716 That day will never come

The sallow skin quickly turned into a petrifying green, and the weak limbs instantly expanded into huge muscles unscientifically.

A low bloodthirsty, demonic roar echoed between the trees on both sides of the road.

On this highway without a soul, the mutant zombies howled and rushed in their direction, and leaped toward Jiang Chen. Six sticks were taken out as they ran to the zombies without fear.

"Come closer! Prepare to engage!" Watching those mutated zombies that were obviously difficult to deal with, the bodyguard captain's head felt numb. However, thinking that the president was standing behind him, he decided to give it his all. He shouted, took on a defensive posture, and gestured his comrades to move closer to him.

Since they were at a numerical disadvantage, it was most secure to gather together. The six bodyguards guarding Jiang Chen retreated to a car and formed a "C" formation, exposing their kinetic skeletons and preparing to fight with zombies.

However, right then, Jiang Chen patted the shoulder of the bodyguard's head and motioned for him to move...

Looking at Jiang Chen, who was drowned out by the corpse tide, Tanaka raised his head and cackled.

"Hahaha, although I assumed you were trying to lure me out, you think only six bodyguards can get rid of me? You're too arrogant. Don't feel sad. Before you die, give names to my servants."

Before the start of the operation, he had already sent messages to the Kurofune through Klein particles, interfered with the particle movement of Klein particles, and blocked Jiang Chen's "door" to the apocalypse. Although Jiang Chen had a lot of good tools on his body, even if he took out his power armor at that very moment, he wouldn't have the opportunity to put it on.

If Jiang Chen died, the mission of Kurofune could end too.

They maintained a steady pace of scientific and technological development. It was absolutely impossible for human civilization to defeat the Kurofune on the day of the showdown. No one could stop the evolution to Harmony.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light around the corpses, and a breeze blew past Tanaka's face.

A tingling sensation came from Tanaka's cheeks, but no blood dripped. The high temperature allowed the wound to instantly scab over.

Tanaka's triangular eyes shrunk slightly.

The zombies originally surrounding Jiang Chen were blown away; 17 zombies immediately collapsed. Jiang Chen, who was standing behind the hole, held a laser sword in his hand. The long sword cast a light blue sheen.

The light was gentle, but it was also dangerous.

"It seems you have a lot of good stuff." Tanaka looked a bit sterner.

"That's right."

The laser sword flickered in Jiang Chen's hands, directed at the group of zombies.

"And far more than you can see."

The death of their companions didn't make the remaining living-dead afraid. They still ran fearlessly toward Jiang Chen. However, they hadn't come into contact with Jiang Chen before they crashed into a wall.

A wall made of guns and bullets!

Like a hurricane, the rain-like bullets shredded the remaining thirty zombies into pieces in a flash. Like ghosts appearing out of nowhere, Black Warriors armed with Ripper Assault Rifles emerged in front of Jiang Chen.

The bodyguards next to Jiang Chen were completely stunned.

Originally, they thought it would be a hard battle. They didn't expect that they weren't needed at all.

Although they heard about the advanced technology in the company, "laser swords" and "optical invisibility" only appeared in sci-fi blockbusters; they didn't expect to see it in reality.

There were broken limbs on the ground; black blood stained the streets.

Tanaka opened his mouth, which eventually turned into a helpless sigh.

"I originally thought that more than 50 mutated zombies were enough to finish you. I didn't expect that I was the careless one."

"Not only can you actively induce zombies to mutate, but you can also order the zombies to act as slaves. You've also surpassed my expectations." Jiang Chen put away his laser sword and spoke expressionlessly.

"Yeah, the first one was correct. The second one was wrong." Tanaka chuckled. "Even I can't order the zombies; I can only make them treat me like their own kind."

On the entire road, there were only Tanaka, Jiang Chen, the Ghost Agents, and the six bodyguards. There was no need to order the zombies at all. It was only necessary to strengthen their senses and athleticism to the point where they could detect Jiang Chen, then they would instinctively pounce at him and shred the living into pieces.

"Where did the zombies come from?"

"There was a small village close by, but it took me a lot of effort to get these zombies to come here," Tanaka said with a smile and touched his hat brim with one of his hands. "It's really unfortunate that I played all my cards. We have to decide the winner next time."

Jiang Chen grinned, looked into his eyes and muttered to himself.

"My thought process has been wrong the whole time."

Tanaka stopped what he was doing and examined Jiang Chen with intrigue.

"Oh? Do you have some interesting insights you're planning to share with me?"

Jiang Chen didn't speak but looked back at the bodyguards behind him.

"Wait for me at the mansion. There are only three kilometers left; leave me a car. I can go back by myself."

"But..."

"That's an order," Jiang Chen said affirmatively.

"...Yes."

The bodyguard captain gritted his teeth and waved at the bodyguards behind him. The six bodyguards put away their sticks and got into their cars. The two cars bypassed the roadblock in the middle of the road and headed towards the mansion.

"You can leave now too." After the bodyguards left, Jiang Chen looked down at his watch then spoke to the four Ghost Agents in front of him.

