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Chen Qing had contemplated many possibilities for this world, but he never considered... this world being fake!

Twenty years of life, from infancy to adulthood, everyone around him was alive with flesh and blood; his mother’s favoritism towards him, his elder brother’s simplicity and tolerance, his sister-in-law’s complaints and helplessness, his niece’s mischief...

Chen Ying, who liked to approach matters with seriousness and had her own schemes; Weichi Peng, with his hearty and righteous character; Wang Ye, who had saved his life multiple times yet remained enigmatic; the domineering and greedy Emperor Siao—all these vivid characters, they were all data evolved from intelligence?

What a joke!!!

Chen Qing spent a day and a night in a daze, not even managing the campaign starting out in the Southeast Four Routes, something that had never happened to him before.

Even now, he couldn’t muster the energy to do it because he simply didn’t know if there was any point in persisting on that path anymore.

Since his father’s death at the age of five, his mother had to grind tofu until late into the night every day, and it was then he completely abandoned any illusion of returning, facing reality and devoting himself to reading and writing poetry, considering this place as his second life.

Why choose the Way of the Divine?

He was a designer, and he had ten thousand ways to become stronger—why choose this path? Was this path really the best one?

It wasn’t...

He actually knew it wasn’t...

He chose this path because he felt that the terror here was his own doing, and out of all the paths, the Way of the Divine was most likely to change the world, most likely to free this world of terror.

He... was just seeking psychological comfort.

That’s why in Jiangnan, he really enjoyed wandering alone in the crowd.

Watching everyone’s smiling faces, seeing that everyone seemed content and happy, his once ashamed heart would gradually start to fill up.

Until now!

Turns out... it was all fake!!!

Back when he created demons without any concerns, spawning one terrifying creature after another because he knew that no matter how realistic game intelligence was, it was still just data—data doesn’t have feelings of joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness.

Everything was simulated through calculations, all fake. ..

And now... someone was telling him that everything around him was still data, that it was all fake, too...

What was ludicrous was... he might be just a pile of data himself.

But was he fake?

Chen Qing silently pondered, feeling so real, including his rich inner world at the moment, his daily joy, fatigue, frustration, and anger—all felt so genuine. Was he... really just a bunch of data?

If he was real, then what about those around him created from the same data?

After all... what did he really amount to?

-----------------------------

Creak...

The main door opened, and Ao Zhen, who had been waiting outside the courtyard for two days and nights, opened her eyes and tilted her head to look at this man she could never see through.

"Have you figured it out?" Ao Zhen asked him.

She didn’t know what was troubling him. After all, the conversation between Chen Qing and the child was confidential, and no one knew what the child had said to Chen Qing.

It was the first time she saw Chen Qing so withdrawn.

In her eyes, this human was a very powerful being, not just in terms of sheer strength, but a sort of presence.

From the very first meeting, she felt that this man named Chen Qing was amazing, the most formidable one she had ever met.

So she was curious, what could possibly make such a strong-minded person shut himself away for two whole days? And during such a crucial time as the Southeast campaign.

"Not very clear..." Faced with Ao Zhen’s concern, Chen Qing showed a wry smile and apologized, "I’ve worried you."

"You’ve hardly fulfilled any of the promises regarding my possessions up to now..." Ao Zhen smiled as she looked at Chen Qing, "I learned a term in Jiangnan, it’s called ’drawing a big pie’. Surely you must not be that kind of person, right?"

Chen Qing: "...."

"No matter what you’re facing now, I still believe in you." Ao Zhen gazed earnestly at Chen Qing, "A person who could persuade me with such disparate power in the West Sea, will never let anything frighten them!"

Chen Qing stared blankly at the other person, his vision blurring slightly....

An existence capable of resonating with others so profoundly, is it really.... just a cluster of data?

Who cares!

Chen Qing suddenly laughed, and as he started to walk towards Jiang Xiaoling again, his steps became noticeably lighter....

--------------------------------

"Hasn’t he replied to you yet?"

On Jiang Xiaoling’s end, the third inquiry had already been received from above.

At this moment, Jiang Xiaoling was also greatly troubled, this was beyond his control.

He could only honestly respond: "Not yet.... He has locked himself in a room for two whole days without coming out, but I’ve witnessed Chen Qing’s military strength.

Even without him overseeing the overall situation, just relying on a General with the surname Tian and the force of the legion under that general’s command, they managed to take down four cities in the Southeast County within just two days. ..."

"Where did you get this information from?"

"It was easy to find out. I have a lot of freedom in my movements now. As long as I don’t leave Baiyun City, I can go anywhere. That woman named Ao Zhen follows me but allows me to inquire about all information, even taking the initiative to answer my questions."

On Digital City’s side, Wu Xiaoli and others didn’t know what to say after hearing the response.

The map of the Demonic World had been completely surveyed by Number One twenty years ago. Wu Xiaoli knew exactly how large the four cities of Southeast County were. Just two days.... Even modern troops couldn’t fight that quickly, the travel alone would be tight!

Chen Qing’s military force was more formidable than imagined....

But the more valuable it is, the more dangerous it seems. Someone capable of creating such a powerful force is no benign individual. Is it really safe to let such a person into Digital City?

"I don’t know who let this person in, but he must not be controlled by any private entity!

" Elder Zhang, sitting to the side, also spoke up: "Have Jiang Xiaoling do everything possible to win over Chen Qing and cooperate with him. From the current situation, he seems to have lost some of his memory and doesn’t know about the disintegration program in his body. Lockdown on the news, don’t let any of the four families know of Chen Qing’s current intelligence! "

"Yes...." Wu Xiaoli hastened to answer upon hearing this.

The four families... the deepest in heritage and the most powerful magnates in Huazhong, also the most likely culprits to have erased Pu YunChuan’s data initially.

A force like Chen Qing’s must not be allowed to fall under the control of any such family. On this point, Wu Xiaoli agreed.

Elder Zhang had one advantage; although he had lived for thousands of years, he had no descendants and had not tried to build any noble family. Wu Xiaoli thought he had his own selfish motives, but he should be more reliable than those families nonetheless.

"Chen Qing is here!"

Suddenly, the news came from the other side, and everyone, including Elder Zhang, looked over nervously, awaiting Jiang Xiaoling’s follow-up words....

"Mister Chen is finally willing to continue the talks?" Seeing Chen Qing, Jiang Xiaoling let out a slight sigh of relief. His fear was that the other party would completely reject them or even erase him outright.

Such incidents had happened. In the Virtual World, some people lose their memories, and upon regaining them and discovering they are digital beings, they often go into a rampage. And Chen Qing, in particular, is a presence that the authorities above cannot do anything about at the moment.

Because no one in the military knows where the disintegration program in his body is located....

Chen Qing, looking at him, let a complicated look flash through his eyes and then got straight to the point, "I want to know the full process of your ’Reformers’ project from back then!"