Apocalypse: I watch a survival game in a safe house

Therefore, the pure etheric theory is not entirely correct.

Humans must have other evolutionary pathways, or other energy sources.

According to conventional understanding, energy is transferred through the food chain, with humans at the top, and power seemingly originating from the next level of organisms.

But tracing back to the source, the original source of all energy is indeed the environment, the "soil," the basic material and rules that constitute the world.

The boy did not wait for his answer, but slowly walked towards another direction in the wasteland.

There was a shallow pit, with some broken bones that looked like human remains scattered around it. They were slowly merging into the soil and becoming nourishment.

"Look here again."

The boy's voice carried a distant compassion, or perhaps mockery: "After a person dies, they are buried in the earth, their flesh and blood decay, their bones weather away, and eventually they become nutrients for the soil again. Years later, perhaps new grass seeds will sprout here, be eaten by new flocks of sheep, and eventually... they may enter the body of a new 'person'."

He turned back, his dark eyes fixed on Zhang Yi: "A perfect cycle, isn't it? Devouring and transforming, birth and death. So, in this cycle, what am 'I'? Am I the individual consciousness thinking at this moment, or the eternally flowing energy called 'life' itself? What is the meaning of individual existence on the scale of the universe?"

"It is nourishment...and also a predator..."

Zhang Yi's consciousness began to fluctuate violently, and the shepherd boy's words were like heavy hammers, repeatedly striking his cognitive barriers.

Samael's will is not simply madness; it contains a cold, grand, and fundamental cosmology that points directly to the essence of life.

Under this concept, the life and death, good and evil, and emotions of individuals all seem insignificant and trivial; only the flow of "existence" itself and the transformation of "energy" are eternal truths.

This kind of thinking is highly polluting because it is partially correct but leads to utter nihilism and the indulgence of instincts.

Zhang Yi's eyes began to glow crimson simultaneously in both reality and illusion.

He felt his consciousness being assimilated by this grand perspective, and his individual will was like a castle on the beach, teetering on the brink of collapse under the onslaught of ideas.

The power originating from the Mad Owl and belonging to the Druk God race within him was exceptionally active under this resonance, yearning to merge into this all-consuming cycle.

He saw it!

Deep within the illusion, the image of the shepherd boy began to appear somewhat illusory and transparent, as if it were merely a pre-set photograph, a "teaching program" that carried a portion of Samael's will and knowledge.

The true Samael remains dormant in the deepest part of the Dark Sun Forest.

But even this photograph contains enough information and ideas to make even the strong lose their way.

Greed, devouring, returning to one's origin... all sorts of thoughts grew wildly in Zhang Yi's consciousness like weeds.

In the real world, black patterns began to faintly appear on the surface of Zhang Yi's body as he sat cross-legged, somewhat similar to the signs that appeared when Odin was assimilated.

His breathing became heavy, and a cold, predatory smirk unconsciously curled at the corner of his mouth.

Brian barked nervously.

Yang Xinxin's fingers, resting on the bowstring, tightened slightly, and the Fallen Puppet's arrows gleamed with a dangerous, cold light.

In her pupils, the virtual value representing Zhang Yi's level of consciousness contamination was rapidly rising, having already surpassed the 50% warning line and approaching 70%.

"Zhang Yi..." she called softly, her voice as light as an ice pick piercing into Zhang Yi's nearly chaotic mind.

In the illusion, Zhang Yi suddenly shuddered.

Yang Xinxin's voice was like a safety rope, pulling him back just as he was about to completely slide into the abyss.

His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the gradually blurring image of the shepherd boy, and a silent roar came from the depths of his soul, resisting the force that was pulling him toward nothingness.