Lord: Sequence Master

Rosen moved to the end of the passage, where a security door made of Sequence 0-grade extraordinary alloy barred his way.

The Mysterious Study Room's anchor shifted. He entered the study again, approached the window, and peered beyond the door.

What he saw left him in a prolonged silence.

A thousand kilometers of blood-soaked wasteland, where mountains of corpses formed a sea of crimson.

The most horrifying part was that these human extraordinaires were still alive.

Extraordinary plants of various types grew from their bodies, while extraordinary minerals gestated inside them. In the blood they shed, countless human infants grew and thrived.

Upon careful observation, Rosen gradually pieced together the workings of this extraordinary material cultivation zone.

In the depths of the blood sea, a shadow flickered faintly — the divine avatar of a Mother of Flesh and Blood.

This avatar had already been severed from its original body and completely repurposed as a breeding ground for the humans here.

From birth, every human in this place had become part of the Mother of Flesh and Blood.

Their souls and spiritual consciousness were likely uploaded to some kind of virtual realm.

Within that indistinguishable world, their consciousnesses matured, driving their physical bodies in the real world to continually advance through extraordinary sequences.

Eventually, their physical forms were harvested as raw materials for extraordinary resources, akin to livestock in a farm.

No wonder Viska's death was shrouded in mystery. Rosen mused darkly. The World Government probably disposed of him after he outlived his usefulness.

There was no way the World Government could have been unaware of Viska's operations.

Before its establishment, such methods might have gone unnoticed. But after its formation, practices like this would undermine the foundations of human civilization.

Viska's unexplained death suddenly made sense.

If the truth of this place were exposed, the World Government's credibility would take a severe hit.

One of the tasks for those human godspawn must be to erase this abomination.

Rosen carefully inspected the area, but disappointment soon crept in.

There was nothing of true value here.

The extraordinary materials cultivated were only suitable for Sequence 8 potions at best.

Although the output was astonishingly high, the World Government had long since developed superior cultivation techniques.

This archaic method of using living humans was already obsolete.

Technological advancements only improve over time unless the era regresses, Rosen reflected.

However, he quickly reconsidered — perhaps there were still some treasures worth taking.

The divine avatar of the Mother of Flesh and Blood itself was an invaluable target.

Such entities weren't something you could casually capture.

Killing this divine avatar would be no different from slaying a Sequence 0-level being.

Then there was the laboratory itself, forged from Sequence 0 extraordinary alloy.

Its overall value was on par with top-tier true god-level extraordinary artifacts.

Rosen weighed his options before summoning the Flesh Hell Tree, planting it into the sealed flesh of the Mother of Flesh and Blood.

Since this was merely a divine avatar and not the main body, it was unlikely to yield any miracle treasures upon death.

No point in a dedicated hunt. Better to feed it to the Flesh Hell Tree.

As for the humans being cultivated here, returning their spiritual consciousnesses to their bodies would render them useless.

It would be better to send their bodies to the Flesh Hell Tree while their consciousnesses continued living in the virtual world.

Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.

Seeing that the Flesh Hell Tree would take several months to package and absorb everything, Rosen turned his attention to exploring the rest of the laboratory.

Returning was simple. The clone he left in the hall merely reopened the Mysterious Study Room.

At this point, none of the other godspawn had reached the hall yet.

Rosen immediately used the Mysterious Study Room to infiltrate the Extraordinary Material Breeding Zone. There was no sign of any living creatures here — only endless piles of decaying white bones from extraordinary lifeforms.

The life essence, souls, and spiritual sources of these creatures had all been harvested by the automated slaughtering systems.

After a quick survey, Rosen understood what had happened.

Under normal circumstances, extraordinary humans from the cultivation zone would be sent here as food for the extraordinary lifeforms after serving as cultivation vessels for a set period.

However, the lab's shutdown had severed the connections between the zones.

Without food, the extraordinary lifeforms here couldn't sustain their population. Meanwhile, the automated slaughter system kept running, depleting their numbers until nothing remained but countless bones.

The pre-harvested extraordinary materials, however, had been meticulously sealed and preserved.

