This was the sky over the desert, scorching and searing.
The blazing sun shone down, baking the ground until hot air shimmered above it.
Zhu Zhengwei had been busy outside, searching for animals and taking exams. Although he had not truly entered this land during this period, he had never expected it to have changed so drastically.
In this four-dimensional "Rational World," he was already over a hundred years old, making him a long-lived species.
He blinked.
Whoosh!
The entire world seemed to turn virtual and transparent before his eyes.
After all, this was a root world based on his own Dream World, and in his dreams, he could do anything.
When establishing the biological database, Zhu Zhengwei had modified the world's underlying program for the sake of convenience and created an interface.
Biological database: 12,518 species. Number of servers: 1,000
As he walked through the desert, several lines of simple virtual text appeared before him.
Opening the biological database revealed detailed pages containing the specific life data of various animals and plants.
"Looks like I collected quite a lot over the past half month. After all, each scan covers several hundred meters and can instantly pull in a whole swarm of insects, along with plants and the like. I had to hurry all over the place to project these in. They didn't come easily!"
"And the physical laws and various constants of this world are actually the same as reality. It feels like another real world! Perhaps this four-dimensional world, this Dream World, is already situated above Earth, on some higher dimension formed by the convergence of human minds?"
He had visited many zoos.
There were all kinds of fish and marine plants as well.
"But bringing in the biological cells and genetic databases as the foundation is only the beginning. Starting from the modern human ecosystem, perhaps completely different changes and developments will emerge."
Zhu Zhengwei glanced around and walked across the desert toward that city of enormous stones.
"Get out of the way, you lowly slaves."
In the distance, a Giant Elephant was draped in an exquisite red woven blanket. A small square room sat atop the blanket, and nobles inside seemed to be cursing as the elephant crossed through the city gates.
Puff!
Zhu Zhengwei moved aside, but a cloud of yellow sand still swept over him.
"So that's how it is." Zhu Zhengwei grew slightly angry, but then he suddenly glanced at the Giant Elephant and burst out laughing. He went to a cloth shelter outside the city gates.
An old man was selling tea.
Several desert merchants wore square headscarves. They removed the windproof cloths covering their faces and drank tea beneath the large canopy.
A middle-aged traveler saw Zhu Zhengwei and waved him over. "Brother, come sit here. The nobles are becoming more and more foul. Shake the sand off yourself. Where are you from?"
Zhu Zhengwei approached and sat down. "Bronze Country."
"Oh."
The traveler looked him up and down before laughing. "You really do look like a scholar. Are you here to conduct research? This place can be dangerous. You didn't bring a couple of attendants?"
Zhu Zhengwei shook his head and pointed into the distance. "How are they riding elephants in the desert?"
Elephants were heat-resistant animals, but elephants could not be found in the desert.
That was because the desert consisted of shifting sands, and elephants would be swallowed up directly.
The middle-aged man laughed. "Back then, Stone Light Emperor Changheng paved countless kilometers of stone roads through the desert, working countless people to death, all because the woman he loved wanted to ride an elephant in the desert."
"That man clearly possessed countless fertile lands, oases, forests, and plains, yet he chose to establish his capital at the desert front line and build the City of a Hundred Stones. He said that other Royal Capitals were built in the rear, but he insisted on building his in front. He wanted to guard the nation's gateway with his Royal Capital. As long as he stood at the front line, no one could destroy his country."
The middle-aged man's eyes filled with admiration. "They say there were as many as a hundred thousand slave laborers back then. It took more than ten years to build the city, and countless slaves worked themselves to death. Even several hundred elephants died of exhaustion before this legendary Royal City was completed."
Zhu Zhengwei nodded, then said, "But he wasn't lying. He held it. No one could breach his City of a Hundred Stones while he was alive. This place is easy to defend and difficult to attack."
"Yes."
The middle-aged man drank a cup of tea and said, "A hundred years ago, during the Battle of the Gurbantünggüt Desert, Bronze Country and Ghost Country joined forces to attack. They besieged the city for several years but could not break through. In the end, they could no longer withstand the harsh desert environment, their national strength was exhausted, and they had no choice but to retreat in defeat. He alone led his army to guard the entire dynasty's front line."
"But he still died."
Zhu Zhengwei listened in silence, then interjected.
"Yes. He was assassinated in the palace. That man who claimed to be a god was betrayed by the woman he loved and died at the hands of a ridiculous slave. That slave even dared to call himself Stone Light Emperor Changshou, claiming that he would never be as foolish as the dim-witted ruler before him and that he would never trust anyone."
"He became the next tyrant. Now he's merely an old man who clings to life and craves wealth and glory. People say he is already a little over a hundred years old and nearing the end of his life."
Zhu Zhengwei suddenly laughed. "You seem to admire First Generation Stone Light Emperor Changheng quite a lot. He was clearly a tyrant who built the City of a Hundred Stones while leaving the people in misery."
