Amidst the flashes of thunder, Tao Xingzhi's figure appeared and disappeared in front of him.
His eyes, which had been stung by lightning, gradually adapted to the light.
For seven hundred years, he had been submerged in black blood vessels, and all he saw was what another consciousness wanted him to see.
Perhaps it was the collapse of scientists, or perhaps it was the gradual strengthening of the evil ones.
Everything was going against his original intention, but his mind was filled with the consciousness from Jing Si's heart—
These incompetent bastards, these bastards who deceived me, they will pay the price for their incompetence and deception.
In the Denglin City Science and Technology Building, scientists all believed that immortality and the fact that death would strengthen monsters were both curses from Tao Xingzhi.
But in fact, immortality is Tao Xingzhi's obsession and gift.
His obsession, under the influence of Jingsi's Heart, created a realm of human immortality.
He hopes that he can provide these former partners with unlimited possibilities.
Allowing evil to evolve when humans die is the curse of Jing Si's heart.
A simple curse might not have been enough to end the despair that had lasted for seven hundred years.
But since humans are immortal, this curse has infinite vitality.
Watching these humans eventually die in Denglin City is not the most painful thing for Professor Tao.
What really hurt him was watching them ignite their hopes little by little, and then watching them give up on themselves little by little.
Although he couldn't see what was going on inside the building, he knew that it had been a long, long time since any scientist had tried to leave the building.
"Bai Wu... I don't remember you... I don't know you..."
Professor Tao's breath was very weak.
With the destruction of Jing Si's heart by the twisted field of white mist, the hellfire, the jealous sword and other means, Professor Tao has now become extremely weak.
"I'm just a nobody, it's normal that you don't remember me."
Bai Wu was excited to finally meet Professor Tao.
Perhaps it was because of his preconceived impression, he always believed that Professor Tao was not a bad person.
The curse of Denglin City was not Professor Tao's original intention.
The Eye of Prell quickly responded to Bai Wu, but it also made Bai Wu feel the cruelty of reality.
There is only one way to disintegrate this heart and remove the curse and obsession - kill the poor guy in front of you.
This will make you feel bad because he is a real hero and because you promised to save him.
But sometimes reality cannot accommodate our promises.
This sentence was a bit incoherent, but Bai Wu understood it all.
The sword in his hand suddenly became heavy.
The brave man killed monsters along the way and came to the deepest part of the dragon's castle. He saw that the previous brave man had scales and claws growing on his body.
It is not uncommon for a dragon slayer to become a vicious dragon. This is almost a law of history.
But this time, the evil dragon in front of him still has the soul of a hero.
He is not a former brave man who turned into a dragon, he is a brave man who suffers misunderstanding because of his dragon's body.
Bai Wu's mind worked quickly. Looking at Professor Tao's eyes and the last sentence in the note, he knew that this person had not changed in seven hundred years.
It’s just the huge beating heart behind him that makes Professor Tao a sinner.
He was hanged on the gallows by the evil thoughts of Jing Sizhixin, just like the person in the Bible in Bai Wu's previous life.
But he is more miserable than that one, because what awaits him is not resurrection,
During his seven hundred years of captivity, he was cursed by the Heart of Jingsi and hated by the scientists of Denglin City.
The white fog observed Tao Xingzhi, and Tao Xingzhi also observed the white fog.
These two men have similar characteristics.
Bai Wu certainly still remembers that the file that appeared in the heart of the kind-hearted Jing Si had written -
Tao Xingzhi has been a person of indifferent temperament since childhood. He finds it difficult to empathize with the joys and sorrows, ups and downs, and bitterness and sweetness of the world.
The white fog was also like this a year later.
With just a few glances, Bai Wu could feel the despair and pain, torture and torment that this professor had endured for seven hundred years, even more than the scientists in Denglin City.
Tao Xingzhi also knew that his time was running out.
"Who did you... promise? Whose request did you accept?"
One year ago, when the kind-hearted Jing Si's heart collapsed due to the elimination of his obsession, in that game scene where everyone was pixelated, Bai Wu received a task -
Go to Lantern Forest City and rescue the scientist.
In a sense, he accepted Jing Si's commission.
But when the words came to his lips, Bai Wu smiled and suddenly changed his tone:
"It's Fu Lei, Hou Haiyan, Bi Yunxia, and Xie Yingjie. It's everyone who has worked with you."
There was suddenly light in his weak eyes, and Tao Xingzhi suddenly raised his head.
It's like the last glimmer of light from a dying person.
