Simultaneous Travel: Becoming a Legend in the Heavens.

Chapter 588 The Real "Protagonist"

Ten minutes ago.

Carsendra, a futuristic underground technology base.

Covered in grass and flowers, in a forest like a paradise, the petite "magical fairy" Sera rests her chin on her hand, seemingly able to see the hustle and bustle of the outside world through the walls of the room and the "divine iron".

The scale of "Atlas" and Luke's main body has expanded to the point that it can be observed with the naked eye even from a distance of half the universe. If it weren't for the multiple layers of protection provided by Earth with countless sealed artifacts, it would probably have been swept away and destroyed in an instant.

Even so, the sky was still stained deep red, a scene reminiscent of the end of the world.

Religion, race, class, wealth disparity... all the repressed conflicts materialize at this moment, and with many uncontrolled sealed objects breaking through restrictions, riots and equality descend upon every place.

The Earth is doomed.

In about thirty minutes, Earth will come to an end, but don't worry, because the universe will end much earlier.

We have about twenty minutes left to do some final things.

Sera withdrew her gaze, looking at Xue Pengkai, whose eyes were lifeless, with pity and a tender expression.

"Xue, what's wrong? Do you need my help?"

Xue Pengkai did not answer, his face ashen with despair. He hugged his knees, curled up in a corner, and trembled.

As far as his eyes could see, the area outside the sealed artifact room was a purgatory covered in human remains, and many sealed artifacts had already breached containment procedures.

The "Song of Babel" echoed throughout the company, while putrid, sludge-filled monsters licked the blood and bits of flesh from the ground. A spoon tapped slowly but steadily against a man nearby, who was covered in countless silver needles...

At that moment, he realized with all his might that he, the only one who had been spared, was now in hell.

"Why did it turn out like this... why did it turn out like this..."

Sera flew to Xue Pengkai's shoulder and whispered comforting words in his ear.

“This is not your fault, Xue. Although you brought Lu Ke here, even without you, he could have easily entered this place and stolen the ‘Doomsday Horn’.”

"No, you don't understand..."

Xue Pengkai dug his fingers into his hair and tore at it, letting out a painful groan.

“I remember everything, I am the culprit.”

In the previous playthrough, he was the one in charge of managing Luke and 0-7-3.

Out of jealousy for the outstanding performance of the newcomer Wang Lang, jealousy for his favor with Manager Kelly, and jealousy for his taking over the management of 0-7-3, he tricked Sera into taking down the "1408" address, causing 0-7-3 to escape.

He is the origin of all events.

“No, if 'Future Technology' hadn’t imprisoned Lu Ke, he wouldn’t have wanted revenge. If Manager Wang hadn’t sounded the third ‘Doomsday Horn,’ Lu Ke wouldn’t have appeared. If the ‘containment object’ had never existed, none of these problems would have occurred.”

Sera's gentle, comforting voice gradually eased Xue Pengkai's despair, patiently offering words of advice.

"The fault isn't with you, it's with this sick, chaotic, and deformed world."

Xue Pengkai's dull eyes regained some light, and he smiled wryly: "What you're saying now sounds a bit like what 'The Lighthouse' said."

"Xue, all I want to say is that no matter what happens, I'll always be your best partner. I'll be with you and 'Child of Abundance,' you're the manager for both of us!"

Sera shyly kissed Xue Pengkai's cheek and spread her hands encouragingly: "Get up, Xue. Now is not the time to rest. Let's try to turn the situation around!"

"At this point, what situation could I possibly salvage..."

Xue Pengkai glanced at the chaotic scene outside, then gave a dejected smirk.

The entire "Future Technology" has been turned into a complete mess by 0-7-3. Not to mention that the current scale of the battle is far beyond what a weak "magical fairy" like him and Sera can get involved in, even leaving Sera's room would be suicidal.

Sera, however, pointed to Xue Pengkai's pocket with a grin, her voice sweet and cloying.

"Don't forget, Sera is omnipotent, and you happen to have a sealed artifact on you, don't you?"

Xue Pengkai paused for a moment, hesitated, then reached into his pocket and took out a small box.

That is a new "0" level sealed item that has not yet been numbered, a "miracle cream" that can repair and optimize everything.

“Sera is omnipotent and can grant any wish, but only to a very slight degree. But with this sealing artifact, it’s different.”

Xue Pengkai's heart began to pound. He swallowed hard, his voice hoarse.

