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First time?

Programs don’t lie, nor should there be any mistakes. If it says it’s the first time... then it really is the first time!

Without any hesitation, the King of Qin activated the power in his hand. A green glow emerged, and a very special yet familiar rune appeared. Chen Qing recognized it immediately—it was Flying Star of the evening sign!

It made sense; such a useful ability, when first encountered in Dragon Palace, how could they not take the opportunity to collect one?

Presumably, the reason the Duke of Song was able to leave safely was also because he cooperated with this guy, right?

But unfortunately... Flying Star wasn’t always useful.

Indeed, the next second, the King of Qin, who had originally disappeared, reappeared in the same spot as if he’d hit a spatial wall, stumbling backwards repeatedly.

With that, the King of Qin completely confirmed his suspicions, his face ashen as he looked at Chen Qing, "You..."

"Sorry..." Chen Qing looked at him, "You’re too dangerous, I can’t rest easy unless you die!"

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

Three days earlier...

"So, is our cooperation agreed then, young friend?" Zhang Zhengyuan said with a smile.

"No," Chen Qing shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Because the guarantee is insufficient," Chen Qing said with a smile. "You can’t provide anything to make me trust you. How do I know that after I go over there, you won’t install a so-called disassembly program in me again?"

Zhang Zhengyuan nodded at this, "That’s true. Then what do you think would make a successful cooperation?"

"You want to let people in, right? I agree, but you must come in too!"

"Me?" Zhang Zhengyuan immediately laughed, "You don’t trust me, why should I believe that I would be safe if I came?"

"Because Jiang Xiaoling said that you are the firmest supporter of this project. Many high-ranking officials oppose the continued energy consumption of the project. Killing you would do me no good."

"And if you control me?" Zhang Zhengyuan said solemnly, "I know that the abilities of the demons in your world are extremely tricky, skinning and changing bones, altering memories... myriad methods to control an old man like me."

"If you believe me, you can consider keeping the passage open continuously. If I’m not mistaken, if the Virtual World connects with Digital City, it’s like being networked, right?"

"Once the network is established, can’t you implant something like a camera on the digital lifeform’s body? Then, the moment someone other than me shows up, you all can terminate the cooperation."

"The head of the Divine Path can obtain all the powers of the Imperial Mandate God. What if you already have that power now?"

"If I had that power, I wouldn’t bother talking to you. Just let me through, and any disassembly program you have would be fake. I could make you forget all about the disassembly program!"

This was also Chen Qing’s most helpless point; wouldn’t he want to have Ali’s abilities? They are super useful, right?

Like this time, if he had her abilities, what disassembly program? Unless it remotely detonates himself, as long as they dare to let him through, he would know every single code of that disassembly program clearly.

But the problem was, such power, of course, the allies would not hope he possessed, referring to Zi Yue and others.

Because everyone knew how terrifying this power was. If a person in a high position had this power, it meant everyone was in the palm of their hands. Even what is real and what is an illusion would become indistinguishable.

"Well, that is also true... So, Mister Chen, what do you want to bring this old man over for?"

"To establish a Technique," Chen Qing said.

"Technique?" Zhang Zhengyuan nodded, "It really is a useful thing. The world you designed, Mister Chen, is truly wondrous."

Chen Qing fell silent. Whether he designed it or not, he now had his doubts.

"Very well then, this old man shall come in person..."

Chen Qing nodded, then suddenly, as if thinking of something, "Oh right, there’s one more thing..."

"What is it?"

"About Number One!"

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

"So... it was all by design?"

The King of Qin stared hard at Chen Qing, From the beginning, was this a scheme to capture me?

"The command center is a special place," Chen Qing said indifferently. "Its location is uncertain, and it is encrypted with layers of data, like a box. Shutting it down hardly affects the surrounding things; it’s the best kind of trapping cage."

"You... No, it shouldn’t be..." The King of Qin said unwillingly, "For your act, would Zhang Zhengyuan and others gamble with their lives?"

"Of course not..." Chen Qing shook his head, "Changing faces, with current technology, is not difficult. Just changing faces would be too easy to see through, especially since Zhang Zhengyuan’s life force isn’t weak.

At a glance, it could reach the level of a First Rank Warrior of the Great Jin Dynasty. "

"But you are too strong. Under your Divine Wind Technique, whether it’s a First Rank Warrior or a Ninth Rank Warrior, they’ll meet the same fate. You naturally can’t tell which one is real and which is fake."

"Wu Xiaoli can’t be fake!" The King of Qin said coldly, "I created her using the Skin Painting Art. Her memory can’t be fake. These ten commanders in the command center can’t be fake either; they..."

"They are real..." Chen Qing interrupted mildly, "You can easily sacrifice billions of your compatriots for your purposes. Wouldn’t these high-ranking individuals readily sacrifice some of their clan members to remove you, their biggest threat?"

"But how did you know whom I would keep?"

"It’s easy to guess..." said Chen Qing lightly.

"You wouldn’t keep anyone with too important a position, such as Zhang Zhengyuan, Elder Hou, or the heads of other families.

Their identities are too important; using their IDs would cause unnecessary trouble.

But you needed sufficient authority to search for the information you wanted at the first opportunity, making the younger generation like Wu Xiaoli the most suitable choice.

Of course, you might have chosen other young people as well, so.

.. all the young people present, including Wu Xiaoli, knew nothing of this plan! "

The King of Qin: "..."

"That includes the ten commanders here as well..." Chen Qing glanced at the puppets around him, "The position of a commander is high, but those who can come here are not the core members of their families. Being abandoned is within reason. What do you think?"

"So that’s how it is..." The King of Qin suddenly smiled bitterly. The command center had significant authority, but it was a place set up for emergencies and did not mean the command center had more power than the higher-ups. In an ordinary situation, the higher-ups could always revoke the command center’s emergency authority at any time.

To set up this trap in advance, to keep the commanders of the command center unaware of the situation, was not difficult for these noble families.

"So you’re choosing to be bedfellows with them?"

"Compared to them, you are more dangerous," Chen Qing said calmly. "Since my brother’s death, I have been wary of you. I know that you should have the ability to take over my body at any time, and I’ve been on guard. But I don’t want to be on guard forever. I’m sorry... but you must die!"