Chapter 450

The Duke Wellington recognized who was speaking and was extremely disgusted by the Duke Kester's hacking into the communications.

"Who gave you permission to access my communications?"

"Don't be so angry. I'll remind Duke Windermere to prepare for battle later. After all, we're all part of Victoria. I know what you want to gain in this war, but you're being far too impatient."

Some things are easily made worse by explaining them. The Duke Wellington understood this principle and issued a stern threat:

"Kester, I hope you'll stand before me and speak next time, then I'll tear your mouth apart!"

"Oh, oh, oh, why are you in such a hurry? You..."

Seeing Ablana walking towards them, the Duke Wellington immediately cut off the communication. The former, upon seeing this, asked:

"What's wrong?"

"The despicable and cunning Sarkaz attacked the Defense Zone while you were away. But Your His Highness need not worry, the situation is now under control, and those guys have been driven back."

"A retreat doesn't mean a real retreat. Let's return to our Defense Zone as soon as possible; it'll be safer that way. I thought the Sarkaz would activate the Cataclysmic Clouds gathering above the Shard Building this time, but nothing happened. Are they not yet in control of the storm's power, or are they waiting for a better opportunity?"

The Duke Wellington expressed his regret over the matter:

"This storm originally belonged to Victoria. Now, the Sarkaz have stolen its spoils and turned it into a sword against their own people. Fortunately, their rampage won't last long. Our young troops will be forged into an elite force in this storm! Your His Highness, I will win this era for you and the Talulah!"

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Chapter 526 The Death Knell (Bonus Chapter)

The Self-Rescue Army's Temporary Camp had no electricity, and at night they were only illuminated by the dim light of torches and braziers.

After Amiya finished her work, she wanted to talk to Doctor Zhongli about the Shapeshifter' request to see her. But then she thought it was getting dark and hesitated, wondering if she should postpone it until tomorrow.

She lingered outside Shi Lei's tent and found Mr. Broca sitting on the ground like a statue.

His size was enormous, and with his heavy armor, an ordinary chair simply couldn't support him. In the past, when he was on the Ursus Icefield, he often sat on the ground.

Broca knew the Sarkaz's identity and was very unpopular with the Victorians. Even if they didn't say it, they felt a deep disgust and aversion towards them.

He saw no need to embarrass himself, so when he wasn't assigned any tasks, he would stand guard outside the tent, ready to be called upon at any time.

Amiya, do you need to speak with an adult?

As soon as the other party appeared around the camp, Broca spotted the little girl from Casters.

Seeing that she was lingering outside and not moving forward, he waited for a long time before taking the initiative to speak to her.

Amiya looked out over the tent; there wasn't a sound inside, so they must have gone to bed early.

After all, the Self-Rescue Army camp has no electricity, so you have to consider the battery level if you want to use your phone.

"Um... it's nothing serious. It looks like Doctor Zhongli is asleep. I'll come back tomorrow."

"Etc."

Broca, patting the empty space beside him to signal Amiya to come and sit down:

I have a few questions for you.

"Ah, okay, okay..."

She responded and walked to Wendigo's side. Her small body was less than a quarter of his size.

"What can I do for you?"

Broca stared at the frail-looking Casters through the hole in his Antler Helmet.

Years ago, the Cyclops prophesied about his race, saying that one day in the future, the last Wendigo would die at the hands of a young Demon King.

Currently, there are only two Demon King alive: Theresis and Amiya, the Exotic Demon King. However, the young Demon King should refer to Amiya, not Theresis.

Broca's loyalty to Shi Lei is as clear as day and night. Not only will he not change hands now, but he will also never change allegiance in the future.

He even hoped that his goddaughter FrostNova and the former guerrillas would follow the City Lord from now on.

Since he wouldn't betray them, his death at Amiya's hands reveals a very serious problem.

Rhodes Island will become an enemy of Liyue City!

Otherwise, he would have no reason to fight Amiya. Although the two sides are currently cooperating well and there is no sign of such a conflict yet, who can guarantee what will happen in the future?

What do you think of Liyue City?

Amiya was taken aback, not expecting him to ask such a question. After a moment's pause, she answered:

"It's great. It's a city without discrimination or prejudice. It's the only city I know where infected and non-infected people live together peacefully."

"If you were to become a powerful Demon King in the future, would you want to destroy Liyue City?"

Amiya was puzzled, and her doubts deepened.

"Destruction? No, why would I do that?"

"I mean, if... if you grow up, will you have the idea of fighting for this city?"

Broca spoke very seriously, not at all like he was joking.

Amiya noticed this and sensed that the other person's emotions were a bit off, so she shook her head in denial:

"No, I don't know why you're asking this question. But Liyue City was founded by Mister Zhongli. Who can take Liyue City away from him?"

Broca pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement, finding the statement quite reasonable.

With Shi Lei's abilities, he is unmatched in the world. No one has yet been born who could take Liyue City from him. Unless...

The City Lord is no longer here?

Upon realizing this crazy idea, Broca stopped himself. He preferred to believe that the Cyclops' prophecy was wrong rather than believe that Shi Lei would meet with misfortune.

"Okay, then I have no other questions."

The next morning, Amiya came to visit.

I told Doctor Zhongli that the Shapeshifter wanted to see me, and about what happened on the rooftop last night.

Shi Lei didn't know the Shapeshifter and didn't know what he wanted from him, so he was prepared to refuse.

Learning that they possess collective memory and can change their height, appearance, and voice like Mystique from X-Men piqued my interest slightly.

"Alright, then tell it to come find me. I don't have anything else planned for today, so I have some free time."

