Pangu's Death

Li Qing was struck speechless.

No matter how he looked at it, this was far too absurd.

His gaze returned to the interior of the sterile isolation room, examining it carefully.

At the very least, nothing seemed amiss on the surface.

"Right."

Through the glass, Ning Guochang suddenly looked at the drop of black ink army moving freely across his desk. "Do you know what the 0.0023-gram civilization of troops under my control is saying right now?"

"They're talking now?" Li Qing asked curiously.

Ning Guochang spread his hands helplessly. "They can't understand our Sonic Vibration Communication. They're merely using a special kind of Consciousness Waves to communicate: beyond the wall of chaos, a vast and colossal Outer God is communicating with their Creator God."

They seemed able to sense consciousness.

They could not make out his human form, yet they could see that vast consciousness.

Li Qing fell silent. Staring at that speck of black mud, he said in astonishment, "Wait. Are you saying that, in their eyes, I'm also an Evil God?"

"Yes," Ning Guochang said.

Ning Guochang explained that the two humans were currently using their customary method of Sonic Vibration Communication, but in the eyes of those creatures, who could not make sounds, it was regarded as some mysterious, indescribable language of Outer Gods.

Moreover, merely listening to this Ancient God Language would blow away their armies.

Tear up their houses.

Stir up unimaginable world-ending hurricanes.

And bring corrosive, deadly acid rain with it?

Come to think of it, that made sense.

After all, someone's mouth was so close to the table.

"They really worship you," Li Qing said.

He would have bet that this was more astonishing than any delusional story he had ever heard from a psychiatric patient.

Even all the psychiatric patients in human history could not possibly have imagined anything more wildly fantastical than what had been described today.

This had raised the ceiling of psychiatric delusions.

If this really was only a delusion...

"The 0.0023-gram microbial kingdom I currently control all worships me quite a bit." Ning Guochang revealed a complicated smile, as though this was the only thing that had brought him joy amid the terrifying changes of recent days.

Li Qing asked, "What are you going to do next?"

"Commit suicide."

Ning Guochang drew a deep breath and voiced the decision he had long prepared:

"The new civilization in this room calls itself the Kingdom of Atabia, a nation ruled by engineers who represent wisdom. I will not be their Pangu, the origin of their civilization."

"I've had enough. I've had enough of these bizarre things. I want to perish together with them."

"Perhaps it won't come to that."

Li Qing analyzed calmly. "You can still struggle. There's nothing to fear from a bacterial civilization in the microscopic world. Even if they possess intelligence, they are still microorganisms. Just kill the awakened microorganisms."

The intelligence of these Single Cell organisms could not easily be inherited.

In other words, their descendants could not multiply it, and their numbers were fixed. They only had to kill those mutated individuals.

Though their numbers might well reach into the hundreds of millions.

Treat them as Cancer Cells; chemotherapy was feasible.

It was just that the process would be more complicated, and it would be impossible to eradicate every last one. They were even better than Cancer Cells at migrating and hiding.

So long as they possessed some intelligence, they would play hide-and-seek with you inside your body.

But while chemotherapy inflicted severe damage on the body, as long as their numbers were reduced to a safe level, perhaps they would no longer be able to whip up storms and waves.

"That is possible, but the greater possibility is that they will fight until the fish dies and the net tears. They'll create biological viral weapons, kill me—the giant—and make me collapse into their vast homeland. When one whale falls, all things are born."

Ning Guochang saw it clearly, his voice remarkably calm. "I no longer want to struggle."

In truth, he was simply too exhausted.

For someone with trypophobia, this had been mental torture comparable to cruel punishment from the very beginning.

His intense desire to survive had driven him to struggle, to live in a world of clustered horrors. Yet his suicidal depression had grown increasingly severe, until now, when every microorganism in his body had awakened.

He knew full well that he was beyond cure.

At that moment, the psychiatric patient on the other side of the window spoke in a drained, lifeless voice:

"I'll take advantage of the fact that they have not yet rebuilt their civilization, altered their biological structures, and wipe them out."

"I've arranged everything. I'll put on a sealed protective suit, lock myself in with them, shine Ultraviolet Radiation on the suit and spray it with alcohol, then leave this room, find an oil drum, and burn myself alive, perishing together with them."

"Right now, they are still ordinary microorganisms. Once these Single Cell organisms evolve over the next few weeks, if they somehow become resistant to Ultraviolet Radiation and alcohol, then we'll be in trouble."

Ning Guochang said, "You are the only person I can trust. I hope that after I kill myself, you'll help me dispose of the remaining microorganisms in this workshop, as well as take care of my affairs afterward. It shouldn't be too difficult."

Clearly, he had arranged everything.

Li Qing said:

"Though I would like to believe you, this is ultimately too unbelievable. For your safety, can you prove once more that your ability is real? It's a doctor's professional duty."

Ning Guochang gave a light leap, springing across the wall with the agility of a spider before landing back in his seat.

Li Qing shuddered in shock. After several seconds of mental turmoil, he finally sighed. "I understand. This overturns every life experience I've had until now. I really can't help you."

