Full of Life / Are You Willing? ...

The anchor point closed, Mei's astonished expression vanished into thin air.

The shadowy figure's distorted posture and twisted attack came to an abrupt halt after severing Lin in half at the waist. Her neck bent at an unbelievable angle as she looked at Lin, who had been cut in two.

She didn't attack the realism of the object.

As "Lin's" body collapsed, the light and sound effects completed their final task and disappeared into the air, while another person rushed in from behind before the light spots had completely disappeared.

"Despair--"

The shadowy figure belatedly tried to swing the scythe again, but the person's speed was so fast that it exceeded her reaction time. Before she could even raise her hand, she was kicked in the back of the hand by the other party, and the terrifying force caused the scythe to slip from her grasp.

The calm, azure-blue viewing window lit up at that moment, and Lin grabbed the dark figure's head, lifting her off the ground.

The Black Mist that had been spreading around them tried to protect the shadowy figure and attacked Lin, who had captured it. But just as it was about halfway gathering on Lin, the Black Abyss White Flower that had been joined together in his other hand emitted a dazzling white light, instantly dispelling the Black Mist.

After the Black Mist dissipated, the true face of the shadowy figure captured by Lin was revealed.

"..."

No one could see the expression on Lin's face beneath his helmet.

In that brief second of eye contact with the shadowy figure, he was filled with too much surprise and confusion. In the shadowy figure's eyes, he saw himself as cold and ruthless, a person wearing a helmet and without a face.

For a fleeting moment, he even had the illusion that he might need to sit down and talk to this person, perhaps...

Fortunately, there aren't that many "maybes," so there's no need to overthink it.

"Bass!"

The abyss Abyss Flower blocked the claw aimed at his heart, while another claw stabbed towards his face, forcing Lin to release his grip and retreat.

As soon as the distance increased, the dense Black Mist of death reappeared, and this time it moved extremely fast, almost filling the space in just a few seconds.

The scythe he had knocked away disappeared, replaced by a pair of floating crimson claws in the shadowy figure's hand. Lin quickly calculated the time it would take for the Black Mist to envelop the entire space, realizing that fighting in this space would likely be severely restricted, which was too advantageous for the shadowy figure.

So Lin dodged the claws once again, then plunged the Black Abyss White Flower into the ground. A towering tree burst forth from the hole in the ground, binding the shadow with branches and confining it to the treetop, nearly a hundred meters high.

The trees began to age and wither the moment they came into contact with the Black Mist. Lin knew this was of no use to the shadowy figure, but it was enough for him to change the location of the battle.

The size of each space in the Imaginary Tree varies. Spaces such as laboratories, sacrificial sites, and rest rooms are relatively small, since their owners are the source of memories for these spaces, and they are all of a relatively cramped type.

There are even more other battlegrounds in the Imaginary Tree.

Lin's authority allows her to turn the space's anchor points on and off, but the shadowy figure ignored the teleportation anchor points beforehand, moving through various spaces like an electronic ghost. Lin only found her after she set her sights on Raiden Mei.

A teleportation point opened behind him, and he leaped into it. Then the point reappeared above the giant tree, swallowing the shadow.

"Bang!"

The two landed together in the boundless space where "Lin" had once been. Before Lin had much time, the shadowy figure immediately drew his sword and charged forward, his killing intent raging.

Lin Yi wielded his lance with ease, deflecting attacks flawlessly amidst the flashing blades. He observed the shadowy figure's movements and abilities to see if they matched his memory.

The exact same movements.

Although the Authority of Creation was not used, the Authority of Withering, though much weaker, was still exactly the same.

It is virtually impossible to use fake Divine Key to fight against the true Herrscher Authority, so Lin initially judged that the shadowy figure was also a fake Herrscher, and that she was similar to himself, just a memory.

But he couldn't possibly be unaware that a Herrscher's memory exists in the Imaginary Tree.

And the information he was unaware of was absolutely unknown to the others in the Imaginary Tree.

So the problem lies outside of the Imaginary Tree.

World Serpent? Or Raiden Mei?

Lin tilted his head and slammed the dark figure into the ground with a swinging punch, then kicked her a hundred meters away.

No, this is probably not a problem "now".

After noticing the shape of the shadow and its apparent self-awareness, Lin ruled out the possibility of a change in the current civilization. The appearance of the shadow should be related to the Previous Civilization, most likely due to an additional situation occurring when the main body and the memory body were synchronizing their memories.

