This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 290 When the Scales Tilted
The current situation is somewhat mysterious.

Whether the person who entered this place was Nie Weiyang himself, or a psychologist impersonating Nie Weiyang, is a question for the Church of Life.

If it's the former, they won't be afraid of a powerful individual.

If it's the latter, then the problem is much bigger, because the verifiable psychologists are basically affiliated with certain large organizations and are core members of their investigation teams... Especially the psychologists within China, they must belong to the Chinese government and will only be mobilized after receiving prior intelligence.

If this is the case, they will send messengers to convey the message that "the Chinese government has begun to intervene in the epidemic and is at odds with the Church of Life".

Compared to a powerful individual, a more powerful collective is clearly more terrifying.

Nie Weiyang had been keeping a close eye on Life Manor. Soon he saw that Life Manor had dispatched more than a dozen messengers to spread information at full speed.

The morning light pierced through the thin mist that shrouded the basin, tinging the white walls of the Life Manor with a pale gold hue.

In the seemingly tranquil morning light, several side gates of the manor quietly opened, and more than a dozen figures, like swarms of bees leaving their hive, rushed off in different directions. Their footsteps shattered the morning silence, raising clouds of dust in their wake.

Lacking information, these people were thinking in the direction Nie Weiyang wanted. After all, he had already blocked their path; this was the 'only possibility'.

— Nie Weiyang's 'mission' has always been to track down Administrator Number Two, so how could he possibly be here? It must be a psychologist causing trouble!
On a distant hill, Nie Weiyang withdrew his gaze from the manor and whispered to Albert beside him, "I'll be leaving for a bit."

Before he finished speaking, his figure had vanished from the spot, leaving only the slightly swaying blades of grass. Albert didn't even have time to see how he left; he could only stare at the empty space beside him, secretly alarmed.

A few hours later, Nie Weiyang returned. Albert and the others were stirring food in a leaf pot. When they saw him return, they handed him a leaf bowl.

“What’s the next step?” Albert asked.

Nie Weiyang took the food, but didn't eat it. He stared at the direction the beacon on the map was moving.

“You should go to Kushui Town,” he said. “If you meet any Chinese visitors, tell them about me.”

"Hmm?" Albert looked up.

—I could tell at a glance that you're not a lone wolf!

“Go ahead,” Nie Weiyang said.

A strange feeling compelled Albert to stand up. Meanwhile, Nie Weiyang stared at the distant idol and walked back into the crowd in the shantytown. The restless, noisy voices of prayer surged into his mind once more, hundreds upon hundreds of prayers converging into one.

"God of Life... God of Life... I am your believer, I am willing to give everything, please bless me to become..."

"God of Life... God of Life... I am your believer, I am willing to give you everything, please bless me to receive it..."

"God of Life... God of Life... I am your believer, I have nothing, please bless me to live..."

Live on... live on... live on...

live.

The noisy thoughts in ordinary times become uniform when praying and making wishes. People always have similar wishes, but when these wishes fall on different lives, they become different kinds of suffering—or similar wishes can be born from different kinds of suffering.

But now, these voices reached Nie Weiyang's ears and entered his mind.

He couldn't help but listen to the hearts of the people, as always.

Nie Weiyang rubbed his brow and shook his head vigorously.

Albert and his men disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, following Nie Weiyang's instructions to reach Bitterwater Town. When the last footsteps faded into silence, only Nie Weiyang remained standing alone on the mountaintop at the edge of the forest.

At first, he was simply trying to process the chaotic thoughts brought on by mind-reading as usual—the wailing in the shacks, the scheming in the manor, the prayers of the scattered settlements further away, all churning in his mind like incessant background noise. The music that was forbidden from being played on his Walkman mingled with it, creating a strange atonal melody that wasn't unpleasant to listen to, but gave him a splitting headache.

Moreover, he gradually noticed something unusual.

The prayers to the god of life seemed to resonate with a strange energy, echoing and amplifying within his spiritual realm, like countless tuning forks vibrating on the same frequency. He stood atop the mountain, looking down at the incongruous false god statue and the densely packed shacks at its base, like an anthill.

His gaze seemed to transcend physical distance, 'seeing' the surging love and hate, greed and desire, desperate struggle, and most intensely—the desire to survive.

A disturbance is occurring in the mind of a Homo sapiens, and the scope of his perception is expanding out of control.

Five kilometers, ten kilometers, twenty kilometers. The once clear boundaries became blurred, and more sounds and more emotions flooded into Nie Weiyang's consciousness like a burst dam.

The immense spiritual power within the mind of the Homo sapiens was surging and churning. He could almost hear all the emotions accumulated by the human race over the long years as they struggled, prayed, and fought for survival.

Those feelings that once existed are now burning fiercely in that misty atmosphere.

Nie Weiyang's breathing became heavy, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

He slowly supported himself with one hand on a half-dead tree beside him, his knuckles turning white from the force and embedding themselves in the dry bark.

He stared intently at the statue, and the answer was clear in his mind—

This statue is far more than a poor imitation or a simple symbol.

In a sense, it was truly designed for the 'Second Administrator'!

Although it didn't touch the true power of Administrator Number Two, it was a trap set for Administrator Number Two!

Someone wants to kill the Second Administrator, the 'World Boss' who is pro-civilization and order!
The principle of the cycle of life and death governs the cycle of life and death, and the metabolism of the planet.

So, what does Administrator Number Two represent?
The answer resounded in Nie Weiyang's boiling spiritual realm—

It's about survival! It's the will to live that humanity unleashes when faced with dire circumstances!
It is revenge! It is the judgment and execution of those who inflict suffering on humanity, those who disrupt order, and those who desecrate life!
On Nie Weiyang's personal panel, the status of [Intertwined Death] was flashing with unprecedented brightness, as if it had been injected with new power, and every character was shining brightly.

Deep within his spiritual realm, the landscape was also undergoing dramatic changes.

The phantom of Paladin Nie Weiyang stood firm, his hands resting on his sword, radiating a warm and unwavering light that represented the belief in protection and survival. At this moment, the light was more intense than ever before, as if it were about to illuminate the entire spiritual world.

The assassin's phantom slowly closed its eyes and sheathed its blade in the shadows.

He did not disappear, but was gathering strength, because the time for 'revenge' was far off.

The phantom belonging to Administrator Number Two seemed to be summoned by something and was slowly taking a step forward.

This step seemed to cross some kind of boundary.

A fragile balance was shaken. In an instant, Nie Weiyang felt as if his head was about to explode. Not just in this epidemic zone, not just at this moment in the Life Manor, but all the human will to survive active on Titan, the flames of struggle burning in despair, seemed to transcend time and space, converging into an invisible torrent that crashed into his mind!

He no longer only heard the voices of those around him, but in a sense, he briefly 'connected' with the entire 'Homo sapiens' species at this moment, and their will to survive.

The feeling was vast and overwhelming, as if the weight of the entire ocean was pressing down on his nerves.

Yet it was also filled with endless pain and heaviness; every desire to survive carried the weight of blood and tears.

He leaned against the withered tree, his back involuntarily bending slightly, his scarlet eyes tightly shut, using all his willpower to resist the overwhelming torrent of the ocean. Sweat slid down his forehead, dripping onto the soil beneath his feet, instantly absorbed by the parched earth.

At this moment, Nie Weiyang, acting as a transit point, fully connected the visitors from Earth into the human mind's ocean.

—Conversely, does this also mean that from this moment on, he has the same management rights over visitors from Earth?
The balance he maintained... the balance between 'human Nie Weiyang' and 'Administrator Number Two'...

...In the judgment of the human mind, is it really necessary?

(End of this chapter)