"But he truly deserves admiration, because this city has become the most invincible iron wall and miracle in the world. That powerful man was an epic and great hero. He was destined to be recorded in history!" The middle-aged traveler had his own unique views. He continued voicing his knowledge of the current dynasty, as well as his dissatisfaction with the era.
"I have always believed that the despair of ordinary people mostly comes from their own incompetence."
The middle-aged traveler's gaze was deep as he continued, "But the despair of the strong is mostly caused by the helplessness of their era."
"That heroic man did not lose to that despicable villain. He lost to the entire era. He could have become stronger, but Heaven would not allow it, and the gods would not allow it. The entire world had him locked down! How could a god possibly be stabbed to death by an ordinary woman while sleeping? He should have been able to become stronger!"
"Perhaps so. The people of the world cannot see the road ahead. Countless heroes have died with regrets, turning into yellow earth and white bones." After listening, Zhu Zhengwei suddenly smiled. "If this world had an immortal, he would certainly find a way to seek the next path."
"Then he would surely bear the hope of the entire land. He would surely carry the dreams of all heroes, and he would certainly be very lonely," the middle-aged traveler said.
Suddenly, the traveler's expression turned serious. "I can tell you have an extraordinary background. We hit it off at first sight. We can discuss this in greater depth—"
"I'll pass."
Zhu Zhengwei shook his head. "The noble in that Giant Elephant is one of your people, right? You specifically had him pass by and provoke someone who looked extraordinary. That gave you the chance to strike up a conversation at the tea shed, curse the nobles together, unite against a common enemy, and then recruit that person to your side?"
"You—?"
The traveler looked utterly stunned, as if Zhu Zhengwei had seen through everything.
Zhu Zhengwei could not help sighing at how much this world had changed.
The world was no longer the simple and honest Zhujing Village of the past. Cities were full of schemes—even a honey trap had appeared here.
"We're simply not pedantic!"
"We truly do intend to recruit a group of highly skilled warriors and men of insight. This is a battle of mortals slaughtering a False God!"
The middle-aged traveler looked deeply at Zhu Zhengwei. A flash of boldness passed through his eyes as he pointed toward the high city wall. "Tell me, how do you think we'll end up?"
"The enormous stones will be stained with much blood and many tears."
"I know that. No era of change comes without bloodshed."
The middle-aged traveler stood and looked at the pedestrians along the road. "They're all living in suffering. My parents and grandparents all died at the hands of the nobles. In an old book from the previous era, I read a line: 'When there is warmth, give warmth; when there is light, give light. If the darkness has no torch at all, then I will be the first light.'"
Zhu Zhengwei nodded.
Then he said calmly, "But he is ultimately the legendary Blessing Shaman, one who swallows wind and drinks dew—a god from the heavens descended to the mortal world. We are only mortals. Killing a god as mortals will be difficult! Our opponent is old now, which is why we chose to act. We must not only win; we must also find a way to stop his final struggle."
If they failed to stop him and allowed him to escape, the consequences would be too serious.
The royal families of the Three Great Dynasties had all survived the decades-long era of chaos back then. They had divided among themselves the "energy" of the three hundred women from the legends of that time and used it to establish the "Kingship"—the divine right of kings.
If they did not kill the Second Generation King and seize his energy, it would mean that the new kingdom, their own country, lacked a force capable of suppressing everything. They would be unable to truly secure their rule!
"To be honest, we can't assassinate him."
"Back then, he succeeded in assassinating First Generation Stone Light Emperor Changheng only because Changheng had fallen asleep. Sleep is the only opportunity to kill him. Now that coward has learned his lesson and shut himself inside a Stone Chamber. He receives no one at night. The moment we try to force our way in, he will awaken inside the Stone Chamber. We can only kill him head-on."
What a complete coward.
He was practically a tortoise shell.
No wonder he called himself Changshou.
Zhu Zhengwei did not continue the conversation. Instead, he raised his head.
He saw a weed taking root and sprouting on the roof of the shelter. He laughed and said, "The things you painstakingly fight over are often right beside you."
The middle-aged traveler did not understand.
The weed on the roof was actually a young man who had just logged on and entered this tabletop game, Mortal World. He was currently staring in amazement.
"So beautiful. So beautiful."
He looked at the endless yellow sand and the enormous city towering above it. Elephants and camels passed by from time to time. "Wow! An ancient desert town! Desert travelers coming and going! Didn't they say this place was all wilderness? There's actually a hidden scene with so many people coming and going!"
He swayed atop the canopy, watching the pedestrians below and the mottled, enormous stone walls in the distance. The guests beneath the shelter were whispering among themselves. Unable to contain his feelings, he shouted in praise:
"We are all lonely plants that have existed since ancient times, spectators of this Mortal World!"
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