This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 166 The World of the Heart

When Nie Weiyang returned to that crimson world, he still stared at himself. The knight and the assassin remained silent; their gazes, once cold, were now gentle.

The phantom of Administrator Number Two seemed to draw closer, and Nie Weiyang's spirit existed simultaneously within these three—I forgive myself, I hate myself, I observe myself. He was always like this, just as he treated the world, and the world treated him the same way.

Pale, hard, withered grass grows in the blood-red soil; its structure is curved, resembling some kind of irregular spiral.

He looked away.

The color faded.

……

Over the next two months, the city mobilized all available resources in the surrounding area to investigate another biological research institute while preparing for war.

In addition, land reclamation, the establishment of post stations, and external communication were all being carried out intensively.

Nie Weiyang was still busy. He spent the last two months traveling around the entire Central Continent several times, upgrading his equipment. The parts were all obtained from BOSS drops or from various cities, and his level was also raised to 30.

However, after level 30, the difficulty of leveling up increases significantly. After two months of grinding, completing all three Chaos Sanctuaries and eleven Heart Sanctuaries in the entire Central Continent, his level only reached 36. If he wants to level up further, he will probably need to repeatedly farm the Chaos Sanctuaries.

This efficiency is perfectly normal. You know, in the previous playthrough... well, at this time, his level was only 25. Level 36 is a level he won't reach until next year.

The difficulty of leveling up becomes increasingly higher and higher. Before the world was rolled back, even these top-tier players were only around level 80 to 90.

However, the monetary resources awarded in various places have never been lacking.

In the new world, weapons and equipment are the cheapest items, but purchased weapons and equipment cannot be returned as materials. Survival resources are the most expensive; this is the 'game' forcing players to hunt for their lives.

Nie Weiyang used almost all of his silver rings on weapons, equipment, and lucky draws.

He even modified the Lucky Sign to include an energy cannon firing function, a function that had been pre-designed, with the firing position located at the blue headlights on the front of the vehicle.

There's no way to refuse this feature...

Soon, under Nie Weiyang's leadership, the secrets of the biological research institute numbered 'Gushi 02' were revealed: unlike the insect and parasite research of the Gushi 01 biological research institute, the research projects here were related to 'gene editing'.

The source of this technology is 'Golden God' and 'previous civilization'.

Given that it was impossible to know which era the artifacts in this research institute came from, even Nie Weiyang was not quite sure whether the 'previous civilization' referred to here meant 'human civilization after the collapse of the Spirit Tower', but now it seemed that after that, the technology of the Golden Lord must have been analyzed by humans.

No, in fact, during that invasion, humanity had already been making light use of the technology of the Golden God. The entanglement between the two has developed to the point that it is probably impossible to distinguish between them now.

As for the Voidwalkers... perhaps their entanglement with human history was too long, and when humanity rewound on this planet, they rewound along with it. Therefore, they don't remember anything from the 'previous timeline,' which is actually good news.

This was confirmed by Nie Weiyang from the second Chaos Shelter.

In that mission, he played the role of a journalist whose ultimate goal was to capture the moment the world was destroyed. There, his enemy was the Skybreaker Torianga.

He witnessed firsthand the destruction and rewind of the world, how this enormous lava ball collapsed within the barrier, and how the matter returned to its original position as if played in reverse.

The Voidwalkers were also reverted to their previous state, expelled by the world barrier, and left with no memories.

He eventually fell into the shelter.

It was a beautiful paradise.

The reward for this instance is an exotic instant camera. Photos can be used as materials for summoning or targeted spellcasting, or simply for taking a picture.

The third Chaos Shelter is a bizarre story that connects to the destruction and despair deep in the mountains: In an era akin to a primitive tribe, everyone lived underground. Humans at that time even had degenerated their vision. When they occasionally climbed to the surface to search for resources, they had to cover their eyes with a black cloth woven from spider silk and rely on their spiritual perception to explore the ruins.

The surface ruins of that time were more technologically advanced than those of today, but they were also deserted. During one of the explorations, a tribe found a seed, but when it was brought back to the tribe, it was discovered that it had disappeared without a trace.

People eventually found it in the spine of the man who brought it back; by then, it had grown into a tree, taking root in him and providing him with immense strength.

Subsequently, the fervent pursuit of seeds continued for more than 130 years, and more than a century later, all of humanity became hosts for the seeds.

Finally, after a new sunrise, they merged into one, transforming into a giant banyan tree that perched atop the planet.

Many years later, humans reappeared on the planet, and Nie Weiyang was among them.

Strangely, these unregressed, unabnormal humans are born as adult warriors. Their mission is to cut down, destroy, and burn the banyan tree, which is the result of hundreds of millions of underground people.

They eventually succeeded in destroying the banyan tree and entering the refuge isolated from the outside world by its root system.

It was a beautiful paradise.

In addition, of all the stories from the Heart's Refuge, the one that Nie Weiyang remembers most vividly is a mission to escape from a biochemical laboratory.

At that time, all humans were locked in jars, serving as experimental subjects for another group of humanoid beings. This era, like the one in the Banyan Tree story, had no space stations, no research institutes, only man-made disasters where people shed blood and tears.

Eventually, people fled to shelters...

...That was a paradise.

……

It seems that in all ages, vaults have been either paradise or a safe haven. Only Vault 4701 was different; in that place where individual abilities were at their peak, people were unable to connect with each other, and the vault began to crumble…

Having experienced all of this, Nie Weiyang finally came to a conclusion.

Over the years, the defenses of the shelters, the capabilities of the terrain editor, and the power of the planetary barrier have all gradually diminished.

There are many reasons for the decline, and the adverse effects from outside seem to have more than one source. But almost every time, new humans appear on the planet's native planet. Some of them know where they came from, while others are unaware. But after each generation of humans investigates the matter thoroughly, they discover that they are also visitors from outer space, from a planet in this universe called Earth.

This generation is different. Completely different.

From the very beginning, humanity has known that it originated from Earth in another universe. Everyone has gone through this process; no other information was needed…

The blood and tears of every previous generation of humanity have become a 'game'.

The content of these games all comes from shared memories of humanity's past.

and so……

"The New World".

Nie Weiyang murmured.

—Is it "The New World" or "The World of the Heart"?
The answer to this question can probably only be found in the human mind.

Regardless, Nie Weiyang was very clear that one fact was certain:
This planet is already terminally ill.

but……

Making a scalpel or being a surgeon is his profession!
(End of this chapter)