Chapter 103 | Chapter 104 | Chapter 105
Chapter 103: Is It Okay to Be Tricked?
Long Yan revealed that she had been following Duan Xiaolin since the apocalypse began five years ago.
Even though she officially belonged to Ling Lang’s vanguard unit, Ling Lang himself answered to Duan Xiaolin. She had been Duan Xiaolin’s spy, deeply planted inside the central laboratory, operating strictly on his orders.
Long Yan gently patted the back of Pei Xiqing’s hand. “You just need to wait and leave the rest to him. Don’t worry about anything.”
Pei Xiqing took a slow sip of her tea.
Of course, she already knew exactly what kind of person Duan Xiaolin was. He was the ultimate, hidden villain of this entire world. If he was orchestrating something mysterious behind the scenes without telling her, he was likely standing in direct opposition to the male and female leads.
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Pei Xiqing finally spoke. “Sister Long Yan, I realized a long time ago that there are no absolute good or bad people in this wasteland. Since I’ve chosen to stand by Duan Xiaolin, I will accept him regardless of who he truly is. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Long Yan looked visibly surprised. She leaned back in her chair, studying Pei Xiqing with newfound respect. “I really didn’t expect you to say that.”
“I’ll keep your warning in mind,” Pei Xiqing said calmly. “But my mental endurance has been tempered lately. No matter what happens out there, I can handle it.”
“That’s good.” Long Yan offered a comforting smile. “Be good, and let’s leave this place together, okay?”
Pei Xiqing couldn’t shake the feeling that something was slightly off, but she couldn’t articulate what it was.
“We’re leaving soon,” Long Yan noted. “Are you sad to leave it all behind?”
“Not really,” Pei Xiqing replied. “It just feels like time has passed by so quickly.”
Night fell, casting the wasteland into pitch-black darkness. After a day of hidden chaos, Base Three had returned to a deceptive silence. Pei Xiqing was already sitting in the back seat of a heavily armored off-road vehicle with Xiaobai, ready to depart at a moment’s notice.
She had no idea where they were heading, but she was willing to leave everything up to fate. Zombies had no real home anyway, so it didn’t matter where she went to survive. Compared to the stifling, dangerous politics of the base, the untamed freedom of the wilderness actually sounded appealing.
Long Yan chatted with her as they drove away from the fortress. Pei Xiqing engaged enthusiastically at first, but the rhythmic hum of the engine eventually lulled her to sleep.
She was violently jolted awake by a heavy banging against the window.
Her eyes snapped open. Xiaobai was pacing frantically across the back seat, whining anxiously.
“It’s okay, it’s okay…” Pei Xiqing murmured, stroking the dog’s thick fur.
But when she turned her head toward the glass, she found herself face-to-face with a horribly distorted zombie pressing its rotting features against the windowpane.
Pei Xiqing hadn’t been genuinely scared in a long time, but the sudden, high-impact jump scare made her heart leap into her throat.
She shrank back against the seat. Xiaobai immediately lunged at the window, barking fiercely at the glass.
The zombie hesitated for two seconds. Then, with a sickening crack, its neck snapped, the head swiveling an unnatural 360 degrees before lolling uselessly against its shoulder. It stumbled away from the vehicle and vanished into the darkness.
Pei Xiqing rubbed her temples. Her head throbbed. She guessed it was from sleeping in an awkward position on such a bumpy road.
Glancing forward, she realized Long Yan was no longer in the driver’s seat. She carefully rolled down her window to look around.
They were parked in the middle of the desolate wilderness. It was pitch black, and a cold, driving rain had begun to fall, making it impossible to see far into the distance.
The moment she opened the window, a few wandering zombies bumped into the side of the car. Fortunately, she had already mentally prepared herself. If she hadn’t, even knowing they wouldn’t bite her, she would have been severely traumatized by the ambush.
Gathering her courage, Pei Xiqing opened the door and stepped out into the muddy rain.
Through the downpour, she spotted Long Yan about twenty meters away, wielding a submachine gun and violently fighting her way out of a swarm of infected. Spotting Pei Xiqing, Long Yan frantically waved her free hand. “Hurry up and get back in the car! The horde is swarming from behind!”
