Why the Emotional Recovery Happened

Xiao Fan immediately perked up his ears.

Unfortunately, after the Half God Demon Human finished speaking, no one present said a word.

The entire prison fell silent again.

Just as Xiao Fan was starting to get impatient, a Half God Demon Human finally spoke up.

"What does it matter if it's reliable or not? Do we have any other options now?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

Yes, do they have any other choice?

"Perhaps we shouldn't think so much. The people of the Shadow Realm are at least still pure humans. We are now just like them, with human emotions."

The one who spoke was the oldest-looking Half God Demon Human, and his words confirmed Xiao Fan's earlier guess.

The Shadow Realm is the only place in this world inhabited by pure humans.

Xiao Fan had found it strange before.

Whether they are robots, gods, God Demon Human, none of them possess true emotions. As for those Replica, their genes are only engraved with the missions given to them by humans.

How have these three forces managed to maintain a balance and survive in such a world for so long?

If there are still real humans on this planet, then everything can be explained.

"Do we now consider ourselves to have human emotions?"

A God Demon Human said self-deprecatingly.

He looked down at his chest, as if trying to see the God Demon Stone at his heart through the gray armor.

Can these people, who rely on so-called "divine and demonic power" for survival, even be called human?

"Get to the point!" Xiao Fan said anxiously from the side.

The backstory of this secret realm is too complicated. He can only learn more about the background events after he obtains the God Demon Stone.

"Speaking of which, the Shadow Realm and our God and Demon City are actually connected. If we hadn't let them leave back then..."

"Don't say that again!"

One of the God Demon Human barely opened his mouth when he was interrupted by the oldest one.

"We've only regained our emotions, not lost our memories. You all know the price those people from the Shadow Realm paid when they left."

"Rather than saying we let them go, it's more accurate to say... they resolutely chose to be spiritually Complete Human."

The others paused for a moment, but did not refute the old man's words.

Xiao Fan's eyes widened; he seemed to understand...

"Actually, I suspect that many people in the City of Gods and Demons have regained their emotions because of the disappearance of the divine and demonic energy," the old man suddenly whispered, guessing.

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions filled with surprise and disbelief. A Half God Demon Human opened his mouth, about to speak—

Thump!

The prison gates were suddenly kicked open.

In an instant, all eyes turned to the doorway.

A man stood outside the door, at least 1.9 meters tall, his exquisite gray and black armor gleaming faintly in the dim light.

His short, silver-white hair was neat and sleek, contrasting with his unusually serious face, his taut lips and straight eyebrows, making him look like a perfectly sculpted statue, without the slightest superfluous expression.

Who is this person?

Xiao Fan was beginning to have doubts.

"Dr. Xin..."

The Half God Demon Human elder gasped, his voice filled with barely suppressed surprise.

"Is he Dr. Xin?"

Xiao Fan was slightly taken aback.

The person in front of him was quite different from what he had imagined—he had thought he would be an old man with white hair, exuding the wisdom of time, but he hadn't expected him to be so young and aloof, even with a somewhat unreal sharpness.

It looks pretty cool.

Although I had known for a long time that the God Demon Stone could grant humans immortality, I still found it incredible when I saw it with my own eyes.

A pang of regret quietly crossed Xiao Fan's mind.

If the body in <Cloud Sea> isn't interchangeable with the real one, he might actually try embedding God Demon Stone into his in-game body...

The moment the thought crossed his mind, he was startled.

The power of gods and demons... Even a human like him, who knew a little about the inside story, couldn't help but be tempted, let alone God Demon Human who had lived in this world for a long time.

If it were him, faced with such temptation, perhaps he would have made the same choice back then.

Let's talk.

After a moment of silence, Dr. Xin spoke first, her tone devoid of any emotion.

The Half God Demon Human exchanged glances, and finally the oldest Half God Demon Human stepped forward.

"What do you want to tell us?" the old man asked.

"I can let you leave and go to the Shadow Realm, but you must help me find the resources needed for the Shadow Realm's development."

The new doctor said in a deep voice.

He knew the planet's conditions too well; he could no longer find any energy to power his God Demon Stone.

However, the fact that the humans in the Shadow Realm were able to develop so rapidly in such a short time is impossible without a huge amount of energy resources behind them.

Therefore, he guessed that the people of the Shadow Realm must have found a new energy source or acquired a large amount of resources.

