Apocalyptic Wasteland Simulator-Chapter 309 - 304 Divinity, Humanity, and Evil

The dark version of Chen Pingchuan slowly lifted his head. The madness and anger in his eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a deep sense of resignation.

"Let me ask you a question first."

"Have you felt an inexplicable gaze constantly watching you?"

Chen Pingchuan frowned. Thinking about his recent experiences, he voiced the suspicion that had been on his mind. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Are you talking about the will of this world?"

Upon hearing Chen Pingchuan's words, the dark version of him unexpectedly burst out laughing.

"To think I actually lost to you. It's truly ironic."

Clearly, Chen Pingchuan's answer had missed the mark. Before he could speak, his dark counterpart continued, "The will of this planet isn't as powerful as you imagine. Otherwise, neither of us would have arrived here so easily."

Feeling that his dark counterpart still had that smug, all-powerful look, Chen Pingchuan decided to threaten him directly.

"Cut the crap and get to the point. If you keep this up, I'm leaving."

"Heh. How amusing. To think that I, the very representation of evil, am being threatened."

With that, the dark version of Chen Pingchuan cut to the chase and revealed the secret. He understood Chen Pingchuan as well as he understood himself; if he kept rambling, the other man would genuinely walk away.

"First, I need to introduce a concept: the Three Corpses."

"The Corpse of Good Thoughts, the Corpse of Evil Thoughts, and the Corpse of Self."

"This concept, originating from ancient Daoist School teachings, also applies to gods."

"A god's Three Corpses are divinity, humanity, and evil."

"And you are the humanity of the god."

"As for me, I am the ultimate evil, born from the intertwining of resentment, darkness, and all sorts of negative energies."

...

"Only when the divinity severs itself from its humanity and evil can it ascend from a demigod to a true Divine Spirit."

His dark counterpart's words struck Chen Pingchuan's heart like a sledgehammer.

He stood rooted to the spot, his mind reeling as he tried to digest this sudden, massive influx of information.

"So, what am I, really?"

"An emotion? A feeling? Or a memory?"

"Huh?"

"Why are my memories of my past life so complete?"

"Tell me, why?"

Hearing Chen Pingchuan's roar, his dark counterpart revealed a quiet, satisfied smile. He feigned a persuasive tone, continuing, "I don't know why you have memories from a past life, but it's nothing to be surprised about. After all, this is our path to godhood."

"In other words, the divinity, you, and I—we are all one and the same."

"One day, the three of us will have to determine a winner, to decide who becomes the dominant consciousness. That will be the end of everything."

"You're quite lucky, though. The two talents you awakened in this world are incredibly powerful. It's a pity I arrived too late; otherwise, you might not have been able to defeat me."

The dark version of Chen Pingchuan sneered, his tone shifting abruptly.

"But there's nothing to be proud of. When the divinity comes for us, it will be our doom."

"It wants to ascend, and we are the obstacles it must eliminate. How ridiculous. It thinks removing us will guarantee a smooth ascension, completely unaware that we have minds of our own. We are not lambs to the slaughter."

The vicious, twisted words snapped the pensive Chen Pingchuan back to his senses.

His heart stirred.

Something's wrong. Something is very, very wrong.

While some of what he says aligns with my own thoughts, I've never experienced the 'path to godhood' he mentioned. And he doesn't even know about the simulator. If my previous theory was correct—that my original self was a Divine Spirit and the simulator was a cheat I left for myself to evade pursuit from other Divine Spirits—then his story is completely different.

But then how do I explain those colossal Ancient God statues that look exactly like me?

Suddenly, a searing pain shot through his head.

Chen Pingchuan felt as if his brain was about to explode. The agony almost made him collapse. He couldn't maintain his posture and fell to one knee.

Seeing this, a malevolent glint flashed in the dark Chen Pingchuan's eyes. He wanted to seize the opportunity to attack but feared it was a trap. If his strike failed, the other would surely escape at once. Then, the next time they met, he would never believe his words again.

In that brief moment of his dark counterpart's hesitation, Chen Pingchuan jerked his head up.

He gritted his teeth and snarled, "What else are you hiding? That path to godhood you described is full of holes! It makes no sense!"

The dark version of Chen Pingchuan sneered.

"Hmph. Some truths are better left unknown. Otherwise, all that awaits you is endless pain."

He paced slowly, his gaze drifting over Chen Pingchuan as if admiring a work of art on the verge of shattering.

"In fact, the divinity has also reached this world. The moment I descended, it appeared here in another form."

"And the moment it fully regains its strength will be the day we die."

"If you want to live, you need to join forces with me to fight it."

"Otherwise, the only difference for us is whether we die sooner or later."

Chen Pingchuan's headache showed no sign of easing. He remained on one knee, clenching his jaw as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. His gaze, however, remained locked onto his dark counterpart.

I already have the answer. What he said is probably true—I am the humanity of some Divine Spirit. What he doesn't know, however, is that I've already taken over that person's body. That means my previous suspicions were wrong. My past life experiences are my memories alone. And the reason this world is targeting me isn't because of the simulator. It's because I, as humanity, am probably like a resource for the protagonist in a novel, destined to be devoured by the divinity. And this 'ultimate evil' across from me is nothing more than a slightly bigger boss. Our fates may seem similar, but the difference between us is immense.

Because…

"I've got a cheat!"

"You idiot!"

He bellowed, enduring the splitting headache as he turned and ran for the door he'd come through.

The dark version of Chen Pingchuan's gaze turned cold.

How did he figure it out? Damn it! If I had just stalled for a little longer, the dark energy in his body would have been enough to finish him!

Even though he wanted Chen Pingchuan dead, the dark version pursued him closely, all the while feigning concern for their mutual survival.

"You have no other choice!"

"You should know perfectly well that with your current power, you can't possibly contend with the divinity!"

"Are you really going to sit back and wait for it to regain its strength and come for your life?"

"Why not join forces with me? After we defeat the divinity, we can settle things between us. How about it?"