Apocalypse Gachapon

Chapter 2303: Moment of rebirth

Cloud Peak's morning was peaceful and serene. If it were not for the weapons and armor of various colors visible everywhere, and the magic crystal cannons patrolling the tall walls in the distance, no one would have thought that it was already ten years into the apocalypse.

Ye Zhongming stood quietly by the window, gazing at the long-missed base, yet feeling an inexplicable tremor in his heart.

On this very day in his previous life, he had been killed and then reborn.

Would something happen on this day in this life as well?

Or would everything before him suddenly shatter, turning into a fleeting illusion, returning him to this moment in his past life—merely a pipe dream before his death?

"What are you thinking about?" Liang Chuyin, draped in a thin garment, walked up behind Ye Zhongming, wrapped her arms around him, and pressed her face against his back.

Some rustling sounds came from the bed—Miya was also getting up.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

Miya, still carrying the afterglow of the previous night's passion, also wearing only a light coat, walked over and asked Ye Zhongming softly.

Liang Chuyin did not mind the presence of others at all, rubbing against Ye Zhongming vigorously.

Sure enough, footsteps sounded from outside. The person did not knock, but came straight in, passed around the Chinese painting screen that Ye Zhongming liked very much, and appeared before everyone.

"You're all up—perfect, let's eat together."

Xia Lei set the large tray she was carrying on the table, opened it, and revealed several exquisite Cloud Peak dishes.

They all sat down at the table and ate together.

Xia Lei's beautiful eyes moved, then she asked, "Mm... how long can you stay this time?"

Ye Zhongming savored the delicious food in his mouth, thought for a moment, and said, "At most fifteen days. I've already delayed several days—I went to the Americas to deal with some loose ends left from up there. From now on, Cloud Peak will be safer."

"What is it like up there, really?" Mi Ya asked curiously, her big eyes wide open.

Ye Zhongming found himself at a loss for how to answer.

"It's probably a place that is essentially no different from Earth in substance, but vastly more advanced in many specific aspects."

The four of them chatted as they ate. Ye Zhongming shared some of his experiences from above, and the three women listened with great interest.

After talking a lot and finishing the meal, Xia Lei smiled and said, "Before dawn, everyone had already gathered at the meeting villa, waiting for you."

Ye Zhongming nodded, but to the three women's surprise, the Cloud Peak King showed no intention of going out to meet those eager to see him. Instead, he sat there and said softly, "You've worked hard while I've been away."

The three women felt warm inside, but at the same time, a sense of foreboding crept over them, unsure why Ye Zhongming would say such a thing.

"Let me be alone for a while. You can come back at dusk. If I'm not here, it means I've returned to the sky. Continue developing as you have been. If you go up and can't find me, seek help from the Su Clan and the Star-Eye Clan."

The three women's expressions changed as they listened—it sounded like he was making final arrangements. They wanted to say something, but Ye Zhongming did not give them the chance.

"If I'm still here, then... I'll tell you what to do next later."

"Go on out."

Having said that, Ye Zhongming turned his gaze to the window, clearly not intending to speak further. The three women exchanged glances, then withdrew from the room.

The room fell silent.

Then, the entire Cloud Peak seemed to fall silent.

All the high-level members—all of them—had returned to the villa with their subordinates by the afternoon. Now, the entire villa held over three thousand eight-star evolved, and the number of top-tier lifeforms exceeded twenty!

In addition, peripheral forces under Cloud Peak, along with influential figures from the national region who had aligned with Cloud Peak, had all come through the teleportation system. The Resistance Zone and Radiant Army had never left and had even called in their home forces.

These top-tier lifeforms and the more important eight-star evolvers crowded into the hall, their gazes constantly shifting toward the villa outside the window, and toward the sun hanging in the sky.

As if awaiting judgment.

The boss was back...

Was the boss leaving?

For the first time, everyone's feelings about time were so complicated. They wished it would pass slowly, so that if the boss was leaving, he could stay a little longer. And yet they wished it would pass quickly, so they could know the final answer sooner.

Ye Zhongming did not know what was happening outside. He just sat there, reflecting on his two lives.

The clock produced by Cloud Peak's Technology Department on the wall slowly pointed to 3:35 PM.

The Cloud Peak King spread out his hands and looked at them—there was no sign of them disappearing.

It seemed he would be staying.

Returning to one's roots? Had he risked coming back to Earth on this very day, to Cloud Peak Villa, with some subconscious notion of that?

Ye Zhongming stood up and walked out of the room.

He had truly been reborn, he reflected.

The Cloud Peak King stepped out, and he did not leave. The entire villa came alive; the previous heaviness and oppression vanished without a trace, leaving only laughter and joy.

"Sorry to keep everyone waiting, but you'll have to wait a little longer." Ye Zhongming came to the meeting hall, briefly addressed everyone, then left with Liu Zhenghong and Le Dayuan, accompanied only by Xia Lei.

No one had any objections. As long as the boss had not left, waiting a while—or even a few days—was no problem.

"You want to see the Demon Whale's condition, right?"

Liu Zhenghong walked toward her laboratory area, smiling at Ye Zhongming.

"I did a brief study last night and found it very interesting."

"It's hard to believe that this lifeform is made up of several top-tier lifeforms combined."

They soon arrived underground, at Liu Zhenghong's most core laboratory.

"Are they still alive?" Ye Zhongming asked.

Liu Zhenghong shook her head.

"When they were brought back yesterday, they still showed signs of life, but their activity was very low. By this morning, they were all dead." Liu Zhenghong also looked puzzled.

"This is the first time I've seen level-nine lifeforms so fragile. When we first got them, their activity was low, but their internal power was substantial."

As Liu Zhenghong spoke, she pointed out the locations of these top-tier lifeforms within the Demon Whale's corpse, which had been restored as much as possible. There were too many things she did not understand.

After entering, Ye Zhongming first greeted Tang Tian and Sheng Yuan, who were responsible for protecting Red Sister and Le Dayuan—one in the open, one in the shadows. One handled Red Sister's protection, the other Le Dayuan's.

Even within Cloud Peak, few knew that Sheng Yuan was now also a nine-star evolved, having evolved even earlier than Tang Tian.

The resources Sheng Yuan needed for his evolution had been sent down at great cost after Ye Zhongming went to the sky. He had not forgotten this brother from his previous life.

Ye Zhongming personally examined the four top-tier lifeforms within the Demon Whale: a fish-type lifeform at the back, a mollusk at the gill area, a mutated plant resembling kelp in the abdomen, and a shell-like thing in the head.

"Is it possible that when the Demon Whale evolved, these lifeforms had been parasitizing it for a long time, and over the course of evolution, they developed close connections, eventually all becoming top-tier lifeforms together—that would make sense."

Hearing Liu Zhenghong say this, Ye Zhongming first nodded, then shook his head.

"The other two might be the case, but the one in the head..."

"It's a parasite."