By the time this was over, he was no longer living just for himself; he was shouldering far too many burdens: his comrades, the blood of his fellow fighters, the expectations of the woman he loved, and the hatred of his copy. Living on while carrying all this—in many ways, it was precisely these many burdens that had forged the man he was now.

"Undoubtedly, the method of farming newcomers is incredibly potent in the initial stages, allowing one to grow strong rapidly. If the 'Main God' truly calculates difficulty based on the strongest member and the team's average stats, such a team won't encounter overly harsh horror movie worlds. Thus, they remain safe while accumulating massive reward points and side plots—that’s the greatest advantage of the farming model. But as one rises by farming, so too does one fall by it; such teams are destined for annihilation in the end..." "This annihilation has nothing to do with some nonsense about evil never triumphing over righteousness—that's pure rubbish. History has long proven that only absolute power exists in this world.

Concepts like righteousness and evil are meaningless drivel. You can be just to certain people, but it’s impossible to be just to everyone, and the same applies to evil. So, this idea that evil cannot overcome good is merely self-consolation for children or the weak... The real reason this model leads to ruin is that they only see the surface of the 'Main God' space.

They forget the true meaning of the 'Main God' space."

The 'Main God' didn't bring people into this space merely to grind points and get stronger. If that were the goal, the designers could have simply altered the program to grant these enhancements to all of humanity. Imagine gods and buddhas flying everywhere while vampires and demons warred on the ground—humanity would likely be nearing extinction then... The true meaning of the 'Main God' is to force evolution. This kind of farming might result in strong attribute enhancements, but their degree of Gene Lock activation would certainly be low. Furthermore, they would likely only know how to use the skills and attributes exchanged from the 'Main God,' and not create their own skills—the probability of this exceeds ninety percent. We have already conducted extensive tests on this: self-created skills utilize their full power, whereas skills or attributes exchanged from the 'Main God' deploy power based on the level of Gene Lock activation..." "The final flaw is this: any individual strength, no matter how great, harbors a fatal weakness. A shark is dominant in the ocean but becomes prey to a mountain cat in the deep woods; a lion dominates the plains but is devoured by fish and shrimp at sea. A team like this, though seemingly powerful, is actually fragile..." "Encounter them, Zheng Zha. This squad is both very strong and very weak. Once you defeat their seemingly solid shell, all you'll find inside is decaying flesh. Frankly, the Nan Yan Continent team... is far stronger than them!" Zheng Zha constantly replayed Chu Xuan's words in his mind.

Clutching the Tiger Soul Blade and Zero Point, he walked forward silently. By now, he had activated the first stage of the Gene Lock. For some unknown reason, the more he used the Gene Lock, the longer he could sustain the unlocked first stage. If this duration continued to increase, it might one day reach an unrestricted level. Of course, for the present moment, he needed the Gene Lock active to detect the location of the enemy members.

"Zero Point, how is it? Can you see the environment down here? It's quite dark..." Zheng Zha whispered to Zero Point behind him.

Zero Point silently gripped his Gauss sniper rifle. He replied, "I can still see clearly. My enhanced attributes focused specifically on my eyes; I can see a hair from thousands of meters away even in much darker environments... It’s just that the terrain here isn't suitable for sniping. Oh, right—I still have two Gauss explosive rounds left."

These Gauss explosive rounds were high-powered ammunition Zero Point had exchanged for before entering this horror movie world. Ammunition exchanged for high reward points naturally possessed ridiculously immense power; a single round could obliterate everything within hundreds of meters in a circular radius—an impact stronger than a tactical nuclear weapon. Zheng Zha understood Zero Point's implication: if he couldn't fight the enemy head-on, Zero Point would use these rounds. With his speed in the "Destruction" state, he could certainly escape before the blast wave caught him, but the enemy might not share that speed.

"En, I understand... Zero Point, thank you for fighting alongside me all this time. I absolutely don't want to see you fall before me again... Let's survive together, partner. We agreed to fight side-by-side until death!" Zheng Zha nodded in quiet response.

Zero Point nodded back. "Yes, side-by-side... until death."

