"I'm Dr. Ding Lang!" Ding Lang shouted from a distance, raising his hands high. "Don't attack!"
Fortunately, the Black Panther only attacked in darkness and didn't possess the ability to disguise itself as a human. The moment Ding Lang spoke, the energy plant soldiers immediately believed him.
Their initial panicked reaction stemmed from never having witnessed such a sight before: three figures emerging from the darkness with strange glowing bulbs on their heads. What was that?!
As the trio drew closer, the soldiers could finally see Ding Lang's face. Though he looked disheveled and unkempt compared to his televised image, they instantly recognized him as Dr. Ding Lang.
The soldiers' faces lit up with excitement. "It's really the Doctor! Thank goodness! We're saved!"
"Doctor, the team you sent ahead has already arrived and is executing some kind of plan. I'm not entirely clear on the details, but you've already figured out a way to save the world, right?!"
The soldiers buzzed with speculation, but Ding Lang, upon hearing their words, didn't know what expression to wear. He simply remained silent and walked into the Magic Energy Plant under their hopeful gazes.
Inside, the plant's interior was vast yet crowded. The floor was packed with civilians, huddled together, their faces etched with worry and despair.
With residential areas across the world nearly deserted, these Magic Energy Plants had become havens for the remaining survivors. Guarded by soldiers, equipped with power and lighting, they also possessed Magitech capable of producing consumables like food and water, provided sufficient energy was available.
In other words, sheltering here ensured survival for the immediate future, though the quality of life was far from ideal.
Suddenly, Ding Lang remarked, "The primary reason this Magic Energy Plant can continuously generate energy is its internal Elemental Furnace. This device can stably produce a virtually limitless supply of clean energy."
Heinrich nodded. "I know."
Okhema also had a similar facility, one that was even more powerful and precise than the one before them. Heinrich couldn't quite understand why Ding Lang was suddenly explaining this; surely he wasn't just showing off his technical prowess?
Then Ding Lang continued, "And the Matrix Module I created requires vast amounts of energy to function."
After all, this was a Demigod-level Magitech construct. Without energy, it couldn't possibly operate.
Ding Lang explained, "The key to its self-replication lies within the Elemental Furnace. To put it simply, the Matrix Module's self-replication process essentially involves remodeling the entire Magic Energy Plant. Once it successfully replicates, creating a second Matrix Module, the entire Magic Energy Plant will immediately collapse and become completely unusable."
"Ah?" Heinrich was stunned by this revelation. Glancing at the massive crowd of civilians around them, he exclaimed, "Are you saying that this self-replication process is essentially mass murder of everyone in this factory?!"
Ding Lang remained silent for a moment, then nodded, neither denying nor confirming the statement.
This was one of the reasons he remained alone in the laboratory after assigning the missions. He had deceived both First Squad and Second Squad. Ding Lang planned to end his life as a form of atonement for his sins.
Second Squad was unaware that replicating the Matrix Module would doom everyone in the Magic Energy Plant. They would carry out the mission, and once replication was complete, the plant's energy supply would cease, plunging the facility into darkness. Everyone inside would perish, except for Second Squad, whose Badges would allow them to escape safely.
If Ding Lang had revealed the truth directly, he knew his students well enough to know they would never have agreed to carry out the mission. He had no choice but to manipulate them. By the time Second Squad discovered the truth, it would be too late. They would already have blood on their hands, and having started, they would have no choice but to continue the plan.
After all, continuing the mission, though it would cost many lives, offered the chance to save the world. Terminating it would not only fail to save the world but also render the deaths of everyone in the first plant meaningless.
Evernight quickly grasped the situation. "Now that you're here," she said, "will you try to stop them? Or will you stand by and watch while the replication completes, witnessing firsthand as everyone around you dies because of you?"
Ding Lang glanced at the civilians around him, his face etched with reluctance and inner turmoil. "I... I don't know."
In truth, Ding Lang couldn't bear the thought of sacrificing these lives. Otherwise, he wouldn't have entrusted the mission to others and stayed behind to face certain death himself.
Now that he considered it, was it truly right to save the world by creating a thousand Matrix Modules—in other words, by killing all the survivors in the factory settlements?
Moreover, the number of operational Magic Energy Plants remaining in the world was unknown. If more than a thousand plants were still operating, the remaining survivors could sustain the New World. But what if fewer than a thousand remained?
Wouldn't that be extinguishing humanity's last embers with his own hands? Yet if he didn't act, their fate was certain death anyway. This seemed to be the only way forward.
At that moment, Heinrich suddenly spoke up. "I can use magic to create a massive light source, and Miss Evernight's pets can effectively kill monsters in the dark. Even if this factory stops running, we two can protect all the survivors and safely reach the next gathering point."
Hearing this, Evernight couldn't help but glance at Heinrich. Just moments ago, he had been skeptical, questioning why she would intervene if everything was merely a memory. Yet now, he was actively brainstorming solutions to help.
Sensing Evernight's gaze, Heinrich sighed and said, "This world... it's truly hopeless. Even if it's meaningless, I want to do something—at least it'll make me feel a little better about myself."
Evernight countered, "But even if we can save the people in this factory using this method, what then? Are we supposed to evacuate an entire factory's worth of people every time we replicate a Matrix Module?"
Ding Lang interjected, "There has to be a way! For now, if we can protect the civilians in this factory, please... I beg you both, help me!"
"Sigh..." Evernight sighed softly. As they spoke, the trio reached the core of the factory, where they found the members of the Second Squad who had set out earlier.