Chapter 2055

Yun Lin?

Lin An raised his eyebrows, then smiled and nodded, giving a greeting.

As for Yun Lin, he still had a deep impression of her; in a sense, Yun Lin could be considered to have saved them.

This holy-mother little policewoman is still quite interesting.

It would be better if Lin An didn't smile; although his smile was gentle, in Yun Lin's eyes it seemed to instantly trigger her nightmare.

Only hearing a startled cry, Yun Lin turned pale with fright and instinctively fled in a panic into the room.

Not expecting to run into Lin An here, already shivering from the cold, Yun Lin, who had turned and run, was like a frightened rabbit; with a plop she slid to the ground, falling flat on her back in a miserable state.

"Sis?!"

"Plop!"

Inside the lab, Yun Tian, hearing the noise, mistakenly thought something had happened and rushed out in a panic.

As he looked up, before Yun Tian could help Yun Lin up, the next second he saw Lin An.

He also froze, but compared to Yun Lin, Yun Tian first froze, then hurriedly stood at attention and saluted Lin An.

"Lord Lin An?!"

"How did you come?! Not... my sister... me?!"

Realizing his sister had been frightened by Lord Lin An, Yun Tian was at a loss, anxious and not knowing how to help Yun Lin out of the situation.

Seeing the two panicked people, Lin An smiled helplessly and didn't mind it.

"It's fine, I came to see Chu An."

"Chu An lately..."

"Any signs of waking up?"

Walking slowly into the lab, when mentioning Chu An, Lin An's tone softened a bit, his heart filled with complex feelings.

For some reason, although they were separated by just one door, with his mental power he could easily "see" Chu An in advance; but since entering the Amoeba instance, Lin An had not done so.

He hadn't used any means to see Chu An ahead of time; even like an ordinary person, the closer he got to that door, the more uneasy his heart became.

It's hard to say why this is; given his temperament, even if beyond the door lay a dead star, an eighth- or ninth-rank super existence, he probably wouldn't be this nervous.

But facing Chu An's situation, Lin An actually felt hesitant, as if afraid that once he saw Chu An's condition with his own eyes, those unknowns would become settled.

Like Schrödinger's cat.

Unlike his previous strength and perception methods, Lin An clearly realized that with his current strength he could probably already see what Chu An's condition was.

Before opening the box, anything was possible.

"Chu Colonel he..."

Sensing Lin An's heavy mood, Yun Tian opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

He knew Lin An valued Chu An greatly; if he could, he would like to say Chu An's condition was fine, maybe he'd wake up tomorrow.

"But.."

"Chu Colonel is still the same as before."

"But Lord Lin An, rest assured! Lord Chu An's physical condition is still fine! My sister and I have been taking good care of him! We're also following Lord Kelaisen's orders!"

Thus line: "But Lord Lin An, rest assured! Lord Chu An's physical condition is still fine! My sister and I have been taking good care of him! We're also following Lord Kelaisen's orders!"

Hearing Yun Tian force a confidence by raising his fist, Lin An silently nodded and headed straight for the cold storage.

The cold was biting; not sure if it was Kelaisen's requirement, the lab's temperature was kept around minus twenty degrees. Through the glass wall coated with a layer of white frost, Lin An could see Chu An lying inside the cold storage at a glance.

Only seeing in the cold room, Chu An seemed frozen, completely still.

The monitoring equipment beside him emitted beeping sounds; on the display showing brainwaves, there was only an unchanging straight line.

According to the judgment standard before the Apocalypse, this straight line had already announced the result.

Approaching the glass, Lin An placed his hand on the cold glass, his eyes full of complex emotions.

One after another, memories flashed like movie clips.

No one dared to disturb.

After a long while, Lin An finally took a deep breath, forced out a smile, and looked at the people behind him.

"You all go out first."

"I'll stay here a moment."

As his words fell, the light of the flame of time in Lin An's eyes flickered and vanished, a trace of desolate heaviness slowly spread.

"Lin Dui? Are you staying here by yourself?"

"Lin An, you really don't want us to accompany you?"

Wen Ya opened her mouth; she could tell Lin An seemed to have seen something just now, that oppressive feeling made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"No need, I'll be fine staying here."

Slightly shaking his head, Lin An, after speaking, turned and walked toward the cold storage.

He knew everyone was worried about him, and Wen Ya, who knew him best, could see even more.

"Yes."

He had confirmed it.

Chu An's soul had vanished.

The person lying on the sickbed might merely be a corpse whose heart still beats.

"Chu.. An"

"You really... died?"

"Beep.."

"Beep.."

The monitoring sound mechanical echo in the quiet room.

Standing beside Chu An, Lin An silently gazed at Chu An lying on the sickbed; the light representing the Omniscience Domain in his eyes also gradually faded.

