[The Confrontation with the Mastermind, Lure the Snake from its Hole Plan]

As the nuclear explosion occurred.

Endless light and heat burst forth, centered on the point of detonation.

The air was evaporated and ignited, the earth melted.

Surging flames and light erupted from the epicenter, instantly engulfing an area of ​​dozens of kilometers.

The shock waves and heat generated by the explosion continued to spread to more distant areas.

Large areas of forest were ignited, and many animals suffered an undeserved disaster.

A mushroom cloud rose slowly between heaven and earth.

"Is he dead?"

Someone whispered in front of a screen displaying satellite monitoring footage.

If anyone from this world were here, they would surely recognize that the speaker was none other than Chu Ge, the boss of Northern Lights Biological Company.

Regardless of how flawed the survivors of this world were in their starting point for guessing the truth about the Zombie Virus, the conclusion they ultimately reached was correct.

It was Chu Ge who precisely deployed the Zombie Virus that destroyed the entire human civilization.

Since destroying human civilization, in order to completely control this world, Chu Ge launched a dense array of military satellites, combined with a highly intelligent artificial intelligence he created and some equipment placed in various locations, to monitor every region of the globe.

Forming a Sky Eye System.

Initially, Lin Ze was only operating on a small scale, collecting information, learning the language and writing of World No. 3, and searching for survivors, so he had not yet been detected as abnormal by the Sky Eye System.

The drones he released were only regarded as the work of survivors from this world.

The Sky Eye System did not pay attention to this, as these survivors were not a priority target to be dealt with at the moment, and even if they were left alone, they might die on their own after a while.

At this time, Lin Ze had not yet caused any waves.

However, as Lin Ze began to travel to the former capitals of various countries, searching for clues there to find the military bases of this world, he was exposed to the Sky Eye System.

These places were originally key monitoring areas of the Sky Eye System, and Lin Ze had walked right into the trap.

According to the intelligence analysis displayed by the Sky Eye System, the appearance characteristics of this suddenly appearing unknown entity could not be matched with anyone in this world. It was initially suspected to be a visitor from another world or an alien, possessing the ability to control objects with his mind, a common trope in fantasy works.

He also possessed a short-range spatial movement ability, with each movement covering a distance of about several hundred meters, and each activation had a certain interval cooldown time.

In addition, according to the life magnetic field detection, Lin Ze's physical fitness was also extremely strong.

Combining the three, it was clear without testing that he possessed powerful personal combat capabilities, and was already at a level that could pose a threat to him.

If the other party discovered his location and carried out a decapitation strike, it would be difficult for him to resist.

Such a change was unsettling.

Therefore, Chu Ge did not hesitate to strike first, even directly using nuclear weapons in order to achieve a successful strike or even kill him directly.

The ability of spatial manipulation and telekinesis was indeed very powerful, but Lin Ze was still a carbon-based lifeform after all, and was still insignificant in the face of nuclear weapons.

Even if he teleported hundreds of meters, he was still within the range of the nuclear weapon's attack.

From the current situation where Lin Ze had no room to dodge and was directly hit by a nuclear weapon, his decisive decision was correct.

"Next, wait for a while and send some robots to the battlefield to take a look."

"Although it's highly likely that this unknown existence has been reduced to ashes, what if we can find some useful remnants?"

"Also, I need to pay more attention to my own safety. I should move to a safer place first. In the future, I will use the Sky Eye System to rule the world, disguised as an out-of-control artificial intelligence, to hide my existence."

"That way, even if such an unexpected enemy appears again, I will have enough reaction time to deal with them."

Looking at the fading light and heat on the monitoring video screen, Chu Ge thought to himself.

Lin Ze's existence proves the authenticity of the multi-dimensional universe and space-time worldview and alien civilizations, which is already a good gain for Chu Ge.

But if possible, after ensuring his own safety, he would also like to try to see if he can develop superpowers that can be applied to himself to increase the survival ability of his main body.

"Hmm?"

