The television hanging from the ceiling of the Sha County Snacks shop was diligently doing its job.
The program on television was about exploration.
A bald, fair-skinned explorer was crossing the region. Along the way, he watched a group of Primitive Humans hunting: the savages' spears, the preservation of fire, feathers on their heads, and censored scenes of them eating raw flesh and drinking blood. These Primitive Humans lived freely and joyfully. Once the hunt was over, they mated—day after day, year after year.
When the bald explorer took his leave of the savages, he said with undisguised superiority, "They really are happy and free, but unfortunately, just like their food and lodgings, this kind of freedom and happiness isn't something a civilized man from the city like me can enjoy."
When those words rang out through the shop's main hall,
Lan Yi lowered his head and glanced at the pork-bone soup dumplings in front of him, whose broth he had already drained completely.
Twenty years.
He had finally tasted that familiar flavor again.
No superhuman senses, no life-cluster stimulation—just the satisfaction and joy that the five senses of an ordinary person could bring to the brain. It was primitive beyond compare before chemical ecstasy, yet it was a taste that haunted his dreams, one he had always wanted to savor again if given the chance.
Although he didn't know who had inserted a coin when the game was nearing its bad ending and about to conclude,
asking whether the game should continue.
Lan Yi's answer was, of course: yes!
"Since someone inserted a coin, then let's strive for a good ending."
Inside the shop, Lan Yi was already waiting for the final countdown before the War Zone descended. Outside, Ji Ning and Zhang Shouzheng were engaged in a heated argument.
"Why not keep trying? He clearly isn't opposed to our efforts. If we can win his support, we can make up for more regrets, correct more mistakes, and avoid more losses." Zhang Shouzheng couldn't understand why Ji Ning had pulled him outside.
They had precious little time left.
"He was watching television just now," Ji Ning said flatly.
"Wasn't he always watching televi—" Zhang Shouzheng stopped halfway through and fell silent.
"The life clusters, Auxiliary Brain, and AI have all disappeared. We've become rash and lost our composure, falling into the trap of chaotic probability again. In his eyes, perhaps we're just that group of blood-drinking, flesh-eating Primitive Humans." Ji Ning seemed to have figured something out. He spread his arms in relief and removed his earpiece.
"Those were uncivilized savages," Zhang Shouzheng instinctively retorted.
"Yes, they were all uncivilized savages. The entire world is moving forward in the future, advancing by any means necessary. If we try to stand still simply because we're reincarnators, then in Lan Yi's eyes, we'll be savages."
"..."
Zhang Shouzheng said nothing more.
Ever since learning about the reincarnators and the drastic changes that awaited the future, quite a few people had actually hoped to maintain their position of control, continuing to control the War Zone and the spiritual-energy cultivators. Their reasons were grand and impeccable, one after another. As for what they truly thought in their hearts... Zhang Shouzheng had the urge to launch a great purge.
"Look on the bright side. At least we've already recovered half of the greatest regret of the future, haven't we?" Ji Ning's attitude was highly optimistic.
The greatest unresolved grievance of the New Era was Lan Yi.
Especially after he began destroying the world.
Many people who read through Lan Yi's past files wished they could travel back through time, twist the heads off that bunch of pests and parasites, and throw them into a manure pit. How had they forced such a mild-mannered working man into taking up weapons and slaughtering everything in sight? Was it really that difficult to let someone else live?
"As long as we completely understand why Lan Yi wants to destroy the world, the greatest regret of the future will practically be resolved."
"It's almost time."
"I have to prepare for my first trial in the Artificial Divine Realm as well. Let's all work harder. Don't forget Amerikan and the Dongyang Embassy's applications today. The only people who meet the reincarnation requirements aren't the Star Han people." Ji Ning patted Zhang Shouzheng on the shoulder.
The sweltering midsummer wind blew without pause.
Prosperity and flourishing, peace and tranquility, refinement and elegance—these had always been the main themes of the Magic City. The weather was clear, the sky cloudless for thousands of miles, and high-rises stood in dense ranks. The bustling metropolis was just as it had always been.
Yet in the next moment, this beautiful daily scene was shattered by a piercing alarm.
Suddenly, air-raid sirens sounded one after another. In a mere few seconds, they had resounded throughout the entire Magic City. Having enjoyed peace for far too long, the Star Han people were bewildered the instant they heard the air-raid warning. Faced with the wailing sirens that continued without pause, they were at a loss, and even those who knew what the sound meant assumed it was an exercise alarm rather than an air raid or the outbreak of war.
But soon, information from television, mobile phones, radio, computers, and other channels proved that the alarm had not been triggered by mistake or as part of an exercise.
This world was one enormous makeshift operation. Everyone was required to stop all activities and remain where they were. The demand seemed simple, but was actually fraught with difficulty. Even with warnings from the reincarnators and advance arrangements, human beings themselves were filled with tremendous uncertainty. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many accidents caused by absurd and laughable circumstances.
Reminder after reminder, warning after warning, arrangement after arrangement—unceasingly, an information bombardment.
But even with all that preparation!
The upheaval that would occur ten seconds later would still cause countless accidents.
Any minor incident, even something as small as an inexplicable muscle spasm in one's arm, would become an utterly terrifying disaster if it happened simultaneously to all 8.4 billion people on Earth.
Perhaps a worker on the upper floors of a construction site in Tianzhu was carrying out his task when a sudden disturbance caused him to lose his grip, sending newly delivered steel bars howling down from hundreds of meters in the air.
Perhaps a truck driver was cruising steadily along a highway in Florida, Amerikan, when a sudden disturbance caused the steering wheel to jerk wildly out of control.
Perhaps a soldier on the Ice Fortress front line was disarming a land mine for an unlucky teammate when a sudden disturbance violently shook his mind. His previously steady hands trembled, detonating the blasting cap.
Ten, nine, eight...
Lan Yi spent three seconds recalling the circumstances of his first trial in the Artificial Divine Realm. He still remembered that the setting of that Artificial Divine Realm had been the modern era.
Six, five, four...
Because of quantum entanglement across the dimensional membrane, that Artificial Divine Realm shared many similarities with the story of Jinmen's foremost figure: saving the nation from destruction, striving for self-improvement, and rallying a hundred million people to answer the call for a single goal. It truly was unforgettable.
Three, two, one...
That world happened to have life clusters he could use. The progress of assembling his life map should be able to advance rapidly.
July 11, 2050. The Milky Way, the Orion Arm of the Galaxy, the Solar System, Earth.
The War Zone descended!
Like breathing, like drinking water, like opening their eyes, everyone on Earth sensed it. Each person had gained an extra organ, and everything about this organ was so natural that it loaded directly into their brains.
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