Chapter 538: Original Doctor

It was only that Black Saber gave him no chance to catch his breath.

The second sword has already swung down!

Sha Jin gritted his teeth, and the shield rose again—

"Clang!"

Another violent collision!

Sha Jin's arm began to go numb.

The black fellow in front of him was clearly not an ordinary Servant.

Just then—

A terrifying roar came from the side!

Sha Jin glanced with his peripheral vision, and his complexion changed completely.

That hulking brute!

The black giant silhouette that had just treated him like a baseball was leaping from a building's rooftop, hurtling toward him like a meteor!

That guy still clutched that massive club in his hand!

Sha Jin's mouth twitched.

(Two?)

(One wasn't enough, now two?)

(This luck... is it a bit too unlucky?)

Black Saber's sword slashed again!

Sha Jin gritted his teeth, raised the shield to block, and lunged backward!

"Boom—!!!"

The hulking brute slammed onto the spot where he had just stood, carving a crater over five meters in diameter.

Shards of stone sprayed, and dust billowed!

Sha Jin fell back ten meters, stared at the two black silhouettes, and couldn't help taking a deep breath.

One was a silent swordsman.

The other was a mad giant.

And he, having just crawled out of the ruins, wore tattered clothes, his magical power not fully restored.

Sha Jin looked down at himself, then lifted his gaze to the pair opposite.

Then he smiled.

The smile carried a hint of helplessness.

"Fine then."

He tossed that weight up, caught it, tossed it again, caught it again, "Today's luck, there's no one left."

Then he inhaled deeply, and golden light surged around him.

"Then—let's gamble a hand."

Perspective shift.

Yuanban Ying sat on the sofa, hungry and thirsty.

She shifted, trying to change posture, but her leg gave way and she almost slipped off the sofa.

And the Monkeys in a white lab coat before her stared with round black eyes, a strange grin at the corner of its mouth.

"Yuanban Ying, you look so disheveled now."

Jiaoshou's voice was low and oddly magnetic, "But this mess is genuine, far more real than those pretentious civilizations."

Yuanban Ying caught her breath, propped herself upright on the sofa, and watched it warily.

"You... what exactly do you want to do?"

Jiaoshou turned, hands behind his back, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and gazed at the grayish city outside.

"Do you know, the human species has been on the wrong path since its birth."

His voice carried a compassionate lament.

"You build skyscrapers, pave roads, print money, run markets, turning yourselves into a piece of the cosmic economy. You think that's progress, but it's merely endless, meaningless infighting."

Yuanban Ying's brows furrowed.

Jiaoshou continued, that furry paw pointing at the city beyond the window:

"Look at those streets, those buildings, those countless billboards. You trap yourselves with these things and tell each other this is civilization. But fundamentally, how are you different from monkeys tens of thousands of years ago? It's just swapping tree‑climbing for stair‑climbing, swapping banana‑theft for money‑theft."

It turned, its vortex‑shaped lenses aimed at Yuanban Ying.

"I've seen countless worlds like this. They flourish, then become over‑competitive, then collapse, then rebuild the same thing atop the ruins. Cycle after cycle, endless."

Yuanban Ying's lips moved, about to speak, but Jiaoshou raised a hand and cut her off.

"You don't believe? Then I ask—what's the difference between what you pursue now and what your ancestors pursued? Power, wealth, status, love, ideals... just a different packaging, the essence remains the same."

It walked behind the desk, picked up the banana studded with electrodes on the table, and weighed it in its hand.

"And our mentor—Original Doctor, has found the true way out."

"Original... Doctor?" Yuanban Ying repeated the name.

A near‑devout expression appeared on Jiaoshou's monkey face.

"Yes, the great Original Doctor. A 64th seat member of the Genius Club, one of the universe's top sages. He saw the essence of civilization—so‑called progress is just circling in place; so‑called evolution is merely repeating by different means."

It spread its arms, as if embracing some sacred truth.

"Thus Original Doctor proposed a grand concept: to revert misguided worlds back to potential embryos, granting them another chance to grow."

Yuanban Ying's pupils contracted slightly.

"Your meaning is… turning humans back into Monkeys?"

"Not turning back into Monkeys."

Jiaoshou corrected, his tone carrying a hint of impatience, "It's a return to the starting point. Think about it, a newborn Monkeys—what does it have? Nothing at all. But precisely because it has nothing, it possesses all possibilities."

It walked up to Yuanban Ying, crouched down, and its Monkey face came very close.

"Humans have been domesticated by their own civilization. You have learned Rules, you have learned calculation, you have learned weighing pros and cons, you have learned to eke out existence within constraints. You think this is maturity, but in fact you have locked yourselves into a cage."

Yuanban Ying drew back a little.

Jiaoshou continued, his voice bearing a hypnotic magic:

"But Monkeys are different. Monkeys cry when they want to cry, laugh when they want to laugh, eat when they want to eat, and banana when they want banana. They are bound by no Rule, they live in the moment, they are truly—free."

It straightened up and pointed at the Monkeys hopping about on the street outside the window.

"Look at them, how happy. They do not worry about tomorrow, they do not regret yesterday, they do not torture themselves for those vague, ethereal ideals. They simply exist, simply exist, and that is how life should be."

Yuanban Ying fell silent.

Jiaoshou looked at her expression, the curve of his mouth deepening.

"Yuanban Ying, you are a special girl. There is something inside you—a thing even I cannot see through. It may be a curse, it may be a blessing. But I am certain you are more suitable than ordinary people… for the experiment."

Yuanban Ying's body went rigid.

"Experiment?"

"Yes, experiment."

Jiaoshou moved behind the desk, opened a folder, "Voluntary, of course. Let me dissect you, see exactly what that thing inside you is. Perhaps your sacrifice could make a huge contribution to the evolution of all humans."

Yuanban Ying's complexion turned ghastly.

"You… you must be joking?"

Jiaoshou's expression was serious, so serious it was chilling:

"Joking? I have never joked in my life. Think about it—if I could uncover the secret of that thing inside you and apply it to all humans—that would be what a monumental breakthrough! Humans would no longer need to evolve, they would only need… awakening."

Yuanban Ying rose from the sofa, her legs still trembling, but she straightened up.

"I refuse."

Jiaoshou tilted his head, and the vortex‑like lenses spun faster.

"Refuse? Are you sure?"

"I am sure." Yuanban Ying's voice was soft yet firm, "What you say… sounds reasonable, but I don't believe it."

Jiaoshou was silent for a second.

Then it smiled.

The smile was not Rage, not disappointment, but—contentment.

"Interesting. Truly interesting."

It clapped its hands, "Few people can refuse my suggestion. You are a special girl, Yuanban Ying."

At that moment—

"Boom—!!!"

A deafening explosion roared from afar!

The whole building shivered! The floor‑to‑ceiling windows buzzed from the tremor!

A black‑red light surged skyward from afar, illuminating half the sky!

Yuanban Ying flinched, instinctively stepping back a few paces.

Jiaoshou seemed completely unfazed.

It sauntered to the table, picked a banana from the fruit bowl, peeled it, and took a bite.

"Mmm, tastes good."

Chewing the banana, it walked to the window, gazing at the black Light Pillar in the distance.

"It's quite lively over there."

Its tone sounded like a weather comment, "Tsk tsk, such a stir."

Yuanban Ying also looked over there, and a sliver of hope rose in her heart.

(Sister… San Yue Jie…)

Jiaoshou finished the banana, tossed the peel aside—it arced in a parabola, landing on the edge of the windowsill.

It turned, looking back at Yuanban Ying.

"Alright, let's continue the previous topic—"