I told you to plant peas, and you summon Mordekaiser?

"Let's get down to business."

Beria glanced at Chen Yang, then pulled out a chair with a flourish and plopped down in it.

"Okay, then I'll get straight to the point."

Zhao Changming took a small sip of tea, his gaze sweeping over Chen Yang and Belial, before slowly speaking.

"I have analyzed the strength of the eight teams that have advanced so far, and I am certain that the Ascended One will appear in one of our three teams."

"That's why I invited you two here."

He paused here, his tone slightly low.

"I've always felt that what we've experienced is more like a kind of selection process than a regular game."

"All of this arrangement seems to be deliberately targeting us."

Belial nodded in agreement, saying, "Indeed, otherwise all of this would be too much of a coincidence."

Zhao Changming continued, "Moreover, I can confirm that the space in the previous two rounds of competition was not virtual at all, but the real world."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yang frowned slightly.

Beria remained silent, waiting for Zhao Changming to continue.

“In the first round of the competition, I encountered a talking lip-flower. It called me ‘the subject’.”

"During the second round of the competition, I observed all the residents of the town. They each had their own life trajectories, and the details were so real that they didn't seem like fictional characters at all."

"Based on these clues, I believe this is the real world."

"And we are in the midst of some kind of selection process."

Chen Yang nodded in agreement, saying that he felt the same way.

Beria's expression was also somewhat solemn.

"But the main point I want to make today is something else."

Zhao Changming suddenly took out two newspapers from his pocket and slammed them heavily on the table.

When Chen Yang saw the familiar newspaper, his eyes narrowed and he was secretly alarmed.

Isn't this the newspaper of the zombie newspaper reader?

Zhao Changming said calmly:

"I wonder if any of you have ever received a newspaper from a 'newspaper-reading zombie'."

"On the first night, I only had a lamppost and a pea shooter, so I had to go out and fight the newspaper-reading zombie."

"By sheer chance, I obtained this intact newspaper."

"After that, I started intentionally collecting newspapers from the zombies who read newspapers, and now I have a total of ten."

"Of these, only these two provided truly valuable information."

He unfolded the first newspaper, pointed to one section, and there it read—

"Great news! The zombie population has increased by another three billion!"

Zhao Changming pointed to this passage and said in a heavy tone, "The day before I received this newspaper, the number of human players had decreased by exactly three billion."

"I speculate that these three billion zombies are all human players who turned into zombies."

As he spoke, he opened a second newspaper.

This time, the newspaper boldly proclaimed—

"The Zombie King Council has decided to launch a lightning invasion of the Garden Area in thirty days."

"I received this on the second night after entering this world, and now it's the twenty-second day."

"That means there are only ten days left until this 'lightning invasion' operation."

Upon hearing this, Beria immediately questioned, "How can I be sure that you didn't fabricate these newspapers?"

Chen Yang interjected, "I also have this newspaper; the content is identical."

Upon hearing this, Beria's expression became even more serious.

His tone carried a hint of accusation: "If that's the case, why not release this information?"

Zhao Changming slowly shook his head: "What's the use of making it public? It only causes panic and doesn't help in any real way."

"Given limited resources, each player will naturally do their best to become stronger, and giving advance notice won't change anything."

"Moreover, since the zombie camp dared to give us a thirty-day buffer period, it means they must have some confidence."

Beria clenched his fist and asked in a deep voice, "So what do you mean?"

Chen Yang shared his thoughts: "The solution to this impasse lies not among the players."

"Not among the players?"

Zhao Changming nodded: "That's right. The key to breaking the deadlock is not us, but Dave."

Zhao Changming's suggestion caused Beria to fall silent, and the atmosphere became even more tense.

At this moment, Chen Yang added, "Since Dave designed this game, he shouldn't just stand by and watch all the human players be wiped out."

"After ascending, I might be able to speak directly with the people behind the scenes and pass this information on to them."

Zhao Changming nodded in agreement: "That's right. Our mission is to ensure that those who can ascend take this intelligence out."

"If Dave is willing to intervene, humanity might still have a chance to survive."

Beria frowned, his voice low: "What if Dave doesn't care at all? You know, he sounds like a complete madman."

Zhao Changming took a deep breath.

"Then I'm afraid those twenty people who ascended..."

"They are the last survivors of humanity on Earth."

All three fell silent.

After a long silence, Zhao Changming finally spoke again.

"There's no need to set limits in advance. Since Dave has summoned players from Earth and designed such a complex screening system, he probably won't just sit idly by."

"The final battle of the Ascension will take place on the thirtieth day of our survival, while the full-scale zombie invasion will begin on the thirty-first day."

"There is still room for us to salvage this situation."

He glanced heavily at Chen Yang and Beria: "Regardless of who wins this game in the end, I hope he can pass this intelligence on to Dave."

Belial asked, "In that case, haven't you considered having the two of us give up our ascension spots?"

Zhao Changming smiled slightly, his gaze still calm, yet carrying a hint of heaviness.

Do you know?

"Before I came into this world, I was just an ordinary researcher."

“I’m used to working behind the scenes, supporting those who are truly in the spotlight.”

"I thought my life would be spent like this, quietly dedicating myself and quietly leaving."

Zhao Changming paused, his gaze falling on the reflection in the teacup, as if he were seeing himself working overtime in the laboratory day and night.

"But all of this changed too suddenly."

"All of humanity on Earth suddenly transmigrated, and I inexplicably became a highly sought-after figure."

"To be honest, I still feel a little unreal, like I'm playing a role that doesn't belong to me."

"But that's reality; I became number one on the combat power ranking."

"They became the top seed for ascension."

"Upon reaching this position, I felt an inexplicable urge to stand up and not ignore my fellow countrymen."

He raised his head, his eyes filled with determination.

"I believe you feel the same way."

"Perhaps none of us know how it will end, but I hope that those who go further can lend a hand to those behind them, even if it's just a word."

"I made this suggestion simply to leave a glimmer of hope for our unpredictable future."

Zhao Changming paused, his voice becoming even lower.

"As for the ascension slots... perhaps, the ascension slots are the only ones that can survive."

"I won't give you any pretense of giving up your spots."

"I only hope that the player who gets the chance to ascend can take this information out with them."