Chapter 33 The Tower of Gray Dome 33 "I won't."
Nanmen Jue carried Xiao Nuo on her shoulder and rushed out of the isolation room, where she soon met Tong Gu, who had come to find her.
"South Gate, something terrible has happened!" Tong Gu cried out in genuine distress. "The self-destruct device... the self-destruct device has been activated!"
"What did you say?" Nanmen Jue's expression changed drastically.
How is this possible? Could it be that Xu Yang had a backup plan and wasn't dead at all?!
“No, it’s not that Xu Yang has come back to life.” Nanmen Jue’s expression was too horrifying, and Tong Gu immediately understood her meaning. “They… sigh! Come with me quickly!”
Without saying a word, Nanmen Jue followed Tong Gu back to the basement level. Lin Suwen and Qin Yehan were both standing in front of the control panel, and the conversion device, which had previously appeared to be working normally, was now glowing a dangerous red light.
"South Gate".
Lin Suwen raised her pale face, "It was activated before, but the countdown is only starting now."
Nanmenjue strode closer and divided the control panel screen into many sub-screens, each displaying a clear countdown number.
[09 days, 23 hours, 53 minutes, and 12 seconds]
Ten days!
With only ten days left, this behemoth will explode, engulfing everything inside the tower and perhaps bringing an end to civilization in this world.
The shocking news left everyone speechless, pale faces staring at each other in the crimson light.
"Is it really impossible to stop it?" Nanmen Jue asked Lin Suwen.
"No." Lin Suwen's pupils shrank to a tiny size, and she was in a state of extreme fear, but she still answered clearly when asked the question.
"The self-destruct device is a single program. Once activated, it begins to charge until it is fully charged, and no one can stop it during this process."
"How powerful was its explosion?" Qin Yehan asked.
Lin Suwen looked at him tremblingly. Although she did not answer, the despair in her eyes was more powerful than any words.
Nanmen Jue looked up at the enormous machine. An explosion of this scale of energy core would probably be no less powerful than a nuclear bomb explosion.
"Turn on the lights first." After a moment of silence, Lin Suwen said, "No matter what, we can't resolve things in the dark."
After the initial fear, she had calmed down considerably.
As a series of steady commands were issued, the white lights came back on, but they seemed incredibly cold.
Qin Yehan looked at Nanmen Jue, seemingly wanting to say something, but then stopped talking in a daze. Nanmen Jue's eyes were like stars, gazing intently at him.
What are you trying to say?
"...Now, no one will force you to deal with the relapse." Qin Yehan said in a low voice.
If the problem of retrograde hormones is not solved, humanity will die in the next wave of radiation, and the current situation is that they may not survive until the next wave of radiation arrives.
How ironic that after struggling for so long, humanity is ultimately forced to confront such a dead end.
...
Nanmen Jue returned to the room she used to share with Zhang Chuxi and sat down on Zhang Chuxi's bed.
Her bandaged fingers gently stroked the pillow where Zhang Chuxi had once lain, her eyes filled with an inscrutable expression.
Little Nuo flew down from her shoulder and landed beside her, gazing at her with her black bean-like eyes.
Since there were no outsiders present, it spoke up: "Why didn't you ask me?"
"What do you want me to ask you?"
"You look like you have a lot of questions to ask."
Nanmen Jue turned his gaze and stared straight at the adorable little crow. The crow's slightly outstretched wings froze, and it lowered its head inexplicably, feeling a little guilty.
Wait a minute, why would He feel guilty and fearful when looking into a human's eyes?
He immediately raised his head again, and Nanmen Jue was still looking at him in the same way. The light was so bright, but her eyes did not reflect anything.
"Instead of asking me questions, shouldn't you explain something to me first?"
Xiao Nuo blinked innocently, "What do I need to explain?"
Nanmen Jue gave a slight sneer, "Our main mission is to survive until our rebirth day. There are still nineteen days until our rebirth day. Why would Xu Yang activate the self-destruct device?"
"Wasn't he trying to threaten you? Maybe he just accidentally slipped up earlier," Xiao Nuo said, sounding a little unsure.
Nanmen Jue continued to stare at him intently, until the little crow couldn't stand it anymore and clicked its tongue in frustration.
