Chapter 3213: Abandoning Brightness for Darkness?
Hardly had Li Yao stepped on the gas when he saw through the rear-view mirror that the black fog rushing out of the building of wealth had condensed into an enormous ghost claw that snatched at the multipurpose off-road vehicle. When the black fog covered the top of the off-road vehicle, squeaking noises were echoing on the top of the vehicle, as if it had been scratched by real sharp claws.
Thankfully, the off-road vehicle had already started moving at this moment. The roar of the engine drowned out the shriek of the sharp claws. Li Yao ruthlessly stepped on the accelerator, causing the water around the wheels to splatter as the off-road vehicle rushed out like an arrow released from a bow.
BOOM! CRACK!
It was unknown whether it was intentional or not, but dozens of lightning bolts fell from the sky and hit the SUV from afar. One moment of carelessness, and the SUV and the people inside would be burnt to ashes.
Li Yaoâs face was as gloomy as still water. Every pore on his body had been expanded to the limit. He keenly sensed every electric current and ripple between heaven and earth. It was clearly a heavy and clumsy off-road vehicle, but Li Yao drove it with the agility of a racing motorcycle. In between the lightning bolts, he zigzagged left and right and finally accelerated to his maximum speed, leaving the lightning bolts and the black fog far behind. On the other hand, Zhang Daniu had no time to put on his seat belt. He was swinging back and forth in the carriage like the last match in a matchbox. He was about to throw up his bile.
It was raining cats and dogs in front of him. The sky and the earth were covered in darkness. The entire city was drowned in the endless rain. Visibility was extremely low. Li Yao drove the off-road vehicle onto the highway half by memory and half by luck. Right now, there was water everywhere on the ground. Passing through the lower roads and culverts, the engine would die down at any moment. The highway was the only place that was slightly safer.
âHuââ
After making sure that there were no pursuers behind him, Li Yao took a long breath in relief. Then he glanced at Zhang Daniu out of the corner of his eye. âAre you alright, Master Niu?â
âIâIâm fine. Blurgh!â
Zhang Daniu leaned against the window and retched a few times. Then, he looked at the raging storm and thousands of bolts of lightning. His complexion turned even more ugly as he said in a trembling voice, âThisâthis damn weather doesnât look like a normal hurricane or storm no matter how I look at it. It canât be that the âhunterâ was speaking the truth and the world is really starting to âcollapseâ, right? Hey, Student Li Yao, where are we going now?â
âI donât know.â
Li Yao frowned. Although he had awakened the strength of a monster and the mottled memory pieces, they were still not enough to help an ordinary college student like him find a way out of the âArkâ and the âApocalypticâ organizations, or even the malicious world. âMaster Niu, do you believe what the âhunterâ said? That we are all prisoners in a time prison living in an infinitely repetitive âreincarnation worldâ?â
âI donât know, either!â
Zhang Daniu wiped his face and said pitifully, âLast night, I was still worrying about the rent for the next quarter. I was still feeling sorry that you ate 200-300 dollars worth of casserole bones. In the end, in just a short span of 24 hours, you want me to face some sort of âworld collapsing, infinite loopâ problem... I really donât know what to say about such a high-end and elegant problem.â
âHowever, on second thought, the words of the âhunterâ should have a lot of truth to them, because his theory is partly consistent with the Dream Travelerâs and can explain the âearth bugâ. Besides, we have seen the existence of superpowers with our own eyes. What if the superpowered people did not awaken the memories of their previous lives?
âI think so, too. The words of the âhuntersâ cannot all be false. Of course, they cannot all be true, either.
Li Yao said, âMaster Niu, whether or not you pretended to be nice to the âhunterâ, Iâm going to ask you one more time. What are you thinking? If you have to choose between the âapocalypseâ or the âarkyâ, who will you choose? If you have to choose the âapocalypseâ, I donât need to flatter myself and save you from the âapocalypseâ, do I?â
âWell...â
Zhang Daniu thought carefully for a long time and said, âI donât know, either. Iâd better check the status of the âArk Foundationâ first.â
âOh?â
Li Yao was dazed for a moment. He said, âI thought that you would choose the âApocalyptic Organizationâ without any hesitation. After all, what the âhunterâ said was very reasonable and tempting. If there is a âwill of the earthâ and their organization is the messenger, spokesperson, or subordinate of the âwill of the earthâ, they will certainly look more promising than the âArk Foundationâ.â
âYou are wrong about that.â
A sly smile appeared on Zhang Daniuâs face when he heard Li Yaoâs words. He said, âIf the âApocalyptic Organizationâ is really as awesome as the âHunterâ claimed, with the entire âWill of the Earthâ backing them up, how could they still be a hidden underground organization? Even after the shooting at the T3 Game Show, they were still wanted by the police of multiple countries? It doesnât make any sense at all! If the âWill of the Earthâ does exist and can control everything in human society, then the âApocalyptic Organizationâ should have replaced the United Nations and the governments of the other superpowers and launched a full-scale arrest warrant for the âArk Foundationâ. Is it really necessary to go this far where everyone is sneaking around and not daring to meet anyone?â
Li Yao raised his eyebrow in surprise.