“I’m fine, Sister Long Yan! Come this way!” Pei Xiqing rushed forward. Relying on her unique status, she shoved the nearest zombies aside, clearing a path before grabbing Long Yan’s arm and dragging her back to the safety of the vehicle.
Slamming the doors shut, Pei Xiqing asked, “Sister Long Yan, what’s going on out here?”
“Look back,” Long Yan gasped, chest heaving as she locked the doors. “The entire base has been surrounded by a massive zombie tide. These are just the stragglers that blocked our escape route. I had to get out to clear the path.”
Pei Xiqing’s heart dropped.
Through the rain-streaked rear window, she could see a raging inferno illuminating the distant horizon. Base Three was burning.
Thick, black smoke billowed into the night sky. Even with the windows rolled up, the pungent, acrid scent of burning structures and flesh seeped into the cabin.
“How did this happen?” she asked urgently. “Why is there such a massive horde?”
“Who knows the exact trigger, but I just spotted an interesting face on the road,” Long Yan said, wiping rain from her brow.
“Who?”
“Xiao Yue.”
“Him? Didn’t he escape?”
Long Yan restarted the engine, flipped on the high beams, and slammed her foot on the accelerator. “Whatever is happening at the base right now is directly tied to him and that sister of yours. They planned this siege all along. Brother Duan is back there handling the emergency, but the odds are completely unknown. It was too dangerous to keep you there, so Brother Duan ordered me to stick to the extraction plan and get you out first.”
Pei Xiqing’s mind spun wildly.
In the logic of this world, whatever the male and female protagonists orchestrated was guaranteed to have a one hundred percent success rate. Fueled by their plot armor, they could achieve devastating results with half the effort.
If this was the critical juncture where the protagonist openly clashed with the hidden villain, didn’t that guarantee Duan Xiaolin was destined to lose?
He was in terrible danger.
“Are there really that many zombies attacking the walls?” Pei Xiqing asked, her voice trembling slightly.
“A terrifying amount,” Long Yan replied grimly. “More than enough to wipe an entire stronghold off the map. The people inside Base Three had grown far too comfortable; they never expected a catastrophic breach like this.”
Born in adversity, die in comfort.
Just as the base’s security had grown lax, the true nightmare had arrived. To make matters worse, the fortress had recently dispatched a massive contingent of its most powerful ability users on external missions, leaving their defenses incredibly vulnerable.
Pei Xiqing gritted her teeth, desperate to ask more. “Brother Duan—”
BANG!
The entire chassis of the off-road vehicle shook violently, cutting her off.
The impact threw them violently forward against their seatbelts. Long Yan hissed a vicious curse under her breath.
Pei Xiqing snapped her head up, looking through the rain-battered windshield.
Standing ten meters away, illuminated by the glaring headlights, were the members of the S1 Vanguard Team. Behind them lurked a dense, writhing mass of zombies.
Leading the pack was Xiao Yue. He and his squad were locked in a fierce, bloody skirmish with the infected.
The heavy rain lashed against his rugged, hardened face, washing away streaks of mud and blood. He was gripping a heavy tactical rifle, and he looked visibly injured.
Noticing the glaring headlights, Xiao Yue paused his fire.
He squinted through the downpour, his eyes locking onto the driver’s seat. “Captain Long Yan,” he called out, his voice cutting through the storm. “We meet again.”
Long Yan scoffed, rolling down her window just enough to be heard. “A defeated general dares to address me?”
Xiao Yue’s jaw tightened. “If your people didn’t rely on dirty tricks, do you really think I’d be afraid of you?”
“Dirty tricks or not, a win is a win,” Long Yan sneered coldly. “What are you doing blocking my route? Looking for a fight?”
Xiao Yue ignored her taunt. His gaze shifted past her, locking onto Pei Xiqing in the back seat. “I didn’t expect our paths to cross out here. But now that we’ve met, I am taking her with me.”
Long Yan laughed harshly. “In your dreams.”
“Captain Long Yan, don’t be unreasonable,” Xiao Yue warned, his tone turning dangerously solemn. “Your faction kidnapped my girlfriend’s sister and targeted my S1 operatives. I don’t know what your endgame is, but I’m putting a stop to it.” He shifted his intense gaze back to the rear window. “Pei Xiqing, stop being so stubborn!”
Pei Xiqing stared at him in disbelief. Why is this guy haunting me like a ghost?!