“Well, I can’t be sure either. Either that human really made a mistake by accident…” He glanced at Nanmen Jue’s face and reluctantly added, “or the main god discovered my whereabouts and wanted to find a way to kill me.”
Nanmen Jue trembled, but her face did not show shock; that was indeed her guess.
The possibility that Xu Yang accidentally hit the button is not zero, but compared to the possibility that the cruel and cunning old fox might accidentally hit it, she still tends to believe the latter answer.
"If He wants to kill you, why can't He just do it directly? Why go through all this trouble?"
“He is not omnipotent,” the raven said. “In the cycle of reincarnation, even the supreme god must abide by the rules; He can only arrange for people to activate the devices.”
Nanmen Jue tilted his head back and closed his eyes wearily.
The low pressure was so intense that if Xiao Nuo hadn't been there, she probably would have been suffocating.
Xiao Nuo said, "Are you sad? Or angry? Your emotions are complicated, I can't tell."
"You have this ability?" Nanmen Jue asked sarcastically.
“You are, after all, one of my contractors, so it’s only right that I take care of you,” Xiao Nuo said. “Don’t worry, even if this thing is activated, you won’t die. You just need to wait until your rebirth day and then be teleported back.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Nuo immediately sensed that something was amiss. Nanmen Jue opened his eyes and stared intently at her, his brows furrowed as if burning with fury.
"Is it enough as long as I don't die?" Nanmen Jue asked in a hoarse voice, suppressing something. "Didn't you say these worlds are real? What about the others in the Gray Tower?"
Xiao Nuo paused for a moment, "Nanmen, in this kind of world, it's stupid to care about the lives of others, and it's even more meaningless to care about the lives of the natives."
"Is this your answer?" Nanmen Jue sneered. "Why did you and the Supreme God have to fall out? I think you are clearly staunch allies with the same ideals."
Equally arrogant, equally disregarding human life.
“There’s no point in you mocking me. The God wants these kinds of emotions from you, and what I’m saying is the truth,” Xiao Nuo said calmly.
Nanmen Jue seemed to want to stop arguing with Him and simply shut his mouth.
"You want to save people?" Xiao Nuo said.
Nanmen Jue did not answer.
“You can’t save them,” Xiao Nuo said. “The Supreme God’s move is a killing blow. Not to mention the others, even you would be dead if it weren’t for me.”
"Then thank you," Nanmen Jue said sarcastically. "Since you're so powerful, why don't you leave now? I can't leave this space, but you can surely leave, right?"
Xiao Nuo was silent for a moment, then shook the crow's head. "I'm already bound to you. If you don't leave, I can't leave either."
Upon hearing this, Nanmen Jue looked at Xiao Nuo in shock, "What have you done? Binding yourself to a human like me? Are you crazy?"
“This is the only way to prevent the main god from finding me.” Xiao Nuo was also a little annoyed. “I just didn’t expect that I would leak energy when I was injured and that He would still find out. This situation will not happen again, Nanmen. As long as we can get out this time, He will not know where we are down below.”
Nanmen Jue stared at him, speechless. "You're playing me."
"You concealed such important information and forcibly bound yourself to me without my knowledge?" Nanmen Jue stood up, his expression terrifying. "I came in to find someone! I had no intention of getting involved in your love-hate relationship with the God. By binding myself to you, are you trying to make me a key target of the God's attention?"
"I was right—it's easy to invite a god, but hard to send him away." Her tone was extremely sarcastic.
“I told you, He wouldn’t be able to find us after that…”
"roll."
Xiao Nuo: "
Nanmen Jue grabbed His wings, and ironically, this noble being who could fight against the main god was so easily captured by her, and then thrown out the door without a word.
Nanmen Jue returned to the bedside, threw himself onto the bed, and irritably ruffled his already messy hair.
Beneath her hair, her beautiful eyes were strikingly red.
A moment later, she used the newly acquired bracelet to contact Qin Yehan.
...
Nanmen Jue arrived at Lin Suwen's office. This was her first time here. Lin Suwen sat behind her desk with a stern expression, while Qin Yehan stood in front of her.
"When will they arrive?" Nanmen Jue ignored Lin Suwen and bombarded Qin Yehan with the question.
"At most two more hours. As for He Ting, she won't arrive until tonight." Qin Yehan knew what she was asking.
