17 Chapter 17 The Dawn of Salvation_1

"Being underground for too long really messes with your head!"

Wang Ran imagined the scenario described by the simulator and put himself in the shoes of an unsuspecting Doomsday Apostle, suddenly feeling a chill wind blow behind his neck.

He shivered involuntarily.

"I'm supposed to be a great hero!"

"Why does this feel like some kind of perverse déjà vu?"

[The boulder left his hand]

Wang Ran had only one thought in his mind.

Leave a survivor!

After finally encountering a lonesome, pitiful figure, if he smashed them to death right away, where would he find another person to help him understand the situation?

[You hit the mysterious man squarely, the rock pinning down his lower body as he fell, wailing and letting out a shrill scream]

Wang Ran sighed in relief, thinking as long as he's not dead, it's fine!

But that was just the first step.

Next, he had to pry this person's mouth open,

hoping he wasn't some die-hard fanatic.

[You stepped forward to compete with him in martial virtue]

[You won]

[He was utterly convinced by you]

Wang Ran's face lit up with joy, "Success!"

Things were going too smoothly!

All he had to do now was pry a bit of information about the Doomsday Apostles from this person's mouth, and it would be worth it even if he ended the simulation right then and there!

[He did not answer the questions]

[You decided to continue competing with him in martial virtue]

"Didn't you say you were utterly convinced?" Wang Ran was puzzled, "Why won't you answer the questions, are you really convinced or not?"

[You won]

[But he still did not answer the questions]

"Tough nut to crack?"

Wang Ran's eyebrows knitted together.

Then, there was no other way!

Fight!

Beat him to within an inch of his life!

Let's see if this kid's bones are harder or my fists!

[You continued to compete with him in martial virtue]

[You won]

[He did not answer the questions]

...

[You continued to compete with him in martial virtue]

[You won]

[He did not answer the questions]

...

[You continued to compete with him in martial virtue]

[You won]

[He did not answer the questions]

Wang Ran's heart gradually sank.

This person had already been injured by the stone, and if he continued to beat him, he might actually kill him.

No wonder he's part of a mysterious organization planning the destruction of the world; even a random member is so tough.

[You continued to compete with him in martial virtue]

[You won]

[You felt his fear of you]

[You asked him if he would speak]

[He asked you tearfully what he should say]

[You were stunned]

[You suddenly realized that you hadn't asked any questions]

Wang Ran: ???

Seeing these lines, Wang Ran couldn't hold it together anymore.

"This is just..."

He glanced back at the simulator's text logs.

Indeed, he only saw records of the man not answering questions, but there were no records of him asking any.

"I'm sorry, brother!"

Wang Ran felt extremely embarrassed: "I misunderstood you, you're not a tough nut after all!"

[To cover your embarrassment, you symbolically asked a few questions and found out that this Doomsday Apostle was named Zhou Ming, who joined the Doomsday Apostles five years ago.]

[You inquire about the organizational structure of the Doomsday Apostles.]

[You learn that the upper echelons of the Doomsday Apostles consist of a Sect Hierarch, three Elders, and eighteen Doomsday Apostles, beneath whom serve the Doomsday Servants belonging to the various Apostles.]

[You find out that Zhou Ming is a Servant of the Doomsday Apostle Shi Si.]

[You discover that the Awakening Ceremony is the beginning of the disaster, as the Doomsday Apostles have awakened a Behemoth slumbering underground. If this Behemoth were to fully wake, the entire Eurasian Plate would fracture.]

Wang Ran's breath became rapid.

My goodness!

What on Earth could be slumbering beneath the ground?

Wang Ran vaguely remembered something he had learned in high school geography class; he knew that modern geographers divided the globe into six major plates, and the Eurasian Plate was one of them.

He could hardly imagine what scale of behemoth could cause such a catastrophic impact on one-sixth of the Earth's surface just by awakening!

If that was true...

Everything that had happened so far was just child's play, and the deaths of a million people in Eternal Peace City were trivial. The real catastrophe was still brewing!

And the outside world knew nothing about it!

"This is not good!"

Wang Ran was acutely aware of the gravity of the situation, realizing that once the Doomsday Apostles managed to awaken the Behemoth, even if he had the strength of a superhuman, he would be powerless to turn back the tide.

Hiding and hoping for the best was also out of the question!

Consider this:

If there was a Behemoth on Earth capable of easily destroying the plate structures, where could possibly be safe?

The awakening of the Behemoth had to be stopped at all costs!

The apocalypse must not be permitted to arrive!

[You inquire about the ways to stop the Behemoth's awakening.]

[You learn that after the Awakening Ceremony, the Behemoth has entered an irreversible process of awakening, and Zhou Ming has no knowledge of the time and place of the ceremony.]

Zhou Ming is just a Doomsday Servant; his status isn't enough to access secrets of the level of the Awakening Ceremony.

"So I still need to start with Shi Si," he concluded.

Wang Ran made up his mind to visit the military camp again tomorrow to ascertain the identity of Shi Si.

The text continued to scroll.

[You ask what Zhou Ming was doing just now.]

[You find out that the purple-red flowers are an extension of the Behemoth's consciousness. The Behemoth is not yet fully awake and its consciousness is still hazy. The Doomsday Apostles "water" the flowers with a set phrase, expediting the Behemoth's awakening.]

"An extension of consciousness?"

Wang Ran was enlightened.

He pondered, "Before the Awakening Ceremony, before the Behemoth had begun to awaken, how did the Doomsday Apostles communicate with it?"

There must be a medium between them.

If that medium could be destroyed, perhaps the Doomsday Apostles wouldn't be able to awaken the Behemoth?

But how could this be done?

Wang Ran thought hard about it while his persona in the simulator began to make moves.

[You attempt to deceive the purple-red flower.]

Wang Ran was puzzled, "Can it even be fooled?"

["Please don't believe in the lies of the traitor. The current world is not suited for you and your kin. The dreadful bipeds dominate this world!"]

["The moment you awaken, you'll be cruelly consumed by them, fried, boiled, steamed, roasted!"]

Wang Ran scoffed, "God, fried, boiled, steamed, roasted..."

["Stay asleep! Never wake up!"]

Could this possibly work?

Wang Ran watched the simulator nervously.

[The flower shivered and withered away.]

Did it work?!

Wang Ran's eyes widened in shock.

[You realize that now, while the Behemoth is not yet awake, it is most susceptible to deception. You could try using trickery to destroy the medium through which the Doomsday Apostles communicate with the Behemoth before the Awakening Ceremony.]

His persona in the simulator discovered a way to destroy the medium.

Deception!

Since the Behemoth's mind was hazy, it didn't know who was telling the truth. Since the Doomsday Apostles wanted the Behemoth to believe the outside world was hospitable, he would do the opposite!

Intimidate the Behemoth!

If he could convince the Behemoth that the world outside was dangerous and that it should fear awakening, the apocalyptic threat would be averted!

Wang Ran saw a glimmer of hope.

As a Cultivation Master, he had a natural advantage in trickery; the Behemoth would surely believe him more.

"The priority now is to locate Shi Si!"

Shi Si was the only lead,

Only by finding Shi Si,

Would he have a chance to intimidate the Behemoth.

[You ask Zhou Ming for information about Shi Si.]

["Are you looking for me?"]

[A familiar voice comes from behind you.]