Chapter 1191: Seven Zero One Two

Ding—

A moment later, one of the elevators opened in front of Shen Nan. Almost as soon as the elevator doors opened, Shen Nan subtly waved the black flag in his hand. The surveillance cameras inside the elevator instantly blurred, as if interfered with by some mysterious energy, making them unable to detect Shen Nan, who had entered his Nuo state.

After confirming no one was around, Shen Nan stepped inside. He then realized that there were no buttons for the 2nd or 3rd floor as he might have expected. Instead, there was only one smooth, unmarked button, suggesting the elevator only led to a single floor. Shen Nan pressed the mysterious button with little hesitation this time. As the elevator doors slowly closed, Shen Nan felt himself descending. He watched the word "errOr" repeatedly flash on the screen, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper behind his Nuo mask.

"Are these elevators leading underground?" Shen Nan murmured to himself. At this point, Shen Nan became increasingly certain that Bureau 749 had ulterior motives concerning tomorrow's Wushan Conference. An old, long-abandoned mountainside hotel was temporarily renovated to serve as the meeting venue, and now there were several mysterious elevators leading underground. Shen Nan couldn't understand what they were trying to do.

The elevator descended much deeper than Shen Nan had anticipated. He even felt as if it had pierced through the Wushan mountain body from the mountainside, entering an underground space beneath the mountain. After an unknown period, the elevator finally began to slow down. Shen Nan pressed himself against the edge of the elevator, hiding in the shadows, and cautiously watched the slowly opening doors. Fortunately, no one seemed to be outside. As the doors opened, an ancient-looking arched stone corridor appeared before him.

Shen Nan stepped slowly out of the elevator, his brows tightly furrowed, his gaze constantly sweeping his surroundings. The stone corridor was very old. Both the floor and the curved walls beside him were incredibly rough to the touch. The arched ceiling was just over two meters high, giving an average person a feeling of oppression and suffocation when walking through. Incandescent lights, the only remaining light source in this enclosed stone passage, hung overhead, swaying slightly, stretching into the distance towards the end of the corridor.

On the wall next to Shen Nan, a series of characters had been painted in red, resembling some kind of code. However, due to the passage of time, the surface was faint and obscured:—Underground Project 7012

"What is this...?" Shen Nan looked at the underground structure before him, which seemed like something from the last century, utterly astonished. His gaze swept forward, to the intricate intersection ahead, and continued along the walls... This place felt to Shen Nan like an underground labyrinth, with paths branching off frequently, and various stone corridors leading to different rooms. Shen Nan paid particular attention to the rooms. Some were about ten square meters, furnished with beds and small tables, appearing to be living quarters. Others were as spacious as classrooms but completely empty. Additionally, there were even communal areas like a dining hall and shower rooms, as if people truly lived there.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind him: "Shen Nan?"

Shen Nan paused slightly, his body freezing in the corridor. He slowly turned his head to look, seeing Sun Zhongliang emerging from a secret passage with a few people, looking at him with a hint of surprise.

"How did you get here??" Sun Zhongliang's tone was somewhat subdued. At the same time, some of the staff members accompanying him cautiously emanated an aura of divine power, staring coldly at Shen Nan, who had appeared so strangely.

Shen Nan was there to seek the truth, not to fight. He stared intently at Sun Zhongliang and spoke incredulously: "Director Sun... What is this place? What exactly are you plotting?"

Sun Zhongliang looked at the grotesque Nuo mask, distorted by shadows under the incandescent light, and a complex emotion flickered in his eyes. He didn't answer, but instead let out a long sigh.

"You shouldn't be here, at least not now."

"...But I am here." Shen Nan silently gripped the handle of his black flag, a cold glint flashing in the depths of his eyes. "So... what will happen?"

"Bumian... you will die amidst the clashing of gongs and drums. You will die amidst the clashing of gongs and drums, and be reborn in beautiful prayers... Bumian, your path is unlike anyone else's; you are the embodiment of auspiciousness in this world. As long as there are people in this world praying for happiness, you will endure eternally."

A familiar voice resonated in Sun Bumian's mind. In a hazy dream, he seemed to see that familiar old man again, standing on the desolate land outside the city. He gently stroked his head, his eyes full of affection.

"Master..." Sun Bumian murmured to himself. He reached out, trying to touch the figure that was so close, but just as he was about to make contact, he lost his balance and suddenly plunged into an endless abyss below! Everything around him darkened, and scenes resembling the Styx of hell wove around him. He saw endless deceased souls flowing across the sky, with six white-robed phantoms suspended above them, glaring at him. Seven-colored flames pulsed around the towering awakened lion as it wildly darted through the land of death, as if desperately chasing something. Before him, a blurred soul slowly dissipated into nothingness, as if being dragged by some force, drifting towards the sky of the deceased souls' river.

"Master... Master! Wait one more lifetime for me... If I can't bring you back this lifetime, I definitely will in the next!"

"Go back, my child..." The old man looked at the seven-colored awakened lion, shaking the entire ancient ghost realm before him, his flickering gaze filled with both comfort and reluctance. "Birth, old age, sickness, and death are the fate of humans. Moreover, as your master, I have exhausted all heavenly secrets and can no longer escape this sea of suffering. Even if you achieve demigod status, you cannot save me. Repeatedly forcing your way into the ghost realm will only diminish your own lifespan."

"I don't care!" Sun Bumian said, gritting his teeth. "The partings and separations of the human world, the separations by life and death, lifetime after lifetime—I'm tired of it all! If they're capable, let them shatter my reincarnation too! Then I can continue to follow Master!"

"Bumian, don't speak foolishly."

"I'm not! Master, you said I would live eternally amidst the clashing of gongs and drums, but do you know? The festivities, happiness, and reunions are always theirs. After one reincarnation after another, all that's left to accompany me are the headpiece and the yellow earth; I still have nothing... Master, you led me onto this path. Tell me... does my reincarnation truly have meaning?"

The blurred old man looked at the confusion in the awakened lion's eyes, his gaze complex. He gently extended his hand, seemingly wanting to stroke the child's head once more, but it merely floated through him.

"Yes," the old man said firmly. "Bumian, your reincarnation is a dormancy, and also a weapon. You are resisting the life and death dictated by nature, an unchangeable fate. Each of your reincarnations will accumulate a sliver of power to defy heaven. One day, all your accumulated strength will become the key to changing everything."