In the world of Terra, the plight of the Infected is undeniably unjust. However, even so, not all Infected are willing to stand up and fight. Many would even betray their own kind for petty gains. Talulah had encountered such situations multiple times during her journey.
Of course, this might also be due to the fact that most Infected are illiterate and lack education. The lower one's social status, the more likely they are to contract Oripathy and the easier it is to incite them. People like Alex and Mephisto are far too common in this world of Infected.
The only difference is that most people don't possess the strength of Alex or Mephisto. Then there's the Deep Pool unit, which has even more twisted individuals than the Reunion Movement. If it weren't for Koschei's influence, even Mephisto wouldn't have turned out the way he did.
For Daniel, his current goal is simple: to do what he can within his means. As for saving the world, that might have to wait until Amiya fully awakens.
"I have seen cities, ravaged and in ruins. I have seen Originium, spreading across the land. I have seen you, crowned in darkness, turning millions of lives into memories. I have seen the Demon King, enslaving all races." This is the prophecy of Amiya, the Demon King.
However, Daniel never believed in this prophecy. In fact, from another perspective, this could actually achieve true equality—everyone would be under the Demon King's rule.
There's a saying: judge actions, not intentions. Who says a Demon King's rule can't bring peace and prosperity? Humans can be far more evil than any Demon King. No matter how beautifully you speak of freedom and democracy, if you're constantly sowing discord and inciting war, it's all just a joke.
"Someone's coming."
Seeing four figures rapidly approaching from the front, W, FrostNova, and the Yeti Squadron immediately prepared for battle. Given their direction and mysterious attire, they were almost certainly enemies.
"Ching Chen of the Yan Imperial Inspectorate, Tai He, greets the senior." The four figures, cloaked in red, stopped about five meters away from Daniel and his group, then saluted him respectfully.
"I'm not your senior." Daniel immediately raised his hand to signal W and FrostNova not to attack.
"We have already contacted Duke Wei and are aware of your intentions. We have no intention of interfering with your plans. We are merely here to pay our respects." The four showed no reaction to Daniel's denial.
Before arriving, the four had encountered Ch'en and her group on the road. Concerned about the situation in Lungmen, Ch'en, Hoshiguma, and Swire had moved much faster than Daniel's group.
After meeting Ch'en, who had been in constant contact with Wei Yenwu, Daniel was effectively thrown under the bus by Wei Yenwu. Ching Chen and her team were in Lungmen on a mission to assess the city's development. Wei Yenwu needed to showcase Lungmen's progress.
However, due to Daniel's intervention, the assessment had gone awry. Naturally, Wei Yenwu had to shift the blame to Daniel. Moreover, he could use Yan's power to investigate and contain Daniel.
For Ching Chen and her team, the sudden appearance of such a powerful, unknown thunder technique user naturally required investigation. However, given Daniel's displayed strength, they couldn't act forcefully and could only await further instructions from above.
"You've seen me now. I have things to do, so you can leave."
Daniel would definitely engage with Yan in the future, but not now. He was very curious about Yan in this world. With dragons and qilins, were there also white tigers, vermilion birds, black tortoises, and phoenixes?
Given that races like the Sarkaz, Sankta, and Vouivre existed, it was hard to believe these mythical creatures didn't exist. In fact, the white tiger might already be present—represented by the Feline race.
While Felines primarily refer to cats, such as a certain wealthy cat-eared girl, they can also refer to tigers. Swire and a certain someone from Shangshu who shares her race are examples.
"Junior bids farewell."
"Senior, why are you associating with these Infected?"
"Tai He."
As Daniel waved them off, Ching Chen was about to leave when the tall, horned figure beside her couldn't help but speak up. However, Ching Chen immediately stopped him.
"Senior, I misspoke."
"It's fine. Prejudice against the Infected isn't unique to you."
Daniel understood Tai He's attitude. Without a complete solution to Oripathy, even if Daniel used all his power, he couldn't change the overall situation. For example, Infected couldn't freely walk the streets and had to live in designated areas.
Oripathy was a truly incurable and highly dangerous disease in this world. From this perspective, centralized management was necessary. It was far more terrifying than any plague or infectious disease.
Yan's treatment of Oripathy was already the most lenient in Terra. Although there were various restrictions, at least the Infected had food and shelter. Moreover, this isolation wasn't the heartless, forced kind.
For instance, in some places, if a child contracted Oripathy, they would be forcibly taken from their parents, who would never see them again. In Yan, if the parents were willing, they could live with their Infected child in the designated areas.
This was something no other country could do, not even Columbia, which was known for its relatively lenient treatment of the Infected.
Big Bob had once dreamed of living in Columbia. However, such a life required money. If you were poor, Columbia wasn't much better. That's why Big Bob wanted to make a fortune before going there.
Columbia's Great Expansion policy had attracted countless Infected, including some people Violence had known. Naturally, most of them ended up buried in Columbia's wilderness.
This was likely a case of survivorship bias. Under Columbia's Great Expansion policy, some Infected did strike it rich and live better lives. However, these were the lucky few among countless Infected who perished.
Moreover, this was during the early days of the Great Expansion. Back then, if you were brave and lucky, you could make a fortune. But now, the golden age of the Great Expansion was over.
The experiences of the Doctor and Amiya in Columbia illustrated this perfectly. Infected workers were paid pitifully, with various excuses to deduct their wages or replace them with so-called "medicine," which was utterly useless.
As for other countries, it went without saying. Only small nations or remote areas had little prejudice against Oripathy, such as Kjerag and Gavial's hometown.
"Someone else is coming. What a rare guest. So it was her earlier. Even a fragment of a god is still a god."
