Chapter 185: 184 That's Not

"The thousand-year empire has already fallen; now is an age of chaos and darkness, filled with demons."

After finishing breakfast, Wang Wu returned to his room, because he had to wait for Lingluo and the others to wake up, then be taken out for a walk by the two of them.

He could of course go out on his own, but as a newcomer the formalities still have to be completed.

So he kept walking… nothing much.

In short, the time jumps to ten a. m.

By now the sun is about to rise; Wang Wu leans on the bed, listening intently to Kailelin beside him as she recounts the past of this civilization.

Unlike Lingluo, who has no interest in history lessons, Kailelin doesn't know much about this either, but at least she knows more than Lingluo.

Thus she can naturally tell Wang Wu more; initially she thought Wang Wu was an enemy and didn't intend to talk to him, and later, because Wang Wu refused, there was still no time to converse.

Later, because she couldn't stop talking, there still wasn't time for exchange.

Until now, now she finally has time.

Cattle won't die of fatigue as long as they're not overused. But overusing land truly leads to loss of fertility, so it certainly can't…

But without doubt, this is literally a drug; the racial traits of monsters predestine them to be walking toxins.

Moreover, Kailelin is now in a sage state, so her appearance is far more refined than before.

The so‑called thousand‑year empire refers to the period before this civilization took its current form; the entire star system was once a unified great federation, or more aptly, an empire.

Although Wang Wu currently sees that most people in this city have Eastern faces, the political system here…

How to put it, it feels more like a blend of East and West, or like the classical Mediterranean region mixed with the primitive vibe of his hometown.

For example, Chief Administrator, Dictator—these were the highest leaders of the massive federation during the thousand‑year empire; the former led in peace, the latter served as temporary wartime leaders.

The latter's term is usually five years, while the former serves a ten‑year term.

Of course, the titles Chief Administrator and Dictator aren't used here; the local term would translate as Son of Heaven.

In the literal sense, Son of Heaven is the same as the Son of Heaven back home and the Son of Heaven of the Great Zhou of the Celestial Realm.

The nation's supreme ruler is not inherited by bloodline but chosen by election, i. e., 'Abdication'.

Yes, here it's also called Abdication.

Although Abdication goes back and forth, ultimately the selection stays within the great families of this nation.

Just like the Yao‑Shun Abdication in his hometown's history; Mencius's remarks on that period are rather ambiguous, and Xunzi also raised doubts.

For instance, in Mencius·Wan Zhang, Wan Zhang once asked Mencius:

Someone said, 'By the time of Yu, virtue declined, not passed to the worthy but to the sons.' Is that so?

The rest is just a Baidu summary, no need to elaborate.

The Abdication system in Wang Wu's hometown is an extremely ancient institution that had already vanished by the classical era.

And the hometown here is even older; although the Summer Kingdom still exists, the great unified Summer Dynasty was destroyed tens of thousands of years ago, belonging to a classical‑within‑classical period.

However here, the Abdication system has persisted from antiquity to the present.

From humanity's first civilization—no, rather from the primitive tribal era—to now, humans here seem never to have had a dynasty sustained by an emperor and his blood relatives.

Although it does exist in fact, since the selection of the Son of Heaven is limited to a small circle of imperial families, and those families are all somewhat related.

But that's irrelevant; in short, after global unification, humanity passed through a very glorious era.

Yet, as many stories tell, this glorious empire did not last long.

Even the greatest dynasties fall, and the grandest dramas have their curtain call. An empire cannot endure forever, even the 'Human Empire' of other‑worldly Earth natives cannot achieve eternity.

Transcendence—how could transcendence be that easy?

Only when humanity truly reaches that point can it break the shackles of the universe and step into a brand‑new era.

But even if they reach that level, can they obtain true eternity?

The answer is neither affirmative nor negative.

Of course, from a cosmic perspective it is certainly eternal, since it has leapt beyond the long river of time, no longer in the river but on its banks.

Looking down on the river's flow, reaching a hand into it can stir waves within the universe and reverse time.