Are High Council of the Moth of Flames...?

No, they cannot disturb the Imaginary Tree.

So it can only be... Plum?

The shadow's power was not at its peak, and the Black Abyss White Flower in Lin's hand was merely a counterfeit. Logically speaking, Raiden Mei, as Perfect Herrscher, should have been able to contribute a lot to this battle, but Lin always felt that things were not so simple.

Is there anything we've missed?

Just as Lin was fighting the shadowy figure, another figure quietly appeared behind him.

Where is this place?

She wandered aimlessly along the narrow path. The amusement park had many similar paths, and this quieter path was a resting place for visitors who wanted to enjoy a moment of peace after playing.

The cobblestone path beneath her feet was uneven, and she felt a stinging pain when she stepped on it with her bare feet. But once she became aware of the pain, the pain in her feet disappeared instantly.

Some bright flowers bloomed by the roadside. When spring came, all kinds of flowers competed for beauty. She was also attracted by their vitality and beauty, bent down, and reached out to touch the petals.

"Whoosh..."

However, before "her" fingers even touched the flower, the delicate purple blossom turned into a clump of black debris in the wind, which scattered and crumbled with the slightest breath.

She paused, then tried to touch the other flowers, but all of them withered and weathered. She turned her head and saw that the flowers, trees and shrubs along the path she had come from had all withered. The once vibrant tree-lined path had become a dry, sandy landfill.

That's not how it is... "She" didn't want to hurt these children...

She became somewhat anxious, and then another force within her began to emanate from her feet.

"Sizzle—"

A swaying crimson flower blooms in the gentle breeze.

Under "her" delighted gaze, all the withered and dead plants grew and bloomed again, emitting an even richer life force than before, instantly restoring the place to its previous state.

That's great, "she" never intended to hurt anything...

By the way, since plants can be revived, then...

Chapter 73: Are You Willing??

If this power can revive plants and make them even more beautiful, what about animals? Can other life forms also use this power to achieve revival?

A strong obsession occupied "her" mind. With almost no hesitation or consideration, or rather, the rationality that should have been there vanished without a trace, "she" was driven by instinct and used that unparalleled vitality to outline the lines of a person.

Soon, a human body was formed; relying solely on memory, "she" completed the creation of a person.

Under "her" expectant gaze, the person stood up.

"Little Soul?" The man looked at her in confusion.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she burst into tears and threw herself into the man's arms, sobbing, "Mommy... it's so good... I finally... I finally saw you again..."

She was finally able to overcome death.

No more sorrowful sacrifices will crush humanity, and no more merciless deaths will sever the bonds between people.

Next, "she" will bring all the dead back to this world; they belong to this world, and no one can take them away.

No one can.

In a lush, dense forest, tears streamed down the face of a short-haired girl, her red and black skirt fluttering in the woods, and a sense of sorrow permeated the air.

She hugged the menacing Honkai zombie in front of her tightly.

"The Sixth Herrscher... has disappeared."

Spasi was shocked by this sudden news. One second he was directing the downing of the transport plane, and the next he received a report that the Sixth Herrscher's reaction had disappeared. The transport plane was stopped in the sky above the city, and only one human was left inside, namely the Chairman.

After arriving in the city, the Sixth Herrscher left the transport plane, and the massive Honkai Energy reaction also disappeared without a trace.

What does that mean?

An existence that could cause death simply by existing had quietly hidden itself in a city with a population of ten million?

"Where is the Speaker? How is the situation?" After a brief moment of distraction, he immediately realized that now was not the time for shock and fear. He had to find the Sixth Herrscher and deal with everything before that.

"His vital signs are very weak, his organs have been severely eroded, and his heart has been completely eroded, making it impossible to perform surgery on him," the person reporting truthfully replied. "He will die in a few hours at most, and will not be transformed into Honkai zombie or Honkai Beast."

Spasi had anticipated this situation. After a brief pause, he directed, "Take him to the Fifth Branch and send him to... the Honkai Sickness Serum Research Lab."

The speaker slowly woke up, his eyes nearly blinded by the glaring light. Endless fatigue and pain surged from his body into his brain. He felt fortunate that he was still able to wake up this time.

