Chapter 185: Mimic Heretics, Beast Tide, and Conspiracy

Chapter 185: Mimetic Heresy, Beast Tide and Conspiracy

A night passed.

Chen Jian had anticipated that before negotiations with the Mechanical Church began, someone would come to visit Jinling.

Yet he had not expected the first arrival to be the Ring Consortium.

The cargo they were to escort had long since reached Jinling, but because the war raged on, even an organization as omnipotent as the Ring Consortium lacked the nerve to cross the forbidden zone and deliver the goods to the Jinling ruins; they waited until Chen Jian and his party entered the city before finally bringing the items over.

Clearly, that was far too late.

Fortunately, the items were never put to use in the end.

So when Wang Lizhi entered the manor with the goods and offered Chen Jian a sincere apology, Chen Jian merely waved a hand dismissively and said:

“It’s all right.”

“In any case, we no longer lack that thing— we have something better now.”

“Indeed, something better.”

Wang Lizhi glanced casually at the 30A parked inside the manor, then said:

“You managed to find a tank that still works. That proves you must have already opened the treasure vault within the Jinling ruins, right?”

“Do you know that it’s a tank?”

Chen Jian was a little surprised, and the other replied candidly:

“We only know the name; the exact functions and how to operate it have been lost to us.”

“In fact, it’s not just me— even the high priests of the Mechanical Church likely know the word ‘tank.’”

“But for a host of reasons they never disseminate that knowledge outward; they prefer to forge a religious image to cement their rule.”

“That’s commonplace on the Wasteland— just as we would never mention the word before we were sure you possessed a tank.”

When Wang Lizhi finished speaking, Chen Jian furrowed his brow.

Then he asked bluntly:

“I’m curious— what level is your knowledge transmission really at?”

“We once tested you, but the results were unsatisfactory.”

“So, is it a façade or the truth?”

“It’s the truth.”

Wang Lizhi answered without hesitation:

“All pre‑Cataclysm knowledge on the Wasteland is fragmented, scattered.”

“We can scrape bits of so‑called ‘forbidden knowledge’ from books and scripts, but we can never fully comprehend them.”

“It’s like the Ring Consortium once supplied the Mechanical Church with information about internal combustion engines and electricity, yet even we cannot discern how those devices should be manufactured.”

“It’s not that we are unwilling; it’s simply impossible.”

“Understood.”

Chen Jian watched Wang Lizhi’s expression with keen interest, then said:

“Your tone today is unusually friendly— truth be told, I still prefer the defiant attitude you showed before.”

Hearing this, Wang Lizhi’s face broke into a wry smile.

“Do we still have any capital for defiance?”

“You moved far too quickly, far beyond our expectations; to be frank, every plan we had devised against you has already failed.”

“We are accustomed to intellectual duels, always believing that our schemes and stratagems could steer most of the world’s affairs.”

“But now it seems you have undone our designs with the simplest of means.”

“Thus we no longer need to cling to our pretensions.”

“I am here today to seek further cooperation with you.”

“Do we still have a need to cooperate?”

Chen Jian retorted.

If, in the past, he had still needed the Ring Consortium to supply the Huaxia army with more advanced weaponry, more trade routes, and logistical convenience, by now that role had been severely diminished.

As for high‑tech arms, nothing they could produce would likely surpass the autonomous combat clusters stored within 011.

As for industrial gear, 011 houses a complete suite capable of rebuilding industry from scratch.

The Ring Consortium has become a mere garnish, and will remain so for a long time to come.

The prospect of cooperation, in Chen Jian’s eyes, had dwindled to near invisibility.

Yet Wang Lizhi’s expression remained unruffled.

He answered:

“We will grant you access to a Tier‑One control list.”

“Including information, devices, and equipment.”

“Believe me, you will need these things.”

“No matter how vast a vault you uncover, no matter how many seemingly ‘miraculous’ pieces of gear you already command, what we possess remains irreplaceable.”

“Moreover, even setting aside all that, the information we hold is of inimitable value.”

“Information? What else do you have?”

Chen Jian’s tone carried a hint of nonchalance.

In fact, after unraveling Fuxi’s secret and grasping the basics of that project, he already formed a rough judgment about the so‑called “greatest secret,” the Mountain City.

