The director of the God Hall lay on the ground. Unexpectedly, that eerie mask had fallen onto his chest and had now grown significantly larger, resembling a shield-like object. Its surface was blackened from gunfire, and a faint, bizarre expression—somewhere between a smile and a cry—could vaguely be seen.
The director revealed his true face in front of others for the first time. It was a very young face, pale in complexion, made even more abnormal by the blood flowing from his nose and mouth. What left the deepest impression, however, were his eyes—they actually had double pupils of nearly equal size!
He quickly sat up, and the mask on his chest fell to the side. He grabbed it and put it back on his face, where it instantly shrank back to its proper size.
Only a faint crimson glow could be seen in his gaze in the brief moment before his double-pupiled eyes were covered again.
The Chairman’s body fell to the ground, his golden robe now completely dull and lifeless, with a large hole torn through it. A massive amount of blood gushed out from the wound.
His breathing was nearly imperceptible, as if he were on the verge of death.
But then, the Chairman’s body suddenly faded, as if the person here had never been his true self, but rather an incredibly realistic computer-generated projection.
After flickering twice, his body gradually vanished. Before disappearing completely, he sat up and gave Ye Zhongming a strange smile.
“See you next time, Ye Zhongming.”
Ye Zhongming believed that people like the Chairman and the director must have some final life-saving measures—such as his Second Life or elemental spirits—but the Chairman’s method was rather bizarre. Had he been teleported to a safe location?
Though he couldn’t see it, he could clearly sense it.
Along with the Chairman, his three-headed white tiger, and… the Mountain and Water Eternal World had also disappeared.
The director stood up, and the Demon Vine appeared in his hand.
A pair of ice birds, their feathers somewhat disheveled, flew to the top of Ye Zhongming’s head, glaring fiercely at the last remaining opponent before them.
“Using battle beasts to gain vision… I never expected your connection with your battle beasts to have reached this level. Impressive.”
The director glanced at the two ice birds, his eyes beneath the mask filled with curiosity and envy. As a professional researcher, he could naturally tell how special these two ice birds were. Two level-seven beasts holding their own against a level-eight was not something ordinary battle beasts could accomplish. After all, the three-headed white tiger was no ordinary level-eight lifeform.
“A bit late to realize it,” Ye Zhongming said softly, the two of them maintaining a delicate balance between them.
“Actually, I know that today is the best chance to kill you.” The director paused, his voice no longer concealed, revealing a tone that matched his youthful age.
“I can hardly imagine what kind of force would be needed to kill you when Yellow Ball, Yangos, Red Hair, and even the female guards are by your side.”
“At the very least, the God Hall and I cannot do it.”
Ye Zhongming, his eyes closed, tilted his head slightly. Hearing this, he suddenly smiled.
“Perhaps today was the best chance to kill me, but what I don’t understand is… why did you hold back earlier?”
If the Chairman of Soul Merchant were here, he would have been utterly shocked, for Ye Zhongming’s words implied that the director of the God Hall had not actually wanted to kill him!
The King of Cloud Peak had slain multiple top-tier experts of the God Hall. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had completely destroyed the organization’s core leadership.
The director pondered for a moment but did not explain. Instead, he looked up at the sky above the forest.
“I’ve always believed that humanity is not alone in this universe. Ever since I was a bullied lab assistant in a research institute, I’ve held this belief. And in fact, hasn’t it been proven true?”
Ye Zhongming nodded. All core members of major factions should have learned of this by now.
“I just never expected that the lifeforms accompanying us in the vast cosmos would come to Earth in such a manner.”
“I… despise this method. I would rather they arrived with an armada of warships, using incomprehensible force to conquer and enslave us.”
“Perhaps so many people wouldn’t have turned into disgusting monsters in that case. So many wouldn’t have abandoned their humanity for a piece of bread or a biscuit. Perhaps we wouldn’t even be enemies, but comrades fighting side by side, joining countless others across the world to resist the beings that enslave us.”
“Even if… we were to fail in the end, even if we were to die.”
Ye Zhongming listened quietly to these words from the God Hall’s director, who had just moments ago been locked in a life-or-death struggle with him. Suddenly, he felt he understood the man’s actions a little better.
Previously, Ye Zhongming had clashed with the God Hall, even destroying one of their laboratories, killing their highest-level experimental subject at the time, and convincing Dr. He to defect.
Logically, the God Hall should have retaliated fiercely. Back then, Cloud Peak was not what it was now—they were still embroiled in the chaos of developing the secret realm and were arguably at one of their weakest points since the apocalypse began.
Yet, the God Hall’s response had been to retreat rather than fight, seemingly cutting their losses to regroup for a future comeback. Later, however, they vanished entirely, never harassing Cloud Peak again.
Many assumed the God Hall had been intimidated. Ye Zhongming, of course, didn’t believe that, but he did think they had been conserving their strength, lacking confidence in defeating Cloud Peak.
After hearing these words, Ye Zhongming realized this director was a rather complex individual. Was he noble? It didn’t seem so—many of the God Hall’s actions didn’t align with nobility. They had avoided conflict with Cloud Peak, but there was ample evidence they had used many of the apocalypse’s typical ruthless tactics against others. Was he hypocritical? Yet it was true they had never sought revenge after the Flame Tiger Project, and just now, this leader had deliberately held back from going all-out to kill Ye Zhongming.
Whether he could have actually killed Ye Zhongming at full strength was another matter, but the fact remained that he had held back. The Demon Vine’s abilities were surely far greater than what had been displayed.
Ye Zhongming couldn’t discern how much of his words were true or false. Even the reason for his restraint was questionable—perhaps, in a more cynical interpretation, he had wanted Ye Zhongming to kill the Chairman first before unleashing his full power.
Even now, with the director still capable of fighting and the Demon Vine, was Ye Zhongming truly as exhausted as he appeared?
Habitually, Ye Zhongming refused to view an apocalypse survivor—especially one who had just been fighting him—in too positive a light.
“Do you have this?”
The director took out an object and showed it to the ice birds—Ye Zhongming’s current “eyes.”
Ye Zhongming nodded.
“As I thought…” The director put the item away, and the Demon Vine likewise vanished.
“I’m not negotiating or even requesting…” The director’s tone carried complex emotions. “Rather, perhaps soon, we will meet again in a different form, even under different identities. When that time comes, I hope our thoughts will align.”
After these ambiguous words, the director turned and walked away. Behind him, the spliced monstrosities controlled by Dr. Ziche reappeared. With a wave of his hand, both man and beasts gradually faded into the forest.