The memories of all humanity are awakening, except for mine.

Zhou Shan knew he couldn't possibly have forgotten something so important, and the fact that he suddenly remembered it now meant he definitely hadn't forgotten...

Those must be entirely new memories of the past.

Although the memories of the past can never be described as entirely new, this bizarre event has truly occurred.

The fact that he didn't recall having discussed this matter with Song Chen and Lu Bin before coming into contact with the ancient books is further evidence.

This change filled Zhou Shan with unease.

"I can't believe it..."

"Did Jiang Chuan change something that led to this change?"

He ultimately did not open the book of prophecy, but instead put it back into the glass jar and sealed it again.

"Such changes represent alterations to the past...and that's what creates new memories."

"But who can change the past?"

"The cause and effect of Jiangchuan have changed, which theoretically can only affect the future. How can the past be changed?"

"The only known entity capable of truly altering cause and effect is Jiang Chuan."

"And the karma on Jiang Chuan's body, even if it could be changed, would only last for a short period of twenty years."

"But the ancient book was probably created 1,300 years ago, around the early Tang Dynasty."

"How did this change?"

The current situation is so extreme that human civilization is facing such a catastrophe before the end of the world.

So where will it develop in the future?
The institution could have taken some precautions in advance because of the existence of ancient books, but if the future does not proceed according to the "script"... will humanity be able to hold on until the collapse of civilization three years later?

"The karmic connections surrounding Jiang Chuan have changed repeatedly, causing the Heavenly Dao to reject him?"

"Is this divine descent also aimed at Jiang Chuan?"

"The disaster has even spread across the globe..."

"This is really..."

Zhou Shan's mind raced, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. He couldn't imagine what the future held; a sense of mystery enveloped him. He didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing, whether the ending was predetermined, whether humanity could truly overcome the final hurdle, and whether all of this was related to Jiang Chuan, this extraordinary individual.

However, just as he stood there, lost in a jumble of thoughts, he was startled awake by the sudden sound of footsteps behind him.

Zhou Shan sensed the approaching person without turning around.

His calm voice rang out in the top-secret warehouse: "Old Song."

Song Chen hummed in agreement: "It seems you've 'remembered' this matter too?"

Zhou Shan nodded, knowing that what Song Chen was referring to was related to the "new prophecy" that had just appeared in the ancient book.

"What do you think?"

Song Chen said, "How else can we look at it?"

"When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it. This has always been the way."

"I came here to find out if there have been any new changes."

Zhou Shan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

That smile seemed to be a mockery of his own inner turmoil and contemplation.

He said self-deprecatingly, "You should be in charge of this."

Song Chen seemed to have guessed what kind of internal struggle Zhou Shan had gone through just now, and he shook his head: "I can't."

"You hold a high position, which involves the lives and deaths of countless people, and even the survival of humanity."

"It's only natural to think about it more."

He paused, looked at the ancient book in the glass jar, and then said, "Since you've already put it back..."

"So you're saying there are no other changes?"

Zhou Shan shook his head, but then nodded:

"All changes are within fate. Since this ancient book can be changed, it doesn't matter whether the things it mentions next will change."

"We'll remember anyway, won't we?"

Song Chen hummed in agreement and said, "That's right."

"And this has happened before."

“There is a discrepancy between memory and reality... There is a term for this in folk terms, which is the Mandela Effect.”

Zhou Shan: "Oh?"

"The Mandela Effect? ​​What do you mean?"

Song Chen replied:
"Collective memory creates a discrepancy with reality. For example, a deceased actor might actually be starring in a new movie, or the lyrics might ask whether it's 'ethnicity' or 'constellation,' or whether the character '具' has three or two horizontal strokes. Why do so many people remember or write it incorrectly?"

"Perhaps this is also evidence of a change in some kind of world line."

Song Chen's aged voice echoed through the sealed-off Class A warehouse.

Combined with the memory of "divine intervention" that suddenly arose in their minds at this moment, the two suddenly fell into a heavy silence.