These days, he and Yuan Yi from the Underground City have been searching for the energy source of the Shadow Realm, but they haven't received any news.

In the past, he might have launched a war against the Shadow Realm, or even cooperated with Yuan Yi to compete for the Shadow Realm's resources.

But now...

His lack of resources had rendered him incapable of waging war.

These Half God Demon Human were right. Many God Demon Human in God and Demon City are now gradually regaining their human sanity because they have not been able to recharge their divine and demonic power.

Dr. Xin doesn't like this! Rational God Demon Human are no longer the war machines they once were; they will be afraid and will back down.

As for Yuan Yi.

Haha, this robot is now in dire straits itself.

The Underground City is technologically advanced, and the resources it requires every day are astronomical.

But Yuan Yi dared not stop, for if he did, the entire Underground City would descend into chaos.

However, once the remaining resources are used up, Yuan Yi will fall into a complete slumber.

He heard that Yuan Yi was recently conducting some kind of experiment, trying to gain the ability to protect itself, at least to ensure that its consciousness did not fall into a deep sleep.

Dr. Xin didn't know exactly what experiment Yuan Yi was conducting, but regarding the City of Gods and Demons, after much thought, he could only come up with one solution.

The goal is to get these Half God Demon Human who have already made contact with the Shadow Realm into the Shadow Realm, find a way to locate the Shadow Realm's energy source, and then report back to it.

Only with new energy can the God Demon Stone replenish the divine and demonic energy within the body of the God Demon Human.

Once the God Demon Human have returned to being emotionless war machines, he will plunder the resources of the Shadow Realm and, incidentally, destroy Yuan Yi's Underground City.

Once the Underground City and Shadow Realm are gone, he will slow down the rate at which the God Demon Stone absorbs energy, allowing the planet to gradually restore its ecological balance.

Why should we listen to you?

The old man Half God Demon Human, said coldly.

His desire to go to the Shadow Realm was merely to escape Dr. Xin, to escape the City of Gods and Demons, and to escape the control that the God Demon Stone exerted over his human emotions, not to help Dr. Xin find energy and continue to control his emotions.

If that's the case, he'd rather die than go to the Shadow Realm.

"I remember your name is Peng Qing, right?" Dr. Xin suddenly spoke up.

The old Half God Demon Human was taken aback; he seemed surprised that Dr. Xin still remembered his name.

After all the people of the City of Gods and Demons were inlaid with God and God Demon Human God Demon Stone, they no longer addressed each other by their own names.

Peng Qing hadn't heard anyone call him by his human name in a long time.

After many years, I heard my name called again when Dr. Xin spoke.

How ironic.

"When I first proposed that everyone have God Demon Stone implanted in their bodies, it was met with opposition from the majority, who felt that implanting God Demon Stone in the body was a very dangerous act."

Dr. Xin spoke slowly about the past, but there was no trace of nostalgia in his voice.

"I remember you were the one who stepped forward. You said that humanity was about to be wiped out by Artificial Intelligence, so what did it matter if we had a stone implanted in our bodies? You said you were willing to be the first to have a stone implanted, even if it was dangerous, and you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the survival of Human Race."

"I remember on the operating table, your face was pale, and your body was trembling uncontrollably with fear, but you still persevered."

"Finally, the God Demon Stone was successfully inlaid. You gained extraordinary power, and you were overjoyed. You showed your power to everyone and persuaded them to inlay the God Demon Stone..."

"Stop talking!"

Peng Qing suddenly interrupted Dr. Xin.

"What? Have you forgotten who you used to be?" Dr. Xin retorted.

Xiao Fan:...

Dr. Xin is truly ruthless in his approach.

These God Demon Human may seem devoid of human emotions, but they are adept at exploiting them.

Peng Qing shook his head.

"I wasn't wrong back then. At that time, our Human Race was almost wiped out by robots. I had no choice but to embed myself in the God Demon Human."

"But over the years, you have continuously absorbed the planet's power, preventing it from restoring its original ecosystem. You have used the God Demon Stone to turn humanity into emotionless war machines."

"How are you different now compared to the Yuan Yi of the past?"

Peng Qing looked excited.

Xiao Fan: Well done! He applauded Peng Qing in his heart, just because he wasn't manipulated by Dr. Xin. Xin at all!

The past is the past, the present is the present. Different circumstances lead to different choices.

Of course, Dr. Xin is not someone who is easily persuaded.

