Truth Had No End, and Destiny Had Never Been Generous
The roots of the Conjugate Whisper Tree, having lost their nourishment, automatically detached from Cheng Shi's body and contracted back into the Void Rift.
The Grand Scholar, who had been full of anticipation, looked at the growth curve on the screen in front of him, which had already reached its peak, and his face was filled with shock and disbelief.
He couldn't believe it all, couldn't believe that he had messed up a theory that had been established in the department for hundreds of years.
He pressed a button with trembling hands, and as the alarm sounded, the surrounding glass curtain walls all dropped down.
The unrestrained, lush branches and leaves immediately stretched out and spread into the Experiment.
The swaying branches rustled, like a toddler learning to walk, reaching out to the Grand Scholar with vines and leaves, embracing him.
The Grand Scholar burst into tears the moment he reached out and touched those leaves!
That's wrong.
He was wrong. The Void Energetics was wrong, and the Tower of Reason was wrong.
No one knew that the Experiment would not yield results.
No one knew that a dream that had been held onto for over five hundred years would not come to an end.
No, maybe someone knows.
No, it should be said that God knows.
Perhaps they already knew all this, but they never warned them.
Cheng Shi finally understood why [Truth] had never protected His Believer throughout history, because He had long known that the research on the Void Energetics would yield no results.
Nothingness and existence will not allow Civilization to seize their Divine Authority.
Of course, "Truth" is also quite Indifference.
He watched as his Believer toiled diligently like Clown for over five hundred years, yet He never uttered a single word of advice.
Perhaps, in His eyes, these "fools" who are unaware of themselves and do not reflect on themselves are not worthy of His attention or His guidance.
But why would He, through the script of "Destiny," present His Believer with an ending without a conclusion in this Trials?
Showing great compassion?
To put an end to regrets?
Cheng Shi did not know.
He watched the Grand Scholar weeping uncontrollably, only one sentence echoing in his mind: what Kevi had just said.
"He is merciful. He wanted to use this method to allow me to complete the final step of the Experiment myself."
Haha, He is indeed "merciful".
He used this method to make the Grand Scholar personally shatter the illusion that had lasted for over five hundred years, making him realize:
They themselves, their predecessors, their teachers, their students—all the Scholar who dedicated their lives to this were fools.
How ironic.
His mercy was such that his followers, who had vanished into history, realized that they had completely gone astray on the path of pursuing the Truth!
The word "cruel" is insufficient to describe His Indifference.
This reminded Cheng Shi of a saying:
Truth is an eternal and unchanging law, devoid of any emotion.
And this is the best portrayal of Him as Cheng Shi.
His mind was racing with thoughts, and his expression was complex and unpleasant.
Cheng Shi looked at the "empty" Conjugate Whisper before him, and at the great Grand Scholar was weeping and wailing and almost fainting, and sighed heavily.
"Now look what's happened. The flowers are gone, the fruit is gone, the compromise is gone, and I..."
It'll be gone soon too.
Grand Scholar, may I ask you one last question?
If I pluck the leaves of the Conjugate Whisper, do you think they'll serve the same purpose as the petals?
Kevi lay half-reclined on the ground, clutching the branch in his arms, unable to hear anything anymore.
His blurry eyes gazed up at the dome-shaped canopy, and he seemed to see, at the highest point of that Conjugate Whisper, a flower shimmering with the vibrant colors of reality in full bloom.
When he blinked again, the colorful petals had withered, and beneath them, a transparent fruit, interspersed with mottled black light, was forming.
The Grand Scholar smiled with satisfaction.
"Look... look... it's blooming!"
It produced a result!
That is the fruit of Nothingness borne by the flower of existence!
We did nothing wrong!
Look! Look!
Our Experiment was correct!
Cheng Shi looked in the direction Kevi was pointing and saw that above the boundless, verdant "sky," there wasn't a single flower that existed, nor a single fruit that was Nothingness...
Ha, they've gone mad.
He chuckled, then looked down at Kevi, only to find that the last great Grand Scholar of the Void Energetics had already passed away.
But his eyes did not close.
A satisfied smile graced his face, and his raised arm pointed directly at the Conjugate Whisper, the one he had dedicated his life to...
It never drooped down.
No one knew that the key to the Wall of True Knowledge was actually the life of the Grand Scholar Kevi.
The moment he died, countless Bellringer Knights who had rushed outside the high walls and giant ramparts cheered and roared as they surged into this "impregnable" Void fortress.
Countless Scholar stood on the suspended walkways, neither alarmed by the enemy's invasion nor terrified of the deaths of their companions. They simply stood there, staring straight ahead.
Looking at the Experiment at the very top of the Experiment Field, watching the growth curve of the giant tree on the ubiquitous screens reach its peak and begin to decline, watching the Conjugate Whisper, which should have blossomed and borne fruit but remained Change...
They were like lost souls, walking corpses, with no hope left in their eyes.
"Impossible! This is impossible!"
"Why?! How could it be wrong?!"
"This is fake! I don't believe it, it's fake!"
"An illusion! This is chaos at work! It's the Bellicose Knights playing tricks!"
"Don't believe this, it's an illusion!"
"The Experiment is far from over! It's impossible for the Experiment to end without results!!"
No matter how much the Scholar wail and weep, the outcome will not change.
Chaos had already engulfed them, and the death knell had already tolled.
All they can do now is cry out in despair.
When the death knell tolls, let out a loud wail!
Just then, Cheng Shi's teammates who had stepped into the Scrying Mirror were finally expelled by the Nothingness.
They landed on the walkway near the highest Experiment. As soon as they landed, they saw more than a dozen Scholar with ferocious expressions running towards them.
These people's target isn't themselves, but the Experiment behind them!
"Impossible!
Experiment cannot possibly yield no results!
Even if someone tries to Muddling Through, Kevi won't be foolish enough to let someone take everything from him.
He must have hidden the fruit; he didn't have time to leave!
The outer perimeter has been sealed off!
Right now, he must be in this Experiment!
For the glory of chaos, we must obtain it!
Even these "chaotic" moles didn't know whether one of their own had interfered with the perceptions of everyone in the Experiment Field.
But they think so.
Because that's chaos; it needs no reason.
Ji Yue stood with her gun in hand, her brows furrowed, watching the madmen roaring and charging towards them, shielding everyone behind her.
"I saw Cheng Shi, he's inside, go and get him!"
We need to figure out what happened, and even without the flower petals, we need to get our hands on the first-hand Experiment data!
I can only buy myself three minutes.
"Don't waste my lance, let's go!"
She was like a female general issuing commands; with a wave of her spear, countless Void rifts appeared around her.
Looking through those gaps, one could see that the depths of that Void were a desolate battlefield, awash in blood...
Countless lances burst forth from the gaps, shooting forward and landing row upon row on the path, transforming into barricades to block the enemy.
Then, without warning, two large, jet-black hands appeared above the Scholar's heads and slammed down on them!