Terms: Chu An, Lin An, maybe "Omniscience Domain" (Omniscience Domain?) Not in glossary; but it's a technique? Not in glossary list; we only include terms that appear in the glossary list provided.

Thus we only include terms that are in the provided glossary list. So we need to check each line for any of those terms.

Glossary terms list:

- Lin An

- Zhang Tie

- Wen Ya

- Gao Tian

- Yun Lin

- Yun Tian

- Chu An

- Lin Dui

- Ling An

- Colonel

- Emperor

- Sovereign

- Baiyang Town

- Fire Seed Project

- First Level

- Fourth Rank

- Memory

- Zombie

- Second Will

- Fourth Stage

- Alien Species

- Fifth Stage

Also note: "Emperor" and "Sovereign" are separate entries.

We need to output a JSON-like list: 【{"raw_term":"EnglishName","original_term":"ChineseChars"},...】 after

Having been in a low‑temperature state for a long time, Chu An's body was as white as paint, devoid of color. At a glance, he looked like a paper figure.

Gazing at those tightly closed eyes, Lin An felt as if he had returned to that classroom in Baiyang Town.

Besides that memory, it was the first time he had ever seen Chu An.

"You really... didn't leave yourself a backup, did you...?"

"You really... haven't arranged anything, have you...?"

Lin An instinctively reached out his hand, stopping above Chu An's head.

To be honest, even though he had known Chu An was in trouble since returning from the alien world, even now he could not believe Chu An would become like this.

He used every means of investigation to sense Chu An's condition, but even employing the omniscient domain yielded only the same result.

Brain death.

Apart from the most basic biological instincts, Chu An's mental activity was infinitely close to zero.

If a normal person's brain is lively, full of electrical signals and bright red proteins, then Chu An's brain is a sheet of grayish white, like burned‑to‑ash white paper, shocking to behold.

Without soul, consciousness, or thought, even a zombie is closer to being alive than this guy.

Yet precisely because of that, Lin An still could not accept it.

It's too fake, really too fake.

"An alien sovereign, a fourth‑rank... how could it have driven you to this point?"

"How could you possibly not have calculated that? You're... Chu An!"

The hand hanging in mid‑air clenched tightly.

Lin An drew a deep breath, his eyes fixed rigidly on Chu An; an indescribable anger and disbelief made him feel extremely oppressed.

Back then, seeing Chu An block the alien sovereign already seemed utterly incredible, but now Lin An does not think so!

What is a mere fourth‑rank alien sovereign!

He could not believe, nor could he comprehend that, given Chu An's mysterious nature, he would actually fight to the death over an alien sovereign so insignificant it wasn't even worth an ant!

Looking back on everything Lin An has experienced, in his heart Chu An's mystery and terror are on par with the level of Entity 77!

How could a monster that had been laying plans since his first rank die at the hands of an alien sovereign!

It's as if someone told him that Entity 77 had died at the hands of a zombie—how could Lin An accept that!

"Chu An, if you can hear me, I hope you wake up!"

"I need your help; I'm facing too many problems, and the crisis confronting humanity is imminent! I need you to share the burden, I need you to open your eyes and look at me!"

"I have accomplished everything in your plan!"

"You wanted to launch the Fire Seed Project, didn't you!? I have already condensed it! You wanted to unify the world and combine all forces, didn't you!? Now this world is called Ling An!"

"Stop pretending to sleep; the Second Will is dead, and those alien species, those damned escapees, I have slaughtered them all!"

Repressed emotions erupted.

No one knows how immense the pressure Lin An harbors inside is—so great that even breathing feels like a luxury; he dares not relax for a second, nor rest for a moment.

Having come this far, Lin An clearly sees that to outsiders he appears immensely powerful, omnipotent, with limitless future—but only he knows that perhaps in the next second he could face overthrow.

Whether it's from fighting side by side with Chu An all along, having grown accustomed to Chu An always creating miracles in unexpected places, deep down Lin An even regards Chu An as his greatest trump card, a reassuring backing even more reliable than Entity 77!

He had too many questions he wanted to ask, too many things he wanted to discuss with this bastard, and he wanted to vent!

In Lin An's fantasies, he always felt Chu An might be feigning death, plotting something!

But.

Perhaps it was one minute, perhaps ten minutes.

After a long while, Lin An slowly sat down to the side, giving a bitter smile.

No matter what he said, Chu An on the hospital bed remained motionless, that flat line seeming as if it would never change.

"Chu An.."

"You say, if I kill you, could that revive you?"

"Or rather, no matter what, you can't come back to life..."

Psychic power flared, like a sharp dagger hovering above Chu An's head.

For a long time.

Lin An slowly closed his eyes, dispersing his psychic power.

He dared not gamble.

For the first time, he dared not take a risk.

"Yun Lin, come in."

"Lin Dui? Are you okay? Chu Da Bian.. Colonel Chu, how is he? Is there a way to recover?"

