(My entire life… I only ever sought peace of mind. Tomb raiding was never my desire; I only wished to restore those infinite treasures… Regrettably, there’s no chance for me to return to the real world to achieve my dream, nor can I atone for my sins. But… perhaps this is for the best. To have fought to the death for my companions, that is more than enough…) (Companions, farewell. If there is a next life, let us meet again…)

Simultaneously calculating the orbit of Zero Point and analyzing data on Deuterium, the computational load had already surpassed its capacity manifold. That Qi Tengyi could endure such strain until this very moment before it manifested spoke volumes; this was the absolute limit of his abilities, an achievement bought with his life. Yet, had this achievement truly succeeded?

Far away in the upper atmosphere, all residual shockwaves from the nuclear detonations had long vanished. The entire expanse of space appeared warped, much like the distortion of light caused by extreme heat. This region of space had been utterly shattered and twisted; even a massive swathe of the ground seemed to have suffered a meteor impact, sinking deeply inward. Not a single mote of dust remained in the air… this entire area was wiped clean. In the sky, Adam had indeed disappeared, but the magical formation remained. The Tree of Life array, composed of over a dozen eyes, contained a cluster of light with wings growing from its center. However, its luminescence was significantly diminished. It was clear that even if Adam hadn't been directly erased, his power had waned to an extreme degree, far weaker than when he absorbed so many others’ strength. If Zero Point could land another strike with the Fang Zheng Magic Eye now, there would be no fear of being blocked by the Light of the Mind.

It was a pity Xiao Honglü had died too soon. Otherwise, if those nuclear missiles had reached their target and struck again, with Adam at the epicenter of the blast receiving the fatal blow from the Fang Zheng Magic Eye, he would surely have perished… Alas, the elaborate trap Xiao Honglü had set with his life remained incomplete.

Wang Xia and Lin Juntian, however, were still alive. They watched the enduring presence of Adam in the distance with near despair. They hadn't expected that this attack, far exceeding the power of the Demon Moving Cannon, would fail to eliminate him. In other words, no one left could kill him now; everyone would be killed and absorbed, and this final battle was utterly lost. What astonished them, however, was that the Mind Chains and the scan effects were still active, meaning Zhan Lan and the others had survived? They had lived through such a massive explosion zone. While they hadn't been directly hit by Zero Point’s Fang Zheng Magic Eye, they had nonetheless survived. But what did it matter? Going forward, they would only serve to empower Adam.

In fact, the members of the other small squad had suffered catastrophic casualties. After having a significant volume of blood drained by Tom, the others were already too weak to execute any evasive maneuvers. They were saved only because Liu Yu commanded the Giant God Soldier to shield them from the bulk of the shockwaves. Yet, An Suna was blasted away instantly by debris hurled by the waves, subsequently being torn to shreds by the residual forces. Ba Wang had nearly half his body smashed beyond recognition by rocks, entering a state of near death. Zhan Lan and Ming Wei were in a similar condition, wounded so severely they were barely clinging to life. As for Black Dragon, he was swept into the sky by the explosion’s shockwave and directly annihilated by the Fang Zheng Magic Eye. Among everyone, only Liu Yu, by virtue of being the Giant God Soldier’s master, and Lin Lei, who instinctively shielded himself more during the explosion, escaped the worst. Lin Lei suffered a hole through his thigh, making him arguably the most lightly wounded—a stroke of luck.

As for the Demon Team members, they were already near death during Tom’s frenzied struggle. When the explosions began, all of them perished in the blast; it was total annihilation.

The four survivors now—Ba Wang unconscious and fading, the other three immediately recognizing Adam’s presence—wore the same expression of utter hopelessness as the two watching from afar. They currently possessed no strength whatsoever to fight Adam. If even the Fang Zheng Magic Eye couldn't destroy him, how could they possibly succeed? This answer seemed intractable; their fight was truly over.

“No! Impossible, you cheated! How could it arrive here at this moment? I didn't lose! You cheated!” “I refuse to accept this! I could have surpassed Chu Xuan, I had transcended everything, I was on the verge of destroying humanity—I refuse to accept this!”

