The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Guided by precise holographic navigation, the Yu family ancestral tombs are hidden deep in a crescent-shaped mountain valley three miles outside Luotian Village. The terrain there is precipitous and the location is tricky, with the mountain forming a semi-circular structure, like a silent giant embracing the tombs.

Without precise coordinates or a guide, outsiders would hardly notice you even if you were right in front of them—the weeds are waist-high, the path is blocked by rocks, and everything seems to have been deliberately hidden by the mountains and wilderness.

Luotian Village lies quietly at the foot of the mountain. Looking up from the path behind the village, all one can see are jagged rocks and gnarled, withered vines. No one would imagine that on that desolate land, the ancestors of the Yu family for generations rest in peace, nor would anyone imagine that this ancestral graveyard has become the stage for a life-or-death struggle.

Yu Qing and his group reached the foot of the mountain and hesitated. The scene before them was far different from what they had imagined, and he almost thought the map was wrong. But Dong Hao repeatedly compared the real-time footage with the map, and every terrain feature matched perfectly, finally confirming that they hadn't gone the wrong way.

They began to climb. Although no one had set foot there for many years, the stone steps carved in earlier years were still faintly discernible, stretching intermittently among the weeds and moss.

The surface of the stone steps has been eroded by wind and rain until it is smooth as a mirror, and occasionally some blurry carving marks can still be seen, telling the story of its careful construction in the past.

Yu Qing climbed, panting, sweat trickling down his forehead. He smiled wryly, "The old man just loves this kind of formality. Do descendants really think they can honor their ancestors after all that hardship climbing up here and kowtowing a few times? Yu Guiyi probably already came—and now he wants to take my life, the rightful descendant!"

Donghao followed closely behind, replying in a low voice: "He came for the money, didn't he... Not only did he come, but he also eliminated the other tribesmen."

Yu Qing sneered, grabbing a protruding rock for leverage to climb upwards: "In the end, it's still the old man's deep-seated obsession with wealth. Perhaps I shouldn't say this, after all... I am the biggest beneficiary."

Before the words were finished, a strange sound of rolling boulders came from above—two huge boulders fell straight down without warning! The mountain path was narrow and steep, allowing only one person to pass at a time, and there was nowhere for anyone to hide.

Just as she was about to be hit, Xihao suddenly stepped forward. Her optical sensors instantly calculated the best interception angle, and she bravely met the boulder with both arms.

The metal skeleton collided with the rock, producing a screeching sound, but she couldn't withstand the immense pressure. With a muffled thud, she and the rock fell off the cliff and quickly disappeared into the boulders below.

Yu Qing didn't have time to look back; his adrenaline surged, and he used the momentum to charge upwards. His gloves were almost worn through by the rough rocks.

Upon arriving at the platform, he knelt down upon seeing the grave and hastily kowtowed.

The inscription has long been weathered and blurred, making it impossible to decipher. Only some fragmented strokes hint that there were once words carved here.

Immediately afterwards, he noticed a significantly taller tomb behind him. Although the tombstone was also damaged, it was much larger than the others. He guessed that it must be the tomb of the old man's parents, so he quickly stepped forward and knelt down again.

In that instant, a sudden change occurred—the tomb suddenly split open from the center, emitting a low, mechanical hum, and a black gun barrel emerged from the tomb. Multiple infrared aiming points instantly appeared on Yu Qing's vital points, steadily aimed at his brow!

Donghao reacted extremely quickly; her processor calculated the best response in a fraction of a second, shoved Yuqing aside, and rolled over to protect him.

"Damn it! It's a trap set by Yu Guiyi, a fake grave!" Yu Qing roared, scrambling and crawling to find cover.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and every breath he took carried the metallic taste of blood.

Fortunately, he was prepared. Under the emergency order, a transport sphere that had been waiting overhead suddenly swooped down and accurately smashed into the front of the fake grave, just blocking the muzzle of the gun that was being calibrated! The sound of metal colliding was deafening, and sparks flew everywhere.

The old man had only stipulated that everyone should come to the grave to kowtow, without specifying which grave was particular. Therefore, Yu Qing had barely managed to complete the ritual. Now, he only wanted to escape this death trap as soon as possible.

Taking advantage of the opening, he directed the other two transport balls to quickly hover overhead and lower the slings. As soon as the ropes were secured, the two were rapidly pulled up. Yu Qing could feel the ropes digging into his flesh, but this pain assured him that he was still alive.

Upon entering the cabin, Yu Qing immediately discarded a piece of equipment to make room and hastily closed the door. "Full speed, back to Yadu!" His voice was hoarse, his breathing unsteady, and his fingers flew across the control screen, raising the protection level to the highest.

The flying ball suddenly accelerated, and the feeling of gravity slammed Yu Qing hard into his seat. His heart pounded like a drum, and he couldn't help but think: if Yu Guiyi still had a backup plan, and he shot down the flying ball now, he would surely die.