Xiao Yue viciously kicked an approaching zombie away, sprinted toward the off-road vehicle, and forcefully yanked at the rear door handle.
“That Duan guy and Ling Lang are not good people!” Xiao Yue yelled through the glass. “You’re being used! They’ve completely tricked you!”
Chapter 104: Not Pretty Anymore
“What are you trying to say?” Pei Xiqing asked, her tone guarded.
Xiao Yue didn’t hesitate. “Those men are definitely not as straightforward as they appear. They’re the ones who orchestrated all of this chaos. They’ve been deceiving you from the start. They’re dangerous, and there’s something seriously wrong with them.”
Long Yan honked the horn aggressively.
She twisted around in her seat. “Xiao Yue!”
She looked ready to throw the door open and settle the score with him right then and there. He could spew his garbage to anyone else in the wasteland, but absolutely not in front of Pei Xiqing.
Pei Xiqing remained entirely calm. She pressed a hand firmly against Long Yan’s shoulder to keep her in the seat, then turned her attention back to the window. “Xiao Yue,” she retorted smoothly, “do you realize that you are the one with the biggest problem here?”
She stared at the man standing outside in the driving rain.
She genuinely couldn’t comprehend some of his absurd behaviors and the logic behind his claims.
Xiao Yue seemed caught off guard by her response. He gripped the edge of the window frame, his face flushed with frustration. “Have you been completely brainwashed? Your sister is still out there waiting for you to come back! What are you doing? Are you seriously siding with the villains and aiding their atrocities? There’s a limit to being this stubborn!”
“I don’t understand you,” Pei Xiqing said flatly.
“What don’t you understand?”
She studied Xiao Yue’s face. She desperately wanted to ask him if he was aware that she was a zombie. But looking into his eyes, she saw only genuine openness, frustration, and doubt. There was no cold calculation or hidden malice.
Does he really not know?
Pei Xiqing couldn’t make sense of it.
However, the deteriorating situation outside didn’t allow for any further communication. Long Yan slammed her foot on the accelerator. The off-road vehicle surged forward, ruthlessly ramming through a dozen zombies blocking their path. The heavy tires spun and slipped in the mud. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Long Yan rolled down her window and fired two precise shots from her sidearm, dropping two infected that were clinging to the hood.
Into her comms unit, she barked, “Ying, I’m leaving the rest of this trash to your unit.”
At some point, the shadow operative known as Ying had materialized at the edge of the woods with a squad of operatives, completely surrounding Xiao Yue’s S1 team and the remaining zombies.
Ying slowly lowered his stark white mask, letting the heavy rain soak into his dark tactical gear.
“Acknowledged,” he replied through the comms.
The armored vehicle fishtailed wildly on the slick road. Clinging tightly to Xiaobai to keep the dog steady, Pei Xiqing had barely recovered from the violently shaking cabin when she glanced at the rearview mirror. Through the rain and the mud, she caught a fleeting glimpse of Xiao Yue’s retreating back as he engaged Franlun’s operatives.
She gripped the overhead handle tightly. “Sister Long Yan, are you okay?”
“I’m perfectly fine.” Long Yan kept the accelerator pinned to the floor, her eyes flicking to the rearview mirror. “I’m not the one in trouble right now.”
It wasn’t hard to hear the absolute, victorious confidence in her voice.
From a normal perspective, no one would believe Xiao Yue had even a fraction of a chance of surviving a direct clash with Franlun’s elite shadows. Most would assume he was already a dead man. But as someone possessing the omniscient perspective of the original plot, Pei Xiqing knew better than anyone else in this world that Xiao Yue absolutely could not die here.
Long Yan switched her communicator frequency, checking in with the main command grid. “What’s the tactical situation on your end?”
“Managing to hold the line,” a rough voice crackled back over the radio.
“The mutant horde we encountered back in City B was a joke compared to this density,” another operative chimed in, breathing heavily. “How long did it take for this many corpses to accumulate and mutate? Tsk…”
A moment later, Ling Lang’s voice broke through the static.
The audio was chaotic, filled with the deafening background noise of gunfire and roaring infected. It sounded like Ling Lang was actively barking emergency deployment orders to Duan Xiaolin regarding the perimeter breach, so he wasn’t fully paying attention to the comms channel.
