Chapter 999: Dawn

His gaze narrowed.

Seeing the two characters 'Lin An', Lin An's heart suddenly welled up with a strange feeling.

Indeed, the Second Will had already 'inherited' him; from a certain perspective, they were no longer merely the relationship between memory and memory, but two living, independent individuals.

I have to admit, I still underestimated the Second Will's methods.

Even with only thought existing, the Second Will somehow, from this near‑non‑existent state, managed to forge an identity for himself.

After thinking it over, Lin An could find no clue in his memory fragments.

When did this guy make his move? And when did he secretly lay his plans?

Was it during a certain battle when he replaced me, or when I was 'killed' in the Secret Realm?

Under heightened thinking, Lin An's eyes kept flickering, finally pinpointing the problem to the moment he encountered Yuan Ying—only then could the Second Will possibly act, and only then was his own will completely absent.

Suppressing the thought, Lin An calmly examined the scroll the Second Will had traded over.

The skill was passed to me...

Is it that the Second Will cannot learn it even with a panel, or does he simply not want to learn it?

Or perhaps there is a trap?

As for the latter, Lin An considered the possibility extremely low.

First, the skill is randomly drawn by the system; no one knows what the Meme task will give.

Second, if the Second Will could truly foresee and even arrange this scene, then it would be impossible for an accident to expose his trump card.

With a 90% probability, the traded skill is fine; the Second Will just needs me to become stronger.

After all, perhaps in his eyes I am merely a perfect vessel—naturally, the stronger the better.

With a 10% probability, the random skill happens to be usable and can help the Second Will achieve some goal.

After a moment's thought, Lin An decided to examine the skill first before saying anything.

"【Night Heal】: No rank, special skill"

"Skill effect: After use, you can absorb the target's vitality at night to heal yourself."

"The healing effect depends on the target's vitality."

"This skill consumes nothing, has no prerequisites, and has no rank requirement."

"Note: When absorbing vitality, you must maintain contact with the target."

A brief description, with nothing special at all.

After barely a glance to finish reading, Lin An couldn't help but frown slightly.

Night Heal, compared to the Will Compression I just acquired, this skill hardly seems like a special skill at all.

If it weren't for the bold 'special' mark on the scroll, Lin An would have thought this was just filler from some junk task.

Since the healing effect is calculated by the target's vitality, doesn't that mean absorbing an ordinary person can only heal an ordinary person's injury?

Given his current physique, the vitality lost from a slight injury would require absorbing dozens of people.

Moreover, one must maintain contact at all times and do it only at night.

This skill looks about as useful as a chicken rib—utterly worthless.

Even a randomly pulled healing‑type Awakened One would likely have skills stronger than this; it's the kind no one wants in the trade channel.

The only thing that could barely be seen as special is probably just the words 'no requirement'.

Ordinary people can use it too—that's all.

He shook his head, Lin An wore a strange expression as he tossed the scroll straight into his ring, not giving it another thought.

It seems my earlier speculation was missing a point.

That is, the skill is too trashy—so trashy that the Second Will doesn't care at all, let alone leave any hidden trick.

After tallying this harvest, Lin An quickly ran through the details in his mind, confirmed nothing was missed, then picked up Mo Ling and headed toward the rear of the aircraft.

Mo Ling's sleep this time—who knows how long it will last.

According to Chu An's side, she is unlikely to wake up anytime soon.

Even in the subsequent conversation with Chu An, Colonel Chu subtly hinted that Mo Ling's personality might be slightly different.

Light and airy, like a fragile porcelain doll.

After gently placing Mo Ling on the bed, Lin An gave the sleeping little Mo Ling a complex look, then slowly pulled the blanket over her.

Just as he let go, little Mo Ling, as if by instinct, subconsciously hooked her arms around his shoulder, unwilling to let go like a little cat.

He let out a quiet sigh, moved her small hand away, after a brief pause Lin An took out the mechanical compass and added a layer of illusion shield above little Mo Ling's head.

For the upcoming actions, Mo Ling definitely can't be brought along.

Whether to leave her in the aircraft or keep her safe, it's better to err on the side of caution.

Without spiritual power, many previously convenient means are temporarily unusable.

As he raised his hand, Lin An noticed the black dragon on his wrist seemed to twitch—unsure if it was having a nice dream.

This guy...

His expression was helpless.

In the previous daydream Meme, the black dragon, being nearly immune to mental‑type attacks, was unaffected at all.

Or perhaps the little fellow's daydream is just to sleep?

My own controlled speed was too fast, leaving no chance to wake it.

But even if awakened, it wouldn't be of much use...

This fellow, aside from knowing to act when I'm about to die, is as lazy as a pig and yet a voracious eater.

But now, thinking about it, actually waking the black dragon back then to crash into the Meme might have had some effect...

All I can say is, he's almost forgotten he even has a dragon...

Not only that, his former self also had a low vision.

When he first obtained the black dragon, Lin An still fantasized about relying on it to dominate the apocalypse.

Who would have imagined that his own strength would rise so fast, far surpassing expectations, so that, in the eyes of billions of survivors, the black dragon that could be called a cheat actually had the feel of a mascot for him...

He shook his head, too lazy to summon the black dragon, Lin An directly turned off the light and then summoned Yun Tian.

After settling the matters at hand, perhaps he could find an opportunity to increase the black dragon's strength.

The little fellow grows just by sleeping on its own; when it reaches the fourth stage, who knows, maybe he himself will already have reached the legendary fifth stage...

"Captain Lin? Are we leaving?"

Having gone several days without sleep, Yun Tian forced himself to stay alert, looking at Lin An with some unease.

In recent days, too many things have happened, especially facing enemies each more terrifying than the last, simply refreshing his previous understanding.

Thinking back to when he was in Long An, in many situations he was the mainstay, revered by countless Awakened Ones as a big shot, a genius.

But after following Lin An for a stretch, he truly was like an ant—anyone could step on him.

Especially the earlier battle... just thinking about it now makes his scalp go numb.

Looking at Lin An, who wasn't much older than himself, Yun Tian suddenly understood why Lin An's strength differed so greatly from that of survivors worldwide.

Anyone who could survive repeated ordeals of this difficulty could become a top-tier existence!

After a moment's thought, Lin An didn't care what Yun Tian was thinking, and spoke gently:

"You take Mo Ling directly to a more distant gathering place to rest and regroup."

"After I finish here, I'll come find you."

Having said that, Lin An turned his gaze to a faint light outside the window.

After experiencing a great battle, the aerospace city littered with ruins lay like an old man lying supine on the earth.

The sky, it's almost dawn.