Chapter 1935 - 1934: Li Cheng

Dim lighting cast over the damp and cold corridor as He Ao slowly moved forward, having already made a round here.

This so-called sanctuary is actually a massive base hollowed out from a mountain.

Inside, there are research areas as well as designated accommodation zones.

At this very moment, the base is quite empty.

Because the ’people’ who can survive and stay in this sanctuary are too few; He Ao hasn’t even seen three hundred people as he walked through it.

This seems to be the result of a mass ’recruitment’ from nearby cities by this sanctuary over the past month.

"So, are you waiting for someone?"

Accompanying He Ao’s footsteps, a somewhat gentle voice rang out behind him.

He Ao stopped walking, turned, gazed at the familiar face behind him, smiled, and said, "Waiting to see when you will grow tired and show yourself."

"It seems you recognize me." The figure smiled and gazed at He Ao, asking somewhat curiously.

"I learned a bit," He Ao squinted his eyes slightly as he looked at the face, "I was just a bit surprised you’d make an appearance here."

The person appearing behind him at the moment was precisely the likeness of ’Li Cheng’.

Only, he was somewhat different from the Li Cheng He Ao knew; this ’Li Cheng’ had entirely restrained his power and evidently had thoroughly crossed the threshold of Angel, his body exuding the aura of a Higher Being.

"But I didn’t know there was someone like you in this world." Li Cheng gazed at He Ao, also squinting his eyes slightly.

He slowly approached, as if a friend of many years, walking to He Ao’s side.

"I don’t belong to this world." He Ao smiled and shook his head, then turned, continuing along the narrow corridor.

"Then why are you here?" Li Cheng glanced at He Ao, matching his pace, and asked softly.

"I want to know why this world was destroyed." He Ao gave him a quick glance, casually asking.

"Because of people from outside this world," Li Cheng slowly began.

"People from outside this world?" He Ao looked at him.

"Their advent was without warning," Li Cheng seemed to fall into reminiscing, his voice hoarse, "and in just an instant, that massive force covered the entire world; I could only feel the presence of a power far beyond mortal comprehension within it."

Saying this, he paused slightly, "And then the world was destroyed in that very moment."

He chuckled, looking at He Ao, "Before, I considered many possibilities of world destruction, created various contingency plans, thought of how I could resist and change it, but when that day came, I found I had no room for resistance."

His voice was prolonged, carrying a bit of raspy length, "In the presence of absolute power, any thoughts of resistance are void."

"So you ran here and established such a sanctuary, sheltering the remaining humans?" He Ao asked casually, looking at him.

Li Cheng lifted his head, glanced at him, then resumed speaking, "Actually, this wasn’t my originally planned location; at the moment of the world’s destruction, I hadn’t yet received promotion, hadn’t yet broken free from mortal constraints. I tried to promote at that time, but I didn’t have anyone around to protect me; I could only come here, find a B-level companion to help protect me."

Saying this, his tone paused slightly, "He’s the father of that girl you just bumped into. I was lucky in the end, successfully promoted, but he got impacted during my promotion and turned into a vegetative state."

"So you only have two B-levels?" He Ao withdrew his gaze and asked again.

There’s another B-level at the Research Institute, Wu Ganglie.

"There’s actually one more," Li Cheng took a deep breath, "but he wasn’t as lucky as us; he was erased during the destruction, so now we only rely on each other. After Liu became a vegetable, I was the last one left."

Even B-levels can be directly erased?

"Have you ever thought about taking people and leaving this world?" He Ao suddenly asked.

"Can’t leave," Li Cheng looked up at the rock seal above, "I’ve tried looking above; outside the atmosphere are dense Mystical Arrays, these arrays seal the entire planet like a cage, difficult to break through; if I forcibly break through, there’s a possibility, but taking people is almost impossible."

He turned to look at He Ao, "Moreover, even if I succeed in breaking the seal, those Alien Visitors are still in this world, and a breakthrough’s commotion would surely attract their attention."

Speaking, the two came upon a broad open area, where a thick layer of soil was paved, arranged into fields, bright rays shining in from the lens on the dome.

"This is our prepared experimental field," Li Cheng said softly as he looked at He Ao observing the open space, "lighting uses sunlight introduced by fiber optics from the mountaintop, trying to plant some basic crops."

He Ao looked down at the small green shoots faintly emerging from the soil, "Seems like planting is successful?"

"Some crops can be planted, some cannot," Li Cheng shook his head, "so we continually collect seeds, differentiate which can be planted, which cannot."

He glanced at He Ao, sighing, "But most importantly, it’s livestock; there are almost no surviving livestock on the ground, not even wild beasts; we can’t find livestock to breed. Meat and protein in the food can only be gathered by sending people to ruins to find packaged goods, but then they get attacked by the Evil Spirits in the city."

His tone paused, gazing at the continuous experimental farmland, "It’s because we are few, eating little, otherwise many would die in the search for food."

"Your powers can’t make these lands produce food?" He Ao turned his head, glanced at Li Cheng, asked softly.

"My powers are related to Thunder," Li Cheng shook his head, raising his fingertip; a slight spark flashed on it, shaking his head with a laugh, "can’t change the vitality of the land."

"So," He Ao withdrew his gaze, continuing forward, asking curiously, "Do you know where those ’Alien Visitors’ are?"

"Of course I do," Li Cheng lifted his foot, moving forward with He Ao, "Do you know the regional division of this world?"

"I learned a bit," He Ao nodded slightly.

"That makes it easier," Li Cheng sighed, "According to my observation and perception, those Alien Visitors should be in the Western Lands, on the far western coast, about eight thousand kilometers away from here; ’kilometers’ is the measurement scale of this world."

"I understand," He Ao nodded slightly, then asked curiously, "At such a distance, you can sense their existence?"

