Chapter 49: Its Name is Determination
"What exactly is that light?"
Widening her eyes, firmly locking onto the radiance that flashed across the distant sky, the curiosity surging from deep within her heart overcame her despondency. Er Ma turned her head, watching the light from its appearance to its disappearance. After a moment of silence, she murmured in confusion, "...Such powerful force. Even though the distance is so vast I can't even estimate it, just a single flash of light makes me tremble..."
"The concentration of this transcendent power is something I've never heard of in all my life experiences. Even from this far away, the feeling it gives me is stronger than that clone of the Great Emperor earlier..."
On the other side, Ke Lei Le, who could also see this light, had a rather uneasy expression. After all, his strength wasn't great—he hadn't even reached the Ultimate rank. Compared to Er Ma, who had a deeper perception, his only feeling toward that light was 'danger.'
However, when he saw that Er Ma was finally beginning to react to the outside world, instead of sinking into despondency and self-isolation like before because of Emperor Amos's actions, Ke Lei Le immediately set aside that instinctual sense of danger and hurriedly said to her, "Forget about that! That light feels extremely dangerous to me. Let's get out of here quickly and go somewhere safer!"
In Ke Lei Le's heart, even the dome of the Royal Court wasn't safe. He wished Er Ma would immediately follow her original plan and leave the Royal Court's territory entirely, finding a remote small world to hide in. During this time when the Extreme Plague was rampant, the more prosperous the world star domain, the more dangerous it became due to the exchange of multiple information streams. On the contrary, those remote 'country worlds' in the Multiverse Star River, stagnant like a pool of dead water, would be relatively calm.
By then, whether it was waiting in a remote world for a rescue team from Mycroft or temporarily living in seclusion with Er Ma, it would be better than staying in the Royal Court, which seemed to be at the center of the storm... Besides, there was Emperor Amos here, whose personality seemed extremely malicious. Who knew when he might do something outrageous just because he found it 'interesting'? For a powerhouse of that level, the life and death of hundreds of billions of Amos people was nothing more than entertainment.
"Such power..."
But Er Ma didn't move. Inside her warship's main body, the translucent female figure stared straight ahead at the bridge's front window, quietly murmuring to herself, "If I had such power... could I change something?"
Don't be too greedy, Er Ma.
Emperor Amos's voice echoed in her mind again, but this time it wasn't the Emperor speaking anew—it was just Er Ma's own memory. Recalling those words, she couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Yes, I really am greedy. Even in my fantasies, I'm so unrealistic."
"That light that crosses time and space is incredibly powerful. It can't be a fleeting flame, water without a source, or a tree without roots... It must be something obtained over a long period of time, through a strong person making a decision and constantly tempering themselves through practice."
So, determination... is that it?
The foreign woman murmured softly to herself, seeming lost in thought, causing the human captain beside her to show a helpless expression.
Silently, the wheel of emotions turned endlessly.
What stopped this silent rotation was Ke Lei Le's delighted voice, as if he had discovered something.
"Er Ma, look!"
Through their mental link, the two could share all their perceptions simultaneously. Originally established because of language barriers to facilitate communication, this link could now be used by Ke Lei Le to transmit large amounts of information. Excitedly, he showed her a piece of information obtained from the Exchange System: "Look! Preventive measures against the Extreme Virus! Our Mycroft powerhouse, the Nature Mentor 'Ei De Li Er Jia Lan Nuo De' has developed a method to temporarily prevent the spread of infection!"
"See! The Extreme Virus isn't invincible. It can be prevented! The Nature Mentor is still continuing her research, trying to achieve true immunity to the Extreme Virus. Of course, it's difficult, but it's not impossible!"
Not noticing the increasingly bright light in the eyes of the woman beside him, the human captain continued excitedly, his tone filled with the pride of 'Our Mycroft people's technology is number one in the world!' "I believe that if we just wait a little longer, the real Extreme Virus vaccine will definitely be completed! The Mycroft people are blessed, and the other races in the multiverse are saved too!"
