Deep in the rainforest, hundreds of villagers emerged one after another.
They stared blankly at the fallen trees and the deep craters in the open ground. Some remembered sleeping, some remembered the Druig summoning everyone, but after that, all that remained was chaos.
Chen Mo stood in the center of the open space, his eyes slightly brightening.
A vast spiritual force enveloped the entire village, erasing the commands the Druig had left in everyone's consciousness one by one. Those repeatedly modified perceptions were restored to their original state.
"Wake up, everyone. Your rainforest night tour is over."
Chen Mo snapped his the Snap.
A thought simultaneously appeared in everyone's mind.
Leave here.
The villagers were briefly stunned, then began packing their belongings. No one fought over them, and no one asked where the Druig had gone. They only knew that danger was imminent and they had to get to the nearest town as soon as possible.
Chen Mo did not control their actions; he merely eliminated the influence exerted by the Druig.
They will walk the rest of the way on their own.
After the last group of villagers left, Chen Mo closed his eyes.
The Druig's memories unfolded deep within his consciousness.
The traces of energy belonging to the Eternals had all extinguished, leaving only one faint trace remaining. That aura was hidden in South Dakota, surrounded by some kind of mental barrier.
The location, which was previously unconfirmed, has now been completely exposed.
"Last order, time to wrap up."
Chen Mo soared into the night sky, instantly piercing through the clouds above the rainforest.
South Dakota.
A remote farm.
The door to the wooden cabin was open, and a woman in a dark coat stood in the doorway. Her arms hung naturally at her sides as she gazed at the distant sky.
A loud explosion came from the sky.
Several arcs of electricity streaked across the sky above the farm, and Chen Mo landed a dozen meters away. The Shockwave from the flight created a gust of air that knocked the woman back several steps.
Ajak, having regained his balance, looked at the Cosmic Energy emanating from him.
Those scents were all too familiar.
The Cosmic Energy from Ikaris, Sersi, Thena, Gilgamesh, and other members of their race all converged on one person.
Ajak's last shred of hope vanished.
Are they all dead?
Yes, they're all dead.
Chen Mo smiled and continued.
"You're smarter than them; at least you didn't travel all that way to line up and die."
Ajak ignored his teasing.
" Sersi and the Sprite had no idea about the truth behind the Emergence, and Kingo had never participated in Arishem's decisions."
She looked at Chen Mo.
Why don't you even spare them?
"Because they just don't know now, it doesn't mean they'll never know."
Chen Mo walked into the farm.
"I can't be sure which side they'll ultimately be on, and I'm not going to gamble the whole world on it. Let's wait for you to hold a last-minute meeting and vote, and see if you'll treat the whole world like fireworks."
Ajak's lips moved.
"We have protected humanity for thousands of years."
"Just by casually killing a few Deviants, you can turn the hatchery into a nature reserve?"
Chen Mo stopped in front of her.
"And I do need their abilities. Amnesia, ignorance, or even a sudden act of goodwill won't make the value of being devoured vanish into thin air."
Ajak remained silent for a moment, then golden energy slowly emanated from his chest.
"Humanity's progress to where it is today owes a debt to us. We taught humans how to cultivate crops, helped them build cities, and repeatedly held off the Deviants."
"Then what?"
Chen Mo raised his finger and pointed it at his forehead.
"Why don't you take a look at where all the credit went in the end?"
The illusion spread along with the sound.
The farm in Ajak's eyes suddenly vanished.
In the dark starry sky, a blue planet is slowly rotating. Cities dot the continents, spacecraft traverse the clouds, and hundreds of millions of lives inhabit the surface.
The next second, a giant golden hand emerged from inside the planet.
The earth cracked open, the ocean plunged into the earth's core along the fissures, and cities collapsed in swathes amidst the tremors. Countless lives were swallowed up by the surging energy along with the entire civilization, not even having time to escape.
The scene continues to change.
The second planet was torn apart.
Then came the third, and the fourth.
Different civilizations, the same fate.
The Eternals cleanse the Deviants from those planets, teach intelligent life to develop, and allow the population and civilization to grow continuously. When the energy reaches the required level, the Celestials, who have been sleeping inside the planets, will awaken.
