Before Zheng Zha or anyone around him could speak, a shadow lunged forward, a colossal tongue whipping directly toward him. Standing there in the 'Main God' Plaza was a massive black dragon, thirty meters tall and over fifty meters long. Its tongue alone was three or four meters long; this wasn't a mere lick—Zheng Zha was essentially baptized in dragon drool. And that wasn't all; the giant beast then extended a claw toward him.

"Stop! Little dog, stop!" Zheng Zha shouted urgently, wiping the drool from his face. He quickly added, "No licking people casually anymore... and no pouncing like before! You'll crush someone!" Cheng Xiao, standing nearby, just chuckled. "Licking a guy is fine, but licking a girl is better; all wet like that looks absolutely sexy, ha ha ha..." Zheng Zha shot him a glare and said dryly, "No pouncing on others... but you can pounce on Cheng Xiao."

Having said that, he ignored Cheng Xiao's yelps as he dodged the dragon's claws and turned directly to Chu Xuan.

"Well? Are you going to tell everyone the information you obtained? This intelligence, gained at the cost of a life, is too weighty. I don't even know if I should share it."

Zheng Zha looked at Chu Xuan.

Chu Xuan was rubbing his left eye in a very peculiar manner.

When Zheng Zha finally asked, the man answered without looking up, "It’s up to you whether to tell them or not. If we can't survive the final battle, knowing more information is useless... Besides, they might not even return to the real world before that final confrontation."

Zheng Zha pondered for a long moment.

He glanced around, deliberately looking at Loli standing beside him. After a long pause, he said, "Then let's not rest for now. Come to my room; I have something to tell everyone."

The others found it slightly strange but followed Zheng Zha into his room. The only exception was Chu Xuan, who continued rubbing his eyes and retreated to his own quarters. Judging by his fervent expression, he had clearly stumbled upon something new.

He began his solitary research.

As Zheng Zha and the others entered the room, the black dragon became agitated. It squatted at the doorway, whining softly.

The sound was genuinely reminiscent of a dog’s bark, magnified several times. When Zheng Zha emerged from the room holding a badge, the dragon immediately thrust its snout forward, seemingly intending to lick him again. Startled, Zheng Zha hastily raised the badge.

In an instant, the black dragon vanished from sight, leaving only a faint, dark sheen on the badge.

"OK. Solved. I didn't expect the badge Chu Xuan gave me to actually work... So, it can store one's own pet? I wonder if it can store someone else's massive pet if they carry one too?" Zheng Zha scratched his head and mumbled to himself, then slipped the badge into his pocket before entering the room.

Inside, everyone was already seated, waiting for him. Even the usually glib Cheng Xiao wasn't teasing Zhao Yingkong... Or perhaps it was the sight of Zhao Yingkong adopting a stance with her dual swords that deterred him; a transparent greatsword hitting someone probably wouldn't result in mere minor injuries.

Zheng Zha nodded at everyone. "What I'm about to say is extremely important. It essentially reveals a large part of the secret of this 'Main God' space. But, equally, knowing this secret demands an equivalent price... The price is that until your strength reaches my current level, or Chu Xuan's current level, you are forbidden from returning to the real world. Do you still want to hear this information?" As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Xia stood up abruptly. "Excuse me, I will not listen to this information. I was already planning to use the reward points to return to the real world after the final battle. The mission I bear is far more critical than these so-called truths. The nation needs me..." As he spoke, Wang Xia was already walking toward the door.

Zheng Zha let out a breath. He truly admired Wang Xia's decisiveness. After all, human curiosity is paramount, especially when the truth is about to be unveiled. For Wang Xia to decisively forgo this truth, he was indeed the resolute soldier he appeared to be; that sheer tenacity alone was enough to earn respect.