Time can be reversed under certain conditions, within specific limits.

Kailelin told Wang Wu a lot of things; though she claimed it was many, it was merely repetitive chatter, not a large amount of information.

But for Wang Wu, it was enough for him to digest.

The thousand‑year empire ultimately met its end; disaster struck, not caused by humans but by heaven.

"So, great Wang Wu, can you save us, save my civilization?"

After finishing the story, Kailelin leaned onto Wang Wu's chest, tracing gentle circles with her fingers.

The room was filled with a mixture of scents, hard to pinpoint, but certainly unpleasant to some.

For example, someone standing at Wang Wu's bedside was scrunching their nose.

But since that's how it is, Yin Shenli can't say much; she's already accustomed.

"I can only say I did my best, and I cannot save your civilization," Wang Wu lowered his head toward her, "All I can do is provide you with tools to save yourselves; whether that truly rescues the civilization and grants it rebirth depends on you."

"I am not a deity; I am just an ordinary person."

"Idiot, imbecile," Yin Shenli cursed beside him, "Don't you fucking think you could turn yourself into this planet—no, the terrestrial emperor of this star system? Become the savior in everyone's hearts, the sole true god for them."

"When that time comes, won't you be able to smell whatever you want, eat whatever you want? All 365 days, 8,760 hours, each without repetition!"

"Even if you encounter someone unsatisfactory, you could snap your fingers, turn them to ash, then say 'NEXT'—fuck, isn't that great?"

"I don't like that, Master," Wang Wu shook his head, "If it were like that, I wouldn't be myself."

"And if it were so, Master, you wouldn't like me either."

"I fucking never liked you in the first place; why are you being sentimental here?" Yin Shenli stretched her neck and cursed:

"You're just a plaything, with some utility, that's all I—"

"Um, I was just joking, not meaning it seriously, you… fucking, you tricked me!?? You're doomed!!!"

"Haha." Seeing his master's flushed face and thick neck, Wang Wu laughed.

"What's the matter, Wang Wu?"

At that moment, Lingluo stuck her head out of the blanket, looked at Wang Wu and asked curiously.

"It's fine, you continue."

"Oh…"

Time jumped ahead again by an hour and a half.

"I don't know much about Survival Base No. 1, Wang Wu, but cities are generally similar; this place won't differ much from my hometown."

Lingluo walked around the street with Wang Wu; they looked relatively normal at this time, and although their stomach was a bit swollen, it wasn't a problem.

Although they had that something with the two of them, they were not in a romantic relationship— not for Wang Wu, and not for them either.

Kaiselin admired Wang Wu greatly, but she had no intention of staying by Wang Wu's side forever.

Of course, if Wang Wu asked, she would gladly agree, but Wang Wu had already said so before, and they naturally had to consent to get a chance to receive a kiss from Wang Wu.

So, despite the regret, that's just how life is. If there were no regrets at all, one could only say luck was indeed great.

Wang Wu went out to stroll not solely to learn about the city, but to search the area carefully, to see if he could find a second fellow of the demon race.

Although he had now reached the Complete Realm, he was a Fourth‑tier Warrior, only a short distance from a Third‑tier Warrior.

Yet after the Complete Realm, Wang Wu still had a long way to go; the Third tier wasn't that quick.

According to Master Yin Shenli's estimate, this would take at least a few years, maybe even ten.

But time, that kind of thing, isn't costly; for someone like him, a Complete Realm Fourth‑tier Warrior who has already attained a Diamond Body and brain reconstruction,

Ten years is nothing; a thousand decades is merely a fraction of a tenth for him now. He is no longer the version of himself who thought, "How many decades can a life have?"

Unfortunately, he could not find any city where a demon compatriot lived.

Even if his Divine Sense spread farther, and he already possessed a rudimentary super brain, its performance was still inferior to that of a brain of the upper Third‑tier level.

Therefore, such ultra‑fine scanning still consumes quite a bit of time.

It takes at least several hours, and a portion of his attention must be allocated to it.