“Chu Xuan! I didn't lose to you, I will never admit defeat to you! Argh!”

Just as despair settled in everyone’s minds, this barrage of words suddenly echoed in their thoughts. Then, they witnessed a massive hand emerging from the parched earth beneath them. This hand alone was about ten meters long. The owner of this hand, a humanoid monster roughly twenty meters tall, half-machine and half-biological, leaped violently from the ground. Before the winged cluster of light in the sky could react, the humanoid monster opened its mouth and violently snatched the cluster, simultaneously shattering the entire Tree of Life formation with a single punch. All of this occurred in perhaps one or two seconds. When everyone snapped back to awareness, the humanoid monster had slammed onto the ground with a resounding boom, cracking the very earth apart.

“Roar!”

This humanoid monster was the berserk Luo Gandao, or more accurately, Luo Gandao merged with EVA Unit-01. Once completely berserk, he had lost all reason, driven only by the instinct to eliminate Zheng Zha and the others. But since Zheng Zha and the others had already departed, he wandered aimlessly until the Human Instrumentality Project began, at which point he instinctively moved toward this location.

The EVA Unit-01 was indeed powerful, but its energy stemmed from the pilot’s Light of the Mind. Although it could regenerate and repair itself almost infinitely, once the Light of the Mind was depleted, it became nothing more than scrap metal—this was precisely what Luo Gandao referred to as the Body of God, lacking the soul necessary to drive it… But what if the soul possessed an infinite Light of the Mind? A supreme life form. A “God”?

The EVA had devoured Adam, whose Light of the Mind was now utterly withered. According to the characteristics of the Human Instrumentality Project, it absorbed the Light of the Mind and then adopted the strongest Light of the Mind as its dominant factor. At this moment, Luo Gandao’s Light of the Mind was in its strongest state, having barely been consumed. Therefore…

It was just a pity that the Tree of Life formation had been pulverized by the EVA…

“What’s going on? What is this monster?”

The few survivors were utterly bewildered. What did those previous words mean? Who was cheating? Did it refer to this robotic monster before them? It actually swallowed Adam whole… Wasn't it afraid of being absorbed?

Doubts accumulated in their minds until Ba Wang groaned, bringing them back to reality. Liu Yu rushed to the giant man’s side and watched as he opened his eyes, displaying a moment of final lucidity.

“…I’m sorry. These three words are so hard to utter. I actually turned my weapon against my own comrade. Perhaps even in hell, I won’t forget this sin. If it were possible… even if it meant resurrecting me, please don't wake me again. I am tired, and I can no longer face my companions… So, I’m sorry…”

Ba Wang closed his eyes slowly with a bitter smile, and the rope tied around his wrist automatically unfastened, drifting toward the horizon.

“Brother Ba Wang, Brother Ba Wang!” Liu Yu felt a sharp pang in his heart and couldn't stop crying. Too many had died in this battle, and he was merely a boy, forced to confront not only his own mortality but also the deaths of those around him. His inner weakness never ceased. Only now did he break down into sobs.

Zhan Lan and Ming Wei were also gravely injured. Zhan Lan, in particular, had been directly pierced through the abdomen by a flying stone; her intestines and other internal organs were likely damaged, and her blood pooled on the ground. Although they were members of the Reincarnation Squad with physical capabilities far superior to ordinary people, such massive blood loss and severe internal injuries meant she would likely die soon.

Ming Wei’s injury was to her lungs; her entire right chest cavity had been nearly smashed open by a massive rock. Now, every breath resulted in an expulsion of blood. While she wouldn't die immediately, death was inevitable without timely treatment.

“Liu Yu, stop crying…”

Zhan Lan smiled gently. Unable to speak, she transmitted her thoughts directly to Liu Yu’s mind using her spiritual power. Simultaneously, a pure white light emanated from her body—her personal Light of the Mind.

“Stop crying, little boy, you must be strong. Our Central Continent Team will become the strongest squad in the entire Reincarnation world. As a member, how can you be weak? So… stop crying, and meet the challenges bravely.” Zhan Lan’s voice continued to echo, while the Light of the Mind radiating from her gradually converged on her wrist, concentrating on the rope wound there.

