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Chapter 659 - Six Hundred and Fifty-six: ’Lewis.

Chapter 659: Chapter Six Hundred and Fifty-six: ’Lewis.

Su Ming’an soared into the sky and indeed spotted a rotating space vortex.

He took out the Amber Knife and with a swing—

The passive of "Spatial Comprehension" endowed him with extraordinary acuity towards the spatial realm, and with a "glug" the vortex shattered and fell silent.

Now, the City of Gods should no longer be able to provide remote support.

To be on the safe side, he still needed to scan the nearby airspace until the troops below could retreat in time.

Now, he had exchanged for floating cannons and passive skill potions. With about six days left of instance time, he should still be able to exchange for another prop.

"X-66 Tactical Reconnaissance Drone (Purple Grade), required exchange points: 10,000 points," this prop was well suited for him. The Scarlet Bird’s surveillance altitude was too low, and its accuracy was not high; he needed a device that could observe the overall situation more effectively.

After circling in the sky for a while, he was preparing to descend when he heard a "ding."

"Doctor, Doomsday City has started a world broadcast," said AI Yeah.

"World broadcast?" Su Ming’an was puzzled. Such important broadcasts that were addressed to the entire world were usually initiated by himself. Why had Doomsday City started a broadcast on its own?

He asked Yeah to start streaming the broadcast.

The screen lit up, showing the face of Tretiya. Her face was very pale, which contrasted with her bright lipstick, resembling a ghost with disheveled hair, indicating she was in very poor psychological state.

The broadcast had been going for a while by the time Su Ming’an tuned in, and he just happened to hear Tretiya say:

"So... the current Lord of Doomsday City, Yasa Acto, is only a bionic body, the real Acto has not yet awakened. The secret experiment from those days was to cultivate countless bionic bodies to serve as the brain and organ cultivation vessels for the real Acto, to die when necessary for humanity."

Su Ming’an was slightly stunned.

"Moreover, because of some secret reasons, if a bionic body of Acto dies, we can advance the awakening process of the true Acto. This reason... is related to the Dawn Code," Tretiya said:

"We need the Dawn System. And to activate the Dawn System, we need the Dawn Code, so, we need the current bionic body of Acto... to die for us."

"Its birth was already part of the experimental plan, in hopes of resurrecting the true human hero who once saved us, we wish to reclaim this bionic body."

"If anyone spots its whereabouts, please report to us. It has a hibernation device on it, and it won’t be able to get far. We also have the corresponding search technology..."

Her complexion was as pale as paper, but her words were steady—so steady that Su Ming’an in the sky could hear every word she said clearly.

Su Ming’an’s expression remained calm.

Although he was the real Acto in the City of Measurement, after entering Caius Tower, he might indeed have been possessing the bionic body of Acto.

So, she was probably right.

Suddenly, he remembered the way Tretiya had looked at him and laughed like a madwoman when they first met, her laugh so frantic and full of despair.

...

"Ha, hahaha, hahahahaha... I should have understood sooner, why did I even harbor hope..."

Her emotions were extremely unstable. From the first time she saw him, she would often laugh inexplicably, and sometimes she would just stare at him and zone out.

...

—So she had known back then that he wasn’t the real Acto, which was why she was so despondent.

What was she thinking when she called him "teacher"? Was she thinking that if he died, her real teacher could come back sooner?

Or was she thinking that humans still needed him, the bionic body, to remain as the city lord, and that’s why she let him live?

He remembered the place where he had awakened, which wasn’t a hibernation capsule. On the cabin, he recalled there being a small inscription saying [COP-19]...

That turned out to be the model number of a "Replication Chamber."

"Doctor," Yeah spoke at this moment: "Do you need me to stream other people’s reactions for you?"

"...Let’s have a look," said Su Ming’an.

If he wasn’t Acto, but just a bionic body.

If his death could bring back a real human hero, what would those who spent their days with him, addressing him as "City Lord" and "Doctor," feel about this revelation now?

The screen flickered, and from a bird’s-eye view within Doomsday City, Su Ming’an heard numerous murmuring voices.

To these people, "He who is not of our race must have a different heart." If the current City Lord was not the real Acto, then Su Ming’an, as a non-human, would inevitably cause them panic and fear.

"Since the Great Commander of Tretiya has said so, we might as well replace that bionic body as soon as possible," a woman said, leaning against the wall.

"I heard before that when the Dawn War first erupted, the Lord of Acto City died in the Ninth District due to bodily collapse, and even his corpse was taken away by the Deity camp. I thought it was just a rumor, but it turned out to be true," her sister-in-law said. "No wonder another one popped up. They are all bionic bodies; if one dies, there’s another one."

"That’s just too terrifying, something that’s not afraid of death, how can it lead us?"