As it turned out, Zhang Daniu had the same thought as him. It was just that he did not dare to say it out loud due to the intimidation of the âhunterâ.
Although the guy was sordid, he was not stupid.
âBesides, donât you see that the words of the âhunterâ are contradictory?
Zhang Daniu said proudly, âHe compared Earth to a âreincarnation prisonâ, and the members of the âApocalyptic Organizationâ are both âmodel prisonersâ and âprisonersâ. Isnât that right?â
Li Yao nodded. âYes. Thatâs what he said.â
âThatâs hilarious.
Zhang Daniu said, âI donât know how much you know about prisons. Although I donât know the specific organizational structure and management pattern of prisons, I can guarantee one thingâno prison in the world is 100% managed by a prisoner, right? No matter how well-behaved, outstanding, and âmodelâ you are, the prison manager occasionally needs you to maintain the underground order inside the prison and save the managerâs manpower and resources. But no matter what, a prisoner is still a prisoner. Itâs impossible for them to be promoted to a real prison guard and manager, right?â
Li Yao thought quickly and immediately understood the simple logic. He nodded and said, âYes. Maybe in the eyes of the awakeners of the Heavenâs Origin Sector, they are the âmodel prisonersâ and the âprisonersâ who are absolutely obedient to the âwill of the earthâ. But a prisoner is still a prisoner. If there is a humanized will of the earth, it is impossible for them to trust any human being, be they âapocalypseâ or âarksâ!â
âYes. Only in extreme cases can a prisoner become a prison guard.
Zhang Daniu said, âThat is because the prison managers are too weak. The order inside and outside the prison has gone out of control. If that is the case, the âwill of the earthâ is not as invincible as it sounds, is it?â
Li Yao looked at Zhang Daniu seriously. âFair enough.â
âOf course it does.â
Zhang Daniu said excitedly, âWhen I was talking to the âhunterâ just now, Iâd already thought it through. A real man can bow and submit when he wants to. He can even take the insult to his groin. Whatâs wrong with kneeling down and hugging his thigh? The problem is, even if you want to hug his thigh, you have to choose a thick, long, and real 24-karat golden thigh to hug. For guys who call themselves âprisonersâ like the âApocalyptic Organizationâ, who knows whether or not they are chess pieces in the hands of a higher power? What do you mean by âwe are born guiltyâ? They look like zealots. It would be a shame not to be used by others. You and I are smart people. Thereâs no need to be tied to them so quickly!â
âAs for the âArk Foundationâ, according to the âhuntersâ, they are just a bunch of prison breakers, but they are acting so arrogantly. Is there something wrong with them, or do they have the capital to be arrogant? If it is the latter, it is not a bad idea for us to join the âArk Foundationâ together. After all, Iâve spent twenty thousand dollars on the resistance. It is not unreasonable to ask the âArk Foundationâ to pay me back a hundred times or even two million, right?
âOf course, it would be best if we donât go looking for the âArkâ. Letâs just let the âArkâ discover us and take us away. This way, if the âapocalypseâ gains the upper hand next time and completely destroys the âArkâ, we can still say that we were forced by the people of the âapocalypseâ to end up like this. Maybe we will have a chance to abandon the darkness and seek refuge in the arms of the âapocalypseâ and the âwill of the earthâ. Student Li Yao, think about it, donât you agree?â
Li Yao stared at Zhang Daniu for a long, long time.
âMaster Niu, youâve changed.â
Li Yao could not help but say, âFrom last night to this moment, your temperament, way of thinking, and computational ability seem to have undergone a complete transformation. You are completely different from before.â
âNow that you mention it, you do have a point.
Zhang Daniu flipped down the window cover and found a small mirror on the back of the window. He observed his appearance carefully and said, âItâs really strange. Ever since I met you, bubbles seem to be popping up in the depths of my brain. Inside the bubbles are new and strange thoughts one after another. Many super complicated questions can be solved in a flash. Whatâs going on?â
âWellââ
Just as Li Yao was about to respond, the hair all over his body suddenly stood on end, and his heart seemed to have been ruthlessly pinched. He turned the steering wheel violently as if it was a conditioned reflex, and the off-road vehicle almost turned 180 degrees on the elevated platform.
The complicated viaduct was made of three levels, high and low. While Li Yao was steering the steering wheel hard, another black, multipurpose off-road vehicle roared like an iron beast and flew down from a higher level, trying to crash into Li Yao and Zhang Daniuâs vehicle!