But even from the scattered, frantic commands, it was glaringly obvious that the situation inside Base Three was catastrophic.
“There’s still a massive stockpile of serum secured in the central lab,” Long Yan advised over the radio. “Don’t forget the protocol—if anyone gets scratched, fall back and inject immediately.”
“Serum?” Ling Lang finally grabbed the receiver, his voice tight. “Sister, the two crates you left in reserve have already been completely exhausted.”
Long Yan’s eyes widened. “Exhausted?! Are you fucking kidding me? Is the breach inside the base really that severe?”
“The raid hit us too fast. Base Three was completely unprepared for an assault of this magnitude,” Ling Lang sneered bitterly. “An hour after the outer walls were breached, several high-ranking base directors were still lounging in their luxury hotel suites, soaking their feet and sleeping with escorts. Brother Duan personally executed them on the spot.”
“Serves the useless bastards right,” Long Yan spat. “How bad are your injuries right now?”
“Not great.”
“I’ll coordinate with Brother Duan,” Long Yan said, easing up on the accelerator slightly to stabilize the vehicle. “I’ll dispatch a specialized drone unit to air-drop an emergency batch of serum directly to your coordinates.”
“Negative,” Ling Lang barked. “The absolute defense grid has already been activated. Nothing can penetrate the airspace. Don’t you understand the lockdown mechanics of this fortress?”
The base’s ultimate defense system was notoriously uncompromising. Once the lockdown protocol was initiated, not even a fly could breach the perimeter. Let alone a supply drone.
It meant the operatives trapped inside the walls were locked in a desperate, life-and-death struggle against the infected, completely cut off from any external reinforcement or resupply.
The tragic irony was that the surveillance directors hadn’t triggered the defense program fast enough to keep the horde out. Now, it was just keeping everyone locked in.
Long Yan’s expression turned lethal. “You better survive this and make it back alive, Ling Lang. Because if you don’t, I swear I’m taking Pei Xiqing and vanishing into the wasteland. None of you will ever see her again.”
Pei Xiqing’s stomach was already churning violently from the anxiety. Hearing Long Yan use her as leverage, she blinked, momentarily dazed.
The radio channel went dead silent for two heavy seconds.
When Ling Lang finally responded, his voice was significantly softer. “Brother Duan is currently engaged in heavy combat, so he asked me to relay a message to her. And honestly… what Brother Duan wants to say is exactly what I want to say, too…”
The radio crackled. “Take good care of yourself out there. Make sure you don’t lose any limbs. If you come back missing pieces, you won’t be pretty anymore.“
The communication feed abruptly severed.
Long Yan slammed her foot back onto the accelerator, driving deeper into the night.
Pei Xiqing clenched her trembling fingers in her lap. “Can we really not go back?”
“There’s no going back.”
“Why?”
“Our return vector is completely blocked,” Long Yan explained grimly. “The entire route is choked with mountains of zombie corpses and raging fires. Furthermore, the defensive perimeter is seeded with high-yield explosives ready to detonate. If we try to push back, we’d have to wade through the thickest part of the horde, risking a catastrophic chain reaction from the traps.”
This was the brutal reality of the base’s protection mechanism. Every single defensive trap, automated turret, and explosive charge within a ten-mile radius had been armed and activated.
Once the arrow leaves the bow, it cannot turn back.
There was no return.
“I understand,” Pei Xiqing murmured. Then, her eyes hardened. “Stop the car.”
Long Yan frowned in confusion. “What’s wrong?”
With Ying and his shadow unit securing their rear, there were no zombies or S1 operatives pursuing them.
“I’ve thought of a way.”
“A way to do what?”
Pei Xiqing opened the door and stepped out into the rain. Finding a patch of wet soil, she picked up a broken branch and quickly sketched a large circle in the mud. Then, she carved a small, solid mark dead in the center to represent the base. Surrounding the perimeter, she stabbed a few dots into the dirt to map the locations of the primary control nodes.
She crouched over her makeshift map, the heavy rain quickly soaking through her tactical gear. Long Yan grabbed an umbrella from the trunk and jogged over, holding it over Pei Xiqing’s head to shield the drawing. “What exactly are you mapping?”
At first glance, it was a highly detailed topographic schematic of the fortress.
