I said you are all war criminals

Although the monitoring room lacked cameras, obscuring the true situation, Hongxia immediately tracked down Baiye's operational records. He had forged Xiangzi's entire record over the past decade, from initial experimental data to subsequent email correspondence. Even the surveillance footage had been crudely edited and manipulated. Now, all the evidence pointed to one truth: Xiangzi was merely a pawn in his hands, a puppet under his control. And the true mastermind behind all this was Baiye himself.

...This was the last work Hakuno did before his death.

Furthermore, Hongxia also discovered the resurrection plan that Hakuno had reviewed before his death... From the traces in the code, it seemed the plan had been shelved for over a decade, only brought up for revision just before Hakuno's death. The seemingly plausible concept of demon blood had been sloppily altered to something like a massacre, something completely illogical. All of this served to suggest that Hakuno had instigated the One Year War, and that Toyokawa Shoko was merely a puppet.

If you are a person who knows nothing about computers, you may be deceived.

However, Hongxia still learned computer technology during these years.

Even if he couldn't compare with Yamada Ryo who controlled Japan, it wouldn't be a problem to check the modification records of Wildfire's computer.

However, after seeing these contents, Hongxia became even more confused.

Why do you want to do this?

Was it to protect Xiangzi's reputation? But wouldn't a completely manipulated clown identity make Xiangzi's reputation even worse than that of a demon emperor?

I can’t care so much now!

Hong Xia took a deep breath, the rise and fall of her chest creating a subtle metallic clang. Just like before, she had already completed full-body prosthetics. With the blessing of her golden body, the functions of these prosthetics were already comparable to those of a supercomputer... By fully utilizing their capabilities, she should be able to eliminate the demonic light.

She dove into the network in one breath.

【将程式码21由红色波形转为橙色波形后经由路径D前往点A7，C5，FlO分歧区域D封锁解除插入程式码32给予区域F追加特别权限由程式码89至程式码112集中至路径A以下为程式码113经由路径G占有点D4……】

In Hong Xia's righteous eyes, countless warning windows flashed at an astonishing speed.

This is the firewall of the demon light emitter [Pupil], the total number is 357,081. Hong Xia must break through these firewalls before she can turn off [Pupil].

rustling...

Hongxia felt a huge signal moving, and the feeling was like the tide receding, with countless electronic contents passing through her electronic brain.

The number of remaining un-hacked codes is 173,542.

The speed at which warning windows popped up on the screen gradually slowed, slowed, slowed... Finally, no new windows popped up. Then, in the reverse direction, the warning windows that had buried the entire screen disappeared one by one, just like a videotape being rewound.

All codes along path K are converted to yellow waveforms, splitting into points V2, H5, and Y0. Code 201 is split into codes 202 through 205, and the waveform type is registered in red. Path G is constructed, connecting areas C, D, H, and I, branching to points F7, R2, and Z0.

"boom!"

A bullet hit Hongxia's face, causing her head to tilt slightly.

Hongxia turned her head and saw an unexpected person pointing a gun at her.

"……cold."

"Stop, Hongxia."

Unlike Hong Xia, who was fully cyborgized, Liang didn't have any prosthetic modifications. She held a shiny black pistol in her hand, which didn't match her already somewhat aged face.

The bullet that hit Hong Xia just now came from her gun.

"Stop."

Liang said it again.

82

Chapter 82: Hong Xia’s endgame part 2.

Moon surface.

Gravity is so low it seems non-existent.

In this place that is not Earth, Yamada Ryo stared into the eyes of Ijichi Nikka.

Those amber eyes were filled with sadness.

"Why... Ryo?"

Liang trembled when he heard Hongxia's voice.

"Why do you want to help Bai Ye?"

"Because he's my stupid brother,"

Liang held the gun steadily. "Furthermore, if the transformation process cannot last for 24 hours, the humans on the ground who have been exposed will suffer genetic collapse."

Liang's voice was not excited at all, as if he was talking about something ordinary.

The number of remaining codes is 7,001.

Only nine warning windows remain.

The homework was not finished yet. Time gradually slowed down.

However, according to Liang, this is actually the sound of human destruction.

“…You’re lying to me.”

There are only 102 remaining code snippets, and only one warning window remains.

Hong Xia's voice was dry.

In seconds, she would breach the firewall.

After that, it could all be stopped.

"Maybe."

Ryo said, "I lie to you all the time, don't I?"

Ryo's index finger pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

The bullet accurately hit Hong Xia's prosthetic shoulder, sending up a string of tiny sparks. The specially designed bullet failed to penetrate Hong Xia's tough skin, but it sent a high-voltage current through her, causing her to shudder and reflexively retract the cable extending from her wrist.

She gave up on hacking into the "pupil".

Hong Xia shifted her gaze, opened her mouth slightly, and her voice was as hoarse as the friction of rusty gears, "...Why, Liang? Why did you help Bai Ye? He...what he did was meaningless..."

There was a hint of pain in her tone.

"Hakuno's plan is absurd. What could a man-made disaster possibly bring? The cruelty of war has already pushed humans and the New Humans towards each other, binding them tightly together. Even after a hundred or two hundred years, there will be no more conflict between humans and the New Humans... Why turn everyone into the New Humans?"

