Xia Li couldn't find words to describe his feelings at the moment.

  All he could say was that blessings weren't disasters, but disasters couldn't be avoided.

  He'd escaped disaster back then, but in the end he'd still fallen into the company's hands and been awakened.

  If Ke Xiao hadn't found him, what would his fate be now?

  Would he have ended up like Ning Ge?

  "Sister Ke..."

  Thinking of Ke Xiao, Xia Li's heart welled up with intense gratitude. After returning this time, he absolutely had to reward her properly!

  Whether in spirit stones or nightlife!

  He'd take enhancement drugs if necessary just to satisfy Ke Xiao.

  After photographing these files with the Heaven Chip for preservation, Xia Li went to his next destination.

  Jin Zaijun's room.

  The guy's door was ajar. After entering, Xia Li found the furnishings rather simple, and the cabinets were clean—he couldn't find anything of value whatsoever.

  Not until Xia Li scanned with the Heaven Chip did he discover an old, slightly yellowed photograph wedged in the room's ceiling.

  Xia Li took it down to look...

  It should be a photo of Jin Zaijun himself. He wore a military uniform and was making a saluting gesture. The uniform style and the red national flag behind him revealed his nationality.

  On the back of the photo were several lines of text.

  "Even though the nation has vanished and the mission has failed, humanity must still walk the righteous path."

  "Remember your identity, Hidden Wing Special Forces Captain Chen Guangyao."

  "For all of humanity!"

  Xia Li slowly read out these three sentences, then walked to the bookshelf and picked up Jin Zaijun's name tag for comparison.

  Jin Zaijun was Chen Guangyao. The two looked exactly alike.

  "A spy, huh..."

  Xia Li fell silent. Chen Guangyao's appearance did bear some resemblance to Jin Xiutai.

  "Heaven Chip, perform facial comparison with Jin Xiutai."

  【Comparing...】

  【Similarity at sixty-eight percent. Jin Xiutai is most likely a direct descendant of the person in the photograph.】

  "Well, well, Jin Xiutai."

  Xia Li didn't think Jin Xiutai was doing the same things as his ancestors. Jin Xiutai had betrayed his bloodline by siding with the Corporate Union.

  Things like that...

  Must be killed!

  "Hidden Wing Special Forces was probably the predecessor of Hidden Wing..."

  "Captain Chen, please rest assured. As a new recruit of Hidden Wing Special Forces, I will definitely eradicate this threat!"

  Xia Li put away the photo. The other's bloodline could not be insulted.

  Even when he no longer had a homeland, even when there was no necessity to continue the mission, he'd still chosen to do the right thing.

  Even as a spy whose identity couldn't be exposed, he'd deliberately left behind a photo that could reveal him. That photograph was perhaps his final faith.

  Then...

  Xia Li went to Yan Qing's room.

  Yan Qing's door was tightly closed. Before entering, Xia Li had the Heaven Chip scan the interior. Only after confirming there were no problems did he kick the door open.

  The room was clean and tidy, showing no signs of panic whatsoever. The room's owner had clearly tidied up thoroughly before leaving.

  Could it be...

  That the laboratory's catastrophe was Yan Qing's doing?

  Just as Xia Li was speculating, a sudden noise came from under the cabinet. Startled, Xia Li drew his blade and slashed!

  The cabinet was cut in two, and a spherical machine rolled onto the ground. Then suddenly bright light emanated from it, forming a holographic projection.

  "Um... Greetings, successor."

  "I know you have many questions, but please be patient and let me finish first."

  "That you could come here and see my holographic image means you can only be one of three types of people. I set up special illusion triggers for the Infant Demons and also tampered with the phase gate."

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  "If you're not one of those three types I mentioned, I can only suggest you run fast. Quick, check the color of the holographic projector's indicator light? If it's red, you're finished—this place will immediately self-destruct!"

  As Yan Qing's holographic image said this, Xia Li immediately checked the projector's indicator light.

  Fortunately...

  It was blue.

  "If it's blue, that means you're one of the three types I've permitted."

  "If you're the first type—my close friend—then please take the data chip from inside the holographic projector. It reveals all the evils of this place. But if you've arrived after 2170, the data will self-destruct because it will be too late to stop it. I can't endanger you."

  "If you're the second type—an experiment subject who survived by luck—then you can obtain the genetic suppressant from the safe under the sixth floor tile."

  "It can stop early-stage mutations and slow mid-stage mutations. If you're already in the late stage..."

  "The suppressant can also buy you some extra time. Try to accept it."

  "If you're the third type... though this probability is lowest, life is full of wonders everywhere. No matter how low the probability, it's still possible."

  "The third type is my patient—a patient who participated in my cryogenic freezing program. If that's you, then since you've made it here, you must have investigated and found some information along the way. I wonder if you've already become the second type?"

  "If not yet, then congratulations!"

  "The key to your divine ascension is in the storage vault—it can unlock your life-level limitations."

  "Freezing is also hibernation. Revival is breaking from the cocoon to become a butterfly. During your unconsciousness, you've already been swimming in that sea for a long time, but you never knew. That cocoon is unimaginably thick—without help, it's difficult to break through."

  "You should become a butterfly soaring through the cosmic sea, awaken your True Self and manifest Alaya, thus touching immortality."

  "If you're not the third type, that's fine too. The key can still transform you."

  "I just ask that you do me a favor..."

  "Go find my poor close friend. You may have heard her name. Whether she's respected in history or notorious..."

  "Her name is Xia Shu. She is the Prometheus who stole fire. This holographic projector is also a sensor—it can sense Xia Shu's consciousness."

  "As for me?"

  "I may no longer be human now. Whether I can still possess human cognition is uncertain."

  "So go, go take the key... If possible, I hope even more that you can deliver it to the third type."

  "They are flowers I've carefully nurtured, the meaning of my existence in the latter half of my life. I yearn for them to complete my crowning masterpiece!"

  "To touch higher dimensions, and then..."

  "Divine ascension, divine ascension, divine ascension!!"

  As Yan Qing said this, her expression became somewhat fanatical, as if intoxicated by imagination.

  For a researcher...

  Perhaps research that she'd devoted her whole life to was more important than life itself.

  Other researchers had created demons.

  But she...

  Wanted to create gods!

  Those frozen patients carried her hopes. Both were experiments on frozen individuals.

  The former was simple exploitation. The latter truly wanted to help them succeed.

  "Professor Yan... you really are a madman. Creating deities with a mortal body—how could that be possible?"

  Xia Li expressed doubt, thinking Yan Qing was exaggerating. But regardless, it seemed beneficial to him.

  "But it sounds interesting. I agree to continue participating in your experiment."

  "Let me take a good look at what exactly you, who could become Antares, have created."

  "I just hope your research won't also turn me into a Star-Lodge Great Demon..."

  If that really happened, Xia Li would truly not know whether to laugh or cry.