The look in Long Yan’s eyes shifted drastically as she stared down at Pei Xiqing.
This is the absolute, classified architectural layout of the base.
Pei Xiqing tapped the central mark with her muddy stick. “Since the absolute defense system is activated and locked down from the inside, we just have to find a way to manually override it from the outside.”
“I’ve already run that calculation. The probability of a successful external override is zero.”
“Zero?” Pei Xiqing looked up, a sharp, cunning smile touching her lips. “Not necessarily.”
When it came to the plot armor of the male and female leads, nothing was impossible.
Right now, the enemy forces were battered and operating out in the open, while she and Long Yan were safely hidden in the dark. That tactical advantage opened the door to countless possibilities.
Recognizing that familiar, fox-like glint in Pei Xiqing’s eyes, Long Yan squinted and smiled. “What kind of devilish scheme are you cooking up?”
Pei Xiqing curled her finger, gesturing for the captain to lean in closer.
Chapter 105: The Scourge of Most of the End Times
Xiao Yue was utterly exasperated by Ying’s relentless assault.
He had heard whispers of Franlun’s legendary “Shadows” for years, but facing two identical, mysterious figures attacking in perfect, shifting synchronization was a nightmare he hadn’t prepared for. He was on the defensive from the very first strike.
When one of the shadows launched a brutal kick toward his chest, Xiao Yue crossed his arms to block the impact. Even so, the sheer force behind the blow knocked him back several staggering steps. He channeled his dual supernatural powers, his energy surging as he lashed out, fighting to keep the phantom figures at bay.
However, Xiao Yue’s two abilities weren’t yet perfectly integrated. There were still small, jagged gaps in his defense—disadvantages that didn’t escape Ying’s notice for a second. The shadow operative ruthlessly exploited every tiny flaw, forcing Xiao Yue into a desperate struggle for survival. If it weren’t for his innate talent, peak physical conditioning, and the high-grade combat gear he wore, Xiao Yue wouldn’t have even been able to catch his breath.
Is this the true strength of Franlun?
The second operative stepped in, and the dual abilities Xiao Yue had once prided himself on suddenly felt vulnerable—even pathetic—in their eyes. A swift, heavy punch sent Xiao Yue crashing to the ground.
Then, the second figure seemed to decide the fight was already won. He withdrew, vanishing into the darkness as if he had never been there. The other shadow remained nearby, watching Xiao Yue quietly, seemingly hesitating over a final decision.
Xiao Yue, possessing the resilience of an indestructible cockroach, scrambled back to his feet, determined to fight to the bitter end. He leveled his gun and fired, the bullet hurtling with impossible accuracy straight toward Ying’s forehead.
But just as the projectile reached its target, Ying’s body dissolved into thin plumes of black smoke.
It was a trick!
The realization hit him like a physical blow. He had only been fighting one person the entire time. The people of Franlun… they truly defied his understanding of reality.
Xiao Yue took a steadying breath and wiped a smear of blood from his lips. Nearby, his teammates rushed over, shouting, “Captain! That shadow was moving too fast! There’s definitely some kind of trick here!”
Xiao Yue spat out a mouthful of blood. “Yeah. He could have finished me off at any second.”
Something was wrong. There had to be a more pressing objective that forced the operative to abandon the kill.
Pei Yanting, Xiao Yue suddenly thought. Where is she? Did you find her?
“Captain, we haven’t seen the Vice Captain since we started the trek. With the situation at the base spiraling, we assumed she had headed that way. We found tracks left by her along the trail, and they definitely lead toward the fortress. Is she…”
Xiao Yue stared toward the base, which was now wrapped in thick, suffocating fog and raging fires. His expression turned grim.
Meanwhile, Pei Yanting was hurrying through the jungle with her gear strapped to her back. Behind her, the band of scavengers they had picked up along the way were busy looting bag after bag of weapons and food supplies they had liberated from the base’s outskirts, looking entirely self-satisfied.
“Damn it, I thought this base was supposed to be some impenetrable fortress,” one of them laughed. “Turns out we could just sneak in and strip the place clean! Hahaha!”
“These people are nothing!”
“With all this loot, we won’t have to worry about food, drink, or ammo for the next five years.”
The man drove up alongside Pei Yanting. “Hey, you led us well. Remember to call us next time you have a deal this lucrative.”
