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"We must have met before, haven’t we?"

Dressed identically, looking exactly the same, but Chen Qing wasn’t very surprised because his subordinates had mentioned twice before that someone identical to him had appeared.

Of course, it wouldn’t be his own clone, but as for what it was, Chen Qing felt... today the answer should be revealed.

"I’ve seen you before, but for you to see me... this must be your first time," the other person said with a smile, looking at Chen Qing, his eyes obviously warmer, completely different from the indifference he had when stepping on Siao Mingyue.

"Are you the King of Qin?"

"I am the King of Qin!" the other person answered without hesitation.

Chen Qing fell silent for a moment; he had heard the legends about this person for a long time. His peaceful survival into adulthood in this world, without hearing about demons for twenty years, was definitely related to this person. Judging from certain deeds, this person... was very impressive!

He delayed the version’s descent and nearly changed this world. The Heaven Moon Project, to eradicate people’s fear of demons, the coexistence theory of humans and demons, each one... was a revolutionary breakthrough.

Though not successful, and actively erased from history by those with ulterior motives, the obsession shown by people like Siao Mingyue proved that this man had already made a lasting impression on countless hearts.

But when meeting him in person, he seemed different from the legends...

Chen Qing looked at Siao Mingyue, who had been stomped into a mush so visible it was breaking apart into black ice, feeling more complex emotions than ever before.

Siao Mingyue had been fixated on the King of Qin, a fact clear even to an outsider like him, but this King didn’t care; he was indifferent as he killed Siao Mingyue, neither disgusted nor deliberate, simply cold.

"Truly ruthless..."

A voice emerged between them. Without looking back, Chen Qing knew who had arrived; Zi Yue’s methods were indeed extraordinary. To prevent the leakage of Divine Blood, he had cut off the battlefield with wind of Extraordinary Level, yet she entered with ease.

"She’s been obsessed with you for more than a day or two," Zi Yue said, looking at the person identical to Chen Qing: "With just a word from you, I believe she would, like before, offer everything she has to you. But was it necessary to do this?"

"She was beyond saving," the other person said indifferently: "In the end, she was foolish, and that rendered her meaningless. As for the power you speak of, after her death, I can naturally take over."

"You weren’t like this before," Zi Yue frowned.

"People always change," the other person replied with a smile: "After all, to pour out one’s heart only to be abandoned, she’s not the only one who has experienced it."

"She never betrayed you."

"She would have in the future." The other person seemed unwilling to delve deeper into this topic and instead looked to Chen Qing: "Can you reveal your identity now?"

"Reveal... identity..." Chen Qing took a deep breath and asked all the questions he wanted to know: "Who exactly are you? What is the ’Pioneer’ mentioned by that divine statue? What are you ’newcomers’? What does reincarnation mean?"

"You don’t know?" The King of Qin observed Chen Qing, whose expression was cold, but the genuine confusion in his eyes revealed that he truly wanted to know the answers.

"Then I’ll assume you’re new and explain a bit," the King said.

With a wave of his hand, the King of Qin conjured a screen of light, displaying a model of the world, with countless stars in a void universe—but this void universe... had a ground!

Seeing this scene, Chen Qing’s pupils suddenly dilated, and his expression tensed again.

Of course he recognized this model; it had been discussed countless times, and his team had finally confirmed this game’s... original cosmological model.

The cosmos and Primordial Chaos merged together, beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, where countless stars abound. Even the earth, where turbid air sank, had no visible end, and the initial version of the human world... was just one of these myriad stars.

At this moment, Chen Qing was thoroughly convinced that the people before him, whether it was Zi Yue or the King of Qin, must be members of the project team, likely not just ordinary players, for ordinary players wouldn’t know about this world model.

After all, before his death, the game development had only reached the third phase. ...

"It seems you recognize this...." the King of Qin nodded.

"Are you all from the company?" Chen Qing asked, suppressing the excitement in his heart, "Who are you? From the project team? The management team? Or...."

