# Chapter 2: Self-Sacrifice, Part 2
*Does life exist for 'happiness,' or does it exist for 'meaning'?*
In the Multiverse Star River, the Bloody Star River, within the territory of the Amos Royal Court, in a secluded private void settlement.
Former Mycroft Captain, Ke Lei Le, stood before a massive cultivation chamber, pondering this question—one that only clever people who had grown tired of living and had nothing better to do than indulge in wild thoughts and fanciful imaginings would contemplate in a sage-like state.
Before him was a mass of writhing flesh.
This was a colossal container made entirely of translucent biological crystals, filled with a fluorescent scarlet solution. Floating within that scarlet solution were large chunks of distorted, swollen flesh, covered in strange, glowing runes.
One could see that on this faintly golden-glowing flesh, blood vessels spread out like roots, and around those blood vessels were clusters of silver eyeballs. These eyeballs were beautiful and holy, like the most breathtaking, flawless gems. Yet embedded in these organs and bodies that seemed to have emerged only from nightmares, they appeared both eerie and beautiful.
Suddenly, the flesh began to convulse. Large bubbles rose in the scarlet solution. Vaguely, one could see the strange runes that had covered the flesh beginning to spread again, even penetrating deep into its interior.
But Ke Lei Le watched this scene with a very gentle gaze. He operated some controls on a nearby device, seemingly adding something to the solution, then turned his head and said, "How is it, Ai Er Ma? Feeling a bit better?"
"I've already adjusted the concentration of the Transcendent Barrier Solution to eighty percent. Do I need to increase it further?"
"...Good, no need." After a moment, the strange runes on the flesh began to recede, and a tired voice communicated with Ke Lei Le through psychic transmission: "Thank you for your hard work, Ke Lei Le. You've done really well. In just a few days, you've learned the laboratory operations quite proficiently... Your talent is truly remarkable!"
This bizarre flesh aggregate in the crystal container was none other than Ai Er Ma—or rather, the core central part of Ai Er Ma. She spoke with a sigh: "You know, even professional Amos people need one or two weeks to get the hang of it, but you learned all the steps in just a few days. It seems passing my legacy to you won't be difficult."
"...Perhaps." Ke Lei Le was noncommittal. He couldn't immediately explain how much he wanted to help Ai Er Ma, nor how hard he had tried, giving it his all to learn... Rubbing his tired eyes, he said in a low voice: "Hold on a little longer, Ai Er Ma. Wait a bit more. Maybe a cure for the Extreme Virus will be developed soon? Don't think about legacies or what happens after death right now."
"Mm, I'll wait."
The clearly mutated flesh emitted a rational female voice. She agreed readily, but it couldn't make Ke Lei Le feel any sense of security.
For a moment, neither spoke. The entire laboratory hall fell into silence, broken only by the sound of the solution rising and falling in the cultivation chamber.
"...Is it worth it?"
"To sacrifice yourself like this, to become a monster, and possibly even die like this... Is it worth it?"
In this silence, staring at the mutated flesh in the chamber, Ke Lei Le wanted to speak several times, to ask Ai Er Ma what she thought—he wanted to know whether this woman he knew well truly understood her actions, whether she knew what meaning this had, whether it was worth abandoning her life.
But he couldn't say it.
Because even Ke Lei Le knew that Ai Er Ma's actions when the Extreme Virus spread again had saved at least tens of billions of Amos people.
—After obtaining the 'Barrier Agent' developed by the Nature Mentor, Ai Er Ma used her own bloodline as an experiment to formulate a Barrier Agent suitable for Amos people. Then, without stopping, leveraging her recent audience with the Amos Great Emperor, she hinted that her actions had the Emperor's tacit approval. Using the favor she had earned by killing an Ultimate Being and saving a large number of thinking individuals, she directly contacted the upper echelons of related industries and began rapid production of the Barrier Agent.
This series of operations was as smooth as flowing water, couldn't be faster—with the opening of the teleportation network, batch after batch of Barrier Agent was sent throughout the Royal Court, allowing the vast majority to block, or at least be aware of, the Extreme Virus's invasion, thereby enabling better treatment and isolation. It was no exaggeration to say that Ai Er Ma's actions saved tens of billions of people. She could even be said to have saved the entire generation of the Amos Royal Court.