"I know." Sitting in his chair, Ning Guochang looked at the black speck on the table and pointed at them. "Do you hear that? They're cheering. They're calling me Creator God! I am their leader!"

"My previous life was humiliating and ugly, but now I am respected and worshipped by other simple creatures! They are even willing to sacrifice themselves and fight for me, to conquer kingdoms tens of thousands of times greater than theirs."

Li Qing said nothing.

"My parents are gone. They paid for me to study abroad, helped me build a family and career. The last time we spoke, they were still waiting for me to give them a grandchild, asking whether I was doing well, whether I had picked up some foreign girl to bring home. I... didn't dare tell them. Foreign countries were nowhere near as wonderful as they imagined. Then something suddenly happened to them, and now something has happened to me too. Soon, I'll go see them."

"But when I think about it, I don't really regret my life. Rather than live out this mediocre, aimless life in such a cowardly way, I'd rather be a god for a while. These subjects worship me and admire me. In my final moments, I was glorious, I was brilliant. Here, I am not trash—I am the glorious epic of their civilization."

"Anyone who lives earnestly is not trash," Li Qing said, still shaken, offering a word of comfort.

Comforting patients and easing their emotions was part of his job.

Though the bizarre events before him had made him somewhat forget his job.

"Yes, yes."

Ning Guochang looked open and at ease. As he spoke, he gradually returned to the simple, guileless smile he had worn when Li Qing first met those plain country folk.

After that, Li Qing and Ning Guochang no longer discussed the story of the mythical kingdom. Instead, they chatted about everyday trivialities—his past, his tragedy, and the simple joys of his childhood.

In the end, Li Qing did not know how he left.

His mind was completely blank.

For the rest of the day, he remained in a dazed, numb trance.

His friend called again and spent a long time asking about his return to China, but he could not be sure how much of it he had heard.

At the final moment of his life, Ning Guochang had actually chosen to tell everything to him, this psychiatrist.

Because only he had been willing to visit him.

In that foreign land, only Li Qing had treated him as a friend, respected him, and listened sincerely to him from beginning to end.

Unlike his mythical tales of zombie adventures and Pangu splitting heaven and earth, this ordinary story about himself had happened to many people.

This nation that appeared free was indeed free for certain influential figures at the top, who enjoyed brilliant, exciting lives of champagne and beautiful women. But for ordinary people in this country, it devoured people whole.

Li Qing had treated quite a few psychiatric patients here and listened to their stories of suffering. With almost no exceptions, they all shared one trait: poverty.

The joys of the wealthy each had their own flavor.

But poverty alone was the root cause of most acquired mental illnesses. The 996 grind of modern workers did not merely ravage the body—it ravaged the mind as well.

And was he himself not also carrying the pressures of society's lower strata?

Psychiatrists were under crushing pressure to begin with.

During the call, his friend had also noticed Li Qing's absent-mindedness and finally asked, "Have you bought your plane ticket?"

After hesitating for a moment, Li Qing replied, "I still have something to do. I won't be going back to China yet."

His friend was also a mental health professional and immediately sensed something was wrong. "No, something's off with you! Is there a problem with that patient of yours? Don't take it to heart.

People like us witness too much suffering. We can't truly pour our feelings into it. Haven't you seen how many colleagues end up depressed? Our profession is one of carrying heavy burdens as we move forward. The psychological pressure is greater than even the funeral home next door!"

After hanging up on his friend's comforting call, Li Qing remained silent.

Until one afternoon three days later.

Li Qing heard some news.

Someone had died by self-immolation.

It was said that he was Chinese. Combined with his prior psychiatric case history and a suicide note, the matter was handled simply enough in this country, where shootings were commonplace.

Another day passed.

Li Qing received an anonymous package.

Its contents were simple: there was only a single deep crimson Crimson Crystal Rhombus Core.

—This was the source of superpowers.

The instant he took the core, his mind went blank. His heart pounded wildly, and he swallowed hard.

Second Generation Zombie Lord's Authority.

Li Qing's mind immediately fell into turmoil. He kept recalling Ning Guochang's dazzling, fantastical stories. This crystal core was like a door to demons, perhaps an opportunity that could completely change his life.

Was he afraid?

A little.

Because he had personally witnessed the unbelievable civilizational myth within that workshop laboratory—the vast Creator God, murdered in rebellion by the people he had created.

Was he excited?

Of course.

This was a chance encounter that could elevate his class, a turning point in an ordinary life!

With his medical background, he knew how terrifying its potential was and how many tricks could be played with it.

So long as he controlled it well, he would be enough to rise among the people at the pinnacle of the world!

He could build an enormous power and an underground technology company, establish laboratories, secretly create microscopic civilizations, and drive the birth of the extraordinary.

Perhaps even...

Crack the origin of life and walk the path to immortality.

Without question, the development of modern human biology had been extraordinarily slow up to this point.

Human biotechnology had only just entered the realm of nanobots and nanorobots, while he?

It was equivalent to possessing nanoscale and microscale biological robots from the very start.

For any doctor with even the slightest dream, this was impossible to refuse.

Even if he was only a minor psychiatrist, he had once harbored the dream of becoming a great biology professor.