"Natural disaster? Nuclear radiation?" Lin Zhisui's tone was amused.

He leaned back on the sofa, playing with the water in his glass by blowing it around, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"What if I told you that all of this is fake?"

Lin Zhi looked at Qin Tan, his eyes filled with a cold sharpness that Qin Tan couldn't understand.

A single, casual remark shattered Qin Tan's understanding of things that had been built up over the past twenty years.

She was a child born in District 5, and these children never doubted history.

"What...does that mean?" Qin Tan asked with difficulty.

Her pupils reacted violently, and her knuckles tightened as she held the cup.

"The history you've learned is fake; it's just a fig leaf."

"The truth is that what destroyed humanity back then was not a natural disaster, but the arrival of an entity called the Abyss."

"We don't know what the abyss is. All we know is that the world changed on the day the other side descended 43 years ago."

"Humanity has been forced to retreat to a corner."

"Forbidden objects, extraordinary beings, and that strange monster you just encountered all arose because of the power of the abyss."

"Aren't you wondering why we treat superhumans so coldly, even harshly?"

Lin Zhisui was referring to the matter that had previously made Qin Tan make a choice.

Qin Tan nodded thoughtfully.

Either their memories are altered, or they are subjected to surveillance; neither is friendly.

"In the first year of the new calendar, shortly after the first strange occurrence, extraordinary individuals were born. At that time, people regarded extraordinary individuals as the salvation of the new world."

"But do you know... before the strange phenomenon was completely eliminated, the superhumans were destroyed by a sudden and powerful force, the order collapsed, and the superhumans began to kill each other."

“There are even superhumans who use their abilities to slaughter ordinary people who offer no resistance.”

"Many people died in the first year."

"The riots by the superhumans caused a disaster no less severe than the emergence of the Abyss; the newly established five districts were almost destroyed."

"Dawn Pivot was born at that time."

Speaking of that bloody history, Lin Zhisui's eyes turned cold, like the white snow on a cold mountain, seeping into his very bones.

"Then we developed new rules."

“We separated the extraordinary world from the ordinary world, rewrote the memories of ordinary people, and erased everything that was superficially related to the abyss.”

"And those remaining extraordinary individuals..."

"Those who break the rules, die!"

"Those who use their abilities for evil, kill them!"

"Kill those who collude with the wicked!"

“We established a new order on top of the corpses.”

"The three paths given to you were also born at that time, and from then on, new extraordinary individuals must make a choice."

"Those who choose none of the three paths shall also be killed!"

"Extraordinary individuals are important, but we will never break the rules born from blood and fire just because of one extraordinary individual."

"This world is still too fragile; the lessons learned from the past are enough."

"And humanity's hopes cannot withstand repeated destruction."

Lin Zhisui's voice was filled with boundless killing intent, and every word conveyed a sense of desolation and sorrow.

Under Lin Zhisui's control, the water floating in the air resembled the surface of a lake being battered by a torrential rain, with waves constantly rippling.

Qin Tan couldn't imagine what it was like.

She remained silent, listening to the truth that ordinary people would never know in their lifetime.

"But if the power of the abyss is blocked outside the city walls, then why are those strange things happening inside the city?"

Qin Tan pointed out the key point.

"That city wall is special; it can indeed effectively prevent the invasion of the abyss's power."

"But that city wall isn't a switch, it's a suppressor. Its existence weakens the influence of the Abyss's power on the Alliance's internal operations."

"But the effect of this inhibitor weakens over time."

"Or perhaps the power of the abyss is still increasing."

Do you remember the localized earthquake that occurred in District 5 eight years ago?

Lin Zhi asked again, and a hint of sadness appeared in Qin Tan's eyes.

“I remember,” she said softly.

"My parents died in that earthquake."

To this day, many people still don't understand why that earthquake only affected one street.

Three went, one returned.

All that was left for her from then on was this cold, lifeless house.

Qin Tan's gaze fell on the family photo on the cabinet. In it, the family of three smiled brightly, and Qin Tan's eyes welled up with tears.

"You mean, that earthquake was actually caused by the invasion of the abyss?"

Qin Tan's voice trembled.

She clenched her hands, her nails digging into her palms without her realizing it.

Years have passed, but those two faces are still clear.

"Qin Tan, live on."

She strives to live for those five words.

But now someone is telling her that the earthquake was man-made.

How could she accept that?

"yes."

Sensing Qin Tan's emotions, the others cast moved glances at her.

They never imagined that Qin Tan's parents would die in the earthquake that originated from the abyss.

"That earthquake demonstrated that the Abyss was having an increasingly severe impact on us, and since then, more and more extraordinary events have occurred in District 5."

"We, the Dawn Pivot, have thus stepped out from behind the scenes and into the spotlight."

"We are the swordsmen of the new era."

"We watch over the dawn from the darkness."

Lin Zhisui was smiling, but the smile was bitter.

"We wait for the dawn from the darkness."

Qin Tan repeated the question, then looked up at everyone: "So, when will dawn arrive?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!