Ma Ran’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears: “No need to be so cautious, just act as usual.”

“You can say anything directly, try to avoid using [Unity], and conserve energy.”

The same old style.

No explanations given.

The members of the Interstellar Expedition Team were quite accustomed to this approach.

Upon hearing this, Li Xing was the first to react and immediately raised the Perpetual Motion Camera in his hand.

This thing has better defense and heat-and-cold resistance than a regular camera, but it’s not particularly extraordinary.

The term “perpetual motion” refers to its ability to function indefinitely without regard to the environment and without needing to be recharged, rather than implying it is indestructible.

Seeing that Ma Ran did not stop him, Li Xing became bolder and lowered his voice, saying, “Friends! This is the legendary Eternal Civilization Base!”

“Everyone, take a look at the surroundings!”

Saying this, Li Xing lifted the Perpetual Motion Camera.

The sky was overcast and gray, and sandstorms raged everywhere, as if covered by a dirty plastic sheet.

The road was flat, seemingly stretching to infinity, and apart from the neatly arranged cubic rooms, there wasn’t a single uneven surface on the entire planet.

The vast majority of the Longevity People lived in transparent cubes measuring three meters in length, width, and height, eating, sleeping, working, and entertaining.

The people did not seem surprised by the sudden appearance of the five-member group, as if this was a common occurrence.

“The rulers of this planet might be a bit obsessive-compulsive; every room is exactly the same! Including the furniture arrangements, there’s no difference at all!”

Li Xing whispered: “I wonder if you’ve noticed, so much time has passed, yet not a single Longevity Person has stepped outside their room!”

“What does that imply?”

“My guess is that all aspects of a Longevity Person’s daily life are confined to that small room, and they have no right to freely walk outside.”

“Perhaps they’re only allowed out at fixed times each week?”

“Or even the intervals might be as long as a month?”

In fact, the interstellar expedition mission had already reached its minimum completion at this point.

The Academic Society never set too many rigid metrics.

“Put the Interstellar Jump Pod away first.”

Ma Ran looked at Su Qiangwei, his tone calm and unchanged: “It’s too dull to come all this way and leave without doing anything.”

Su Qiangwei chuckled, “I knew it!”

Saying this, she placed a hand on the Interstellar Jump Pod and used her [Pandora] ability, sacrificing one arm to seal up the white coffin-shaped pod and carry it with her.

[Myriad Transformations] is powerful, able not only to instantly replicate all superpowers below the National Guardian level but also to quickly optimize, adjust, and enhance them.

Take [Pandora] for example; its original owner, He Zi, would become paralyzed after sealing an Interstellar Jump Pod and completely lose the ability to move freely.

Su Qiangwei only needed one arm to seal the same object.

She could seal many items with just her fingernail.

Like a movable humanoid storage.

Su Qiangwei exchanged glances with Ma Ran, but beyond their helmets, nothing was visible, so she simply ran to a semi-transparent cube and knocked on the wall.

The Longevity Person inside turned around stiffly, like someone severely depressed, their face expressionless.

The presence of [Language Proficiency] allowed for smooth communication between them.

“There are some things I need to ask you.”

“Please go ahead.”

“Why not come out and play? Is the air outside toxic?”

“No, it’s not toxic. Free movement is a privilege of the Experimenters. We ordinary citizens are born, live, age, and die within our rooms.”

“Are you all asexual reproducers? Aren’t you afraid of extinction… living alone, isn’t it lonely?”

“Gene banks and cloning factories automatically screen for excellent genes, complete combination matches, and nurture offspring. If wealth and reputation meet the standard, you may apply to live with direct relatives.”

“By the way, you mentioned — Experimenters?”

“They are people like you, who wear protective clothing and participated in the Soul Cultivation Experiment.”

“Why didn’t you join the experiment?”

“I didn’t meet the minimum standards of the Experimenters, I failed the assessment.”

The other party showed no reaction, completely ignoring the suspiciousness of the five people.

On the Mental Network, there were posts everywhere describing how the experiment participants were acting bizarrely and erratically.

The residents were long since accustomed to it.

Su Qiangwei looked at Ma Ran, flexing her wrist, seemingly mentally prepared: “Do we go through the procedures first, or start killing right away?”

Li Xing and Wu Di were stunned for a moment upon hearing this.

The demon child had no reaction, merely following beside everyone silently, strange and quiet, emitting a terrifying aura that even made an Iron Head like Wu Di discreetly keep a bit of distance.

“Killing one by one would be too slow.”

Ma Ran’s tone carried a faint smell of blood: “As long as we find a Forbidden Card, take some time to recharge it, we can ‘cleanse’ the surface of this planet.”

Gulp.

Hearing the conversation between them, Li Xing swallowed: “Should this dialogue content be deleted?”

