The heart had died, and there was no going back

A pitch-black night.

The blood-red moon hovered in the sky.

Li Chen sat on the high balcony, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

The black pattern on his right hand reappeared.

For some reason, he could sense a strong aura lingering in the air, but he couldn't pinpoint its source. Then he looked up at the sky.

Everything is as usual; nothing has changed.

Li Chen remained silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

The appearance of the King's Power, the appearance of the black substance—everything is somewhat mysterious.

The way to change the world is now in his own hands, but how will he control this black substance?

He tried to pull the black substance out of his body through energy sensing, but the black substance seemed to have already merged into his flesh and blood, into his cells, and had become a part of his body.

Therefore, this method is not feasible, and the only option is to kill those Eerie Monsters again and extract the black substance from their bodies.

At this moment, a subtle energy fluctuation emanated from Li Chen's body, and a blade of light appeared in front of him.

The weapon pierced his right palm instantly. Li Chen frowned, but his expression didn't change much.

This was intentional on his part, or perhaps he wanted to see just how much benefit this black substance brought to his body.

The incorporation of the black substance had the strongest effect on him, and his physical attributes were enhanced.

In an instant -

Fresh blood slowly flowed from his palm.

Tick-tock~ Tick-tock

The moment the light blade dissipated, the pierced hand, like those Eerie Monsters, began to heal rapidly as the flesh writhed.

Li Chen raised his eyes, a hint of seriousness flashing in them.

Perhaps these black substances are the life source of those Eerie Monsters; otherwise, he had witnessed the Eerie Monsters vying for them when he took them out earlier.

Now that he has merged with that black substance, and looking at the state of his hand, has he become an Eerie Monsters?

And it's Eerie Monsters with consciousness and abilities?

For some reason, Li Chen fell silent.

Perhaps this black substance brought him more than just benefits; there was also danger lurking deep within.

"Cough cough."

Just then, a cough was heard.

Li Chen's body tensed instantly, and he turned his head to look over. Light blades appeared around him like ghosts in an instant.

His secret is not to be known by anyone, at least not now.

From a shady spot on the platform, Wei Laoda slowly emerged, a smile on his face.

This time, he no longer concealed his body, but revealed his entire form to Li Chen.

"Wei Laoda?" A hint of doubt flashed in Li Chen's eyes, but the light blade did not dissipate.

The Wei Laoda at this moment is different from the one he had seen before.

His body was made of light blue mechanical components, and even his eyes were now shimmering with a blue light.

Just like the giant robots that Li Chen had seen before.

"Hehehe... it's me." Wei Laoda chuckled wickedly, a smile appearing on his otherwise incongruous face, though it was somewhat stiff.

But his physique was indeed terrifying, which explains why he covered his body with his trench coat when he met Li Chen and the others before.

Li Chen hesitated for a few seconds, then slowly raised his hand as the light blade dissipated, and asked, "Wei Laoda, is there something you need from me at this time?"

Wei Laoda chuckled, dragging his mechanical body to Li Chen's side, and slowly said, "This is a place I often come to see the scenery."

"It's also the place where I look towards my hometown."

"But seeing you here today really blew my mind. The best scenic spot I finally found has been completely ruined by you in just one day!"

Li Chen waved his hand sheepishly.

He had no idea there was such a detail here; if it weren't for the high elevation, he wouldn't have come.

Wei Laoda's eyes, gleaming with a deep blue light, looked down at the bustling traffic below and said...

"However, it's quite impressive that you managed to get here."

"The security system in this Ruined City is quite robust."

"Security system?" Li Chen was somewhat puzzled. He hadn't encountered any obstacles upon arriving at this place; was he just lucky?

Wei Laoda seemed to remember something and patted his head.

"Forgot, forgot, you're trainees. This city security system is useless to you."

This statement piqued Li Chen's curiosity.

What exactly is going on in this Ruined City? Why are there so many robots and not many humans?

Even Li Chen, who had always thought Wei Laoda was human, now realized that Wei Laoda was not when he saw him like this.

However, perhaps Wei Laoda's possession of human emotions was achieved through some special transplantation?

Everything piqued Li Chen's curiosity.

He asked, "Wei Laoda, why is this Ruined City in such a state?"

"Or perhaps why..."

Looking at the bustling traffic, Wei Laoda seemed to fall silent.

A gentle breeze blows...

"Hey kid, what's your name?"

"Li Chen."

"Then I'll call you Xiao Chen, since I'm quite a bit older than you, haha."

Wei Laoda smiled and looked into the distance.

However, he didn't finish his sentence, but continued, "The reason why the Ruined City is called this is because ten years ago, when the Ruined Pass was still under construction, it encountered Eerie Tide."

Speaking of "Eerie Tide," Li Chen could clearly feel that Wei Laoda's mechanical body seemed to be trembling.

"The Eerie Tide,' you should know, is a large-scale attack launched by that bunch of scum from beyond the Great Wall."

Wei Laoda paused, his tone seemingly somewhat somber.

"We lost that time, we lost completely."

"Ten years ago, there weren't many strong individuals, but those Eerie Monsters evolved too quickly; the old firearms were useless against them."

"I was just an ordinary person back then. I never imagined that we would encounter such terrifying things at Jianguan. We couldn't even hear a sound when firearms hit those monsters."

Li Chen chose to remain silent. He knew all too well how difficult life had been for people in that era, with the failure of firearms and the Sequence User had not yet become widespread among all of humanity.

There are not many strong individuals yet, and the first line of defense for humanity, the Four Great Passes, which they stand on, were built entirely by ordinary people who are not afraid of death.

"The invasion of Eerie Monsters began here; they wanted to spread inland, but how could humanity allow it?"

"Countless Sequence User and ordinary people arrived one after another, filling this city that should have been destroyed long ago with their blood and flesh."

"In the end, we were victorious, and the pass was built."

"But... sigh..."

Wei Laoda touched his current mechanical body, sighed, and looked into the distance.

That's why this place is called "Ruined City, Ruined Pass."

At this moment, Li Chen spoke up, "Wei Laoda, since you miss your hometown so much, why don't you go back?"

Wei Laoda waved the mechanical arm and whispered, "There's no going back. I'm too ashamed to go back."

"This mechanical body, this flesh that is already dead, I have no desire to go back."

"I died in that battle long ago; now I just want to quietly enjoy the peaceful times."