It is most likely an AI‑run city that sustains itself autonomously; though its inner workings are unknown, the bulk of its details can be inferred from the data already in our hands.

So Chen Jian no longer placed much hope in the information Wang Lizhi and the Ring Consortium might offer.

———

What surprised him, however, was that this time Wang Lizhi mentioned neither “Fuxi” nor the Mountain City.

The bargaining chip he presented was another “seemingly less important” item.

“We possess a list of virtually every active monster in the entire Yangtze basin—and indeed the whole southern region—that threatens human settlements.”

“Among them is the basic data on the ‘Giant Qin Yuan’ you previously discovered.”

“Consider this: if you could obtain that information in advance, learn the monsters’ traits beforehand, wouldn’t dealing with them become far simpler?”

“We can investigate on our own.”

Chen Jian shook his head:

“We have abundant reconnaissance gear; once a monster is spotted we can immediately marshal firepower, assess the threat, and swiftly eliminate it.”

“We do not need your information.”

“No, no, no.”

Wang Lizhi unusually interrupted Chen Jian, then said:

“The situation you describe rests on nothing more than a single judgment.”

“Thus, the monsters will not launch an attack of their own accord— or rather, they will not attack you with purpose.”

“But the truth is otherwise.”

“You should have already realized that most of the great beasts roaming this wasteland possess intelligence.”

“And where there is intelligence, communication arises.”

“In fact, monsters of the fourth tier and above converse with one another, and those of the second tier and higher wield a wit that rivals, even surpasses, that of humanity.”

“What I mean is, they understand what a threat is.”

“Moreover, they know that to survive they must first eliminate the competitor that threatens them most.”

“And it is clear now that you are precisely that greatest threat to those monsters.”

“They will unite against you, and when that moment comes, your so‑called reconnaissance will fall woefully short of its intended effect.”

“When his words faded, Chen Jian’s gaze grew suddenly dark.”

“He stared intently at Wang Lizhi, then asked:”

“What do you mean? What is about to happen?”

“Wang Lizhi drew a deep breath, then said:”

“The Beast Tide is about to rise.”

“When the Beast Tide comes, your present strength will be utterly insufficient to contend with the countless monsters.”

“You will need our aid, more information, more weapons.”

“You—”

“Wait!”

“Chen Jian raised his hand, cutting Wang Lizhi off, and asked:”

“What do you mean? What Beast Tide?”

“It is literal— I think those two words are not hard to grasp.” “The monsters will mass together like a tide, launching a massive assault on human settlements.”

“Their purpose is to eradicate the target that threatens them most.”

“This is not a notion I have fabricated; it is a history that truly occurred.”

“Though the era is distant, in this regard the Ring Consortium knows more than any other organization.”

“Because that Beast Tide not only inflicted colossal loss upon humanity, it also shattered the meticulously planned scheme of the Ring Consortium, nearly destroying our hope of restarting the Ring.”

“That is a memory that must never be forgotten; I have no need to lie to you about it.”

“With Wang Lizhi’s words hanging in the air, Chen Jian immediately turned to Ji Xing.”

“She shook her head, indicating she knew nothing of it, while Wang Lizhi said with a hint of mockery:”

“How could she possibly know? She is merely an insignificant source‑blood in the Holy Blood Hall, far from the true core.”

“But I trust that, with your abilities, you will eventually verify the truth of everything I have said.”

“The Beast Tide, though an ancient concept, has nevertheless left marks in many ways.”

“For instance, a concept you are most familiar with— the Mimetic Heresy.”

“Mimetic Heresy?”

“Chen Jian’s eyes changed in an instant.”

“He could not fathom how the two matters intertwined, yet recalling Wang Lizhi’s words, he suddenly realized that the Mimetic Heresy itself”

“might not be so simple.”

“How did such a mighty force meet its end?”

“Was it truly annihilated by the joint forces of the Mechanical Church and the Holy Blood Hall?”

“Or is there another cause?”

“A chill rose along his spine; after a brief pause, he tentatively asked:”

“So, the downfall of the Mimetic Heresy is actually linked to the so‑called Beast Tide??”

