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"Report, the civilians in Eastern District Eight, District Nine, District Twenty One, and District Thirty One have been evacuated. Should we now shut down the power on that side as instructed?"

"Shut it down!"

Nie Xingjun commanded solemnly.

"Report, with the exception of Zhuxian World, the portals of the worlds of Swordsmen and Storm and Cloud have been taken under control, and all the people inside have been evacuated. Shall we close them now?"

This report made Nie Xingjun hesitate. He turned around and asked, "Has there been no word from Elder Zhang yet?"

Unlike the shutdown of several areas in Eastern City, the area in question was an entertainment district.

As long as the personnel were evacuated, it could be restarted at any time once shut down, and the losses incurred would not be significant.

Frankly speaking, those were merely projects set up by a few noble families for frivolous young masters to harvest money from the lower-class citizens—they were expendable.

But if the game areas of the parallel worlds were shut down, it would be a matter of national importance.

Although the New World has now been opened, and the Central Federation has the most quotas, it is a newly launched project after all, and it is estimated that it will take fifty years to see any success, not to mention the many risks involved.

Over eighty percent of the Eastern Federation’s martial forces have been cultivated from the other two martial arts simulation environments. Once the power is cut off, restarting them in the future will be difficult!

At this moment, Nie Xingjun’s hands trembled, feeling that if the order was given by his own mouth, without great care, he might well become a sinner of history. But, what choice did he have?

"Uh... Not yet. Not only Elder Zhang, but also other former leaders—we’ve sent messages to all of them, but there hasn’t been a single response..."

Upon hearing this, Nie Xingjun felt a chill throughout his body...

Prior to heading to the New World, although the older generation had already transferred power, for the sake of prudence, they had still spent electrical resources to establish a communication line.

For some unknown reason in the New World, once a communication line is activated, the amount of electricity consumed is extravagant; just a few minutes of communication could reduce the power of an entire district by half.

In normal times, it would never be used unless there was an extremely urgent matter.

Each line had been tested, ensuring that it could definitely connect, but now. .. not a single one could be reached!

What did it mean that these top leaders’ dedicated lines, designed to prevent being calculated by others and using the national resources for electricity, but with protocols managed entirely by home-grown researchers from various families, each with their distinct secret programs, could be tampered with?

Could it be that all families had already been infiltrated by this hidden force?

Or perhaps even more desolately, the level of access these people possessed already gave them the power to completely ignore both public and private affairs, making everyone’s data transparent before them...

The more he thought about it, the more terrified Nie Xingjun became, and even his face began to twist: "Not a single one can be contacted? Who else can we contact?"

"Uh... There’s one more..." The person below had a strange look on his face and hesitated in his voice.

"Who?" Nie Xingjun quickly asked.

"Number two..."

"Number two?" Nie Xingjun was stunned, but he immediately remembered who it was.

After the No.1, King of Qin, lost contact, the Federation later activated a second liaison.

This person was chosen by Elder Zhang Zhengyuan, who used his authority to push through all objections and quietly inserted a person into the role.

In order to keep the foreign intelligence officers in the dark, the level of secrecy regarding Number Two’s entry into the game to explore intelligence was extremely high; only Elder Zhang Zhengyuan himself and a few technicians knew.

Even Elder Hou of the Federation at that time only found out later.

Number Two... Jiang Xiaoling!

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Jiangnan...

This period could be said to be the most comfortable time for Jiang Xiaoling. Since the higher-ups had signed a contract with Chen Qing, his original role as a liaison had essentially lost its purpose. From the moment the entrance was opened, he had not received any tasks at all.

The key point was that he enjoyed privileges that even the descendants of noble families couldn’t fathom: retaining the memories of his past life, all while living in such a bustling place as Jiangnan.

He felt very content. Now, he could wholeheartedly immerse himself in his new identity—a five-year-old child with loving parents and a mischievous younger sister. Such life... As a commoner from Digital City, he had only seen it in some past cinematic works.

He had never dared to open his heart fully, fearing that all the beauty before him would disappear in an instant one day, but now... he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Perhaps there would be dangers in the future, but at least for now, he no longer had any pressure or burdens. He just needed to continue enjoying this rare life.

"Xiaoling..." A middle-aged woman’s gentle voice rang out: "It’s late at night, don’t ruin your eyes, go to sleep."

"Not yet, Mom..." Jiang Xiaoling smiled and said: "In three months, I will have to participate in the assessment for the preparatory school of the academy. I cannot waste the hard-earned opportunity Dad has provided for me."

The middle-aged woman’s eyes reddened upon hearing this. It was bittersweet when a child was too sensible—such a young kid, while others were running around the fields covered in mud, this child spent all day and night studying, behaving well beyond his years.

It was their family’s bitter journey that had finally come to a sweet end.

Originally fleeing from the calamities of war in Southeast County, they had almost died at the border of Jiangnan, only to be rescued at the last moment.

And with the father seemingly possessing some talent of the Immortal Farmer, they were assigned to live in the mountains and even moved into the Twin Towers of Lyuzhou, the most enviable residence.

This splendid house was floored with bright and dazzling ceramic tiles, a life she never even dreamed of before.

The key was that the child was also sensible and knew to strive for better at such a young age.

Lyuzhou Academy had many preferential policies for local residents.

Among them was the education of children.

As long as they had talent, the children could enroll in the primary education affiliated with Yin Yang Academy at the age of six.

The teachers there were top-notch, and it was said that anyone who entered was as if they had already set foot in the doors of Yin Yang Academy.

Yin Yang Academy, the place most esteemed by Jiangnan’s scholars at the moment.

The magicians who emerged from it not only possessed magical techniques but also astonishing knowledge.

They were sought after everywhere. If her son could get in, it would be a matter of great honor, even more enviable than becoming the top scholar!

At that time, the old man was thinking about how to guide his child to pursue that path, hoping that the child could keep up and enter the primary education before the age of ten.

Unexpectedly, the child was so sensible that from the day he got the books, he studied day and night, with even more effort than many scholars preparing for examinations, truly heart-achingly sensible.

"Dear, since it’s so, let’s save up this month and get a set of Luminous Stones for your room. I’ve seen it next door, it’s very bright—it’s as if it’s daylight even in the middle of the night..."

"Mom, there’s no need..." Jiang Xiaoling shook his head and smiled: "With that money, buy something to nourish my little sister. She’s been eating a lot lately; maybe she has a talent for martial arts. Maybe we could even become a Military Household."

"Such talk for a young girl of the house, what military nonsense..." The middle-aged woman immediately shot a glare at her son.

Jiang Xiaoling glanced at the little girl who was hiding at the door and sneaking a listen, then shrugged his shoulders, his demeanor clearly conveying: "Look, I tried my best, haha."

The girl outside puffed her cheeks, huffing as she walked away.

Jiang Xiaoling instantly smiled. In reality, he didn’t wish for his sister to join the military either—the times ahead were turbulent, and joining the military was far too dangerous.

But just as he wanted to say a few words to his mom, quite unexpectedly... a voice that had not appeared for a long time echoed in his mind.

"Number Two, are you there? Number Two, are you there?"

Almost instantaneously, Jiang Xiaoling’s smile froze...

Without any doubt, he knew—trouble had arrived!