Chapter 579: Fate's Hero!

Even Xu Zhi couldn't have imagined that at the cusp of this timeline's end, the true decisive battle wouldn't take place in the apocalyptic era of the virus outbreak, but in the past, before it.

"The timeline has shifted, but it's still quite interesting." Caroline observed the trajectory of this timeline's future and past; nothing was hidden from her gaze. "Don't underestimate the Unified Virus," she noted. "After all, the viruses of the Three Pillar Gods possess terrifying adaptability, capable of surviving at all costs."

Xu Zhi, for his part, did not underestimate the Pillar God Virus. Before him, would the virus's ultimate terminator form follow Zack back in time for the final battle? "Let's go see," Xu Zhi said, waving his hand. The entire world rebooted, returning once more to the past.

Everything rewound frantically, as if time were flowing backward.

The White Dwarves. The Martial Arts Palace. "This is the Frost Demon ability I've mastered." Zack turned around. "From this day forward, every master of the Martial Arts Palace shall be known as Frieza."

The Red Beetles. A blonde Android 18 walked out. "It's a success. We are about to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament to test our strength."

Year 208 of Stone Planet. Amidst preparations for the apocalypse, the World Martial Arts Tournament began again, becoming a grand event for exchange, with all the great powerhouses and martial artists flocking to demonstrate their achievements. Zack led the members of the Martial Arts Palace to participate. His previous two decrees had already fostered a great national integration. This time, there were no Red Beetles attacking the Grand Elder; all three races were in an atmosphere of friendly competition and high spirits.

Suddenly, in the preparation room, Zack was struck by a splitting headache. He felt on the verge of fainting as an overwhelming flood of information poured into his mind, accompanied by flashes of crimson images. "Our future plan has a problem..." He clutched his head in agony, yet continued to recall, "The virus, after we eradicated all animal infections, reached out to plants and various insects parasitic in plants and soil." Those images were terrifying. "We must spread the word." Zack stood up and rushed out. However, he failed to notice a hazy spiritual embryo slowly detaching from him, slipping into a crack in the floor like a blob of jelly. It gradually appeared in the corridor where two waiters were chatting, then quietly entered the body of one of them from behind.

"The Grand Elder is here today, too. They say quite a few top martial artists from all three races have shown up," the waiter said, completely unaware that a demonic core was slowly forming in his mind. Sparse, dark green mottled patches appeared on the skin beneath his clothes.

Half a day later, as the martial arts tournament continued, a new message appeared, describing a new future world. The two waiters immediately began chatting excitedly. "I can't believe our future, it actually..." one waiter said, his face filled with horror. "Yes, it's unbelievable, it's actually true..." The other waiter stared at the screen, his eyes slightly red. His mouth suddenly split open, writhing like a toad into a gaping maw, and he swiftly swallowed the other waiter whole.

"It took me quite some time, but I finally took over this waiter's body." His entire form became increasingly grotesque, turning completely dark green. Plant and insect characteristics emerged on his body, and two small, chitinous wings unfurled behind him. "Without infectivity, I can only rely on pure consumption to replenish energy and return to my perfect form..." His eyes gleamed with a cold, scarlet light. "First, I've acquired the genes of the three races, and Android 18... I must devour her again in this era." Android 18 was a major component in its genetic makeup.

"Fate, future, past—countless nodes are converging in this final moment." Its body writhed and grew, like a ravenous xenomorph. Its voice fluctuated, raspy and intermittent, like a malfunctioning communication device. "I'll ambush martial arts tournament members one by one, constantly growing, and be the first to evolve into my perfect form." The Slaughter Tyrant stood up, turned, and walked away without hesitation. He was named Slaughter because, the moment sentience was born within him, his mind was filled with the chaotic zombie consciousness of massacre and destruction. Thus, these simple two words would define his entire existence.

The World Martial Arts Tournament. Monitors gradually revealed several martial artists mysteriously disappearing, and the security teams sent to investigate also vanished one after another. "What's going on?" The Grand Elder's face grew solemn as he pursed his lips. "There's no record of such an anomaly." "Could it be a minor issue? Is that why it wasn't recorded?" Dr. Red Beetle, standing nearby, wondered. Over the years, he had become highly respected, and his android manufacturing technology was formidable. "No, that's not right." The Grand Elder stood up, pausing in thought. "We've trusted the future too much. Perhaps, besides Zack, something else, something unclean, has also traveled to the past." "How is that possible!?" Dr. Red Beetle's heart suddenly jolted with shock, and a silent dread began to spread within him.

