This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 165 You say, can humanity unite?
"Do you think humanity can unite?" Liang Zhenduan asked.

"Hard to say," Nie Weiyang replied frankly. He sat on a broken stool, poking at the charcoal in the stove with half a broken sword. "I'll try my best, after all, I'm out of options."

No way, are you really that open, bro? You're letting go not because you're forgiving, but because you're out of options, right?
Liang Zhenduan silently turned to look at Nie Weiyang, then subconsciously looked away just before his gaze met those bloodshot eyes. He plopped down on a broken stool, covered his forehead with his hands, and looked utterly listless.

"Fight the ecosystem? Us? We're going to fight the ecosystem?? Can we win?" His voice was breaking down, and his dark circles were getting even more pronounced. "I kind of want to go back to Earth."

It's not his fault. Any normal person would question their existence upon hearing something as weighty as "our short-term enemies are not only demons and BOSSes, but also aliens and one of the incarnations of this planet's ecosystem."

Demons, fine. Anyway, things have come to this.

Boss, fine. Anyway, things have come to this.

Aliens...maybe they'll do. Anyway, things have come to this...

But, the embodiment of a planetary ecosystem? Can this even fight?
This is utter nonsense! We're all part of the ecosystem!
If we were on Earth, we might be able to manage, but us? In our current state of starvation? Bro, are you awake? This information is way too heavy! Is this really something I can listen to for free? Hahaha, my brain is about to explode! This isn't a joke after all…

Liang Zhenduan's eyes were vacant.

“I want to go back to Earth,” he murmured repeatedly. “I suddenly transmigrated, my wife died, my child died, many of my colleagues died, there was no support, no industrial or agricultural foundation, I had to be wary of this and that, and every day when I opened my eyes, I had to think about how to feed millions of people… millions of people! The food we eat every day can’t be transported by truck! Before, when the grain was stolen, I could hear people cursing me in the street from far away, cursing me for disregarding human life, cursing me for embezzling grain, cursing me for secretly selling the grain myself! If I could, I really want them to eat me!”

He grabbed his hair with both hands, almost banging his head on the ground: "No one's paying me anymore, what's the point of me carrying this responsibility? What's the point?? Millions of people... do you understand? Every day I'm awake and afraid to fall asleep, asleep and afraid to wake up. When I open my eyes, I see millions of empty stomachs, and when I close my eyes, I see piles of corpses under the blood moon! Do you know? More than two million people died in Gushi that day, the population of a small Western country! More than two million people! When I was collecting the bodies, I couldn't even find a place to bury them!"

He held up his finger to make a '2', his hand trembling, tears welling in his eyes.

“So many people, both those I know and those I don’t, those who think I’m good and those who think I’m bad, have died!” His voice grew increasingly hoarse. “I’ve really thought about dying, so many times. I’ve stood on the building wanting to jump, I’ve gone to the riverbank wanting to jump, even when you were fighting, I wanted to rush into the battlefield and take a hit, just one hit would be enough! One hit would be the end, and my mind would be at peace! But could I? Could I?? I can’t… I can’t!”

Liang Zhenduan seemed to have finally broken down, but as a high-ranking adult, he didn't even dare to cry out loud when he broke down.

He simply withdrew his fingers, clenched his fist, and looked down to clutch his clothes.

"I want to go back to Earth." His voice was hoarse, but his emotions remained unexpressed.

But such despair and pain are visible to everyone.

“I also want to go back to Earth, but that’s probably not possible. And, note that this is why many people are lured into cults: they can’t stand this world anymore and just want to go back to the familiar past, even if it’s just a fantasy to numb themselves, and it comes at the cost of the future.”

“However, we are not limited to direct combat.” Nie Weiyang’s voice was calm.

He didn't comfort Liang Zhenduan because Liang Zhenduan didn't need comfort at all. A man like that didn't need him to provide emotional support.

Just like him, he doesn't need others to provide emotional support—he just needs to move forward and do what he has to do. Besides, neither stress nor pain matters.

This is also why he gradually became less human during the three months of the rainy season... and now he realizes that the burden on his shoulders is probably heavier than he originally imagined. Perhaps soon, he will have to act much more ruthless than before.

Nie Weiyang stirred the charcoal again, and a cold autumn wind blew through the cracks in the door. The small pot on the stove was boiling with water. He took out the seasoning and two pieces of instant noodles with his icy hands and said calmly, "A better method already exists. It is to do as I said before, cooperate with Administrator Number Two, link the shelter, and repair the world barrier."

"As far as I know, things will be much better once the barrier is repaired."

Once the planetary barrier is repaired, it will be able to suppress the awakening of the third cycle again when the next blood moon arrives, giving humanity more room to maneuver.

Therefore, humanity should ideally establish necessary shelter nodes within eleven months—at most four years and eleven months, otherwise even if humanity survives, the extreme heat will destroy all hope—and these nodes, which comprise 30% of the total number of shelters, are located throughout the entire planet.

If Nie Weiyang were to do this himself in this short amount of time, everyone would basically be waiting to die. But even if Nie Weiyang weren't to do it himself, it would still be extremely difficult.

This is something that everyone needs to work on together.

But everyone knows that this is almost impossible.

"Connect the shelter, repair the planetary barrier..."

How can people all over the world, who can't even communicate properly, possibly unite to do the same thing? Even if there were a life-threatening crisis ahead, how many people would believe it?

Back on Earth, humanity had entered an era of contraction. All benevolence, integrity, morality, friendship, and trust were shrinking. Some people grew shells, some grew thorns, and some embraced the world softly, only to be squeezed into an unimaginable shape.