Liang looked at Hong Xia expressionlessly, his eyes as cold as the ice on the surface of the moon that had not melted for thousands of years.

"Hakuno is thinking about what will happen a thousand years from now."

"millennium……"

Hong Xia's voice was dry.

"Hongxia, think about it, what will happen if the current situation continues?"

Liang continued, "Compared to humans, half-demons have stronger bodies, superpowers, more perspectives, more powerful brains, and longer lifespans. For just a hundred or two hundred years, humans and half-demons might indeed be able to coexist peacefully... but what about a thousand or two thousand years from now?"

"What will happen to humans in a thousand years? Will they be kept in captivity as pets? Or slaughtered like livestock? Or will they be protected like endangered animals and displayed in museums?"

There was no emotion in Liang's tone. "Or perhaps, will the half-demons be exterminated by humans? After all, humans have wiped out more of their own species than anyone else on Earth."

"No matter what, there are only two endings. Either only humans remain in the world, or only half-demons remain in the world."

"Aren't those all just speculations?"

Hongxia's voice trembled, and she felt a chill deep in her bones.

The low gravity of the moon made her feel dizzy, as if the whole world was tilting.

"Who can say for sure what will happen a thousand years from now? How could Bai Ye... How could he..."

"A thousand years from now, there will inevitably be a war between humans and half-demons."

Liang's voice was still calm, like a pool of stagnant water, without a single ripple.

"Rather than letting that war ruin everything, it's better to make the choice now."

Hong Xia bit her lip, her face pale. In the low-gravity environment, she felt her stomach churning, as if something was about to burst out.

"Choice? What choice? Turning everyone into monsters, is this the choice you're talking about?"

"When the irradiation is over, they will wake up."

Ryo said without hesitation, "They will become the cornerstone of the new world."

cornerstone……

Hongxia was in a trance for a while, and she suddenly felt that she saw Liang again - not the cold and aloof Liang who was obsessed with technological research now, but the Liang Yamada who did not hesitate to calculate other people's lives as numbers in the beginning of his life, and who controlled Yamada Enterprise.

In Yamada Ryo's eyes, everything is the cornerstone for her to ascend to the throne.

...It turns out that Liang has never changed.

The one who changed all this was Hongxia herself.

Because she changed in the past, the future will change.

and so……

"...How much do you know?"

Hongxia said in a painful voice.

"Partly, I just installed a bug in Deng's tombstone, and I heard some of it when Hakuno visited the grave."

Liang paused again, "Also, I was partly responsible for the construction of this place... I created the light that turns humans into half-demons."

"So, you don't know what Hakuno is thinking, right?"

Liang's answer was like a life-saving straw for Hongxia, "You don't know what Hakuno is thinking!"

僐。

"Hongxia, Hakuno is my brother. I understand what he's doing better than anyone else."

Liang said coldly, "He is saving the world, and you are trying to stop him."

Liang spoke frankly, as if stating some universally acknowledged truth. Hong Xia stared at her blankly, at Liang's flawless expression.

Finally, Hongxia shook her head.

"…No, this isn't about saving the world."

Hong Xia's prosthetic body made a soft mechanical sound as a sharp mantis blade emerged from her arm, its tip touching the base's ground, flashing a cold light. In the low gravity, she swayed slightly, and the churning in her stomach intensified. But she fought the discomfort, her eyes as sharp as a razor's blade as she stared directly at Liang Liang.

"cold,"

Hong Xia's voice was low, "You're lying."

Liang's expression remained calm, as if Hong Xia's words were like a breeze to her.

"Oh? What lie did I tell?"

"You said that if the demonization process can't last for twenty-four hours, the humans on the ground will suffer a genetic collapse."

Hong Xia said word by word, "This is a lie."

"I know you too well, Ryo."

Hong Xia took a step forward, and the tip of the mantis knife drew a shallow mark on the ground.

"I know when you're telling the truth and when you're acting. When you're telling a lie, your left eye blinks unconsciously. Just now, you blinked."

Liang was silent for a moment, his eyes flickering, as if assessing the truth of Hong Xia's words. The entire base was silent, with only the sound of their breathing echoing in the air.

"Even if I lied, so what?"

Liang finally spoke again, "You know what I said is right. If humans and half-demons still exist in the world, there will always be a war to decide the fate of the Earth... Compared to that, it would be better to let all humans evolve into half-demons today."

"That's not right. You're putting your own desires, Hakuno's desires, on everyone else!"

Hong Xia once again put forward her argument.

She clearly opposed Liang's idea with a legitimate reason that no one could refute.

"Even if there's a way to turn people into half-demons, you shouldn't unleash it on all of humanity like this—you're doing it wrong!"

"So, do you want to make the deaths of those who have already died from this a meaningless death?"

Liang asked again.

Hongxia didn't answer, but just pointed the mantis knife at Liang.

"Liang, I don't want to kill you. After all, you can't stop me. You haven't been transformed by a prosthetic body, nor are you a half-demon. Your power is useless to me—"