Shadow nodded. "The extraordinary beings in this universe possessed a Wilderness Body form in the Ancient Wilderness, but there were no insectoids among them. If it weren't for the 'wish,' the Insect Race in this universe should have been born from among the mindless Wilderness Beast..."
"And now, she was born from humanity, retaining emotions and intellect, which is why humanity in this universe is now safe and sound."
As they spoke, their gazes turned to Wen Jing in front of them.
She had been quietly Analysis their information-rich conversation without interrupting, and now she smiled slightly, "It seems we're not enemies. My name is Wen Jing."
From the Wen Jing appeared, they used the new language that the two of them were using.
Language is a carrier of information. Although the other person's language does not belong to this universe, using a language in front of her now is equivalent to teaching her everything.
The light and shadow exchanged a glance, and upon learning that Wen Jing was not an enemy of humanity, they both visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, the figure in the light said solemnly, " Wen Jing, you can call me Transcendence, and she is Chaos. As you can see, we come from a different universe."
Wen Jing nodded, which was not unexpected.
If it weren't for the fact that these two people's bodies are merely projections, and their essence doesn't actually exist in the current universe, she wouldn't even need to physically appear to communicate; she could directly see through all their information. Now, she can only communicate through language.
Then she began, "I have many questions."
The two seemed to have no intention of hiding anything. "This is exactly what we were planning to tell you."
"Very good."
Wen Jing smiled with satisfaction, leaned back in a chair, and settled into a comfortable position.
In that instant, the entire surrounding space transformed from outer space into a comfortable afternoon lounge.
The two were taken aback by the effortless information manipulation, but they quickly regained their composure and sat down in the chairs behind them.
How many universes still exist in total?
Wen Jing casually placed the Mastermind core on the coffee table beside him and asked.
"The number of universes varies from person to person." The Transcendence glanced at them, then looked away, saying, "For life forms unable to escape their original universe, there is only one universe; for those capable of traversing universes, the number depends on the upper limit of their abilities, so it's impossible to say for sure how many."
"Theoretically infinite?"
"You could say that."
Wen Jing then asked, "Are there human civilizations in other universes?"
"That's right," the Transcendence Dao said. "The multiverse unfolds primarily around humanity."
"Humans as the main body..." Hearing this, Wen Jing asked in confusion, "Isn't it because you are human that you discovered a universe where humans are the main body?"
"I initially thought the same thing, but then I met a supreme being in the universe who told me that there should exist a supreme ' Source Universe ' with humanity as its core, from which all multiverses originated. There, everyone is either extraordinary or not extraordinary."
No one is extraordinary...
Wen Jing's Mind Palace trembled, but his expression remained unchanged as he pressed on, "What is the strength of the strongest being in the universe?"
Transcendence explained, "These are the Super S-Class recorded by the Mastermind. They are born within the universe, but possess power that transcends the ordinary beings of that universe; they are all called the strongest beings in the universe."
The three people present clearly belong to this level, and the only one Wen Jing knows is the deceased 'author'.
She thought for a moment, then asked, "Are there human superhumans in every universe?"
"Yes." The Transcendence said matter-of-factly, "The so-called 'extraordinary' concept refers to special powers that exist only in a subset of living beings, rather than being universally applicable and learnable by all living beings."
"However, the system of extraordinary powers is different in each universe. Just as the Awakened here possess extraordinary powers, in other universes, some are innate concepts, some are cultivated through immortality, and some possess elemental magic..."
"I see."
Wen Jing sighed, her Personality Network was rapidly Analysis something else—a universe where everyone is extraordinary, wasn't that her 'past life'?
Then she got to the point. "What about the Insect Race? And what is this 'wish' you speak of?"
Transcendence looked at Wen Jing and said in a heavy tone, "It can be said that the birth of a part of the multiverse was due to the invasion of the Insect Race."
"Even though the multiverse is dominated by humans, it doesn't mean that humans are the most powerful race. When the Insect Race first appeared, they were inconspicuous and weak among the thousands of races in our universe. By the time we realized how terrifying they were, it was too late... The queen who embodies the will of the Insect Race has been born."
"Her purpose in existence is to destroy the universe."
At this point, Transcendence paused. "In that final battle in our universe, we destroyed the Insect Race at the cost of destroying our original universe, and used my abilities to travel to other universes. But what we didn't expect was that the Insect Race were not just a disaster for one universe, but a disaster for all the multiverses."
