Chapter 1627: Setting Out 5

Faced with Zhang Tie's first questioning of himself, or rather, the painful inner thought that wanted to seek an answer.

Lin An also couldn't help but be stunned.

Why...

Is it worth it?

Faced with Zhang Tie's question, Lin An remained silent for a long time, only giving a bitter smile in his heart.

To be honest, he also didn't know why, and he also didn't know whether it was worth it.

Since his rebirth, he only wanted to protect the people around him; having some strength was enough.

By now, having step by step become the strongest in the world, he also unconsciously took on more.

If one asks why he doesn't give up, why he still willingly bears all this...

From his own self-interest, perhaps it's because the belief system needs enough population, or perhaps he hopes humanity will later help him, together resisting the apocalypse.

Without a secure rear, in this ever-changing, mysterious apocalypse, it's hard to survive.

The Overseer cannot always help him swap tasks; Lin An also knows he cannot be good at everything, cannot rely solely on himself.

The path of rules requires a large population to research routes.

Of course, these are not the key.

After thinking, Lin An looked at Zhang Tie's eyes and spoke softly:

"Do you hate? Hate people's suspicion and misunderstanding of us, hate why they aren't allowed to die, only saving those you want to save?"

After a light sigh, Lin An thought and spoke out the half-answer he had struggled for long to obtain.

"People are born foolish, so they need \"education\"."

"Ignorant, selfish, greedy, easily incited, but these are not their fault."

"The mistake is that they cannot see the truth, and their environment and strength are insufficient to let them do the right thing."

Looking at the not-so-understandable Xiong Hanzi.

Lin An paused for a moment, then continued:

"Zhang Tie, if we hadn't become companions back then..."

"You are now an Awakened One outside Long An; how would you view me?"

"For example."

"Now someone tells you that one who truly saved you, an immensely powerful Fourth Stage, tells you that if you believe him, you will gain power; what would you do?"

"With power, you can protect your family, protect your friends, so you no longer suffer hunger and thirst, no longer live in constant fear, and even be able to take revenge and settle grudges..."

"And the price is merely to be hostile toward a powerful ruler who has nothing to do with you, who is completely unrelated to you."

"Perhaps the people of Long An would thank me, but what reason do outsiders have to thank me?"

"In their eyes, I truly haven't helped them in the slightest, and they didn't survive because of me."

"Even for many Awakened Ones, I truly have taken resources they might have had."

"Are they wrong?"

Lin An smiled and shook his head to himself.

"They are merely doing everything possible to survive."

"In the face of survival, so-called morality is meaningless, let alone anything else?"

"They, too, are just a bunch of pitiful people."

As his words fell, Lin An's gaze swept past Zhang Tie toward the distance.

One familiar face after another flashed through his memory.

Anduyin.. Li Enzhu.. Han Youzhen.. Huang Zheng.. Zhang Zhicheng... Wang Meng...

Among these people, there are the weak and the kind, there are sycophantic petty people, and also obstinate soldiers.

Regardless of how these people were before encountering him, after he displayed his strength, they all regarded Lin An as hope.

In a sense, the relationship between these people and him is no different from that between the group of false Fourth Stage and their followers.

They have no power; they want to survive, so they can only rely on the strong.

"Zhang Tie, people are very complex."

"Perhaps in one second a person is still a coward, a petty person, and the next second becomes a hero."

"Perhaps yesterday he was still a good person, and tomorrow he hates the whole world."

"I once encountered a shop owner, and I once encountered a retired soldier."

"They were once extremely kind; even after killing a zombie they would devoutly pray and bury the corpse."

"But after they gained power, after experiencing some things, they would rather become monsters, devouring the flesh of their own kind bite by bite, killing every person they hate."

"The fault is not theirs, but those truly evil people, that group of fugitives."

"It is this apocalypse, this world that forces people to become monsters."

Turning his head, Lin An earnestly looked at the dazed Zhang Tie staring at him, as if speaking to Xiong Hanzi, and also as if speaking to himself.

"If the apocalypse does not end, nothing will end."

"The fault is not with people, but with this world."

After saying all that, Lin An also said no more.

He did not tell Zhang Tie, from the perspective of interests, why they cannot escape.

He also did not tell Zhang Tie that, in fact, fleeing is useless.

Retreat one step, and it's retreat ten thousand steps.

Very few people know.

Perhaps the Second Will knows, perhaps Chu An knows.

He, Lin An, what does he truly hate?

Or rather, what does he want to do?

End this apocalypse.

Even if he is merely an insignificant, infinitesimally tiny ant in this game.

One hour later.

Above low Earth orbit.

In the silent, tranquil space, Lin An calmly looked down at the blue planet.

Mountains and rivers, lands and deserts.

As the Earth rotated, it continually passed before his eyes.

He wasn't sure whether being transmitted by the system to the Star Battlefield would cause any strange phenomena.

He also didn't want too many people to know.

Lin An simply chose to wait here for the system's guidance.

Looking down at the blue planet.

Although black corpse tides covered it, the lights of civilization were also scattered sparsely.

But in Lin An's eyes, this blue planet was truly beautiful.

It was as if, from the depths of his genes, from the depths of his bloodline, from the depths of his soul, he and this world had an inseparable bond.

Under his powerful five-sense ability, he could even feel the faint vibrations from the ground, hear the roars of Awakened Ones in battle, and the cries of monsters.

He could see sparks flash and explode in a corner, and see storms ravaging a city above.

Vast amounts of information flooded his mind, and countless voices echoed in his thoughts.

He didn't know if this was a special trait of the Body System.

Unlike the Rule System's Fourth Stage, which merely enhanced the five senses somewhat.

For Lin An, if he did not shut off his five senses.

With his current strength, he could receive tens of millions of various pieces of information in a single second.

He could hear children crying from hundreds, even thousands of kilometers away.

He could hear women's screams, soldiers' angry shouts, and the excited breathing of perpetrators.

He could hear the most helpless prayers, as well as the most desperate wails.

This is a very painful state.

Once, Lin An did not understand what it truly meant that greater ability brings greater responsibility.

He had always thought it was merely the weak morally binding the strong.

But after becoming the peak return to reality, Lin An suddenly understood its meaning.

When a person can hear, see, and know that tragedy is unfolding around them, and watch living lives die before their eyes.

How could one remain unmoved?

Especially, he had enough power; he only needed to move a finger to stop all of this.

Although he was rational enough, in the eyes of the outside world, Lin An appeared cold-hearted and ruthless, even somewhat cruel.

But Lin An knew he was still a human being.

"Perhaps this is the answer.."

"Perhaps the reason I don't flee is so I can feel better inside..."

At the final moment of waiting for the system's guidance, Lin An no longer wondered what he would be waiting for, nor did he ponder how great the difficulty actually was.

He actually hadn't told Zhang Tie the true meaning of the Rule Fragments he left behind.

Nor did he say why he truly agreed with Huang Haitao's opinion.

He had actually already prepared for the worst outcome.

If he couldn't return, Kelai'en would open the instance, letting everyone survive.

Those fragments were his final kindness left to humanity.

Whoever obtained them, it no longer mattered.

Lin An would not flee, but he would not stop others from fleeing.