"Peng Qing, they're all the same."

"This world is already riddled with holes. To restore its ecology, there can be no more war. Help me find out where the Shadow Realm's resources are. Once I destroy the Underground City and the Shadow Realm will remain. Our planet will be free of war, and we can slowly restore its ecology."

Dr. Xin remained expressionless as he spoke, but Xiao Fan sensed something was off.

"Perhaps this person is too different from what I imagined," Xiao Fan thought to himself.

Peng Qing: "Dr. Xin, give up."

"I finally came to my senses, and I don't want to go back to how I was before, and neither do they."

Peng Qing refused without hesitation.

Once he helps Dr. Xin find the resources and the God Demon Stone is fully charged, they will return to their previous inhuman form.

He doesn't want to!

He is not the real him without human emotions.

"What if... I told you a way to stop the God Demon Stone from controlling your emotions? Would you still be willing to help me?"

Peng Qing:!!!

Other Half God Demon Human:!!!

Xiao Fan:!!!

It's no wonder Xiao Fan was shocked; not being controlled by the God Demon Stone meant something.

This means possessing immortal life and terrifying divine and demonic power, all without having to pay a price.

Did these Half God Demon Human believe it? I certainly didn't.

Xiao Fan shook his head. "Where in the world is there such a good thing?"

Even if it exists, it'll be your turn; don't believe him.

Peng Qing indeed did not believe it.

He has been controlled by the God Demon Stone for hundreds of years. If he were to so easily believe Dr. Xin's words, then all those hundreds of years of his life would have been wasted.

"Don't you find it strange?" Dr. Xin suddenly asked.

"What's so strange?" Peng Qing asked back.

"The divine and demonic power within you is diminishing, so why are you regaining human emotions?"

"Because our emotions were previously controlled by the power of gods and demons, now that the power of gods and demons has diminished, our emotions have returned."

Dr. Xin:... That makes so much sense, I can't refute it.

"Peng Qing, human emotions cannot be controlled by the power of gods and demons. Previously, it was because our human bodies were too numerous to withstand the Dali of the gods and demons that our emotions were controlled."

"Over the past few centuries, as the power of gods and demons has continuously altered our human Constitution, our bodies have gradually become able to withstand that power, and our emotions have slowly returned. Haven't you noticed that over the years, many God Demon Human have actually begun to develop emotions?"

"This..."

Peng Qing turned around and exchanged a glance with the Half God Demon Human.

What Dr. Xin said... doesn't seem to make a problem.

Over the years, they have indeed discovered what Dr. Xin was referring to.

It seems that in recent years, most God Demon Human have shown some degree of human emotion.

Because it wasn't very obvious, no one thought much of it.

"Could what Dr. Xin said be true? After their bodies were improved by the power of gods and demons, that power could no longer control their emotions?"

The more Xiao Fan listened, the more unbelievable it seemed, and he began to doubt whether what Dr. Xin was saying was true.

After all, he had seen the furious state of the God and Demon City administrator at the city gate.

At the time, he thought the God Demon Stone could only control human emotions of happiness, but it turns out that they had unconsciously regained human emotions.

Next, Xiao Fan began to Fa Chou about the Shadow Realm.

If what Dr. Xin said is true.

These Half God Demon Human might very well turn against us, since the benefits that would come to humanity once the power of gods and demons lost its side effects are undeniable.

How can I trust you?

As expected, the Half God Demon Human believed it.

Dr. Xin seemed to have had this plan in mind all along.

"I can let you leave. You can go and check out the Shadow Realm first. You can contact me anytime when you've made up your mind, okay?"

After Dr. Xin finished speaking, she stepped aside.

"You can leave now, no one will stop you. You can also go find those two Replica, and I will let you leave together."

Upon hearing Dr. Xin's words, Xiao Fan was the first to leave the prison and stand next to Dr. Xin.

He had originally planned to go find Dr. Xin, and now it was perfect; he could leave with Dr. Xin later and maybe find the God Demon Stone along the way.

As Xiao Fan passed Dr. Xin, he noticed that Dr. Xin's brows furrowed slightly.

"Could he sense me?" Xiao Fan was secretly alarmed.

Fortunately, Dr. Xin didn't say anything.

Peng Qing and his Half God Demon Human exchanged glances, but ultimately couldn't resist the temptation and left the prison.

Dr. Xin's expression changed as they disappeared from sight.

"You... don't let me down."