Just now, Nanmen Jue asked him to have the people at the base send over the map they had found earlier, as well as He Ting, as soon as possible.
“I know you’re having a tough time right now, but He Ting has to come. The base doesn’t have the resources to care for him right now,” Nanmen Jue said. “I’m sorry.”
Qin Yehan's eyes softened, and he nodded solemnly, "I understand."
“If He Ting is still alive, we shouldn’t give up on him, after all, his father is already…” Lin Suwen paused, having witnessed He Hua’s face appear on the Reverse Retreat Monster. She sighed, “Some of those people followed Xu Yang’s rebellion willingly, while others were forced to. I’ve seen it all clearly during this time. No one should be spared the punishment they deserve. We can’t let those who sacrificed their lives feel disheartened.”
Before she could finish speaking, she fell silent, her face filled with sorrow.
The Gray Tower is doomed. What meaning does reward or punishment have for humanity now? It's just a matter of dying a little sooner or a little later.
“Grey Tower has had a very difficult time during this period.” After a moment, Lin Suwen spoke again, this time with a much firmer tone, “But there are still people alive. As the president, I will stand with everyone until the very last moment, until fate makes its final judgment on us.”
Qin Yehan's expression turned solemn. He couldn't help but look at Nanmen Jue beside him. "But Nanmen can understand that map."
Both of their gazes fell on Nanmen Jue, whose expression was cold. "I can't guarantee that."
Lin Suwen stood up abruptly, walked around the desk, came to Nanmen Jue, bent her knees, and knelt down in front of her.
"President Lin!"
Qin Yehan was shocked, and Nanmen Jue's gaze also sharpened.
“Nanmen, I know you hate me.” Lin Suwen looked up sadly. “I am to blame for Brother Zhao’s death. Things have turned out this way because of my negligence in supervision. I have made many mistakes that have led to this situation. But Nanmen, the others in the Gray Tower are innocent. If you can save them, I will accept even if I am torn to pieces.”
As she spoke, she was about to kowtow to Nanmen Jue.
But her head didn't hit the ground. Nanmen Jue squatted down and used his palm to cushion her forehead.
Lin Suwen was stunned. Tears streamed down her face as she looked up, her eyes pleading, "Nanmen, please, I beg you..."
Nanmen Jue sighed inwardly, "Isn't asking them to bring the map already my stance?"
Lin Suwen said, "I thought you were angry with me because you didn't want to study retrograde.
“Am I really that childish in your eyes? Well, maybe I really am.” Nanmen Jue pulled her up, and the frail old lady was no match for Nanmen Jue. “I have told Qin Yehan countless times, and I will say it again here: I am not researching regressors not because I do not want to, but because I cannot. I cannot do it. But I can understand that map, so I will do my best to lead you to find another Gray Tower within these ten days.”
Nanmen Jue looked directly into Lin Suwen's eyes. "Even if you don't believe me, let's get through this most important thing first, then we can talk about everything else, okay?"
“…Okay.” Lin Suwen sobbed uncontrollably, “I’m sorry, Nanmen, if I had found out sooner…”
“It’s not your fault,” Nanmen Jue said. “You couldn’t find Xu Yang; this isn’t something you could find.”
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere suddenly turned chilly. Lin Suwen stopped crying, her eyes revealing an uncontrollable fear.
Qin Yehan thought of something, and his expression turned serious.
"Could it be that...?" He glanced at Lin Suwen, who was clearly reluctant to speak.
"No, don't say it, don't talk about these things." Lin Suwen's voice was somewhat sharp. "Before, because someone mentioned these things, they all died! They died suddenly and tragically. These are not things that can be interfered with or discussed by human beings. Don't mention them!"
Nanmen Jue breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Lin Suwen had indeed witnessed the scene of a reincarnator dying on the spot after revealing a secret.
She recalled that when she pressed Lin Suwen for an explanation, Lin Suwen said, "I'm saving you!"
She was indeed saving her.
"Okay, okay, I understand," Qin Yehan quickly said. "I won't mention it again."
Lin Suwen breathed heavily, her tearful eyes looking at Nanmen. "Nanmen, I know you are one of them, which is why you have survived all this."
