Chapter 2017

"Perfect Fifth Stage?"

Lin An froze, only feeling this sentence extremely familiar.

However, before he could think further, in the next second he saw No. 77 suddenly extend a tentacle pointing at the exchange light orb.

"Buzz—Boom!!"

Radiant light burst forth!

The system light orb touched by No. 77, as if activated, suddenly began to violently contract inward.

In an extremely short time, Lin An felt a violent tremor under his feet.

It was like an earthquake; the space began to twist, and on the surrounding white expanse of the spatial wall, large patches of flesh like cancer cells spread at a visible speed!

"Gululu!"

"Gululu!"

The flesh writhed! As if growing muscle!

In just a few seconds, the entire exchange space was quickly covered by desiccated brown flesh tissue; the constantly pulsing flesh, like internal organs, blanketed the whole space into the shape of a stomach!

If he weren't watching the anomaly unfold with his own eyes, Lin An would even suspect he had been swallowed by something!

Moreover, as even the ground beneath his feet turned into uneven flesh, the originally cold, light-emitting system light orb directly sank into the flesh, and within a few seconds turned into a blurred flesh-shaped eye socket!

The eye socket was hollow, opening and closing.

Although there was only an eye socket without an eye, upon meeting its gaze Lin An actually felt as if something was staring at him!

"This is?!"

Lin An's face slightly changed, and he couldn't help but warily look around.

Even though he had seen many morbid, twisted scenes, looking at everything before him his SAN was plummeting! If it weren't for No. 77 being beside him, he would have been certain this was the exchange point!

At this moment, he even had the impulse to draw his sword and charge out!

After all, this place really looks too much like the belly of some creature!

"Don't be nervous, Lin An."

"This is another form of the exchange point: the Eye of Prometheus."

The tentacle swayed slowly, No. 77 gave a faint smile, then, as if communicating with the exchange point, the tentacle sank into the flesh and began to link.

Lin An's reaction is completely normal; anyone encountering the Eye of Prometheus for the first time would mistake it for not being the system but some kind of monster. Of course, the Eye of Prometheus indeed is a kind of monster.

"Another form? Prometheus? This name is..."

"Fire thief?"

Reacting extremely quickly, hearing No. 77's explanation, Lin An instantly felt a surge of bewilderment.

Whether it's due to the system's translation or truly the same thing, at this moment Lin An couldn't help but ask in surprise.

He never imagined he could hear that name here.

However, faced with Lin An's astonishment, No. 77 merely blinked indifferently.

"You're not mistaken; this thing is pretty much what you know. Didn't I say? Your history has mixed in too much junk."

"But you don't need to think too much; this name isn't special, and you can't dig out anything useful from it."

After saying that, No. 77 waved another tentacle, indicating Lin An need not imagine anything.

"As for this other form..."

"Well, it's a long story. You can understand it as: long ago, a civilization tried to rebel against the system, and their approach was to steal system resources."

"In their logic, they believed that aside from extremely few special life paths, anyone's power source comes from the system, and the system is the greatest and most terrifying source of power."

"Conservation of energy, constancy of matter. Therefore they firmly believed that as long as they stole enough power, theoretically they could cause the Doomsday System to collapse, ending the apocalypse."

Having said that, No. 77 gave a half-smile, shook his head, unsure whether he was mocking or feeling moved by that race's 'courage'.

"So...?"

"So they came up with a method: wrap the system light orb, then continually erode it with their own special rules, attempting to replace the system's exchange function."

"It's like stealing money from a bank; since they don't know how to get in, they might as well guard the door."

"Fortunately, they actually succeeded. Unfortunately, they were erased by the system, turned into mindless rotting flesh. From a certain perspective, they indeed replaced part of the system's exchange function, like a meat urinal; the system occasionally uses them once."

Having finished, Lin An felt a strange stir in his heart listening to No. 77's brief explanation.

Although No. 77's metaphor is somewhat odd, it is indeed easy to understand. However, Lin An also thought that No. 77's seemingly teasing tone ultimately sounded rather laughable.

But for that civilization, the story is tragic and desperate. Perhaps at the plan's outset, the civilization called Prometheus had full anticipation, viewing this plan as hope for survival.

Having sensed Lin An's emotional fluctuation, No. 77 blinked and spoke softly with deep meaning:

"Do you feel very sad?"

"Kid, I really like this about you: no matter what you encounter, you always think about whether it's useful for ending the apocalypse."

"This is good; having such persistence is what lets you go all the way."

"But I want to tell you, you will see many, very many stories, so many they might numb you."

"Countless civilizations, countless races, countless stunningly talented, movingly heroic strong ones. Every civilization that tried to resist the Doomsday System has its own legendary tale. They tried every means to survive and fight the apocalypse."

"Like the Prometheus civilization, merely an inconspicuous resister among countless civilizations. They fared relatively well, at least leaving some trace. Some civilizations gathered the power of multiple universes, simulating the creative force of a cosmic explosion to oppose the system. Yet besides blowing themselves up with a bang before the system, they ultimately left not even an atom behind."

As he spoke, a flicker of desolation flashed in No. 77's eyes, evidently he too had once been shaken by the deeds of some civilizations.

"Forget it, let's not talk about these."

"Kid, just as I said before, I hope you can prepare mentally. Only after the Fifth Stage can you see the true apocalypse. I hope you can hold firm to your belief, never waver.."

"No matter what you see, no matter how desperate this road ultimately is..."

Having said that, No. 77 turned sideways, preparing to let Lin An draw the reward.

There is one thing he actually didn't tell Lin An: that is the meaning behind Prometheus.

In the apocalypse, countless civilizations have already tried to rebel against the system. These civilizations and top-tier experts, without exception, all failed. Some 'merged' into the system, some were controlled by the system.

Therefore, the current Doomsday System is no longer what it originally was...

The system is also 'completing'.

The loopholes are disappearing.