Pei Yanting ignored him.
They continued to gloat. “Bitch, I remember you had a sister who looked like a total vixen. How come you look nothing like her? Are you even actually sisters?”
Pei Yanting had spent nearly all her time outdoors since the outbreak. Her face was coated in a thick layer of grime, her cheeks were gaunt, and her cheekbones jutted out sharply, but her eyes burned with a cold, ruthless indifference.
“Damn it, why aren’t you saying anything? Who do you think you are? Those people in the base didn’t have us mounting an inside-out assault. Do you really think you could have taken down a base this large all by yourself?”
Pei Yanting didn’t respond until she rounded a thicket of trees and spotted a familiar, disheveled figure huddled in the rainforest.
“Xiao Yue!” she shouted.
Xiao Yue looked up, his face showing a mix of shock and relief. “Tingting… why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to be inside the base?”
Pei Yanting rushed over, hugging him tightly. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. I managed to escape and linked up with a group of S1 members. Why are you out here? I already called for backup…”
“I came looking for you, but I couldn’t find you. I searched the entire city and came up empty.”
“It’s too dangerous here. Why would you come alone?”
“I brought the remaining S1 members, plus some stragglers we met on the road. We came together.”
Xiao Yue breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the rest of the group trailing behind her. He pulled her close. “You’ve suffered so much during this time. We’re never going to be separated again.”
A massive, thundering boom echoed behind them.
The ground shook violently.
Pei Yanting lowered her head, watching the base in the distance. Flames were blazing, and thick, black smoke was starting to choke the horizon. She said coldly, “Serves them right.”
She had heard rumors that this base was a literal hell. She had lived there for a while and had seen with her own eyes the dark, corrupt deals they made, and how they tortured their own kind for profit.
It was better off destroyed.
And yet, she hadn’t expected that even with such corruption, there were still people desperate to protect it.
Why bother?
She stood behind Xiao Yue. “Let’s go. They aren’t getting out of there.”
Xiao Yue suddenly grabbed her arm.
“We need to go out.”
“What do you mean?” Pei Yanting asked, confused.
“I thought you were trapped in the base,” Xiao Yue explained. “I heard the base was being locked down, so I sent my people to…”
Pei Yanting’s eyes widened. “You sabotaged the base’s defense grid?”
How did he even do that?
Xiao Yue looked slightly embarrassed. “I had the blueprints and the override codes left by my elders. Three years ago, the lead designer of this base was my uncle.”
“You…!” Pei Yanting was momentarily speechless.
He had intentionally trapped the people and the zombies inside the fortress. He had destroyed the place from the inside out.
There was no turning back now. Pei Yanting turned away with a grim expression. “Forget it. Let’s move.”
“Wait a moment.”
Xiao Yue hesitated. “Pei Xiqing is still somewhere around here. Your sister. Are you not looking for her anymore?”
“Looking for her?” Pei Yanting asked coldly. “There’s no need. You told me before that she was still conscious, but I think that’s unlikely. The only possibility is that she was dragged to Base Three and pumped full of zombie-strain drugs. That’s why she’s acting this way.”
“It’s different. It’s completely different,” Xiao Yue insisted. “I saw her just now. She didn’t look like a zombie at all. She looked perfectly awake.”
Pei Yanting frowned. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Pei Yanting stared at him. “Why are you so obsessed with her? Is it because she climbed into your bed once, and you can’t bear to let her go?”
Xiao Yue paused. “How could that be? I just feel like everything about her is fundamentally strange. I need to find the truth behind it.”
Why could a person who had clearly been dragged from a car, bitten by zombies, and abandoned in a sea of infected, suddenly appear here as if reborn, showing zero signs of infection?
“Is that all?”
“That’s all.”
Pei Yanting sighed, her fatigue finally showing beneath her black-framed glasses. “Let’s go, then. Where is she?”
He didn’t respond.
Suddenly, the cold press of a gun barrel against the back of her head made her freeze.
Xiao Yue looked up and saw that the opportunistic, gangster-like ability users they had “rescued” had surrounded them.
“Hey, hey, we’re all a little surprised by your sudden interest in finding a woman,” the leader sneered. “Especially a beauty who’s managed to bring disaster to most of the apocalypse.”

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