Following the strategy discussed with Chu Xuan, Zheng Zha led Zero Point in the opposite direction, beginning to search for upward passages. Along the way, the two encountered few insects. The small number that appeared were swiftly dispatched by Zheng Zha. One fire-breathing insect even attempted to spew flames upon revealing itself, but the blade aura of the Tiger Soul Blade was razor-sharp; a mere slice cleaved the fiery creature in two. The two continued outward as if nothing had happened.

After about ten minutes, both sensed something simultaneously and exchanged a look. Although the feeling was vague, they both perceived a sensation of being spied upon. Zheng Zha felt it due to his active Gene Lock, while Zero Point, as a veteran assassin, possessed extraordinarily acute senses in this regard. They looked at each other and simultaneously moved towards an open clearing underground. Down here, there were large fungal plants; since there were many, they resembled an underground forest. The area they were walking into was precisely such a forest.

"...Zero Point, they should be arriving soon. By now, they should be able to hear me too. When they do... we must survive."

Zheng Zha murmured to Zero Point, then pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his inner pocket, extracted one, and tossed it to Zero Point.

Zero Point caught the cigarette reflexively, lit it, took a deep drag, nodded, and walked into the shadow of the fungi. Only Zheng Zha remained standing in the open space.

Zheng Zha gripped the Tiger Soul Blade and silently surveyed his surroundings. Then, utilizing his Qigong, he leaped up, soaring along a massive fungal plant. After a few quick bounds, he landed atop the cap of this giant fungus. Surveying his surroundings, when the sensation of being watched returned, he finally saw four figures emerging from a distant opening—two Caucasians and two people of darker complexion. The two dark-skinned individuals appeared much more timid; not only were they covered in bruises and injuries, but their expressions were a mixture of fear and apprehension. Only the two Caucasians gazed toward Zheng Zha with blatant arrogance. Upon spotting the Tiger Soul Blade in Zheng Zha's hand, the pair actually broke into laughter.

"Is it that funny? You white pigs, come and kill me if you dare!" Zheng Zha channeled his inner force and roared, his voice loud enough for the distant figures to hear clearly. The two stopped laughing, but their demeanor remained casual, as if they held Zheng Zha in utter contempt.

"From the Central Continent team, are you? Yellow-skinned monkeys. I expected the ones to win would be those dark-skinned bastards from the Nan Yan Continent team. I didn't think you monkeys would be the ones left standing," a male voice echoed in Zheng Zha's ear. A sliver of silver light flashed in the darkness, and as Zheng Zha violently leaped upward, the silver beam struck the fungal cap beneath his feet. With a loud boom, the massive cap was utterly annihilated—not burned or shattered, but truly erased from existence.

"Stop hiding! I have completely scanned your location. There's a man over there with a high-tech weapon, right? What? Still planning a sneak attack? Hahaha, let me tell you, we possess dual S-class protective items—rechargeable universal defenses. Come to think of it, they were invented by the ancestors of you monkeys—something called a 'Cultivation Artifact.' All your so-called high-tech weapons are useless against us, as are legendary magical weapons. And that red saber you carry can't harm us either. So, what do you say? Just surrender. We need to hunt down that other unit after killing you; they're currently surrounded by hordes of bugs. If we don't move now, the Brain Bugs will get there first. We want all those reward points, hahaha..." The arrogant male voice continued to assault Zheng Zha's ears. As the Gauss sniper rifle fired with a sharp crack, a bullet shot toward the man holding the silver metal bow at an almost invisible speed. Simultaneously with the gunshot, golden light erupted around the man, manifesting a protective shield resembling an ancient bronze bell. With a resounding clang—truly sounding like a strike against bronze—the man remained completely unharmed.

(It really is the newcomer-farming type. They have the best weapons, the best protective items, and probably possess extremely high intrinsic attributes. These individuals are indeed powerful entities... Chu Xuan, the so-called seemingly powerful shell... this shell is excessively powerful.) Despite these thoughts, Zheng Zha's intent to kill only intensified. Both teams farmed newcomers, both abused the weak, and both were Caucasians. Everything mirrored the situation described by his copy. Perhaps these two were the former captain and a member of the Devil Reincarnation Squad... If that were the case! "You must die!" He jumped toward...