To this, the Great Emperor remained silent. He neither denied nor acknowledged Ai Er Ma's use of his name. He neither stopped nor helped her actions in defying his will to fight the Extreme Virus.
He merely watched with interest as the ant in his palm struggled desperately, sacrificed desperately, paid with its life to realize its own meaning, then nodded thoughtfully.
It was precisely because Ke Lei Le knew this that he wanted to ask: Is it worth it?
This question was never spoken aloud, but in the spiritual network connecting them, thinking was equivalent to speaking.
Facing Ai Er Ma, who seemed to want to say something, Ke Lei Le's thoughts were openly revealed to her without concealment.
"I know, for you, Ai Er Ma, sacrificing yourself by infecting yourself with the Extreme Virus to save hundreds of billions or even trillions of Amos people is the most worthwhile thing. This sacrifice is noble and admirable. Countless people will spread your name, receive your grace, live because of the future you gifted them—this spirit is destined to be sung as a legendary epic into the next era.
But I am a cold-blooded, heartless person who looks down on other races. I am a vulgar, selfish villain who doesn't care if a stranger dies before my eyes—I could even enjoy a meal if they died horribly—but who feels like dying himself when someone familiar gets hurt.
To me, compared to you, those hundreds of billions of fanatically xenophobic Amos people are mere dust, and you are the sun. That the sun would willingly extinguish itself for dust—I truly cannot accept it. Yet I understand that for you, there is no 'worth it' or 'not worth it.' Because you could do this. You, who were willing to defy the Great Emperor for the Amos people, would naturally sacrifice your life for them. This is probably your meaning. I can feel it. You even feel happiness about it."
—Happiness is the dual satisfaction of 'spirit' and 'matter.'
—Meaning is the process of 'realizing' and 'following' one's own will.
At this moment, even though Ai Er Ma had mutated into a flesh monster while fighting the Extreme Virus's erosion, no one could say she was unhappy now, or that her life had no meaning.
Because she had achieved dual satisfaction in matter and spirit. She had realized and followed her own will, carrying through her lifelong wish.
But the flesh in the cultivation chamber twitched slightly, as if shaking its head.
"Ke Lei Le, you can't say that."
A gentle spiritual fluctuation came, as if trying to enlighten him: "Let me give an analogy—when a group of people is playing in the forest and suddenly encounters a beast attack, everyone panics and flees. But given their speed, basically no one can escape."
"And at that moment, suddenly, one person stays behind to fight—in her heart, perhaps there is no such thing as 'sacrifice for the Amos people.' She might simply be acting out of spite, out of unwillingness—spite that the guardian among the crowd didn't act, unwillingness that her fate should be like this."
"So, since he won't act, I will—that person fights, temporarily drives back the beast, allowing most people to escape, but she herself is about to die... The others who escaped, and those watching from the sidelines, are all moved and say, 'This is noble self-sacrifice.' But in reality, it isn't."
A golden tentacle extended from the flesh. Through the crystal wall of the cultivation chamber, it seemed to want to touch the face of Ke Lei Le, who was already in tears. Ai Er Ma said calmly: "Sacrifice isn't so cheap... But perhaps sacrifice is exactly that cheap. After all, we are all selfish lives. As long as it's for our own will, our own meaning, even sacrifice is gladly accepted."
Ai Er Ma herself was a top scholar in related transcendent biology. She could even reverse-engineer a synthetic body that matched the soul's adaptability for an alien race with no prior information.
Remember, when Ke Lei Le was in the Soul Abyss Sphere, he had no physical genetic factors, only his soul. Yet with just some brief information, Ai Er Ma could use the characteristics of Ke Lei Le's soul to construct his body roughly correctly.
After receiving the consultation from the Nature Mentor—which was more like step-by-step instructions on how to make the Barrier Agent than mere data—she could quickly formulate a Barrier Agent suitable for Amos people based on her own body. No professional experimenter could be faster than her. Moreover, if she hadn't had an audience with the Great Emperor and been a hero who killed an Ultimate Lifeform, her subsequent series of actions pretending to follow the Great Emperor's orders wouldn't have worked, let alone mobilizing the entire production system so quickly to save so many Amos people.
