[Thanks to the Saviors for repairing the core of this world.]
What do you want?
After leaving that world where ice and lava clashed, Gou Fugui was not thrown directly out of the Gate of Doomsday. Instead, like in the first world, his entire consciousness was plunged into a pitch-black chaos.
He heard the voice of the world's consciousness, a voice as ethereal as ice and snow, yet suppressing a burgeoning warmth, just like His world.
"My little world is still missing one last source." Gou Fugui glanced around and then tentatively offered his idea.
He originally thought that the world's consciousness would easily give him the reward, but to his surprise, he waited in the same spot for a long time.
It was only when Gou Fugui could no longer help but ask that the world consciousness of this icy world finally responded:
Why do you want your own world? Do you want to become a god, or... do you want to be like us?
Gou Fugui was instantly jolted awake. [Are you kidding me? I'm perfectly fine, why would I want to become a god or something like you?!]
Well, I'm not saying that gods or beings like you are bad, it's just that being human is quite fun.
You can eat all sorts of delicious foods you've never tasted before, do many interesting, meaningful, or meaningless things, and personally experience every wonder of the world and observe the differences in every kind of life. Life can be so wonderful, why become a god?
However, most of the "people" I've observed in this world aren't as wonderful as you describe; they all want to be omnipotent gods.
Gou Fugui laughed:
That's normal. Life in this world isn't always smooth sailing.
However, some ultimately rise to the top, while others fall into the abyss. But isn't such a life itself a challenge and a source of meaning?
At least I've worked my butt off to the edge of the abyss; one more step and the road is clear. Why strive to become a god? Isn't being a happy and carefree person just as good?
[...And what about immortality?]
The world exists because of birth and death. Enjoy life while you're alive, and don't struggle when you're about to die.
If this is your choice, grant your world the source of "water" and "fire."
The moment the voice of the world consciousness rang out in this dark world, Gou Fugui suddenly felt the power that was violently shaking and churning in his sea of consciousness.
It was as if the heavens and earth were shaking. When he suddenly thought this, his body appeared out of thin air in a "chaotic land" he had never seen before.
This is a lifeless, hazy, and boundless place.
It was lifeless, like a prison that held objects.
However, it soon changed.
The chaos that filled the entire world was suddenly blown away by a strong wind, dispersing to both sides with the upper part lighter and the lower part heavier.
Then, the ice and snow melted into rain and fell to the ground. The rainwater gathered into a boundless ocean, and the sky and the sea appeared in this world.
The long-haired youth standing quietly on the sea was slightly taken aback, realizing where this place might be.
The world before him had changed so much that it was beyond his imagination.
Suddenly, a blinding ray of light shone down from above, and from that moment on, the entire enclosed world seemed to be connected from its origin, like a tiny, trembling newborn star that began to cycle through day and night and began to radiate its own light.
Finally, Gou Fugui looked down and saw a tiny, tiny fish in the clear, icy blue, overly clear and overly still ocean.
From then on, life came into being in this world.
And the new world finally took shape.
Almost no one could have imagined that this seemingly boundless world was once just a tiny pocket of space less than a meter in diameter.
But it eventually grew into what it is today.
While Gou Fugui was still reeling from this "world" that perhaps belonged only to him, his consciousness was instantly pulled away and returned to the darkness.
Thank you. Seeing that world makes all those near-death experiences worthwhile.
The world consciousness did not respond to Gou Fugui.
Just as he was about to leave this darkness, the young man seemed to hear a faint sigh again.
[...]
When Gou Fugui opened his eyes, he was already prepared to roll down from the top of the snow-capped mountain.
However, he was shocked to find that he was not on the snow-capped peak of the "Roof of the World," but instead in the small garden of his two-story villa.
Under the scorching August sun, the roses and other flowering plants in the garden were in full bloom.
"Wow, where is this?! Hmm, this looks kind of familiar."
Gou Fugui heard Song Sanchuan's voice, followed by Si Wuyai's affirmative voice.
"A wealthy family."
Gou Fugui turned around and saw Song Sanchuan and Si Wuyai, who were wrapped up like bears, as well as Xie Tianlang standing beside him watching him.
They all returned unharmed.
They even crossed the distance directly, just like in the first world, and returned home.
He felt a moment of excitement and relaxation, then quickly looked towards the western sky.
