Legendary Person: I brought my skills back to reality!

Those two cold choices weighed heavily on Xu Hao's heart like two insurmountable peaks!

Is it a momentary and complete extinction, or eternal slavery and nourishment?

He felt his consciousness was like a small boat about to disintegrate in a raging storm, every plank groaning and every rivet loosening.

Around him, Shi Shaowei, Lin Ya, and the others lay limp on the ground like broken rag dolls, their very presence a silent urging on Xu Hao's choice.

what to do? what to do!

Despair, like a cold poison, eroded his last shred of sanity.

A direct confrontation? Absolutely impossible. The oppressive aura emanating from that eye made it extremely difficult for him to even stand, let alone resist.

Extinction? He was unwilling, unwilling to let human civilization disappear silently, unwilling to let himself and his companions leave no trace of resistance.

Choosing enslavement? That's worse than death. It means the complete stripping away of dignity, freedom, and hope, and the tragic future of an entire race reduced to being exploited without end.

"Huff...huff..." Xu Hao gasped for breath, his lungs feeling like a broken bellows, sweat mixed with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth into the dust.

No, I can't just give up like this! There must be... there must be another way!

Delay, yes, delay! As long as I can temporarily leave this hellish place and return to the real world, even if there's only a sliver of a chance...

A crazy idea gradually took shape in his nearly depleted mind.

He raised his head, straining to focus his gaze on that indifferent giant eye, and with the last of his strength, he spoke in a hoarse voice, each word seemingly coaxed from the depths of his throat:

“I…I choose…the second path.”

The voice was weak, yet it carried a deliberately crafted tremor, almost one of submission.

The giant eye showed no reaction, seemingly unsurprised by the answer, or rather, completely indifferent to which option he chose.

Xu Hao suppressed the tremor deep within his soul and continued with difficulty:

"But...but...it's not something I alone can decide to make all of humanity accept this...fate and become...'producers'."

I need to... go back, back to our world... persuade... the human leadership... to... order... a complete... surrender... otherwise... it will inevitably cause... a huge... resistance and chaos... which... is not conducive to... stable... 'mental energy production'..."

He spoke haltingly, each pause accompanied by heavy breathing and swaying of his body.

He tried to make himself sound like he was genuinely concerned for "Long" and offering advice for that so-called "efficient production base," even though he himself found his words laughably weak.

Faced with such an overwhelming force, any scheme would seem like child's play.

Sure enough, that cold, hollow voice rang out again. This time, the barely perceptible "interest" seemed to have transformed into a more obvious, condescending "amusement," like observing a lab rat trying to gnaw on its cage.

"Oh? Persuade? Surrender?"

His voice remained flat, yet carried an all-knowing indifference.

"You're trying to... stall for time, you ant. You think you can find a way to fight me by returning to your fragile 'real world'?"

Or perhaps you simply want to cling to life for a while longer, along with your companions?

Xu Hao's heart sank to the bottom. He'd been seen through!

However, to his surprise, "Oboro" did not directly expose his lie and punish him. Instead, she continued in a more contemptuous tone:

"Your idea... is naive and boring. However... your little bit of cleverness has given me a hint."

Asking you to directly 'persuade' your own kind is indeed inefficient, and besides, your understanding of my 'power' and the 'greatness' of the Fama civilization is far from sufficient.

The giant eye's pupils seemed to contract slightly, as if it were performing some kind of calculation or evaluation.

"Fine. Before you fulfill your insignificant 'spokesperson' duties, let me first... broaden your horizons."

"Before you try to return to your 'Earth,' explore here first."

The cold voice fell like a command.

"You might call this place the 'Unknown Dark Palace,' although it seems somewhat crude compared to the one built by the intelligent agent, its core is much more complex."

At its core is a temporary hub, a node linking numerous 'achievements'.

Xu Hao was taken aback, not understanding what the other person meant.

"Results?"

“Hmm,” Oboro’s voice was devoid of any emotion.

"Back then, before the Fama civilization suffered a major blow and its main body went into hibernation, in order to ensure the continuation of the civilization, we released countless intelligent entities into the universe, like sowing seeds."

Their mission is to find suitable intelligent civilizations, establish a system for collecting spiritual energy, and accumulate energy for our resurgence.

"Thursday was the one that found your Earth. It... did a pretty good job; at least, before its final destruction, it took a desperate gamble and managed to wake me up."

“But it’s not the only one.” Oboro’s voice sounded like he was recounting a mundane piece of history.

"The vast majority of intelligent agents failed, annihilating in the wilderness of the universe and various accidents."

However, a considerable number of them still found their goals and achieved varying degrees of success.

Some worlds have been completely taken over, their civilizations becoming qualified 'psychic farms'; some are still locked in a tug-of-war, the war between intelligent agents and native civilizations not yet over; and some, like yours, have just completed the initial infiltration of intelligent agents or constructed virtual trapping systems similar to the 'Fama Continent'..."

Xu Hao felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head! Earth... wasn't the only target after all!

In the universe, other civilizations are suffering the same fate, or even... have been completely overthrown!

"These successful cases are continuously sending energy to the slumbering Fama in the void. Although the amount is small, it is enough to form a river."

Oboro continued explaining, as if she were lecturing an ignorant student.

"And this 'Unknown Dark Palace' is a temporary conduit I've created. It connects to a portion of the worlds that have been successfully invaded, or rather, 'marked' by intelligent agents, including... your Earth."

“You can go and see for yourself, to learn just how far the ‘tentacles’ of the Fama civilization have extended.”

Go and feel what kind of... irresistible force you're facing. Once you truly understand it all, perhaps... your so-called 'persuasion' won't seem so ridiculous anymore.

"Didn't you want to go back?" The cold, playful tone in Oboro's voice became even clearer, as cruel as a cat toying with a mouse. "Fine. The passage back is in a corner of this 'Dark Palace'."

"Go find it yourself."