Qin Hu and Lu Siya crashed into a protruding crystal cluster. Their blood gushed out, and they fell on the ground, unable to get up.
Lin Chuan went to the explosive-actuated tool and was about to grab it when two chains shot forward elusively and grabbed the explosive-actuated tool.
He narrowed his eyes. When he turned around, he saw Meng Chao staggering to his feet while bleeding heavily. He tossed the explosive-actuated tool to the side and crossed his chain sabers to put up a fighting stance.
“Why didn’t you leave? Why must you stop me? Why can’t you just fake death over there quietly? Once I set up the timer, I would save you.”
Lin Chuan narrowed his eyes and left bloody footprints in the air while he walked to Meng Chao. He gritted his teeth and said, “We’re… kindred!”
“Why didn’t you say that in the beginning?” Meng Chao spat out a mouthful of blood and smiled sadly. “If you really believed that I’m the same kind of person as you are, that your beliefs are absolutely correct, and that you’re doing this for the future of millions of normal Dragon Citizens, why didn’t you dare to tell me about your plan and didn’t do your best to make me join your plan? Did you lack confidence in me, or yourself?
“You know that the experiences we had growing up are very similar, and we have a lot of thoughts that are the same. I’ve also treated you as my idol. I trusted you, so why didn’t you dare to tell me anything? Did you just refuse to believe that I would join you?
“Oh, right. After we ventured deep underground, you faced the effects of the spirit energy magnetic field interference from the crystal mine and your mind turned chaotic. You nearly told me your plans.
“But after all those seemingly logical words, you stopped speaking at the final moment. In fact, you even meticulously prepared a backpack for me to escape. Why?
“Big Brother Lin, are you thinking about not dragging me into this mess because I’m your junior, or is it because you know full well in your heart that you’re treading down a path of darkness that requires you to get rid of your humanity? You spared me because you wanted to spare your final shred of humanity?”
Lin Chuan’s gaze wavered. He stopped walking in the air. His Undying Spirit fixed its stare on Meng Chao, but no matter what, he could not stab him.
“Do you know the roots of your pain, Big Brother Lin?” Meng Chao grinned. “You know all too well that you’re wrong. Regardless of whether your motive is in the right or not, your method is completely wrong! You knew what your mistakes were, but you couldn’t rectify them, so how could you possibly not be conflicted, hesitate, and be in pain?
“Asking the White Spirit to use mind control to wipe off your pain is just like eating painkillers when your body is in pain. You’re just treating your problem temporarily instead of getting rid of it permanently. No matter how great the dose you take, if you don’t get rid of the root of the problem, you won’t be able to truly get rid of your pain!”
“I’m not wrong!” The bloody light in Lin Chuan’s eyes grew brighter. It was as if he had a sturdy mental fortress built in him, and he finally threw his chain spear at Meng Chao. “I’m fighting for millions of normal citizens. You don’t know how rotten and corrupt those powerful people at the top have become. If they rule over Dragon City, it’s bound to be destroyed!”
“I’m also willing to fight for the millions of normal Dragon Citizens, my comrades, and my home, but I won’t do it your way!”
Meng Chao crossed his chain sabers and parried the chain spear. His vitality magnetic field shuddered because of the Undying Bird. His wounds were torn open again, but he endured the great pain and shouted, “We could use a righteous method and spread our ideals in an upright manner. We can search for help from more people to keep the mega corporations and peerless fighters in check.
“We can use the internet to get more people to support us.
“We can contribute during the war and create our own force of power. Then, step by step, we can climb up the ranks of the Survival Committee and to the peak of the Supernatural Tower.
“If you’re displeased with the methods of certain peerless elites, you can publicly mention it so that all the citizens would discuss it. Even Deity Realm fighters cannot seal up millions of mouths, after all.
“If you’re displeased with how certain mega corporations cover up their misdeeds with their power, we can propose laws that will cut down or limit their power.
“If you don’t want to see the poor children lose at the starting line, then we can start from Blessed Happiness Street Elementary School and continue renewing, rebuilding, and upgrading the elementary schools one by one. I believe that we will get the support from countless people, and we will not be fighting alone!
“In any case, we have countless ways to create a bright, fair, and just new world. Why did you have to choose the worst, bloodiest, and most evil method?!”
Boom!
The two chain sabers crashed against the chain spear, and two spirit flames gushed out like an avalanche. It ripped open a wound on Meng Chao’s head. Then, he was knocked off his feet by the Undying Bird and suppressed.
“Because the other methods are all useless!” Lin Chuan shouted from above him. “This has been the case for thousands of years, and it has been like this since life on Earth. The powerful people always used every method conceivable to gather wealth, influence, and power so that they can become chiefs, dukes, kings, emperors, Deity Realm elites, and Crystalline Nine-headed Dragons. It gives them the right to enjoy all the riches in the world.
“They create the rules and all sorts of lies so that the weak will regard each other with hostility and even kill each other. They use ridiculous wars as the reason for them to occupy all the resources and stand above the laws!
