Netherworld Retrograde

The malice of the world... Xia Ming's angle of analysis is actually kind of interesting.

As fellow "outsiders," once Zel and Zefi, those Forbidden Zone Creatures, descended, the Alien Race immediately gained the ability to command the Wanderer army.

But the moment Li Yelai showed up, those Wanderers went all-out berserk to hunt him down, sparing no cost. The difference in treatment is just heaven and earth.

Li Yelai originally thought this might simply be because of his identity as a Human Champion.

With the Champion Cloak snapping in the wind, all enemies of Humans would feel an instinctive threat; the weak would flee in panic, the strong would have their ferocity stirred and rise up to resist—this was the built-in taunt aura that came with a Human Champion.

But after Xia Ming's breakdown like that, Li Yelai felt it wasn't unreasonable either.

Thinking back, at the very instant he entered this "Core Opportunity" world, Li Yelai had indeed caught a breathtaking glimpse of that mechanical megastructure spanning the void.

Back then, that megastructure seemed to carry a very obvious rejection, and at one point even tried to "kick" Li Yelai out.

It was only in the end that some other force interfered, allowing Li Yelai to successfully descend.

So, can we infer this:

That mechanical megastructure itself did not want Li Yelai entering this world, while some other existence or existences wanted him to enter and intervened, canceling out the megastructure's repulsion?

But... why?

It can't be that the mechanical megastructure calculated that Li Yelai was dead set on helping Human civilization fight, with a goal different from all those other outsiders who each have their own agenda, and so wanted to cut this "Variable" off in advance?

Leaving aside how this mechanical megastructure is supposed to be accurately reading minds... isn't the Little Mad King also unwaveringly fighting for Humans? She didn't run into this kind of obvious obstruction.

And does this mechanical megastructure really have that much hostility toward Human civilization? So much that it would specifically target outsiders who might help Humans?

Or is the problem... in Li Yelai himself? Something he's carrying poses a threat to the mechanical megastructure?

Li Yelai thought carefully, and the first thought that jumped out was the curse of Calamity.

Calamity, in a certain sense, is also a manifestation of the "malice of the world."

Luckily, Li Yelai's curse is trigger-type; as long as he doesn't activate the Face, basically nothing happens. At worst his luck tanks a bit, like never drinking one of those "win another bottle" prizes...

If it were a permanent-type curse... Li Yelai would be utterly screwed.

If a mighty Human Champion really choked to death on a bowl of rice, that would be a riot; the Kings of Restricted Zone would be laughing out loud.

Is the mechanical megastructure wary of that?

Thinks he's a walking Calamity Star, afraid he'll infect this world, or itself, with bad luck?

Come on... you're a machine, and you're doing discrimination too?

Or is it because of the Green Flame Arrows Li Yelai carries?

These arrows, blessed by the Master of Green Flames, really pack a punch, with attack power akin to the Law of Cause and Effect: pretty much guaranteed hit once fired, able to ignore spatial obstructions. Is the mechanical megastructure worried about taking a shot from these?

But this world also has a Supreme Heaven; even if there are issues with it, the tier is still very high. The Green Flame Arrows alone shouldn't be enough to threaten it.

Or is it... the Mechanical God Core stowed away in his Soul Well?

That thing can awaken Mechanical Souls, and for that megastructure that looks like the ultimate mechanical creation, it's theoretically quite a threat—assuming the core can actually affect an existence on that level.

After mulling it over, Li Yelai felt the mechanical megastructure's targeting of him was, with high probability, because of one of these three.

Then, the current situation can be sorted like this:

The mechanical megastructure harbors malice toward Li Yelai, and the "Wanderers," an extension of this world's malice, are also full of aggression toward him. They are very likely on the same side, or simply that the mechanical megastructure can control or influence these Wanderers.

That actually matches the previous speculation: the mechanical megastructure is hostile to Human civilization.

Hence, Forbidden Zone Nobles whose interests align with it can obtain the authority to command the Wanderers.

And that mysterious existence which blocked the mechanical megastructure at the last moment, allowing Li Yelai to successfully enter this world... is that a force that sides with Humans?

That weirdly titled, unpredictable "Monarch Token"... could it belong to that camp?

"Monarch Token, when you said we'd meet at the end of the world, what is that for? If you really care about Humans, why not fight alongside us?" Li Yelai thought. Why wait until the end of the world to meet—are you going to play some role in the process of the world's end?

As for Xia Ming, he was speculating about the identity of "Monarch Token." What Chang Hui had told Li Yelai before, about that mysterious powerhouse who showed up in various historical events and then quickly vanished, might very well have been "Monarch Token."

This had long been a theory; it's just that back then, the theory was of a group of people, hidden in the corners of the world, intervening in the world in order to push its progress forward.

Humans needed to resist the Alien Race, so out came a leader who founded the strongest resistance army—and after Humans gained the upper hand, he quietly exited the stage during a skirmish.

When Human Miracle-tech hit a bottleneck, there would be an obscure scholar who suddenly researched a new path—and then fell and left the stage in a test explosion.

...

Li Yelai originally thought that was something like a "Heavenly Destiny Walker," a holder of the Book of Destiny, secretly meddling with the world.

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