Chapter 1102: Who Are You Saving?

The killing intent stalled.

Lin An stared blankly at the hand gripping his sword blade; that final sentence struck like a blow to the soul, leaving him momentarily dazed.

NPC!?

An indescribable chill rose from behind him; he seemed to realize something, and even the calm brought by his hyper-effective thinking was shattered at that moment.

"Lin Dui! Don't listen to the monster's nonsense!"

In his bear state, Zhang Tie roared straight over, trying to snap Lin An out of it.

He couldn't understand what this ghostly woman was saying, but precisely because he never overthought things, he felt that the Zombie Emperor had been guiding Lin An since they entered, silently controlling the whole rhythm. To him, this was definitely the monster spouting nonsense, disturbing Lin Dui's mind!

The next second, just as Zhang Tie was about to throw a straightforward punch to kill this Zombie Emperor first, the woman opposite smiled, as if she were certain Lin An wouldn't lift a hand.

"You're shocked, right?"

"I think you've figured out some truth, right?"

"I said it; after I finish speaking, you might not want to kill me. Actually, I know far more than just now, and you yourself don't even know what's happened to you."

Having said that, the woman released her grip and locked eyes with him, utterly resolute.

A few seconds later, Lin An's expression wavered, and he slowly lowered his arm.

"Zhang Tie!"

A low grunt signalled Xiong Hanzi not to move.

Indeed, he had been persuaded.

Even when facing the researcher zombies before, Lin An showed no reaction, utterly dismissing them as nonsense. But this time, facing the Zombie Emperor similarly trying to 'persuade' him, he found he could no longer hold to his own judgment.

He realized that the answer known by this mysterious Zombie Emperor was exactly the mystery he had been painstakingly pursuing.

"Why.."

"Saying I'm an NPC.."

"Just what do you know.."

His voice hoarse, Lin An felt as if he stood on the edge of Shen Yuan, truth floating above its bottomless depths.

Taking a single step forward might mean being smashed to pieces.

Seeing Lin An's posture, the Zombie Emperor couldn't help but nod in satisfaction:

"Why say you're an NPC?"

"Hehe..."

"Do you think only the NPCs inside the system instance are NPCs, or even the monsters created by the system? Do you think you're a player of the Doomsday Game?"

"No, you're mistaken."

"Actually, in the eyes of all zombies and mutants, every survivor—or player—has their abilities, attributes, equipment, and deeds marked above their heads..."

"Just like an NPC's manual, nobody is a player."

Pointing at Lin An's head, the Zombie Emperor wore a teasing expression:

"When you came in, all your information was laid bare before my eyes."

"Lin An, you have the Judgment Eye, right? Before, you saw mutants however they appeared, and I see you just as they are. But most mutant ranks lack the ability to decipher these things; they fight only by instinct."

"Put simply, the Doomsday Game has never had players; you and I are nothing but NPCs."

"Think about the missions and guidance you've received—isn't that just what the system has preset? Like a rigid NPC, blindly obeying everything."

Self-mocking a laugh, the Zombie Emperor settled back onto the sofa and went on:

"You've entered many instances, right? In your eyes, they're ignorant, unaware they're endlessly repeating data, unaware of the real world, devoid of free will."

"But in their eyes, they are living people, with their own lives, loved ones, and their own history and stories."

"So, from another angle, aren't we just NPCs with a bit more freedom?"

She pointed a finger, utterly indifferent to Zhang Tie's angry glare:

"Take you, for example—don't you feel you've been set as the main character, a high‑rank NPC in the human faction?"

"The silly bear beside you, like the companion in novels and films, is a side‑character NPC."

"And I am the elite boss of the zombie faction... tasked with destroying humanity."

"All of this is predetermined—where is any free will to speak of?"

As her words fell, Lin An clenched the sword hilt tightly.

In an instant, his mind flashed to the predecessor of the maniac puppet—Li Lei, who thought he was the protagonist.