Nanmen Jue remained silent. After experiencing all these things since entering the Gray Tower, she was indeed no different from a ghost or god in the eyes of the natives.
It's just that she has made contributions, so these people are deliberately turning a blind eye to her unusual behavior.
Perhaps it was precisely because they deliberately ignored it that she was not judged to have violated the rules by the main god.
Nanmen Jue then smiled and said, "You know what? You guys saved my life."
The two looked terrified and anxious, but Nanmen Jue couldn't explain any further.
Nanmen Jue seemed to be deep in thought. It seemed that the items that could be used in each world were also limited. If they used items that exceeded the current world's acceptance limit, such as flying in this world without superpowers, their identities would be in great danger.
No wonder even the veterans only used some kind of invulnerable tool.
Now that things have come to this, there are many things to deal with in the tower. Nanmen Jue did not participate in Lin Suwen and Qin Yehan's discussion and sat aside, lost in thought.
Once the people from the base arrived, she got the map and immediately began studying it.
The two stopped talking and came to Nanmen Jue's side. Nanmen Jue spread the map on the ground and knelt down on it to look at it. There were two roads marked with an X on them.
“We’ve been to these two roads before and didn’t find anything,” Qin Yehan said.
Lin Suwen looked at it for a while, then suddenly said, "South Gate, I've taken out the map marked by the gray tower. Can you quickly filter out the routes that can be taken by comparing the two sides?"
Both of them looked up at her at the same time. Nanmen Jue's heart surged with emotion, and she said, "It should be possible!"
The map she received was from hundreds of years ago. In those hundreds of years, the landscape has changed drastically, and the terrain is no longer what it used to be. To follow the original route, there would have to be a lot of trial and error, and all of that takes time.
However, if we had access to the maps drawn by Grey Tower in recent years, we could compare the two and know which roads were safe to take and which were not.
“But it’s quite far, and our map isn’t complete,” Lin Suwen said.
"Having a way to help is better than relying entirely on luck." Qin Yehan was also somewhat excited. "South Gate, I'll help you."
"You two continue your discussion, let Tong Gu come and help me," Nanmen Jue said.
With time running out, the group worked tirelessly, with Nanmen Jue's body immobilized and his fatigue mostly stemming from mental strain, while the others couldn't keep going.
Seeing Tong Gu struggling to keep his eyes open while still drawing, Nanmen Jue snatched the pen from him.
"Go to sleep."
Tong Gu woke up with a start, "I'm not sleepy!"
Nanmen Jue glanced at him with a half-smile, and his face instantly turned bright red.
"I'm sorry," he stammered.
“What’s there to be sorry about? Eating, drinking, and relieving oneself are all bodily instincts,” Nanmen Jue said. “Go to sleep, I’ll take care of the rest.”
Tong Gu forced his eyes open, his voice already a little groggy, "But there's still a lot left..."
"Go to sleep," Nanmen Jue said without room for argument.
The command was delivered with a gentle tone and a pleasant voice, and Tong Gu couldn't help but obey.
"I'll just take a nap, just a nap and then I'll get up..." Tong Gu mumbled, then slumped to the side, unconscious.
Nanmen Jue glanced at him, then got up and covered him with a coat.
She exhaled, paused for two seconds, and then looked down at the half-finished map in her hand. Around her, several huge maps were spread out, their lines winding like the veins flowing from the people of this world.
“They are the lifeblood of their lives,” Nanmen Jue said softly, picking up his pen again.
Tong Gu was awakened by the knocking on the door.
"I'm awake! I'm awake! I only dozed off for a little while, I'll get back to work right away!"
He jumped up and reached for the pen beside him with his eyes still closed, but found nothing. Tong Gu suddenly opened his eyes and froze on the spot along with Qin Yehan, who had just entered.
Nanmen Jue lay sprawled on the ground, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. Beneath her, a fully drawn map lay open, the ink on it seemingly freshly dried.
This scene was so shocking that both of them were speechless. Lin Suwen followed in and, upon seeing all this, her eyes immediately reddened.
Qin Yehan walked over quietly, carefully avoiding the map that Nanmen had just drawn, and placed his hand on Nanmen Jue's shoulder. "Nanmen?"
His voice was so soft, as if he were afraid of startling a butterfly.
Nanmen Jue strained his waist and abdomen and sat up abruptly, startling all three of them.