The so-called protection was, from the very beginning, simply a form of raising.
Ajak saw those memories.
That was the truth that Arishem erased after each mission.
A golden giant rose from the shattered planet, leaving behind only the floating crust and burning atmosphere.
The image of consciousness shattered with a deafening crash.
The farm reappeared before them.
Ajak's face had turned pale.
"These memories..."
"No doubt about it, they all come from your dead people, from planets you yourselves sent to the altar."
Chen Mo looked at her.
"Even if they remember nothing, they still deserve to die."
Ajak offered no further explanation.
She raised her hands, and golden patterns rapidly lit up along her arms. The Cosmic Energy accumulated over thousands of years surged forth, condensing into a dazzling screen of light in front of her.
She knew she couldn't win.
But they still had to fight, and a golden torrent shot out with a roar.
Chen Mo raised his right hand, using only his armor to defend himself without using any other abilities. The golden torrent seemed to crash into a wall of sighs, stopping in mid-air.
"Having to go through a process right before leaving get off work, your company culture is pretty stubborn."
Chen Mo clenched his five fingers together.
The torrent of energy suddenly collapsed, and a golden spear pierced through the light.
As Ajak tried to retreat, the spear pierced her abdomen, pinning her to the outer wall of the wooden house. Immediately afterwards, dark red blood streaked along the spear shaft and into her body.
Ajak gripped the spear with both hands.
Healing energy surged from his palm, and the flesh and blood around the wound rapidly recovered. However, the newly formed tissue was immediately broken down again by the Blacklight Virus.
The golden lines within her body faded one by one.
Memories, Cosmic Energy, healing abilities, and the means of communication with Arishem all surged into Chen Mo's body.
The last vital sign of the Eternals disappeared.
The dark red veins retracted into his palm.
Chen Mo closed his eyes and quickly sorted through Ajak's memories.
The Celestials will not easily give up their attention to Earth.
Once Arishem discovers the mass death of the Eternals on Earth, he will inevitably descend in person to check on Tiamut's condition. At that time, a god capable of delivering apocalyptic judgment directly from outside the planet is not someone who can be easily fooled with a few words.
"If everyone dies, I'll have to cover your shifts all by myself."
Chen Mo raised his hands.
Black and reddish substance spread outwards from beneath their feet, and more than a dozen bodies rose from the ground one after another.
Ikaris opened his eyes, and golden energy flowed through his arms once more. Sersi, the Sprite, Kingo, Makkari, and the others also gradually regained their original appearances.
They share the same aura, memories, and abilities.
Even the energy nodes left in the body by the Celestials were completely copied.
"Those who want to make movies should go back to making movies, and those who want to live in the rainforest should continue farming, but please don't go around leading people into remote mountain valleys to engage in cult activities."
Chen Mo looked at the clones.
"Everyone, act professionally and try to trick the boss into bankrupting the company."
The clones nodded, then ascended into the air, transforming into several golden beams that flew in different directions.
Ajak's clone remained on the farm, then turned and went into the cabin. The walls at the door, damaged in the battle, quickly recovered, and the lights inside were turned back on.
After all the arrangements were completed, Chen Mo was preparing to search for the Domo when a ring of golden sparks suddenly lit up in front of him.
The sparks spun and expanded, forming a portal.
On the other side, the stone steps of Kamar-Taj are covered with snow.
The Ancient One sat on the stone steps, holding a cup of hot tea in her hand, with an empty cup beside her.
Chen Mo glanced at the portal, then looked at the Ancient One.
"What a refined taste the Sorcerer Supreme has! Inviting people for tea, he likes to open the door and block the road in the middle of the night?"
The Ancient One raised his hand and filled another teacup.
I'm worried that contacting you during the day might slow down your meal.
Chen Mo stepped into the portal.
"I also need to thank you for cutting off the phone line across the street for me, but let's make it clear first, I just finished eating, so we'll skip the tea and snacks."
The Ancient One pushed the teacup in front of him.
Don't worry, this isn't about treating you to food.
He looked up at Chen Mo, his tone still calm.
"I want to talk to you about that one on Earth."