Hearing this, the King of Qin and Zi Yue glanced at each other; in the end, it was the King of Qin who said, "Let’s first talk about the Pioneers that you’re most concerned about."

"Literally speaking, the Pioneers were the first ones to arrive in this world. According to the traces we studied later, they probably didn’t come all at once; there was a sequence, but undoubtedly, they all landed in the most dangerous, ancient times."

Chen Qing frowned. Could their survival rate be guaranteed?

In the early game, everything started from relatively stable dynastic worlds until chaotic times.

Introducing the ancient times incrementally, starting off facing the ancient times would mean a pressure likely to be entirely incomparable to what he had experienced.

As if thinking of what Chen Qing was wondering, the King of Qin continued, "Initially, they indeed found it very difficult to survive, but both the Pioneers and the later arrivals share one characteristic, which is the ability to infinitely reincarnate on the Path of Yin and Yang, not controlled by any force of the Ghost Domain.

Thus, time and time again in reincarnation, this group of people consistently found ways to confront the ancient times. ..."

Chen Qing frowned. It wasn’t impossible.

If one could reincarnate infinitely, it would be equivalent to a player who could die without limitation.

In any game, as long as the design wasn’t absolutely impossible to clear, it would surely be conquered by players who slowly became familiar with its rhythm.

"But if that’s the case, why is the world still like this?"

"Why is the world... still like this, eh?" The King of Qin smiled as he looked at Chen Qing, "Haven’t you heard that the dragon slayer... eventually becomes the Evil Dragon?"

Chen Qing: "....."

So... the idol from before, was it indeed a player?

What does that mean then? Could it possibly be....

"Ah, it’s exactly what you’re thinking..

.." The King of Qin stared intently at Chen Qing.

"Now the powerful forces of ancient times are mostly controlled by players, at least having taken over seventy percent.

The Path of Yin and Yang is almost completely occupied by that group of Pioneers, but even so, have you seen this world change? "

"Why?" Chen Qing looked at him, feeling a heavy weight in his heart.

"Because players are also human...." the King of Qin laughed, "Being human... they desire immortality, greater power, stronger forces. Changing this world would go against their own desires. What do you think most people would choose?"

"Infinite reincarnation... isn’t that immortality?" Chen Qing voiced his doubt.

It was understandable for ordinary mortals to obsess over immortality, but would players who could infinitely reincarnate harbor the same obsession?

Being able to start over indefinitely, to experience different lives, surely that’s more interesting than a monotonous immortality?

"That’s not quite right...." the King of Qin shook his head. "Reincarnation... comes with a price. Each reincarnation results in the loss of a part of one’s memories. After several reincarnations, memories can be completely lost. Once a player loses their memories, they’re no different from the ordinary NPCs in this world.

In such a dangerous place, constantly under threat of the Ancient Demons, would you, if you were in their place, be willing to lose your memories and live here? "

Chen Qing: "...."

"In such a world, losing memories, infinitively reincarnating.

.. that would mean infinitively enduring suffering.

No one wishes to be that suffering individual, so everyone would do everything in their power to become an existence that can achieve immortality.

But immortality necessitates plundering.

As long as saints do not die, great thieves will not cease.

This principle applies everywhere. As more and more players seek immortality, resources become increasingly scarce.

What were once harmonious player forces start clashing against each other.

After countless years, they began to strike at one another. "

"In the end, it still becomes a world of the survival of the fittest, with players degrading into beasts of this world, losing the special status they once had.

" The King of Qin said with a bitter smile, "We are the last batch to arrive, hence they are called Pioneers while we are called the newcomers, just like the real world; the players who catch the era feast on meat, while the latecomers don’t even have the chance to sip the broth. Ali, Zi Yue, and I are all the same, the avenues for advancement grow narrower, and we’re forced to lose our memories in the endless cycles of reincarnation, becoming the most ordinary NPCs, part of the disenfranchised. ..."

"This... is the true reality of this world!!"