264: Chapter 265 "Order Wars" [Clone City]: [Eye Demon's] Taunt

Tens of thousands of Clones, centered around the Flesh Tower, melted rapidly. There was no pain, no wailing—only procedural instructions recorded in their genetic segments. They witnessed their own bodies melting like heated plastic, devoid of emotion or sensation, until only the brain tissue remained exposed to the air. Amidst the surging of the flesh-and-blood earth, they were swallowed into thick blood vessels.

Hundreds of thousands of Clones, hundreds of thousands of brains, were devoured by the city that had transformed into a giant flesh altar. Within the thick blood vessels, brains continuously converged, flowing toward the core of the Flesh Tower.

From the moment their genetic editing was completed, the fate of every Clone had been sealed—they were either expendable tools for maintaining the experimental city's operations or the lowest-grade sacrifices for the [Flesh Ascension] ritual. There was never a third possibility.

The Hosts on the square watched the scene of Clones melting around them, drawing in a sharp breath in unison as a bone-chilling cold instantly swept through their bodies.

They had originally intended to gain [World Influence] by breaking the cage of [Clone City] and acting as the saviors of the Clones. Little did they suspect that only now would they realize this [Dream Mission World] of "Battle of Sequences—Clone City" was never a sci-fi experimental city; from the moment its first foundation stone was laid, it was destined to become a sacrificial site for a ritual.

Those Clones whom they had wanted to lead in overthrowing the dictatorship of the [Original Humans] in [Clone City] were doomed to be sacrifices from the moment of their birth. Their actions in breaking the city's order and guiding the Clones to [Awakening] their self-awareness had merely caused the [Eye Demon] to initiate the [Flesh Ascension] ritual ahead of schedule. Furthermore, those Clones who had awakened their self-awareness had been upgraded from what the [Eye Demon] considered the "lowest-grade sacrifices" to "low-grade sacrifices."

As the twenty-odd Hosts in the square before the tower looked around nervously, the [Eye Demon]'s undisguised mockery echoed from the crimson giant eye atop the Flesh Tower. The massive sound was so loud that blood even seeped from the ears of several physically weak Hosts. The flesh-and-blood earth surged violently at the sound of the [Eye Demon]'s voice, as if in anticipation of the upcoming sacrifice.

"Hehe! Do you really think I spent decades building this [Clone City] just to keep a bunch of mindless Clones in captivity?"

The [Eye Demon]'s voice was filled with the indifference of a predator looking down upon its prey. The crimson giant eye atop the tower slowly turned, its pervasive gaze locking onto the position of every Host. Even though they stood upon the boundless flesh-and-blood earth, there was no room for them to evade.

"From the moment I finished editing their genetic segments, these Clones were the sacrifices for my [Flesh Ascension] ritual. Even if they are only the lowest-grade sacrifices in my eyes, quantity leads to a qualitative change. If it weren't for your intrusion forcing me to hold the ritual early, my plan was to perform it during the city's centennial celebration. I implanted the [Hive Gene — Worker Bee] into every Clone; this was never to make them work obediently. From beginning to end, I created them for only one purpose: to sacrifice everything they have—their flesh, nerves, brains, everything—whenever I need it. Everything belongs to me!"