"Doppelgangers?"
He Li took out a tent as she asked in confusion.
"Did you really think I could get my research done by lazing around with you every day, you naive little girl?"
Doctor Chen said smugly, "I have doppelgangers in every faction in this world, gathering intelligence for me."
"But I have to get close to them to access their data and information."
"What is your doppelganger in the Land of Exiles?"
"Guess."
"Guess whether I'll guess. Shit! Old Ox, why did you kick me?!"
Doctor Chen's own Green Ox kicked him away. His head struck a rock and deflated like a balloon before finally inflating again.
He climbed to his feet and said indignantly, "Little Li, we're having beef for dinner."
Green Ox snorted, seemingly saying, I may eat grass, but that doesn't mean I'm a pushover.
He Li shrugged helplessly. Although Doctor Chen was her father's friend, the more time she spent with him, the more mysterious she found him.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
As Doctor Chen repaired his head, he said calmly, "One of my doppelgangers at the Dawn Tower joined an exploration team and found the Goddess of Gloom's tomb. Analyzing it revealed a message: the more humanity knows, the closer it comes to doomsday."
"That gave me a bad feeling. And when I considered how the Five-Person Council has been openly and covertly steering me toward exploring the eras before humanity, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was a conspiracy."
"But I can't stop the other factions from exploring. Besides, their progress has accelerated lately, and more and more ancient organisms have appeared."
"The more you learn, the closer you come to death."
"Have you heard of the curse of knowledge? Once we know something, we can no longer imagine