Translated by: Novellise
The distortion of the sun was accelerating, leaving us with little time.
Chen Hongyu sighed.
"Since you want to promote the Qi and Blood Martial Arts, I can give you a part of the Fire Seed," he said.
"Among all the outsiders, you have made the greatest achievements. I want to see how far you can go.
Luyuan understood his meaning.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
The Digital Life Program was just a reluctant measure to continue human civilization.
If there was a better choice, Chen Hongyu would like to see it.
"What about you? Aren't you still considering it?" he asked.
Luyuan thought to himself.
If he had to give up his body and live only as data in a virtual network, he would prefer death.
"Flesh is weak and fragile. For someone like me, digital life is the ultimate goal," Chen Hongyu said, shaking his head.
In fact, digital life was the existence he had longed for.
No sickness, no need to eat, no need to sleep.
He could devote all his energy and time to research.
There was nothing better!
Seeing Chen Hongyu's unwavering attitude, Luyuan didn't try to persuade him any further.
Leaving the lab, Luyuan looked up at the dark night sky and felt like he was in another world.
On this seemingly ordinary night, many people were going about their usual activities of working, eating, walking and playing cards.
None of them could have imagined it.
The world was about to undergo an unprecedented change!
Three days later,
The guns of East Yamato rang out, targeting the nation's traitors.
Seven days later,
Members of the Great Ying Cabinet mysteriously died one after another, suspected to have been killed by martial arts experts!
Half a month passed.
During a naval fleet exercise in the Lighthouse Land, they were suddenly attacked.
A five-star admiral who had gone to inspect was tragically killed.
The entire fleet was destroyed, with no survivors!
A series of negative news made the people anxious and restless.
But Luyuan knew.
This was only the beginning.
Six months later,
Chen Hongyu used the Legion of Extreme Martial Warriors to hunt down key members of the Ark Plan.
Eventually, he succeeded in gaining full control over Nova.
From that moment on,
No one could stop him.
He no longer hid,
Instead, he decided to announce the arrival of a new era in the most spectacular way possible!
Year 2140.
Christmas Eve.
Many people were immersed in the festive atmosphere of the holiday.
The pedestrian street was decorated early with colourful lights.
As night fell, the lights shone brightly.
Many people had finished their day's work and couldn't wait to celebrate.
Steam rising from hot food, bustling western restaurants and fashion displays in shop windows.
Everything seemed so beautiful tonight.
Until that moment,
People all over the world simultaneously discovered that their mobile phones, computers, car screens, LCD screens in the square, and all the electronic devices around them suddenly lost signal and turned into snowflakes, with a harsh electronic sound of "crackling" being heard.
For the information age, this was a devastating blow.
High-speed trains ground to a halt, aeroplanes lost contact and telephones turned to bricks.
All basic infrastructure was paralysed.
After a few minutes,
In the anxious waiting,
The snowflake-filled screens finally showed a figure.
In the picture,
It was a middle-aged man in a white coat, with black-rimmed glasses, looking like a university professor.
In the calmest of tones, he uttered the boldest of words.
"Flesh is ephemeral, digital life is eternal!"
"I am Chen Hongyu, and I declare war on the world here and now!"
Hearing Chen Hongyu's solemn declaration of war, everyone burst out laughing.
"It's already 2140, and someone is still making such stupid jokes?"
"Did a lunatic escape from a mental hospital and make this announcement?"
"Attention everyone, I have an announcement to make, he's a diva, right!"
But many people didn't know.
When the leaders of various countries saw that familiar face, they immediately panicked.
And what Chen Hongyu did next plunged them into unprecedented fear.
It was in front of the whole world,
He directly revealed the Ark Plan and the existence of a dark and mysterious figure!
Dark energy?
Solar distortion?
Apocalyptic crisis?
This series of revelations hit countless people like a thunderbolt, almost unbelievable to their ears.
"It's fake! It must be fake!"
"What solar distortion? Just a fabricated lie by some schemer!"
"Are they trying to frighten us with just a few words? I advise you not to indulge in wishful thinking."