"Yes..."

The nearby child spat out his candy, hopping and shouting:

"Scary! Scary!"

"We don’t want monsters! We don’t want monsters!"

Their voices, carried by the wind, gradually merged into a sea, spreading to every corner of the city.

"So the City Lord is a bionic body, but I always thought he seemed quite normal..." Joslin said to his colleague beside the office building.

"He’s made in a one-to-one true likeness of the original, nearly indistinguishable from humans. This technology is too advanced, we’ve never heard of it before," his colleague said.

"Do you think he should die?" Joslin asked, frowning.

"Bionic bodies are not considered human. If we don’t get the original Acto back, wouldn’t we be betraying the Acto who saved us during the Century Catastrophe?" his colleague affirmed. "Everyone must make concessions for the era, and so must the current bionic body. Who knows if he has any association with the Deity or might turn against us? After all, he’s not human..."

...

Su Ming’an watched this scene broadcast by AI Yeah.

The respect he first received was indeed all based on Acto’s legacy. Everyone remembered how Acto had saved them during the Century Catastrophe. Therefore, when he initiated the Dawn War in the name of Acto, he was able to garner such widespread support.

But now, Tretiya told everyone—he was not the Acto who had saved them. Even his death was necessary for the real Acto to return.

In a moment, attitudes changed dramatically.

Everyone was looking forward to his death, to awaken the true Acto.

But... since the Dawn War began, over these many years, step by step, he had pulled everyone together, stayed awake for nights on end to leave behind the techniques of the Three Domains and tirelessly preached the Lighthouse Church from dawn till dusk... Wasn’t it all him?

—Over these years, the man who appeared before them, conversing with them, answering questions, discussing tactics, wasn’t it him?

Just because he was a bionic body—did that mean he was not Acto?

He possessed Acto’s name, appearance, attire, abilities, and the techniques of the Three Domains. With the exception of missing memories, he was almost indistinguishable from Acto. Even Rong Yuan would often say that his personality was the same, indicating that he was no different in disposition from the true Acto during the Century Catastrophe.

Over these years, it was he who saved Fayse and Yao Wen, encountered Cheng Luohe, taught Joslin and Sita Xi, and interacted with Xia Sheng, Sen, Tretiya, Rong Yuan, and others in the war meetings.

Because he wasn’t the Acto from the Century Catastrophe—should all of that be denied?

So everyone was looking forward to his death?

"Yeah, broadcast the situation with the legions," he said.

The scene shifted.

On the blood-drenched sandy ground below, the Beacon Legion was in retreat.

Xia Sheng adjusted his goggles, his crimson cloak fluttering in the wind.

"Gentlemen," Xia Sheng said to those retreating, "if the one who has been aiding us is the bionic Acto, we should not be ungrateful. The Acto we recognize now is the City Lord of this moment, and it is irrelevant whether he is a bionic body or not."

Cheng Luohe, wiping his red sniper rifle, affirmed, "Yeah, don’t let me catch any of you with twisted ideas. I only acknowledge the current City Lord Acto."

His tone was icy, his gaze as fierce as an eagle’s. Other soldiers with dissenting opinions bowed their heads. Cheng Luohe had always been a faithful "Acto fan," regardless of Acto’s true nature.

Su Ming’an’s expression eased.

Thankfully, the situation wasn’t too bad.

But looking at the situation within the city, the ordinary people were obviously unsettled, no one wanted a bionic body ruling over them as the city lord.

Since he couldn’t guide these people through his title, he would forcefully suppress them with his might. In such chaotic times, he didn’t care for reputations, including Tretiya’s; no one could beat him.

As he supported himself on his wheelchair, just as he was about to descend, he suddenly coughed.

"...So cold."

He stretched out his hands, involuntarily embracing himself.

Ever since he had entered Caius Tower, he was never afraid of the cold, even on nights cold enough to freeze a person into an ice block, it felt to him but like a gentle breeze.

But at this moment, a cold air rushed from his head to the spine as if to freeze him solid.

He suddenly remembered the live broadcast from Tretiya:

[It has a hibernation device installed, it can’t run too far. We also have the corresponding search technology...]

The hibernation device... they had activated it.

If he hadn’t suddenly come to the Beacon Legion today, he would be lying in the city, at everyone’s mercy by now.

"..."

His body gradually stiffened, coming to a complete stop at this moment.

"Yeah... go to a hidden place," he said with all the effort he could muster until his lips also stopped moving, "Alert Lu Sa and Lu..."

He was gradually unable to move.

Yeah maneuvered the wheelchair, cutting through the liquid clouds, rushing across the blood-red sand, until reaching a recessed cave.

