The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

Upon hearing this, the old man paused slightly in his steps.

He reached out his withered hand and gently rubbed the child's head, his gesture carrying a hint of helpless affection.

"That guy is different from the two who were possessed by the Black Puppet."

"A mortal body, yet his brain has been corrupted without his knowledge; now even a god cannot save him."

Child: "But I don't think he's a bad person..."

The old man sighed, "What does it matter if someone is good or bad? Everyone has their own fate."

"Having come to this point, he has no choice but to accept his fate."

The child pouted and frowned, looking both awkward and adorable.

He stopped and looked at his grandfather in disbelief.

"I don't believe it! Grandpa is so amazing, how could there be someone he couldn't save?"

In his mind, his grandfather was the epitome of omnipotence.

There's nothing in this world that his grandfather couldn't do.

The old man looked at the child, speechless.

I really don't know why, even though it was the first time we met, my grandson developed such a strong liking for him.

After a long while, he sighed.

That breath was long and deep, as if it had traveled through endless years.

"Fine."

He stopped, turned around, and looked back in the direction he had come from, his deep gaze seemingly piercing through layers of obstacles.

"Regardless, you did indeed benefit from that group of people."

"The greatest debts of gratitude are the hardest to repay. Since you have received his favor, I must reciprocate in kind."

"Then I'll give him a choice, and consider it the end of all karma."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man flipped his hand over.

A golden thread, completely different from the previous one, appeared out of thin air in his hand.

This thread was even more dazzling and intricate, with countless tiny runes wrapped around it, shimmering with light.

The old man gently pinched his fingers in mid-air, and his lips parted slightly:

"Clouds shift, cause and effect change; deer tread, blessings arrive. The lamp of the heart illuminates past calamities; a single thought gives rise to a lotus throne."

A newly appeared thread suddenly flew out and precisely wrapped itself around the causal thread that connected the future.

The moment the two threads intersect, a new branch appears out of nowhere along what was originally a single path.

After everything was done, the old man nodded in satisfaction.

But soon, he realized something was wrong.

"Um?"

His movements froze, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

"How could this happen?"

The child noticed something was wrong. He looked up and curiously tugged at the old man's clothes.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?"

The old man did not answer. For the first time, a storm of emotions erupted from his cloudy eyes, and his whole body trembled slightly from extreme shock.

"etc!"

The old man suddenly realized what was happening.

"He's a man destined to die..."

"How can there be a future?!"

His voice was dry and filled with bewilderment that defied his understanding.

The child blinked his innocent, wide eyes and answered with a matter-of-fact logic.

"A person who is destined to die has no future. If he does, it means he is not dead."

"Absolutely not!" the old man vehemently denied. "He must die!"

As soon as he said it, he seemed to realize it was inappropriate, so he changed his wording, which sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

"He's no different from being dead now."

"How can an ordinary person whose brain has been completely eroded have a future?"

The child tilted his head, his little face full of innocence.

"Then you're mistaken, Grandpa. He's not dead."

The old man choked for a moment.

"I wield the power of cause and effect; how could I not see through something so simple?"

The child pressed on relentlessly, "Did Grandpa see through it all?"

Old man: "..."

The silence at that moment was deafening.

The air seemed to freeze.

The old man pinched his fingers:

"The cloud-like pupils illuminate the three thousand worlds, the antlers reveal the time before they grew. The cause and effect of the three realms can all be seen, and with a single thought, the mind can roam freely without hindrance."

A strange energy emanated from the old man, and his eyes became hollow.

A moment later, the old man opened his eyes.

The shock in his eyes remained undiminished.

He made a miraculous discovery: he was unable to see the cause and effect of an ordinary person's life.

That guy's future is shrouded in a thick fog, making it impossible to see.

After a long while, the old man finally let out a long breath and took the child's hand again.

"Let's go back."

His voice carried a hint of barely suppressed curiosity and inquiry.

"I want to see what makes someone who is clearly destined to die have any future."

......

the other side.

Chen Feng was still reeling from the overwhelming amount of information.

Black puppets, a race, a mysterious grandfather and grandson...

Just then, two suppressed groans pulled him back to reality.

It was Li Yuanguang and Yu Wei.

Fine arcs of electricity occasionally flickered across Li Yuanguang's skin, indicating that the final repair process was now complete.

Yu Wei's left arm was covered with a thin layer of ice, which, when it broke, peeled away the filth along with it.

They are elemental beings, and as long as their core remains intact, recovery is only a matter of time.

"Captain... I'm not dead?" Yu Wei supported himself on the ground, panting heavily, his face full of relief at surviving the ordeal.

Li Yuanguang also stood up unsteadily, checked his body, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was nothing wrong.

Chen Feng nodded, his tense nerves relaxing slightly.

The team members are all safe; this is the best outcome.

However, in this moment of peace, a faint rustling sound came from the basement entrance of a nearby house.

Chen Feng glanced at it briefly, sending a look across his face.

now.

A dirty little head peeked out from the dark basement entrance.

She was a little girl of about ten years old, with messy hair and a face covered in dust, except for her eyes, which were surprisingly bright and black.

They are the survivors here.

This situation was not uncommon along the way.

Some locals use various hidden corners to hide from zombies and eke out a living.

Chen Feng didn't pay much attention to it, nor did he intend to provide any assistance.

There are so many people who need help, and he saves them one by one, but he can't save them all even if he keeps saving them until they die.

His duty was to lead his squad to complete the mission and return alive, not to be a savior who saves all living beings.

And he was helping a group of people he had absolutely no liking for.

The little girl seemed to sense their indifference, hesitated for a moment, and then climbed out of the basement.

Clearly, they didn't want to miss this chance to survive.

She walked barefoot on the cold ground, step by step, to Chen Feng.

She tilted her head back, blinked her big eyes, and pitifully began to speak a string of words that Chen Feng couldn't understand at all.

"Uncle, I know you're a good person, so please save me, okay?"

"My family is down there, and there are so many monsters outside. We're so scared..."

Liu Chao provided real-time translation.

Chen Feng remained expressionless.

He didn't even glance at the little girl; he simply turned and gave orders to his team.

"Check your equipment and prepare for evacuation."

Completing the mission and leaving this place of trouble is the most important thing right now.

Seeing that Chen Feng was ignoring her, the little girl rolled her bright black eyes around.

Just as Chen Feng turned around, the little girl took a deep breath and puffed out her cheeks.

"puff!"

A mouthful of foul-smelling saliva was precisely sprayed towards Chen Feng.

Chen Feng's movements came to an abrupt halt.

The little girl showed no fear. Instead, she puffed out her chest and, in a defiant tone, spoke a string of words in the Mandarin of Shengxiang.

This time, she did it herself without waiting for Liu Chao to translate.

She suddenly lifted her tattered top, revealing her thin waist.

There, a gruesome scratch was clearly visible, and the skin around the wound had begun to turn black and rot.

"Okay, I'll come clean. I've actually been infected with the zombie virus too."

She put down her clothes, looked directly at Chen Feng, and revealed a triumphant smile.

"Now, you're infected too."

"And, it was I who infected you."

"So you have to listen to me!"

Liu Chao: "?"

Where did this lunatic come from?

She had the nerve to say that, but he was too embarrassed to translate it.