Faced with the hard truth,
Many chose to ignore it and indulge in pleasant lies.
Some netizens even thought it was absurd.
But when Chen Hongyu brought out the Apollo Lunar Landing Programme and a series of proofs,
People fell silent.
Because Chen Hongyu, using Nova from the Hexagon Tower, obtained a large amount of first-hand confidential information.
From these materials,
Everyone could clearly see
How the universally known Moon Hero was gradually turning from a normal human into a monstrous creature.
Apart from that,
There were data on the Ark Plan, signatures of top officials from various countries, pictures of all the scientists...
This hard evidence shattered the last shreds of illusion in everyone's hearts.
So, does the dark and mysterious really exist?
Was everything this madman said true?
After accepting this cruel truth,
Many people collapsed on the spot, holding their heads in agony.
One second earlier,
They were basking in the warm and festive holiday atmosphere.
The next second,
They were plunged into hell by the hard truth.
In the midst of fear,
that the world's elite were building an Ark Fleet to secretly escape,
Many ordinary people were consumed by unprecedented anger and despair.
"These elites have betrayed us!"
"So we are mere pawns!"
"Doomsday is upon us, what more do we have to fear?"
"Prepare to meet your maker, dare to bring down the Emperor!"
"Join the Digital Ascension, embrace glorious evolution!"
Under the impact of the enraged crowd,
The smoke of war rose over various countries, and order spiralled out of control.
The whole world descended into chaos.
Especially in Lighthouse Land, with a high civilian gun ownership rate of 46%,
became a battlefield.
A live-action version of Battle Royale ensued.
On the other side,
Many uninformed Ark players were still playing with virtual headsets.
For these hardcore gamers,
The best way to celebrate Christmas was with their favourite female characters in Christmas outfits.
But the next moment,
They felt a slight pinch on their necks, like a bee sting.
Their bodies went limp and they fell to the ground.
They breathed their last.
When they regained consciousness, they found themselves still in the familiar world of the Ark.
But this time they would be stuck in the game forever, unable to return to the real world!
Despair, fear, madness...
As millions of Ark players were transformed into digital life, countless people broke down.
The authorities of various countries declared a state of maximum alert.
They urgently mobilised their armies to unite and destroy the Red Lotus Sect.
But alas,
Faced with thousands of Extreme Genetic Martial Warriors, the so-called modern armies proved pitifully weak.
A single sword could sink a battleship.
A single strike could destroy a city!
That day,
Humanity finally remembered the horror of being dominated by martial arts!
"Activate nuclear and space weapons, eliminate him from this world at all costs!"
A general from Lighthouse Country spoke with determination.
But before he could finish,
The entire command room alarm went off, flashing intense red lights.
"Warning!"
"The military system has been violently breached!"
"All operational satellites are down, all nuclear weapons are out of control..."
On the operations screen,
There were only eight words left.
Flesh is perishable, but numbers are eternal!
"God, what a monster we have created!"
The Supreme Commander slumped in his seat, his eyes filled with deep despair.
As a participant in the Ark Project, he knew Novah's capabilities only too well.
Once stripped of nuclear weapons and all means of communication,
Facing the Extreme Legion,
Countries were but lambs to the slaughter!
He stared at the bright red letters on the screen,
Trembling, he drew a pistol from his chest.
"Bang!"
With an echoing gunshot,
The Beacon Nation's supreme commander staggered and fell into a pool of blood.
Similar incidents were happening all over the world.
Under Chen Hongyu's control,
The Extreme Warrior Legion advanced relentlessly, forcibly transforming everyone into digital life forms.
Many countries surrendered one by one:
East Africa, Latin America, Western Europe...
Region after region fell.
Once bustling cities became deserted ghost towns.
Even the superpowers were too preoccupied, restless day and night.
At the height of public panic,
People suddenly realised:
Only the Qiandu Nation was unscathed.
It was the home of the world's strongest martial arts expert in the Extreme Realm,
Capable of suppressing all trivialities and chaos!
(End of chapter).