Whatever the Shapeshifter's intentions, face-to-face communication is necessary to find out. With the Jade Shield providing protection, Shi Lei is completely unafraid of any underhanded tricks from the other party.

After Amiya confirmed his intentions, she took her leave of the tent, saying she was going to contact the other party.

A few minutes later, Alda came looking for her.

Seeing the joy on her face, Shi Lei wondered what happy event had happened.

But he quickly realized something was wrong, because their relationship was very ordinary, and they had exchanged no more than five sentences with each other.

If Alda has something to celebrate, she should share it with Vigna, with whom she has a closer relationship. At the very least, she should talk to people like Dagda and Morgan, not herself.

"Shapeshifter?"

"It is I."

Alda transformed instantly into a naive young man of about twenty years old, and took the initiative to explain:

"With that appearance, it would have been easy for you to enter and leave the camp. Mister Zhongli is truly amazing; you recognized me before I even introduced myself."

That was such an awkward attempt at flattery. Didn't you tell Amiya you were coming to see me?

Shi Lei didn't waste any words and went straight to the point:

"Speak, what do you want from me?"

The Shapeshifter bowed deeply, his attitude one of utmost reverence.

"I came here for an answer."

Shi Lei has read a lot of books over the years, but he's still far from reaching the level of the Rex Lapis.

"If you have any questions, just ask. My knowledge is limited, but I'll try my best to answer."

"Mister Zhongli, you are too modest. If you don't know the answer, then no one on this land knows. We, the Shapeshifter, have searched for tens of thousands of years without finding a satisfactory answer. What we want to know is, what is the meaning of our existence?"

Goodness, they're starting with a philosophical question.

He had considered why the Shapeshifter wanted to see him, but he never expected them to ask this.

Shi Lei put one hand to his forehead, as if he had heard the question, "Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?"

"This is a very abstract question. The meaning of your existence—that's actually two questions: the meaning of your existence, and the meaning of life itself. Which one do you want to know?"

The Shapeshifter remained silent, as did the countless clones scattered across the land.

They gathered the power of all Shapeshifter, attempting to find answers from this unknown being.

The unknown implies uncertainty.

The unknown means surprises.

"Mister Zhongli, could you please tell us about it? We have walked this land since the dawn of the Tiracaz civilization. We have witnessed historical changes and the vicissitudes of life. We are confused and bewildered. We have no interest in anything we know, and at the same time, we cannot find the meaning of our existence."

Shi Lei pondered for a long time, trying to recall the philosophical knowledge he had learned before his transmigration.

Seeing that he remained silent, the Shapeshifter did not rush to urge him. This problem had troubled them for thousands of years; how could they possibly understand it so easily?

The Long-lived Race have no shortage of patience. They eagerly awaited the answer from Mister Zhongli.

Time passed, and the camp remained silent. After an unknown amount of time, Shi Lei finally broke the silence:

Have you heard of the second law of thermodynamics?

"Ah?"

"In a closed and isolated system, entropy will never decrease automatically. Entropy remains constant in reversible processes and increases in irreversible processes."

"Ah??"

Seeing the Shapeshifter's blank expression, he felt that what he was saying was too profound, so he explained it in simple terms:

"In a closed and isolated environment without any external interference, heat always flows from high temperature to low temperature, and from order to disorder."

This process is irreversible.

For example, a cup of hot water will slowly cool down, and a piece of fruit will slowly rot. Water can only flow from high to low, and all things only last longer with use. A room will become increasingly messy if it is not tidied up, and weapons and equipment will rust if they are not maintained. All of this is the transition from order to disorder.

The Shapeshifter nodded as if he understood, but it was unclear whether he actually comprehended it.

"Please continue."

"Everything in the world will change from order to disorder, but only life is anti-entropy. To live is to fight against the Law of Entropy Increase. Life itself is a low-entropy state, so it must constantly take energy from the outside world to fight against entropy increase and maintain the low-entropy state. For example, a person will die if he doesn't eat food, and a plant will wither if it doesn't perform photosynthesis. This process is irreversible."

The meaning of life is to obtain energy from the outside world to combat entropy. Humans live to live, not to live for food.

If you believe that the very existence of life is a form of harm—for example, that humans need to kill other animals to survive—then in your worldview, the whole world will seem meaningless.

Death makes us realize that life is finite. It is precisely because our lives are finite that we are compelled to pursue the meaning of life.

The previous content had greatly benefited the Shapeshifter. However, upon hearing the later parts, he had a few small questions:

"Mister Zhongli, we have a question. As Long-lived Race, our lives are infinite. Is it only by truly dying once that we can find the meaning of our existence?"

"What you perceive as infinite is actually finite. You're just using the average person's lifespan of a few decades as a reference, which is why you think your life is infinite."

What is your definition of infinity? How many years? Tens of thousands of years, or hundreds of millions of years? A planet may exist for billions of years, but could you live that long?

The Shapeshifter were speechless; the collective memory paled in comparison at that moment. Because they were unable to judge unverified matters, they were naturally unable to refute them.

"Humans always have a self-destructive impulse. They like to destroy what they already have, such as family, friendship, love, and a peaceful life."

If you can consciously control this impulse, you might have a different experience.

There's a saying that goes, "Before I was born, who was I? When I was born, who was I?"

Upon hearing this, the Shapeshifter's eyes lit up immediately.

He silently recited the last sentence in his heart, savoring its meaning. He smiled and sighed, thinking it exquisite.

Then, satisfied, he clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply, showing great respect to Shi Lei:

"Mister Zhongli, we have learned a great deal."