Chapter 422: with translation of chapter title

Sui Bian had been under the gaze of the Zero Three Emperor since birth.

In his previous life, Sui Bian was a member of countless Huaxia families, ordinary and moderately prosperous, with nothing special about him.

If there was anything special, it was that Sui Bian's parents were more affectionate and loved raising children, so Sui Bian had an older brother and a younger brother.

However, the parents treated each child equally, toys, snacks, and affection were all the same; of course, when the children were punished and scolded, they suffered together.

Growing up in such a family environment, Sui Bian was respectful toward his older brother and deferential to his younger brother, and unconsciously learned from his parents how to educate children, the methods and skills.

The Zero Three Emperor was quite pleased with Sui Bian, this soul's isotopic counterpart.

Although they are isotopic counterparts, in different universes, environments, and backgrounds, each isotopic counterpart will have minor or even considerable differences in personality, physique, appearance, etc.

Finally, as Sui Bian was heading to the basketball court as usual, preparing for a friendly match with passersby, he suffered a malicious collision that caused him to fall and hit the back of his head, resulting in an "accidental" death.

Then, Sui Bian's soul occupied the body of a person named Sui Bian who had just died in the main universe.

Immediately afterward, a self-proclaimed "system" appeared in Sui Bian's mind and helped him modify the body's genes, genetic information, and physical fitness.

In fact, Sui Bian's "accidental" death, as well as the main universe's Sui Bian's voluntary degeneration and natural death, which provided the body for Sui Bian to occupy and modify, were all personally arranged by the Zero Three Emperor.

From another perspective, it was "he" who personally caused Sui Bian's death, which is why, when "he" first spoke with Sui Bian, he said things like "thanks to your sacrifice and dedication" and "it is an honor to meet you."

Indeed, without the Zero Three Emperor's intervention, Sui Bian would have lived an ordinary, warm, and fairly happy life.

The reason "he" did this was because, at that time, the main universe was not yet worth exploring or disturbing for the myriad evil gods, and moreover, the main universe's Earth technological strength—especially the technology, resources, and biochemical weapons controlled by Umbrella—far surpassed that of the universe Sui Bian came from in his previous life.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Zero Three Emperor, the conditions of the main universe were simply an excellent foundation for steadily developing a force, so "he" pulled Sui Bian into the main universe.

Next, Sui Bian's early lottery draws, which secured the absolute loyalty of the Red Queen and White Queen, were "his" behind-the-scenes maneuvering to facilitate Sui Bian's control of Umbrella and, ultimately, the unification of Earth.

However, due to various limitations, the Zero Three Emperor could not directly intervene, nor could he directly give Sui Bian personal advice; at most, when providing technology and weapons, he could only help Sui Bian accelerate the unification of Earth and the protection of humanity.

In other words, humanity in the main universe has been able to develop to this point, possessing millions of Astartes, all vaccinated, unafraid of the whispers, corruption, and threats from other spaces...

All of this and everything else is due to Sui Bian's personal decisions and command.

For instance, the "Father-Son Link" skill indeed guarantees the loyalty of the OriginalBody and Astartes to Sui Bian, but between OriginalBody and OriginalBody, or Astartes and Astartes, there is no such thing as a loyalty relationship.

If Sui Bian were not good at educating, failing to tell the OriginalBodies what it means to be human, what they should and shouldn't do, and if Sui Bian were also inept at regulating the relationships among the OriginalBody brothers, then...

The OriginalBodies would very likely come to hate each other and then come to blows.

Maintaining loyalty to Sui Bian is correct, but OriginalBodies arguing, fighting, and even killing each other without Sui Bian's knowledge are actions that do not conflict with loyalty.

However, the original family environment enabled Sui Bian to perfectly fulfill the role of father, deepening the affection among the OriginalBody brothers such as Robert, John, and Rus.

This is why the Zero Three Emperor chose Sui Bian to inherit the "great undertaking"; if another isotopic counterpart had gained the loyalty of the Red and White Queens and also possessed absolute loyalty from the OriginalBodies and Astartes, then after tasting the "delight" of supreme power, their chance of voluntary degeneration would be far greater than Sui Bian's.

Moreover, if any other isotopic counterpart were to fall, the Zero Three Emperor's deployment, which took tens of thousands of years, would not be wasted, but it would alert and draw the attention of the myriad evil gods, thereby greatly increasing the chance of humanity falling into absolute darkness.

