Baiting Country.
Sunlight streamed into a sacred, solemn church.
Before a massive cross bearing the crucified Jesus stood heaps of data servers, stacked layer upon layer until they completely obscured the sculpture.
The indicator lights flickering across those servers were strangely eerie—not the usual red or green, but a hazy black glow.
It seemed to pose a thought-provoking question: what exactly was a god?
Intangible faith?
Or tangible yet incomprehensible technology?
Two figures sat on the wooden pews inside the church.
One was half-human, half-machine. The other was a phantom projected by equipment on the ground.
"Heh heh."
"Lord Attendant, did you see that? He's so furious now, yet completely helpless!"
The Apocalypse Association Chairman laughed fearlessly.
The light figure known as the Attendant said calmly, "You saw the look in his eyes at that final moment. Aren't you afraid?"
The next moment, a holographic screen lit up before them, displaying a frozen image of Liu Di from moments ago, his utterly furious gaze sweeping toward them.
The Apocalypse Association Chairman instantly recalled how Liu Di had nearly tortured him to death before.
His body trembled slightly.
"Heh heh."
His voice shook a little. "He... shouldn't be able to find us, right?"
The Attendant said nothing.
But the Apocalypse Association Chairman tentatively continued, "Back then, Lord Attendant, you hadn't awakened yet. I have to admit that Liu Di is very capable, but I fully believe that you should... be able to defeat him easily, right?"
"His body has long surpassed the realm of humanity."
"And he has intelligent assistance nearly akin to God's."
"He is almost invincible, and he has been constantly improving."
"But precisely because of that..."
The Attendant turned slightly. "He has absolutely no chance of defeating his future self."
The Apocalypse Association Chairman's eyes shifted as he