Everyone was taken aback. The man's tone was gentle, and no killing intent emanated from his surroundings.

His first words were a friendly greeting, as if he intended to have a proper conversation with them.

However, everyone present was at the King-rank, and none of them were fools.

Bai Cheng immediately suspected that he was trying to stall for time.

To be precise, their unexpected appearance had disrupted his plans, or perhaps some ritual of his had yet to be completed.

Yet, whether it was Bai Cheng or the strongest person present, Qingniao, all the King-rank auras were being released without restraint, probing the man's background.

But they discovered nothing.

Bai Cheng took a step forward, deciding to try communicating first, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Like you, I am a poor Survivor who crossed over from another world to this place," the man replied, his tone remaining calm.

Hearing this, Yu Nian immediately stepped forward and snapped, "Bullshit!"

"Are you still playing dumb even now?" she questioned loudly. "Don't think I don't know that you're the mastermind behind #1 Channel!"

"We are just a group of pitiful people who have been working hard to escape control."

The man shook his head. He ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) confessed to being the mastermind, but there was not a hint of regret in his eyes for everything he had done.

Seeing this, Bai Cheng frowned and pondered before following up on his words, "Controlled by whom?"

After all, #1 Channel was indeed very different from their ordinary channels.

For instance, there had been no trace of #1 Channel at the beginning; there were the special Survivors within it, and they had stood in opposition to all other Survivors from the moment they appeared.

"It is Him," the man answered, though it was very ambiguous.

"Him?" Bai Cheng seemed to understand what he was referring to.

"Yes," the man nodded. He seemed to want to stand up, but his body was tightly bound by chains, making him unable to move.

After a brief struggle, he gave up and continued to explain with a somewhat helpless tone.

"We were the first batch of Survivors to arrive. We were united and traveled together. After learning about the Infinite Realm, we made it our ultimate goal..."

Having said that, he looked up and smiled. "I assume your goal is the same?"

Bai Cheng admitted frankly, "What if it is?"

The man's smile widened. "Then today I shall tell you that you have all been deceived by Him!"

Yu Nian was very annoyed by his cryptic behavior and shouted, "Who exactly is 'He'?"

"Perhaps a god, or what you call... the System?"

"The System?" Ye Liangchen felt as if his intelligence had been insulted. "Isn't that just a piece of programming?"

But upon hearing this, Yu Nian, Leng Ningxue, and Bai Cheng all fell silent.

Because they had just witnessed the System intervene to block the Minotaur's teleportation channel.

If it were truly an unconscious program... none of this could be explained rationally.

"Continue," Bai Cheng said in a low voice.

"Oh, where was I?" The man resumed his thoughts.

"Right, it was after we entered the Infinite Realm... that place can almost be called a second world, completely different from our world outside."

"The power of the Realm Barrier is terrifyingly strong, like a city wall seemingly defending against something from the outside. Even with the blessing of His power, there was no way for us to force our way in."

"You just said you already went in," Yu Nian couldn't help but interrupt.

The man wasn't annoyed and continued his explanation.

"Platforms are the coordinates for destroying the world's base points. By Survivors occupying these Platforms, certain barriers of the Infinite Realm will loosen, allowing Him to forcibly bring a few people inside."

"As for why only a few people," the man sneered and looked up at everyone. "After all this way, you're the only ones left, aren't you?"

His point was clear: while it was possible to enter the Infinite Realm using the System's power, the powerful barrier could only support the System teleporting a few individuals inside.

"So the slots aren't unlimited?" Liu San said in surprise. "No wonder the journey has been full of challenges and filtering."

"Then, according to you, what is the System's purpose in bringing us into the Infinite Realm?" Bai Cheng asked.

A hint of praise appeared in the man's eyes. "Good question. No wonder these guys follow your lead."

"Let's tentatively compare Him to an Outer God whose true goal is to control this world. The reason He's sending you in is simple: because of the Infinite Realm, He needs helpers. He needs someone to help Him destroy the World Core from the inside."

"You are all just pawns to be discarded after use, and in the end, you cannot escape the fate of being obliterated."

"As for the other Survivors who remain in the Outer Realm, their final fate is only to become Marauders."

This was truly a terrifying conjecture.

Whether it was true or not, at least everything the man said formed a logical closed loop.

"How far did you get back then?" Bai Cheng only cared about the core issue.

"I gained the recognition of the World Core and ascended to the rank of Sovereign, then I realized His conspiracy." A meaningful look appeared in the man's eyes. "It was during the critical period of His confrontation with the World Core. Unfortunately, I didn't succeed."

"I failed to kill Him. He was severely wounded, and because of my connection to Him, I was forcibly expelled by the World Core. My rank fell from Sovereign, and I fled to the Outer Realm."

Without waiting for the group to ask more questions, he recounted everything in detail.

"The reason I had my companions absorb the terrain energy of the Outer Realm was to weaken His power to some extent. It was also preparation for my return to the Infinite Realm, since it's hard to break through the Realm Barrier on my own."

"What's the deal with #1 Channel then?"

"Don't you understand yet? As for the so-called #1 Channel, we are all Survivors left over from the previous batch. Our strength wasn't enough, so to completely escape His control, we had to choose to transform into native creatures... but unfortunately..."

"Unfortunately, the System's power recovered, and except for you, the others still haven't completely escaped its control?" Bai Cheng voiced the final outcome.

Only now did she suddenly realize where that strange feeling from when they first entered this valley had come from.

Within this terrain he had personally constructed, he used his abilities to completely shield them from the System's perception.

The train could not reach them, and the connection between everyone and the System was naturally severed.

"Why should we believe you?" Ye Liangchen questioned.

Naturally, the group wouldn't be swayed by his words alone.

After all, they had come this far, and their benefits and strength could be said to have been entirely granted by the System.

To them, the man before them was nothing more than a stranger.