Chapter 191: 191, Look at this pot, it's big and round

In truth, Qing Zhen was not wrong—if it were merely a debate, neither Qing Zhen nor Yang Xiaojin could convince the other. In Ren Xiaosu’s view, both sides merely held differing positions, with no means to discern right from wrong. For right and wrong, those were definitions imposed by others. Whether it was nuclear technology or nanorobots, Ren Xiaosu believed they themselves were neither right nor wrong, but the purposes of those who wielded them.

Just then, as all stood at an impasse, Ren Xiaosu suddenly posed his question: “I have a question—are those nanorobots truly so effective?”

“They weren’t very useful before,” Luo Lan explained plainly. “Before, they could only be programmed to unblock blood vessels and such, but if they could interface with neurons and be militarized, that would be different.”

Ren Xiaosu paused: “What’s different?”

“Think about it,” Luo Lan said. “Those tiny yet resilient nanorobots could become your new bones and muscles. Once interfaced with neurons, they’d obey commands like your fingers do—no specific instructions needed. However you use your hand, that’s how you’d use them.”

“It still sounds rather ordinary,” Ren Xiaosu replied.

“Forget it—you can’t reason with you!” Luo Lan sneered. “It’s like trying to communicate with an illiterate.”

Ren Xiaosu bristled: “I scored 560 on the exam—who’s illiterate? What did you score on yours?”

Luo Lan grew awkward: “Hahaha, why bring that up?”

Yang Xiaojin watched Ren Xiaosu calmly, and suddenly realized his skin was thick indeed—thick enough to deceive even himself…

At that moment, Qing Zhen laughed: “Regardless, we are comrades-in-arms today. As for the future, let time judge. We won’t need that hard drive—take it back.”

Yang Xiaojin suddenly asked, “Did you ever capture live specimens? Have the research results come out? What exactly are they?”

Qing Zhen pondered and said, “You might not believe this—it’s all cancer cells. No, more precisely, a type of cancer cell that has achieved its own equilibrium.”

“Everyone knows that the cancer cells we’ve discovered vary in size, with giant nuclei, double nuclei, and irregular shapes. But these specimens—all have double nuclei, arranged neatly, indistinguishable from normal human cells.”

“I suspect the former Huohuo Company was attempting to find a way to achieve immortality. A woman died, yet her cancer cells were revived. After tens of thousands of generations, these cells were named Haila cells.”

Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, “Is this confirmed, or just your speculation?”

“Oh,” Qing Zhen smiled. “My speculation, of course. We’ve only just begun studying the specimens, after all. Take it as a story.”

Ren Xiaosu mused, *You speak so confidently about mere guesses…*

“Wait,” Yang Xiaojin suddenly guessed. “If they selectively inject drugs into humans, does that mean they only choose people with cancer cells?”

“Perhaps,” Qing Zhen said. “Cancer cells arise from a single mutated gene. If you define them, they’re an uncontrolled evolution—albeit a defective one, in my eyes.”

Today, Ren Xiaosu encountered countless speculations, some things he’d never touched before. In a fleeting moment, he envied these people for their complete education—they had once thoroughly understood this world.

“Let’s part ways now,” Qing Zhen said with a smile. “By the way, I’m still under house arrest.”

“Don’t you worry they’ll threaten the world?” Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked.

Qing Zhen waved his hand and boarded the armored vehicle. “I never considered them a threat. Only children would find them frightening.”

Ren Xiaosu glanced at Yang Xiaojin, thinking, *No wonder Yang Xiaojin wanted to snipe me—such a pretentious opponent, it’d be a shame not to put a bullet in him…*

Yet his relationship with the Qing family had shifted from hostility to something indescribable. At least next time he met Luo Lan, they wouldn’t immediately face life-or-death stakes.

In truth, Ren Xiaosu’s stance clashed little with the Qing family’s—he merely wished to survive in this wasteland world as an ordinary transcendent.

Watching the armored vehicle vanish into the distance, Ren Xiaosu summoned his shadow to carry both himself and Yang Xiaojin away. Earlier, the specimens had retreated in fear of the armored vehicles. Now that they were gone, they’d better flee—or risk not escaping at all.

“What are your plans?” Ren Xiaosu asked, bouncing on the shadow’s shoulder.

“Back to Bastion 88,” Yang Xiaojin said.

“Bastion 88, sounds far away,” Ren Xiaosu sighed. After all, it was many sequence numbers away.

“Not too far,” Yang Xiaojin replied. “Just two bastions apart.”

“Huh, why such a big difference in sequence numbers?” Ren Xiaosu wondered.

“It used to be Bastion 101,” Yang Xiaojin explained. “Later, a previous consortium renamed it 88 for luck. The old 88 is now 101.”

Ren Xiaosu stood frozen for half a moment, unable to speak. Could such things still happen? This was truly feudal superstition.

“What about you? Any plans?” Yang Xiaojin asked.

“I’ll find Yan Liuyuan and the others first. I told them to head north,” Ren Xiaosu said.

As dawn broke, the two chatted intermittently on the shadow’s left and right shoulders, fleeing far away. Behind them, the gloomy, ruined bastion city receded into the horizon.

Those who come here in the future may never imagine how prosperous it once was…

At this very moment, Xu Xianchu trekked through the wilderness. Having left the Qing family’s sphere of influence far behind, he no longer feared their wrath.

Yesterday, while passing through the Zong family’s settlement, he’d bought supplies with the money Ren Xiaosu gave him. Truth be told, the Qing family’s currency was quite useful—aside from minor fees, there was no worry of it being unusable.

These days, wanderers between bastions carried various consortium currencies, which was terribly inconvenient.

The further northwest he went, the more desolate the landscape became. Sometimes, a gust of wind would stir up a sky full of yellow sand.

Suddenly, Xu Xianchu halted. He gaped as a group on motorcycles sped toward him across the wilderness. Sensing danger, he immediately summoned his shadow—only to freeze as a massive black cauldron materialized before him and his shadow.

The attackers fired without hesitation, but their bullets left no mark on the cauldron.

Xu Xianchu rejoiced—his power had evolved?!

As for these bandits… Did transcendents fear bandits? Xu Xianchu’s grin turned savage. He needed to test his new abilities on them!

…

Volume One concludes. This volume is titled: *The Truth of the World*.

Next Volume: *The Great Sage of Humanity*.