Ding Yao’s voice was like a devil’s whisper. "Li Mingyu was a madman himself. He wanted to be a hero, but through a twist of fate, he became the greatest sinner. And Li Xingye was the earliest victim of his crimes.

"But your luck is better than your dad’s. Your genes are from the same source, but during sequence recombination, the direction of mutation changed. As a result, he became the Zombie King, while you, with your damn good luck, awakened the strongest superpower.

"Why do you think your mom never let you see your dad? It was because she worried his experiments would endanger you. But she had no idea she couldn’t stop any of it.

"Why was the timing of your superpower’s activation so coincidental? After activation, there’s a high-fever period. You don’t really think a little kid like you could have safely made it through that fever in those conditions, do you?"

At Ding Yao’s venom-laced words, Li Xingye’s hands had long since clenched into fists.

Seeing Li Xingye like this, Chi Wan couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.

She didn’t quite understand why Ding Yao hated Li Xingye so much—after all, Brother Qiang and the others had said that Li Xingye had saved Ding Yao before.

’Could someone really hate another this much out of pure jealousy? Or is it a case of hating him by association, detesting Li Xingye because he loathed what his father had done?’

Chi Wan felt the latter possibility was unlikely. Ding Yao wasn’t constantly emphasizing that the apocalypse shouldn’t have started, but rather that the superpower Li Xingye possessed should have been his.

No one else present spoke, silently listening as Ding Yao revealed all these unknown secrets.

But Ding Yao only felt that everyone was shocked by his revelations. The more he spoke, the more excited he became, desperate to see Li Xingye finally break down.

"Where was I? Oh, right. After your dad mutated, perhaps because he was so similar to the Original Gene sample, his affinity for your genetic sequence was the highest.

"In one of the futures I know of, after fusing with your sequence, he turned the entire world into a zombie paradise. Oh, and I almost forgot—that bunch of lunatics from Dawn Base used to be Li Mingyu’s colleagues."

After saying all that in one breath, Ding Yao paused, seeming to want to savor the shock his news had delivered to Li Xingye and the others.

Unfortunately for him, aside from a cold expression, he got very little emotional reaction from Li Xingye.

Ding Yao clicked his tongue. "The truth hurts, doesn’t it? Don’t think you’re invincible just because you have a superpower like that. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have died back then.

"In this life, Dawn has already found Li Mingyu. Their next step is to come for you. You can’t escape. Li Mingyu won’t let your sequence go.

"I might as well tell you another secret. Li Mingyu kept a sample of your genes back then. Dawn has been researching how to mutate a sequence to become perfect, just like yours.

"It’s just a shame that Li Mingyu wants to use this sequence to become human again, but as for what those long-since-crazed people at Dawn want... well, that’s hard to say.

"You there, Great One. I’m telling you all this just to let you know that Li Xingye is a man with no future. In every ending, he dies. It’s just a matter of when.

"But I’m different. I know every turning point in the future, every truth. If you and I team up and seize Li Xingye’s genetic sequence, I’ll be the strongest in the world. Not even Li Mingyu and that bunch of lunatics from Dawn will be a threat!" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Chi Wan let out a soft breath. "Are you finished?"

Ding Yao assumed Chi Wan was very satisfied with what he had said and nodded, looking rather pleased with himself. "This is practically the biggest secret of the entire apocalypse. Of course, if you don’t think that’s enough, once we’re together, I can slowly tell you about all the different futures..."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over Li Xingye with a mix of insinuation and disdain. "Anything Li Xingye has done for you, I can do too. And... I can do it even better."

’Even though Chi Wan wasn’t visible, Ding Yao’s look still made her uncomfortable. Perhaps Li Xingye’s earlier act was too convincing, making Ding Yao really believe he had won her over by selling his looks...’

At his side, Li Xingye saw Ding Yao’s expression and could barely restrain his killing intent.

But he knew Chi Wan was going to all this trouble to help him pry more information out of Ding Yao, so he could only force himself to hold back.

Chi Wan fell silent for a moment before her voice returned, tinged with a hint of interest. "You know, someone as powerful as Li Xingye isn’t exactly easy to control... But how can I be sure that you’ll be completely at my service?

"Besides, you’re a prisoner. Forget about seizing Li Xingye’s power—you can’t even escape his grasp. How am I supposed to believe you can help me achieve my grand ambitions?"

But Ding Yao said confidently, "Those wastes over there are the men Dawn assigned to me. As long as you’re with me and let them see your power, you’ll definitely be able to gain the complete trust of the Leader of Dawn.

"As for seizing Li Xingye’s superpower..."

Ding Yao still had some sense, after all. He didn’t reveal everything, but smiled and said, "When you show some sincerity, I’ll naturally let you see what I’m capable of. I can only tell you that there’s a reason I know so much about Li Mingyu."

Chi Wan frowned, a possibility suddenly occurring to her.

"Your hatred for Li Xingye... could it be because you were once a researcher under his father? No... or rather, a test subject?"

Duan Qianyu’s eyes flickered. "That would explain it. That’s why Ding Yao’s superpower is also different from everyone else’s."

The smile on Ding Yao’s face vanished completely.

He stared at Li Xingye, who still hadn’t broken down, a sense of resentment in his eyes. "So what if I was? Why should he get to be so lucky? My superpower is clearly just as special, it just lacks a bit of offensive power. If it had been me back then..."

But Li Xingye suddenly spoke up. "In all those possible futures, was it really you who ended the apocalypse?"

Ding Yao’s expression faltered imperceptibly, but he quickly sneered. "Who else? I told you, it all begins with your death. Only after you die can the perfect sequence fully realize its potential."

He struggled, looking around at the empty air, still trying to find Chi Wan’s location. "I’ve told you everything I’m going to. Isn’t it about time you showed some sincerity?"

Seeing that Chi Wan remained silent and that even the faint anxiety on Li Xingye’s face had completely disappeared, a bad premonition suddenly flashed through Ding Yao’s mind.

He continued, "In one of the endings I saw, Li Xingye’s superpower went out of control and he nearly drained everyone dry! Do you think you’d be able to escape?"

But Chi Wan just chuckled. "Didn’t you say that everything starts with Li Xingye’s death? What, did you see a different ending now? Besides, since you’ve never seen an ending where I exist, how can you be so sure that the Li Xingye of this life can’t end the apocalypse for good?"