Chapter 24: The Infinite Protagonist Project!

"Have you ever heard of the Six Desires Demon-Splitting Manual?"

In the conference room, the superpowered individuals who had been preparing to leave were brought to a halt by the sudden voice. Turning back to see the young man who had spoken, their expressions darkened. The speaker was an eighteen-year-old youth wearing over-ear headphones, known in the underworld by the nickname "King of Garbage Content." He was not only fond of using stale memes from before the Great Annihilation but occasionally proposed ideas of such shocking "brilliance" that he was dubbed the "King of Sensational Ideas."

"King of Garbage Content, every time I'm about to show you a shred of respect, you open your mouth," Ji Donglai couldn't help but say. "Hand over your thirty-thousand-word reflection report first, then tell me about your idea."

"Boss, please trust in my sensational wisdom as the King of Ideas," the King of Garbage Content said, patting his chest. "You all adopted my previous ideas, didn't you? Whether it was the orgy contest or the Carnival Day."

*Damn it, every time before, it was just us humoring you, you lunatic,* the superpowered individuals thought to themselves. Watching the fanatical-looking youth, Ji Donglai was silent for a moment before saying, "Fine, you have two minutes to explain your idea."

"Heh, the so-called 'Six Desires Demon-Splitting Manual' is a cultivation technique from a piece of web literature before the Great Annihilation. Simply put, it's a technique that allows one to increase their strength by splitting off different personalities and then devouring them," the King of Garbage Content explained to the room.

"So?" Ji Donglai, looking at this self-proclaimed archaeologist of pre-Annihilation pop culture, asked, "What do you want to do?"

"I want to do the exact opposite," the King of Garbage Content said earnestly. "Since that otherworldly technique requires idealism to cultivate, why don't we have our mental-type superpowered individuals step in, completely erase the personalities of those people, and replace them with new ones?"

"And... what is the point of that?" one of the superpowered individuals asked.

"The point is huge, okay?" The King of Garbage Content seriously held up his phone to show everyone. On the screen were folders labeled: *Battle Through the Heavens*, *Martial Universe*, *Shrouding the Heavens*, *Gold Scales Are No Mere Creatures in the Pond*, *Young Master Abin*, *Wind and Cloud*, *Silent Slaughter*, *Dragon Ball*...

Those with some knowledge of pre-Annihilation entertainment recognized these as web content from that era, but they didn't understand why he was showing them now.

Seeing the confusion of these simpletons, the King of Garbage Content said smugly, "Most protagonists in web novels have exceptional willpower; they are firm, unshakable, and are essentially perfect material for martial arts training. Since this technique requires idealistic cultivation, we can have our mental-type superpowered individuals instill the life experiences of these novel protagonists into the brains of clones, mass-producing protagonists."

"Just think: countless monsters possessing the memories of Xiao Yan, Ye Fan, Li Anping, Tang San, Gu Chensha, Li Huowang, Lan Mu, Zheng Zha... isn't that idealistic enough?"

With that, the King of Garbage Content smiled triumphantly. "Look at my sensational wisdom—using black-tech cloning combined with mental superpowers and idealistic martial arts, what kind of monster could we create?"

Following his proposal, everyone in the room fell silent, at a loss for how to respond. After all, this idea actually seemed... to have some merit.

"But how do you trick these people into believing they are who they think they are?" a beautiful, sharp-featured superpowered woman countered. "In one moment of their consciousness, they are invincible, and the next, they are ordinary people appearing in an otherworldly system entirely different from their own. That doesn't make logical sense, does it?"

"It's simple. If Tang San could be reincarnated into another world, these people can too. Besides, with their willpower, starting from scratch is nothing. If all else fails, we'll just tell them they are heroic spirits we summoned," the King of Garbage Content said triumphantly.

This time, no one had any objections; the "protagonist reincarnation theory" seemed to have no holes.

"So... shall we give it a try?" A superpowered individual looked to Ji Donglai, waiting for their nominal leader to make the call.

"That... might work. Let's start by testing the waters with ten thousand clones," Ji Donglai agreed. "Let this project proceed alongside the martial arts training for mortals. We'll call it the 'Infinite Protagonist Project'."

"Woohoo!" Receiving approval, the King of Garbage Content cheered. In truth, he didn't care about idealism at all; he just wanted to see what kind of sparks would fly when a bunch of clones carrying the memories of various novel protagonists collided. To put it bluntly, he just wanted to see blood flow like a river.

"Since this was your proposal," Ji Donglai said, looking at him, "you will be in charge of it."

"Yes, Boss!" The King of Garbage Content saluted with a grin. "Then I'll start by cloning a hundred 'God-King Tangs.' After all, he's been reincarnated before—he has experience."

Ji Donglai didn't object. Watching the youth, he added, "You're in Z City, right? Let's designate Z City as the pilot city. The Carnival Day is scheduled there anyway; we might as well do them together. You're close by, so you can keep an eye on things."

The King of Garbage Content didn't object; he was already opening the door, happily starting to prepare for the cloning process.

...

In Z City, deep within the deserted woods behind a school, Fang Can stood before a tree as thick as a bucket.

"I should be able to test the effect at 3% alienation," Fang Can murmured, staring at the ancient tree.

He raised his hand, wasted no time, clenched his fist, and felt the muscles in his fair arm bulge. In the next instant, he swung forward with a violent strike.

"BOOM!"

Almost instantly, a sound like an artillery shell exploded, and Fang Can himself was sent flying backward. A dull, heavy thud startled a flock of birds. Fang Can climbed up from the ground, his expression one of slight helplessness.

*Did I actually ignore the law of action and reaction? Can't the laws of physics just take a break for once?* Fang Can sighed.

He slowly looked up. In front of him, a bowl-sized indentation had been blasted into the solid ancient wood. In the center of the depression was a clear fist print, while Fang Can’s right fist showed nothing but a faint redness on the skin.

"After testing strength, I can try speed now."

As soon as he spoke, Fang Can vanished from the spot, his body turning into a blur as he moved between the ancient trees. The gale generated by his movement caused the surrounding bushes to sway, and clear footprints began to mark the solid, dry earth.

After sprinting at full speed for about half an hour, Fang Can stopped. He wasn't even panting. Because the light surrounding him was being automatically absorbed to replenish his stamina. Coupled with his body's self-regeneration, he was now rarely susceptible to fatigue.

"With my current physical constitution alone," Fang Can concluded firmly, "I could already rank among the best in the Martial Arts Hall."