"In the natural world," Li Cheng chuckled, "they are bright as the Sun; I can see their location at a glance."

At this moment, the two stopped before an open iron door, seemingly leading into a spacious office.

Li Cheng looked up, glanced at He Ao, softly asked, "This is my office, would you like to come in and sit?"

"Sure." He Ao didn’t refuse, directly walking inside.

Li Cheng followed in his footsteps and walked in.

The office’s decor was simple, with a desk, a bed, a few sofas, and a multitude of surveillance screens.

He Ao glanced at the surveillance, "The power supply for this base seems to be quite stable."

"Solar power system," Li Cheng said slowly. He walked to the water dispenser and poured two cups of water, "It’s an independent power system. All such bases have off-grid power systems to ensure operation in emergencies."

He handed a cup of water to He Ao, then walked to the small sofa, sat down, and signaled He Ao to sit as well.

"So, which direction are those people you mentioned?" He Ao took the water but didn’t sit down immediately. Instead, he looked at him with curiosity and asked with a smile.

"I’ll take you to see." Li Cheng stood up from the sofa, went to the desk, took out a paper map, walked to the deep part of the office, and pulled open a hidden small door.

A passageway glowing at its far end appeared behind the door.

Then he raised his hand slightly, signaling He Ao to move forward.

He Ao walked directly into the passage.

Soon, the two passed through the passage, and bright light shone into their eyes.

They appeared outside again, standing in a pavilion halfway up the mountain.

"This is an emergency escape route," Li Cheng stood beside He Ao and said slowly, "but it’s no use to me, so sometimes when I’m feeling bored, I come out to get some fresh air."

He spread the map on the ground; it seemed to be a world map.

Then he raised his hand, and slight sparks flickered on the red dots on the map, "This is where we are now."

Then he pointed to the northwest side of the map, near an ocean coast, slight sparks flickering at the edge of the coast, "This is the far west of the Western Lands, and it’s where those ’Alien Visitors’ are now."

As he spoke, he looked up, gazing toward the west. His gaze seemed to pass through the endless mountains, over the vast horizon, and saw the rolling coastline.

"It indeed seems like there’s a faint aura over there," He Ao raised his gaze, following Li Cheng’s line of sight.

Before, he hadn’t felt it, but now, after determining the direction, He Ao could vaguely sense some ’fluctuations’ from deep within the world, a ’link’ from fate.

The being that came to this planet to destroy everything had not concealed its power.

He Ao withdrew his gaze and looked at Li Cheng beside him, "So, what do you intend to do by telling me the address of those Alien Visitors? Do you want me to fight them off and create an escape opportunity for you?"

"I think you’re joking a bit," Li Cheng was taken aback, shook his head, and laughed, "Do I look like such a bad person to you?"

He raised his gaze, looking at the distant horizon, where faint remnants of ruins were barely visible, "If you’ve ever heard of me, if you know the name ’Li Cheng,’ you should know that I’m known for being upright and trustworthy."

"I know," He Ao nodded slightly, "but it’s Li Cheng who’s upright and trustworthy."

He turned his gaze and looked at the ’Li Cheng’ beside him, smiling, "What does that have to do with you, Mr. Andaville?"

’Li Cheng’s’ expression stiffened for a moment, then he smiled slightly, "My friend, I’m not quite sure what you’re trying to say."

"Andaville’s Spear," He Ao glanced at him and said calmly, "Your soul is hidden within it, isn’t it?"

’Li Cheng’s’ face darkened completely, then a slight smile curled at his lips, "You seem to know quite a bit."

"I told you I have a bit of ’understanding’ about you." He Ao withdrew his gaze and answered naturally.

When he first came into contact with ’Li Cheng,’ he faintly felt that this person didn’t quite match the one he was familiar with.

If it was the real Li Cheng, he couldn’t let Liu Zhengyun lie in bed as a living dead. Even if he couldn’t be saved, he would use the best resources to try and rescue him with all his might.

Instead of chatting with He Ao here as if he had nothing better to do.

Then he placed a mark on ’Li Cheng,’ but the feedback was only vague emotions. He Ao couldn’t directly read his memories or thoughts.

This indicated that this ’Li Cheng’ had clear and profound mystical defenses against mind reading, and the Mysterious Academic Style he mastered was ancient and complex.

But this didn’t align with the real Li Cheng’s mystical understanding and accumulation.

At least, He Ao himself hadn’t mastered such mystical methods.

Moreover, ’Andaville’s Spear’ inherently signified something.

He Ao might not have felt it as strongly before, but now that he had reached a higher level, he realized more and more that higher beings are difficult to kill.

He had also seen too many of Andaville’s resurrection methods.

Whether it was the Fountain of Youth or Kela,

these beings from the life realm were even harder to kill than the ordinary Old Geezer.

So, from a long time ago, He Ao already had some suspicions, he just didn’t have the means to verify them.

The Li Cheng of the Main World couldn’t respond to him in any way.

However, given Li Cheng’s genius, it couldn’t be ruled out that he had mastered mystical methods to cover up memories by himself.

So, He Ao bluffed Andaville a bit.

In this world, there is no He Ao, so Andaville of this world naturally doesn’t know how much He Ao actually knows.

Moreover, this Andaville doesn’t know about the relationship between He Ao and Li Cheng.

There’s an information disparity between He Ao and Andaville.

Sometimes, simple methods can be exceedingly effective.

"When things are spoken openly, they become much easier. Since you know me, you should also know my former reputation in the cosmos," ’Li Cheng’ or rather Andaville, spoke again after a brief silence, "And since you can bypass those barriers to enter this world, you naturally have a way to bypass them."

He looked at He Ao, "I need you to help me leave this world. I can offer you sufficient compensation."