Just as he was thinking about this, the Sky Eye System's administrator, the strong artificial intelligence Sky Eye, suddenly brought up a brand new picture.

In the picture, Lin Ze, who had just been hit by a nuclear strike and should have been reduced to ashes, appeared unscathed on top of a tall building in a city extremely far from the epicenter of the nuclear explosion.

The other party had a smile on his face at the moment, as if he knew someone was watching him, and waved to the sky as a greeting.

"Hello."

Lin Ze stood in the very center of the explosion point, his vision filled with a blaze of white light, unable to see any other scenery.

However, he was not injured by this terrifying attack. At the same time as the intercontinental missile landed and the nuclear explosion began, he had already activated Within Reach Horizon, passed through the Gates to Heavens, and arrived in another safe Grotto-heaven World.

The Gates to Heavens isolated the destructive power of the nuclear explosion. No matter how terrifying the power of the nuclear weapon was, it could not cause any harm to Lin Ze across a world.

After admiring the power of nuclear weapons at close range, Lin Ze began to think about what to do next.

The other party had obviously discovered him and was extremely decisive, launching a killing move right away.

Although Lin Ze was also thinking about finding the other party's location and then taking swift action, he was ultimately not as good as the other party who had the home-field advantage. This was an opponent with extremely strong wisdom and action.

"When I was investigating the information, I was discovered by the other party, and then they directly launched a nuclear strike against me."

"If there are no accidents, the method I previously formulated to find the other party is no longer effective. Right now, the other party must have already moved their position. Even if I find the other party's industrial production base, I will not be able to follow the vine to find them."

"If the other party is determined to hide, unless I destroy all of his power, turn him into a toothless tiger, make him lose all productivity and hiding ability, and then I can search the entire World No. 3 to find him."

Thinking of this, Lin Ze frowned a little.

Right now, his survival ability is very strong, but in terms of actual combat power, he is really not a very powerful existence.

If he wants to rely on his own strength to deal with the Mastermind who secretly controls World No. 3, it will probably take a long time to develop.

So after a little thought, Lin Ze decided to use a little trick.

A trick called Lure the Snake from its Hole.

From Chu Ge's perspective, Lin Ze's position has never been revealed.

The other party's attack on Lin Ze is likely based on the logic of eliminating all targets outside of his control to ensure his own safety.

But now that the other party had failed to successfully eliminate him, both sides were qualified for equal dialogue.

At this moment, if Lin Ze showed goodwill towards the other party and engaged in trade,

then after the other party obtained the items Lin Ze traded over, they would take the items to their side for use, and Lin Ze could follow the movement trajectory of these traded goods to find the other party.

During the process of transferring the goods, the other party would definitely try to hide their tracks in various ways, but Lin Ze, hiding behind the Gates to Heavens, wouldn't bother with such niceties. When he found the target, he would directly attack.

If he failed, it wouldn't matter. If the shortcut didn't work, he would just overwhelm them with his power in a straightforward manner.

"What should I trade?"

With a plan in mind, Lin Ze began to refine it.

Soon, he had a complete plan and began to take action.

"Hello."

After Lin Ze greeted the satellite in the sky, a drone quickly flew out from a corner of the city and stopped in front of Lin Ze.

Then, a neutral, synthesized mechanical voice came through the drone's speaker, greeting Lin Ze.

In the dilapidated city, on the rooftop of a spacious building, the two met amicably, as if the nuclear strike against Lin Ze had never happened.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Lin Ze, a plane merchant from the Gates to Heavens Mall. The purpose of our Gates to Heavens Mall is to facilitate trade among all worlds, exchanging what one has for what one needs. This time, I came to this world to find trading partners."

"It's just that your locals don't seem to welcome me very much."

Lin Ze said calmly, introducing himself.

He only complained slightly, without showing any anger for the previous attack.

This long speech was to state his intentions, laying a reasonable foundation for the upcoming Lure the Snake from its Hole plan of releasing goodwill.

The drone hovered, silent for a moment.

It seemed to be digesting the information it had just heard, or perhaps it was thinking about how to explain the previous conflict.