Hearing the other's boast about his own race, Er Ma's expression shifted from initial surprise and joy to gradually showing some confusion. Her humanoid interface blinked as she asked him in puzzlement, "Ke Lei Le... Are you Mycroft people always so generous?"
"This preventive method, although strictly speaking, it's just piercing a layer of window paper—once you know it, it's very simple—actually implementing it and producing a preventive vaccine will definitely take an extremely long time. You Mycroft people actually put such precious information in this public... Exchange System, sharing it so selflessly?"
"Of course!"
The Amos person's confusion wasn't surprising. Although Ke Lei Le's expression carried a strong sense of civilizational pride, his tone was very serious as he replied, "But this isn't generosity—this is a battle!"
"A battle against this Extreme Virus, against this merciless and capricious multiverse full of sudden death!"
"Since there is an existence that spreads the Extreme Virus for its own purposes, endangering other intelligent life, we must create a method to defend against it and spread it—spread it faster than the plague spreads! Only by doing this, by making the instigator fail to achieve their goal, can we truly defeat the Extreme Virus!"
After saying this, Ke Lei Le felt he might have gotten a bit too excited. He scratched his head a little sheepishly and muttered quietly, "Everything in life is a battle... The Grand Marshal said that. I really want to become someone like the Grand Marshal, so I even bought several volumes of his quotes. I unconsciously imitated a bit just now..."
Er Ma naturally didn't think he had gone too far. She just looked at Ke Lei Le's determined eyes with a complex expression.
A human in his twenties, for an Amos person who had lived for hundreds of years, was as young as a child just born. But even such a young person possessed this level of determination. Ke Lei Le, as an individual, might seem ordinary on the surface, but ah, like gold hidden in the shadows, once light arrives, he can shine brilliantly.
He undoubtedly had the capacity and potential to become a strong person.
"I understand."
Suddenly, as if she had figured something out, Er Ma showed a smile. She said softly, her expression and voice regaining their vitality.
Ke Lei Le was delighted to see that she had regained her spirit under the stimulation of this good news, but what she said next left him frozen in place.
"Using my own body to personally experience the Extreme Virus, deduce and manufacture a related Extreme Virus resistance potion? I have to say, it's a good method, and I can completely do it."
"Don't be so impulsive?! This is too dangerous!"
Hearing this, Ke Lei Le almost jumped up. He quickly tried to dissuade her, "No, Er Ma, the Nature Mentor is a Legendary High-rank powerhouse. In your terms, she's at least at the level of a titled general. She can completely isolate the Extreme Virus's influence on herself and create a blocking potion similar to a vaccine, but you can't!"
"You're only barely able to resist the Extreme Virus at the Ultimate rank. If you're even slightly careless, being eroded is far from impossible! And there's absolutely no need to go this far, right?!"
Faced with Ke Lei Le's rather agitated attitude, Er Ma smiled gently. Her smile was calm, causing the human captain, who had wanted to say more, to unconsciously shut his mouth and stop talking.
"Ke Lei Le, I know that to you, those Amos people suffering from the plague are just irrelevant foreigners, even enemies who once tried to expel and invade you."
Standing up from the bone seat she had been sitting on, Er Ma walked to the bridge window of her warship's main body. Looking out at the void beyond the window, she said softly, "If it weren't for my rebellion and my restoration of your body, barely earning a bit of your recognition, you would rather die than help me, right?"
"That's true..." Ke Lei Le admitted with some difficulty, "But mainly because you genuinely showed goodwill, and..."
"But, Ke Lei Le, I finally figured it out just now." Interrupting him, Er Ma turned around, looking at the human before her with a serious expression, "The most primitive emotion that drove my rebellion wasn't hatred for Emperor Amos's inaction, but my most sincere feelings for the Amos people, for the Royal Court."
"I hate war. I hate the endless mutual slaughter between the Amos people and other races. Although I dislike the Takur people due to my acquired education and personal experiences, compared to my hatred for them, I hope even more that the Amos people can live happily and peacefully. I wish the Great Emperor could truly love us, like a father, or like a true ruler... If possible, I really wish there could be such a day. Then, our Amos people would surely be invincible, able to extend our civilization forever."
