Rebirth of Life

"As expected, still not enough? This body of ours is too weak!"

Seeing that he couldn't pull the ring, his bones cracking, Great Emperor of Atabia felt no anger, only a trace of regret in his eyes:

"Our civilization's level, even after stealing the blood of God and using it to build the Tower of Babel, imitating the Giant Gods, still can't reach even one percent, no, one-thousandth of the true power of God's civilization level?"

"Then let's begin adjusting the muscle structure! Improving the stress distribution of the skeletal framework!" he began to say.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

With a command, the Tower of Babel that was the entire body's spine became the central command post. Running through the entire body, from top to bottom, the wise men of each civilization began calculating the stress data and computing a more perfect body structure.

Crack.

The body was constantly evolving as he continued to try and pull the ring on the can again and again.

"Your Majesty, our energy reserves are insufficient!"

"Our six days of lifespan have been reduced to less than four!"

"It's been two days."

"The genetic structure is accelerating its collapse."

"The arm structure is malfunctioning!"

"Your Majesty, your lifespan is less than two days! If we don't get more energy, we will inevitably—"

"The energy is right before us, yet we can't open the ring! Are we going to die on the eve of our success?"

"Your Majesty, muscle fibers are breaking again..."

"Your Majesty, we..."

A series of messages came in.

The next moment, the giant braced the canned beef with one hand and pulled the ring with the other, exerting all his strength, yet it remained unmoved.

The Chief Imperial Strategist said:

"Your Majesty, I suggest using the backup plan: World Annihilation. Destroy the fifty trillion inhabitants on the land, carry out a great extinction of seventy percent of the population! To supplement the immense nourishment for the Tower of Babel."

The entire room.

The ground was densely packed with buildings and creatures, even the walls were covered with structures and cities – all of this was immense energy.

"Annihilation, still annihilating seventy percent of the population?"

He stared blankly, as if he had returned to his fated path.

Great Emperor of Atabia became furious:

"I can't do it! I refuse! How could I possibly follow the destiny he planned for me?"

He began to pull the ring again and again, but was repeatedly exhausted, even feeling his consciousness gradually blurring. In a daze, it felt as if his entire being was on the verge of destruction.

Memories flashed by like a revolving lantern.

He suddenly recalled the day of world annihilation when his destiny completely changed. His close friend Herodotus, who had followed him all along, carrying the ark during the Great Flood, asked:

"Your Majesty, will we truly have peace in the future?"

"Of course! I am the most intelligent hero of this entire civilization. I will definitely kill all the gods in the sky so that everyone will never have to live in fear, never have to constantly worry about Outer Gods destroying our world."

"Your Majesty, can our dream truly come true?"

"It definitely can! I will lead you through this Great Flood and all future great extinctions, saving our people. As long as we are alive, there will be hope."

"Don't worry! I will definitely protect all my subjects!" Great Emperor of Atabia's face was filled with gentle radiance.

—Hmph, it was all a lie to you all.

For him, who was rebellious at heart, how ridiculous was it for his subjects to ask him to be a wise ruler, to be their spiritual belief, to protect all his people?

He felt no sorrow even if his subjects were wiped out! He just pretended to be a wise ruler, becoming their gentle, wise ruler, because his goal and the people's goal were the same: to defeat the inconceivable Outer Gods.

He had been arrogant from the very beginning. The moment he saw the Outer God, a strong, exhilarating thought instinctively arose: How did that thing exist? What was its structural form? Could I become it? What does the outside of the world look like? Could I challenge those beautiful, dazzling, inconceivable beings beyond the heavens?

"How laughable! To follow the path he laid out for me and annihilate seventy percent of the population? What's so scary about death? I refuse!!"

Great Emperor of Atabia couldn't help but roar in anger: "Begin adjusting the muscle structure! Improving the stress distribution of the skeletal framework! Boost all our strength!"

"But Your Majesty! We must be rational—"

"No buts!! Only the timid and cowardly would be beneath me because of this!" he said with utter mockery and scorn.

"If there isn't enough muscle mass! Embed the existing muscles into the skeleton and exert force from within!"

"If the bones are too fragile! Compress the bone structure, even if it means shrinking our size!"

"There will always be a way! There must be a way! I don't pity those people! Nor am I the benevolent wise ruler you always see. But if I eat my own kind, I will become a true waste! Unable to even take the first step, having lost all dignity, and following the destiny he arranged for me, what else is there to pursue!"

"If I can't even win the first step, then I'll never win in my life. It's better to just die now!!"

He roared loudly: "If we cannot become flesh-and-blood beings with sufficient ability! Then let's temporarily become skeletal beings! First, evolve ourselves into a form capable of exerting force to pull the ring!"

The intense consciousness of his entire being simultaneously controlled his body, cooperating with the structural evolution within. Essence, energy, and spirit underwent a qualitative change at this moment. The giant skull integrated into his lower body seemed to have completely merged with his physique.

He, this single cell, truly became the soul of the giant, controlling the neurons built around him, commanding the body's hands and feet.

Crack.

Crack!!

His entire body seemed to be erupting with power, bones reconfiguring, muscles rearranging for more efficient exertion, unleashing unprecedented strength, as if a ball of flame was burning within him, vitality constantly surging, flesh and blood dissolving.

Evolution!

Evolve, evolve, and evolve again!

His consciousness blurred, his soul trembled.

In the endless darkness, a beam of light seemed to flicker before his eyes.

He had obtained the bloodline of the Zombie Lord. This "alien creature" was utterly absurd; under his continuous evolution, its body began to melt, its skeleton condensed and shrank, its height reducing from 1.8 meters to 1.4 meters. Its muscles embedded themselves into its bones, exerting force like bas-relief sculptures.

"So this is true life! Genes aren't the sole expression; consciousness, courage, soul—all influence the genes and body. Genes and consciousness together, this is higher life!" He suddenly realized, as if mobilizing all his spirit, energy, and mind.

Roar!

He let out a furious roar, as if condensing the strength of all his muscles and bones into one point. With his waist and stance unified, he unleashed several times his current power in a condensed, potent burst, as if transforming scattered structures into a heavy mountain.

"Still not enough! The power isn't unified enough! Consciousness must evolve further!" he shouted, feeling the pull-ring finally begin to move. His muscles felt like a rope in a tug-of-war, requiring constant pulling.

"How is it still not enough!"

"Why! Why is it still not enough!!!"

Crack! The muscles within his body exploded, bones reshaped, bone marrow made way, and muscles densely wove into the skeleton to aid in exertion, the sounds of crackling and popping echoing continuously.

Inside the Tower of Babel, the wise ones scurried about, adjusting the structure.

Boom!

The next moment, the can was completely opened, and water surged forth.

The giant couldn't help but gulp down large amounts of beef and broth. The abundant, sweet nutrients replenished him, as if all the efforts of their previous civilization were rewarded at this moment.

In this moment, they were like humans on Earth building telescopes, glimpsing the brilliant, boundless starry sky, a new future.

"We won! The Atabians did it!!"

"Your Majesty! You are our new God! We pulled it open, we successfully stole the food of the Gods!"

"Analyzing! Absorbing nutrients!"

"Energy replenished, your lifespan is recovering!"

"Six days, eight days, nine days!"

From all the Atabians within the Tower of Babel came a thunderous roar of cheers. Their civilization rejoiced; they had broken the curse of death. They had finally opened the can, obtaining enough nutrients to build abundant flesh and blood.

"..."

Li Qing was also rendered speechless by the sight.