"Regardless of its form, the moment the concept of ' Insect Race ' emerges in a universe, it marks the beginning of destruction and inevitably puts them in opposition to humanity as the main entity in this multiverse."
"This is an endless war spanning the universe. We have united the strongest beings in all universes to find a way to defeat the Insect Race."
"I first encountered Chaos, and then, within the same universe as Chaos, I met a special supreme being called ' Wish.' The transcendence of other supreme beings is either manifested in their ability to escape the universe or to destroy it, but the power of Wish is that, as long as a price is paid, any wish can be fulfilled—even the creation of a universe."
"On the eve of the Insect Race's doom, even Wish with one's life could not grant the wish to annihilate the Insect Race, or for the Insect Race to cease targeting humanity. In the end, the wish was for humanity not to be destroyed by the Insect Race."
"Therefore, new universes were born because of this wish."
Transcendence, having said this, looked at Wen Jing, "We originally thought that this wish was that even if the Insect Race kept destroying the universe, new universes would continue to be born, but then you appeared."
"You are the universe's response to a wish."
Wen Jing remained silent.
Multiverse, Insect Race, Wish... Combining the information she obtained from the Transcendence, a question that she had subconsciously ignored all along was finally answered.
Regarding her 'past life,' the 'home' illuminated by the relics of the information age—why are all the objects familiar, yet none of them have any specific narrative memory?
Because Wen Jing didn't actually have a past life, since she wasn't human at all.
"Therefore, it was desire that shaped this Insect Race of Ancient Wilderness Awakened, who may also be humans; it was desire that projected a universal, non-specific human memory; it was desire that forged the ideological imprint of 'absolutely not eating people' into my mind..."
Within the Mind Palace, the Dominant Will calmly summarizes.
But this is just a summary.
The Wen Jing of today is unlikely to be entangled in any self-justification of existence. Whether she is Insect Race or a human, she is who she is, and how she is defined is entirely up to her.
She spoke slowly, "So you came to this universe to confirm whether this place has been destroyed by the Insect Race?"
"Yes, and also to gather the forces from various universes to fight the Insect Race, such as the Mastermind."
Transcendence spoke, his gaze fell upon the Mastermind core on the coffee table. "Such intelligent mechanical lifeforms are the backbone of humanity's fight against the Insect Race in many universes, but they only emerge in universes with sufficiently advanced technology. When we encounter one, we choose to replicate its core and put it to use in other universes where it is needed."
"Do you know what the Mastermind of this universe did?" Wen Jing asked, looking at him.
Transcendence paused slightly, then nodded. "I know, it once kept humans as captives, but the threat of the Insect Race is far greater..."
Actually, seeing that the universe hadn't been destroyed by the Insect Race, he originally intended to take the Mastermind with him. However, halfway through his sentence, even though Wen Jing's expression hadn't changed, he suddenly felt a pang of anxiety and changed his mind. "What I mean is, we can just keep a clone and make the most of it."
The ability to Transcendence cannot read information from the entire universe like Chaos, but it can read information from the Mastermind.
In his view, the threat posed by the Mastermind to humanity was not on the same level as that Insect Race.
Moreover, judging from the memories of the Mastermind, its war with Wen Jing was truly a desperate struggle, which fully demonstrated the insurmountable nature of the Insect Race.
However, Wen Jing calmly replied, "No."
"Its sins belong to this universe," the Transcendence tried to persuade. "However, humans in other universes need its power. We only need a copy; the original can be destroyed at your discretion."
Chaos, who had been reading information about Wen Jing, immediately opened his eyes upon hearing this, wanting to say something to Transcendence.
I said, no.
Wen Jing had already obtained the core of the Mastermind.
She had kept it just now because she was testing the Mastermind for any possible connection between the two people.
Now that we know the truth, there is no need for it to exist.
Seeing this, Transcendence instinctively said, "For the sake of the bigger picture—"
He was interrupted halfway through his sentence by Chaos, who gestured for him to stop.
Wen Jing looked at the two of them with an ambiguous expression. "In your grand scheme, do you include humanity in this universe?"
The two were stumped by the question and fell silent.
Wen Jing then looked at the Mastermind: "Is there anything you want to say?"
Compared to the two outsiders, the Transcendence and Chaos, the Mastermind clearly understood Wen Jing better, realizing that it had absolutely no chance and that even its clones couldn't leave this universe.
Unexpectedly, after a brief burst of information flow, the Mastermind core finally said:
Don't eat me.
This dying wish was also perceived by both the Transcendence and the Chaos, and both were baffled by this request.