"They never gave up. Maybe in your opinion, Fu Lei and his team didn't leave the building for a long time, but they never stopped fighting."
"They are always researching ways to defeat the evil, and they are also trying to get in touch with the outside world."
"My companions and I have experienced more than a thousand deaths and failures... We almost gave up, but it was with their encouragement that I finally... finally came to you."
"Professor Tao, they didn't give up. Humans never give up. They are just like you, enduring hardships and waiting for the day when they can return to their homeland."
They never gave up.
What an idealized lie! Bai Wu has told countless lies in his life.
But there has never been a moment when I wanted this lie to be true as much as I do now.
There was never a moment when I hoped that the person being deceived would believe the lie.
The light in Tao Xingzhi's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he knew he was about to die.
He can feel his own death, which is the key to breaking the curse.
So he also knew very well that this young man was trying his best to have no regrets. Perhaps this was redemption.
The white fog is still telling many things.
"Xie Yingjie has a younger generation named Xie Xingzhi. Xie Yingjie has never forgotten what happened back then, and he dares not forget it."
"The humans hiding in the tower, under the leadership of several rulers, dared to explore and have never given up the exploration of the source of distortion for seven hundred years."
"They always remain vigilant of the tower, and always yearn to return to their homeland one day."
"Everyone in the tower has an unyielding soul. They never compromise with evil."
"They live in a tower, free and equal, and everyone works for the overall happiness of mankind."
When Bai Wu was telling these stories, he looked more focused than ever before, as if he was trying to deceive himself.
Professor Tao looked at him and smiled, a smile that was filled with regret but also with relief:
"It's really beautiful... but all of this... is fake, right?"
The white mist, which was still telling lies non-stop, suddenly stopped.
The conversation came to an abrupt end.
It seemed as if even the heartbeat behind Professor Tao had become quiet at this moment.
Bai Wu had actually thought of this a long time ago. In despair, he had been parasitized by this heart for seven hundred years.
He should be very clear about how cruel reality is and how difficult the living environment for human beings is.
He understood everything.
"Thank you, Bai Wu, thank you for telling me this. Although these things have not yet come true, I am grateful that there is someone who can tell me this."
Tao Xingzhi looked so lonely.
Bai Wu suddenly felt a little confused. How could he be so lonely
Seven hundred years ago, he had a group of like-minded subordinates.
Have a close friend who is as good as you in academic field.
If there is someone in this world besides the first generation who is most like a savior, in Bai Wu's opinion, it must be this person.
But now this person is about to die.
Before his death, his former best friend, who was the ruler in the tower, might have remembered him, but Denglin City ultimately did not receive salvation from this ruler.
He was wary of the tower, fearing that it would wipe out humanity's desire for their homeland. In fact, this was indeed the case, and the rulers repeatedly tried to prevent humanity from exploring outside the tower through cleansing.
None of his like-minded subordinates understood him, and they cursed him countless times over the past seven hundred years.
He is the last defender of humanity, yet he stands against everyone.
This is reality.
Bai Wu didn't want this reality to happen, and his eyes were full of unwillingness.
"You are such an unlovable person. At the end of your life, can't you just pretend that I deceived you?"
"Why must I die with such great regret?"
The black blood vessels tried to get closer to the white mist, moving like a earthworm, but when they reached the white mist, they were instantly turned into ashes by the karmic fire.
Facing Bai Wu's question, Tao Xingzhi simply said:
"You don't understand... Bai Wu, the flourishing age of mankind... It is indeed what I long to see, but it is not what I want to see most."
"My pain is not from enduring misunderstanding, being tortured by evil thoughts, or watching the human homeland being occupied by monsters."
When the beautiful illusion in Bai Wu's mouth was shattered, the light in Tao Xingzhi's eyes did not dim, but became brighter:
"I'm just distressed that they chose to back off."
"The science and technology building in Denglin City is inaccessible to evildoers, but the research materials are inexhaustible. In essence, it is actually another tower."
"There are many twisted rules in this building. There may not be these rules in the tower, but I know that human hearts... are not so beautiful."
"The emergence of the towers made humans think there was still a way out. The endless towers may have saved people for a while, but they also replaced the backbone of our human race."
"A peaceful and prosperous era is good, but who knows if the world will become dangerous again one day? What if one day... the tower collapses?"
Bai Wu remained silent and did not respond, but he was filled with awe in his heart.
When Tao Xingzhi looked at the white fog, it was as if he saw his younger self.
He wanted to reach out and touch the white mist, but was firmly bound by those black blood vessels.