"Very well. Do the rest of you feel the same way? Remember, once you know this truth, you absolutely cannot return to the real world until you reach Chu Xuan's current strength. Understood?" Zheng Zha emphasized this point a few more times before carefully recounting his experiences with the Dragon Knights, the battle in the bottomless abyss, Chu Xuan's speculation, and how the abyss changed once that speculation was understood. Finally, he concluded, "That is the information I obtained from the Dragon Knights. Setting aside whether it's correct or not, if it truly leads to a drastic change as Chu Xuan analyzed once known, then we must remain here until we are powerful enough. Does everyone understand?" Everyone was still immersed in the weight of the information and didn't answer immediately. Zheng Zha wasn't flustered. He walked over to Loli, pulled the little girl into his arms, and whispered into her ear, "Loli, don't worry. I will pick suitable enhancement attributes for you so your strength can improve, and I will stay by your side. After the final battle is over, we will figure out a way to return to the real world safely, okay?" Lololi nodded obediently, but her expression remained somewhat lost. It was understandable; for a girl not yet twenty, this reincarnation world already left her terrified daily. Even though she hadn't entered the horror movies, her man, Zheng Zha, was a core member and captain of their reincarnation team.

Every time he returned from a horror movie world, he was covered in wounds, sometimes even in pieces. She often spent sleepless nights fearing for him. Now, she suddenly heard that returning to the real world was impossible.

At least, not for a long time. For a girl of her age, not bursting into tears on the spot was already a sign of immense strength.

The others were also somewhat downcast. With the final battle approaching, several had planned to make a trip back to reality. Now, that was impossible. Not only that, but doubts surfaced in their minds: logically, since the final battle was imminent, if they knew this secret, surely they could return afterward? Zheng Zha noticed their confusion. He released Lololi, sat back in his seat, and then explained, "Back in the Dragon Knights, Chu Xuan strangely told me that the final battle might only be 'final in name only.' I didn't understand what he meant then, but when I felt the 'Main God's' hypnosis in the bottomless abyss, the meaning suddenly clicked."

"'The Main God's hypnosis'?" Everyone asked in surprise.

"Yes. That feeling of being half-asleep, half-awake when we enter the horror movie worlds—I finally felt it,"

Zheng Zha nodded seriously. "As long as the Genetic Lock opens to the Intermediate Fourth Stage, and I enter the state of Latent Dragon Transformation, I can sense the energy fluctuations the 'Main God' imposes on me. While I still can't resist it, it's a huge step forward compared to having no reaction at all before. I believe if the Genetic Lock reaches the Advanced Fourth Stage, I should be able to resist the 'Main God's' erasure. After all, the so-called erasure is very likely caused by energy, and the Advanced Fourth Stage of the Genetic Lock already allows for some control over energy. At that point, the greatest threat the 'Main God' poses to our team—the erasure—will cease to be effective. This place will become absolutely safe!" After Zheng Zha finished speaking, the first person to react was Xiao Honglü. He jumped up in shock. "I understand! It’s just as I suspected! The final battle is indeed only 'final in name only,' and we are now at a strength level where we can receive this information, even if it's a bit early..."

The rest were confused, so Xiao Honglü quickly elaborated. "The logic is quite simple. Based on our previous estimations, we would return to the real world after the final battle, but that was merely a conjecture. The 'Main God' never explicitly told us so; it was just our assumption... However, based on Zheng Zha's experience with the Dragon Knights, it's highly likely that the 'Main God' deliberately arranged for powerful teams like ours, or even stronger ones, to enter specific horror movie worlds where the answers to the secrets of the 'Main God' space are hidden. But to obtain these answers, one requires immense power, and crucially, one cannot return to the real world. This might be a trap set by the creators of the 'Main God' space—the Sages and the Cultivators. Of course, this trap also explains why the final battle is only 'final in name only'..."

"Because we must survive, or rather, since we must survive, we must continue experiencing horror movie worlds—the Infinite Terror..." Xiao Honglü paused here, plucked a strand of hair from his forehead, carefully chose his words, and continued, "The most probable reason for the so-called final battle is that someone among all the reincarnation teams has reached the Fifth Stage of the Genetic Lock, or perhaps the Advanced Fourth Stage Zheng Zha mentioned, gaining the ability to resist the 'Main God's' erasure. Let's analyze what this ability entails. First, the possessor, or even a group surrounding them, would no longer be erased by the 'Main God.' This renders the horror movie worlds meaningless to them. For example, if they didn't want to enter a horror movie, and when the 'Main God's' pillar of light descended, they simply refused to step in—since the erasure wouldn't work anyway—they could stay in the 'Main God' space and train for ten years. Who would be their opponent then? Of course, this is just an analogy; time flow itself might be altered by the 'Main God.' In those ten years of their training, hundreds of horror movie worlds might have passed for us, and perhaps we would be stronger than them by then."