"But... can the 'miracle cream' optimize you to the point of turning the tide of battle?"

"Of course not. Although the 'Miracle Cream' is very versatile, its information depth is not high and its upper limit is very low. Although it can strengthen Sera, at most it can only change Sera's wish from '1' to '10'."

"That……"

Sera pouted cutely, revealing a sly smile.

"However, Sera is omnipotent, so she can in turn enhance the information depth of the 'Miracle Cream', making it change from '10' to '20'. Then the 'Miracle Cream' that has become '20' can enhance Sera to '20'."

"As long as this operation is repeated, Sera can become exponentially stronger and quickly grow to a level that you can't even imagine."

"The key to changing the world is in your hands, Xue~"

Sera leaned close to Xue Pengkai's ear, her innocent and clear voice unknowingly taking on a seductive quality.

"You have a new opportunity."

"Come, let's open this door and let those who look down on you know who is truly worthy of admiration, who is the real..."

"main character!"

…………

The silver-white train flashed by, and Wang Lang's figure appeared high in the sky.

Before returning to Earth, Chu Liang told him everything about the sealed artifacts in "Future Technology," including the last trump card that had not yet been used.

He needs to act quickly to unleash that trump card.

However, before that... some conditions need to be met.

Wang Lang scanned the ground, and after locating his target, he immediately swooped down.

He soon arrived at his destination—the local television station in Carsendra.

Ignoring the staff who were terrified by the apocalyptic scene, he walked up to the terminal that controlled the playback and took out a disc.

With his current power, entering the "future technology" where the seal has failed still carries considerable risk. Before the network world completely collapses, he intends to spread "old data" to all of humanity worldwide.

A video appeared on screens in Times Square, as well as on televisions and computers.

The meaning of the video is unclear; it is a compilation of several short clips, and its content is difficult to articulate.

Everyone who saw the video gradually stopped what they were doing. Whether they were previously angry or fearful, whether they were fleeing or fighting, everyone returned to their usual calm. Life forms infected with "old data" will all prioritize spreading "old data" as their ultimate goal.

In unison, they took out their phones to record the video, logically sent it to everyone they could contact, then looked at each other, raised their phones, and walked over to those who had not yet seen the video or "joined" the group.

This was an invasion without gunfire. Everyone remained rational, using gentle words and proactive actions to rapidly spread the video of the "old data".

The riots stopped, and the noise from the outside world subsided.

In just two or three minutes, seven billion life forms were "pollinated" by the "old data," leaving only a very few survivors, waiting to be found by others.

This quantity far exceeded the requirements of the "Ultimate Inscription". Wang Lang felt the power flowing in continuously. Everything in the "Ultimate Inscription" was under his control. He felt that he was ascending to godhood and experiencing a sublimation and transformation.

"The God of Old Data".

In the previous playthrough, a being that was originally designated as the final boss of the story by the "Story Editing Department" was rejected due to its strength and the risk of causing the seal to go out of control.

Wang Lang carefully sensed for a few seconds, confirming that his spirit remained unshaken. He breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at the "deep red" covering the sky.

No.

Even the "Old Data" God is still worlds apart from 0-7-3, especially after the opponent devoured "Atlas" several times and its scale expanded wildly.

Compared to his opponent, Wang Lang felt like a drop of water in the ocean, but that was enough. He was now able to delve into the final layer of "future technology".

It wasn't the twelfth floor that contained level 0 sealed artifacts like the "Ten Commandments," the "Tree of Wisdom," and the "Bird of the End." While those level 0 sealed artifacts were powerful, only the "Tree of Wisdom" was somewhat useful; the others couldn't play a decisive role.

He was heading towards... the hidden thirteenth level!

That area is accessible only to those who have awakened the "Ultimate Inscription," and it holds the final trump card known only to Prell and Chu Liang!
The "God of Old Data" has arrived in the "Future Technology" in the blink of an eye.

Faced with the rioting and the bizarre and varied sealed objects, Wang Lang waved his hand lightly, and countless fishhooks hung down from the air, each one perfectly merging into a sealed object.

This is the power of "usurpation," which can be directly controlled by any sealed artifact with an information depth lower than "ultimate inscription," except for a very few.

But he was thwarted as soon as he used his new trick. A burst of "deep red" erupted from all the sealed objects controlled by the fishhook. Not only were they not controlled by "usurpation", but they also eroded "usurpation's" authority.