"Hello, Speaker." A person stood beside him, who was communicating with others through a communicator and looked extremely busy. "This is the first time we've actually met, but I think you should be quite familiar with me. Judging from your thorough understanding of the Fifth Branch's serum research, you've probably been following me for quite some time."

"One year? Two years? Or... did it start before the destruction of the former Fifth Branch?"

Spasi put away his communicator and looked down at the expressionless Speaker with a cold smile.

"It seems you've investigated quite a few things in private." The speaker's voice was hoarse and almost a whisper, but his eyes were exceptionally hard, showing no fear of Spasi's undisguised killing intent.

"External intrusion...heh..." Spasi chewed on the word, seemingly dismissive. "Do you think that if Lin can detect it, I can't?"

"But this wasn't something you discovered through your investigation, was it?"

"Doctor Mei generously shared the clues she collected with me." Spasi did not deny it, then sneered, "Do you still want to live now? I do have some tricks that can help you live a little longer, but whether that counts as truly 'living' is something I can't say for sure."

Want to vent your anger?

"Forget it. The person I vented my anger on is currently dragging a body even more wretched than yours, preparing to fight the Herrscher. And you, a traitor, a bastard who killed your fellow humans, a piece of scum who destroyed everything that the sacrifices brought, actually have the nerve to ask me for help, wanting to live."

After saying this, Spasi revealed a cruel smile, "Do you know why I would tolerate you lying here instead of sending you to the Herrscher who betrayed us with you?"

The speaker closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You're planning to torture me."

"Huh? Was there something wrong with what I just said? I already said I'm not going to do to you what you've done to other people." Spasi picked up the communicator and glanced at the information from the investigators, who hadn't responded yet.

"So you want to save me? To use the serum on me?"

"Hahahaha... When all the answers are denied, the least likely answer becomes the only answer. Is that what you think? But unfortunately, for both reason and emotion, I will not test the serum on you to see if it works. I placed you here for only one thing."

Spasi looked down directly into the Speaker's eyes. His past sorrow, anger, and despair had all settled deep within him, and now the only thing visible to others was a pair of cold and resolute eyes.

Like the eyes of a plum blossom.

"After Honkai Sickness dies, there will be serum in their body that has a therapeutic effect on Honkai Sickness. This serum can be extracted and used to provide partial relief, but the effect is minimal and not as good as traditional inhibitors."

"However, as the amount of serum extracted increases, its ability to inhibit Honkai Energy gradually turns into its elimination. In other words, when the amount of serum reaches a qualitative change, it can truly cure Honkai Sickness."

"But I don't know exactly how many. So far, we have extracted serum from tens of thousands of Honkai Sickness, but we still haven't succeeded. Now we are just one step away from success."

"Whether that final push results in the lives of one person, dozens, or hundreds is impossible to estimate, but any attempt is worthwhile."

"And you, Speaker, are you willing to give your life for the humanity you love?"

"Finally, this is not atonement, but merely your choice. If you choose to refuse, even if you die, I will not extract the serum from your body."

After listening to Spasi's words, the Speaker slowly closed his eyes, and countless madness vanished before his eyes.

The human, now stripped of his demonic exterior, smiled.

Chapter 74: The Night Road is Long

How long does it take for a person to die?

Spasi smoothed his hair, a cold light flashing in his eyes. A chill unique to researchers was brewing in his heart as he stared coldly at the man who had lost consciousness again.

If the heart, the body's pumping organ, is punctured and causes extensive damage, its pumping function will be severely impaired, and death will occur within five minutes.

Spasi harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Speaker. The reason he was able to calmly utter those words just now was merely because, as the head of the Fifth Branch of the Fire Moth, his mission was to create a medicine that could cure Honkai Sickness.

But once he shed his identity as minister, Spasi actually wanted to pierce the speaker's heart and nail him to the wall the moment he saw him, watching him slowly die.

From an identity standpoint, the Speaker is a traitor who murdered other High Council; from a moral standpoint, Spasi owes an explanation to everyone in the former Fifth Branch, including his wife and daughters.

His one-armed man picked up a pistol from the table and released the safety.

The room was quiet, completely different from the hustle and bustle outside.

"..."

Killing this man would also allow them to extract serum from his body, but it would only take a few hours, and any difference would be minimal. Meanwhile, Spasi could get revenge and end the long-suppressed knot in his heart.