So Ai Er Ma knew that the one to do all this had to be her. No one else could. Only she could accomplish this.
"...Ah, I'm sorry, Ke Lei Le. I lied."
After a long silence, suddenly, the flesh in the scarlet solution began to twist. Heat like boiling water emanated from it. Strange runes spread again. This time, Ai Er Ma's voice was no longer so relaxed. Suppressing her pain, she laughed and said: "I underestimated the Extreme Virus... I originally thought I could suppress it for a while with my strength, but it's far stronger than I imagined..."
Under Ke Lei Le's shocked gaze, inside the cultivation chamber, the aberrant flesh began to proliferate. Countless distorted faces began to appear on the golden flesh—faces, Ai Er Ma's Amos-style face, Ai Er Ma's human-style face, and all kinds of faces from creatures that couldn't be identified.
These faces weren't terrifying; they could even be called beautiful. After appearing, they began to howl and merge with each other. Soon, they were about to fuse into a flawless, sublimated face on the flesh—not human, but one that humans would still find beautiful. As this face appeared, strands of cocoon silk began to emerge, wrapping around the gradually shaping, distorted flesh that could already be seen to have perfect curves.
"I'm going to die."
Finally, a very calm and indifferent voice came, even carrying a hint of relief and release: "This stage seems to be called 'Death of Rebirth'? The current me will die, and from 'me,' an absolutely selfish Ultimate Being will be born... Ah, it really won't work. Only this selfishness I cannot accept. Why can't its core thought be about becoming stronger, about love, about beauty and harmony?"
"No, hold on a little longer!"
At this point, Ke Lei Le had no extra heart for shock or grief. He just gritted his teeth, rushed to the cultivation chamber's control panel, and frantically entered the control code to increase the concentration of the Transcendent Barrier Solution: "There's definitely still hope—wait a little longer, just a little more time!"
"Kill me. The password is '-0302?0101?1001?0304?0502?0105?0501?0902?0501?0301?0102-'."
Ai Er Ma's tone was very calm, as if she had long anticipated what to do when she died: "This is a secret code I prepared myself to immediately destroy everything if I showed abnormal conditions. Even if I become an Ultimate Being, it can kill me instantly. After all, I had a Grand General strengthen this Annihilation Array."
"Ke Lei Le, even if you don't press it, it will activate automatically later. But I want to die by your hand, still as an Amos person. Please fulfill my wish."
"No!"
Pounding his fist on the control panel, Ke Lei Le's eyes widened, bloodshot from nights of watching over her. He turned and shouted at Ai Er Ma: "Pray to the Honorable Marshal—to Joshua Van Radcliffe, to that name!"
"If you just pray to the Honorable Marshal, a miracle will definitely happen! I don't understand, why won't you?!"
"No." In this refusal alone, Ai Er Ma's voice turned cold, but one could hear the shame hidden behind that tone: "Absolutely not."
"Amos people are enemies of the Mycroft people—in that war, many of your people died, and many of our people died too. It could even be said that your physical body was destroyed in that battle."
"The death of Amos people is a good thing for Mycroft people—for you. Just as you said before, you only care about me, not about the Amos people... But I am someone who saved so many enemies of the Mycroft people. That Honorable One, he might be broad-minded and not care, and grant your prayer. But I am the despicable one who first betrayed the contract, using Mycroft technology to save Amos people...
I received that Honorable One's grace, survived the battle with the Ultimate Being, achieved victory, gained glory, and thus had the opportunity to save many Amos people. But I cannot repay it. I have even done things harmful to the Mycroft people. I cannot bear this selfishness of mine, so I would rather die than live with shame."
Facing Ke Lei Le, who didn't know what to say and could only pound on the cultivation chamber's crystal, Ai Er Ma's tone became gentle again: "And don't arbitrarily define my death as a tragedy."
