Chapter 404: Punishment

At night, in a park along the Heavenly River, Wang Guangming sat on a bench and looked up at the countless twinkling stars.

Bathed in starlight, performing that familiar gesture, the white‑haired old man sat beneath a translucent streetlamp and reached toward the sky, as if trying to grasp the universe.

Wang Guangming recalled once more that the first time he wanted to do this was on the day Apollo I successfully landed on the Moon, sitting on a bamboo‑woven chair, head tilted upward, making a pact with the stars.

He had lived his whole life only for that moment; now his life was nearing its end, yet he still held hope for the universe.

Although he could not go himself, he believed his students would, and another person who would go in his stead had also promised him, so there were no regrets.

Now he appeared to be an ordinary, kind old man, completely lacking the fury and anger of Sagittarius.

He had let go; a dream can be passed on, no matter how much time passes, these youths will eventually use their own strength to meet the Giver, and Ge Xing Lv Lang's method is the righteous path.

However, he was still curious about the safe spatial‑leap method Jiang Xia mentioned.

At that moment, under the hazy light, a person walked slowly forward, carrying an iron box, and finally sat beside Wang Guangming.

As always, he wore white clothes, like a sleepless young man wandering the roadside at night, yet when you saw his face you couldn't compare him to those nocturnal drifters.

"I'm here to collect my loot; these items are more important for the upcoming operation, so could you hand them over? You don't need them now anyway, consider it a good deed."

Jiang Xia sized up Wang Guangming, who was leaning against the back of the chair, and smiled.

Wang Guangming sighed, slipped both hands into his coat, carefully felt around, then placed all twelve Constellation Switches into his palm and handed them to Jiang Xia.

He gazed at the treasures, feeling great reluctance, yet still honestly handed them to Jiang Xia.

"... eleven, twelve, all together."

Jiang Xia counted the newly acquired Constellation Switches, confirmed the number and power were fine, then closed the box.

These items cannot be consumed yet; we must wait until the matter is resolved.

"Are you here to attend my modest funeral?" Wang Guangming was surprised; Jiang Xia had clearly received all his inheritance yet still lingered—did he really want to watch him vanish?

"A funeral is a ceremony for the living; the dead never see how their friends and relatives attend their own funeral. This is your finale, like a villain on the brink of defeat speaking to those who opposed him about future instructions," Jiang Xia said calmly.

"A ceremony for the living," Wang Guangming sighed, "I don't even know what my final words should be when I vanish, but before disappearing I still want the answer to one last question."

"What would you like to ask?" A barely visible glint of Gold Light flickered in Jiang Xia's eyes; he took in Wang Guangming's condition, time was nearly up.

"After you defeated me, the safe spatial‑leap method you mentioned—does it really exist?" Wang Guangming asked.

That was the only question left in his mind; everything else could be let go, but dying with this question unanswered would leave him restless.

"Of course, but it requires assistance from other forces," Jiang Xia said calmly. "For example… the Core Son."

A breeze traced invisible, winding marks in the air; three or four dead leaves were lifted from the branches, and Jiang Xia gently pinched them.

"You've probably already noticed that boy with special powers," Jiang Xia said, releasing the crumpled leaf and letting it drift away.

"Ge Xing Xian Wu, what exactly is the relationship between the Core Switch and the Dark Nebula?" Wang Guangming asked.

"From the moment Ge Xing Xian Wu awakened his power, the Dark Nebula was permanently sealed. As long as he lives, no one on Earth can use spatial leaping to reach the Visitor's location; it serves as a safeguard. Exposing one's planetary coordinates in the cosmos is extremely dangerous," Jiang Xia began slowly.

The Dark Forest principle is perfectly applicable in the universe.

"How could that be? That boy can actually hinder the Dark Nebula!" Wang Guangming exclaimed in surprise.

"Indeed, the Core Switch was disseminated by the Giver; only intelligent beings that decipher its mysteries can connect with the Visitor. Those who can hear the cosmic voice are highly adapted intelligent species."

"But this isn't a pre‑Giver selection; it's a trap to lure intelligent life to interact with the Core Switch."

Jiang Xia revealed the truth: in his view, meeting the Giver is merely an illusory fantasy.

He continued, "All the Giver requires is a qualified intelligent being to touch the Core Switch; the content of the cosmic voice is mostly a deception."

"That's impossible!" Wang Guangming roared.

"That is the truth: back then, you and Ge Xing Lv Lang each used the Core Switch to develop the Constellation Switch and the Astronomical Switch, and you chose to kill Ge Xing Lv Lang for your dream."

"What you don't know is that on the day before his death, Ge Xing Lv Lang received the Core Switch's approval, activating its hidden protocol."