"Roger that."

Without any nonsense, the four Ghost Agents nodded and disappeared from the road.

The irrelevant people had all left, leaving only two people on the road.

Jiang Chen looked at Tanaka and said:

"Not necessarily an insight. It's just some random inspiration and I realized something interesting. Everyone who has seen you thinks you're one person. But is that true?"

Keeping his fingers on his brim, Tanaka was still smiling.

"Of course I'm one person. What else could I be?"

"A lot of people."

Tanaka's expression finally changed, and his smiling eyes gradually turned vicious.

His expression was akin to the last card of a gambler being uncovered.

Although this slight change was imperceptible under the dim light of the street, the sensory-enhanced Jiang Chen still acutely noticed this change.

A light bulb flickered and silence persisted on the road for a moment before Tanaka slowly said, "So what?"

"Yeah, so what?" Jiang Chen sighed. "You've heard of 'cloud computing'?"

Tanaka's pupils looked anxious.

"All programs are run on the server side, and ultimately, the server compresses the computation results and transmits them to users over the network. This allows users to use a low-end computer and enjoy high-end services… The premise is that the network must be open."

"So? Are you planning to educate me on computers?" Tanaka quietly said.

"Of course not." Jiang Chen opened his hands and put away his laser sword. "If my guess is right... you can take off your hat now."

Tanaka took off his hat.

The flat cap fell to the ground.

However, things were contrary to his expectations. His consciousness didn't leave him; everything in front of him was still visible. It was as if a virtual reality player suddenly found himself unable to log out of the game...

His pupils contracted in disbelief, and Tanaka's calm expression turned into panic.

"This is impossible!"

[Impossible!]

The Kurofune didn't respond to his request...

Satisfied with the expression on Tanaka's face, Jiang Chen's mouth finally showed a glimmer of victory.

"It seems that I've bet correctly. Your so-called rebirth is based on a special kind of 'cloud computing.' Through a 'server' a few light years away, user A's memory and thoughts were transplanted to user B. How could they know when to 'rebirth' you a few light years away? Why don't we make a bold assumption - the hat on your head and your own signal of life is the switch of 'rebirth'. "

From the quiver of Tanaka's face, Jiang Chen confirmed his conjecture.

"The next step will be easier."

"Klein particles can interfere with each other. Since you could prevent me from communicating with the 'gate' through interference and thus prevent me from starting interdimensional travel, then I can also stop the communication between you and the Kurofune. You didn't know that when Garrett killed you in Kenya's military operations, you used the ability to 'rebirth' and switched consciousness to this body in Japan, I recorded your communications band then."

"On Earth, only the two of us know how to communicate correctly using Klein particles. Maybe I can't analyze the content of your communications with the Kurofune, but your voice is as pronounced as if you were screaming in an open valley. "

"As long as the communication band is recorded, it is easy to interfere with communication. It's only necessary to constantly stimulate the vibrations of the Klein particles at a specific frequency. And you know, I can go to another world. There are crystals with rich Klein particles beyond imagination."

"It's not safe to use Klein particles as a means of communication. Am I right?"

Cold sweat rolled down from Tanaka's forehead, and he moved back slightly.

This was the first time he felt fear since he acquired the ability to rebirth from the Kurofune. If he took off his hat before he died, he would be able to rebirth into another body. No matter how he died, he would never truly die. He wouldn't even experience pain during the moment of death because rebirth happened in an instant.

"Do you think you can run?" Jiang Chen looked at his footsteps shuffling back, and a mocking smile appeared.

There was a flash of ferocity in his eyes. Tanaka took out a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Jiang Chen.

Bang!

The gunfire resonated on the desolate highway.

The bullet, however, seemed to hit a wall and was blown away by the air released.

"Nitrogen armor. As you can see, I have a lot of good stuff." Jiang Chen sighed.

Tanaka immediately pointed the gun at himself.

His rebirth ability had double insurance.

The communication interference couldn't continue forever. Even if there was a momentary lapse, as long as the Kurofune detected that he was dead, he could wake up in another body.

However, before he could point to himself, his hand was clamped by a hand from behind.

A sharp pain from his back numbed his body quickly.

"Beautiful."

Jiang Chen walked in front of Tanaka. He smiled and nodded to Ayesha standing behind him then picked up the cap from the ground, patted the dust away, and put it on Tanaka's head again.

"I haven't thought about a good way to kill you. So, you'll have to stay alive now."

Wearing this pesky hat, quietly lying in the underground facilities of New Moon Island for the rest of his life...

"Oh, I didn't expect I would reach doomsday before you." Sweat fell from his forehead, and Tanaka stared straight into Jiang Chen's eyes. The voice squeezed out of his throat had a self-deprecating tone to it.

"It's a very ironic ending."

His black pupils seemed to contract as if he regained his life. As he struggled, he squeezed out a sentence:

"Don't be too happy. I will wait for you at doomsday."

"Let me reassure you - that day will never come," Jiang Chen whispered before Tanaka's pupils dilated.

[Because I am here.]