Now that we've come to a new world and endured the trials of disaster, can we really break through this outer shell?
impossible.

It will only become harder and sharper.

Liang Zhenduan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and quickly calmed down, but still managed to pull out a few strands of hair.

"With so many shelters around the world, are we supposed to link them one by one?" He was still a little anxious.

“Just link one fixed part; the rest are just extras,” Nie Weiyang said with a slight smile. His smile was as gentle and calm as ever, but his eyes were now unbearable to look directly at. Under this inhuman radiance, he placed the dough into boiling water, the water splashing in the white mist. He stroked the golden bird on the spear; its golden feathers trembled softly. It was still alive, but no longer thinking.

Sometimes, not thinking is a good thing. At least for now, it only requires resisting pain, not taking responsibility.

“You look like you’ve suddenly aged several years,” Nie Weiyang said.

His white hair swayed at his temples, the mist blurred it, and the fragrance gradually dissipated.

“I’m old, unlike you. Although you look like you’ve been working overtime for ten years, your features still look young…” Liang Zhenduan muttered, but then he suddenly remembered the intelligence, Qiao Xing’s report, the ‘original body’ and the ‘ten thousand years’. He became cautious, as if what he had just said so openly was just an illusion. He wondered why he had said those things to Nie Weiyang, but looking at the man, he felt it was perfectly reasonable.

"Young? Me?" Nie Weiyang laughed. "Indeed."

Indeed, this body is still young.

If he were to revert to pure human blood, his white hair and red eyes would turn back into black hair and brown eyes, his pale skin into a healthy tan, and he would look like a recent graduate, because he truly was a recent graduate. There are millions of students like him, but unforeseen events easily severed their ties with their past. Gradually, the days of lying in bed scrolling through their phones are gone; the crisis of survival grips everyone. The prosperous 21st century seems like a dream; now, the city nights are so dark that even people's breath seems to linger within them.

In the distance, the canteen is rewarding the soldiers, and the remaining people at the artists' market are discussing how to disband. Strife, killing, plunder, and conspiracy—when all of this was once overwhelmed by romanticized notions, people began to say that without material support, art has no place to exist.

"First, we need to clear out the tentacles of the Return Sect, then start the server and establish a Pan-Asian local area network, at least connecting it to the interior of China," Nie Weiyang said. "I don't like teaching people anything, but you know, that way it's easier to exchange information, allocate resources, and concentrate our efforts to overcome difficulties."

"The problems we face are not ones that anyone can solve on their own. So you don't need to feel too much pressure. Regardless of whether humanity can unite, we must try, and this attempt is not something that you or I can lead."

He used his chopsticks to pick out the instant noodles and gave Liang Zhenduan a bowl. The noodles, soaked with broth, lay in the bowl. Liang Zhenduan thanked him and then blew on the broth.

"Why didn't you add some vegetables and sausage?" he asked. "You've suffered so many injuries, the logistics should still be in place for you..."

“No need. Go and get something good to eat later. As for me, whether I eat or not, I'm just having a taste,” Nie Weiyang said.

He turned to look through the crack in the door, where the morning sunlight streamed in, pale white and almost golden.

“I left all my food supplies at the canteen. After I finish these two packs of noodles, I can fit more things in my backpack,” he said. “I may not need the food and drinks later. If I really want to eat, there are plenty of resources in the wild. It’s more worthwhile to use these things to feed more people.”

He stood up, holding the bowl of noodles, while the stove remained in place, radiating rising heat.

"I'm going for a walk. Do you want to come?" Nie Weiyang asked with a smile.

Liang Zhenduan stared at the bowl of noodles for a while, then slowly shook his head.

“I’m not coming,” he said. “I have to go to a meeting later. Then I’ll call on the men and start preparing to attack Xunshan. The dangers of cults must be made clear to the public as soon as possible. Some conflicts need to be paved with blood… Old Nie, they will hate me, they will hate us, and maybe they will hate you too.”

His gaze never met Nie Weiyang's, as if the light, like a mingled glow of sunset and dawn, separated the young paladin from him. But they both knew they were now on the same path… no, they had always been on the same path.

“Then let them hate. Make them hate me as much as possible, but don’t let them hate you,” Nie Weiyang said. “It’s settled then.”

He opened the door, carrying a bowl of noodles, and stepped into the morning light. Liang Zhenduan finally looked up, watching his back disappear into the light. He didn't know why Nie Weiyang was this kind of person, why he was always so firm, calm, gentle, and unmoved, as if something in the unknown past had already forged him into something harder than steel, just waiting to be placed in the right place.

Now, people are forced to grasp the same rope and climb a mountain that pierces the sky. Those who climb first are like the sunlight after the clouds, not scorching, but the most suitable form for humankind.

People don't need to know what he looks like, and the person in that position isn't always him, but he comes when people need him.

"Nie Weiyang!" Liang Zhenduan suddenly raised his voice: "You're a human being, aren't you?"

Nie Weiyang paused for a moment, but did not turn around.

“Of course,” he said.

“Then humanity can unite!” Liang Zhenduan’s voice rang out firmly. “At least we will unite with you!”

Sunlight shone on his pale face, and Nie Weiyang smiled.

Well, miracles of rebirth don't exist, just as there must be something fishy about someone who dies and is completely resurrected.

An absurd reset, a bizarre rewind. Are people alive or dead? Is he striving for a new future, or guarding a tombstone of the past?

it's the same.

Gold, silver, steel… when fragments of stars reside within your body, you cannot define true death. Now, people exist here, increasingly moving towards one goal, sharing the same breath—that is enough.

Even if the road ahead is shrouded in endless fog—blowing it away is enough!
(End of this chapter)