"This imprint is really persistent."

"But it seems the other party misjudged me."

The time imprint appeared on a piece of human skin Qi Suian had peeled off himself. The damn thing was supposed to be inside his body.

Qi Suian had directly reforged himself through death. After dissolving into particles, he discovered that the thing had appeared among the particles too. The AI Brain then immediately pulled it out.

And just like that, the time imprint left on him by Zombie Chunyu Hu was removed.

However, the instant he recovered, it burrowed back into his body again.

That’s when he came up with a solution: first, slice off a large slab of his own pork belly, and then die.

During the thirty-second respawn-after-watching-an-ad, the time imprint bored directly into that slab of pork belly.

After that, it was simple. He just had to toss the piece of meat into a nutrient solution to keep it active.

Once he’s fleeced the Divine Prayer Association for all they’re worth, it won’t be too late to destroy it.

He had no plans to leave the Divine Prayer Association for now. It wasn’t for any other reason than the fact that the Source of Profound Virus was now in Zombie Chunyu Hu’s hands.

Qi Suian was certain that the three question marks—???—in his Celestial Fate: Profound referred to the Source of Profound Virus.

As for why the four-word name was represented by only three question marks, how was Qi Suian supposed to know? ’Maybe it was to save on character count,’ he figured.

’A protagonist’s halo really is something else. Even my enemies are tripping over themselves to give me freebies.’

’And they even know about Celestial Fate.’

He reasonably suspected that Zombie Chunyu Hu had been hit with an intelligence debuff, but the prerequisite for this debuff was an information gap.

Otherwise, if he really knew Qi Suian had obtained Celestial Fate: Profound, he would have crushed him without a second thought.

"AI Brain, take over the Immortal Satellite. Then let’s go down to the ocean floor and see if we can salvage anything," Qi Suian said, looking at where Ring Island used to be.

Zombie Chunyu Hu had left long ago. There was no way he’d pin all his hopes on Qi Suian.

Qi Suian, on the other hand, couldn’t care less. When the time came, he’d just give Chunyu Hu the data he found online.

He wasn’t worried about being exposed. Plagued by symptoms from the severe infection, he looked nothing like his former high-spirited self.

Even if he stood right in front of Chunyu Hu, the man wouldn’t recognize him.

Besides the symptoms, Qi Suian had performed extensive experiments on himself. His bones and flesh had completely changed shape; even the AI Brain needed a significant amount of data to confirm a match.

Watchman Morning Company was wiped out just like that. The Immortal Satellite was now vacant, and it was perfect timing for Qi Suian to claim it.

[Executing...]

Whether it was taking over the satellite or salvaging the wreckage, everything was being handled by the AI Brain, controlling the Tai Sui God.

"To reject a gift from heaven is to invite misfortune," Qi Suian said softly.

By the logic of a protagonist’s halo, Ring Island and Watchman Morning Company should have been one of his destined opportunities.

But his hesitation and overthinking had ultimately caused this opportunity to vanish.

’The AI Brain’s analysis was right. If I had just gone on the offensive back then, I definitely would have inherited everything.’

’The risk would have been a bit higher, sure, but with a protagonist’s halo, nothing truly bad could have happened.’

’I thought I’d wait until the situation stabilized, but now there’s nothing left but scraps.’

Destined opportunities don’t wait around for you.

Miss them, and they’re gone for good.

’Besides, even if I hadn’t wiped everyone out and just went in to rob them blind, I still would have secured substantial resources.’

’I wouldn’t even have had to worry about the aftermath, since Zombie Chunyu Hu personally came and annihilated them.’

’With all the enemies dead, who would have come after me?’

’More importantly, if I had actually done that, I never would have returned to the ruins of the Ancient Dian Kingdom’s capital, which means I definitely wouldn’t have run into Zombie Chunyu Hu.’

’One wrong move, and the whole board is in disarray.’

He wouldn’t necessarily lose, but it had definitely disrupted his plans.

To say nothing of anything else, the resources from Watchman Morning Company alone would have allowed him to advance rapidly.

[Equipment is mostly destroyed and unusable]

[The few remaining items are useless equipment]

[A large amount of material usable for the Tai Sui God’s evolution has been excavated]

"At least there’s a consolation prize. Not bad." Qi Suian didn’t regret his decision. What was done was done; what was there to regret?

[Initiating material intake...]

"What’s the estimate? Enough to support one evolution?" Qi Suian asked.

What he cared about was how much it could be converted into actual power.

[Insufficient data. Unable to estimate at this time.]

The Tai Sui God’s reconnaissance network had a limited range, so it naturally couldn’t cover the entirety of the shattered and sunken Ring Island.

Furthermore, many pieces had already begun to scatter with the ocean currents and would become scarcer over time.

Therefore, it was impossible to estimate exactly how much evolutionary material could ultimately be ingested.

Qi Suian didn’t press the matter. Whatever he could get was a freebie anyway.

"Right, how’s the investigation into the Divine Prayer Association’s location coming along?" Qi Suian asked.

After the AI Brain took over the satellite, it had naturally used the coordinates provided by Zombie Chunyu Hu to perform a remote scan.

[Divine Prayer Association base is located underground. Unable to scan.]

[Coordinates place it deep within the Malaka Desert.]

"Well now, as expected of a power that’s been hidden for a thousand years. They really know how to hide. But this level of technology is just absurd—building and maintaining a subterranean base in the desert."

"They’re something else."

-----------------

"You’re hungry?" After finding a safe place, Zombie Chunyu Hu finally took out the black jade stone that was the Source of Profound Virus.

As it rested in his hand, the black jade stone transmitted a message of hunger to him.

"You want more of the Profound Virus, and you need it to be of sufficient quality."

"That traitorous fool actually let you starve for so long. And to survive my wrath, he even forced a fusion with you."

Zombie Chunyu Hu’s expression was grim. The Source of Profound Virus was instinctively radiating hunger.

"To recover, you either need a Celestial Fate, or... sufficiently powerful zombies..."

The Celestial Fate was nowhere to be found, so he could only rely on the latter method for its recovery.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He knew exactly where to find the Profound Virus that the Source of Profound Virus required.

That’s right—the elders within his very own Divine Prayer Association.

If he fed all of them to the Source of Profound Virus, it would definitely be enough to restore it.

By doing so, once he had gathered both the Celestial Fate and the Source, he could become the new Profound God.

As for the original Profound God? It had died long ago. All that remained now was a mere husk and soul.

The moment of its final death was the very tipping point of the zombie outbreak. And the ones who extinguished the Profound God’s last spark of life were none other than their Divine Prayer Association.

The name "Divine Prayer Association" wasn’t about praying *to* a god, but praying to *become* one.

This group of people had managed to live from a thousand years ago to the modern day, all by relying on that last spark of the Profound God’s life.

Only now, when the time was right and the Profound God’s last spark of life had lost its value, did they finally dispose of it completely.