The Whole World Opened Fire on Me

In the laboratory.

Lin Tuo held the Extraordinary Ability item covered in cracks, his emotions complicated.

According to the information provided by the Evolution Sandbox, this thing seemed to be some kind of strange artifact naturally born from the scouring of the "Spirit Tide," though its principles were unknown.

If he had to make an analogy, it was roughly like a demon self-birthed between heaven and earth. Only, it possessed no life and was merely a dead object.

Tracing it back to its roots, its birth was also related to his collection of Aether.

As for its abilities, they were similar to the legends. It truly could influence the minds of living beings, but it also came with many restrictions.

Whether it was the range, the number of people it could control at once, or the duration of the hypnosis... there were numerous limitations.

Considering its effects, it had clearly become a tool of the Mad Emperor's rule.

With a little thought, one could tell that he could have used this item to control the council members and forcibly push through certain decrees.

That explained why producing Annihilation Bombs at such great cost and hardship had not truly shaken his rule.

It also explained why those researchers had willingly conspired to destroy the world.

Compared to that, what caught Lin Tuo's attention more was the Secret Seal's "negative effect."

"It will exert a certain mental influence on the holder... amplify emotions... cause madness..."

Mulling over that information, Lin Tuo's heart tightened.

Previously, he had always been somewhat puzzled, feeling that the Mad Emperor's actions were incomprehensible.

Although, in Earth's real history outside the Sandbox, there had also been many mad rulers whose actions were utterly illogical and astonishing beyond belief...

Still, an emperor who had overthrown the Dachi Dynasty through his own efforts should have retained at least some attachment to his own realm, no matter how insane he was.

Yet he had destroyed it so decisively, with a terrifying degree of obsession.

Now, it seemed that the Secret Seal might well have contributed to it.

"Mm... if my guess is right, after the Mad Emperor first obtained it, he must have used it frequently to help maintain his rule... After all, with the New Dynasty only recently established, it would not have been easy to stabilize things quickly...

"During its use, his mind was gradually corrupted by the Secret Seal's negative effects, and some of his original emotions were amplified... making him more and more obsessive.

"That was what ultimately brewed this tragedy..."

"Or rather, while he was hypnotizing others, he had long since hypnotized himself without realizing it."

Having figured this out, Lin Tuo sighed inwardly, and much of his curiosity toward the Secret Seal cooled.

If he had previously considered taking it away for Daily Life use,

then after learning of its negative effects, that desire faded.

"Heh. Besides, in its damaged state, it probably couldn't be used more than a few times anyway..."

According to the Evolution Sandbox's analysis, this thing was already severely damaged. At most, it could probably be used once or twice more before becoming useless.

"But it isn't entirely without value. At the very least, before it is destroyed, it can still help me do some things. Using it only once will not contaminate my mind; that is within a tolerable range."

Lin Tuo rubbed the Secret Seal, and his eyes gradually lit up.

He had not forgotten that his purpose in entering the Sandbox was to understand the situation so that he could decide what to do next. Body Tempering had merely been incidental.

Over the past few days, through his observations, he had also been considering how to deal with the Sandbox.

If he simply allowed it to slowly recover, who knew how long that would take? Moreover, Lin Tuo was gradually becoming dissatisfied with the area of Sandbox No.1.

Three hundred thousand square kilometers sounded vast, but for a civilization, it was truly far too small.

What he could not bear to lose was the life here.

Yes. Through his observations, Lin Tuo had almost joyfully realized that these people possessed immense potential for growth, though they themselves did not know it.

Especially those Evolvers.

One had to know that just thirty years ago, they—or their parents—had merely been ordinary people with normal genetic sequences, possessing nothing unusual.

Yet only a few decades later, the life born on this land had begun to possess all kinds of Extraordinary Ability.

Even though those abilities were still very "basic" and "simple," they signified something extraordinary.

One had to know that these people did not understand the Qi-Eating Method. Their abilities had evolved purely on their own. They were extremely precious "new species"!

To make an analogy, they were like exceptionally outstanding "seeds" that had accidentally appeared in a laboratory petri dish...