“Yes.”

“Wang Lizhi answered without concealment:”

“One could say the demise of the Mimetic Heresy was inevitable, the result of a coalition—including the Mechanical Church and the Holy Blood Hall—encircling it.”

“Yet the very Beast Tide that targeted them drove them into a hopeless abyss.”

“According to the intelligence we possess, in the battle that finally erased them, at least one first‑tier monster, more than ten second‑tier monsters, and countless third‑ and fourth‑tier beasts launched a combined assault.”

“They held out for a long time, but ultimately they collapsed completely.”

“All of them perished outside the walls of Chang’an, leaving not even a corpse behind.”

“It was as if they had never been there at all.”

“Having finished, Wang Lizhi exhaled a long breath.”

“Before Chen Jian could speak, he took the initiative and said:”

“I know you will ask how the Mimetic Heresy is connected to the Ring Consortium.”

“Now I will answer that question without reservation.”

“In truth, at the very beginning we had no ties to the Mimetic Heresy.”

“Back then we were still striving to control the Mechanical Church, to dominate the newly‑born Holy Blood Hall.”

“Hold on a moment.”

“Chen Jian interrupted Wang Lizhi once more, then questioned:”

“What do you mean ‘the Holy Blood Hall was newly born’? The ‘plague’ of the Mimetic Heresy occurred 150 years ago; are you saying the Holy Blood Hall was founded only 150 years ago?”

“Upon hearing this, Ji Xing could no longer remain silent.”

“The Holy Blood Hall was established a few decades after the Great Cataclysm; although most records have been lost, that timeline has never been disputed.”

“On what authority do you claim it was only founded 150 years ago?”

“Because at that time it had just been renamed the Holy Blood Hall.”

“Wang Lizhi answered without fear:”

“I do not know the exact date of the renaming, but according to the Ring Consortium’s archives, at least two hundred years ago the Holy Blood Hall bore a different name.”

“Its original designation was the Institute of Genetics and Biology.”

“People of that era simply called it ‘the Institute.’”

“Damn!”

“Chen Jian sprang to his feet, his expression astonished as he stared at Wang Lizhi, then asked:”

“Do you know the meaning of these characters? Do you understand what ‘inheritance’ signifies?”

“I do not know.”

Wang Lizhi shook his head and said:

“Perhaps our leader knows, but such profound knowledge, unrelated to our purpose, has never been our focus.”

“Therefore, I cannot explain it to you.”

“Yet you seem to grasp it?”

.It matters no longer.

Chen Jian exhaled slowly, then said:

“Continue.”

“What connection do you have with the mimetic heretics?”

“We have employed the mimetic heretics.”

Wang Lizhi spoke without evasion:

“When these mimetic heretics first emerged, they seemed almost indistinguishable from you.”

“Powerful, ferocious, composed, even indifferent.”

“In a fleeting span they swept across half of the North and turned their assault southward.”

“At that time, no one knew their destination; they moved across the land like locusts, plundering, drawing sustenance, ever swelling in might.”

“Many civilians were swept up, conscripted into their ranks.”

“Yet countless innocents fell beneath their blades.”

“At a particular moment, we forged contact with them.”

“We aided them, supplying a great cache of weapons through trade.”

“We guided them to assault the Mountain City, hoping to harness their strength to unravel its mysteries.”

“In the end, we failed.”

“Their forces were annihilated within Chang’an, and due to the beast tide’s onslaught, the city remains a desolate graveyard, scarcely trodden even today.”

“That is all I know.”

“I have spoken at length merely to convey one thing to you.”

“Even the mighty mimetic heretics fell beneath the beast tide.”

“You may be stronger than they, yet that does not guarantee you can deftly withstand the beast tide.”

“We need to cooperate; we need deeper cooperation.”

“It benefits both sides without harm—a win‑win choice.”

.You are right.

Chen Jian nodded solemnly.

Then, he asked:

“One final question.”

“What, exactly, are those mimetic heretics?”

“We do not know, and no one knows.”

Wang Lizhi shook his head and replied:

“But I can be certain of one thing: they are far from ordinary humans.”

“Because each of them almost

look identical!”

(End of Chapter)