Walking the Hero’s Path Once Again!

If Mike could put aside everything about the future, there was one thing he cared most about right now—who was really behind Chen Yanshuo?

Who was pulling the strings from the shadows?

Was it someone from the higher-ups?

He couldn't just worry about distant threats. The immediate danger mattered even more.

"Ah, those same three questions again," Wang Peibo said with a mischievous smile. "But this time, let me answer them a little differently."

He raised a finger.

"First—how strong is he?"

Wang Peibo leaned forward, a glint in his eyes."He's strong. So strong you can't even begin to comprehend it. If this were a fictional comic world, he'd be the natural-born protagonist."

"Let's put it this way—if he wanted to kill you, it'd be as easy as crushing an ant."

Mike froze. That kind of assessment was far beyond what he expected.

Before he could even ask, "If it's that easy, why hasn't he done it yet?", Wang Peibo continued.

"Second question—where is he?"

"He's at the starting point of the Fourth Apocalypse."

Wang Peibo pointed toward the sky.

Mike's eyes narrowed. "The... sky? You mean outer space? A satellite?"

"Wrong again!" Wang Peibo looked genuinely surprised. He scratched his head."You really jumped to 'satellite' that fast? Though… with the intel you have, I guess that makes sense."

He chuckled. "Still, that's quite the imagination."

"What I meant by 'up there'—is the Apocalypse War replica. The one where your national military is stationed."

"In the military...?"

Mike's eyes widened. "He's with the armed forces?"

"You could say that."

Wang Peibo nodded, and a heavy silence fell between them.

Shit.Mike's heart sank.

So it really was someone from the top... But why? Why give him command? Why praise him? Even Dan District's Li Aiguo had been naturally inclined to like him.

It didn't make sense. Unless... there was a deeper plan he hadn't grasped yet?

As Mike fell into deep thought, Wang Peibo raised a third finger.

"The third question—who is he?"

Hack—hack hack!

Wang Peibo broke into a loud, deliberate cough, making sure Mike looked up.

Only when he was sure he had Mike's full attention did he proudly declare:

"The man behind Chen Yanshuo. The sole advisor to the military. A reborn soul from the future—"

Wang Peibo straightened, voice full of pride.

"—is me. Wang Peibo."

"...You?"Mike blinked, stunned.

He stared blankly for several long seconds, gears in his mind grinding as he tried to make sense of everything.

This guy… is Wang Peibo?

It actually explained a lot. That man had predicted almost all his moves, orchestrated events so flawlessly it left Mike feeling hopeless. Even Jiang Xiaoci's foresight had been thrown off—she had wrongly predicted Chen Dapeng's death and the collapse of Mike's forces.

The only reason they'd made it through was thanks to the unforeseen strength of Wang Chen and the old man.

Wang Peibo looked deeply satisfied as he watched the realization dawn on Mike's face.

Then, Mike rasped out a single sentence.

"Two of you... You're giving me evil twin vibes here."

"No, no. Not two of me."

Wang Peibo wagged a finger."They're both me. You could say… one is a projection. A version of me that appeared earlier—designed to stir things up."

"Is that your ability? Some hidden talent even the system can't detect?"

"Mm-hmm."Wang Peibo gave an annoyingly smug shrug.

"Then… why did your projection target me?" Mike narrowed his eyes. His tone turned dangerous."I thought we were on the same side. Turns out you were my enemy all along?"

"Aww, don't say it like that." Wang Peibo sighed dramatically."After everything we've been through together..."

"You asked me to do this, remember? You told me to introduce as many variables as possible. To push you to the limit. To make you better."

"You said every time you failed, it was because you didn't give it your all in the early stages—or you let your pride get the better of you."

"Even though I warned you, and you promised to change, people are weird. They know what's right, but they still don't do it."

"You had the answers in front of you, and yet... you still doubted the system."

"So I came up with an idea. Give you a real enemy. One strong enough to push you. One you had to overcome."

He paused, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Problem was, your starting shelter talent is so ridiculously OP, I couldn't find anyone who could reliably suppress you without outright killing you."