The enormous, visible black vortex that had once been there had vanished without a trace. Song Sanchuan jumped up excitedly at that moment: "It's gone! The biggest and most deadly vortex is gone!"
"Boss! Fugui! And Lao Si, hahaha! We did it! We did it!"
Gou Fugui also showed a joyful expression.
However, before they could enjoy this brief success for long, Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang suddenly sensed something at the same time, looking in two different directions, west and east, their faces solemn.
"What's wrong?"
Gou Fugui closed his eyes slightly. Just now, he felt as if he had heard a terrifying, shattering sound.
He didn't know how to describe the sound and the expression, and before he could speak, all four of their contact watches emitted a piercing, urgent emergency contact alert.
The four of them turned on their wristwatches, and the voices of Minister Tu, the commander of the Ninth Legion, and the Minister of the Scientific Research Headquarters sounded almost simultaneously.
"Thank you, Tianlang! Fugui'er, have you returned?! The helicopters stationed and loitering near the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau haven't found any trace of you! But the gates to doom on the snow-capped mountains have been closed! Now I'm asking you, have you all returned safely? Was anyone injured? Or... sacrificed? And where are you?"
The questions asked by Minister Tu, the Legion Commander, and the Research Minister were almost identical, differing only in the order in which they were asked, reflecting their closeness or distance in the relationship.
Gou Fugui didn't care about any of that. He walked into his villa and, unsurprisingly, didn't see his sister. Remembering the haste and rush of his departure, and the violent earthquake at the time, Gou Fugui asked directly:
"Minister Tu, we're all safe and sound, currently at my villa. Where's my sister? Is she safe? What's the date now? How long have we been inside the last door to the apocalypse?"
Upon hearing the reply, Minister Tu finally felt much relieved, which also improved his overly tired and pale complexion, which had been evident for the past month.
"Since the four of you are together, I will send someone to pick you up."
"A lot has happened in the past month, and the situation in the world is not good right now... Although I want to praise and commend you, I can only say that you have worked hard."
"The apocalypse on the other side of the Doomsday Gate is over, but our apocalypse has probably just begun."
Listening to Minister Tu's words on the phone, the joy that Gou Fugui and the other three had just felt for saving a world from the apocalypse and returning safely had completely vanished.
For a full three minutes, they did not exchange a word. They simply changed their clothes, quickly washed their faces and tidied themselves up, and then waited attentively for the helicopter to arrive.
Twenty minutes later, Gou Fugui, Xie Tianlang, Song Sanchuan, and Si Wuyai arrived at the Huazhou Military Region Headquarters on the outskirts of Beijing.
The atmosphere here was solemn, and the exhaustion on the faces of every researcher and soldier was unmistakable.
Along the way, Gou Fugui and his companions also saw from the helicopter the capital city below, which had become chaotic and dilapidated in just one month.
If the capital of a country is like this, one can only imagine what other places must be like.
"You're here."
Minister Tu stood in front of the huge electronic screen in the command hall. After hearing the report, he turned around and smiled at the four triumphant soldiers.
They are his pride, and the pride of all Chinese people.
"It's a pity, I said before that I could let you all get a good rest after I came back. I have to break my promise."
Gou Fugui was stunned the moment he stepped into the command hall.
Was the old man who turned to face him and smiled really Minister Tu, whom he knew?
When they recruited him half a year ago, he was still full of black hair and looked energetic. No one would have guessed that he was already fifty-five years old.
Now, after just over a month apart, and even just seven days prior, this imposing and composed leader has already grown a full head of white hair.
Looking at him like this, it's still hard to believe he's only fifty-five years old.
"you……"
Gou Fugui stepped forward, his voice unusually hoarse.
Minister Tu could tell from Gou Fugui's eyes that he was concerned and worried. He laughed twice and patted the shoulder of the outstanding talent he had personally recruited: "Good boy. It's okay, it's nothing."
He knew from the beginning that this was a cruel yet kind child, and looking at him now, this child is still doing well after experiencing several worlds.
"This silent war has reached a critical juncture. We've done a remarkable job of holding on until now!"
"Besides, it's just that I've aged prematurely due to some anxiety. Compared to you, who have risked your lives, this is really nothing."
Minister Tu said another sentence, then his expression suddenly turned serious: "Alright, there's no time for reminiscing now. You need to come and see what our own world looks like."