The Grand Elder, a formidable strategist, quickly deduced a terrifying possibility. Investigations began at an alarming speed, and the World Martial Arts Tournament went on full alert. Soon, clues were discovered. Based on the residual traces, Zack immediately inferred that it might be a plant-insect-type zombie. A zombie had followed Zack to this era, and the entire Stone Planet became uneasy. The entity completely abandoned its disguise, flying high above cities, attacking skyscrapers and ordinary office workers, embarking on a rampant slaughter to absorb massive amounts of life and prepare to evolve into its perfect form. However, being in its juvenile form, it was quickly wounded by top martial artists who arrived upon hearing the news, emitting grotesque, high-pitched, beast-like infant screams and leaving behind blood. Based on the blood, the medical team tentatively concluded that the individual zombie had abandoned its infectious group genes in pursuit of extreme individual strength. While all high-ranking officials breathed a sigh of relief, they discovered an even more terrifying problem: the entity was devouring at a horrifying rate, growing with alarming speed. At this rate, no one in the world could defeat it. They realized this was the virus's final showdown.

Across the vast Stone Planet, the martial artist rankings, and among the high-ranking officials of various races, solutions were rapidly sought. The situation was too sudden. Ultimately, they devised the only temporary method: to help Zack achieve his transformation into a Frost Demon. Originally, a Frost Demon's transformation required stimulation from an apocalyptic virus. With no apocalypse, there was no way to transform. However, a virus source had appeared, and although it lacked infectivity, it still had viral properties. The medical research team frantically worked to help Zack advance, to counter the enemy.

As Zack and his team researched the virus, the Slaughter Tyrant grew stronger and stronger, becoming seemingly invincible. All of Stone Planet fell under its shadow. It finally located Android 18, and despite the desperate resistance of countless martial artists, Android 18 escaped, though not without losing an arm. With this, Cell advanced to its perfect form.

Slaughter understood that without the ability to infect, it was unrealistic to slaughter all life in the world by itself. Thus, it reappeared at the World Martial Arts Tournament, challenging all martial artists. It declared that if no one could stop it, it would kill ten thousand people every day. The world was in an uproar, and everyone feared for their lives. In desperation, many resorted to robbery, murder, and looting, committing all sorts of crimes. Some fervent sects even held sacrificial rituals, offering numerous underage girls from the High Greens, White Dwarves, and other races, burning them alive in fire. They prayed to the heavens, hoping for the arrival of an omniscient, omnipotent, and apocalyptic deity to save their planet.

Half a year later, with a death toll of fifty thousand, Zack, who had been dormant for a long time, finally returned to his previous second transformation form and confronted a group of top martial artists.

Boom!! Xu Zhi saw the entire arena battered beyond recognition. It was a tragic sight. Slaughter was too powerful; even without fully transforming into its true peak form, it was still more than Zack could withstand. On television, scene after scene played out, gripping the hearts of people worldwide. On screen, Colin was dead, and Android 18 had also perished. Broken mountains and rivers lay everywhere. Zack's Frieza form had both horns snapped off, bleeding profusely, and his tall, brawny second-form body was utterly ravaged.

"Don't be afraid, we still have the Dragon Balls." "Although the opponent is now so powerful that even wishing on the Dragon Balls cannot kill them, if they die, as long as their souls don't dissipate, we can wish on the Dragon Balls to revive them and create new bodies for them." In front of their televisions, countless people roared. Their bodies coursed with hot blood, and they couldn't help but bellow with rage, feeling an urge to unleash all this emotion. This was the final moment that would decide their fate. In countless parallel worlds, the final battle was unfolding at this very moment.

"It's useless... We are both Rank 6, but I possess the strongest genes, fused from all life, including yours. You cannot defeat me." Slaughter calmly clenched its fist. "However, I am no longer a zombie lord bent on destroying and slaughtering everything. I am no longer infectious... Once I kill you, I will usher in a new life. I am a brand new insect-plant xenomorphic race. I shall be called Cell, the master of the insect-plant nest, symbolizing slaughter and destruction." It raised its hands high. A snowy white arc slash suddenly illuminated its palms, radiating a cold, icy light. "See? This is your Frost Arcana." Cell swung its arm forward with a dramatic roar, "I will use your Arcana to kill you!"

The energy cannon transformed into a beam of light and shot forward. Zack abruptly extended his hands, bracing himself against the incoming energy wave. His entire body exuded fine bloody sweat, his form burning as infinite light surged. Everyone in the cities below was blinded by the intensity of the light wave, painfully shutting their eyes.

"Once, ten times, even ten thousand times—it doesn't matter! I've traversed countless times, transforming a destiny of failure into a miracle." Zack's body pulsed frantically with light, as if transforming into an ocean of radiation. "The miracle lives on today!!!" His furious roar transformed into a surging wave of radiation, saturating his entire body and turning him into a snowy white meteor. The radiation was dismembering his body, melting every cell.

"I!" He lifted his head, his eyes blood-red. "The! ...World!" He gnashed out each word, hands pressed firmly forward. The incoming snowy white light beam slowly paused, as if held back for a few seconds. "The! World! By me, Zack..." "By me, Frieza!!!" He looked up, his cry tearing through him. Scenes of past futures, versions of himself from different eras, seemed to appear before his eyes.

