Page 954

"Sir, the Flaming Sun Array can be activated at any moment. According to the amount of Bai Yu we carry, the Great Formation can be continuously activated for five days. It is three days from here to Nanhai City. Do we really need to activate it now?"

Shen Qi looked at Ziyue’s order with a deep frown. He was not a military strategist, but he knew that such an order was inappropriate. In naval battles, the Flaming Sun Array was best suited to restrain those aquatic demons attempting to overturn ships.

But wouldn’t using such power recklessly leave no room for error?

What if they actually encounter the enemy and become deadlocked, and then run out of energy?

Each ship has more than two magicians aboard, all of whom performed exceptionally well in the trials, with reports stating they could activate the Flaming Sun Array within the five breaths. Coupled with his own Thousand Eyes Technique, there was no need for such wastefulness.

"Activate it now..." Ziyue took a deep breath and said, "I need to meditate for a while, do not wake me unless it’s a critical attack..."

"Eh?" Shen San was even more confused. Meditate at this time?

If he were from modern times, he would definitely think she was mocking him. Was this really the time to meditate?

And telling them not to wake her unless it’s a critical attack, was she really that bold?

Before coming here, she didn’t take it this seriously, bringing so many troops. If it hadn’t been for the many experiences in Yundu reaffirming that Ziyue would not betray Chen Qing, he would have suspected her of being an inside agent right now.

Ziyue didn’t explain; she knew explanations would be inadequate at this moment. After arranging some details, she returned to her room, activated a barrier, and entered a deep meditation.

The dream from the previous night had opened a crack in her deep-seated memories. With her capabilities, she could continue to explore the memories obtained yesterday.

She had to figure out the situation. She felt that these memories weren’t awakened by chance; there was probably some sort of omen or design at play, but regardless of what it was, she had to understand!

Soon, she entered a meditative state, quickly settling into meditation even amidst the complex emotions and unlocking her formidable spiritual power, revisiting the state of yesterday.

In her memory, it was an invitation...

Yes, an invitation, signed by Chen Qing, one of the main persons in charge of digital life.

Soon the familiar scene returned, she remembered—she had wallowed in her purchased apartment for half a year, spending days binge-watching dramas or reading novels, ordering takeout when awake, and continuing to sleep when tired.

This lifestyle, indulgent and oblivious to the world, had caused her to gain over thirty pounds in just six months.

From a relatively slim office lady, she turned into a grossly overweight recluse.

Back then, she thought, with the money she earned and the income from her purchased storefront, she could sustain this reclusive lifestyle for four hundred years.

Provided there were no financial crises or great depressions, of course.

But that invitation changed her stagnant fate.

Such an interesting experiment reignited her scientific spirit once more.

As a data master, she couldn’t possibly lack interest in such an unusual project as digital life, though domestic research in this area had been expressly forbidden and was controversial abroad, with very few laboratories working on it.

It was rare for her to receive an invitation from outside lands.

But this time, someone reached out to her, naturally stirring her interest, although the identity of the inviter was slightly shocking.

Chen Qing... Pu YunChuan’s brother...

Of the same mother but different fathers, at 28 years old, a graduate from Stanford University who stayed to teach due to his excellence—considered promising but inexperienced. It felt somewhat off for him to be one of the principals in such a significant project.

Yet, even with these doubts, she decided to go. America wasn’t Southeast Asia; it would be relatively difficult for anyone to try and swindle or traffic her.

Without much hesitation, she accepted the invitation, purchased a plane ticket...

That was the memory from before!

Upon returning to her memories, Ziyue, without a moment’s hesitation, directly entered hypnosis. Such deep memories had to be fully unlocked in a dream. Because it involved deep sleep, she instructed Shen Qi not to disturb her easily.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back in her previous life, covering her forehead somewhat speechlessly.

Her home was as messy as a dog kennel, filled with the odour of decaying takeout food, with roaches occasionally scurrying in the corners. Had she really lived in such a terrible state once?

She didn’t want to stay a moment longer, quickly packed her clothes, and took a taxi to the airport.

The plane ticket was booked by the other party; she heard that the flight would have people she knew. She wondered who these familiar people might be, and soon... at the airport, she saw a familiar face.

"Hey, Manager Chen?"

Ziyue was taken aback, the familiar voice was...

"Ali?"

"Ah?" The other party was surprised, what did you say, manager?

"Oh, nothing, it’s Shanshan, what are you doing here?" Ziyue immediately remembered the other person’s name.

"I... let me tell you..." The other party chuckled mischievously, leaned in close, and whispered, "I was invited abroad, they say it’s a big experimental project."

"Is that so..." Ziyue swallowed nervously.

Soon, both of them were surprised to see many familiar faces in the departure lounge.

"Manager Chen?"

"Shanshan? You were invited too."

Face after face, undoubtedly, they were all employees from Pu YunChuan’s original team who had designed the game’s framework!

Yes... It was them!

The last batch who were reincarnated into the game...

Ziyue thought rapidly, their genes had been preserved back then, but according to the history recorded in Digital City, the era of data life began a hundred years after their death when the world underwent massive conflicts, ultimately making the real world uninhabitable, which led to the reboot of the data life project.

Moreover, the founding of Digital City was even a thousand years later!

Theoretically, by that time, not even their ashes might remain, and their descendants... might not even remember to worship them.

A thousand years, what a joke, do you know who your ancestors were a thousand years ago?

But still, their genes had been preserved.

Without a doubt, it must have started now.

So... how were these genes of the original game developers preserved in advance?

The reason must be linked to this invitation!

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

"The Flaming Sun Array? Activated so soon?"

In the fog of the Southern Sea, streaks of fire soared into the sky, and the originally imposing warships, magnified by the immense power of the Fire Element, appeared as if Divine Weapons descended from heaven, frighteningly formidable!

But this hadn’t led to conflict; it had merely begun upon entering the territory of the Southern Sea, activating such a massively consuming formation. Does Chen Qing’s power extend so luxuriously?

"It seems that memories are starting to initiate," said the King of Qin distantly.

"Memories?" The Guard Commander frowned and looked at the King of Qin, "You indeed still know something..."

The King of Qin smiled, "You’ve suspected it too, right? Why would the genes of those game designers be mixed in here?"

"If these people had been pre-arranged, was this setup laid out even before Digital City was built?"

"Isn’t that an exaggeration?" the King of Qin shook his head and smiled, "Many things that seem unbelievable, in the beginning.

.. were just coincidences, just like that group of originally very ordinary game designers, who, in an ordinary era, were merely slightly better programmers, who would bother designing them? "

"Then why have they lived up till now, and why have their genes been preserved?"

"That, well..." the King of Qin said distantly, "Originally I wasn’t sure either, but now I roughly know a bit, all this... starts from the origin."

"The origin?"

"Yes... the origin, that very first successful data life entity... Pu YunChuan!"