(Am I about to die? Yet, my heart feels so calm. Coming to this Reincarnation world… it was actually quite good. At least I no longer have to mourn the past. I gained new goals, even if that goal was simply to survive, and a new person to love—even if I only loved him secretly. And… and there are so many things left. I truly wish to continue living, to continue watching him silently, and everyone else… Zheng Zha, this is the last help I can give you, so… please, you must win.)

Zhan Lan smiled as she looked toward the direction where the rope was flying. For some unknown reason, though she was not yet dead, the rope on her wrist automatically came undone and flew off toward the distant horizon. Only then did she smile at Liu Yu and say, “Liu Yu, and Wang Xia, Lin Juntian, take Ming Wei and head over there. Zheng Zha’s battlefield is that way; he needs your help. And while you’re there, tell them the situation here… Tell them Luo Gandao has swallowed Adam, and his EVA energy system is now complete—Zheng Zha needs to be careful… Though, if he still intends to see this play through, he will surely create an unexpected event to restrain the vastly empowered Luo Gandao. Perhaps… never mind. My mission is complete. I leave the rest to Zheng Zha… Please, you must win.”

Having spoken, the girl gazed silently toward the direction the rope had flown until Liu Yu looked closely at her and realized she had closed her eyes with a smile, and there was no longer any rise or fall in her chest… She was dead.

“Sister, Sister Zhan Lan!”

Liu Yu burst into tears again, clutching Zhan Lan’s body and crying out until the sobs slowly subsided after a long time. In the eyes of the boy, alongside evident fragility, a sliver of strength had emerged. He silently laid down Zhan Lan’s body, then turned toward Ming Wei. He gently checked Ming Wei’s injuries, then helped her up and slowly walked toward where Wang Xia and Lin Juntian stood.

Simultaneously, Wang Xia and Lin Juntian used the Green Goblin Gliders to fly toward the other two. After Adam was devoured, the machinery that had been unusable could function again. These two were merely somewhat drained; compared to those caught in the explosion zone, they were essentially fresh reinforcements, and they reached Liu Yu and the others immediately.

“…Is that so? So many people died.” Wang Xia sighed silently, then looked toward the horizon.

Liu Yu quickly asked, “What should we do now? Sister Ming Wei has lost so much blood; if she isn’t treated soon, she’ll probably…”

“Yes, Ming Wei is badly hurt too. Wang Xia, what do we do?”

The other rookie of the Central Continent Team, Lin Juntian, panicked upon seeing so many dead. It seemed a cruel irony that the veteran members had suffered heavily, yet the two rookies survived.

Regardless, Wang Xia, the only clear-headed veteran present, now had to bear all the responsibility. The squad’s strategist was dead; the operational objective was basically complete—aside from the unexpected incident of Adam being eaten. The Angel Alliance and the Demon Squad were indeed wiped out. As for the sudden appearance of Luo Gandao… these few were clearly incapable of fighting that EVA. Therefore, the immediate priority was to move Ming Wei to a safe place for treatment before seeking out the true main battlefield.

“…We will proceed like this,” Wang Xia stated his decision briefly. He then looked at Zhan Lan’s body: “Xiao Honglü said some strange things abruptly earlier, and Zhan Lan said similar things before she died. Did they discover something? And who was that other person?”

Wang Xia sighed, though nothing concrete came to mind. His only certainty was that if Chu Xuan were present, he would surely understand something. But given the limited intellect of those remaining, it was likely they wouldn't figure anything out, so he said no more. He lifted Ming Wei first, then steered the Green Goblin Glider toward the horizon—the direction Zhan Lan had pointed them toward while still alive.

The other two quickly followed Wang Xia’s lead, but they looked back at the colossal humanoid monster, the EVA. The Unit-01, about twenty meters tall, was now hovering in mid-air. Behind it, more than ten pairs of luminous wings slowly unfolded, and intense light continuously erupted from its entire chassis… This was the Light of the Mind, visible even to the naked eye, surging outward.