastern sky.
"Go," the voice sneered. "The spatial node is forming. You might still make it in time."
Mu Yan turned eastward, her expression shifting. She glared at the fog one last time and spoke coldly.
"Wang Jinsheng, I'll be back to kill you!"
With those words, she leapt into the air, transforming into a streak of light that vanished toward the horizon.
Hearing Mu Yan name the entity in the mist as "Wang Jinsheng," Feng Qi felt his mind reel.
"That's impossible!"
The raspy voice chuckled again.
"Now, it's your turn. Become part of my collection."
Before Feng Qi could react, tendrils of mist surged into his body, extinguishing his life force instantly.
When Feng Qi opened his eyes, he was back in the present.
"No way. It's impossible. It's just a coincidence—a name similarity," he muttered, trying to reassure himself.
He knew Old Wang better than anyone. In his mind, no one else had been more devoted to humanity's cause.
He could accept that anyone might betray humanity—but not Old Wang.
Old Wang had always been his guiding star during their six years together. He had shaped Feng Qi's values, teaching him resilience and the power of belief.
It was Old Wang who convinced him to trust in the future. It was Old Wang who declared humanity's inevitable victory.
"How could he possibly be a Domain creature?"
"It's just a coincidence. That's all it is," he muttered repeatedly.
[Ah Qi, don't you remember what Wei Wei said? Every young prodigy of the new generation was assassinated, except for Old Wang. He rose to prominence without any obstacles, which is very suspicious.]
"Shut up! That's impossible!"
The narrator's words gnawed at him, shaking the foundation of his beliefs.
[Ah Qi, I didn't say he's definitely the same Wang Jinsheng. You're the one doubting him.]
"I'm not doubting him!" Feng Qi yelled, his voice trembling.
[A calamity sown over a millennium ago could only have been orchestrated by someone deeply trusted by all humanity. Wang Jinsheng, a historical luminary, fits the profile perfectly. Perhaps something he introduced subtly influenced humanity, embedding a switch into their bloodlines. The moment it was activated, all those affected would instantly fall under his control, becoming his nourishment.]
Feng Qi's emotions surged chaotically.
He had endured countless falls, each time standing back up with unwavering resolve. But this revelation was too much.
When he first learned of humanity's destruction, it was Old Wang's teachings that inspired him to shoulder the responsibility and fight back against the tide.
No matter how terrifying the enemy or how difficult the path, he had never wavered.
But now, his beliefs were shaken to their core.
If even the one who most firmly believed in humanity's victory had betrayed them, what hope remained?
"No… no…" he whispered, trembling.
Feng Qi staggered toward the dormitory door and flung it open before running out into the rain.
[Ah Qi, calm down…]
The narrator's pleas fell on deaf ears.
Feng Qi ran blindly through the rain, slipping and falling, only to get back up again. He wandered aimlessly, tears mingling with the downpour.
At the end of the day, Feng Qi was just a 17-year-old boy. The weight of his grief and despair finally overwhelmed him, erupting in sobs.
Unconsciously, he found himself standing at the school gate.
The gatekeeper, an older man, looked at him with concern.
"Teacher Feng, why are you out in the rain without an umbrella? I have one—"
Ignoring him, Feng Qi walked past the gate and into the stormy night.
At this moment, Feng Qi's heart was overwhelmed with confusion, teetering on the edge of collapse.
He would rather remain ignorant, struggling forward despite failure, than face such a cruel truth.
As he stood in the rain, a taxi pulled up in front of him. The driver leaned out and called, "Young man, why are you walking in the rain without an umbrella? Get in!"
Feng Qi didn't respond but numbly climbed into the car.
"Where to?"
"Anywhere… Just find a place and drop me off," he said, his voice lifeless.
The driver hesitated at his response but then drove forward.
"What's wrong, young man?"
"I've lost my dream," Feng Qi said woodenly, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.
Hearing this, the driver sighed and began to speak. "Young man, let me tell you—"
But Feng Qi wasn't listening. He gazed out the window, watching the rain hit the glass in a relentless rhythm. His mind felt as cloudy and dark as the stormy sky.
Deep down, he knew there were countless suspicious points about Wang Jinsheng.
Yet, he still clung to the belief that it was all just a coincidence. He didn't want to doubt Old Wang.
Even when Wei Wei had voiced her suspicions about Old Wang, Feng Qi had brushed them off.
To him, Old Wang was his savior, someone who could never betray humanity.
But as he thought more about it, his inner confusion grew, and his once-firm resolve began to waver.
At that moment, he felt utterly exhausted, yearning for rest.
The taxi drove aimlessly for over an hour before finally stopping.
"We're here."
Feng Qi reached for his phone to pay but froze when he realized they were parked outside the gates of Star City Academy.
The driver turned to him and said, "Young man, if you've lost your dream, you can always find it again. If you're tired, take a break. But you must never give up on your dreams."
These words stunned Feng Qi.
He turned to look at the driver and was surprised to see it was the same man who had driven him to Star City Academy on his first day.
The driver grinned at Feng Qi's astonished expression.
"Why are you staring at me? The salary at Star City Academy is enough to support my family, but my wife keeps a tight grip on the finances. Every penny must be handed over. So, I'm out here earning some pocket money on the side."
Seeing Feng Qi's bewildered expression, the driver laughed and added, "This ride's on me. Every ending is also a beginning. A finish line is just another starting line. Now, I'm sending you back to the beginning… Start fresh."
A finish line is a starting line?
Feng Qi recalled all his past efforts, the sacrifices of his companions at the Crimson Research Institute, and the version of himself who had chosen to die so that his future self could live.
Every ending had always led to a new beginning.
Every failure had created the foundation for a brighter future.
At that moment, the flickering flame in his heart reignited.
The driver pressed a button to open the car door and said, "Don't ruin my chance to earn pocket money. Get out and keep working hard. Students from Star City Academy don't give up so easily. Go back and fight!"
Feng Qi nodded firmly, stepping out of the car.
"Kid, enjoy the good times while you're young. Remember what I said: even if things go badly, never end up with zero victories. That's all—goodbye!"
With those parting words, the driver closed the door.
The driver's calm demeanor vanished as he accelerated rapidly, speeding away in a blur.
From a distance, Feng Qi could hear the driver cursing out another motorist as their vehicles nearly collided.
[That driver is really something!]
"Yeah," Feng Qi said, a faint smile forming on his face.
[Ah Qi, don't give up. For now, it's just speculation. I also don't believe Old Wang would betray humanity. There might be more to the story.]
"I know. I'll investigate. I just… needed to let it out. I feel better now."
[Let it out? You bawled your eyes out! I took screenshots of that. Say 'please delete' a few times, and I might consider erasing them.]
"I didn't cry."
[Still denying it? Heh, tui!]
"Reverse it!"
[Reverse your reverse!]
"Reverse invalidated."
[Idiot zombie, so childish.]
"You're the idiot system..."