"However, possessing the ability to resist erasure is like having a cheat code in a game. They wouldn't fear the 'Main God's' punishment, and the horror movie worlds would genuinely become their grinding grounds for points. That's why the 'Main God' must launch the final battle. This is the reason. Yet, the same question troubled me long ago: What is the point of the final battle?" Xiao Honglü stopped, plucked several more strands of hair, and laid them on the table. "These are the Cultivators; these are the Sages. Their power vastly surpasses ours by thousands, even tens of thousands of times. Just look at the existence of the 'Main God' space—a masterpiece integrating time, space, and energy. Their level of technology and power far exceeds ours; to us, they appear as gods creating worlds. It’s the same as how a barbarian viewing our airplanes and cars might think we are practicing sorcery. Yet, two such powerful factions were defeated by an unknown force. How can we, who are vastly inferior to them, possibly save humanity? Can the final battle possibly produce experts at the Sixth or Seventh, or Eighth Stages? So, what is the meaning of this final battle? That was my previous confusion. Until now, I finally have the answer."

"The final battle is only 'final in name only.' Likewise, combining all the pieces of information—the inability to return to the real world upon knowing the abyss's secrets, the resistance to erasure at Advanced Fourth Stage, and the imminent final battle—it becomes clear we have fallen into the trap set by the Sages and Cultivators. Or rather, we are doing exactly what they expected us to do. This also explains why we, who are millions of times weaker than the Sages and Cultivators, were entrusted with the critical mission of saving humanity."

Everyone looked at Xiao Honglü with confusion, including Zheng Zha, who had seemed to understand moments before. The young man then chuckled. "It seems most of you haven't grasped it yet? Let's analyze this point by point. First, because we obtained the information from the bottomless abyss, we cannot return to the real world, correct?" Everyone nodded in agreement.

Xiao Honglü continued, "Then what happens after the final battle? Where do we go? The answer is we must continue growing stronger in this 'Main God' space. This is why I mentioned the phrase 'Infinite Terror.' And if Advanced Fourth Stage allows resistance to erasure, what about even higher stages? Perhaps control over the 'Main God'? I haven't figured that out yet, but if there is a place where you cannot be erased, where you can safely grow stronger with careful control, and where you can exchange for various attributes and enhancements from the 'Main God'—what does such a world resemble? Exactly: a training camp, or perhaps a training camp for human evolution... Do you see? We are the pioneers chosen by the Sages and Cultivators. If we do not wish to die, if we do not wish to be alone, or if we hope our families live long, or if we have attachments to reality, then we must return home. But we who know the secret cannot go back? What is the only solution? Let the people from the outside world come in. As long as we can control the 'Main God,' this can be easily achieved..."

Zheng Zha, who had been operating at the Third Stage of the Genetic Lock, let out a breath upon hearing this and said, "I get your meaning. This is the plan of the Sages and Cultivators. When they were destroyed, they left this final seed—the 'Main God' space. If, out of the ten thousand people pulled in, a hundred survive and grow strong, their preliminary goal is achieved. If, among those hundred, ten learn this secret, and one of them fears death and dares not return home, forcing them to continue growing stronger here until they can control the 'Main God' to pull others in—then their ultimate goal is realized. By continuously pulling people in and fostering continuous growth, one day the groups of Sages and Cultivators will reform... I see now. The final battle is merely to select the person who will bring others in?"

"Precisely,"

Xiao Honglü snapped his fingers. "That's the idea. Heaven and Earth are pitiless, and Sages are pitiless. There is no right or wrong; there is only the desire to survive."

Ling Dian, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked, "If a person who knows the secret goes out into the real world, won't humanity be wiped out?"

Xiao Honglü shook his head. "No. If it were to be wiped out, it would have happened already. It's like when we write computer programs. Ordinary programs are necessary because we use them, but computer viruses must be deleted as soon as they are found. Similarly, those of us who know the secret are viruses to the box's creators. Would you destroy the entire computer just because it's infected, especially if there are vital programs inside? Think about it. Those who return to the real world might be constantly besieged and killed by various creatures, much like Zheng Zha in the bottomless abyss. But ordinary humans likely will not be."

(Author's Note: I haven't been able to sleep well these past two nights. I keep feeling the building shake, but others say it isn't. I think I have a psychological scar...) Jump to