And Sui Bian is the one "he" painstakingly selected, the most suitable isotopic counterpart to inherit everything; yet the Zero Three Emperor's action remains a gamble, betting that Sui Bian can resist temptation.

It is clear that Sui Bian ignored temptation, led the main universe's humanity in conquest of all directions, until they reached the Zero Three universe and had a genuine face-to-face talk with "him."

Although during these 260 years, equivalent to "sacrificing" trillions of humans in the Zero Three universe, the result obtained was that the main universe, Zero One through Zero Three, and even more multiverses were freed from the threat of other spaces, no longer fearing any unknown entity.

Looking solely at the casualty figures, they are excessively huge, yet the sacrifice is not so great as to be unacceptable, nor is the betrayal so minor as to be forgivable; to achieve the ultimate goal, the Zero Three Emperor can employ every means, including "himself."

At this moment.

"."

After listening carefully to the Zero Three Emperor's exposition, understanding the beginning and end of his own death and rebirth, also grasping the nature of the so-called system, as well as his past decisions and orders—which all represent the future direction of humanity as a whole—Sui Bian remained silent, his expression and demeanor as calm as ever.

To be frank, upon seeing the now-cooling "icy sun" before him and realizing that he and his counterpart were isotopic counterparts, Sui Bian had already figured out the general context, with only minor details differing.

There was surprise and astonishment, but not as intense as initially; instead, there was a sense of relief.

As for his previous life's death...

Did he resent this schemer before him for plotting against him?

If it were him from over 150 years ago, Sui Bian might have felt displeased, and would likely have launched into a tirade or complaint; otherwise, where did Rog's sharp tongue come from?

Nowadays, he, counting his previous life, has lived over 260 years, and many things have long been seen clearly.

Is it just that he died once?

Moreover, he himself also believes in "no sacrifice too great to be unacceptable," and no matter how smooth or splendid the process, it is not as good as a favorable outcome.

Furthermore, regarding the purpose of completing negotiations with the Zero Three Emperor, Sui Bian naturally had not forgotten it, and only heard the other party again speak in a cold tone:

"Alright, I have told you everything about the causes and effects; now you will receive all of my Spiritual Energy and knowledge (without memory), as well as my immortal physique."

"You give me everything, then where do you go?" Sui Bian did not immediately accept.

"Hahaha~!" At this moment, the Zero Three Emperor suddenly burst into a hearty laugh, the laughter lasting several seconds, then continued: "Don't worry about how I'll end up; remember, we are isotopic counterparts, you are me.

The main point is, after you obtain all of me, I will no longer be bound here; remember, I am by nature a carefree person who pursues freedom, and if it weren't for the weighty expectations of the entire clan and the fate of all humanity, I would rather not be an emperor, nor the father of OriginalBodies and the lord of humanity.

Therefore, the future of humanity is entirely in your hands; I, meanwhile, will prematurely enjoy true freedom—gladly accept my gift."

"."

Hearing these rather contrasting words, Sui Bian for a moment didn't know how to respond; after a pause, he replied assuredly: "Rest assured, even if I am unaware of the truth, I will still consider the well-being of humanity as a whole."

"Good, then prepare for a qualitative change, another 'me'." The Zero Three Emperor continued to say with a light laugh.

And as his words fell, the black space swiftly collapsed, with the sound of "crack~! crack!" coming from all around as huge fragments fell from above.

At the same time, Sui Bian felt an unparalleled power continually surging and flowing in, accompanied by warmth and peace, signifying a complete sublimation of both spirit and body.

However, at this very moment inside the throne hall...

"I say! Shengjilesi! What damned suggestion is this?! Why won't Father move at all?!" Rog's resentful shout echoed.

Only see the five OriginalBodies gathered before the golden throne, surrounding Sui Bian whose eyes have lost luster, expression blank, his whole person seeming to have instantly fallen into a dazed, rigid state.

Since their father reached out and made contact with the "living corpse" emperor, they have maintained this state for a full three minutes, which has also caused the five OriginalBodies to fall into a brief panic, as they have never encountered such a situation before.

After all, their father is their mainstay and the backbone of all humanity; even if he "dropped the line" for merely three minutes, to the five OriginalBodies it felt like the sky had fallen.

Fortunately, amidst the panic, the OriginalBodies detected that their father's Spiritual Energy fluctuations were stable and his life was unharmed; they should be successfully communicating with the "living corpse" emperor.