"The Core Switch gathered various data from Ge Xing Lv Lang's body and fabricated a baby that is biologically related but actually constructed from cosmic energy—the Core Son. The Giver's purpose is merely to obtain a sample of human intelligent life."

"Impossible… absolutely impossible," Wang Guangming's lips trembled. He now sensed something amiss but refused to believe it was a scam; in fact, linking the whole story shows the Giver only needs a sample of intelligent life, so they carried out the following actions:

First, they scattered Core Switches throughout the universe.

Second, they broadcast the cosmic voice to filter potential humans, prompting them to touch the Core Switch.

Third, they replicated the form of the approved intelligent life, creating cosmic voids on corresponding planets so that cosmic energy becomes abundant there; the Core Son can then awaken by absorbing energy transmitted through these voids.

Fourth, the Core Son uses the spatial‑leap system developed by the approved individual to return to the Giver's home planet.

The reason the Astronomical Switch and its linked fourze system were developed by Ge Xing Lv Lang is that those data were contained within the Core Switch.

That is also why Ge Xing Xian Wu can use the fourze system to open a Spatial Portal.

Once the Core Son returns to its home world, the void above Earth will close, as their goal is achieved and there is no need to waste precious cosmic energy.

Thus calling the cosmic voice a scam is not an exaggeration; it is merely a simple filtering mechanism.

Wang Guangming's actions are akin to triggering a bug, disrupting part of the Giver's setup; therefore the side effects of the Dark Nebula's spatial leaping are so severe. The Giver could never allow a native organism to be accepted while a Core Son remains alive.

Not only would the leaper die, but the planet's surface would be flattened by the impact.

It's like shopping: you've clearly chosen an item, but at checkout it's suddenly swapped for an inferior one; anyone with a bit of sense would be furious and would never agree.

But the store tells you from the start that the high‑quality items are gone, leaving only a random comparable or worse alternative; if you still want it, you can only grudgingly accept it—this explains why the Core Son can interfere with the Dark Nebula's transmission.

The Core Son may not be the strongest, but it is the most stable and optimal; when the best disappears, one must settle for the next best.

Sagittarius cannot harm Ge Xing Xian Wu because cosmic energy serves as food for the Core Son's awakening; any action based on cosmic energy is nullified. However, this presumes no other special powers are mixed in. The evolved Sagittarius, awakened by extreme human emotions, pushes the energy beyond the Core Son's defensive limit, knocking Ge Xing Xian Wu down with a single kick.

"When you comprehend the Giver's behavior, you'll see their attitude toward the Heavenly River's students is the same as yours—no hierarchy. You need students to awaken the switch, and the Visitor merely wants a human blueprint; fundamentally there's little difference."

Jiang Xia spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "You are not the one chosen by the universe, nor am I; the chosen one is only that baby born on the Moon at the beginning."

At that moment, Wang Guangming's complexion turned pale and bluish; had he been told before his defeat, he would have tried to prove with his own power that he was the finest human, but now, after Jiang Xia's harsh beating, Wang Guangming could not utter a single rebuttal.

Wang Guangming thought for a long time, and when he finally spoke, his voice oddly bitter, "Jiang Xia, what exactly is that method of yours that harms no one… I want to know, no matter what."

"The method is simple: in terms you understand, it uses the Gemini principle of split personality, separating a small fragment of your consciousness, then, using the Core Switch lost by the Core Son, reconstructs a new human blueprint, and opens a Spatial Portal via the fourze driver."

"However, because the forged version of the Core Son, when reborn, lacks surplus power, it still requires the constellation power contained in the twelve Constellation Switches to complete the process."

"As for retrieving the consciousness, hasn't Chengdao Youmu of Gemini already made the answer obvious? Memories and abilities can transfer; the Giver's data is scant, and possessing such technology, without knowing friend or foe, using one's own body is indeed… reckless."

Jiang Xia shrugged his shoulders; he really wanted to uncover the donor's veil.

- Jiang Xia appears.

Furthermore, he had long possessed the ability to create clones; the clones split from his main body are like a flower in a mirror or the moon in water—mere reflections—so even if they die it doesn't matter, as the consciousness of the main body and the clone are linked in real time, essentially they are still one person.

- No new names.

Compared to his other abilities, his clone skill is relatively more proficient.

- none.

"It turns out everything was in your calculations, even my joining the Kamen Rider Club at the beginning was part of your plan." Wo Wang Guangming sighed.

Joining the Kamen Rider Club as their teacher not only allows close observation of the core child, but also yields Fourze system data.

It is the key to fulfilling all one's plans after defeating the enemy, without having to risk bodily collapse.

