Serious talk eventually drifted into personal feelings. The lighthearted topic and the smile on the man across from him alleviated Wei Huan's fatigue. He savored the atmosphere until they finished their meal and returned to business.
"Three days were still too short," Wei Huan said. "I only managed to upgrade a few elites and over three hundred Double-Headed Hidden Demons. I'm not sure if it's enough. 'Dot Mom' has reached Level 6, but like me, the undead in her factory need to be upgraded one by one. I didn't feel it before, but now I see that while the Gravekeeper's combat power is immense, the weakness is glaring—the gap between power spikes is just too long."
Mu Zhong listened and replied, "As long as we aren't reckless, the gap doesn't matter."
"And what do you think of this operation?" Wei Huan asked.
"It's worth a try," Mu Zhong said. "Our greatest advantage is our fallback capability. If things truly become impossible, we can retreat with grace."
Wei Huan nodded. "You're always good at comforting people."
Mu Zhong looked surprised. "Did you not think that way before?"
"I pushed for Sequence 6 because I wanted to succeed in one strike," Wei Huan admitted. "I'm asking you because I've lost some confidence in the objective. Three days really was too short."
"We can stay for a few more days. If we insist on remaining here, no one can say a word."
"No. Like you said, we'll test the waters first."
"Fair enough."
Having finished their discussion and their meal, they didn't linger. They headed straight for the bridge. While they didn't intend to be arrogant, the reality was that the world currently revolved around them. If they didn't move, the progress of the human race would stall. The appearance of the Divine Corpse was the loudest alarm bell yet, reminding humanity that it wasn't time to settle down and relax.
Three days later, Wei Huan returned to the bridge. Though there was no shouting, the sudden light in everyone's eyes and the uplifted atmosphere proved that their "backbone" was back. With the boss back, they had the confidence to face anything.
A similar scene unfolded on the video feeds of the allied vehicles. Seeing Wei Huan again, the captains involuntarily let out sighs of relief, followed by a chorus of congratulations.
"Congratulations to Commander Wei on ascending to Sequence 6."
"Congratulations, Commander. You are now the first Sequence 6 of humanity."
"Indeed—the first sequence, the strongest. The undisputed Lord of the Human Race, the beacon of humanity!"
Wei Huan didn't stop the flattery. Reaching Sequence 6 was incredibly difficult; even he had grown this quickly only through the accumulation of vast resources. At Sequence 6, humanity finally had the inherent confidence to face the current world. It changed everything.
Wei Huan wasn't one for "walking in brocade at night" (hiding his success). Whether it was his Level 7 vehicle or his Sequence 6 advancement, he had no intention of hiding it. If "flexing his muscles" made others hesitate to play mind games, he was more than happy to show his strength.
Human nature was strange: people felt jealousy when the gap was small, but when the gap became an unbridgeable chasm, all conflict vanished.
Wei Huan had bombed the seabed for half a day, and no one dared to ask for a share. That was the difference between having power and lacking it. As for those who were unwilling to yield and sought death, they would eventually learn their lesson.
When Wei Huan announced they would probe the seabed again, the other vehicles—including the captains from the Fence Country and Tula who had the most ulterior motives—followed silently, not daring to say a word. Wei Huan had risen, proving the gap between them. If they couldn't adjust and play "little brother," they wouldn't even get a sip of soup later.
Before the fleet departed, Wei Huan ordered Dot Mom to retrieve the vehicles of General Josh and Pandit. What if they could be saved? Theoretically, a vehicle is deeply bound to a challenger; if the human dies, the vehicle is reclaimed by the Challenge World. Since their vehicles hadn't vanished, there was a sliver of hope.
---
The fleet traveled quietly through this "Core Zone." There were no traces of the Deceiver Remnants here. The occasional Divine Surge was flagged by the Heart of Steel, allowing them to bypass it. There were no chests, no ruins—it was even calmer than the open sea.
But it was 'too' calm—the "calm before the storm."
As they traveled, the Newbie Highway assessment came to an end. This year, many exceptional talents appeared, including over a dozen young geniuses with Level 5 awakenings. With ample resources, they had waited for Golden Chests and secured their destinies.
Eleven of these fourteen geniuses were from Daxia. With Daxia's current wealth, their support for the youth was unparalleled, arming them to the teeth. This resource security made the youth more courageous, and the death rate dropped to less than 1%. The Challenge World was transforming from a nightmare into a coveted starting point.