They were precious "genetic seeds" that had survived layer after layer of selection amid harsh conditions, among their deformed kind.

There was tremendous coincidence involved in this.

Lin Tuo highly suspected that this was related to the strange "radiation" of the so-called Annihilation Bombs. Perhaps it also had some mysterious connection to Aether, just like the appearance of this "Secret Seal."

The Secret Seal and these Evolvers were both unique new things born from Sandbox No.1's unique course of development.

If he destroyed it and started the Sandbox over from scratch, would Evolvers still evolve?

Uncertain!

Therefore, Lin Tuo had been thinking about how to preserve these people and then transform the environment.

From the perspective of benefits, giving the Evolvers better living conditions and expanding their population could very likely produce some interesting things that he could use, such as "superpowers."

From an emotional perspective, they were living people—humans of flesh and blood, just like Lin Tuo. Moreover, they had countless ties to him, so he likewise needed to treat them cautiously.

That was also why, when he had previously been surrounded by the Three Major Powers, he had never chosen to kill them.

One had to know that those people were all Evolvers, the elites of this Wasteland.

He could not bear to!

Thus, Lin Tuo had always been thinking about how to preserve them. He had also drafted several plans in his mind, though there were always certain details he could not resolve.

But now, this Secret Seal gave him an idea.

"Perhaps... if I make good use of its remaining value, it can help me solve this problem."

Lin Tuo murmured inwardly and began calculating the feasibility of the plan in his mind.

But just then, his expression suddenly changed slightly.

Through a Consciousness Switch, he abruptly discovered that outside this mountain peak, in the direction of the continent,

the Three Major Powers had actually followed the path he had cleared and rushed over, about to approach the laboratory.

"Tch, they really are like clingy little shadows."

Lin Tuo sighed softly inwardly, somewhat helpless.

"Ah, someone's coming!"

At that moment, Hua Xi, who had run to the entrance to stand watch out of boredom, noticed it as well and cried out.

Lin Tuo put away the Secret Seal, turned around, and walked straight toward the gate.

He passed through the long tunnel and stepped out through the gap in the towering metal doors. A freezing wind blew straight into his face, while heavy snow swirled through the sky.

On the platform before the metal doors, Hua Xi clutched her rifle nervously. Only after seeing Lin Tuo emerge did she let out a slight breath.

"Look! They're over there!"

Hua Xi raised her short arm and pointed ahead.

Lin Tuo looked up and saw dense masses of figures appearing atop the surrounding mountain range beyond the snow-covered valley.

South, central, north... nearly all the elites of the Three Major Powers had arrived at once.

Along with them came countless firearms and even cannons from the armies composed of Evolvers.

Yes!

Cannons!

Under the dim sky, Lin Tuo clearly saw the soldiers laboriously pushing small mortar-like weapons to the mountaintops, adjusting their muzzles and trying to aim at the solitary peak where he stood.

Others carried weapons that looked like RPG launchers.

They had all been found among the ruins of the mountains.

The Great Western Continent had once been the Empire's largest weapons manufacturing and research base.

Thus, such things had never been lacking here.

At this moment, when the leaders of Blaze, Gray Mountain, and Floating Apocalypse discovered that Lin Tuo had beaten them to their target and that the Secret Seal had very likely already fallen into someone else's hands,

even though they knew Lin Tuo possessed some kind of teleportation-like ability, all they could do was temporarily join forces and raise their weapons.

"He's appeared! He really has already gone inside!"

At Burning Fire Company's position.

The somewhat effeminate-looking chief executive stared fixedly at the solitary peak ahead, his eyes full of vigilance and fear.

Thinking of the terrifying power of the Secret Seal from the legends made his heart sink even further.

"Even superpowers have limits. He cannot possibly use it repeatedly in such a short time. I refuse to believe he can still escape!"

Floating Apocalypse's backer was unexpectedly a middle-aged woman dressed in black and crimson robes. At that moment, she spoke with a solemn expression.

Yet it sounded more like she was comforting herself.

To the north.