Rosen emptied the entire breeding zone. Judging from the haul, he estimated that the resources here could nurture at least ten thousand Sequence 4 extraordinaires.

That was an astonishing amount, especially with the bonus of breeding technologies for various extraordinary lifeforms.

Though some of these techniques were outdated, they remained rare even within the World Government.

Having something usable is already good enough, Rosen thought. Being too picky would be greedy.

He moved on to the Extraordinary Material Research Zone.

This area was surprisingly normal, essentially functioning as the lab's sample archive for extraordinary materials. It appeared to have been updated over different eras to validate the value of new extraordinary materials.

Samples ranged from Sequence 9 to true god-level extraordinary materials, though quantities were minimal.

Due to the limited amount of each type, the overall value wasn't particularly high.

Next, Rosen entered the Potion Research Zone — and here he found absolutely nothing of practical value.

Every potion formula here had long been deemed obsolete.

If there was any notable discovery, it was a single ancient potion formula — the recipe for the very first potion.

Rosen initially didn't think much of it.

But upon closer inspection, he was stunned by its terrifying implications.

The materials required to craft the potion involved the live refinement of nine true gods.

Moreover, every potion derived from this formula led to a singular extraordinary sequence.

And the sequence associated with the first potion was none other than Realm Messenger.

"Realm Messenger..." Rosen muttered thoughtfully.

He recalled the unique characteristics of Realm Messengers.

First, Realm Messengers could travel at extreme speeds in the spiritual realm — faster than even true gods.

Additionally, spiritual realm lifeforms would not attack them, and the many dangers of the spiritual realm wouldn't harm them either.

Realm Messengers were born as natural darlings of the spiritual realm.

They were randomly birthed within the spiritual realm, inherently possessing varying sequence levels.

However, Realm Messengers at Sequence 3 and above were incredibly rare.

Furthermore, when an extraordinary perished, their Realm Messenger would die with them.

Rosen had once considered obtaining a Realm Messenger but later found it unnecessary due to the Main God Hall's teleportation functions.

Then, after gaining data transmission capabilities, the idea became completely redundant.

Low-level Realm Messengers were beneath his notice, and high-level ones were simply impossible to acquire.

He had never expected that the first potion's sequence target would be Realm Messenger.

Unexpectedly, the first potion was aimed at the extraordinary sequence of Realm Messenger.

Rosen carefully stowed away the formula and left the Potion Research Zone, heading toward the Evil God Research Zone.

By now, the godspawn outside had realized the darkness posed no immediate danger and were gradually entering the laboratory hall, cautiously probing each security door.

The peculiar darkness further enhanced Void Shadow Shifting and Wolf Totem's concealment abilities. Rosen skillfully bypassed the godspawn and entered the Evil God Research Zone.

The security doors along this corridor had already been forcibly broken outward, allowing access without needing the Mysterious Study Room.

A few godspawn also noticed this, and some had begun discussing venturing into the Evil God Research Zone.

The reason was simple — it was evident that something had broken out of the research zone. So whatever evil god or related entities had once been studied there had most likely already fled the laboratory.

Rosen shared the same assumption and entered ahead of the godspawn.

Unlike the other secure zones, which remained intact and untouched by the eerie darkness, the Evil God Research Zone was shrouded in total blackness.

Using divine perception carelessly could lead to trouble if one inadvertently sensed something dangerous.

Rosen cautiously expanded his World Domain.

The darkness continuously attempted to devour the domain, but the power of dozens of rule authorities within the World Domain held it off for a few critical seconds, allowing Rosen to get a clear view of everything within.

The entire Evil God Research Zone had been nearly obliterated.

At the heart of the devastation lay a section of a finger bone.

Blood and flesh continuously regenerated from the surface of the finger bone, only to be corroded and dissolved by a layer of black light.

The darkness enveloping the laboratory emanated from that black light, while the mysterious aura originated from the disintegrating flesh.

Around the finger bone lay three skeletal remains, still clad in alchemical robes.

Upon closer inspection, Rosen realized that these three individuals had all been Sequence 0 during their lifetimes.