Meanwhile, many nations tried to awaken a second "Gravekeeper" sequence and failed. They studied Wei Huan's life and necromantic legends, trying to replicate him. But Wei Huan had truly 'died', giving him a "Passport to the Underworld." You could mimic a near-death experience, but near-death isn't death. Wei Huan's experience could not be duplicated.
Back in the deep sea, Wei Huan had been traveling for fifteen days. He only realized the Newbie Challenge had ended when the AI Butler reminded him. This meant the main human army would soon be arriving in this world with the World Tree.
His mission had shifted from intelligence gathering to "clearing obstacles." If the Divine Corpse stood in the way of human progress, he would level it. He had fought living Divine Beasts; he didn't believe he couldn't handle a corpse that had been dead for eons. No matter how strong the corpse was, it was limited by the world's level. He had a high chance of winning.
Five days later, Wei Huan finally announced: "We're close."
The fifteen-day journey had been a blessing. His Level 6 undead had finally formed a cohesive fighting force. He looked ahead at the "Divine Surge Cavern" that made his skin crawl.
With the Heart of Steel, the unpredictable Divine Surge became visible, its energy flows mapped out in real-time. But seeing its true shape only increased the sense of unease. From miles away, one could see a swirling vortex of energy. It looked like thousands of nests crowded together, twisting and writhing like maggots. It was nauseating.
Wei Huan stopped the vehicles. No one could enter the surge—not even Level 6 challengers.
"This is going to be a hard fight," Mu Zhong remarked.
"Yeah," Wei Huan agreed.
Mu Zhong added, "Unless we prove they can't be saved, we'll be on the defensive."
He was looking into the depths of the vortexes, where human heads were visible. The hijacked challengers were sleeping within the surge. Once Wei Huan approached, they would be used as weapons against their own kind.
"Have Xia Yu on standby," Wei Huan ordered.
"If Xia Yu can't save them, we might be branded with infamy after this battle," Mu Zhong warned.
"Don't worry about the future. History is written by the victors. If I die, I won't know what they write. If I live, no unfavorable rumors will survive."
"That's unfair to you."
"Fairness is for the hesitant. Hesitation kills momentum."
Mu Zhong looked at him deeply. "The general is the heart of the soldier; the soldier is the might of the general. It's because of you that we are here today."
Wei Huan smiled. "Complementary. That's how it should be."
---
Wei Huan decided on a plan: "Capture one alive first. Let Xia Yu examine them. We give them one chance."
Wei Huan's Ghost Crows set off, carrying Level 6 Netherfire Bombs. Their ability to phase through the void was useless against the intangible energy of the Divine Surge. Wei Huan navigated them to the edge of the writhing tentacles.
One by one, the crows dove into the surge. Just before they were annihilated, the bombs detonated. 'Boom!' The surge bloomed like colorful, viscous lava.
Wei Huan frowned. The Level 6 bombs didn't do ten times the damage as expected; they only covered about thirty meters. Given the vastness of the vortex mountain, this was barely a scratch.
'I have another way,' Wei Huan thought. He didn't need to use it yet, but he knew he could.
As the Ghost Crows continued their "firework show" of green flames, the Divine Surge finally had enough. From the vortex mountain, a group of "people" was spat out—nearly a thousand of them.
They appeared in the water and began moving rapidly along the Divine Surge tentacles. Suddenly, the mindless tentacles acted as if they had gained intelligence, coordinating with the humans to attack Wei Huan's undead.
Among them was Pandit, still in his general's uniform, his cape flowing. He and the others attacked with fluid motions but dull, glazed eyes.
Wei Huan noticed something immediately: when the Divine Surge was in "Attack Mode" controlled by humans, its "instant-kill" lethality decreased. It had switched from a passive defense to an active offense. His Level 6 undead were actually surviving hits.
"I can work with this," Wei Huan muttered. As long as his units weren't being one-shotted, he could win.
But to the observers, the scene was demonic. Their former comrades were now weapons. They moved freely in the ocean, using their skills: warriors swung axes, mages summoned water orbs, druids turned into sharks, and healers even cast light to mend the "puppets."
If you ignored their dead eyes, they looked exactly like they were still alive.