Slowly but surely, order returned to the moon. Although the people were still subjugated under a semi-martial law, they had returned peacefully to their normal day to day life. As the public"s view toward the immortals s.h.i.+fted, no longer did the immortals evoke fear; instead, it was even considered an honor to join the immortal army.
As the ranks of the immortal"s swelled up, their interaction with humans also increased. After seeing their nearly limitless vitality while the human lives ebbed away by the day, the public started to revere them as formidable instruments of G.o.ds. Who didn"t want sweet immortality? And then there was the sense of pride that spurred young and capable men and women to flock to Patroclus" side. The pride came from the fact that in the strange symbiosis between human and the parasite Zerg, the human was not only the host, but also the master.
However, the popularity of the immortals did not amount to lack of resistance on the moon. The conditions on the moon had forced them to operate underground, and they struggled to exert their influences after the s.h.i.+ft in public"s perception of their enemies. The Ivantians had opened their arms and embraced Patroclus and his ideology. They started to value the order that Patroclus had brought to them and praise his ambitions. After Patroclus had taken Earth, he would expand his immortal empire to every corner of the universe. Viewing themselves as the elite race of the human world, the Ivantians had long since harbored great ambitions, such as those of universal dominance. Of all the great Ivantian leaders, only Patroclus was able to put it into action, and there would be a horde of Zergs to safeguard them along their journey.
The Zergs had unwittingly become the servants of the immortals, and Patroclus designed to keep it that way. Eliminating the dark ones was the key step in keeping the Zergs in check. His ambitions were known to the Zerg leaders when he killed the two Zerg generals five years ago. It was his loud and clear deceleration of independence.
Once Patroclus showed the public his vision, the Ivantians stopped opposing him, and the elite members of the Ivantian societies yearned to join the Immortals where opportunity lied.
The Ivantians had a long history of gene splicing, and they quickly viewed Patroclus" actions as simply another gene editing experiment. Their indifference toward Patroclus" betrayal of humanity deeply concerned w.a.n.g Tong.
There would be nothing to liberate If the Ivantians were content with their lives.
The public had gotten used to the immortals and even bought into their propaganda. The admission to the immortal army was viewed as the highest form of award that was worthy of public display.
Patroclus, by his own will, had worked hard to flesh out reforms in the Ivantian society. The mother supreme had no interest in sparing resources to build a utopia for humans—that was the exact opposite of what she wanted. However, being subjugated by Patroclus" will, she had no choice but to obey.
Although the immortals were the elite cla.s.s of the society, they would have to face the same severe punishment as their human counterparts should they violate the law. The justice and fairness helped to placate the public.
Seeing the indifferent faces in the streets, w.a.n.g Tong furrowed his brows; he knew the task would be difficult, but this seemed nearly impossible.
Patroclus had adopted different strategies on different planets. Mars had been under the dark ones" control, and therefore, his priority was to drive out the dark ones, paying little attention to the native human residents.
Meanwhile, he maintained a brutal totalitarian regime on the Earth due to the planet"s geographical diversity and stubbornness of the earthlings" minds. Unlike the Ivantians, the Earthlings were often opposed to anything new, many of whom even viewed the gene splicing technology as immoral, much less the merging of one"s body with a monster.
The complex terrain had helped the humans in their defense, and so far, none of the human cities had defected to the immortals. Over time, Patroclus conceded that it was impossible to garner the same support he had enjoyed on the moon, and neither it would be easy to wipe out the entire human population on Earth.
w.a.n.g Tong had sensed that Patroclus had faced resistance on Earth, and he wagered that the outcome of their final showdown would be the deciding factor to the fate of billions of inhabitants there. Before their final showdown, w.a.n.g Tong decided to leave the current situation as it was in order to minimize the destruction brought by the war.
Meanwhile, on the moon, Patroclus was reading a book in his personal garden. Basking under the suns.h.i.+ne, he lolled in a lounge chair and took a deep breath, letting the mixture of earthy and fruity smell fill up his nostrils.
Footsteps approached him from behind, but Patroclus didn"t spare the visitor a glance as he kept his vision on the book.
"I didn"t expect you to be here in the garden while the whole world is burning outside." Zhou Sisi remarked, with much rancor in her voice.
Patroclus cracked a smile. "Why are you still so bitter and sour? I thought you were happy that w.a.n.g Tong is alive." Patroclus closed the book and set it on a side table. "Grab a seat…I won"t bite!"
Zhou Sisi shot Patroclus a searing glance and felt a strange mixture of anger and gratefulness. Although Patroclus had destroyed the world she loved, he had saved her life and treated her with respect and dignity.
"You have seen what w.a.n.g Tong"s is capable of. Under his leaders.h.i.+p, Mars is now finally liberated. Aren"t you afraid that you will meet the same fate as Moye? And what are you after exactly?" Zhou Sisi asked hotly. She had tried to pry into the real motives of Patroclus over the years, but failed.
"If I have to meet w.a.n.g Tong in a one on one combat, who do you wish to be the winner?" Patroclus asked.
"I wish that day will never come."
"Haha. Too bad, our fight is inevitable. If w.a.n.g Tong wins the battle, you will be free." Patroclus was pleased by the fact that Zhou Sisi didn"t curse him to death.
"Humanity"s worst enemy, the dark ones are defeated, and Zergs are no longer a threat. Why don"t you try co-existing with the humans instead of bringing them down completely? " Zhou Sisi asked.
"Hehe. It"s already too late. Humans will not forgive the immortals for what they have done."
"At least you can try."
"I know human nature better than anyone. They could accept Kaedeians, but the immortals stood no chance of getting along with them." Patroclus said faintly. He was no longer one hundred percent confident about his victory over w.a.n.g Tong. However, he wagered that the odds were still on his side. As long as he could survive the final battle against w.a.n.g Tong, the immortals would be able to swallow the human world slowly but surely. But, what then? What would happen to the world after the Immortals took over? No one except for Patroclus knew the answer.
"Judging by how you have treated the humans on the Moon, I can tell that you don"t want to wipe us out. Sometimes, I even wonder if you had done everything in order to dismantle the threat of Zergs from the inside. If that is the case, congratulations…mission accomplished!" Zhou Sisi said, her eyes gleaming with hope.
"Hehe...You are always so optimistic, aren"t you?" Patroclus laughed.
Zhou Sisi paused for a second and the lights in her eyes went out. "Yes. I am an optimist."
"I thought that out of all the people I know, only you would understand me."
"I am sorry to disappoint you. You have created the so-called Immortal race in order to refine the human race, but you have missed the point the entire time! Death is what defines us, our humanity, and our strength. The immortals are not humans…they are freaks!"
"I understand why you find it hard to accept their existence. They have only existed for a half a decade, and it would take a long time for them to be accepted into the human race. But, look around you. Doesn"t the peace and prosperity on the moon say something to you?" Patroclus smiled and then took a sip of tea.
"Are you kidding me? You call it peace and prosperity while you turned millions of people into slaves? The progress of science has completely halted as everyone has turned their attention to the perverse power of immortality. Do you think that is an improvement? No! It is degradation! Sooner or later, you and your immortal power will turn everyone into lifeless zombies!"
"Go on, "Patroclus announced without rancor.
"The immortals are neither humans nor Zergs. This state will implode from the inside sooner or later. It was a joke from the start."
"Sadly, my dear, this joke is going to stick with us for a long time to come."