He did not walk into that cold, cruel tower.

The elevator‌​‍​‌​‌​​⁠⁠⁠​‌​⁠‍‌⁠​​⁠​‍ descended rapidly from the 199th floor. An Yu, draped in Qin Zhilu’s black trench coat, turned his back to the Spire and looked at the world outside.

The Main City had entered city-wide silence. The streets were empty, lights extinguished, civilian networks terminated. After the High Peak hung up, communication between the Spire and Black Tower was also cut off. Only Brain’s core server room was still running on backup power. Brain’s independent secondary Dome activated, hiding the weak electromagnetic field inside.

Even though a small amount of aberrant tide had invaded, the Main City was still trying its best to erase its presence.

The struggle of a trapped beast.

The elevator reached the 1st floor. An Yu saw Yan Xi waiting anxiously outside the gate at a glance. But just as he stepped out of the elevator, he turned to look at the other side.

A mass of people stood by the Statue of the Protector’s Oath.

The Protectors still remaining in the Spire at this moment, familiar and unfamiliar faces, were all here.

Standing at the very front were Jiang Xiao and Zhu Tao.

“An Yu.” Jiang Xiao’s eyes were bloodshot, and the hands at his sides were clenched so tightly his knuckles looked ready to burst. He pleaded in a trembling voice, “Don’t kill him.”

An Yu’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

Behind Jiang Xiao, the Protectors were all staring directly at him. He raised his eyes to sweep over them; they still harbored an instinctive fear of him, but at this moment, none of them avoided his scrutiny.

After a long confrontation in the silence, An Yu spoke in an emotionless voice. “It is said he is already brain dead. What is locked in the tenth basement level of the White Tower is merely a calamity that humanity cannot oppose.”

He left them with those words and turned to go. He had just started to walk away when another set of footsteps approached from behind, followed by a soft, lonely voice—

“I shall remain forever loyal to humanity, in whatever form I exist.

I accept all reserved trust.

I accept all bottomless exploitation.

I accept all unexplained executions.

I will forever be loyal to humanity, no matter how I am destroyed.

—Protector’s Self-Restraint.”

Zhao Ran finished reading the inscription before the statue word for word and gave a small smile.

“You all should go back,” he said, his back to An Yu, smiling at the Protectors. “Qin Zhilu never signed the Protector’s Oath, yet he has observed it strictly. Even though he no longer has the power to control his own fate, fortunately, he long ago trained a successor to fulfill it to the end for him.”

Zhao Ran paused, and a soft sigh echoed through the deathly silent hall.

“For this moment, he suffered for so many years. Although even now I cannot understand the foolish spirit of sacrifice you people share, do not let his painstaking efforts go to waste.”

Everyone was looking at him. An Yu turned back and walked up to him. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to ask if you need me to accompany you.”

While An Yu stood dazed, Zhao Ran smiled gently. “I just felt that, no matter how much humanity you lack, you’re bound to feel a little bad.”

“Thank you for the kindness.” An Yu shook his head. “But it isn’t necessary.”

“Fine then.” Zhao Ran’s expression didn’t flicker. “Then, I’ll wait for you to come back?”

An Yu gave a small “Mhm,” turned to walk a few steps, and then paused beside Zhu Tao.

Those deep purple eyes were quiet and peaceful. Although Zhu Tao stood at the front of the crowd, he had not said a word.

Zhu Tao was the first friend An Yu had made and the one who had been best to him. An Yu lowered his eyes, feeling a twinge of guilt. Zhu Tao and Codex were very close, almost inseparable. Thus, even now, he couldn’t bring himself to tell Grape where Codex had gone.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking first. “Is something the matter?”

Zhu Tao nodded. “The Commander left the Main City two hours ago. A giant rift appeared in the wasteland to the north; it looks like the crust is about to snap. He didn’t have time to notify you, so he asked me to tell you.”

An Yu hadn’t expected him to say that and was stunned for a second.

Zhu Tao smiled at him. “The missions lately have been so hard, but yours is the hardest of all, An Yu. I’m sorry, I have my hands full, otherwise I should have stayed here to help you.”

“Where are you going?” An Yu asked instinctively.

“To find the Commander. I have to stay with him.” Zhu Tao fished something out of his pocket and placed it in An Yu’s palm, winking at him as he whispered, “Remember our secret, right?”

It wasn’t until Yan Xi drove the car to the White Tower that An Yu opened his hand, looking down at the small, purple, dried fruit in his palm.

“My Commander says these little fruits of gratitude are a thousand times better for mental resistance than leaves. I’ve only ever given them to him in secret.”

Zhu Tao’s words from back in District 53 were still in his ears, but a year had passed in the blink of an eye.

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After passing the identity verification and stepping into the restricted zone of the White Tower, An Yu slipped the dried grape into his mouth. A rich sweetness spread over his tongue, with a faint, lingering scent of wine.

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At this moment, dozens of researchers and high-ranking officers stood together, looking up at the map on the screen.

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An Yu stopped Yan Xi, who was leading the way. “What is this?”