Their flesh had been entirely annihilated by the black light, their divine fires extinguished.

Judging by the marks on the ground, their divine cores had likely been taken by the god of an alien race who had arrived earlier.

Everything of value had been scavenged.

Rosen had no choice but to leave, unwilling to touch that mysterious finger bone.

Not long after Rosen's departure, five godspawn forced their way in together.

They jointly expanded their domains, barely managing to perceive the state of the Evil God Research Zone.

As they were about to retreat, traps hidden in the corridor suddenly activated one after another.

Despite their desperate pleas for help, their voices were swallowed by the darkness.

In mere moments, they perished under traps that were at least Sequence 0 in level.

However, the commotion caused by their final desperate countermeasures managed to penetrate the darkness, alarming the other godspawn in the hall.

In less than half an hour, five godspawn had perished, with one going into hiding.

The remaining godspawn grew even more vigilant, unwilling to risk their lives by entering either of the two corridors.

As the stalemate dragged on, the angelic godspawn, one of the two Sequence 1 leaders from the alien side, reluctantly took out a candle and lit it.

The candlelight instantly dispelled the darkness, illuminating both the hall and the depths of the corridor leading to the special zone.

However, the candle burned violently, clearly lasting no more than a few dozen seconds.

For the godspawn present, that was more than enough.

With the darkness gone, their vision could penetrate through the corridor to the security door's fissure.

Their domains, no longer suppressed, extended directly past the corridor and into the laboratory zones.

Under the perception of their overlapping domains, the conditions of both the Evil God Research Zone and the Special Zone were laid bare.

The Evil God Research Zone had nothing left but the mysterious finger bone. The Special Zone, unexpectedly small, was only one square meter in area and two meters high. However, instead of Sequence 0 extraordinary alloy, it was constructed from a divine-level metal.

On the floor of this confined laboratory lay five items: an old book, a ring, a branch, a piece of metal, and a red stone.

It was clear that none of these were ordinary.

Some godspawn immediately attempted to wrap their domains around the treasures. With the darkness gone, they could directly use their domains to retrieve them.

However, before the domains could secure the items, the angelic godspawn's candle suddenly burned faster and extinguished.

"Just a bit more! What kind of candle was that?"

"It looked like a projection of the Heaven's Holy Candle from the angelic true god."

"Do you have any more Heaven's Holy Candle projections?"

Under the urging of the other godspawn, the angelic godspawn reluctantly produced a second projection.

"This is the last one..." he warned solemnly. "We don't know if those five treasures are sealed. I suggest we combine our domains. If they are sealed, we might be able to extract both the seals and treasures at once."

This proposal was reasonable, and none of the godspawn objected.

Merging domains was no easy feat since World Authority wasn't a rule that just anyone could wield.

Finally, over a hundred godspawn managed to barely fuse their domains.

With the light of the newly lit Heaven's Holy Candle projection, their combined domain extended past the corridor and fissured security door, enveloping the five treasures like a fishing net, ready to pull them back into the hall.

But at that moment, the old book caught in the "net" silently flipped open.

In the blink of an eye, the hall, which had been filled with over a hundred godspawn, was reduced to only seven.

The rest had vanished without a trace.

The book snapped shut once more.

The originally massive merged domain now consisted of only the remaining three Sequence 1 godspawn and four Sequence 2 godspawn. Their combined domain barely maintained its grip on the five treasures, gradually pulling them out of the cramped Special Zone.

Suddenly, countless spiritual runes appeared within the confined space, forming an array that intercepted the five treasures.

Without hesitation, the human Sequence 1 godspawn, Cyrus Lorraine, produced a golden leaf burning with the flames of civilization.

The leaf, guided by the domain, entered the Special Zone.

For a brief moment, the mysterious array froze.

Seizing the opportunity, the five treasures were finally drawn out of the Special Zone.

Although the goal was about to be achieved, none of the seven godspawn relaxed their vigilance.

They were still wary of the Sequence 3 godspawn who had first entered to scout but had yet to appear.

If that godspawn had recklessly ventured into the Special Zone and triggered the book, that was one thing.