He stared intently at the surveillance footage behind him, fearing something might be chasing him at any moment. He then spotted several transport spheres flying in the same direction ahead and quickly ordered his men to fly close to them, using their momentum to avoid potential aerial attacks.

His flying ball cleverly concealed itself in the shadows of the other balls' signals, like a small fish hiding under a big fish.

Perhaps Yu Guiyi was too confident, believing that no one could survive the trap he had set, and even that no one would ever find the place, so he did not arrange any further attacks.

Yu Qing finally made it back to Asia City in a harrowing way. As the flying ball slowly landed on the private helipad, he realized that he had been holding his breath the whole time.

By the time he and Donghao stumbled and fell through the warehouse door, his back was soaked with cold sweat. In the dim light inside the warehouse, dust floated slowly in the air, like the lingering shock.

Yu Qing leaned against the wall, feeling the solidity from the cold metal, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Xihao... is there any way to bring him back?" Even though he knew the hope was slim, he couldn't help but ask.

"Your Excellency, she has been crushed by a heavy object. It wasn't an ordinary stone; it was a lead ingot that someone deliberately placed there, with a signal shielding layer embedded inside. My remote connection was lost when she fell." Dong Hao's voice remained calm, but there seemed to be a subtle, almost imperceptible fluctuation in it.

Yu Qing slammed his fist on the wall and said, "This villain... I won't be at peace until I kill him!" After the anger subsided, a cold determination gradually replaced the previous panic.

He stood in the shadows of the warehouse, the chill of the lead ingots still seeming to weigh on his heart. The image of Xihao pushing him away replayed in his mind again and again—her resolute stance, her unfinished warning, and the piercing sound of metal scraping against rock as she fell.

These images, like holographic images playing on a loop, kept replaying in his mind.

“Donghao,” his voice rang out in the empty space, unusually calm. The previous rage had been suppressed into something more dangerous—a cold, hard resolve.

"He thought he had won by hiding in the shadows and setting a trap. But he forgot that we now know how much he wants me dead. And what he wants most will become the bait to find him."

According to the foundation's bylaws set by the old man, after the beneficiary identification process is completed, the distributable profits will not be obtained immediately. Instead, they will have to wait until January 10th of the following year to share the total profits accumulated last year with all previously confirmed beneficiaries.

Yu Guiyi only became a beneficiary this year, and currently only enjoys "paper wealth," having not received a single penny. This enormous fortune will now be split equally between him and Yu Qing next year. However, before then, if difficulties arise, he can apply for an advance of one ten-thousandth of his allotted amount.

Yu Qing decided to exploit this rule. Applying for an advance would automatically notify other beneficiaries—while simultaneously revealing the applicant's location. It was a risky move, but the only way to bring the enemy out of the shadows. The humanoid figure bound to his biometrics was essentially his financial terminal. Yu Qing gestured for Dong Hao to unfold his digital asset map. Countless points of light and lines appeared in the holographic image.

To his surprise, he discovered that he had an additional income stream connected to the foundation's distribution system, and had even received a test payment of 1RB—he had become an official beneficiary!

Yu Qing clicked the link and applied for an advance on his earnings. In fact, at this time, his personal assets were still negative, and he owed Shengtian and Shengdi companies nearly two trillion RB. He was a true "person in financial difficulty," and his application was approved almost automatically.

In an instant, Yu Qing's pupils contracted sharply—he had received a sum of 700 billion RB. This meant that the foundation's distributable profits amounted to a staggering 70 quadrillion RB! Unclaimed for nearly two centuries, this wealth had snowballed into an astronomical figure.

Yu Qing had to admit that for a fleeting moment, he also wished Yu Guiyi didn't exist. But he quickly cursed his own greed—how was this thought any different from Yu Guiyi's?

Now it's Yu Guiyi who should be jumping up and down. He must have already learned about the advance payment and is probably searching for the applicant's location with all his might. Yu Qing could imagine the other party's furious appearance, which gave him a cold sense of satisfaction.

Yu Qing decided to add fuel to the fire. According to the regulations, a beneficiary can raise reasonable questions about the identity of another. He manually added a question about Yu Guiyi to the system receipt, accusing him of obtaining beneficiary status through illegal means.

To his surprise, the doubts were temporarily accepted—because Yu Guiyi's direct ancestors had long been expelled from the Yu clan, his identity needed to be re-examined within 30 days if anyone raised any questions. This meant that Yu Guiyi's "paper wealth" was now in jeopardy.

Suddenly, Yu Qing himself received an identity verification notification. But in less than a minute, the verification was automatically rejected—his bloodline and direct kinship had undergone the most rigorous verification and were impeccable. Perfect! At this moment, Yu Guiyi was probably furious.