"Side character, protagonist—is everything just a predetermined plot?"

He had wondered whether his rebirth was just the instance being reset, but he had never considered that he himself was a preset NPC.

No matter how unwilling he was to accept this fact, Lin An couldn't help but admit that the Zombie Emperor's words were highly plausible.

"Do I really have no free will at all?"

From the very start, he never thought of shouldering responsibility, let alone saving humanity—but it really felt as if an invisible pair of hands had been pushing him all the way to now.

"So my fate... no, all my efforts are merely a preset script!?"

"You want to defy the system!?"

"You want to defy your predetermined fate!? So you'd say I'll give up killing you!? Because as long as you keep completing system tasks, you can never break free of control?"

When the talk reached this point, Lin An drew a deep breath and stared fixedly at the opposing Zombie Emperor.

Unexpectedly, the Zombie Emperor first shook his head, then nodded.

"You're very smart."

"That's pretty much the meaning."

"As mutants, or rather as every zombie and mutant, we have missions like the Awakened Ones do—and even upon completion we receive rewards."

"But most monsters' tasks differ from those of the Awakened Ones, and they don't know how to complete them voluntarily—they're driven purely by instinct."

For example, me, my mission is after being promoted to Fourth Stage to kill all humans in the Qing Shan war zone, but I don't want to be controlled by it again.

But you're mistaken about one thing; I want you to give up killing me, not to make you defy the system, and certainly not because I'm afraid of death.

Of course, you can't kill me either.

Chuckling softly, the Corpse Emperor looked at Lin An's head, then glanced at the toy on the ground, his voice low:

I just want you to give up, simply because I don't want humanity to go extinct...

Humans are like the mother of zombies; when humans die out... zombies will also go extinct. And a world without humans is really too lonely...

Lifting his head, the Corpse Emperor earnestly looked at Lin An:

Although in your eyes I am a mutant, I believe that zombies and mutants are merely another form of the Awakened Ones.

You kill mutants to grow stronger, but mutants aren't any different—they grow stronger by eating humans. In the end, what difference is there between you and me?

You should have also seen that I've been keeping this place, because I don't want to live in a world full of zombies.

I love humanity.

Having said that, Zhang Tie, who had been suppressing his anger, stared at the Corpse Emperor in shock.

A Corpse Emperor is actually telling me she doesn't want to destroy humanity, that she's talking to me about great love, about salvation!? Is this world gone mad? Earlier, zombie researchers wanted to create a new humanity; later, the Corpse Emperor compared humans to the mother of zombies.

Lin Dui, don't listen to her nonsense!! She's definitely tricking you!

His heart in turmoil, Xiong Hanzi, in his anxiety, hurriedly reminded Lin An, fearing that if the Corpse Emperor kept speaking, Lin Dui would really be persuaded!

Ignoring Zhang Tie's attempts to dissuade him, Lin An strained to stay calm and keenly caught the information from the Corpse Emperor's mouth.

What does killing you have to do with humanity's extinction?

I admit what you say might be true, but I'm human; even if killing you is following the system, so what!?

Humans and monsters are eternally opposed; this is the principle Lin An lives by.

No matter the truth, the mission issued by the system is also the crisis he wants to resolve! No matter how fantastical the Corpse Emperor's words, he wouldn't be so pedantic as to abandon the system just to escape it. As long as this apocalypse can end, what does it matter if it's predetermined?

As if anticipating that Lin An would think this way, the Corpse Emperor smiled, his expression gloomy:

Lin An, I can see the second system on your body, embedded in your information like garbled code.

You seem to have forgotten one thing: the mission to kill me was not issued by the Doomsday System, but by the Savior System...

After a brief pause, the Corpse Emperor let out a long sigh:

Have you ever wondered who the Savior System is actually trying to save?

Has it told you that it wants to save humanity?

Don't forget, you're a monster...