Chapter 587: Choices (9/10, bonus chapter for

Through Qingchen's explanation, Jing Yan finally understood why Qingchen knew there was Origin Power in the remnant eyeball of Lord Han, yet still wore a worried expression.

Because the premise of conducting an experiment is the support of theoretical knowledge.

And an entirely new experiment especially requires abundant knowledge as its premise before it can be put into operation.

Qingchen only had a rough concept of how to save Lord Han; the specific operations and detailed breakdown required a great deal of preparatory work.

And the Origin Power remaining in Lord Han's eyeball could not wait that long.

"Then what do we do?"

"We can only brute-force our way through halfway…"

Qingchen looked at Jing Yan pitifully.

Lord Han had survived time and again because the total amount of Origin Power he possessed was vast; enemies always misjudged Lord Han's strength, thinking they could finish him in one strike.

In fact, that wasn't the case—unless they whipped the corpse, Lord Han could always retain some Origin Power.

And Bai Xiaoya's attack had come very close to whipping the corpse; if she had struck any harder, Lord Han wouldn't have retained even half a trace of Origin Power.

With Origin Power so scarce, Qingchen's plan was to use Lord Han's eyeball, combined with the trace amounts of Origin Power remaining on Xiao Xuedou's Bone Powder, to first perform a Source Remolding fixation.

Only after that would come the most important step—Source Cultivation.

The specific design involved many things, but in terms of actual operation, it meant taking this eyeball—mixed with Xiao Xuedou's Bone Powder and fixed with Origin—and inserting it into the experimental subject's body.

Using the experimental subject to gently nourish Lord Han's eyeball.

If so, the Origin Power would slowly absorb nutrients and gradually increase.

Once it reached a certain level, there would be a chance of awakening Lord Han.

But as said before, a Lord Han awakened this way—how long he could live depended entirely on luck, and he would have to share a body with someone else.

Just as the two were discussing this, not far away Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu once again went "wah" and threw up, filling the room with a foul stench.

But no one said anything to her, after all compared to any stench, the dead were the true source of their pain.

Looking again at the pile of corpses Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu was eating, she had already consumed a third of them.

If it were Jing Yan, he definitely couldn't eat it.

But if he were told that eating would increase his strength, he'd definitely eat more diligently than Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu.

"Should we tell them about Lord Han?"

"Let's not say anything for now… after all, this matter carries risks. The best case is Lord Han revives inside your body. The next best is that you devour Lord Han, meaning you indirectly killed Lord Han again. Worse than that, the experiment fails, your eyes are ruined, your body is dragged down and can't last more than a few years. The worst case is you and Lord Han both drop dead on the spot."

"…That sounds really bad!"

"So, do you want to be my experimental subject?"

"Woof!!"

To grow stronger, I'll endure it!

And honestly, from Jing Yan's contact with him so far, this guy Qingchen looked far too reliable!

His rigor, his professionalism, and that passion for knowledge—he looked like someone destined for great things! If, as he said, full preparations were made, then at worst I'd just be devouring Lord Han's power, right!

Jing Yan automatically ignored the truly worst-case scenario, not daring to think in that direction—it was too terrifying.

It was also that he really had no means of turning things around; in this crisis-ridden world, the eerie ran rampant, and even villages and towns weren't safe.

He was tightly controlled by reality, by the United Front, and still had to log into the game every day.

If he didn't want to die, he could only get stronger; if he didn't get stronger, he'd be killed by the eerie—completely unsolvable.

Therefore, facing such a good opportunity Qingchen offered—an opportunity to overtake on a curve—Jing Yan truly couldn't bear to give it up.

Just as the two were chatting up to this point…

Boom!!

The ground suddenly began to shake violently, as if in an earthquake.

"What's going on, what's going on?!"

"What happened?"

"Earthquake??"

The crowd was puzzled, but soon discovered that this trembling didn't end after a moment—it was a continuous, unceasing shaking.

As if the entire Qingsi County was heaving up and down.

His heart thumping, Qingchen immediately pressed himself to the ground, listened for a moment, and said with an ugly expression: "Not good! There's a large group of creatures making a wide-scale movement!"

"A large group of creatures?"

"That means the eerie! If we have no rescue, and it's not villagers from the Refugee Area fleeing out, then only a swarm of eerie has the ability to trample the ground across such a large area!"

Hearing this, the crowd immediately changed color.

"But weren't the leading eerie all slain by Lord Night? Why would there still be… I get it, they're fleeing, fleeing Qingsi County, right?"

"No!" Qingchen shook her head and delivered a despairing piece of news: "All the eerie, every single movement, is converging toward us!"

Silence.

Deathly silence.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, staring blankly at Qingchen.

They couldn't believe this news was real.

Because it meant that they, having just gone through a great battle, would have to brave the Night Rain and fight the eerie army once more!

And this battle might very well… end in total annihilation!

They no longer had sufficient combat strength to meet a battle.

"Wh-what should we do?"

"It's over… we're all done for…"

"It's not just us—if we die here, the villagers in the Refugee Area won't survive either!"

"What do we do? What do we do?!"

The crowd looked at one another, but likewise had no leader among them — not a single person who could truly step forward and take command of the whole situation.

"If it really won't work, then let's each flee on our own. How many survive is how many survive."

Captain Wu said in a low voice at this moment. After a pause, he looked toward Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu: "You come with me. I'll escort you out of the city."

Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu was stunned, feeling something was off: "Wh-why only escort me out of the city?"

"... Because you're a lot like me. We both changed because of certain things. I've already completely transformed, while you're still on the way — like a young eagle spreading its wings. As a predecessor, I want to give you a hand. I don't want you to die here. And I hope that one day, I'll be able to see a different you. Surely by then, you'll have become dazzlingly brilliant, extraordinary and unique!"

Captain Wu said earnestly.

If he hadn't watched Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu eat those corpses bite by bite, he would never have come up with the idea of taking Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu and leaving together.

But now, he wanted to give Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu a chance — a chance to start over — rather than die young here in Qingsi County.

Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu looked at Captain Wu, then at the others. Several times she tried to open her mouth to refuse, but the moment she thought back to that near-death, extreme terror she had experienced, she slowly lowered her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

After saying that, she silently walked to Captain Wu's side.

Jing Yan and Qing Chen, on the other hand, could understand Captain Wu's and Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu's decision.

The former's martial strength wasn't high either, so the number of people he could protect was limited. The latter — if a person doesn't look out for themselves, heaven and earth will destroy them. Holding others to a saint's standard was excessive to begin with.

(End of chapter)