Chapter 1482: Tense Standoff

Chen Ling understood.

The Akashic Records could not be accessed by any specific means; it was a collection that contained all “possibilities.” But if “probability” were tampered with, Lord Lingxu would have a considerable chance of connecting to the Akashic Records…

This was a bug that only Lord Lingxu could exploit, a niche but potentially exceptionally effective solution.

“At the same time, during the construction of the Akashic Tower, the people will also inject ‘spirituality’ into it.” Lord Lingxu spoke again.

“The process of building that tower is like building a Buddha statue. In this process, everyone will intentionally or unintentionally pin their hopes on the Akashic Tower, praying silently, longing silently… This is a process of gathering faith, and also a process of increasing ‘spirituality,’ which itself can increase the probability of connecting to the Akashic Records.”

No wonder Lord Lingxu wanted to mobilize so many people to build the Akashic Tower.

Besides the fact that the construction of the Akashic Tower was extremely difficult and indeed required a large number of people, “people” themselves were providing spirituality to the tower. This was something no high-end precision machine could do… The only ones capable of piling up civilization and faith in a desperate situation were humans who held hope in their hearts.

“You just said you need the Twilight Society to help you build this tower?”

“That’s right… The construction of the Akashic Tower requires carving precise to the micron level. Very few ordinary people can achieve this, but some paths of the Green God Path, Book God Path, Medical God Path, and other God Paths can achieve mass production.” Lord Lingxu paused for a moment.

“The Twilight Society has dozens of God Path possessors, which is exactly what we need right now… With your help, the construction speed of the Akashic Tower will increase significantly.”

From Lord Lingxu’s perspective, the top priority was to build the Akashic Tower as quickly as possible. And since the human domains had just experienced a catastrophic disaster and only three domains remained, the number of surviving God Path possessors was extremely small… And the Twilight Society, which possessed a large number of complete God Path possessors, was undoubtedly a treasure mine waiting to be developed.

In other words, what Lord Lingxu wanted wasn’t Chen Ling… but the entire Twilight Society.

Chen Ling almost didn’t hesitate:

“I refuse.”

Lord Lingxu’s brows furrowed. “Why?”

“My members have other things to do.”

“Don’t you understand? The restart efficiency of the Twilight Society is too low. As long as we can build the Akashic Tower and connect to the Akashic Records, we can instantly find a way to destroy the Red Star. This is the optimal solution.”

“No, this is your solution.” Chen Ling replied calmly.

What Akashic Tower, what Akashic Records—Chen Ling didn’t understand. How much of what Lord Lingxu said was certain, and how much was his own subjective judgment, Chen Ling didn’t know either…

He only knew that the Twilight Society existed for one reason: to reverse the era and restart the world.

If Lord Lingxu succeeded, then naturally everyone would be happy…

But what if he failed?

Humans needed a backup plan, a “guaranteed option” that could make everything start over regardless of what happened in this world. If Lord Lingxu played the role of exploring a way forward, then Chen Ling was the final insurance policy for the future of humanity.

Chen Ling could not, under any circumstances, hand over the Twilight Society, this final insurance policy, to anyone else.

Lord Lingxu’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and the surrounding aura began to become unstable. The strongest of the Nine Lords, who had made up his mind to “destroy the Red Star,” began to show a trace of confusion and paranoia in his eyes.

Rustle, rustle, rustle—

The swaying tree shadows shook violently.

“What are they talking about?” Jian Changsheng, who was to the side, was pacing anxiously.

Except for the three members of Heart 9 closest to them and the six knight captains, other Twilight Society members mixed in the noisy crowd could hardly hear their conversation. They only knew that the two had been sitting on opposite sides of the chessboard for a long time, and then a Nine Lords’ pressure began to leak outward.

Heart 9, Spades Q, and Heart J sensed the change in Lord Lingxu’s aura, and their expressions changed instantly.

The four senior brothers and sisters behind Chen Ling also frowned.

Only Chen Ling remained unmoved.

Even though he was sitting directly in front of Lord Lingxu, most capable of clearly feeling Lord Lingxu’s oppressive force, he remained as calm and composed as ever, his eyes looking calmly at Lord Lingxu…

A moment later, Lord Lingxu’s aura gradually converged. He pointed to the chessboard in front of him:

“Don’t be in such a hurry to refuse…”

“This is the Lingxu Domain, so we will do things according to the rules of the Lingxu Domain. The winner is king. If you can beat me on this chessboard, I will let you leave safely.”

“However, there are some things I must remind you of…”

“In my early years, I once played against your previous Red King, but he couldn’t beat me.”

Lord Lingxu’s words revealed a faint confidence. At the same time, an indescribable aura emanated from beneath the square, directly sealing off the surrounding streets so that no one could enter or leave at will.

Ordinary people couldn’t perceive it and were still chattering about something, but God Path possessors sensed this abnormality.

The gazes of all the Twilight Society members present turned cold. Lord Lingxu’s move, while not quite a declaration of war, was undoubtedly putting pressure on their Red King. The many experts hidden in the crowd were all ready to strike at this moment.

“Damn it, what does this Lord Lingxu mean?” Jian Changsheng was about to rush out without a word.

“Wait!” Sun Bumian stopped Jian Changsheng once again. “Don’t be impulsive… Even if we have to fight, we have to wait for Heart’s signal.”

Under the swaying green shade,

Chen Ling sat still.

After a brief silence, Lord Lingxu slowly made a “please” gesture:

“You, go first.”

Chen Ling remained unmoved.

Lord Lingxu’s brows furrowed. Just as he was about to say something, a light sentence from Chen Ling choked his words right back:

“I don’t know how to play chess.”

Lord Lingxu: …?

Lord Lingxu hadn’t expected this situation. He thought for a moment, then waved his hand, and a knight immediately brought up a game of Chinese chess.

“Chinese chess is fine too.”

“Don’t know how.”

“…Then Go is fine, right?”

“Don’t know how.”

“Gomoku?”

Lord Lingxu was losing his patience. He already had a guess in his heart: if Chen Ling refused even Gomoku, then he was purely toying with him… In this day and age, who doesn’t know how to play Gomoku?

“I know how to play Gomoku.”

Lord Lingxu had just breathed a sigh of relief,

when the next second, Chen Ling spoke again:

“But… why should I play by your rules?”

Snap—!!

Chen Ling flicked his finger, and the chessboard was sent flying into the sky. Piece after piece flipped and spun in the air, then fell down densely like raindrops!

As everyone’s vision blurred, the piece in Chen Ling’s hand had turned into a pitch-black pistol, calmly pressed against his own temple.

“There is only one kind of game I’m willing to play…”

“But you…”

“Do you really want to play it with me?”