Chapter 225: The False Twenty Years

"... Mr. Wu refused, and I will follow suit and refuse as well."

Li Xianchun still held the pistol, but she felt no impulse, nor did she cry out; she simply spoke calmly to the Li Muxia before her.

Li Muxia was still Li Muxia, but the person speaking—or rather, this thing—was not.

This thing did not continue to approach; it merely walked into the room, closed the door, and leaned against it, saying to Li Xianchun: "Ever since I learned that Mr. Wu is a true super-soldier, I have actually been paying attention to him. I know his decision, and I know your actions. To be honest, whether it is his decision or your actions, I actually approve. But..."

"We really don't have much time left."

Li Xianchun was silent for a long moment before asking: "By 'not much time left,' do you mean the truth that we humans are being farmed? Or is the next biochemical beast tide coming?"

"... No, it refers to the question of how much longer humanity can survive."

The visitor shook their head and said: "Unlike what you think, humanity's survival time may be less than twenty years. This has nothing to do with biochemical beasts. Even if there were no biochemical beast tide and no other biochemical beasts attacking this human territory, you have at most twenty years of survival left."

Li Xianchun was shocked; this was completely different from what she and the others had speculated.

Their speculation was that this truth likely involved some mysterious power, such as pre-war international organizations, the mysterious organization that triggered the birth of biochemical beasts, or a group of mad scientists who created them.

Based on the fact that information about the origins of biochemical beasts had been deleted by the three major guilds, they inferred that this mastermind had been watching them and had forbidden all research and exploration into the origins of the beasts. Once they learned the truth, this mastermind would likely control the beasts to launch a tide, wipe out everyone who knew the truth, and then continue farming humanity.

This was their speculation.

The reason they held a national referendum, and why these benevolent people who now lead humanity almost all wished to pursue the truth, was to change this tragic situation. At worst, they would all die, and humanity would continue to be farmed; this was already the worst-case scenario they could imagine.

But from what this mysterious visitor said, the situation seemed completely different from what they thought.

The visitor shook their head again: "I cannot put this information into words. Once spoken, it will cause something to briefly awaken, and then both you and your sister will immediately turn into that kind of thing from before. So, I am sorry, I cannot tell you the truth here."

Li Xianchun's expression was extremely grave, as this situation was far worse than she had anticipated.

She thought as she asked: "Your so-called twenty years of survival... does it mean a more terrifying biochemical beast tide? Or will many of the tens of millions of humans die? Which one specifically?"

"... Total extinction."

The visitor's voice was hoarse: "Everyone, all tens of millions, you, me, everyone will perish. Human civilization will become a thing of the past, and not a single member of the species named human will survive. This is what I mean by the twenty-year survival limit."

Li Xianchun immediately said: "Impossible. Eighty years have already passed, and the biochemical beast tide hasn't come just once. How could we be completely wiped out in twenty years? Has the mastermind already obtained all the experimental data? Or do they no longer need to farm us humans? So they are launching the final biochemical beast tide?"

The visitor was silent for a moment before saying: "... It is quite different from what you think, but you can tentatively assume that."

Li Xianchun stood up from the bed: "Let's go, find Wu Pifu. He must know about this!"

The visitor shook their head: "No, for two reasons. First, he is very wary of me; he won't believe it. Second, when I am near him, this consciousness of mine will produce huge fluctuations. This is perhaps the true super-soldier's ability to isolate pollution, so I can only come to find you."

Li Xianchun thought for a moment: "Then why did you say before not to explore the truth? Why did you want to stop us from knowing the truth?"

The visitor was silent again, this time for a long while, before saying: "Because if there were no true super-soldier like Wu Pifu, knowing the truth or not would be meaningless to you. Knowing it means immediate death; not knowing it allows for these last false twenty years. Even if it is only for these twenty years, I hope you remain ignorant until death, because... the truth is truly too cruel, so cruel that I would rather you know nothing."

Li Xianchun kept pondering all this, and she asked again: "Is it because of Mr. Wu Pifu's existence? Does his existence really hold such great significance?"

The visitor became agitated, saying decisively: "That's right! With him and without him are two completely different outcomes! I have been saying all along that we were wrong; we are not super-soldiers at all. The true super-soldier, the only super-soldier, is Mr. Wu Pifu! He is a pure-blooded human, the only pure-blooded human, and at the same time, pollution has no effect on him! Do you know what this means? It means he can truly, thoroughly solve the root cause! The root of all this tragedy, all this doomsday!"

Li Xianchun did not understand much of the content in these words, but she generally grasped some of the information.

