Chapter 263: The Revelation of Fate

“Me!?”

Lin Rui stared in dumbfounded shock as a shiver ran through his body.

Before he could grasp Yenir’s meaning, a rapid torrent of words rushed out from Yenir as if imbued with some mysterious power:

“In the future, we also investigated the origin of the Doomsday.”

“But much of the data was lost back then—there were no clues to be found.”

“Not only that, you actually died in the future!”

“And you died at the hands of the Military!”

With unnervingly genuine conviction, Yenir began to force-feed Lin Rui the ‘truth’.

“Back then, many wondered why, as one of humanity’s leaders, you would clash with the Military.”

“But now, I know the answer!”

“After you joined the Military, you must have accidentally uncovered one of their secrets. Unable to accept their actions, you rebelled!”

“And once some of the infected from the Military turned into monstrous beings, they started hunting you down!”

“Perhaps in a bid to destroy the source here, you had no choice but to rally humanity and try to end this Doomsday!”

Under Yenir’s grave gaze, Lin Rui felt as if he were listening to an epic legend.

Without giving him room to respond, Yenir continued his indoctrination:

“So! In your previous life, you realized the truth too late. There was no time to eliminate those infected—but this time, everything can be changed!”

“We’ll forge a new identity for you, disguising you as a monster, while you handle eliminating the infected!”

“On the surface, I’ll maintain ties with the Authorities to keep order, and you’ll become the shadowy savior, the one to rescue this world!”

“As long as we can buy more time, hope remains!”

After speaking, Yenir looked at him with an expression full of anticipation.

Though the logic was riddled with inconsistencies, Lin Rui wasn’t too worried.

Strictly speaking, aside from their identities, he hadn’t fabricated much.

He needed the Military to stay on his side—no turning against them. The grim task could only be left for Lin Rui.

Yenir even suspected that the history of the previous copy was exactly like this.

At most, his actions advanced the storyline, forcing Lin Rui to confront the Military from the very start!

Now, his only doubt was whether this drastic change might be considered a major rewrite of fate.

Delaying the tide of death might count, but…

Perhaps not.

There was no other option—he had done all he could, and the rest would rely on luck.

For the first time, as Lin Rui was looked upon with such expectant eyes and listened to Yenir’s rousing words, he felt as if he were dreaming.

Who is Yenir? He was a Transcender far mightier than any president!

In an instant, it felt as though a tremendous burden had been placed upon his shoulders.

Am I really meant to do this…

To save humanity, must I hide my identity and tackle this crisis?

Should I become the executioner—even if it means being stained with blood?

Perhaps it was youthful idealism or part of his very nature, but Yenir’s words stirred an unexpected fervor within Lin Rui.

A savior walking in darkness—it almost perfectly matched every fantasy he’d held during his youth! And yes, he really could do it! He truly desired to stop the catastrophe!

But still…

“But what am I supposed to do!?”

“I’m just an ordinary person…”

Swallowing hard, Lin Rui fought back his excitement and couldn’t help but ask aloud.

Although Yenir had prophesied that he would eventually possess tremendous talent—a power akin to Yenir’s own—right now, he couldn’t even defeat a single soldier, let alone assassinate so many!

Seeing that his indoctrination had taken full effect on Lin Rui, Yenir smirked and said:

“Don’t worry—I can stimulate your dormant potential in advance.”

“With both internal and external support, I’ll assign one or two people to back you up.”

With that, Yenir produced six vials of potion from the Space Ring, along with a bundle of replaced White Equipment.

“Each vial of potion will boost your physical abilities to nearly four times the human limit.”

“Also, try these out and see if you can handle the equipment.”

Lin Rui watched in astonishment as Yenir, like performing magic, pulled out a collection of items. Swallowing hard, he quickly took them.

A Longsword, a wallet, and a pair of boots.

Immediately upon grasping the sword, he felt a chilling aura spreading from his hand throughout his body.

Instinctively, he gripped the Longsword tighter, and the next moment, he sensed an overwhelming surge of power erupting within him.

What is this!?

His eyes widened in sudden surprise.

In that instant, Lin Rui felt as if he could cut through steel with a single swing!

What kind of sorcery is this!? How could a plain, ordinary Longsword possess such magic? Yet before he could voice his shock, a cold, mechanical prompt resounded in both their minds.

‘Beep. Detected premature activation of personal template. Deviation from the Doomsday is being corrected!’

“Beep. Warning! You have violated the system rules. You must retract any non-Awakener system equipment within 30 seconds, or face erasure! Warning… you…”

“Sizzle… sizzle…”

In an instant, Yenir’s heart skipped a beat.

Two system prompts rang out—the first from Lin Rui’s, the second from his own!

The system didn’t allow a copy ‘NPC’ to hold equipment? Honestly, this was his first time doing something like that, and he hadn’t heard of any fellow Awakeners taking such a risk. After all, equipment was precious, and few Awakeners would think to give it to an NPC!

Yet, amidst the subsequent sizzling, he sensed that the Doomsday System was being interfered with.

What was happening? Should it be revoked?

Not allowing an NPC to hold equipment, or they’d be erased? Was that really a system constraint?

So many questions raced through his mind. Confronted with the system’s warning, he had little choice but to comply.

But before Yenir could hesitate any longer to retrieve the equipment, the distorted system warning began to fade away amid a series of twisted sounds.

“Beep. Warning cleared. No violations by an Awakened have been detected.”

What is this!?

They stared at each other in disbelief.

Yenir inhaled deeply, his eyes flashing with incredulity.

The Doomsday System had been blocked!?

His breach had been covered up?

At the same time, a startled Lin Rui looked at him, utterly confused:

“Lord Yenir…”

“What does ‘system template’ mean? Why has a panel-like interface appeared before my eyes!?”

“And why do the displayed numbers look just like something out of a video game!?”