However, after the three minutes passed, Rog could no longer hold back and repeatedly complained to Shengjilesi.

"Alright." As the eldest among the five, John raised his hand to stop Rog's baseless remarks, then proceeded to voice his own view:

Father is basically fine, but to be safe, I suggest having the plague doctor come here for a check-up on Father.

"I have no objection," Angelong said, being the first to agree.

"Me too," Kelakesi nodded.

"Doing this is indeed safer," Shengjilesi said, agreeing with John.

"That's all we can do," Rog shrugged, although he was anxious, he couldn't act rashly.

But just as the brothers were preparing to arrange transport for the plague doctor, they sensed an extremely strong fluctuation of spiritual energy.

?!

Sensing the anomaly, the five OriginalBodies quickly focused their attention on Sui Bian at the core of the fluctuation, but their father showed no abnormality; only the thickness of his spiritual energy kept increasing.

Conversely, the "living corpse" emperor, whom they had not paid much attention to, underwent visible disintegration and decay.

Soon, only a large skeleton remained on the golden throne, which then dissipated into smoke, leaving nothing; this signified that the emperor of the Zero Three Universe had ended his half-dead, half-alive state and completely fallen.

In contrast, as the father watched the emperor turn to nothing, his eyes regained their luster, his expression and posture no longer stagnant, but returned to normal.

Seeing the father "awaken," the five brothers immediately wanted to inquire and show concern.

"It's fine," Sui Bian waved his hand, indicating he had no major problem, then his gaze fell on the nearby empty golden throne; after a few seconds of silence, he ordered: "Rog, arrange personnel to recover the corpse of Helusi Lupekarl to the Ever-Unfallen Ship for the plague doctor to study."

"Understood, Father," Rog replied with a nod.

"And you four..." Sui Bian glanced at the remaining four OriginalBodies, then continued: "Although Helusi Lupekarl has already been beheaded by you brothers, the fighting that erupted inside and outside the palace has not ceased, so now is not the time to relax; we must exterminate all traitors and drive out all demons."

"Yes," John, Kelakesi, Angelong, and Shengjilesi replied in unison.

"Hmm," Sui Bian lightly nodded, then raised his left hand again and effortlessly opened a small spiritual energy portal.

He walked in.

It closed.

Sui Bian's figure vanished from sight in an instant.

"." The five OriginalBodies looked at each other.

They originally wanted to know what the father had discussed with the emperor, why the emperor suddenly ended his "living corpse" state and collapsed, but the father's demeanor clearly showed no intention to inform them.

As for that, they could only let it go, fortunate that they were not excessively curious, understanding that the father had his reasons for not speaking.

Thus, the five proceeded according to the father's orders, preparing to sweep down and completely pacify Shensheng Tala in one go, laying the foundation for occupying the entire territory of the new Human Empire.

———————

…

Soon after.

The interior world of the Ever-Unfallen Ship.

Inside a sealed test site.

Here, all observation windows have been pulled down with electronic blinds under Bai Hou's operation, and the gate is locked, ensuring the indoor situation remains absolutely secret.

Meanwhile, Bai Hou, standing by the gate, expressed shock through her prosthetic face, for she was witnessing the unfolding of an "abnormal phenomenon."

At this moment, Sui Bian, who had returned to the Ever-Unfallen Ship by opening a portal from the throne hall, had already taken off his black-gold armor, handed over the ruler's sword to Bai Hou for safekeeping, then changed into a highly elastic nanosuit and came to this test site to conduct the experiment……

This is what Bai Hou saw before her eyes: an experiment in which he inflated his own height to 5.4 meters.

Moreover, the 5.4-meter-tall him was not just a thin pole; his physique and build changed together, making him appear very well-proportioned and robust.

If a stranger were to see the scene inside the office, aside from marveling at the "descent of a giant," they would only think that Sui Bian ought to look like a 5.4-meter-tall figure.

Having just finished his conversation with the Zero Three Emperor and incidentally completed the system task…

Or rather, it was also a task given by the Zero Three Emperor; Sui Bian not only obtained all of his spiritual energy, but also all of his knowledge (without memory) and the physique of an immortal.

Combined with being arguably the strongest spiritual energy user in the physical universe, Sui Bian can easily expand his height and physique to 5.4 meters.

(End of chapter)