Just as Tai He apologized and Ching Chen prepared to leave, another figure appeared behind them. This was someone Daniel recognized immediately. Combined with the aura, Daniel quickly realized who it was.
A woman with white hair, dressed in white and red, with dragon horns and a tail—it was Nian. Earlier, when Daniel had first arrived in this world, his Observation Haki had been detected by someone. That someone was Nian.
"So it was you earlier, young man. I thought it was some stubborn old man from the Celestial Masters' Institute."
"Nian, why are you here?"
Ching Chen and her team were visibly shocked by Nian's appearance, though their expressions were hidden behind masks. However, one could guess their reactions. As Yan's inspectors, they were well aware of some of Yan's secrets.
"Here for hot pot." Nian answered Ching Chen's question honestly, though it was clear Ching Chen didn't believe her.
"Young man, you seem to know me. How strange. I don't recall meeting someone like you." Nian smiled and greeted Daniel.
"Although this is our first meeting, I do know a thing or two about you. Care to talk?" Having encountered Nian, Daniel naturally didn't want to miss the opportunity. He gestured for Nian to follow him to a more private spot. Some topics weren't suitable for too many ears.
"Sure." Nian nodded with a smile and followed.
"Return immediately and report the situation."
The four, who had been about to leave, immediately stopped. Nian and a powerful, unknown thunder technique user—either one alone would be enough to put Yan on alert, let alone both. After a moment of silence, Ching Chen ordered one of her team to return to Lungmen immediately.
"Young man, quite cautious. What do you want to talk about?" The two moved about a hundred meters away from FrostNova, Ching Chen, and the others. Daniel then set up a soundproof barrier, which Nian didn't seem to mind.
"Let's talk about Sui." Daniel was very curious about Sui, who had been split into twelve parts, creating twelve gods. It was hard to imagine Sui's true strength. Similarly, Daniel was also curious about Yan's power in this world.
Even though Sui had been injured in battles with other gods, Yan's ability to successfully defeat Sui spoke volumes about its strength. Yan was the only country in this world to have successfully slain a god.
"Young man, you know quite a bit." At the mention of Sui, Nian's cheerful expression immediately turned serious.
Even though she was a fragment of Sui, Nian had no desire to reunite with it. She was now an independent individual. Her appearance here was also to find an opportunity to destroy Sui, even roping in her sisters to join Rhodes Island. Perhaps one day, Rhodes Island would indeed face Sui.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I come from beyond this world." After a moment of hesitation, Daniel decided to be honest with Nian.
"Beyond this world? The Scorched Earth or the Frozen North? Are there humans there?" Nian looked puzzled.
All the nations of Terra existed on a single massive continent. Aside from a few countries, most people had never seen the sea and didn't know what it was.
This situation was naturally abnormal. Over the years, many had been curious about other places, such as the depths of the ocean or the edges of the continent.
Unfortunately, no one who ventured out from this continent ever returned.
The Iberian Empire was said to have possessed an incredibly powerful golden fleet, but it was wiped out in a single day, followed by the Great Silence, which caused the once-mighty nation to rapidly decline.
"Neither. I mean truly beyond this world. When I say 'world,' I don't mean this continent or even this planet." Daniel repeated his earlier trick, using magic to show Nian what lay beyond the world.
"So this is what lies beyond the world. In that case, am I just a painting?"
"In a way, yes. Though the painting is much larger."
Daniel thought for a moment before nodding at Nian's description. It was like the story of Zhuangzi dreaming of being a butterfly or the butterfly dreaming of Zhuangzi. From this perspective, Dusk, who could create painted worlds, was truly remarkable—if only she weren't so timid.
Among the twelve fragments, Dusk was the most timid. Since gaining consciousness, she had never dared to sleep. Of course, as a god, sleep was unnecessary. For any other creature, this would have been fatal.
"For me, ensuring your survival is simple. You don't even need to confront Sui directly. As long as I take you away from this world, no matter how powerful Sui is, it can't reclaim you across worlds."
"So what do you want from me? Do you want me to accompany you? If it's you, young man, I might consider it. But my body temperature is over 1,400 degrees. If you can handle that..."
"Cough, cough." Nian's words caught Daniel completely off guard. This was something he had never expected.
"I don't have any special intentions. I just happened to encounter you and decided to help. Moreover, preventing Sui's revival would be beneficial for Yan in this world."
Even in its weakened state, Sui's revival would undoubtedly cost Yan dearly. Just dealing with Ling alone would be a significant loss for Yan, let alone Sui.
"You're from another world's Yan."
"That's correct. In a certain world, I was its emperor."
"Really? You don't have that detestable aura those people have."
"Being an emperor isn't that remarkable. And if we're being honest, you're a god, which is far rarer than an emperor." Yan's society was highly stratified, and emperors naturally carried themselves with dignity. However, Daniel didn't exhibit any of that.
"That's true. I can't wait to see other worlds."
"Not yet. I still have some things to take care of. Once that's done, I can take you to see them. By the way, here's some information about other worlds. You can take a look." Daniel handed Nian a tablet.
Having interacted with Elysia and others in the Elysian Realm, Daniel had compiled information about various worlds to avoid having to explain everything repeatedly.
"Traveling across worlds? That sounds fascinating. Dusk would be very interested."
"I never imagined there were so many worlds." After briefly glancing at the tablet's contents, Nian returned it to Daniel. Now wasn't the time for a detailed look.
"Just dealing with a god who's taken over someone's body." Daniel briefly explained Koschei's situation.
"A nation's incarnation? I never expected something like this to exist."
As a fragment of Sui, Nian knew many things. However, the concept of a nation's incarnation was new to her.
"Let's go. We can discuss the rest later. They're all waiting for you."
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