But the silence didn't last long. Zhou Shan frowned and spoke:
"It seems there are still many things in this world that we cannot understand."

"However, no matter how the words and the song should be written or sung, such changes are not enough to affect the future."

"But it's different now."

His gaze fell on the glass jar again, his expression more serious than ever before:
"What kind of opponent are we fighting right now?"

"The Diviner's Alliance?"

"still……"

"The way of heaven?"

……

5:00 AM on January 1st.

A civilian airliner, escorted by three fighter jets, landed at a temporary military airfield 100 kilometers from the northern section of the Kunlun Mountains.

Although it was the early hours of the morning, the area was brightly lit. Personnel from various military departments and agencies gathered here, awaiting assignments and ready to depart at any time for the depths of Kunlun.

As the people from Qing City disembarked from the commercial airliner, looking at the chaotic scene inside the airport, they felt as if they were actually in the middle of a mad vortex.

Before they could say anything, teachers Cao Zhigang and Cao Zhiqiang were taken away, presumably to be given tasks and to gather information.

These twenty graduates from the first cohort of students from Qing City were led towards the distant tent camp.

Along the way, they heard all sorts of sounds.

These voices only made their mood heavier.

"The support aircraft from Lanzhou have been intercepted by flying alien beasts and have all lost contact! The three accompanying J-16s have been confirmed to have crashed."

"The three groups are still out of contact. Optical satellites have confirmed that the three groups collided head-on with the beast tide an hour ago!"

"Qing City personnel have arrived! Twenty combat-ready soldiers of Class B or above are awaiting enlistment! Assign these students to non-frontline areas!"

"New orders from headquarters! Send out a small team before dawn to search for survivors from the original Kunlun command center!"

"Our primary objective right now is to gather information about the situation within Kunlun. We must deploy our limited number of drones there; waiting for satellites to transmit information is too slow!"

Lin Ci's expression was very serious. He listened to these words in silence without saying a word.

Wu Zhen was very excited. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes were full of anticipation.

By this time, they had reached the tent.

The soldier who was leading the way said to them, "You can rest here until the mission is assigned."

"If there's anything you need..." "If it's not particularly urgent, don't add to your workload."

"As you can see, the situation here is quite tense."

Lin Ci nodded: "Understood."

After the soldiers left, only the trainees from Qing City remained in the tent.

Tian Tian sighed, "I didn't expect it to be this serious. It seems that what Teacher Cao said before we set off was not an exaggeration."

Tang Songming asked, "Where is Brother Jiang right now?"

Liang Cheng said, "I reckon Brother Chuan has already gone into the mountains. He's much stronger than us."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhen was taken aback: "Then when do we go into the mountains? Time waits for no one, we have to hurry!"

But no one responded to Wu Zhen's urgent question.

Unbeknownst to them, Jiang Chuan was currently in a mysterious underground base in Yanjiao, where he was being kept under extremely good protection.

Li Yi frowned and said, "It's still related to the beast tide..."

"Could it be related to what we saw in the Yanshan Mountains back then?"

This statement is not entirely clear, but those who participated in that trial know that the beast tide was man-made.

The others were completely confused by Li Yi's words, but Chen Ming shook his head:
"If it were man-made, it shouldn't have caused such a large-scale damage."

"I just heard that the original Kunlun command center has been destroyed."

Ai Zhe polished his newly acquired bow, his expression serious: "This time, going into the mountains is my home turf."

"Bows and arrows should be very useful."

He paused slightly, then continued:
"As I understand it, our mission should be to assist the main force in reconnaissance or assassination."

Everyone's attention was drawn to it.

"In terms of firepower alone, we are far from enough to fight off the beast tide. The Ministry of War should be responsible for dealing with the beast tide."

"Our advantage lies in individual skills and mobility, which is equivalent to the role of scouts."

"Think about it carefully, if we were to carry out an assassination mission, we would most likely be dealing with some powerful monsters that even the Ministry of War's exaggerated firepower couldn't kill."