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Goodnight, Main City.”

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“District 83 is ready. Lighting the lamp.”

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“…”

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The Bait Cities were not merely giving up the protection of the Domes; they were turning themselves into flickering candlelight in the final moment. Just as Ling Qiu had explained back then, using the cities as bait, exposing the commoners nakedly, while the Main City remained silent under its Dome, the human elite absolutely safe.

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An Yu thought he would be unmoved by the survival of humanity, but looking at the screen, those golden eyes trembled slightly.

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Miss paused. “The Equality Zone and the Black Tower have always had differences in ideology. Regrettably, neither of us could find an effective method to counter the calamity. But we both hope to preserve a spark of light, waiting for it to brighten and spread like wildfire once again.”

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An Yu paused before replying, “I’m here.”

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“Yes,” Miss said. “Say a proper goodbye to Law for me, whether he can still understand or not.”

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After a moment, Miss spoke. “That is all then. This is the last communication between the Equality Zone and the human Main City.”

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An Yu turned his head to look at the pitch-black streets outside the White Tower. He finally lowered his eyes and whispered, “Goodnight, humanity.”

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“Thank you.” An Yu’s tone was sincere. “It is the dignity he deserves.”

“It is also the respect you deserve.”

His mechanical eyeballs stared unblinkingly at An Yu. Yan Xi bowed deeply, and as the elevator doors closed, he whispered, “I hope you are as strong as the day we first met.”

The elevator closed, and the metal doors reflected An Yu’s face. The sincerity in those golden eyes had already vanished.

The tenth basement floor was completely empty. With the thirty gates removed, the winding path to the monitoring room had become short. An Yu soon stood outside the door. He pulled the Commander’s trench coat tighter around himself and suddenly remembered something.

—Codex?

[I’m here.]

—You haven’t spoken in a long time.

[Mhm… I saw something that puzzled me. I’ve been thinking about the reason, but for some reason, I can’t quite grasp it.]

—What thing?

Codex answered with a question. [Is there something you want to ask?]

An Yu looked down at the door handle and reached out to grab it.

—Not really. I was just curious. You haven’t reacted at all to the fact that I’m going to kill the Commander. Can you access my thoughts?

[Of course not. Although I have merged with Eye, before merging back into Him, I cannot fully be considered a part of Him. Trying to peer into your thoughts would be no different from seeking my own destruction.]

[But An Yu, I suspect you won’t kill him.]

An Yu finally smiled. —Mhm.

He pressed down the handle and looked into the room, his golden eyes full of indifference. —The extinction of humanity is indeed heart-wrenching, but what does that have to do with me?

The monitoring room was empty; Qin Zhilu should still be in the bedroom. An Yu walked straight to the inner room. The moment he pushed the final door open, Codex seemed to smile as well.

[But An Yu, it seems we have already succeeded.]

[When an impossible thing happens, it is often called eternity.]

[I still haven’t figured out why, but eternity has already occurred, not at this moment, but a long time ago.]

An Yu was stunned. He pushed the door open. Qin Zhilu stood with his back to him in front of the desk. On the wall was a map projection just like the one in the White Tower hall.

There were no ugly or bizarre aberrant features. There was no screaming, mania, or aggression as he had imagined. The man stood as tall and upright as always. The wall displayed his mental power, which was in the single digits. Veins bulged on his profile and the back of his hand, yet he was quiet and peaceful.

Hearing the door open, Qin Zhilu seemed to smile.

“You’re back?”

He spoke in a low voice. “I told 21 that if you didn’t come back soon, I wouldn’t be able to find any more topics to keep chatting with it.”

“Commander…” An Yu froze. He subconsciously rubbed the manuscript in the inner pocket of his trench coat.

Codex’s explanation surfaced.

[An Yu, do you remember? We both tried to peer into Law’s heart, but his mental defenses were too strong; we could only see a cold, desolate high tower. In reality, that was the Chaos Body, a part of Him, the abyss that has been calling to Qin Zhilu. For all these years, he has been standing before the tower, looking up, listening to and resisting its call.]

[So, there was never the ‘dormancy’ of the Chaos Body that humans assumed. There was only one man’s bitter self-restraint.]

An Yu stood dazed for a long time. —Didn’t you say that in the infinite parallel spacetime possibilities, he always lost his human will before the chaos merged?

[Yes, that cognition was not incorrect.]

[In all other spacetime possibilities, Qin Zhilu failed to resist until the end. He eventually walked the same path as Sienna, and the calamity repeated in a cycle. But in this final spacetime opportunity alone, he did not.]

—Why not?

Codex pondered for a moment. [That is the part I haven’t quite figured out. The thing that changed him is very hard to find, so I cannot see it.]

—What do you mean ‘hard to find’?

[Perhaps it is something very small, something ordinary in this world. Like a snowflake, or a small piece of bread.]

An Yu’s gaze flickered, falling into those deep, dark eyes across from him.

[In short, that was his turning point, and his shred of hope.]

[Because of that tiny, inconspicuous thing, he did not walk into that cold, cruel tower.]