"Lin An, don't put too much pressure on yourself; I believe there must be a way. Chu An's condition is currently stable; perhaps after reaching the fifth stage something could save him."

Outside the freezer room, Wen Ya, her face full of worry, took Lin An's hand and gently placed it in her own embrace.

Seeing the somewhat silent Lin An, she couldn't help but want to hug him to comfort him.

Beside them, Zhang Tie and Gao Tian stared at him anxiously, while Yun Tian on the other side gave a bitter smile, having probably guessed that Lin An also had no solution.

"It's difficult."

Lin An raised his head, forced a smile, and spoke softly.

"I've tried; replenishing life force doesn't work. Psychic stimulation can't be done—Chu An's brain tissue is like ash; not to mention stimulation, any external impact could completely kill him."

"Of course, in theory there might be a way, but I can't do it now."

After saying that, Lin An looked at Yun Lin, who seemed a little fearful of him, and felt a bitter smile in his heart.

He did not tell everyone Chu An's true condition; without a soul, how could anyone possibly be saved by other means?

Even if he could exchange for some high-rank props, even recovery props on the dead star, that still "cannot retrieve" Chu An.

Therefore, after Lin An repeatedly considered, there are theoretically four methods.

1, kill Chu An, then gather enough for revival, and use the system to revive a Chu An.

2, still kill Chu An, then replicate Zhang Tie's revival path once more, and find a vessel similar to the Immortal Shura to reshape.

But this path has an extremely low success rate: first, Lin An also doesn't know where to find the Immortal Shura; second, after gaining understanding of the soul, Lin An seriously doubts that Zhang Tie could be revived—actually, it was only because of the special circumstances at the time.

(Manchineel Flower sealed Zhang Tie's (soul information), the amoeba worm is equivalent to data storage, and with the instance stuck, Zhang Tie wasn't judged as dead by the system... too many conditions, Chu An may not meet them.)

3, reverse the Causal Sequence, however this path also has an extremely low success rate.

Lin An has deduced that if he had reversed it when Chu An just had the accident, there might actually be hope.

But too much time has passed since Chu An's incident—so long that after he came out of the Alien Species world, the required energy consumption is beyond what he can bear. Moreover, reversal would cause mental errors; he doesn't even know what state the Chu An returned by such a massive reversal would be in.

4, is the most promising, and after Lin An's careful consideration, he feels it best matches Chu An's layout.

(Charge into the Underworld! Chu An's problem is his soul disappearing; if he still has a layout and a backup plan, then perhaps this guy's soul is still somewhere in the Underworld!)

Lin An silently gripped his Wen Ya tightly, his eyes flashing.

This sounds incredibly unbelievable, and it's also the hardest! Especially if it's truly like that, then it would mean Chu An even calculated his current situation!

But precisely because it's so unbelievable, so perverse! Lin An then feels that this better matches Chu An's style!

Creating possibility from impossibility, laying out with death!

He, Lin An, also needs to go to the Underworld!

Suppressing all the suspicions in his heart, Lin An simply asked Yun Lin, hoping to find more information to verify his guess.

"Yun Lin, I heard from Klaine that you've been using your ability to watch Chu An?"

"What did you see? Or rather, why did Klaine have you do this?"

As the words fell, Lin An noticed Klaine hadn't followed him in, so he simply questioned Yun Lin directly.

Faced with Lin An's question, not knowing whether what Lin An asked was also her doubt, Yun Lin suddenly startled, then nervously replied:

"Lin.. Lin An."

"Klaine said to do this, it was Chu An's meaning. I'm not entirely sure either; I feel it might be Klaine's own guess."

"As for what I saw.."

Gazing into Lin An's eyes, deep as the starry sky, Yun Lin extremely nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"Nothing, I didn't see anything."

"But it's precisely because I didn't see anything that there's a problem!"

Fearing Lin An might misunderstand, Yun Lin directly activated her ability, enveloping a sheet of paper on the table:

"Lin An, my ability after third rank has undergone a new change. I can already see dead things, no, I can see the past or future of anything."

"How to put it, I look at a sheet of paper, and maybe I can see its condition a few seconds later, or the circumstances when it was produced."

"But I can't see any information about Chu An; he seems... as if he doesn't exist!"

"He has no past and future! Not even the present!"

Having said that in one breath, Yun Tian beside him also heavily nodded his head toward Lin An.

"Lord Lin An! During this time, Lord Klaine and us have said this matter; we seriously suspect that if my sister could see any images, perhaps Lord Chu An would wake up!"

Upon hearing that, Lin An's heart jolted, his brows furrowed, and for a moment he couldn't help but be startled.

But soon, after about two or three seconds, Lin An suddenly focused his gaze, and a completely unrelated thought, yet like lightning, flashed through his mind!

"No past and future, non-existent..!?"