Global Collapse-Chapter 692 - 657: There is actually a new book in the world with 500,000 words a month!_1

007 was already in a terrible state. Anyone worse off than her was likely already on the brink of death.

"There are only five minutes left before the world collapses; there might not be enough time." The voice on the other end of the phone continued, "If they die and the world doesn't cycle again, you will never see them again."

"Actually, I still have the ability to restart the cycle, as long as you lend me one thing. With your help, I can reopen it. You won't be affected by the cycle, so even if the current them die, you can still meet them in the next one."

"You've come this far, and you have a vehicle. Therefore, you'll have plenty of time in the next cycle. It won't take long for you to find them and leave with them."

Gu Mian said nothing.

"As long as you lend me your luck, combined with my life, the cycle can be restarted..." the person on the other end muttered.

"But will they still be *them* in the next cycle?" Gu Mian suddenly spoke. "If I agree to your request, it means abandoning the current them."

"They've struggled to survive until now, never giving up even in this situation. But then, to tell them, 'You've been abandoned. Gu Mian chose the versions of you in the next cycle.' Isn't that ridiculous?"

"So, because I'm afraid they'll die, I should just abandon them and choose people in the next cycle who are less likely to die? Do you think I would accept such a thing?"

Gu Mian looked ahead, directly rejecting the proposal from the person on the phone.

"No, I do not accept."

"Although they might die, might perish in this cycle, and even if we can never meet again alive, I won't abandon the current them for the sake of some happy reunion."

"No one deserves to be abandoned. That is my choice."

The voice on the phone was silent for a long time before responding, "That's just like you. Even knowing the ending might be a tragedy, you still make such a choice without hesitation. If it were anyone else, their choice would likely be different."

"Your friends and family are about to die, and it's difficult to save them. If you agree to restart the cycle, you can save them in the next one, avoiding the risk of losing your friends. However, if you don't agree, you'll most likely be separated by death, never to meet again. I think most people in such circumstances would choose to restart the cycle."

This was indeed the way to minimize loss.

Nevertheless, Gu Mian would not choose this easy, risk-free path.

Because he knew that on another, more arduous path, people were waiting for him.

"Since you've made your choice, I won't insist any further," the voice on the other end of the phone said. "From this point on, this world will head towards destruction. Fortunately, I've been here for so long that I have ample experience. I will do my best to slow down the world's collapse. If you manage to save anyone, you must leave before the world completely disintegrates."

"If this world collapses, will it affect Earth?"

"Yes. The collapse of this world will make Earth very happy."

Gu Mian asked, "...If this world collapsed, would Xiao Qiao be affected?"

"Of course, she would. When a Low-Dimensional World is completely annihilated, any life born from it will also perish. But Xiao Qiao was created by me. I am not a derivative of the Seventh World, so as long as I am alive, she won't die; she'll only be injured."

"But you should be aware that the Guardians of the other worlds are different from Xiao Qiao. Their lives are intrinsically linked to their own worlds. If their respective worlds collapse, they will die too."

Gu Mian clutched his phone. "If you're not a life form born of this world, then why have you invested so much effort into it?"

He's even risking his own life to prevent the world's collapse.

The person on the other end laughed. "Perhaps it's because I've developed feelings for this place. Besides, if the Seventh World is completely destroyed, it will deal a devastating blow to other worlds; its collapse here will spread to them. I will stay here to stop the collapse from spreading."

The destruction of the Seventh World could actually have such a huge impact on other worlds?

"Why would it affect other worlds?" Gu Mian asked.

"Have you heard the expression 'follow the vine to find the melon'? Earth has always wanted to eliminate the Low-Dimensional Worlds, but it can't find their source. It has only managed to grasp the tail end of these worlds—and this place *is* the tail end of all Low-Dimensional Worlds."

"Our worlds are like a long vine, coexisting symbiotically. To eradicate them, the most straightforward way is to pull out the vine by its root."

"But Earth can't find the root; it has only found the tail. Even so, even if it can't find the root of the Low-Dimensional Worlds, as long as it sets the tail of the vine on fire, the fire will keep spreading, all the way to the source, until the entire vine is burned."

"Although this method isn't as effective as uprooting it directly, it can still achieve the goal. The curse Earth placed on this world is precisely that fire. This curse will burn along the vine until it destroys all worlds."

"And I am the impediment to this fire's spread. Originally, I relied on the cycle to stop this fire's spread, but I can't do that anymore. I can no longer stop the collapse of the Seventh World; I can only do my best to prevent this curse from spreading further up the vine."

At this point, the voice paused for a few seconds before continuing, "There's less than two minutes left. You're not close to them; you won't make it in two minutes."

Just then, 007, who was beside him, opened her eyes.

The poor Beast Tamer, who had only been unconscious for a few minutes, struggled to open her eyes and pointed. "They're ahead."

She had said this once before.

But 007's mind was already somewhat muddled. She probably worried she hadn't said it, so she anxiously woke up and repeated it.

Gu Mian looked at 007, who had just awakened.

Yet, the person on the phone couldn't help but ask again, "Are you sure you don't want to restart the cycle? If this continues, the only one likely to survive might just be the young girl beside you."

Gu Mian looked into the darkness ahead. "I won't give up on them, whatever the outcome."

"Good. I, too, hope you can stop this cycle, stop them from heading towards death. I've seen them countless times wanting to live, only to be ultimately extinguished in this world's darkness."

"I've seen them try countless methods to leave this world, but they were never successful."

"After countless explorations, they discovered a new path: self-destruction... After realizing there was no hope of survival, they would imprison themselves and await death's arrival."

"Your friends are very clever. Each time, they managed to discover the secrets of the cycle and also learned that their deceased selves would turn into monsters in the next cycle."

"To give their future selves in the next cycle a better chance, they not only confined themselves but some even broke their own legs, rendering themselves immobile. That way, when they turned into monsters, it would be difficult for them to harm people in the next cycle."