“The weak have fought back using the methods you mentioned, but were they of any use? Over thousands of years, they did it again and again, but they only ended up injuring themselves by ramming their heads against an iron wall!”
He pushed his right hand down further.
The ground around Meng Chao was squashed down by an invisible force. It sank by half an inch.
Meng Chao grunted and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
But he pushed back against the pressure from Lin Chuan and climbed up inch by inch.
“Even if… Ha… even if we didn’t manage to knock down the iron wall over thousands of years, how would you know that we will definitely fail this time?” Meng Chao forced the words out of his throat. “The world is changing. Civilization is evolving. Everyone is improving at lightning speed. The world today is different from the world thousands of years ago. The humans today are not the same humans from thousands of years ago.
“We’ve become smarter and stronger. We’re paying more attention to protecting the interests of all people. The belief that men are born equal has already been embedded deep in us. When we fight against the monsters together, all the people from three-year-old children to seventy-year-old grandmas believe that they are vanguards from Earth and that we are protecting our home and civilization together!
“Big Brother Lin, do you really believe that after half a century’s worth of baptism from the war to survive, the normal Dragon Citizens today would still endure the powerful people and mega corporations using their power to cover their misdeeds and live like ignorant people?
“Do you really think that they will not reflect on the past and explore the future? Do you really think that all the normal people aside from you are ignorant and can only be lambs awaiting slaughter?
“Perhaps the indestructible iron wall in front of you is already full of cracks after having faced the futile attacks over thousands of years. Perhaps, with one more crash, even if we end up bloody and bruised from it, we can create a hole!”
Meng Chao straightened his back.
His bones were trampled by the Undying Bird and let out cracking sounds as if they were exploding inside him. It was so painful that he winced.
But he still stood straight. He did not intend to fall down again!
“No. Impossible.” As he faced this puny one-star superhuman, Lin Chuan trembled, even though he was a Heaven Realm elite. He mumbled, “We can’t possibly knock down this iron wall…”
“Lu Siya is right. Big Brother Lin, you really do have low self-esteem, but are conceited as heck!” Meng Chao wiped off the blood at the corners of his mouth and smiled. “Your self-esteem is too low. You’re terrified of the Crystalline Nine-headed Dragons, and from the bottom of your heart, you believe that you’re just a Demonic Halberd Pig. It’s impossible for you to use upright methods to win against the Crystalline Nine-headed Dragons.
“But you’re too conceited as well. You believe that you’re the smartest and strongest Demonic Halberd Pig. You think that the other Demonic Halberd Pigs are stupid and weak and have no right to fight with you and release the loudest shout at the Crystalline Nine-headed Dragons. So all they need to do is wait for you to use the most despicable and shameless method to save them.
“But you’re wrong, Big Brother Lin. You’re absolutely wrong.
“If you refuse to believe that you can make all the Demonic Halberd Pigs wake up, it’s impossible for you to truly win against the Crystalline Nine-headed Dragons. Even if you manage to kill one of them, you will just end up as another, more evil Crystalline Nine-headed Dragon.
“At the end of the day, you won’t be able to save Dragon City, the home of millions of Dragon Citizens, and the great and beautiful city that you and I both love. In the end, it will just be destroyed in the flames of the apocalypse when it will descend on us.
“Wake up, Big Brother Lin. It’s not too late for you to turn around. You can’t continue making this mistake!”
“Enough! Shut up! I’m not wrong!” Lin Chuan clutched his head, and blood oozed out from between his fingers. It was as if there were two armies fighting fiercely in his head. “Stop talking! Shut up!”
“If you’re really right, why don’t you dare to face all the people you want to face?” Meng Chao sucked in a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs. “Blowing up the Red Radiance Jade mine and creating a large spirit energy tsunami doesn’t only mean the deaths of the Deity Realm elites and Apocalyptic Beasts.
“Countless middle-grade, low-grade, and broken-star superhumans as well as normal soldiers from the Red Dragon Army will also die. Are they Crystalline Nine-headed Dragons? At that time, will you have the courage to tell the millions of innocent souls who died that you’re not wrong?
“Once the northern offense fails, Dragon City will definitely suffer a major blow. We will have to fight against the monsters for who knows how many years after that. More people will die, and a lot more people’s living environment will become worse. Your dream of a bright world of equality will remain a dream. At that time, will you dare to tell all the normal citizens who were dragged into this mess that you were not wrong?
“You said that once this mission ends, you will come with me to our elementary school to visit our homeroom teacher and even eat the fried lizard skewer made by Grandpa Wang. But now, if you get your wish and blow up the Red Radiance Jade mine, thereby killing countless people and becoming invincible, when you meet our homeroom teacher and Grandpa Wang, will you dare to tell them everything and proudly pronounce yourself as right?
“There are plenty of children in Blessed Heavenly Garden and Joyous Heavenly Garden who treat you as their hero and idol. They’ve listened to your deeds while growing up and work hard with you as their goal. Tell me, Big Brother Lin, look into my eyes and say it. Will you dare to tell them that you’re right? Will you really dare to?”