"Donghao, go somewhere a little further away and buy something. Be discreet and don't let anyone notice," Yu Qing suddenly ordered, a plan gradually taking shape in his mind.

"Buy anything? What does that mean? What should I buy..." Donghao's processor seemed unable to interpret this ambiguous instruction.

"It's to let Yu Guiyi know: I'm here," Yu Qing explained.

"Are you trying to lure him out?" Donghao asked, her learning module rapidly adapting to the complexity of Yu Qing's thinking.

“That’s right,” Yu Qing said with a cold, hard smile. “Doesn’t he like setting traps? Let’s use what he wants most to build him an even bigger one.”

Yu Qing summoned his assistant from the Ultimate Office and ordered, "Immediately forge a document entitled 'Memorandum on Conditional Permission for the Return of Yu Xiong's Descendants to the Yu Family'."

"How should the content be written?" the assistant asked.

"It was written: 'As long as his descendants go to my residence to pay their respects and curse Yu Xiongzhi three times, they can regain their original identity.' But it is necessary to leave a subtle flaw so that people can confirm that it is a forgery."

"No way, this document couldn't possibly have Yu Yunshan's official seal—that's in your hands," the assistant pointed out objectively.

"Very good, process it as soon as possible. Make sure the file is dated correctly and set to public." Yu Qing nodded in satisfaction.

Yu Qing deduced that Yu Guiyi's primary goals now were twofold: to kill him and to find historical evidence to confirm his identity. Since Yu Guiyi had uncovered the loopholes in the foundation's bylaws, he would surely be able to find this fake document and see it as his lifeline.

Greed will make him overlook the suspicious points, just as a hungry fish will bite the bait with a hook without hesitation.

Yu Qing knew that his primary task was to save his life. Passive defense would only expose his weaknesses; he had to take the initiative. At this moment, he was in the open while the enemy was in the shadows; the situation was unfavorable, and he had to completely turn the tide.

After Dong Hao left, Yu Qing quickly set up surveillance in the warehouse and sprayed colorless and odorless benzoic acid powder—this compound would be recorded and transmitted by the humanoids' sensors, becoming an invisible tracker. He then led the other humanoids to evacuate; the whole process took less than ten minutes.

Only Dong Hao could lure Yu Guiyi here without suspicion—her trip to Luotian Village with Yu Qing was enough to prove she was close to him. If it were anyone else, Yu Guiyi would have noticed the difference and all his efforts would have been in vain. This decision made Yu Qing feel slightly uncomfortable, but he forced himself to ignore the feeling.

More importantly, only Donghao could lead him to the place Yuqing had planned. The master could delete fragments of the humanoid girl's memories, but it was difficult to implant false memories. Yuqing had secretly deleted Donghao's memories of the past few days in Yadu, but she still retained the conversations she had overheard between him and Eying.

Yu Qing knew that Dong Hao's journey was fraught with peril, and she might never return. He was certain that once Yu Guiyi caught her, he would stop at nothing to steal the data from her mind. This realization sent a shiver down his spine, but he told himself it was a necessary sacrifice.

Yu Qing was hidden back in the box he had come from, and then transported back to Dongbang via Yadu by the humanoid Shu under the pretext of "repaired defense system parts".

During the transport, he could only observe the outside world through a miniature monitoring device, and every bump made him tense. He returned to the basement and entered a state of silence.

For convenience, he appointed two new humanoid beauties, still naming them Donghao and Xihao. This decision carried a certain irony, as if in this way he could deny what he had already lost.

Let's talk about the ending of Donghao, who stayed in Asia.

She did as instructed, going several kilometers away to buy some small items, and then leisurely strolling around to the neighboring street to buy other things. Every movement she made was natural and fluid, as if she were truly just completing a shopping task.

Her payment information was quickly detected by Yu Guiyi, like the scent of blood attracting sharks. By the time she reached the third location, she was already surrounded.

Donghao knew she was being tracked, but she faithfully carried out her orders and secretly retreated to the warehouse. She could detect multiple electromagnetic signals rapidly approaching, but her program did not have a "fear" option.

When she escaped, the warehouse was already deserted. She was completely trapped. Weak in combat, she was quickly subdued and knocked unconscious by electric shock. In the last moments before the system shut down, she was still trying to send a warning signal to Yu Qing.

Yu Qing could clearly see Dong Hao fall to the ground from a distance. His fingers tightened instinctively, his nails digging into his palm and causing a slight stinging pain.

A moment later, the mysterious schemer Yu Guiyi finally appeared on the scene, and walked toward the unconscious Dong Hao surrounded by a group of guards.

That face… Yu Qing’s pupils contracted; he felt he must have seen it somewhere before!

Through the mists of memory, a blurry figure gradually becomes clear... (End of Chapter)