Chapter 38: The Savior’s Substitute in the Apocalypse (15)

"Who are you!" Upon hearing Mu Yin mention Wen Yating, Yu Xinling's face suddenly changed; even when her spatial key was snatched, she had not been so shocked.

"Don't worry, I'm not her, but I am the one Heaven has chosen to replace her," Mu Yin replied, idly playing with a jade token in her hand. "After all, she was supposed to be the savior selected by Heaven, yet you, a reincarnator, killed her ahead of time—not only that, you stole the evolutionary artifact prepared for this world, and even colluded with those who wish to destroy everything. If Heaven didn't pick someone new, this world would be ruined by all of you."

Mu Yin had a habit, a flaw common among villains: she enjoyed speaking at length before her enemies, often revealing truths that made people cough blood with rage—like this one.

"Impossible! That sanctimonious woman, how could she be a savior? She was nothing but a lotus pretending to be pure, always harming others. If not for her, why would I have died so miserably? Just because she had a space, she flaunted it and drew everyone’s greed. She ended up unscathed while I died in her place. I only sought revenge and what was rightfully mine; I did nothing wrong. You’re just making things up," Yu Xinling shouted angrily.

The other three, Peng Xi and Peng Hao, showed no reaction as they listened to the exchange, but Wan Yuanheng was left dumbfounded. Before catching up, Mu Yin had warned him not to interfere or speak out, so he’d remained quietly to the side. He hadn’t expected such explosive news—Yu Xinling was reincarnated? Wasn't that something out of a novel?

As for Peng Xi and Peng Hao, they had known all along. That was why they had encouraged Yu Xinling earlier. Initially, she hadn’t intended murder, only to steal the space, but they had incited her to kill.

Furthermore, they weren’t surprised to learn Mu Yin was the new savior; the world consciousness simply needed someone else to oppose them, and bringing in a new hero wasn’t unprecedented.

Indeed, though Peng Xi and Peng Hao were of mixed blood, these parasites had possessed their own descendants. In truth, their kind could not have souls inhabit such hybrids, which was why they resorted to possession. They would age and die eventually, so for their purposes, taking over a younger body was nothing extraordinary.

They had lingered in this world for a long time, repeatedly killing children of destiny. They had finally brought about the apocalypse, and now a savior appeared. Before they could act, they discovered Yu Xinling’s existence and chose to use her to eliminate the savior, which made their involvement less detectable and reduced the risk of backlash.

Yet just as everything was about to succeed, a new savior appeared—one so formidable that the two of them charged forward in desperation, only to be swiftly killed.

"Peng Xi, Peng Hao!" Yu Xinling cried out in grief and rushed at Mu Yin, determined to fight to the death.

Mu Yin observed her madness and, though she had considered sparing her, ultimately struck her down. "Is it over?" she wondered, feeling a sense of unreality, as if something was amiss.

"It's finally over," Wan Yuanheng said cheerfully. Their relentless pursuit over the past ten days had finally ended with the target eliminated and the artifact recovered. "Let’s go back."

"Alright." Mu Yin nodded, glancing at Peng Xi and Peng Hao, sensing she had overlooked something.

"What's wrong?" Wan Yuanheng asked, worried by Mu Yin's distraction. Was she injured?

"It's nothing. Let’s head back." Mu Yin shook her head, manipulated the jade token, took out two buckets of oil, poured them over the three bodies, and set them alight. Only after they were reduced to charcoal—ensuring there would be no resurrection—did she turn to Wan Yuanheng, speak, and get into the car.

A few days later, they returned to Shanghang City Base. Soon, they were led somewhere by Ye Ling, who handled their reception. Inside, they met the former leader of the country, now the head of Shanghang City Base, Elder Xiao.

"Greetings, Elder Xiao." Wan Yuanheng and Mu Yin bowed to the man in his fifties, still robust and imposing.

"Sit down," Elder Xiao said, smiling and relaxing his previously stern expression. "I invited you here to inquire about what you mentioned before. How are things now?"

"We've completed the task perfectly—destroyed the destroyers and recovered the spatial key," Wan Yuanheng replied, rising and saluting.

"The key?" Elder Xiao was very interested in this artifact.

"This is it," Mu Yin said, producing the jade token. She didn't mind sharing it, since it was already bound to her. Once bound, one could enter the space without the key, and in fact, many people could bind to it—it was simply a key.

"Inside is a sealed space containing spiritual veins and springs that have vanished from this planet. Since there are no animals, only plants, the spiritual energy hasn't been depleted much and is now extremely dense. If opened, it would trigger a spiritual resurgence for the entire world. Humans, animals, and plants would all evolve. But now is not the time; it’s best to wait until all zombies are eliminated, otherwise, who knows what undead creatures might result from their evolution," Mu Yin explained.

"What happens if it’s not opened?" Elder Xiao studied it for a while before asking. He had his own motives—not to hoard it, but because the world was bigger than their country alone.

"That won’t work. Though the world looks fine now, the thinning spiritual energy means it’s headed for ruin. Once all spiritual energy is gone, the world will revert to chaos," Mu Yin answered.

The so-called age of declining magic is a cycle; it happens because the origin core is reclaiming energy, much like a person breathes in and out. The origin core expels energy and then draws it back. The current world is in a phase where the origin core is slowly inhaling. If there is enough spiritual energy for the core to retract, then when it exhales again, a new wave of evolution will follow. If not, the world will enter true apocalypse, its energy absorbed and, upon the next exhalation, a new world will be born.

Mu Yin had learned this after coming into contact with the laws of space and time, gaining insight close to the world's origin. This was why she insisted that if the space wasn’t opened, even if destroyers and zombies were eradicated, the world would still end.

After all, humans, animals, and plants had begun absorbing energy to evolve—essentially competing with the origin core for energy.