A glint flashed in Wu Zhen's eyes.

At the same time, Song Xi also burst forth with light.

Cheng Shu and Lu Ming exchanged a glance. Although their ratings were B4 and B3 respectively... in terms of combat ability, they were practically nonexistent. If it weren't for their contributions in the airport road battle, they probably wouldn't have been rated at such a level. This time in the mountains... they'd probably be a hindrance.

Zhong Huahua's expression was somewhat complicated, especially after hearing Ai Zhe's analysis.

Aizhe's awakened memories are those of an archer in the Tang army. In this kind of group combat, his experience is naturally irrefutable, and Zhong Huahua also agrees with his analysis.

She couldn't help but ask, "Wouldn't Jiang Chuan also have to carry out such a mission?"

Aizhe nodded and said, "He's stronger, so he'll definitely be assigned a stronger opponent..."

"However, Jiang Chuan is definitely an important figure for the organization, so they probably won't give him tasks that are too difficult."

"After all, whether it's the Ministry of War or the headquarters of the agency, the goal is to solve problems, not to send people to their deaths."

"...Besides, Jiang Chuan can even slay dragons, so we shouldn't worry about him."

As soon as he finished speaking, the tent was pulled open, and Cao Zhigang walked into the tent with his head down, looking rather unwell.

He looked at everyone and said, "Prepare to depart."

"Our mission was to go to the original command center location to be responsible for search and rescue and investigation."

"The investigation mission is..."

“Find the starting point of the beast tide from south to north.”

"We worked in cooperation with the soldiers of the military, and after the search and rescue mission was completed, we mainly operated along the Alma Mountain."

……

On the third group's vehicle.

At this moment, the three groups of people who had been put to sleep by Li Yu's sleeping field woke up, and the atmosphere inside the car was very oppressive.

However, no one questioned Li Yu's decision; they just had unpleasant expressions on their faces, as if they were somewhat ashamed.

He made his team leader risk his life to save him...

This is truly embarrassing for them.

After passing the beast tide, they changed direction again and headed south.

Their destination was the Kunlun Command Center.

As Zhu Chengzhu drove, he said, "Two hours... we'll reach the camp in two hours."

"Be prepared...the situation over there might be more complicated."

But no one responded.

After a moment, Chen Yufei asked him in a calm voice, "Boss... did you say those two sentences before getting out of the car?"

"Is there anything else besides this?"

"Nothing... like last words?"

All eyes turned to Chen Yufei, and those eyes shared a common thread: anger.

Even though she knew Chen Yufei wasn't cursing anything, asking such a question at this moment was still somewhat unlucky.

But Chen Yufei didn't care at all, he just stared intently at Zhu Chengzhu, waiting for the answer.

At this moment, Zhu Chengzhu nodded: "Don't worry."

"The boss doesn't intend to die..."

"We all know his strength."

"It won't die."

But even Zhu Chengzhu himself didn't know whether he truly believed these words or if it was just a form of self-deception and comfort.

Silence fell over the car once again.

They moved forward silently amidst the turbulence...

The first rays of sunlight appeared between the Kunlun Mountains, illuminating this desolate and barren landscape.

They were very familiar with this road; for the past three months, they had taken this road every time they returned to camp.

This time, when they saw the familiar camp again as the sun rose, everyone's eyes twitched involuntarily.

The once massive command center base is now nothing but ruins.

Crimson blood could be seen everywhere in the base.

Impact marks and trampling marks left by the beast tide can be seen everywhere.

The armored vehicles, tanks, and all sorts of new equipment were swallowed up by the beast tide, causing countless explosions and turning the area into a scorched wasteland.

Even at this stage of development, humanity still appears so insignificant in the face of nature.

Lu Shiqi pointed forward:
"Someone has already arrived."

Zhu Chengzhu nodded: "It seems our message will get out alive."

"..."

He paused slightly before continuing:
"Once the intelligence is out, we'll go back to find the boss."

"This time, it's our turn to save him." (End of Chapter)