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Back then...

Wang Ye reminisced about that scene with a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

What he really wanted to say was that it was an accident...

His understanding of Reincarnators wasn’t extensive, and the first time he encountered one was when that exceedingly proud woman used the Nine Heavens Mirror to seal him in front of the Dragon Palace Hall.

She would rather sacrifice her own life, along with that of her descendants, to seal him away so he wouldn’t bring harm to others.

Later on, he learned about the King of Qin from his master, the Lord Duke of Song, who was another individual willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the common people. At that time, he began to wonder if all Reincarnators were like this?

Chen Qing was a Reincarnator; this he felt the moment they met, for the man possessed the same aura as that woman from the past.

In that moment of crisis, he didn’t use Flying Star to escape but instead left the opportunity to Chen Qing. One reason was because he was confident that he wouldn’t die; the second was to see what kind of existence a Reincarnator truly was.

Honestly speaking, up until now, he hadn’t seen through Chen Qing, but he was glad he had made a friend like him.

"Forget it, you won’t say anyway..." Chen Qing glanced at him coolly, "Do you want to stay here to see something in particular?"

"I guess..." Wang Ye nodded, "My master bestowed upon me his kindness, allowing me to integrate into the Imperial Court. I’ve striven for many years wanting to fit into the world of ’humans.’ During that time, I truly wished to become a human.

If I could become one by concealing my identity for a lifetime, I was even willing to give up my long lifespan. "

"But then, something strange happened. In your eyes, we are merely creations, a bundle of computational data. There really is no difference, be it demons or the Human Race, they’re probably all the same to you, right?"

"Are you suggesting that in reality, you are the human ones?"

"That..." Chen Qing was taken aback, "How do I answer such a complex question?"

Do the people in Digital City count as humans? He didn’t know. Does an intelligence derived from a genetic algorithm still count as once being human, and do the natives of the Virtual World count as humans?

It was unclear to him. In theory, they are just data; it’s only because of algorithms that they have cognitive logic, emotions, happiness, and sorrow—all results of calculations. So they probably... don’t count, right?

After all, the people of Digital City, no matter how much they stress that they originate from real genetics, cannot escape the fact that they are essentially data.

So who is more noble than whom?

After thinking it over, Chen Qing looked at him and asked, "What is a human like in your eyes?"

"That..." Wang Ye stroked his chin, his mind drifting back to the woman who had sealed them, and a smile appeared on his lips, "She should be like that woman..."

Chen Qing watched his silly smile and his face twitched. This guy... he couldn’t possibly have... fallen for her, could he?

Could it be that melodramatic?

"Then just stay and have a look..." Chen Qing sighed, "You’ll find that the people here aren’t much different from those you saw in that world.

The selfish will be selfish, the petty will stay petty.

There are more common, mundane people like me, and the heroes in your memory. .. they are very rare."

"Common, mundane people..." Wang Ye looked at Chen Qing and mused silently: Is this how he sees himself?

"Well, I didn’t let you stay for nothing. You’d better take my matter seriously," Chen Qing urged earnestly.

"That person behind the scenes?" Wang Ye frowned, "You think he’s troublesome?"

"I think he’s especially troublesome!" Chen Qing said seriously, "According to the intelligence, the genes of us designers have disappeared in hundreds of thousands of years of data.

In other words, that person behind the scenes has been secretly laying out his plans for hundreds of thousands of years.

I even suspect that the likes of the Virtual World might have been created by him. "

"Oh?"

"Maybe I’m overthinking this..." Chen Qing sighed.

"Perhaps it was just a whim of someone who erased our data only to preserve it, and then a descendant found us and tried to see what chemical reaction would occur by forcing me into it. No matter who put me in there, I don’t want to be kept in the dark forever. "

"Alright..." Wang Ye nodded. "I’ll do my best to help you find that person."

"I have great faith in your abilities..." Chen Qing nodded. "And there’s one more thing... you need to be vigilant about that command center."

"You mean the King of Qin?" Wang Ye frowned. "Wasn’t it said to be shut down?"

"After it was shut down, if it’s restarted, would the data life just die?

" Chen Qing spoke solemnly. "The experiments don’t say so. I’ve read the reports on these kinds of experiments; they all use lower forms of data life for the experiments, concluding that lower life forms, once shut down, can end up in a computing halt and are unlikely to recover.

That ’unlikely’... makes me feel insecure. "

"So there’s a possibility of recovery?"

"I don’t know, those experts state they haven’t found a way to recover yet, but they were only using lower data life forms for their research. Who knows if higher life forms might react differently?"

"Then it’s unlikely anyone would restart that place, right?" Wang Ye wondered. "Everyone saw what the King of Qin wanted to do. No one would want to release that lunatic, would they after all that madness?"

"That’s uncertain..." Chen Qing shook his head. "The world never lacks madmen with ambition. If it hasn’t happened, it’s just because they haven’t had the chance. It’s by coincidence, but that doesn’t mean the coincidence will continue. For example... the mysterious patron behind me."

Wang Ye’s pupils constricted, and then he nodded. "I understand now."

"I have another question..."

"What is it..."

"If you can enter using Flying Star... then can your master, Lord Duke of Song, do the same?"

Wang Ye: "....."

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"Hasn’t that guy Chen Qing arrived yet?"

Inside Northern Wolf City of the Northern Wasteland, Ali paced back and forth, appearing rather anxious.

"Stop pacing; you’re making me nervous..

." Zi Yue said, giving the other a glance. "The place Chen Qing is heading to is no ordinary place. It’s questionable whether he can return safely. I told you before that if we do this, we have to be ready to handle it ourselves. Now you’re putting your hopes on Chen Qing again. "

"But that thing... we’re not capable of handling it..." Ali gritted his teeth. "You saw it too... it..."

"Stop talking!" Zi Yue frowned. "You want it to find you again, is that it?"

Ali immediately fell silent. That name now couldn’t be mentioned anywhere, as speaking of it would allow the other party to sense it and instantly lock onto you.

"Such a terrifying thing, to think those guild players managed to bring it into this version of the world so early, it’s practically cheating!"

"What about cheating?" Zi Yue sighed. "They’re millennia ahead of us. It’s good enough that they didn’t just flip the table..."

But, that being said, even if Chen Qing were here for this encounter, the odds of winning might not even be thirty percent!