Dawn of a New Era

Chapter 809 - 782: The Last Vestige of Dignity

The sky over the Capital City was shrouded in dark clouds.

The global closed-door summit would soon be held here.

The atmosphere in the Capital City gradually became tense, much like the cloudy weather. Each delegation attending wore a grave expression, as if under a pall of low pressure.

In the past month or so, bad news had come one after another.

All evidence indicated that Earth, including the entire Solar System, was locked in a cage. In the face of such an unimaginable existence, all human means, all struggles, would ultimately be futile, and the final outcome was already determined.

The only thing humanity could do was possibly try to extend its survival for a little longer.

The attendees weren’t just the traditional human powers. Aside from the areas controlled by the Barbarian Gods, every human nation was invited, including the India country.

...

Beijing International Airport.

Summit disembarked from the special plane and, upon seeing the welcoming party, gave a meaningful smile and proactively extended his hand: "Ye Zong, I didn’t expect you to come to pick me up."

He came alone, with not even an assistant by his side.

"With a god’s incarnation coming in person, no one dares to be careless." Ye Zong smiled as the two shook hands.

The circle of legends was small; before the mutation, there were only a dozen or so people known in the circle. Even if they hadn’t interacted, they knew of each other, and most had communicated privately.

After all, humanity’s Martial Arts didn’t develop in isolation but emerged from global intelligence.

"Does even the Great Xia Country worry now?" Summit asked with interest.

"Some people worry." Ye Zong said, "I’ll be accompanying you throughout these days, I hope you don’t mind."

He wasn’t particularly in awe of Summit. If it were his true self, Ye Zong might have some apprehension, but as an incarnation, he wasn’t much of a threat to someone with Ye Zong’s sub-god-like strength.

Summit: "Guest’s courtesy, can I say no?"

"Ha, seems like you can’t!"

The two got into the courtesy car.

Summit looked at the buildings outside the window, bustling as if nothing had changed since before the mutation: "Has this place not suffered any destruction?"

"They’re all rebuilt over the last two years, many buildings are new." Ye Zong explained.

In the years following the initial mutations, as a large number of non-local residents were expelled back to their hometowns, the population of the Capital City once dropped below ten million. Under the conditions at that time, it was impossible to sustain a vast city with a population of over twenty million.

The logistic pressure alone was enough to cause the city to collapse.

It’s only in the past two years that things have gradually recovered. According to last year’s population statistics, the Capital City population has surged to fifteen million. Of course, a significant portion consists of demobilized military veterans and incoming foreign refugees.

"I heard that he will be coming too?" Summit withdrew his gaze from the window and said.

"Who?"

Summit’s expression remained unchanged, and he said, "You should know who I’m talking about?"

Ye Zong smiled, "You mean General Manager Chen, God Chen. Hmm, I heard he’s coming!"

Summit sighed, seemingly talking to himself: "I hope I get a chance to meet him then!"

"You’ve never met?" Ye Zong asked curiously.

Summit shook his head, clearly not wanting to elaborate.

He wasn’t afraid of death. Well, in truth, he was afraid.

He just didn’t want to die meaninglessly.

"What is it like to become a divine being?" Ye Zong couldn’t help but ask curiously.

Summit’s face showed no joy or sadness: "Sublimation, a kind of life-level elevation, but also comes with more constraints. I advise you not to harbor such thoughts, you’ll regret it."

"No, you misunderstand me. I have no such intentions, just a pure curiosity about gods." Ye Zong smiled, "I’ve killed several demigods, but none of them compare to a true god. I crave a match with a real True God, although I’ve never had the chance."

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere quieted down, as if sparks were flying.

Summit averted his gaze first: "You people are always so competitive, it’s boring!"

...

The motorcade moved forward, and a sudden incident occurred.

A group of foreigners was holding protest signs, their expressions agitated.

"Reject all black boxes; we have the right to know the truth!"

"Oppose Great Xia Country’s hegemony, oppose the war."

However, the protest didn’t last long before the military police quickly arrived to suppress and detain them.

Not a single reporter was present. The world was still in a wartime state, and during this period, countries’ control over news scrutiny was even more stringent than before.

...

As Ye Zong accompanied Summit to the state guesthouse, the various leaders who arrived earlier were already in heated debate.

Lucy Country’s President Proff, with undereye bags that no makeup could cover, waved his arm holding a cigar and said excitedly: "We must reduce investment in space exploration. Given the current situation, it’s pointless. Can the spaceship break through that spatial isolation? Besides psychological comfort, what’s the use?"

He had been suffering from insomnia for more than a month, yet remained mentally hyperactive.

"But do you have a better suggestion?" European Union Prime Minister Joseph leaned back tiredly on the sofa: "Migrate to another world? Let alone how many people we can migrate, it’s said that Earth will soon become part of another world.

God has abandoned humanity; humanity may soon perish. At least before we perish, we have struggled."

"Heh, the final dignity..." The Rising Sun Country’s Prime Minister said, lost in thought.

The atmosphere was oppressive, with long silence.

The human situation was constantly deteriorating, and now even a sliver of hope was a luxury.

...

Chen Shouyi returned from the Himalayas, and it was almost dark.

After dining with his family, he returned to his bedroom.

Although he had long since been able to forego eating, he maintained a normal diet as long as he was at home.

In the middle of the night, a violent storm suddenly broke out outside, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

The two little ones, frightened like mice, kept snuggling into his armpits.

Chen Shouyi lay wide awake, checking his attribute panel.

Strength: 28.5

Agility: 28.5

Constitution: 28.6

Intelligence: 28.6

Perception: 30.6

Will: 30.2

Energy Accumulation: 45.23

Faith Value: 74310.5

Talent Abilities: Self-Healing (Super): 60.01%; Giant Battle Body (Super): 99.99%; Atmosphere Manipulation (Super): 55.01%.

Suddenly, the strength value slightly fluctuated, changing to 28.6.

"This is truly incredible!" Chen Shouyi murmured to himself.

He turned over and got out of bed, walked to the window, and in an instant, the original thunderstorm stopped. When he pulled back the curtains, the sky was already full of stars.

His willpower was now so strong that even he was astonished by it, causing his body to transform, and even without training, his physical attributes continued to grow slowly.

"I wonder when the limit will be!" he thought to himself.