Unfortunately, that was impossible. As creations of Emperor Amos, he would never take his toys seriously. So Er Ma could only show a regretful expression.
"Born as an Amos person, I am truly sorry... but I am also proud, just as you are proud to be a Mycroft person."
"But..." Ke Lei Le seemed to want to say something, his expression anxious, but before he could speak, Er Ma interrupted him: "Amos people and Mycroft people are completely different races. Even if I know the principle of the blocking potion, I still have to experiment personally, to modify the details of the potion myself. Only by doing the same thing with my 'Amos person' body can I obtain the perfect preventive potion."
"Moreover, unlike Mycroft people, we Amos people actually have high resistance to this kind of foreign virus. As long as there's a preventive potion as a buffer, allowing us to detect the virus invading our bodies, I believe the vast majority of Amos people won't die so meaninglessly."
"But you don't need to put yourself in danger!"
Hearing this, Ke Lei Le couldn't hold back anymore. He shouted loudly at Er Ma, "Why not just wait a few more days?! If you wait a few more days, maybe the Nature Mentor will have even developed the real vaccine! You're not yet a Legendary—this action is too dangerous!"
"But." Facing Ke Lei Le's questioning, Er Ma calmly countered, "What if, in these few days, the vaccine isn't developed?"
"Even if it is developed, what if it's not suitable for Amos people to use?"
"Ke Lei Le, you know very well that the Extreme Virus is very advanced—a top-tier transcendent biochemical technology creation several eras ahead of us. It's not difficult to prevent it by taking shortcuts, but cracking it is not that simple. Moreover."
Er Ma stepped closer to Ke Lei Le, standing right in front of the human captain, very close, almost pressing against him. She said very seriously, "The 'mere few days' spoken of lightly might mean the deaths of tens of billions, hundreds of billions of people for the Royal Court's citizens suffering from the Extreme Plague."
After speaking, Er Ma raised her head, looking at the void outside the bridge. Her gentle gaze seemed to see the countless worlds throughout the Royal Court.
"Just now, I finally understood why I've accomplished nothing in this long time... Because I lacked many things. I lacked powerful strength."
She paused here, then said, "And the determination to sacrifice."
"In this multiverse, no one is a savior. But, just as you 'Mycroft people' are willing to help all other civilizations obtain 'preventive potions,' spreading seeds of hope everywhere, if every civilization helps each other, they will surely progress together."
"But absolutely, absolutely do not beg for anyone's 'salvation,' pinning your hopes on others!"
"We must use our own hands to obtain our own tomorrow!"
She declared this firmly, her tone resolute.
At that moment, a purple-blue light began to glow on Er Ma's body. The light shone, and a ring, somewhere between tangible and intangible, appeared in her hand, taking shape on her finger!
But at this very moment, Er Ma had completely understood.
[Death!
I have always feared it.
I feared the capricious Great Emperor, I feared the merciless foreign enemies.
I feared the lightless path ahead in this multiverse, I feared a tomorrow without hope.
I even feared myself, feared my own lack of determination—not only unable to change this world, but also being changed by it.]
But now, I understand.
Fear stems from a lack of determination, from only thinking about rebelling and escaping.
From forgetting love.
"If today, I don't give everything to strive—my everything, not the Great Emperor's charity, not others' pity, and not you."
Saying this, Er Ma reached out, gently stroking the face of the bewildered Ke Lei Le. She saw the human captain open his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but at this moment, he was speechless.
"If today, I don't exhaust all my strength to strive, then how can I rest assured waiting for tomorrow to arrive?"
This is my decision.
At this moment, in Er Ma's humanoid hand, the purple-blue ring lit up with a radiance called 'Divine Power'!
The light of determination shone!
Its name is [Er Ma, the Ring-Bearer of Determination]!
At the other end of time and space, where the stars reside, one of the Four God Rings began to glow, began to respond. It detected its apostle—an individual capable of bearing this emotion had been born in the distant beyond. So, it began to rejoice, surging waves of emotion.
The chips of causality fell, one piece landing.