Chapter 2015

Utterly silent.

Gazing at the silent large eyeball, Lin An's mouth curled into a bitter smile.

Well, he had actually already guessed the answer, but he still clung to a sliver of hope, wishing that 77 would tell him he was wrong.

But reality is always cruel.

As expected, after a few seconds, 77 gave a slight nod, not intending to hide anything.

"Lin An, they're coming soon."

"That corpse lacks the strength to break the wall, but I think the only reason he's so anxious is that he sensed a threat from others."

"As I said before, although you would only choose to break the wall and devour each other after reaching a certain strength, this is an ideal state."

"Someone will always worry about being threatened and strike first."

77 then slowly extended a tentacle and lightly tapped the light curtain.

"The cosmic bubbles bordering us recently number about thirteen, so I also cannot determine how many saviors preparing to break the wall that guy who died in the Skull sensed."

"I think it's more than one, and he was also detected."

"If I'm not mistaken, after being discovered by other saviors, he chose to shut down his own system to hide, and then planned to merge with the faith system to cleanse himself."

"A smart move; doing so would make it hard for the other side to find him."

"Relying on the potential of the Three Systems, he even had a chance to pull off a reversal."

Saying this, 77 shook its head.

"He shouldn't have shut down his own system, nor should he have doubted his path."

"Lin An, you should have realized that the Savior within you helps conceal your identity; shutting it down may let you evade pursuit, but what about system detection? Moreover, switching power systems midway causes a drastic drop in strength and a collapse of cognition."

"Without surprise, he likely encountered a powerful enemy midway, his strength plummeted, and he was forced to use the Savior's power."

"It's like unsilencing a gun: fine before shutting it down, the Savior system could still help conceal him; but using it after shutting down would naturally be erased on the spot by the system."

Lin An remained silent; although everything was merely 77's speculation, it should be the truth.

The reason was simple: he recalled when the hamster on his body had been shut down.

(Actually, isn't it closed upon upgrade?... The Savior system's shutdown time coincides exactly before the Skull's mutation, meaning that corpse's time of death was recent.)

(But if that's the case... could the system in me be a seed he scattered?)

(Andre-Earth-Meme copy-Skull... devour!?)

Lin An's heart jumped violently; an extremely shocking guess flashed through his mind!

The savior in the Skull, before death, tried to find him to complete itself! Only this can explain why Andre inexplicably entered the Skull from the Earth copy! Because the passage between them has been opened!

And Lin An himself was then on the Stellar Battlefield, narrowly escaping this calamity by a twist of fate!

Moreover...

As his train of thought opened, after linking together numerous seemingly unrelated clues, Lin An couldn't help but glance at 77!

(So is there a possibility...!?)

"Lin An, what are you thinking?"

"Are you worried about when the breakers will arrive?"

With extremely keen perception, almost the instant a thought arose in Lin An's mind, 77 suddenly stared straight at him and asked softly.

"Yes!"

"Overseer, if that's the case, then am I not constantly in danger? My system was shut down due to the upgrade, and once I advance to Fifth Stage and restart the system, wouldn't that be equivalent to turning on a beacon?"

Not daring to think further, Lin An took a deep breath and simply followed 77's line of questioning. Of course, he was also worried about this question!

A group of super beings capable of breaking the cosmic wall....

Just thinking about it made Lin An feel immense pressure!

Even a Seventh Stage Savior was forced to die; how could he survive? How much time does he have left!?

"Perhaps a few years, perhaps a few days."

77 spoke softly, without hiding anything. Merely while speaking, it seemed to comfort him, extending a tentacle toward Lin An:

"But you don't need to worry too much; when these guys break the wall, the commotion will be huge. Even if the sky falls, there will be big shots to hold it up; even if they succeed, others will confront them. At that time, I will give you advance notice."

"Your system is like a lighthouse; before reaching around Seventh Stage, the signal it emits won't be very strong."

"On the bright side, those fanatics might think there are no seeds left here, so whether they'll come is itself a question."

Having said that, 77 blinked, indicating Lin An should temporarily not bear too much pressure.

(Because I'm too weak, so for now I'm safe...)

Listening to the eyeball's comfort, Lin An's gaze flickered; although he believed 77's judgment on this point was correct, a faint hint of apprehension had already arisen in his heart.

Before Lin An could think of wanting more information about the Savior, 77 suddenly shifted tone and dispersed the light curtain:

"Lin An, since you already know these things, there are some matters I must impress upon you."

"Do you know why I insisted you complete the Three Systems before Fifth Stage? And why that guy in the Skull died so miserably?"

Lin An startled, and the next second he saw 77 looking at him with utmost seriousness:

"You should have realized that the higher the existence, the more its power is tied to cognition!"

"My reason for letting you enter the Skull wasn't to gain these benefits, but to make you aware of this at your weakest, planting this concept in your heart!"

"Do not doubt your own path, nor believe others'! Once your cognition wavers, your own power system will collapse in an extremely short time! Therefore, after reaching high stages, absolutely do not arbitrarily switch your power system!"

As the words fell, Lin An was instantly puzzled.

He could understand the former, but the latter...

"What if the route is wrong? What if the potential is too low?"

"Just like those hastily trained Fifth Stages I encountered on the Stellar Battlefield, their power was singular and they grasped rules with little potential. Overseer, according to your view, how could they advance further?"

"Or suppose one day I discover my power system has a problem, I.."

There's nothing we can do!

If we change, we die! Even if it's wrong, we must persevere to the end! Or rather, we cannot consider ourselves wrong!

Almost as Lin An finished asking, 77's gaze turned cold, and he rarely interrupted him.

Lin An, this world is far more terrifying than you can imagine! It's not that I look down on you, but you simply aren't qualified and have never witnessed true cruelty!

In the future, your cognition and worldview will surely suffer a huge impact!

Everything I'm doing now, all the information I'm telling you, is to prevent you from repeating the same mistakes!

My expectations for you..

It's really big.