War Zone Descends

The TV, hanging half-empty in the Sha County Delicacies shop, was diligently working.

The program on the TV was about exploration.

A bald, white explorer was crossing the land. On his journey, he observed a primitive tribe's hunt. The savages' spears, their control of fire, the feathers on their heads, and the coded footage of them eating raw meat and drinking blood—these primitives lived with great freedom and joy. After hunting came mating, day after day, year after year.

As the bald explorer bid farewell to the tribe, he said with a strong sense of superiority, "They are indeed joyful and free. It's a pity that, just like their food and shelter, I, a civilized person from the city, cannot enjoy such freedom and happiness."

When this sentence echoed in the shop's main hall.

Lan Yi lowered his head and glanced at the pork bone soup dumplings in front of him, which had been completely devoured.

Twenty years.

He had finally tasted this familiar flavor again.

Without superhuman senses, without the stimulation of Destiny Clusters, the satisfaction and happiness that ordinary people's five senses could generate in their brains were primitive compared to chemical euphoria. Yet, it made him yearn for it, a taste he wanted to savor again whenever he had the chance.

Although he didn't know who had inserted a coin when the game was heading towards a bad ending and was about to finish.

Asking if the game should continue.

Lan Yi's answer was, of course: yes!

"Since someone inserted a coin, let's strive for a good ending."

Inside the shop, Lan Yi was waiting for the final countdown to the War Zone's descent. Outside the shop, Ji Ning and Zhang Shouzheng were arguing fiercely.

"Why not try to win him over? He clearly doesn't object to our efforts. If we can gain his support, we can also make up for more regrets, correct more mistakes, and avoid more losses." Zhang Shouzheng didn't understand why Ji Ning had pulled him out.

Precious time was running out.

"He was just watching TV," Ji Ning said calmly.

"He's been watching TV all along..." Zhang Shouzheng stopped himself mid-sentence.

"The Destiny Clusters, Auxiliary Brain, and AI are all gone. We've all become reckless and irrational, falling into the trap of chaotic probability. In his eyes, we might be those primitives who eat raw meat and drink blood." Ji Ning seemed to have figured something out and spread his hands in relief, taking off his headset.

"Those were uncivilized savages," Zhang Shouzheng retorted instinctively.

"Yes, they are all uncivilized savages. The entire world is moving forward, advancing unscrupulously. If we try to stand still just because we are reborn, then in Lan Yi's eyes, we are savages."

"..."

Zhang Shouzheng said nothing more.

Since learning about the reborn individuals and the future drastic changes, a considerable number of people in the government had hoped to maintain their control, to control the War Zone and psionic cultivators. Their reasons were all righteous and impeccable. As for what they truly thought in their hearts... Zhang Shouzheng had the urge to initiate a great purge.

"Look on the bright side. At least we've already salvaged half of the biggest regret in the future," Ji Ning's attitude was very optimistic.

The biggest regret of the new era was Lan Yi.

Especially after he began world annihilation.

Many who had reviewed Lan Yi's past files wished they could travel back in time and twist the heads of those pests and vermin, throwing them into cesspools. How could such a gentle and kind working man be pushed to the point of taking up arms and killing indiscriminately? Was it that difficult to let others live?

"As long as we fully understand why Lan Yi wanted to annihilate the world, the biggest regret of the future will be mostly resolved."

"Time is almost up."

"I also need to prepare for my first trial in the Artificial Divine Realm. Let's all do our best. Don't forget the applications from Amerikan and the Dongyang embassy today. Those who meet the rebirth conditions are not just people from Star Han," Ji Ning patted Zhang Shouzheng's shoulder.

The hot summer wind blew incessantly.

Prosperity, peace, tranquility, elegance—these had always been the main themes of Magic City. The weather was clear, with not a cloud in the sky. Skyscrapers stood tall, and the bustling city was as usual.

However, in the next moment, this beautiful everyday scene was shattered by a piercing alarm.

Sudden air raid sirens echoed one after another. Within just a few seconds, they reverberated throughout the entire Magic City. The people of Star Han, who had enjoyed a long period of peace, were first met with confusion upon hearing the air raid sirens. They were at a loss for what to do with the continuous wailing sirens. Even those who knew what they were thought they were drill alarms, not air raids or the outbreak of war.

But soon, information from channels like television, mobile phones, radios, and computers proved that the sirens were not false alarms or drills.

This world was a massive makeshift stage, requiring everyone to stop all activities and stay put. This seemingly simple request was actually fraught with difficulties. Even with warnings and advance arrangements from the reborn, humans themselves carried immense uncertainty. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many accidents with absurd and laughable causes.

Reminders, warnings, arrangements, over and over again, an information bombardment.

But even with all this preparation!

The drastic changes about to occur in ten seconds would still cause numerous accidents.

Any small event, even a sudden muscle spasm in an arm, if it happened simultaneously to all eight billion four hundred million people on Earth, would be a terrifying disaster.

Perhaps a worker on a high floor of a construction site in Tian Zhu, due to a sudden interference, would accidentally drop the rebar that had just been lifted, causing it to whistle down from hundreds of meters high.

Perhaps a truck driver on a highway in Florida, Amerikan, driving steadily, would suddenly lose control of the steering wheel due to a sudden interference, causing it to spin violently.

Perhaps a soldier on the front lines at the Ice Fortress was disarming a landmine for a unlucky comrade. Due to the sudden interference and a severe shock to his mind, his originally steady hands would suddenly tremble, detonating the fuse.

Ten, nine, eight...

Lan Yi spent three seconds recalling his first trial in the Artificial Divine Realm. He remembered that the background of that Artificial Divine Realm was modern history.

Six, five, four...

Due to the quantum entanglement of the dimensional membrane, that Artificial Divine Realm shared many similarities with the story of the number one person in Jinmen. Saving the nation, self-improvement, rallying a million people to respond to a single goal—it was truly unforgettable.

Three, two, one...

That world happened to have Destiny Clusters that he could use, and the progress of combining Destiny Maps should be able to advance rapidly.

2050, July 11th, Milky Way Galaxy, Sagittarius Arm, Orion Arm, Solar System, Earth.

The War Zone descended!

Like breathing, like drinking water, like opening one's eyes, everyone on Earth felt that they had gained a new organ. Everything about this organ was so naturally integrated into their brains.