章 1959: One Must Choose

Every piece of information that the Phantom poured out was like a meandering fungus that drilled into the depths of Meng Chao's brain. In the end, it wrapped around his soul gently and carefully. 

Meng Chao felt as if he had been sucked into a whirlpool of warmth. He could not feel any disgust or resistance. The "unparalleled freedom" that the Phantom had mentioned just seemed like the most natural thing in the world and something worth pursuing. 

However, just as Meng Chao was about to completely assimilate with the Phantom, Zero's light, which symbolized law and order, broke its spell. The light tore through the Phantom from the inside out and shone on Meng Chao's heart. 

In the course of their battles and entanglements over billions of years, the Phantom and Zero had formed a relationship of mutual infiltration, devouring, and transformation.