CHAPTER 159: CHAPTER159-THE GREAT EXPLOSION

Unlike the magnificence above ground, the underground of the Artist City was an entirely different world.

Here, countless narrow passageways twisted and turned in every direction, branching endlessly into the unknown.

But inside Daniel’s mind, a complete map of the city had already been formed.

So he merely confirmed his bearings and headed straight toward the location where the Primordial Core Weapon was stored.

Although he knew the place would undoubtedly be protected by layers of restrictions and scanning systems, under the effect of [Mist], not even a god would be able to detect his presence.

As a result, a bizarre scene unfolded—

Though it was his first time here, Daniel moved as if he had lived in this place his entire life, completely at ease.

Along the way, he even collected numerous blueprints for the Primordial Core Weapon.

And from what he could tell, these blueprints were far more refined and advanced than the ones the Human Emperor had given him.

As he passed through one of the laboratories, Daniel stumbled upon detailed documentation regarding the Godmaking Project: execution plans, cultivation protocols, rejection reaction management, and more—everything laid out in full.

In other rooms, he found all kinds of scattered research and experimental results, many of which proved quite valuable.

[Luck Potion Recipe][Comprehensive Guide to God Prayers][God Bestiary]

...

When he saw the [God Bestiary], Daniel came to an abrupt stop.

This was something not even the human race had access to.

Instinctively, he flipped through the pages, searching for any mention of a god named Infinity.

However, much to his dismay—

Even in this extensive catalog, there was absolutely no record of anything related to "Infinity."

Still, that didn’t diminish the importance of the book.

After safely stowing it away, Daniel continued exploring until he discovered something even more disturbing in another laboratory:

"Feasibility Study: Destroying the Oden Continent via the Abyss"

"...What?"

Daniel blinked, an odd expression appearing on his face.

Was this some kind of twisted joke?

These Artists were certifiably insane.

The world hadn’t even ended yet, and they were already planning to destroy an entirely different continent?

As for the Oden Continent, Daniel only had limited knowledge.

It was something he’d only come across in legends—supposedly, a continent separated from this world by a vast, endless ocean.

No one had ever successfully reached it.

But after reading this Artist report, Daniel suddenly had a different thought—

Could it really be possible to travel to that distant land through the Abyss?

He quickly stored the report for future study—something told him this could prove critical one day.

...

At this point, Daniel was like someone gorging himself at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Whenever he saw something valuable, he took it.

Even if it wasn’t immediately useful, he kept a copy for future reference.

By the time he reached his destination, he’d amassed an enormous amount of resources.

But instead of feeling elated, Daniel’s heart had grown heavier.

Because he had come to realize—these so-called Artists were far more dangerous than he’d ever imagined.

They possessed not only extreme intelligence, but also cold, terrifying rationality.

And behind that icy logic lurked a kind of hysterical madness.

To put it bluntly, if their goal wasn’t world destruction, they might have founded one of the most brilliant civilizations in history.

Even compared to the human race, they were not inferior at all.

And Daniel only said that out of pride for his own people.

If he were to look at it objectively, he’d admit that humans might actually be far behind.

What was even more concerning was that everything he had acquired so far wasn’t even considered "classified" by the Artists.

None of it represented their core technologies.

The most precious secrets were surely stored somewhere far more secure.

Finally, after wandering through the underground maze for what felt like hours, Daniel arrived before a massive gate forged from mithril.

According to scans from [Eye of Insight], this mithril gate directly guarded the Primordial Core Weapon vault.

And just next to it, a sign had been affixed—Primordial Core Weapon Storage Facility.

Only now did Daniel fully understand why the various races of the world had once paid such a steep price to eradicate these Artists.

These lunatics simply could not be allowed to exist.

They were too intelligent. Too advanced. But their obsession was destruction.

Letting them live was inviting doom.

Their current version of the Primordial Core Weapon could already obliterate an entire city with ease.

Give them another thousand years, and who knew what abominations they might create?

These maniacs—they didn’t just want to destroy a city, or a continent.

Their goal was the total annihilation of the world.

Now he understood. The Millennium Apocalypse wasn’t just a myth—it was real, and its roots were here.

Daniel had a gut feeling: if no one intervened, the destruction of the world would only be a matter of time.

...

Standing before the mithril gate, Daniel pulled out the last card in his possession—the red one.

The moment it emerged, the gate began to ripple like water, melting silently into the ground.

At the same time, a blinding white light erupted from the vault, as if the sun itself had risen in the depths of the earth.

BOOOOM!!

Instantly, Daniel’s HP dropped to zero.

All thirty trillion hit points he had evaporated in an instant.

Before the Primordial Core Weapon, they meant absolutely nothing.

[You have used item: Ancient Lucky Copper Coin]

[You are now under the protection of the Luck Goddess]

[You have become a devotee of the Luck Goddess]

...

Seeing this chain of notifications, Daniel wasted no time—

[Time Stream] – Activate!

When he opened his eyes again, he was back at the same place—right in front of the mithril gate.

So that’s how it works...

Daniel frowned, and realization dawned upon him.

He now understood the real function of the Ancient Lucky Copper Coin.

The Luck Goddess had orchestrated this all along.

Her true goal was obvious: to force him into becoming her devotee.

What was wrong with her?

Why did she seem so determined to "bless" him?

Daniel’s expression twisted into one of reluctant amusement.

But in the next moment, he vanished from the spot.

With the help of [Eye of Insight], Daniel had already uncovered the real mechanism behind the Primordial Core Weapon vault.

As it turned out, simply holding an identity card wasn’t enough to open the door safely.

You also needed to activate twelve separate control terminals, located throughout the city.

Only if all twelve were activated simultaneously could the vault be opened without consequence.

If you only used the identity card without syncing the consoles—

It would immediately trigger a massive detonation from within the vault.

Honestly, the Artists were terrifyingly thorough.

Anyone else trying to break in would have been instantly obliterated.

But unfortunately for them, they had encountered Daniel, who possessed the [Eye of Insight].

In fact, before even reaching the vault, Daniel had already marked the locations of all twelve terminals.

Now, with all his clones acting in perfect unison—

He finally stepped into the heart of the vault.