"The only pure-blooded human, then this..."

Li Xianchun thought of the implications, and her whole body trembled slightly. The visitor was silent again for a moment, then whispered: "Don't think too much. The more you know, the closer you are to death."

Li Xianchun forced herself to calm down, took several deep breaths, and said: "But Mr. Wu Pifu also clearly stated that he refuses. Besides his belief that the public referendum doesn't count, it's also because his strength is insufficient. If he is the only savior, then when he refuses, we have no other options."

The visitor nodded: "Indeed, this is also why I appeared before you. The public's problem is... if not knowing the truth allows for continued survival, even if it is survival as farmed livestock, I would also agree with Mr. Wu Pifu, because their ignorance allows them to have life. But the reality is that there are only twenty years, perhaps even less than that. And the longer we delay, even if Mr. Wu Pifu is willing to explore the truth, it will still lead to the extinction of all humanity. This no longer has anything to do with whether they are willing or not. A ten or twenty-year death reprieve versus gathering the final strength to fight—I think you should be able to understand the dividing line here, right?"

Li Xianchun could certainly understand.

This was also why, after Wu Pifu chose to refuse, she and the benevolent people who now controlled human order did not choose to continue forcing him.

Because they themselves were also very conflicted. On one hand, exploring the truth would likely trigger doomsday; on the other hand, the public could survive without knowing the truth.

Since Wu Pifu chose to refuse, they would not continue to force him. Although they felt regret, this was not necessarily a choice.

But if this false peace and survival only lasted twenty years, or even less, then the situation would be completely different. On one hand, a desperate fight; on the other, being boiled like a frog in warm water with no hope. Then, except for a very few hermits and cowards, everyone would know what to choose.

The visitor continued: "As for strength... indeed, Mr. Wu Pifu's strength is insufficient. Although he is already very powerful, and even overlord-level biochemical beasts cannot harm him, his strength is indeed insufficient to face the root cause that led to all these changes. But what about besides himself?"

Li Xianchun was stunned and asked: "What do you mean? What do you mean by 'besides himself'? Although we will definitely fight side-by-side with him, we humans no longer have super-machines, and there isn't a single living super-soldier left, except for those things manufactured into super-soldier armaments by the three major guilds..."

The visitor shook their head: "Those are not super-soldier armaments; those are failed super-soldier experiments... Let's put it this way: Mr. Wu Pifu is the true super-soldier, so he is a pure-blooded human. And I am one of the founders of Azure, and also the first-generation super-soldier you heard about earlier. I count as a successful experiment, but I am still not a true super-soldier. I only now understand that the meaning of our existence is to allow the true super-soldier to possess the power to confront the root cause. We are the super-soldier's weapons and armaments!"

!

Li Xianchun still didn't understand and asked: "What do you mean? I don't understand."

The visitor was silent for a moment: "You don't need to understand. You only need to know that when the truth is revealed, I can transform into Mr. Wu Pifu's weapon and armament. Even though I will perish quickly because he restrains pollution and refuses it, before that, I can allow Mr. Wu Pifu to possess the power to confront the root cause. You just need to know this!"

"Then what will happen to you? And what will happen to this world?"

At this moment, a steady voice came from behind the door.

The visitor and Li Xianchun were both startled; they hadn't heard any footsteps at all.

The visitor immediately opened the door, and sure enough, they saw Wu Pifu standing in the hallway outside.

The visitor seemed to be affected by something, and their voice began to have static: "Mr. Wu... what happens to me doesn't matter, because every day I live now is a huge torture for me. And my companions have been waiting for me; they are laughing at my solitary survival. So any ending is a great mercy to me."

"As for this world... Mr. Wu, when you know the truth, you will know that I did not lie. Twenty years later, what awaits them will be a situation more terrifying than death. Without you, these last false twenty years are the best ending I could find for them. But with you, they have a final hope. But you must be fast; there isn't much time left. The critical threshold was actually reached long ago, but there is still a final hope. Every day we delay, this final hope will diminish..."

"... I am in Hawaii... After the truth is revealed, there will be a very short gap. Before that, please come and find me..."

"... I will transform into your sword and armor..."

"... I want to see this azure world reappear..."

"... Companions, are you laughing at my solitary survival..."

As they spoke, Li Muxia's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground. Li Xianchun immediately rushed over to hold her sister, carefully checking her condition.

Wu Pifu stood silently in place, and a few seconds later, he turned and left.

"Tomorrow, I am going to the Man-Hunter territory. Wait for me to return, and then we will go..."

"Explore the truth!"

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 226 =====