Chapter 439: Hope
"Don't you feel you're killing the future of an entire civilization?" The Red World Fiend showed no sign of panic even after realizing its intimidation had failed to achieve the desired result. Instead, it turned the question back on Bai Mo.
At their level, emotions like panic, fear, and ecstasy—which could cloud rational judgment—were almost entirely under their control.
Even when facing a matter of life and death such as this, needless tension would barely interfere with the Red World Fiend, preventing it from making irrational decisions.
It knew clearly that there was no option of surrender between them and Bai Mo, for they were mortal enemies. Nor did it possess anything that could sway him; Daoization was an equally incurable disease in the Tianxuan Continent.
Moreover, the cases were far too rare—on average, only one world-shattering Daoization at the Integration Stage occurred every few centuries—meaning there simply weren't enough samples to study.
As for the one person with a chance to study it, they usually Daoized and perished amidst world-shattering cataclysms, taking all potential discoveries with them as they returned to the heavens and earth.
"A time without heroes is the best time," Bai Mo replied.
He understood the Red World Fiend's meaning. In the Land of White, where the Destiny System managed everything, there would be no heroes in any sense of the word. Each person would merely be a guided member of a vast collective.
Everything was prearranged; one only needed to proceed systematically. With the Destiny System in place, there was naturally no need for a hero to save the day.
"At the cost of everyone losing hope?" The Red World Fiend continued its verbal offensive.
On the main battlefield, it knew their side was doomed to certain defeat. Fighting to the bitter end against Bai Mo, who could hold the entire Earth in his palm by burning his life for power, even the three of them combined wouldn't stand the slightest chance of victory.
Therefore, after the Creator's "reincarnation," the two of them placed their hope on the flank, wishing to create even a single opportunity.
"They are not like us long-lived cultivators, able to let go of many pointless desires. Once they lose the hope of becoming superior to others, the entire society will become a stagnant pool."
The Heavenly Demon, skilled at manipulating human hearts, argued this point with Bai Mo bit by bit, drawing on its vast life experience and years of studying psychology on Earth.
They could, of course, see that the Land of White's system framework was, in a sense, Bai Mo's foundation for achieving the Dao. If they could truly find a loophole and launch a devastating attack to destabilize Bai Mo's "Dao Heart," gaining a moment of hesitation, there might still be a chance to escape.
"Humans are so strange. Even with a one-in-ten-thousand or even one-in-a-hundred-thousand chance of standing out, of reaching the pinnacle by treading on the bones of countless others, they still toil their entire lives, even fighting to the death, completely failing to consider how likely they were to be among those trampled underfoot." As Bai Mo spoke, he continuously shrank the encirclement around the entire Earth.
"So I made a choice for them: trading each person's one-in-ten-million chance for a future free of worries."
"Like pigs being raised?" Gaia also joined the fray.
"You two seem to have your roles mixed up, don't you?" Bai Mo, his face a poker mask, responded coldly.
These two individuals had always viewed everyone on Earth as NPCs. Seeing them now act as if they had joined an "NPC Protection Association" made Bai Mo feel a sense of incongruity.
However, recalling their ultimate objective, he quickly understood the reason.
"You have 181.32 seconds remaining." Bai Mo calculated the time still needed to completely seal them.
In a single thought, innumerable countdown displays appeared in the sky, uniformly counting down from exactly three minutes.
The omnipresent, gigantic fluorescent displays under the 'Nightfall' instantly drew the gaze of countless people. The atmosphere of unease, initially brought by the sudden onset of night, was further ignited by this abrupt countdown.
Aside from those in the Land of White who had received system notifications and remained calm, most people elsewhere had already become utterly terrified.
The starry sky visible from the night hemisphere was obscured, replaced by a moonless, starless pitch-blackness. The day hemisphere had turned to twilight, and it seemed the darkness would continue to deepen.
Astronomy enthusiasts everywhere, especially, felt the horror of Earth being held in someone's palm.
"Is it an alien invasion countdown?"
"Or Earth's countdown?"
...
All sorts of conjectures ran rampant, causing panic to spread further.
"So many beautiful neon lights!"
"And sparkling numbers, prettier than fireworks!"
Of course, amidst the panic, there were also many children still ignorant of the world, who were only focused on admiring the beauty of the countdown displays. In their innocent world, they couldn't yet comprehend much fear.
As for the official astronomical observatories and satellite-related departments, they had all, without exception, been issued gag orders.
Only a very small number of perceptive individuals could catch a glimpse of the battle in the sky; ordinary people couldn't detect at all the red, purple, and white lights battling in the high altitudes.
"The future of our humanity actually relies on two formerly mortal alien enemies fighting to defend it. How ironic," lamented the new President of the United States, former Five-Star General Will Collins.
"And the enemy is human."
"Does that monster opposite us truly still have much connection to humanity?"
"Folks, after this battle, it'll be about time for us to leave." Will lightly furrowed his brow and sighed.
He couldn't remember how many times he had made a similar expression. Will felt he might be the most exasperated President of the United States in history.
During his term, the United States genuinely faced the danger of national collapse, just like in Hollywood movies, and needed to flee to space to continue the torch of human civilization.
Even though Will was also a five-tier powerhouse, when he saw the blurry images transmitted back with difficulty from the satellite more than ten minutes ago, he was utterly shocked.
A thick, heavy black curtain enveloped the entire Earth, and within it, Earth looked like a Ferrero Rocher chocolate, tightly wrapped...
"It seems we won't have the chance to achieve Great Consummation in this lifetime." The Red World Fiend knew clearly that their time was running out, even without seeing the countdowns covering the sky.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the two of them would be sealed once more, perhaps for thousands of years, perhaps for tens of thousands, until Bai Mo's residual power completely dissipated.
However, by then, whether the two, after enduring millennia of pure darkness, could still retain their sense of self... that became a real problem.
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