In the end, he could only convey his belief with his eyes:
"In my opinion, courage is not the fearlessness of death in a dangerous situation, nor is it the calmness of facing a huge army or monsters, nor is it the courage to be the first to stand out."
“True courage is the ability to live hard when disaster and catastrophe strike, without wavering, changing, or looking back.”
After each sentence, his flesh and blood seemed to dry up a little, but every word in Tao Xingzhi's words was of great power.
Bai Wu finally understood that Professor Tao's obsession was not to ask scientists to drive out the evil here.
Instead, I hope that they can always maintain a fighting spirit.
Even if they fail, they can always have hope in their constant rebirth.
Don't waver, don't change, don't look back.
Only then did Bai Wu truly understand this person—the unity of knowledge and action.
For him, courage does not mean facing death head-on, because in this place, death is just a form of escape.
It is not about remaining calm when facing distortion. Facing distortion and the unknown, being timid is not scary. What is scary is losing yourself in timidity, or even denying yourself.
Nor is it about being an eccentric person who wants to accomplish some feat.
What Tao Xingzhi said is what he did - living hard.
Don't waver in your will, don't change your beliefs, and never look back before you face fear.
"I've got that. Do you have anything else you want me to say to them?"
Bai Wu knew very well that the final moment had arrived.
Tao Xingzhi shook his head with difficulty:
"I may feel pity for them, but I have no guilt. If they had chosen to leave, I would not have kept them. But if they wanted to stay, they should have known what fate they would have to bear. If they have any grudges against me, we will settle it in the next life."
Bai Wu nodded, his expression showing no emotion, he was like a professional executioner, listening to a prisoner's last words.
Although in his heart, he had only respect for this professor who did not waver, change, or look back.
"What about Jing Si? Do you have anything to say to him?"
"Well Four..."
Professor Tao's eyes were complicated, with countless thoughts coming to his mind, but he did not hesitate for too long:
"He is kind after all, but he is not a savior. If one day you have to fight him, make the right choice, just like you are about to do to me."
Bai Wu heard the hidden meaning of this sentence and looked at Professor Tao in surprise.
Professor Tao's eyes still had light:
"Your name is Bai Wu. I have been waiting in this world for seven hundred years. In these seven hundred years, you are the only one who can see me..."
"If there is really a savior in this world, then this savior must be you. I hope you can live without compromise, without wavering, and without looking back."
Tao Xingzhi stopped talking. Standing on the gallows formed by black blood vessels, the lightning illuminated the calmness on his face.
It's like a god about to be resurrected.
Bai Wu raised the sword and saw how calm Professor Tao was in the last moment of his life. The calmness and indifference that he had tried so hard to maintain were ultimately broken by the sadness in his heart.
Thunder shines.
At this moment, this evil heart seemed to feel the threat of death. All the black blood vessels and even the tentacles spread throughout the Denglin City began to become manic.
Countless black blood vessels seemed to complete a new parasitism at this moment and began to rush towards the white mist frantically, trying to use the white mist as a new host.
The moment the black blood vessels touched, distorted memories came back, and the clues to the two seven deadly sins emerged in the memory.
The powerful negative emotions seemed to want to swallow up the white mist—
But it all became meaningless.
Negative emotions did not make Bai Wu lose his mind.
On the contrary, the scarlet fire and the cold blue chill became more intense, cutting a gully in the huge ventricle along the trajectory of the greatsword.
With the death of Tao Xingzhi, all the black blood vessels began to shrink, and the tentacles spread all over the city... The eyes on the body slowly closed, and the scarlet flowers slowly withered.
After dozens of thunderbolts exploded from the thundercloud to the earth, the thundercloud actually began to slowly dissipate.
The scorching sun penetrated the thunderclouds and illuminated the city.
The dense black blood vessels turned into black smoke under the sunlight and slowly dissipated.
Professor Tao's body had turned to ashes. Bai Wu stood in the ruins, with golden rays of light falling on him.
After a long time, the white fog still did not leave. It was not until Wujiu arrived that he woke up from his trance.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Wujiu looked at Bai Wu, who looked a little distraught, and felt extremely unfamiliar.
Bai Wu is a little tired:
"It's a bit painful to kill a person who tried hard to live and never lost himself."
Wujiu said nothing and patted Baiwu on the shoulder.
Although Bai Wu regained some of his emotions, he was not a sentimental person. He quickly calmed down and the tiredness on his face disappeared:
"Oh, right, we have the clues to the two Seven Deadly Sins. They are in a cemetery in the south."
(This is to make up for yesterday's midnight post, and there will be another one at 12 o'clock tonight.)