Meanwhile, the side of justice will not stop him, and the opposing enemy faction has already been annihilated by him representing the righteous side, swallowing all the achievements.

This is practically a behind-the-scenes manipulator even more so than the usual behind-the-scenes manipulator.

"It's not calculation; when human effort reaches its limit, our gap is completely unequal information, which cannot be made up for. Most of the time I don't need to do anything, because I've known the final outcome from the start." Wo Wang Guangming sighed.

When Jiang Xia finished saying that, his originally smiling eyes suddenly became deep, like a tranquil sea, vast and expansive.

"The Libra's Laplace's Eye is my means to suppress him; I deliberately humiliated him so that he could successfully awaken a supernova, and the subsequent contacts were all to make him realize his insignificance and weakness, prompting him to speed up his search for the twelve constellations." Jiang Xia said softly.

"As for Virgo, he had already set his sights on you the moment you opened the Dark Nebula, so he won't stop you; likewise, you won't be foolish enough to give up your own dream." Jiang Xia said softly.

"As long as you know these, the rest is just to wait quietly for the final victory's fruit to appear." Jiang Xia merely opened his hand lightly; the leaves falling from the sky spun in the air and naturally landed right in the center of his palm.

No one will blame me for achieving some tiny personal goals that harm no one while saving the world.

The core switch, the constellation switch, the astronomical switch, the opportunity to meet visitors, and the knight's dial are all his goals.

"You're really terrifying, hahaha." Wo Wang Guangming burst out laughing after hearing that; facing such an opponent, his loss is not unjust.

"Is that so? This is merely an information-level suppression; even if an ordinary person were substituted, they could reach this point, which has nothing to do with the power one possesses, only with knowing." Jiang Xia said softly.

Afterwards, he raised his wrist and looked at the second hand on the mechanical watch, which was counting down.

After Jiang Xia made that move, Wo Wang Guangming, who had been laughing heartily beside him, suddenly showed a pained expression.

Time's up!

He suddenly burst forth with dark red energy, and the pain coming from his body suddenly intensified.

Wo Wang Guangming simply slid off the chair and fell to the ground.

His slightly aged face suddenly twisted, and he let out a hoarse cry of pain.

His body felt as if being sliced by lingchi, as if his own flesh were being torn apart inch by inch, then ripped and reassembled, the agony making him wish to die outright.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xia simply sat there, quietly watching this over-fifty-year-old elder endure unimaginable torment, not intervening, because this was Wo Wang Guangming's just deserts.

When he knows that at the moment the Dark Nebula opens, everyone will die in the shockwave, yet he still disregards life to pursue his own dream, he is destined to incur backlash.

The punishment now befalling Wo Wang Guangming is already quite light.

Wo Wang Guangming summoned his last strength to end his own life, but his suicidal actions vanished, leaving him only to endure the spreading pain.

After an unknown amount of time, a soft sigh echoed in this ordinary park.

The lingchi-like pain on Wo Wang Guangming's body eased with the sigh and then vanished, while a special force spread from his chest throughout his body.

Wo Wang Guangming, with his trembling arm that could not be stilled, gently stroked his chest, feeling that the wound from Aquarius, which had been impossible to heal, was now healed at this moment.

And after that bout of pain subsided, he found he was still alive, his body not disintegrating due to the side effects of super-evolution.

The sigh was emitted by Jiang Xia; what he added to Scorpio's tail was not merely a ban on healing, but essentially Scorpio infused Jiang Xia's own power into Wo Wang Guangming's body.

Thus, Wo Wang Guangming now has not vanished due to bodily disintegration; instead, he gradually stabilized.

Wo Wang Guangming's agony stems partly from the price of expelling cosmic energy, and partly from the punishment imposed by Jiang Xia.

Those who commit unforgivable acts must accept punishment.

Wo Wang Guangming's body trembled; the power now circulating within him is exactly the same as what Jiang Xia sensed when he pressed the Constellation Switch.

At the same time, he keenly sensed that he seemed to have become his follower.

"I never thought you could even resolve the side effects of super-evolution... Why would you save someone like me, who deserves to die?" Wo Wang Guangming, somewhat exhausted, gasped heavily.

"Because you are the director of Heavenly River High School, this school's educational approach has annoyed me since the first day I entered. The best way to reform a school system is to go straight to the top leadership—and you are that top leadership—so you can't die yet; if you died, there'd be no one to reform Heavenly River High School." After saying that, Jiang Xia picked up the box decisively and walked straight away.

"Would anyone really save a person for such a boring reason?" Wo Wang Guangming murmured, watching Jiang Xia's retreating back.

(End of chapter)