The leader of the Gray Mountain Group, a gray-haired middle-aged man, wore an expression as still as stagnant water. Gazing at the solitary peak and the two figures, one large and one small, he merely issued a brief command:

"Adjust the muzzles. Prepare to bombard the mountain!"

Atop the solitary peak.

Watching the countless soldiers raise their guns and cannons at once, aiming them at where they stood,

Hua Xi said anxiously:

"Let's go quickly, teleport away!"

Yet Lin Tuo merely shook his head.

Hua Xi froze, then seemed to think of something. Her tiny body trembled.

"You can't teleport anymore? Your superpower can't be used continuously?"

After saying that, she immediately panicked and reached out to grab Lin Tuo's clothes.

"Then let's hurry back into the laboratory and hide! They won't be able to blast through the mountain wall anytime soon!"

Yet Lin Tuo did not move at all.

"No need. We'll stand right here and go nowhere."

Lin Tuo spoke calmly, the corner of his lips even lifting into a faint smile.

Hua Xi stared at him blankly, her eyes filled with confusion.

But over these past days, she had grown accustomed to the strength and mystery of the young man beside her. Hearing this, she truly calmed down and stopped being so nervous.

She merely moved closer to Lin Tuo, her face pale, before suddenly thinking of something.

"Ah, do you want to use the power of that Secret Seal?"

"The Secret Seal does need to be used, but it shouldn't be wasted on something like this."

Lin Tuo smiled and winked at the little girl. Then, facing the gun barrels of the entire world, he raised his head, looked toward the dark sky, and said softly:

"I have a simpler method."

As he spoke, the light in his eyes suddenly dimmed. At that moment, he switched his consciousness back to his main body!

Lishan Martial Arts School, inside the study.

Lin Tuo, who had been lying peacefully in the Rattan Chair, slowly opened his eyes. Then, unhurriedly, he raised his hand and picked up an item that had long been placed on the table.

It was a bowl, a crystalline bowl that seemed utterly free of impurities.

Not long ago, he had sent his Avatar to Yangcheng City to buy food, and had conveniently purchased it from a gift shop.

He remembered that the clerk had said it was called a "Glazed Lamp," pure beyond compare and without the slightest pattern, symbolizing the purest heart.

At that moment, Lin Tuo held the Glazed Lamp in his hand and slowly rose. Fixing his gaze on the solitary peak beside the sea within the Western Mountains of the Sandbox, he smiled faintly.

"This should do it."

As he spoke, he casually lowered the transparent bowl over that solitary peak inside the Sandbox.

Within the snowy mountains.

Thousands of pitch-black gun barrels and cannon muzzles had already aimed at the figures on the solitary peak. Yet just before countless shells flew toward it,

the dense clouds in the lofty sky abruptly churned and boiled!

An incomparably enormous, crystal-clear Glazed Lamp seemed to fly in from outer space, tearing through the sky of this world and crashing down, steadily covering the solitary peak that had drawn the attention of all.

The next second.

Countless shells and blazing fire shot into the sky, tracing beautiful arcs as they crossed the shattered earth and deep valleys, plunging toward that incomparably magnificent, incomparably beautiful, and incomparably sturdy "shield."

The mountains were illuminated at that moment.

Shell after shell exploded against the outer surface of the Glazed Lamp, without stirring even a single ripple. They merely lit up the sky, falling into human eyes like a grand and dazzling fireworks display.

On the solitary peak.

Hua Xi, already dumbstruck, felt her trembling hand being pressed down as Lin Tuo's gentle voice echoed by her ear.

"See? This is enough."

Thanks to book friends: Yun Xiao Miao Is Sleeping zZ, addictedloss, Carelessness Is a Sin, Buy Me a Bottle of Sweet Water I Won't Drink It I'll Wreck It, Bread84, Huaji Great Heavenly Lord, I First 233333, Li Shipu, Guimian Fox, Pianque Jiu Bu Nvzhuang, Ling DJ, Seven-Year Little Bookworm, Youling, Two Portions of Chicken Cutlets, Xuewu Feiyu, fresh-ink, Book Friend 2019...1983, for your support with rewards.