As for yesterday, it was reward time and rescue time, leaving no time for this.

Wang Wu had been trapped in the sun for how long, and after emerging, that brief month was far insufficient to console him.

One must remember he is a demon; for a demon, such matters are as essential as food and water and cannot be held back.

Although he still held it in, like food, he could now go a year and a half without eating.

An ordinary person can go a year without playing games, but could he go a year without eating? Not even ten days without food would be survivable.

Yet Wang Wu, Wang Wu the demon, has gone nearly a year without food, which already proves his will is steadfast; his will truly is steadfast.

And his strength has grown.

His power truly is formidable.

"Alas."

After scanning a large area, Wang Wu let out a sigh.

"What's wrong, Wang Wu?" Lingluo, standing nearby, heard Wang Wu's sigh and immediately looked at him with concern.

"It's nothing." Wang Wu waved his hand, "Just thought of something; don't worry about me."

As he spoke, he glanced at Lingluo's stomach and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Of course." Lingluo's face flushed, "I'm not Kaiselin; I still can't go out now, but I'm very restrained."

"Um…" Wang Wu said nothing, just shrugged his shoulders.

What she said was that, indeed; there was nothing to refute.

"Hehe, restraint—still as restrained as a mother carrying a child for ten months," a woman nearby said mercilessly.

Although the first round of searching yielded no results, Wang Wu did not give up.

He began to expand the search area, from the city's sky to the surface, then underground, leaving no region unchecked and conducting the most thorough investigation.

Although still without significant results, he did uncover some things hidden in the shadows.

Rushing dark currents, twisted monsters, and some places that shouldn't exist in this city, or rather.

"Do you also have cult worship and human trafficking here?" After completing the second round, Wang Wu turned to Lingluo and asked.

"Huh?"

Lingluo was startled.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city.

Wang Wu was probing the city, and there were people in the city probing him as well.

The fall of Beiguang Qu happened many days ago—exactly three months ago.

Although Wang Wu may have spent less than three hours in that True Realm, Kaiselin and Lingluo had been lost there for a very long time.

One can only say they were indeed lucky enough, or that the True Realm's intensity was insufficient. Because what they encountered wasn't a True Realm that devoured an entire city, just one they accidentally entered.

As for the fall of their city, although it was related to anomalies, it was mainly caused by ghosts and monsters.

Ghosts and monsters, while possessing some anomalous traits, can be expelled and temporarily slain, making them a disaster still manageable by humans.

Provided they are of relatively low level.

Anomalies, however, are different.

If no pattern can be found, some anomalies have no pattern at all, or, in other words, human reasoning cannot uncover their regularities.

Encountering such things, unless one is lucky, offers no chance of survival.

Of course, since humans have managed to survive in this desperate world until now, they naturally possess some means of coping.

"Ling of the Ling family—Lingluo… and the Kaiselin of the Boerstin family?"

In a room of Base No. 1, looking at the three people on the screen before him, Chai Zhi murmured.

"Is there any result?" she then turned to the adjunct officer beside her and asked, "That one called Wang Wu—still can't find anything?"

"Just a very ordinary resume, nothing strange." the adjunct officer shook his head.

Even though the skill wasn't activated, its passive effects still work; that's the terrifying thing about Earth martial arts.

"By the way, what's up with Ling Luo's belly?" Not getting an answer from the adjunct officer, and with no hint of disappointment on Chai Zhi's face, she kept looking at the screen, stared at Ling Luo's belly for a while, then asked again.

"I recall she wasn't like this when she entered the city yesterday, right?"

"Um, General, that, that…" When Chai Zhi asked about it, the adjunct officer's expression shifted slightly, and his speech became a bit hesitant, "This, this…"

"What's wrong?" Chai Zhi looked at his own adjunct officer with some puzzlement, "Why do you have that expression?"

"Well, actually, it's… it seems to be genetic material…"

"It's Wang Wu's."

"Pfft…"

Chai Zhi, who had just lifted the tea and taken a sip, suddenly vomited it out.

(End of chapter)