As Minister Tu finished speaking, the electronic screens in the command center began playing continuous videos from around the world captured by satellite surveillance.
Gou Fugui pursed his lips and was pulled by Xie Tianlang to sit on the chairs on both sides of the hall. Then he saw Song Feng, Hu Wen, Niu Baiwan and Ma Chenggong, his former teammates, who were still injured but grinning at him. However, as he looked around, he noticed that several of these teammates were missing from the group.
The long-haired youth took a deep breath, sat down in his chair, and stared at the large screen.
At this moment, all the lights in the hall went out, making the brightly lit screen stand out even more clearly and glaringly.
The large screen first displayed a scarlet time marker.
July 31, 2222.
Gou Fugui remembers that this was the day they rushed to the Qinghai-Tibet snow mountain.
That day, people in the capital city felt a tremendous earthquake, and the collapse of the Doomsday Gate could be seen from the sky.
In fact, the Gates of Doomsday did collapse on this day.
Not only did the Doomsday Gate collapse in Fengxian County, Huazhou, and the resulting sinkhole swallow the entire county in a very short time, but almost all human-inhabited areas, including the Americas, Australia, India, Europe, and South America, also experienced similar Doomsday Gate collapses.
In just one day, July 31, 11 doomsday gates collapsed around the world.
On the same day, July 31, a third of the world was engulfed in different and terrible disasters.
What is a third of the disaster zone on Earth actually covers half of the habitat of all humanity and the life forms that depend on the continent for survival.
Gou Fugui stared at the large screen at the Fengxian cave that resembled a gaping abyss, the town in the Americas shrouded in lightning and thunder, the mutated monsters crawling and killing all over Japan, the unknown virus in India, and the volcanic eruption in Indonesia…
My mood gradually sank to rock bottom.
But this wasn't even the worst disaster.
The scene on the big screen changed, and the images that appeared were no longer the roar and tremors of nature, but rather the faces of humans with despair, sadness, and then turning into madness, anger, brutality, and... weakness.
Minister Tu's voice rang out at this moment:
"Since the collapse of 11 Doomsday Gates on July 31, seven days have passed until now, August 7. Of the 109 Doomsday Gates worldwide, 49 have had their cores recovered, 17 have been fully repaired, and 9 collapsed before July 31. Before you enter the last Doomsday Gate, only 24 of the 109 Doomsday Gates remain to be dealt with."
"We thought we had plenty of time, but we were slapped hard in the face."
"On July 31, 11 of the remaining 24 Doomsday Gates collapsed."
"Then, the last 13 Doomsday Gates also collapsed one after another during these seven days."
"According to the latest satellite statistics, all human settlements have been affected, to varying degrees, by the last 24 doomsday gates that collapsed."
"Even though countries around the world had long been prepared for the collapse of the Doomsday Gate and acted immediately upon its collapse, the vast majority of the world's population, and even some animals and plants, were saved."
"However, the extremely terrifying negative forces that could not be seen with the naked eye, brought about by the collapse of the Doomsday Gate, still permeated the entire world."
Minister Tu looked at Gou Fugui and gave a wry smile:
"I remember you mentioned this very early on, Fugui, didn't you?"
“Reclaiming the world core and repairing the world core feel different.”
"Repairing is like completely removing the disease from the body without leaving any hidden dangers, while recycling is like cutting off the 'problematic part' in one stroke, saving the life but leaving hidden dangers."
"At that time, I thought about the difference between the two points repeatedly. Although I also felt that repairing the world core was better, being able to recover the world core was already the limit that many teams could do. Not only us, but other countries in the world could not repair one every time they entered a doomsday gate."
We're not afraid of death, we've just tried our best and couldn't do any better, so this is the only way. I also clung to a sliver of hope.
"But now, the world is telling us that there is no such thing as luck."
"Only results matter."
"What is more terrifying than avoiding and stopping disasters is the human heart and reason that have been affected by negative forces and are beginning to collapse little by little."
"If we cannot eliminate this 'doomsday collapse disaster germ' that has spread throughout the world within a limited time, humans, animals, and plants will kill each other to death."
Minister Tu stared intently at the malicious, distorted faces on the big screen before finally saying, "But we don't know how to bring our world back to normal."
"The world seems to be falling into an abyss, and all of humanity's efforts are just a futile attempt to stop it."
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