"So, I picked the one person guaranteed never to kill you—but always capable of pushing you beyond your limits."

"Me."

Wang Peibo grinned.

Mike's reaction was short and sharp."That's insane."

Yeah, insane.Turned out Future Mike wanted Past Mike to suffer, just to prevent him from breezing through the early game.

For a moment, Mike actually began to doubt his future self's sanity.

Maybe the guy got twisted after all those resets? Picked up a weird masochist streak?

"No one resets their life just to suffer more," Mike muttered under his breath.

"Insane?" Wang Peibo laughed, clearly enjoying himself."Honestly, watching you bang your head trying to outplay me through him? Pure entertainment."

"Even that fox Jiang Xiaoci was no match. She couldn't outwit a reborn soul."

"In the face of time," he said smugly, "even the sharpest minds are powerless."

Mike shook his head. "Wait a second. You said you couldn't use someone who might kill me... That means there are stronger people out there. Why not team up with them to fight the system?"

"Being strong at the start doesn't mean they'll always be the strongest." Wang Peibo waved it off."No one fits better than you."

"And this was a promise. A commitment."

"Alright then..." Mike murmured. "But if your plan failed before, maybe you need some reflection too."

"No need." Wang Peibo smiled."This is the first timeline where you get me as an enemy from the beginning."

"If this one fails—then I'll reconsider."

"...Why didn't you do this earlier?"

"You think I'm all-powerful? That I control time itself?" Wang Peibo rolled his eyes."That used to be your favorite complaint—always thinking I had some insane cheat."

"My powers require certain conditions."

"And this time, what condition did we meet?"

"You obtained a time-related resource. One I couldn't access before. After your 152nd death, you finally got it and passed it to me."

"That gave me the ability to act ahead of schedule."

"...So in the end, it was still me doing the hard work."

Wang Peibo muttered something under his breath. "I swear, I don't argue with idiots."

But he smiled. Their bond was obvious.

Mike smiled too, then asked, "So... the system still lets me grow. There's still hope. I guess that's why I never gave up—because deep down, I still believe I can win."

"And now, my final question—what's the furthest I ever made it?"

Wang Peibo's eyes turned solemn.

"The 120,870th round of the system."

Mike's brow furrowed. "But... isn't the limit supposed to be ten thousand types of apocalypses?"

Wang Peibo's voice was calm. "That's just a number. A lie to keep you hopeful."

"The system will change the rules to keep you trapped. It's your final opponent. And it's always been watching."

Mike fell silent.

"So even if I reached a million... I'd still be stuck?"

"You're not wrong," Wang Peibo said with a mysterious smile."But think about that word you used—stuck."

"It implies something real. Tangible. A barrier."

"And anything with limits... can be broken."

"You told me that, remember?"

"You said the system isn't truly infinite. It has a ceiling. And you… you're trying to claw your way past that ceiling, no matter how many times it takes."

Wang Peibo looked at him with genuine admiration.

"You're a madman. A lunatic who turned himself into a hero."

Mike didn't react. He was still processing everything.

"So, it's all been a lie... Even the system's promise of hope. That ten-thousand cap—it's just bait. Once humanity reaches that point, the real despair begins."

"This system really is a master manipulator..."

He looked up suddenly.

"Then, from now on... we start over, yeah? Should I kill you?"

"...Huh?"

Wang Peibo looked baffled."After everything I've done for you, that's what you say?"

Mike chuckled. "Sorry, bad phrasing. I meant your projection. Should I kill him?"

"No need," Wang Peibo waved it off."Now that I'm here, he's irrelevant. I'm taking over from here."

He stood tall, voice loud and filled with resolve.

"Come on, brother. Let's team up again. Let's walk the path of heroes once more!"

Mike stood up, equally serious, and took his hand.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows, casting their shadows long and strong. Two men, side by side, ready to write another legend.

But just as the moment reached its peak, Mike spoke again.

"...Still sure I can't kill him?"

"...Dude. What's your obsession with that?"

"I dunno. He's just kinda annoying. Thought we could sacrifice him to boost morale or something."

"You idiot—how about I let you die so we can just start over again?"

"Hey hey! I was joking!"