But if they were lurking in the shadows, a surprise attack could come at any moment.

However, as the five treasures were successfully returned to the hall, no ambush materialized.

"Looks like that Sequence 3 godspawn was swallowed by the book too," Cyrus deliberately laughed within the domain, feigning ease.

Over the next few hours, the seven godspawn conducted various tests — pretending to lower their guard, acting as if they were about to leave with the treasures, and trying different strategies.

Only after confirming no threats remained did they relax.

Their judgment was correct because Rosen was currently in the cultivation zone, retrieving the Flesh Hell Tree.

The seven godspawn, having confirmed the safety of their surroundings, began setting up a special ritual array.

At first glance, the formation resembled a six-pointed star. Each vertex housed a flame representing the civilization fire of a different alien race, while at the very center burned the civilization fire of humanity.

Six alien godspawn sat cross-legged behind their respective civilization fires, while Cyrus cautiously carried the old book to the center of the formation.

The moment he placed the old book beneath the human civilization fire, he fled the formation at the fastest speed of his life.

In the next instant, the ritual array activated, imprinting a six-pointed star seal onto the tattered, unreadable cover of the book.

Before Cyrus could step forward to reclaim the book, an invisible hand stretched out from within the formation.

The book, which they had gone to great lengths to seal, vanished right before their eyes.

The seven godspawn were struck with terror.

They knew all too well how much their patron true gods valued that mysterious old book. Over a hundred godspawn had been sacrificed, and seven civilization fires had been combined, just to barely seal it.

After paying such a hefty price, the book was stolen in the final moments.

Even as true godspawn, they might be killed out of fury for this failure.

In desperation, the seven godspawn blocked the laboratory's exits, determined to capture the thief at all costs.

Meanwhile, Rosen had already used data transmission to return to the Radiant Kingdom.

He now sat cautiously in the Godscript Room, staring at the sealed old book.

Having watched everything from the shadows of the Godscript Room, Rosen had hesitated multiple times about whether to make a move.

In the end, he couldn't resist—but now that he had the book, he somewhat regretted it.

It was clearly dangerous.

There had been no sign of an alien god's corpse in the Special Zone, suggesting that the god and the vanished godspawn had all disappeared because of this book.

Though it was currently sealed, who knew how long that would last?

Unless he figured out its origins, he might eventually have to discard it on the Eternal Continent.

Cautiously manipulating the network cable of the Main God Computer like a flexible finger, Rosen tentatively touched the book.

Surprisingly, there was no danger.

He tried flipping open the cover, and it opened without resistance, as if all threats had been sealed away.

The book contained just over a hundred pages, and Rosen quickly flipped through them.

It was a personal memoir written in an unknown script.

Rosen didn't recognize the language, but simply seeing the characters conveyed their meaning.

The protagonist of the memoir was a great true god.

Each page recounted a turning point in this god's life.

The early pages were typical accounts of growth. By the penultimate page, the protagonist had ascended to the rank of a great true god.

However, the content of the final page was a mystery.

Rosen clearly read it but couldn't remember a single thing afterward.

He even tried having a clone read it inside the Godscript Room while his main body observed from outside the window.

Yet despite the room's isolation capabilities, he still couldn't retain the memory of that final page.

Only by relying on the Miracle Flame did Rosen barely manage to preserve the memory.

Now he understood why so many godspawn had been sacrificed to seal the book.

To completely kill a true god, one must destroy the civilization fire they were bound to.

But what would it take to kill a great true god?

The answer was to erase every trace of their existence.

If a great true god's name or deeds remained in history, as long as sentient beings remembered them, the god could potentially be resurrected.

Rosen's expression darkened as he realized the implications.

He had just stolen a ticking time bomb.

The final page of the memoir contained a special memory world.

This world, composed of written memories, would automatically seal any sentient being who interacted with it.

Thanks to the seal formed by seven civilization fires, Rosen had been able to read the earlier pages.

He now understood the agenda of Cyrus and the others' patron true gods.

Their goal was to seal the final page and use the memoir to revive the great true god who had already fallen.

(End of Chapter)