This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 176 What to do
Could the second administrator know?
These words made Wei Lan fall silent for a moment. He carefully observed Nie Weiyang and realized that he was actually serious.

"I discovered a while ago that Administrator Number Two is a target for communication... I'll let Lao Liang tell you the rest. I'm going to have some food first."

Nie Weiyang raised his glass to drink soy milk. He sat with Yi Jianhan and Jiang Xue, looking just like some kind of early morning working class.

Wei Lan looked at Liang Zhenduan with a puzzled expression, and the two went to the side to chat.

"Brother Nie," Yi Jian asked in a low voice, "that second administrator... can he understand what we write?"

"Anyway, he understood what I wrote last time," Nie Weiyang said confidently.

LOL. Given his relationship with the second administrator, how could the second administrator not understand? It's just that these kinds of things can't be said outright.

Yi Jian was somewhat shocked: "He can actually understand it? Our language is practically an ancient relic to him, isn't it?"

To this day, people still do not know where the planet 'New World' is located, or how many years it took for the previous civilization to migrate here.

People only know that the previous civilization came from Earth in this universe and was once the same as them. However, in the years that have passed, social structures, life forms and spiritual power have undergone tremendous changes, and language and writing have naturally merged and changed accordingly.

In the ruins of the pre-civilization, people also saw their writing system, a strange set of square symbols. Its foundation was clearly derived from Chinese, but it also incorporated the advantages of other languages ​​while discarding their shortcomings. For example, the French way of reading numbers would certainly not appear in this new language.

This language is now known as the 'synthetic language of late-stage Homo sapiens native to this universe,' or simply the Proto-human language.

Correspondingly, as the prototypes of 'primitive languages', the original languages ​​on Earth have all been withdrawn from use in pre-civilization eras. It can be said that they live in primitive languages, or that they have already become 'ancient relics' and 'dead languages' at the other end of history.

“Who knows?” Nie Weiyang said.

He stared at the sky outside the window. Under the azure sky, a gentle breeze pushed the white clouds, which drifted into the distance.

"Some things are better left unknown," he said softly.

Just like now, the way he looks at Yun Tian will never be as carefree as it once was.

"I understand. I will immediately have someone contact Pingdu and send a message to indicate that we have successfully made contact," Wei Lan said seriously.

He already knew everything from Liang Zhenkou.

“I suggest… whatever you do, don’t provoke Administrator Number Two,” Liang Zhenduan cautioned. “Our people investigated the Xunshan Ruins before; it’s now a huge crater, with some sharp, jagged mountain structures standing on the outer side…”

"It didn't fall over?" Wei Lan asked.

“It didn’t collapse,” Liang Zhenduan said. “Because the mountain is full of obsidian, which is smooth and solid, it can’t easily collapse.”

obsidian…………

"The second administrator... just melted the mountain?" Wei Lan's voice began to sound incredulous.

He had seen the bombed-out Xunshan Mountain in the Pingdu region and knew exactly how large it was and how incredibly strong its supporting structure was. It was no exaggeration to say that conventional kinetic weapons wouldn't even leave a crater.

“Yes, it was caused by a high-temperature beam of light,” Liang Zhenduan said.

He took out a worn-out notebook, carefully turned to a certain page, where a sketch was tucked in, roughly showing what the Xunshan site looks like now.

There were no problems with the outer ring of Xunshan, but 95% of the central mountain has disappeared, leaving only a ring of mountain walls, like a jagged sword edge.

Its inner wall was so smooth it could reflect a mirror, and its texture was lustrous. Liang Zhenduan took out a piece of obsidian from his backpack and showed it to Wei Lan.

“They had some trouble knocking it down,” he said. “Maybe it can serve as evidence.”

To prove just how dangerous that unknown wanderer really is.

Wei Lan held the obsidian, examining it from all angles. After a while, he sighed deeply, "I'll send someone right away. Sigh... if only we could use a radio."

“It would be even better if we could use a radio,” Nie Weiyang suddenly remarked. He was sitting between two teammates, packing up an oil paper bag for future use. It was an old tool from his breakfast routine; though worn out, it was better than using leaves.

His words made Liang Zhenduan suddenly realize something.

The radio signal is not working properly...

Signal directed to the Netherworld...

The Netherworld is the world of souls after death... and the soul is the vessel of spiritual power. The soul of the wise man mentioned earlier must also be in the Netherworld.

The signal is radiative, but the world's barrier is broken; if left unchecked, it might reach the stars...

Meteorites from outer space brought star stones, which are... tombstones.

Danger in the starry sky!

Something is watching this planet, watching everything within the barrier—if a signal gets out of the planet, there will be a big problem!

Everything unknown seemed to be vaguely connected. Liang Zhenduan was startled and his scalp twitched and relaxed in an instant. At this moment, he realized too much. A strong headache exploded in his mind, and even his sclera seemed to be turning black.

He turned his head sharply, staring straight at Nie Weiyang, his eyes bloodshot.

--is that so?
From the very beginning, when we came to this planet, we have been living under some kind of sophisticated yet fragmented system of governance, haven't we?
We live in constant danger of extinction, at any moment... as soon as information breaks through the barrier. As soon as the outside world knows that intelligent life still exists on this planet!

We could die at any moment?
Those star stones are a manifestation of some possible future!

Nie Weiyang didn't answer him, but continued to stare at Bai Yun. But after dealing with him for so long, Liang Zhenduan had naturally figured out Nie Weiyang's temperament.

This is the default.

Nie Weiyang heard his guess and tacitly agreed. This was the worst-case scenario.

"What's wrong?" Wei Lan asked.

He observed Liang Zhenduan but couldn't discern anything. At that moment, a chill filled his chest, and Liang Zhenduan thought of death once more. But as he slowly exhaled this chill, it was as if he were exhaling the echo of death.

“I was just thinking about something,” he replied calmly. “In the Blood Moon Ascent Incident, two million people died in the old city.”

"Hmm?" Wei Lan paused, thinking to himself that they were probably coming to offer assistance: "I have no right to promise anything, but..."

“I buried them in the ground,” Liang Zhenduan said.

Wei Lan paused in his speech.

“I burned them to prevent the plague, and that’s when the Flame Corps of the old city was formed. Then, I had the remains buried in the ground, so that they could not be returned to their roots, but could be used to fertilize the land… But if I didn’t do that, people would starve to death, many people.”

Liang Zhenduan stared at the wall.

“…Some things always have to be done by someone, no matter how bad they are, or how much they violate one’s own principles, as long as it benefits everyone,” he said. “I’m leaving now. I have other things to do.”

Liang Zhenduan left. Wei Lan knew there was something more to his words, and he felt that they weren't meant for him, but after thinking about it, he was certain that they were meant for him.

What is this? An explanation?
Why defend myself? For whom am I defending myself? To whom am I defending myself?
Wei Lan was puzzled, but Nie Weiyang continued to look at the sky, seemingly unwilling to make any move. So he quickly left as well, taking his men with him.

After a long while, Nie Weiyang turned his gaze back to the table.

"Shall we go, Brother Nie?" Yi Jian asked softly.

“Let’s go,” Nie Weiyang said. “Let’s do what we need to do.”

(End of this chapter)