this infinite world

"A clone of Chu Xuan..."

"A clone of Chu Xuan?!"

Chu Hao and Ling Xin spoke the same words, but their states of mind were completely different.

Having previously heard Yang Yun recount his past and possessing some understanding of the "clone Chu Xuan," the culprit behind everything, Chu Hao didn't react much to the name. At most, he merely stared at the man with a solemn expression, marveling at his extraordinary connections, having extended his reach here and even successfully infiltrated the Main God Space—one of the top-ranked Celestial Teams among all the reincarnation squads…

...However, Ling Xin, as the captain of the Celestial Team, was different.

For Ling Xin, "Tianyi" is the mental controller of the team, a team member, a comrade-in-arms, an indispensable partner who fights alongside her in the mission world... But now, you say that she actually has another identity, and that even their initial encounter was a conspiracy with ulterior motives?

Moreover, there's the clone Chu Xuan, Organization C, and Organization X...

With Ling Xin's incredibly sharp mind and intelligence, he almost instantly connected the dots and understood the intricate connections between the other party and the C and X organizations. That's why he was so heartbroken.

"Answer me, Heaven... have you truly betrayed us?!"

As he said those words, Ling Xin bit his lip so hard that it drew blood.

Of course, this cannot be blamed on him. If someone knew that their partner, with whom they spent every day, was actually a spy deliberately planted by someone with whom they had a blood feud, then it would be remarkable if their Dao heart did not collapse... As for someone like Ling Xin, who could stabilize his mind with just a slight sway of his body, it is no exaggeration to describe him as having an "iron will."

At this moment, Ling Xin desperately wished that his mental fortitude wasn't so strong, and that Yang Yun was wrong. This meant not only that his every move had been under someone else's watchful eye, and that nothing had changed since he escaped the research institute, but also that everything the rebel organization had done had become a huge joke, and that he had never escaped their grasp.
"..."

Faced with Ling Xin's heart-wrenching questioning, "Heaven's Will" remained silent... and silence itself represented the best answer.

"A name is just a label."

In the increasingly desperate and oppressive atmosphere, Tianyi finally spoke slowly. But the moment this beautiful woman spoke, everyone present felt the difference between her and before... If she could not be called "gentle and charming" just now, she was still an ordinary woman who could talk and laugh and behaved quite normally in all aspects. But now, her disguise had fallen off like a cicada shedding its skin, shedding all human characteristics and revealing a "non-human" and extremely distinct sense of alienation.

This alienating feeling, stripped of humanity, was not unfamiliar to Ling Xin and Chu Hao at all; no, perhaps it was more like they were all too familiar with it... because this feeling was clearly at least 90% similar to the aura that naturally flowed from their bodies when they were in "God Mode"!

"You seem to know me quite well." Scanning everything before him with an inorganic gaze, Tianyi... or rather, the female clone of Chu Xuan, slowly spoke, her words as cold as ice, even colder than the original Chu Xuan whom Yang Yun had seen long ago, disguised as Setsuna: "But whether in my memories before I became this way, or in my understanding of the Reincarnation Squad members after the first generation, the Main God Space should not have anyone like you."

"There are many things you don't know. After all, even if you possess the Investiture of the Gods, you are still far from being truly 'omniscient and omnipotent.' Moreover, the Investiture of the Gods in your hands is just a few fragments from the heyday of this great artifact."

Seeing that the clone Chu Xuan had finally torn off his mask and revealed the state he knew so well, Yang Yun raised his eyebrows with interest. He smiled and responded to the other party's words, not caring how much information his answer would reveal.

Rather, what if he's exposed? Yang Yun had wanted to try this for a long time. As the saying goes, "A thousand pieces of gold can't buy happiness," and compared to the slightest information leak, it was far more satisfying to be able to ride roughshod over the clone Chu Xuan, who knew nothing about him, taking advantage of the information gap. After all, the last time Yang Yun did this was back in the Alien world, on that night he had a long talk with Chu Xuan by candlelight…

...Yes, a clone of Chu Xuan is still Chu Xuan, no problem.

"But so you've finally stopped pretending?"

Seeing the expression of difficulty in thinking on the face of the clone Chu Xuan due to the vast amount of information in his words, Yang Yun felt a sense of satisfaction, thinking, "You've finally met your match." He continued, "But it's really surprising. I originally thought you would use a fake body to enter or something, but I didn't expect you to actually entrust a wisp of your true spirit to this body. You really went all out..."

"However, you should also know that if this wisp of true spirit is destroyed, your physical body will suffer at least a hundred years of physical and mental damage, if not a severe one. And the profession you chose just happens to be a mental power controller whose combat ability is obviously insufficient... Are you really that confident?"

"It's not that I'm confident in myself, but that I'm confident in Ling Xin."

With a face bearing the words "divine will," the clone Chu Xuan shook his head and calmly answered Yang Yun's question: "Ling Xin, twenty-three years old, one of the first experimental subjects I created. Back in the research institute, he demonstrated amazing adaptability and a mature personality, which is why he was able to stand out in the initial experiments."

"As the most stable, controllable, and strongest overall experimental subject among the initial test subjects, Ling Xin, the oldest of all the test subjects, possessed a natural leadership ability that allowed him to unite others around him. Even in the later stages of the experiment, he had almost transcended the identity of 'experimental subject,' and his status was almost on par with that of the experimental staff..."

"But in the end, he still chose to betray. Of course, this was not unexpected. Otherwise, he would not have been able to build up the so-called 'rebel organization' from scratch and become the captain of the Celestial Team after entering the Main God Space."

"But unfortunately, he still retains a considerable degree of weakness, such as valuing emotions too much and being too trusting of others..."

In conclusion, the clone Chu Xuan made a rather blunt assessment of the young man named Ling Xin—

"Just like the Zheng Zha genes that come from him." (End of Chapter)