In fact, this was the case. Chu Ge, who was operating the drone, was pondering the meaning of Lin Ze's words.

Gates to Heavens, all worlds, plane merchant.

As the name suggested, it meant traveling through many worlds using a powerful space-time technology, trading the specialties of each world to obtain benefits.

These words were not difficult to understand. Similar concepts had appeared in the fantasy works of this world before.

However, fantasy works were, after all, just fantasy works. When applied to reality, Chu Ge could not understand what a huge organization that could cross multiple space-times could possibly want from a civilization like theirs that had not even left its home planet.

This feeling was as ridiculous as an emperor personally running to a remote mountain village to rob a farmer's broken bowl.

Being able to master this level of space-time technology probably meant that they had already completely mastered matter and energy, and could create anything they wanted at will. The population and material technology of low-level civilizations were meaningless to such an organization.

From this, it could be inferred that this so-called Gates to Heavens Mall was likely just a bluff.

However, Lin Ze's ability to withstand nuclear weapons unscathed and instantly teleport hundreds of kilometers away was genuine.

But these things were, after all, just his speculation. What if the Gates to Heavens Mall was really strong, but there were many things he couldn't understand for the time being?

So Chu Ge decided to test him further.

Following the principle of concealing himself, Chu Ge disguised his identity.

"Hello, I am the artificial intelligence Sky Eye developed by Dr. Chu Ge, equipped with human thinking circuits. My race is mechanical intelligent life. Perhaps you already know that for my own safety, I have purged most of the humans in this world."

"Because your appearance may threaten my survival, I took unfriendly aggressive actions."

"For this, I feel sorry."

"Currently, even nuclear weapons cannot harm you. I cannot pose a factual threat to you. And you, as a merchant, do not seem to possess overly powerful combat abilities. Based on this, we have a foundation for friendly cooperation and mutual survival."

"If you need it, I can give you some resources you need as an apology, and then formally start our trading behavior."

A long passage of words slowly came out of the loudspeaker.

The straightforward tone is completely in line with the performance of an artificial intelligence.

At the same time, it is also testing Lin Ze, hoping to analyze his real information through the things he wants.

"Indeed, an apology is needed. You can prepare some gold and silver as an apology, and also as the currency for our next transaction."

"This shouldn't be a difficult thing for you who already control the resources of the entire world, right?"

"I have also encountered some mechanical intelligent life forms among my previous clients. Generally, they need computers with greater computing power and technology for interstellar travel. As long as you can provide enough gold and silver, I can provide them."

Lin Ze said calmly.

Previously, Lin Ze guessed that Chu Ge was the Mastermind behind all this, and the martial arts in his hands would be of great interest to him.

As a result, the other party told him that he was an artificial intelligence, not a person, which made Lin Ze not know what to do.

But fortunately, this situation was also in his plan, and the conversation did not break down because of it.

"I have some questions. With the technology of the Gates to Heavens Mall that can cross time and space, why do you still need things like gold and silver?"

"Although gold and silver are precious metals that can only be produced by supernova explosions, and in this world, they are not only industrial materials, but were once used as currency, such metals should not be of any significance to you who can travel in the endless worlds, right?"

"In the boundless universe, there should be no shortage of planets entirely composed of gold. Trading with me should be a very inefficient behavior."

Chu Ge continued to imitate the way an artificial intelligence speaks, straightforwardly asking Lin Ze to inquire about information.

"Theoretically, that's true. Trading is an inefficient behavior."

As Lin Ze spoke, he used the Gates to Heavens to open a new coordinate, connecting World No. 3 to somewhere in the starry sky.

Whether with the naked eye or through the lens of the small drone in front of him, one could clearly see that on the other side of the door, there was a golden planet. Without special instruments to distinguish it, one could see that this was a planet where gold accounted for the vast majority of its composition.

A true gold planet.

The gold reserves on it are calculated in units of trillions of tons.

A hundred million is a trillion, so a trillion trillion is 1 followed by 24 zeros.