The broadcast was still ongoing, and countless people on the screen were frightened by him, eager to switch back to the former Acto. Some even began to accuse the Beacon Legion, saying they were actually harboring a bionic body, harboring ulterior motives.

—Everyone wanted him dead.

It was as if his death was the natural progression for the era. As for what he had done and whom he had saved in the past, it was only a part of the "plan" to them, not important at all.

In a dark cave, Su Ming’an sat down in his wheelchair. His eyes wide open, he looked at the blood-red sky outside the cave.

The night slowly fell, the deep red sunset faded bit by bit in the distance, leaving only a halo of lingering twilight, like a dreamy veil.

The pervasive cold pierced his heart, the temperature of this body dropping little by little.

"..."

He leaned on the back of the chair, motionless, not even his fingers could bend. His eyelids moved as if being torn, slightly shut, his pupils stinging from the cold.

As night fell, the last bit of warmth disappeared, and all that could be heard was the occasional sound of dripping water.

He waited to see who would find him first. If it was Yuanyuan, Luna, and the others, then he would be safe.

But if it were Tretiya and Rong Yuan...

In the indescribable silence, his condition approached shock, the fierce cold wind blowing his messy black hair. His head drooped slightly, and his whole body was stiffened on the wheelchair, now coated in frost, like a frozen white statue.

His eyelids were closed, shielding against the invasive icy wind, his body’s temperature almost merging with the cold air, void of any rosiness on his face.

...So cold.

Actually, he was very afraid of the cold.

Ever since that cold rain in White Sand Paradise, he had always been afraid of the cold.

But he kept feeling cold over and over again.

He was motionless, like a frozen corpse.

Time seemed to lose all meaning, the only sensation being the pale moonlight, like a soft gauze sprinkling over his eyelids.

In the endless wait, his breath was barely perceptible.

"Drip."

In the agonizing wait, a sudden burst of footsteps startled him awake just as he was about to lose consciousness.

It was the sound of a single person’s footsteps, with no other sounds accompanying them.

The first to find him—who could it be?

He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were frozen shut. His vision was pitch black, and apart from his keen hearing, he could perceive nothing else.

—Until a hand as cold as ice rested upon his own.

The figure apparently stood in front of him for a long time without speaking. The shape blocked the moonlight from the outside world, casting a deep, somber shadow in front of his eyelids, as murky as mist.

The pervasive cold wind was blocked by the other person, leaving only a faint warmth detectable on the back of his hand.

The pitch-dark cold night was so silent it was deathly, with hardly any sound except the whispering breeze brushing past his ears.

Su Ming’an couldn’t speak, waiting without knowing who this person was.

—Until a serene melody of a flute began to play.

The flute’s sound was as fleeting as the wind, like drooping willow leaves, wandering through the mournful air. For a moment, the tune seemed very close to him. It was a melody he had heard on a night of walking.

Like clear, melodious moonlight.

At that moment, Su Ming’an’s heart grew colder by half a beat.

...Damn, the last person who should have come has arrived.

"Lewis."

The other said,

"Stop trying to save this world. Come back with me and enjoy the view. I’ll get rid of those who want you dead."

The figure moved behind him, fingers touching his wheelchair.

Moonlight once again spilled onto Su Ming’an’s face, and he could vaguely sense a dim light source through his eyelids.

He wanted to laugh.

He hadn’t expected that the first to find him wouldn’t be Yuanyuan, or Lu, or Xia Sheng, but Lin Guang.

...Come to think of it,

he suddenly realized—

—that only Lin Guang had never called him "Acto" from the beginning to the end.

Lin Guang had always called him "Lewis." That name, unique to him alone, was given to him when they first met at the garden villa.

He thought Lin Guang was just too lazy to change how he addressed him. In the end, it turned out that only Lin Guang truly saw him as Lewis, not a copy of Acto.

A slight breeze passed by their sides as Lin Guang pushed him out of the cave.

"It doesn’t matter to me whether you are Acto or not," Lin Guang said. "I only know that I want to be friends with you and exterminate those who wish you dead. As for your name, whether it’s Acto, Lewis, Lv Shu, or Su Ming’an... you are my friend."

"I’ve learned a new tune, and I want to play it for you."

"I don’t know where this feeling of closeness to you comes from... Perhaps we knew each other before?"

Su Ming’an wanted to escape, but his body wouldn’t move.

If he really returned to the City of Gods like this, what would follow was a predictable nuclear explosion...

Suddenly, another familiar voice sounded.

Intense golden light penetrated his eyelids, nearly blinding the pupils inside Su Ming’an’s eyes.

"...I can’t believe I’m not the first one to find this place—alright, you who look a lot like Lv Shu, put him down." Su Rin raised the golden blade in her hand:

"Who cares about your City of Gods? There’s not much time left. Let’s finish this accursed Caius Tower."