Boom... rumble!! The incoming energy wave was too terrifying; his entire body was disintegrating. A strange snowy white glow ignited all over him, as if the countless failed Zacks from across myriad timelines were manifesting upon him, a convergence of countless cosmic destiny nodes. His entire body shattered like a mirror, and in a bizarre turn, he forcibly absorbed the entire energy wave launched by Cell. "Ice Radiation, I have finally mastered it! This power can no longer harm me!" Zack gasped heavily, bent over wretchedly, and roared, "Let Frieza save this world!!!"

At this moment, his body completely transformed, revealing a terrifying third form. No longer the monstrously tall and bulky figure with two horns, he was now slender and upright. In place of horns, his bald head was topped with a glassy cap, seemingly designed to absorb waves, and an elegant tail swayed gently behind him. He was handsome, mysterious, elegant, and powerful, radiating an ultimate sense of coldness, as if the world itself would freeze in his presence. "Third transformation... he's broken through to Rank 7." Cell gazed at him in disbelief. Even at his strongest, Cell was only Rank 6, while Zack had now surpassed Rank 7. "What kind of conviction allowed him to truly achieve such a miracle?" There was now a significant disparity in their power levels.

"Die!" Cold, icy mist billowed from the corners of Zack's eyes, and every pore spewed out snowy white radiation light capable of freezing everything. It gently condensed into a wave, which he unleashed from his hands. Cell was enveloped by the energy and vanished amidst the blinding light.

"Did he win?" "He's defeated!" "Our world is saved!" "Excellent! We've won!" Countless people in front of their televisions flushed with excitement.

However, a hoarse voice emerged from within the blinding light. "Are you the only one allowed to create miracles, and not me?" A figure reappeared, tall and handsome, adorned with green wings. Cell clenched its fist. "You should know, I also have two transformations, and this is from stealing your Frost Demon genes... I can't believe even I, Cell, can achieve a third transformation." He looked at his brand-new third form, then at Zack across from him. The two resumed their fierce battle, and the sky was torn apart by countless energy waves.

"Even within the same rank, you still can't defeat me. Perish, along with this world." High in the sky, Cell conjured a massive energy wave in its hand, about to hurl it toward the ground. "This attack contains all my power. It will annihilate you and all the races on this planet."

He couldn't win. He was too severely wounded earlier... I... It was impossible to win. This powerless thought entered his mind, as if a dark ocean in the dead of night was about to engulf him.

"There's no avoiding it. I have to counter the blast! Otherwise, countless cities lie behind me." Zack gazed at the terrifying energy sphere, completely despairing. How many times has this happened? Can I go back again this time? He had a faint premonition that this was the last time; the gift of the God of Destiny would not always favor him. He was about to reach his definitive end. His heart filled with guilt as scenes from the past, like a rapidly spinning carousel, flashed before his eyes – parallel universes that only he remembered, revealing the distant past.

Clang! Clang! "Shinkansen!" A familiar dormitory. A familiar assembly line factory. "You... you're all still alive!" "Hey, hey? What are you doing?" "You don't like men, do you?"

The scene shifted. In the twilight of dusk, an old man stood in the apocalyptic city, his voice solemn and silent, as if he were making a stand for the entire world, fighting for its last dignity. "I dream of a day when our world can overcome the apocalypse, defeat those terrifying viruses, survive this doomsday prophecy, and live equally and happily into the distant future, 212 years from now."

The scene shifted again. A mysterious, great true god looked down upon all beings, slowly staring at him. "You should know that all miracles granted by destiny have long had a price tag attached." "I know." He smiled, a brilliant, unburdened smile, and raised his arms high. "Oh, entire world, please, lend me some of your Ki!"

All beings in the world silently raised their hands, and their Ki, silently and imperceptibly, transformed into soft rays of light that flew into the sky, gradually converging into a massive orb of light. One by one, beings fell to the ground, drained of their Ki, and swiftly lost their lives. Silence. Speechless. Everything was still. This scene echoed the past, when the White Dwarf race silently took the serum and virus, and a hundred executioners slowly raised their blades, all in silence.

Ki converged into endless light. It slowly gathered, accumulated overhead, and transformed completely into a colossal orb of light. Zack looked up, gazing at the massive, magnificent, snowy white orb of light coalescing above his hands. Its endless white glow was filled with the future, hope, and dreams, and the faces of men, women, old, and young from all races. Within this vast, arcing white sphere, he seemed to see the future: valleys rising, mountains falling, and children of the three races sitting on boulders, joyfully discussing their dreams for what was to come. "Get out of this planet!!!"

Boom boom boom boom boom!! The two orbs of light collided violently, turning the entire world into dazzling daylight, completely engulfed. Both parties, having surpassed the Heavenly Emperor stage, ascended to the high heavens to fight. Cell was defeated, blasted into distant space, its fate unknown. The entire planet was left in ruins.