Redemption of a Born Demon

All eyes turned to the figure that had suddenly appeared by the window, their gazes hardening.

Everyone present was exceptionally sharp, but this person had managed to get so close before Yi Beidou and Ding Huiyuan even sensed him. This alone was a testament to his extraordinary nature.

Who on earth was this person? An Ancient One? Some other hidden entity?

Zhou Qingchen and the others observed him carefully and noticed something unusual about him. It was a strange feeling; although the man showed no outward sign of anything amiss, they couldn’t help but feel it.

A marionette.

The body seemed to be possessed and controlled by another, terrifying will. That will had complete command of this vessel and had used its formidable Heart Intent to conceal the body’s Qi, deceiving their senses.

Who on earth was this person?

The group grew even more confused. They had never encountered such an individual or this kind of Divine Power before.

"So it’s you."

The others didn’t recognize him, but Yi Beidou did. After all, he had clashed with this man twice before.

The first time was in Modu, and the second was in Japan.

Back then, he had captured a key figure from the Pioneer Group. This man, despite being an ocean away, had been able to project his consciousness to control a Super Warrior’s body and contend with him. The encounter had left a profound impression on Yi Beidou that lingered to this day.

This time, however, Yi Beidou keenly sensed a difference.

Previously, when the man remotely controlled his flesh puppets, there was always a sense of stagnation, a lack of perfect control. The puppet’s micro-expressions couldn’t be perfectly synchronized while it spoke.

But it was different now. If not for that faint, strange sense of detachment, no one would have noticed anything amiss from the man’s appearance, movements, or Qi alone.

’The man’s power seems to have improved. Or perhaps, just as he himself said, he’s broken free from some kind of shackle?’

A judgment formed in Yi Beidou’s mind.

At his level, such conclusions were almost certainly correct.

"You’re with the Pioneer Group? Are you here on their behalf?"

Yi Beidou asked.

Someone from the Pioneer Group?

Hearing this, the others were slightly taken aback.

If he was from that organization, then he was most likely an enemy.

"In the past, I did serve the Pioneer Group. But now, I have broken free of their control and become a free observer and experimenter."

"Don’t look at me like that. I am not your enemy. I am not a Reincarnator, nor am I an Earth Immortal Flesh Devourer. In fact, as I’ve said, there will surely come a day when we cooperate."

"Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Beretta."

The man, a smile still on his face, bowed in a gentlemanly fashion.

"You say you’re not an enemy, and we’re just supposed to believe you? I think capturing you and slowly interrogating you is the right choice."

Zhou Qingchen’s gaze was sharp, and a layer of Qing Guang already covered his body.

"You can certainly do that. It makes no difference to me. I have many such avatars; this is just an unremarkable one. Even if it were to die right now, it wouldn’t affect me in the slightest."

Beretta had an air of indifference.

Before he escaped the control of Lotus’s seal, remotely projecting himself through the Human Dao River to control a flesh puppet was indeed quite difficult and came at a considerable cost.

Not only that, but Lotus could also use the seal to monitor his movements in and out of the Human Dao River and quickly pinpoint his location. It could be said that his every move was under her control.

That was why he had been trapped in that research institute, like a caged bird.

But now that the seal was broken, he was like a dragon returning to the sea.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time and had made a series of preparations for it.

Having regained his freedom, it was time for him to pursue his own "Great Dao."

"You call yourself an observer and experimenter. Are you referring to human experimentation? Even now, you meet us using someone else’s body. Hiding your true self, you treat human life as if it’s worthless. Our paths are fundamentally different. How could there be any possibility of cooperation?"

Yi Beidou said coolly.

He didn’t make a move, because he was well aware of how bizarre his opponent’s abilities were. Now was not the time to try and capture his true body.

"You have an old saying in Donghua: dragons have a dragon’s path, and rats have a rat’s path. I don’t care what path one walks. Other people’s lives, or even my own—if they can be sacrificed to achieve my goal, then so be it."

"Our paths are indeed different, but our destination is the same."

Beretta said with a faint smile.

"Destination?"

Yi Beidou repeated.

"The destination, as I call it, is the evolution of human life, a leap for the entire human race. To achieve this goal, any number of deaths is a worthy price."

"In my view, modern scientific research is too conservative. If you want to study humans, then humans are the best test subjects, are they not?"

"I originally believed that Earth Immortal Flesh and Blood was a shortcut. I spent nearly twenty years researching it, only to finally realize that path is a dead end."

Beretta said.

He was a professional researcher. It could be said that even the Ancient Ones, or even the Sleepers, didn’t understand the true nature of Earth Immortal Flesh and Blood as well as he did. Many of his most important research findings and hypotheses remained locked away in his mind; he had never shared them with the ancient beings behind the Pioneer Group.

That’s why he, more than anyone, understood the flaws in that path.