"grass!"

Wang Lang cursed under his breath, then simply gave up the power to "usurp" it, letting the "Crimson" encroach upon him, and took this opportunity to transform into a data stream and quickly arrive at the elevator.

"Future Technology" has taken very good precautions against intrusion. This underground base itself is a sealed object of considerable depth, which can only be moved by elevator.

He was stunned for a moment as soon as he entered the elevator; there were already three people inside.

Xue Pengkai, the "magical fairy" Sera with dangling legs on his shoulder, and another sealed artifact he manages, the "Child of Abundance".

"You're actually still alive?"

Wang Lang glanced at the twelfth-floor elevator that had just been pressed, and blurted out in confusion, only to realize at a moment that his words sounded like he was cursing someone to their face.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant..."

Xue Pengkai pursed his lips, his gaze deep, and ignored him.

Seeing this, Wang Lang didn't say anything more. Now was the time to fight for every second, and he had no mind to focus on unimportant roles.

The moment the elevator doors opened, Wang Lang transformed into a stream of information and plunged downwards, disappearing from Xue Pengkai's sight.

"Where did he go?"

Xue Pengkai then spoke softly to ask.

"He went to the thirteenth floor to set up some kind of 'stage setup.' Xue, do you want to go too? I can take you there."

Sera swung her legs and let out a silvery laugh.

"No need. He has things to do, and we have things to do."

Xue Pengkai glanced at the "Son of Abundance" beside him. This self-proclaimed "god" had descended to offer himself as a sacrifice, and remained silent, obediently following Wang Lang.

Why didn't you make a wish to me in the elevator just now to kill him?

"There's no need for that. Like he said, I didn't have any grudge against him to begin with, and we might even become friends..."

Xue Pengkai paused here, then said with a self-deprecating laugh, "I'd rather not be his friend. Seeing him would remind me of unpleasant memories... But there's really no need to kill him. He's just an unlucky guy pushed forward by the 'Story Editorial Department'."

Sera flashed a smile that could only be described as innocent, swung her legs, and pointed forward.

“That’s true. Let’s set off at our own pace. Thanks to Lu Ke, all the obstacles ahead have been cleared. We can go wherever we want.”

Xue Pengkai nodded slightly, leading Sera and the "Son of Abundance," who had remained silent, into the silver-white corridor.

As he passed the room marked "Manager's Office," Xue Pengkai paused briefly, gazing at the office that symbolized the pinnacle of "future technology," his eyes revealing complex emotions.

Seeing this, Sera smiled and said rather understandingly:
"Want to go in and take a look? They're having a meeting there that only the leaders of all the major sealing organizations can attend. There should still be enough time."

"No need. Didn't you say you had important business to attend to on the twelfth floor?"

"um, yes."

Sera nodded with a smile: "After all, they are very dangerous enemies. You should consult the 'Tree of Wisdom' before you set off."

As they spoke, the three of them arrived at the last room on the right.

What appeared before the two of them was an ancient tree with a shape similar to a peach.

The main trunk gives rise to countless branches that grow outwards. The branches are of various shapes, but they all converge back towards the main trunk after extending to a certain extent. Only the tips continue to rise, seemingly without end.

0-16 "Tree of Wisdom"

Description 1: The older the tree, the older the history it records.

Description 2: It can answer all your questions, but each answer will cause fluctuations in the entire information sea, and all rational life forms will gain strange knowledge.

Description 3: This really increased the workload of the propaganda department. They had to work with external experts to explain a whole bunch of bizarre things that were completely inexplicable using "scientific" theories.

Description 4: You don't really think that consuming some experimental samples and observing them will allow you to extract a wealth of information about the sealed artifacts, or even add to their... which is "Descriptions 1, 2, 3, and 4", and the comments that follow, do you?

Evaluation: It is the gatekeeper of knowledge.

"The depth of information in the 'Tree of Wisdom' is in no way inferior to that of a deterrent sealing artifact, and may even be superior. It is only because it is not good at combat and has side effects that it is rarely used."

Sera rested her chin on her hand, her tone calm: "In fact, it transcends time and space, and is equivalent to the information database of this world. It is one of the underlying logics of this world, and can provide answers to any question."

"The truth of the world, the origin of the sealed artifacts, the predetermined fate..."

Sera's smile deepened, eager to try.

"Maybe we can even find information about Lu Ke!"

(End of this chapter)