"Being able to realize the meaning of my life has already made me very happy. This is my true wish, my true desire. The meaning of 'the person Ai Er Ma' being born into this world has been found, even realized. I have created a future for my race, allowing them to go further. So even if I die now, I have no regrets."
"Compared to this, 'self' and 'life' are trivial matters. I am willing to abandon my life to prove my love for the Amos people, my shame toward the Mycroft people. Even if this sacrifice makes you sad, I will never agree."
"After all, I am a selfish person, a selfish Amos person. My sacrifice is only to console my own life."
"Damn it, Ai Er Ma! Do you think you're the only selfish one?!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Ke Lei Le roared and reached out, pressing his hand on the golden belt at his waist. He shouted loudly: "You want to sacrifice? But I don't! Between selfish lives, it's always a struggle—this time, I will forcibly take your life back from your hands!"
"Load Transcendent Plugin—Shadow Gold!"
[Loading complete—y?]
"Wait, Ke Lei Le, what are you doing?!" At this moment, Ai Er Ma's voice sounded somewhat panicked. She never expected him to make such a move: "You..."
But Ke Lei Le had no time to listen to her. He shouted in response: "Armor up!"
Deep shadow lightning flashed, then contracted again, forming a dark armor with golden traces that covered Ke Lei Le's body.
[Joshua System Special Edition Activated... Connecting to Crisis Handling System, beginning modular processing... Transcendent Armor·Shadow Gold Flame fully activated]
[Lurk, ambush, eradicate root and branch—we are all flames in the shadow!]
"Activate 'Shadow Wasteland'! Use black body space to swallow the entire cultivation chamber!" As power coursed through his body, Ke Lei Le inexplicably felt that the armor's power was somehow higher than before. But this was good, so he didn't think much about it: "Disable all damage methods. I want to completely suspend all energy activity within, maintaining the life state stability inside the black body space!"
—A long time ago, I was someone whose life was unhappy, whose life had no meaning, someone for whom living was worse than dying.
—But ever since I met the Honorable Marshal, ever since I became a Captain, ever since I met you, Ai Er Ma, I understood that my life exists for all of this.
—For my own happiness, my own meaning, I can give anything. Just as you said, compared to all this, life is nothing but a trivial matter.
[Warning: Target energy level too high. This operation will place extreme burden on the Crisis Handling System user, possibly resulting in death. Proceed?]
"Yes!"
Ke Lei Le did not hesitate.
And so, the surging shadow space swallowed the shocked Ai Er Ma and the entire cultivation chamber.
Outside the settlement.
Two colossal wills were confronting each other in the void.
"You want to stop me from reclaiming our Mycroft people's citizen, and his spoils of war?"
The silver-white World Will was like the deepest, coldest steel—hard, stubborn, indestructible, unshakable. His gaze swept across this stretch of void, calming even the temporal storms: "Amos, the me of before might have been stopped by you. But the me of now? You cannot."
"Don't boast, Joshua. I can see you're not lightly wounded."
The spiral will, like a galaxy, sneered: "If you said that ten years from now, it might be somewhat convincing. But the you of now? Truly not capable."
"Your main body is in the Abyss, encroaching toward the Genesis Maelstrom? Indeed, not a bad path. If you succeed, you could completely control the lifeline of an entire World Star River. The Takur people indeed cannot surpass you in individual power."
The silver-white World Will treated the other's rebuttal as nothing: "But I can. You are far from succeeding, far from reaching the boundary of Near-Saint. But I have already touched it. So, Amos, step aside."
"She is an Amos person. She is mine."
The spiral galaxy did not yield an inch. It shook the void, scattering even the light of the Magic Tide: "And that an individual like this could appear among the Amos people—truly interesting. Self-sacrifice, is it? That life has such possibilities? Truly hard to imagine. I cannot give her to you."
"Merely life and beasts might find it hard to imagine. But we are different. We are individuals of civilization. So there is always something more important, more noble than life. And it is precisely because life is so precious that sacrifice has its meaning."
The silver-white World Will gradually revealed a hint of eagerness, but he still warned: "Do you want to fight, Amos? I truly don't want to kill a strongman like you before the tide of Evil Gods arrives."