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I made the right bet!

The person who killed Ziyue, from that point of view at the time, was a villain. For some purpose, they killed innocent lives without even batting an eye - an extremely terrifying individual.

But upon further thought, this guy was probably much more noble than the other patrons.

"General Liu wants to stop them, right?"

"You young people are quite interesting..." Old Liu laughed: "I killed your comrade without blinking an eye, and yet you still think so highly of me as noble?"

"It’s not about nobility..." Pu YunChuan said coldly: "For a purpose, you killed innocent people, and it was a friend who mattered a lot to me, indeed I cannot sympathize with you, and if given the chance... I would certainly kill you."

"Oh?" Old Liu suddenly laughed upon hearing this: "According to the information, you were just a technician who has never even killed a chicken, but when it comes to talking about killing me, your tone is very casual, not like someone who has never killed before."

"You’re being too sensitive, General Liu. It was just a momentary impulsive remark from a hotheaded youth."

"Heh... I’ve been a hotheaded youth myself, and certainly not like you."

"Say what you will..."

Hearing this, Old Liu chuckled: "Even if you guessed right, what do you plan to do?"

"I would like to know first, what does Old Liu intend to do?" Pu YunChuan asked curiously: "Why would you take the risk to betray them?"

"Well..." General Liu stopped smiling and spoke softly: "Let me ask you, if the experiment succeeds and they reincarnate in this game world forever, what would happen?"

"Huh?" Pu YunChuan was stunned, then confusedly said: "What could happen? Live carefully in the game world, try to become as strong as possible, and then slowly gain control of that world under the game rules..."

"Is that all you can think of?"

"Are you referring to matters on the outside?" Pu YunChuan was not stupid and immediately caught on.

"Of course, the matters on the outside!" Old Liu said with a laugh: "What does it matter how strong they become inside that Virtual World?

People on the outside can shut them down and block them anytime they want.

Once they become data lives, many things will be out of their control.

Just like you, you seem to live a perfect life, growing up in a virtual world and living a different life without the limit of lifespan.

But all of this is predicated on the outside being willing to support you. What if they are unwilling?"

Pu YunChuan: "......"

He had also been thinking about this situation. The patrons behind the scenes wielded immense power, but if they suddenly became data lives, both legally and common-sensically, they were already dead. Who would sustain their power?

Their descendants had long been eyeing their inheritance, and did they still expect to remotely control their offspring from the digital world and continue their power?

Is it possible?

Since ancient times, the Central Federation had valued loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, but beneath huge interests, were there few cases of patricide?

Throughout history, how many Crown Princes have rebelled?

How many have disposed of or killed their children?

These patrons’ power was almost at the Prince level of ancient times, some even stronger than the leaders of countries. Once such people became virtual lives, would their descendants faithfully uphold them?

Rich people want longevity to continue enjoying their power, not to be content being electronic pets.

"What does Old Liu think they will do?"

"What do you think?" Old Liu said with a sneer: "A bunch of old geezers, their teeth can’t even chew rice anymore, but their hearts are still so greedy. In the end, they can’t let go. Since they can’t let go, there will naturally be actions taken.

As data lives, there is only one possibility to continue holding onto power. .."

"Let data life become the mainstream of the world!" Pu YunChuan continued the conversation.

"It seems you do understand after all..." Old Liu said with a smile: "You are no simple guy; you’re nothing like the tech-otaku described in the documents."

"Can they really do it?" Pu YunChuan asked curiously.

But in his heart, he already had the answer because historically, less than ten years after his death, the situation of the entire world suddenly deteriorated, with various forms of extremism rampant, and friction between countries growing increasingly severe.

Many fires were simply unquenchable, not even by the deterrence of nuclear weapons, which could not stop some insane ambitious individuals.

It is unknown from which country it started, the secret nuclear weapons.

Then someone took the initiative to use them, and once panic set in, it became unstoppable – the first, the second, until nobody cared in the end.

Hundreds of years of accumulated military weapons were released in large quantities. Although their destructive power could not really harm the earth, it could indeed decimate the human population...

The scale of the war far surpassed any in history, with casualties reaching an extreme.

Out of a global population of ten billion, it was said that less than one billion survived the war.

And the post-war world was fragmented and broken, with people dying every day from radiation illnesses or lack of access to healthy water and food.

The countdown to humanity’s extinction had already begun, measured in days.

It was at that time that the data life project was restarted, and humankind entered a new era.

Now that I think about it... was that great war truly an irresistible tide of history?

Pu YunChuan was doubtful at the time, the fate of the world concentrated in the hands of a few; history seemed to always be this way, even in modern civilization.

But even with history as a reference, he still found it hard to believe that someone... for their own power, could go as far as...

Such actions were beyond madness!

"Yes!" Old Liu’s single word suddenly made Pu YunChuan buzz as if he had crashed.

"You have no idea how much power those people have.

.." Old Liu said with a laugh: "Do you know why wars.

.. no, global-scale wars stopped for so many years?

Even when I started out and fought a great war, it was only on a local scale and never escalated to world war status, and this balance has continued for hundreds of years. Do you know why?"

"Because nuclear weapons would make the cost in lives too high..."

"Heh..." Old Liu scoffed coldly: "Historical monarchs fond of starting wars never cared for casualties; to them, the death of those below was just a number. As long as their ambition could be realized, what did it matter if the people below were wiped out? Do you really think, as on television, that it’s always done for the sake of the masses? "

"The reason for this balance is that once a nuclear war breaks out, its destructive power could likely doom them as well, and also cause their assets to shrink!"

"Radiation can completely ruin a place, turning it totally barren — such sheer destruction is too little a gain, far less profitable than exploiting through trade, where the earnings can maintain balance. Because those in power know, it doesn’t matter how many people die; in a few years, they’ll reemerge like ants, dense and numerous.

But if a place is wholly destroyed, it’s not worth much, understand? "

Pu YunChuan: "....."

"And now, when they are no longer humans and can live well on just a network, when they can no longer enjoy the outside world, then do you think they would have any reservations?"

"I see..." Pu YunChuan sighed deeply inside. Before, he only had suspicions, but now he was absolutely certain.

That near-extinction level war of humanity, it was orchestrated by this group of people!

"So... Old Liu, what do you intend to do?"

"Kill them..."

"Would that help? Kill them, and new ambitious figures will emerge, and this plan would eventually be restarted."

"That’s for those who come after to consider. An old man like me doesn’t have that much ability to control the future, but as for now, if they want to do this... they can’t!"