"The map is finished. You can find the rest yourselves."
After saying this, Nanmen Jue stood up and left without giving anyone a glance, but no one cared at that moment.
Their eyes were all on the complete map, and they could hardly imagine how Nanmen Jue had drawn it all by herself in just one night.
"South Gate... must be a deity," Tong Gu murmured.
“No,” Lin Suwen rejected his statement. “She was just… a pitiful person with a tragic fate.”
...
Nanmen Jue rushed back to her room, and sure enough, the crow had returned, sitting upright on her bed, preening its feathers with its beak.
When the crow saw Nanmenjue return, it looked up at her, then continued to preen its feathers.
Nanmen Jue stopped in front of Him.
"If you don't want to see me, you can spend some points to exchange for the invisibility item after we get out," the crow said.
Nanmen Jue plopped down next to him, a look of surprise in his crow-like eyes.
Nanmen Jue ignored her. She seemed to be caught in some kind of great confusion, her hands crossed on her knees, her eyes struggling as she pressed her forehead against her chest.
The crow didn't ask any further questions and continued preening its feathers. After some time, Nanmen Jue's low, hoarse voice rang out.
"If the supreme god's goal is to kill you, wouldn't it be possible to exterminate this world as well?"
"If the two of us get out beforehand, will He not harm this world?"
The crow paused. "To be honest, I don't know. I don't dare to say anything definitively. If things aren't like that, you'll blame me."
Nanmen Jue seemed to be provoked, giving Him a sarcastic look before becoming serious again.
"Is there any way for the two of us to leave early?"
"Complete the mission or die, there is no other way."
"If they do manage to find another Grey Tower, will they be able to survive?"
The crow did not speak.
"Answer me."
"The way you're asking me this means you already know the answer," said the raven. "Even if they survive the explosion, they won't survive the radiation wave."
"Can you predict how long until the radiation surge occurs?"
"I can roughly sense it."
"Don't leave things unsaid."
“It’ll be within the next ten days or so,” the crow said. “It won’t be later than when you leave here.”
Nanmen Jue was stunned. "So fast?"
She stared at her fingertips, struggling, stubbornly.
As she looked, her eyes began to tremble.
"I don't want to save people. I'm not interested in being a savior, you son of a bitch."
“Very clever,” said the crow.
“I have never been associated with the word ‘good person’. My sister once thought I would become a juvenile delinquent, committing murder and arson, and that my final fate would be either to be executed or to spend my life alone in prison.”
Crow paused, "I didn't see that coming."
“But I actually really want to be a good person,” Nanmen Jue said in a surprising way. “It’s just that there have always been people who have stopped me from being a good person, forcing me to rebel, forcing me to fight, forcing me to kill, forcing me to not be a law-abiding citizen.”
crow:"……"
Nanmen Jue suddenly laughed, his eyes hardening, his smile chilling. "There are too many things in this world that are more powerful than me. Let alone gods, even a little Xu Yang made me pay a huge price to kill him. I am too weak. In this world, I am like an egg falling into a pile of rocks."
The crow was puzzled. "What are you trying to say?"
“But I’m not happy.” Nanmen Jue continued, “Very, very unhappy. I’m unhappy with Xu Yang, unhappy with Zhu Wenjie, unhappy with you, unhappy with the Supreme God. I’m unhappy with your attitude toward people.”
“Hmm…” said the crow.
"To presumptuously define others, to define the concept of humanity, to define the feelings and relationships between humans—it's just like those gossipy, obnoxious bullies in society and schools." Nanmen Jue stared straight ahead, as if she had seen a scene she utterly loathed, and a murderous intent began to rise within her.
"You're all nobody!"
"The god of madness, you who are mad, the reincarnator of madness."
"I hate pretentious things the most."
"What exactly are you..."
"Do you have a way to break this deadlock? Tell me."
The crow fell silent for a moment, then looked at Nanmen Jue. The boy's eyes were covered by his wispy hair, but they couldn't hide the fierce look in his eyes.
So intense, so dazzling, it seems indestructible.
"They all want me to admit defeat, to force me to bow my head and acknowledge the rules of this world, to accept how others define me, but I refuse."
"I won't."
-----------------------
Author's note: This world is about to end.
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