He could guarantee that if Su Qiangwei and Ma Ran’s conversation spread on Earth’s network, it would certainly attract countless Holy Mothers and critics.

Ma Ran replied simply: “No need to delete, post the full version.”

The cosmos is cruel and cold.

Peace is merely an illusion maintained through exhausting effort.

When power is enough to be invincible in the world, it can completely convince people that the world they live in is a beautiful place without smoke and warfare.

But with the coming of the Extraordinary Era, the cosmic situation is turbulent, and every day a once-glorious civilization might be completely destroyed.

In such circumstances, every Earthling has the right to know the truth and the obligation to bear the pressure of responsibility.

Often, pressure is also a motivation.

Li Xing gave it some serious thought, considering what consequences would follow if he acted according to Ma Ran’s suggestion.

After a moment, with excitement and contradiction shining in his eyes, he raised his voice loudly, “If this video can really pass scrutiny, it’s likely that the titles of ‘Prophet’ and ‘Martial God’ would be smeared by Holy Mother wannabes, keyboard warriors, and trolls.”

“By then, someone would surely say things like ‘An eye for an eye, when will it end,’ ‘How could you be so heartless,’ ‘Brutal and inhumane,’ ‘Bloodthirsty butcher,’ and the like.”

Li Xing was also a clever person.

With Ma Ran’s authority, since he had already made the call, this behavior aligned with his own principles. Once they returned to Earth, uploading the complete video to the internet was inevitable.

So he specifically said these two sentences.

Anyone who sees this video cannot ignore these two sentences.

If someone wants to defame Ma Ran and Su Qiangwei because of this, they have to consider in advance whether they will be seen as a “Holy Mother wannabe, keyboard warrior, or troll.”

“Let’s just do what we should be doing.”

Su Qiangwei pursed her lips, “People who can awaken a superpower have strong wills and firm beliefs. They can’t possibly have a fragile heart and be afraid of criticism.”

Mozu doesn’t need to be counted, and Wu Di, that Iron Head, even without awakening his superpower, with his temperament, would probably live happily even if the whole world hated him.

Heaven knows why such a person hasn’t reached the minimum standard for superpower awakening yet.

“Junior, you are very smart, but…”

Su Qiangwei looked at Li Xing and said earnestly, “When you are with your senior comrades, there is no need to worry about anything.”

“Ma Ran and I will clear all obstacles for you.”

“Your previous thinking is a typical homebody mentality.”

“Instead of being grateful for protection, they unanimously criticize and berate the Guardian?”

“What a joke!”

“Not to mention, if such people would be investigated.”

“The vast majority of netizens have sharp eyes!”

“The grace of a drop of water, reciprocated by a spring—this is an excellent virtue passed down in China since ancient times.”

“Those who repay kindness with enmity, who eat from one bowl but curse it, who are protected yet look down on the Guardian…”

“Are all ingrates!”

“Such people deserve to have their spines broken!”

“The situation you mentioned can only happen in Japan and South Korea.”

“On our side…”

She thought for a long time and finally came up with the right words.

“Different national conditions.”

From Su Qiangwei’s words, it’s clear that her concern isn’t about “whether we should slaughter indiscriminately in the Eternal Civilization,” but rather “how to slaughter.”

As for…

Compassion?

Master Qiangwei states she simply doesn’t have such a thing.

After hearing her words, Li Xing felt relieved, but he still felt something was missing, sensing that Su Qiangwei’s persuasiveness might not be enough.

At this moment, Ma Ran suddenly said in a gentle tone, “Hoping for the conscience of alien invaders to awaken is the weakest thought.”

“The perpetrators might feel guilty at first.”

“But…”

“Over time, this guilt will gradually evolve into loathing and hatred, and given a chance, they will kick others when they’re down, wishing the victim’s entire family would perish.”

“Human nature is inherently evil, always has been.”

“At this time, we need to use practical actions to rescue those whose thoughts have gone astray.”

“In my opinion…”

“The so-called ‘an eye for an eye, when will it end’ is because among the parties in hatred, one side hasn’t been completely destroyed.”

“As long as one side completely disappears from the cosmos, the chain of hatred will be cut.”

At this point, Ma Ran’s tone suddenly became serious, “Although with our power, we currently can’t destroy the Eternal Civilization, at least we can hurt the Eternal Civilization enough to make them wary.”

“For every Longevity Person who dies, in the future, perhaps ten Earthlings might survive because of it.”

“This interstellar expedition is a righteous defensive counteraction.”

“Time is precious, let’s stop discussing this topic.”

Saying this, Ma Ran turned his face to the right.

From a futuristic small kiosk by the roadside, a beam of purple light flickered.

In the next moment, a Longevity Person in a full-body white protective suit emerged from it.

He waved at the five of them and spoke in clear Mandarin, “Prophet, Mozu, Martial God, long time no see.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep