"By the way, I remember before we went to Mars last time, you mentioned Azure might actually still have a hidden trump card up their sleeve. Not Qingzi, not Peg, and not Old Man Chen either." In front of the grave, Yang Qingbai suddenly recalled the matter.
Back then, no clear, reliable information had ever leaked about it; Wen Jifei had deduced it entirely on his own from Azure's choices and strategic logic during that phase.
At the time, he had said that judging by the situation, Azure very likely had such a person—or some kind of object—in their hands. It was practically certain that whatever it was, it wasn't a top-tier combat power in the realm of source weapons, but was treated as one of humanity's final trump cards, carefully preserved as an ultimate weapon.
He had also said it was a good thing. Even if Azure had chosen to keep concealing it back then and had Qingzi lead the expedition to Mars instead, it remained something for all humanity to celebrate.
"Yes, there is." Wen Jifei looked at Yang Qingbai and spoke, reaffirming his earlier deduction.
Azure indeed held another trump card that had long been kept hidden.
"There really is one?! Holy shit! Then this time, when things have reached this point, they're still reluctant to use it?! Just what is that thing? Why didn't you bring it up at yesterday's emergency meeting?"
Since there really was another trump card, did that mean the situation wasn't actually as dire as currently anticipated? That their departure this time wouldn't truly be walking into certain death with barely a chance of survival? Yang Qingbai grew agitated all at once, staring into Wen Jifei's eyes as he fired off question after question.
"I brought it up. During the meeting, I was concerned that even within the Council of Elders and the core leadership, some people weren't cleared to know about it, so I only asked after it ended," Wen Jifei said. "I asked Chief of Staff Xu and that leader from the Rejectors."
It had also been yesterday that Wen Jifei saw the supreme leader of the Rejectors reveal his true face for the first time. That figure rarely appeared, and whenever he did, he had always worn a hood and mask. For the first time, Wen Jifei learned his true identity... He was actually one of the three founding scientists of Azure, and he was still alive.
Of course, there was no need for Wen Jifei to volunteer that right now.
Yang Qingbai was clearly far more concerned with the existence of that hidden trump card, unable to wait a moment longer. "So did they tell you?"
"Yeah, they did," Wen Jifei said. "Last night after you fell asleep, Qingzi and I were quietly called out by them."
"Qingzi knows too! So what is it? Can you tell me?" Yang Qingbai asked cautiously.
"I can. It's a person." Wen Jifei gave a crisp, direct answer.
"A person... What kind of person?"
"An ordinary person."
"An or-di-na-ry person?!"
"Yeah. Degree of source energy fusion: D+. No matter how much he was fed or trained, his combat strength remained utterly mediocre. By Azure's current standards, he can only be considered an ordinary person."
"Then on what basis?!" Yang Qingbai couldn't make sense of it at all.
"On the basis of his trait," Wen Jifei looked up again and said.
"Trait? With his level of fusion, he actually reached Yanxiu and has a trait?!"
"Yes."
"What trait could be so goddamn incredible?"
"Symbiosis."
"Symbiosis?!"
"Yes. He was discovered by chance during a source energy screening for new recruits back then, only one year after our class. Azure was astonished to find that although this person was clearly very weak, whenever a top-tier fighter approached him, an unusual surge of life source energy would emerge within his body, actively attempting to bind with the other party's life aura."
Yang Qingbai froze for a moment, seemingly unable to process it immediately. "What?!"
"Using that as an entry point, Azure successively formed three independent research teams to conduct extensive testing, analysis, and modeling on him across different stages. In the end, all three teams arrived at nearly identical conclusions: his trait can establish a symbiotic relationship with another Yanxiu. Under this relationship, first, he can draw upon the other party's immense life source energy to achieve massive, rapid growth. Second, if the other party dies, he will die too... and if he dies, there is a very high probability that the other party will die as well."
"Holy... shit, that's insane!" Yang Qingbai's mind spun for a beat, followed by a sudden jolt of realization. "Then have him bind with Old Man Chen right now! What the hell are those Azure folks waiting for?! Isn't Old Man Chen's life force almost drained? Bind them together! Let that guy focus on staying alive while Old Man Chen focuses on fighting!"
"Your logic might not actually hold up," Wen Jifei said. "How can you be sure the outcome wouldn't be him having his life force dragged down and drained by Old Man Chen, dying right along with him? After all, the energy gap between them is so vast they're not even in the same world."
Yang Qingbai: "...Oh, right."
"Besides, Old Man Chen isn't a Yanxiu," Wen Jifei said.
"Right, I forgot about that again. It's all because that old guy is so ridiculously strong, defying all reason. Then who did he end up binding with? Who has he ever bound with?" Yang Qingbai asked, his mind searching through all the top human combatants who could have been candidates.
"No one. He's never bound with anyone," Wen Jifei said. "Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to still be this weak."
Yang Qingbai: "Why? I mean, why didn't they bind him?"
"He most likely only gets one chance in his entire life to choose a bond," Wen Jifei provided the answer, then added, "Azure isn't a hundred percent certain about this point, but their repeated analyses and projections all point in that direction."
"Oh... Then what use is he? How are they supposed to use him?"
Even as Yang Qingbai asked this question, the answer had already formed in his own mind.
For humanity in its current predicament, the best use of that man and his symbiotic trait wasn't to bind with some human powerhouse to grow stronger, but to bind with an enemy... and then choose to die.
"So... they haven't been planning all along to use him to kill Miwang, have they?" Yang Qingbai asked slowly, his entire demeanor looking like someone who had just unveiled a cosmic secret.
"Yes. They fantasized about it, hoped for it, and still hold on to that idea to this day," Wen Jifei replied. That sentence was almost word for word what the leader of the Rejectors had said last night.
"What about him? Does the man himself know about this? Where is he now? Is he mentally prepared? When that moment truly comes, will he be willing to do it? Will he have enough courage to go through with it?" Yang Qingbai pressed further.
Wen Jifei: "He doesn't know yet. Because previous research indicated that Yanxiu itself most likely possesses a personality of its own, Azure didn't dare give him too much direct, explicit, or targeted guidance, all to keep the trait stable over the long term.
"For now, he's only been told that there's something unusual about his constitution that makes him useful to Azure's source-energy-related research.
"Over all these years since, he has always stayed at one of Azure's large family bases without ever taking part in battle, living a life like an ordinary person. Going to school, working, eating, sleeping... Aside from receiving unlimited source energy nourishment every day, on the surface he's completely indistinguishable from any ordinary Azure family dependent. Even his family was brought over by Azure very early on."
"On the surface?" Yang Qingbai had finally caught on to something sharp today, seizing on the keyword in Wen Jifei's words. "Then what about in reality?"
"In reality, everything about him is under Azure's surveillance, protection, and management. Azure cannot allow any accident to happen to him—not even a one-in-ten-thousand chance. So, for instance, all of his food is specially provided. Even the bathtub he washes in is custom-made. Azure operatives watch him take baths and use the bathroom every day. People watch him walk and drive every second of every minute. Everyone he interacts with—classmates, friends, teachers, colleagues, even girls he's flirted with—every single one was deliberately chosen and trained by Azure. Carefully and imperceptibly, they instill in him the concept of a shared human destiny, a passion and longing for battle, heroic ideals, and a spirit of sacrifice..."
Wen Jifei described a Truman Show scenario to Yang Qingbai, though at this time, that movie did not yet exist—or at least hadn't hit theaters yet.
"So how do they ultimately plan to tell him? Will he be willing?" In the car on the way back, Yang Qingbai continued to ask.
Wen Jifei leaned against the back of his seat and shook his head. "I don't know."
"Are they just planning to wait for Miwang like this? What if he grows old and dies before Miwang ever comes? What if humanity is wiped out before Miwang arrives? Like this time... with things like this, do they still not plan to use him?" Yang Qingbai had spent most of the day asking questions.
"If necessary, they will. Preparations have already begun. That's what they said, and I believe it's credible," Wen Jifei said.
Because, by normal logic, Azure could never keep this trump card hidden until after human civilization was completely destroyed. And right now, the simultaneous threat of the Remains and Puda'er was undoubtedly enough to make them make up their minds.
Yang Qingbai: "So, if he's willing, can he really bind with Miwang and take him down like that?"
Wen Jifei: "I don't know. After all, this all only exists in analysis and deduction; there's no way to test or verify it in advance. That's why this time, I don't plan to place any of my hopes on him."
"Taking down Miwang is probably a long shot. But if it's Puda'er, wouldn't the chances be a bit better?"
"Same answer. I don't know." Wen Jifei smiled bitterly and shook his head. Perhaps having answered so many questions in succession, he was exhausted, his spirits low, giving off a somewhat despondent, subdued impression.
Chapter 967