When Chen Mu and Mingye arrived at the open-air banquet, most of the guests he had invited had already arrived.
Although Chen Mu summoned so many high-ranking officials from the Chen Kingdom to discuss his departure from the Pan Emperor Continent, Meng Hui stirred things up by inviting their families as well, turning a meeting into a gathering.
This made the banquet lively, and Chen Mu saw many unfamiliar faces.
"Come here, children, this is your Uncle Chen Mu, quickly greet him."
Chen Zihu led thirteen children to Chen Mu. The oldest was fourteen or fifteen years old, and the youngest had just learned to walk. When they greeted Chen Mu in unison, Chen Mu couldn't help but smile wryly.
"Okay, okay, you're all very good."
The days when the villagers of Chen Village were starving seem like yesterday, and now Chen Zihu's descendants are thriving everywhere, which makes Chen Mu very happy for him.
Besides Chen Zihu, Yin Zhan, Chen Rufeng, Gu Zi'an and others all had children, and their wives also came here. The entire Imperial Preceptor's mansion was extremely lively, and Chen Mu didn't have time to get to know them one by one.
"My lord, do you still recognize her?"
During the banquet, Gu Zi'an brought a beautiful woman to Chen Mu and introduced her to him.
"You are... Gu Ruoyun, haha, I didn't expect you to be here too."
Chen Mu has a very good memory. Although so many years have passed and Gu Ruoyun's appearance and temperament have changed a lot, he still recognized her at a glance.
"Young Master Xie, you still remember my daughter?"
Gu Ruoyun bowed to Chen Mu, her beautiful eyes lingering, appearing very pleased.
"How have you been these past few years? I don't think I've seen you with the Shadow Guards."
"My brother introduced me to the Rune Research Institute, and now I'm a research group member in Group C of the Biology Department, responsible for raising monsters."
"That's good! A demonic beast..."
Chen Mu chatted with Gu Ruoyun for a while, but not long after, he was called away by others.
After Chen Mu left, Gu Zi'an pulled Gu Ruoyun to sit down and sighed.
" Ruoyun, I know you are in love with Young Master Chen Mu, and I also wish you could marry him."
But the young master clearly has no interest in you; you should give up.
A hint of resentment flashed in Gu Ruoyun's eyes, but she nodded in the end.
"I am already satisfied to see you again today, young master. Let bygones be bygones!"
I will choose another good man.
Seeing that Gu Ruoyun was able to come to terms with it, Gu Zi'an reached out and patted her shoulder, revealing a relieved smile.
The banquet at the Imperial Preceptor's residence lasted until late at night. Chen Mu instructed Meng Hui to arrange for his family members to return home first, leaving only some key figures who held power in the Chen Kingdom behind.
"I called everyone here today to tell you that I'm planning to leave Pan Emperor Continent for a while."
I'm not sure how long I'll be gone right now, so I'd like to discuss my plans for that period with everyone.
Chen Mu briefly explained his plans to everyone, and then let them express their opinions.
"Brother, you can go without worry!"
Actually, you spend all your time doing research in the Rune Research Institute anyway, and now that the Rune Research Institute are fully operational, your presence or absence won't make much difference.
Then there's the issue of top-tier combat power. I admit that your and Sister Ming's strength has a strong deterrent effect on opposing forces, but we still have A Huo, right? With him in charge, you basically don't need to worry about anything."
Chen Duo was the first to stand up and speak. She already knew what Chen Mu was going to do, so she naturally supported him.
"I have no problem!"
A Huo said just one sentence, yet it perfectly expressed his opinion.
However, Chen Zihu stood up at this moment, looking worried.
" A Mu, you just said you don't know when you'll be back. You can't be gone for hundreds of years, can you?"
That won't do! Chen Kingdom can do without anyone else, but it can't do without you!
When Chen Zihu said this, everyone else showed expressions of agreement.
"It certainly won't take that long. In my estimation, I'll be back in a year or two at most."
Even if I can't come back, I'll try to send a message to everyone, so don't worry.
Chen Mu quickly explained to reassure everyone.
"If that's the case, then I have no objection."
Chen Zihu breathed a sigh of relief. Given the current strength of the Chen Kingdom, Chen Mu not returning for several years would indeed not pose a major problem.
After Chen Zihu made his statement, basically no one objected anymore. Chen Mu redistributed some responsibilities, and handed over the affairs of the Shadow Guards to Gu Zi'an. Then the meeting adjourned.
After everyone else left, Chen Mu kept A Huo and Chen Duo behind.
" Duoduo, A Huo, since I'm leaving soon, I plan to hand over control of Taichu to the two of you."
As Chen Mu spoke, he made a hand seal, and a diamond-shaped, semi-transparent chip floated in his palm.
"Control? Taichu is getting along quite well with us now, like a good friend. There's no need to control her, is there?"
Chen Duo looked puzzled.
"I kept this control chip not to control Taichu, but to prevent her from self-destructing due to defects. If I were in control of it, I could use it to optimize Taichu's core code and thus fix her malfunctions."
But for you, it only means you can force her to shut down."
Chen Mu clicked on the semi-transparent chip a few times, and then the chip transformed into two beams of light, which entered A Huo and Chen Duo's foreheads respectively.
"Since her birth, Taichu's strength has been rapidly increasing, and now even I am not confident that I can completely defeat her."
Furthermore, I've discovered that Taichu is subtly connected to the fate of our Chen Kingdom. You must closely monitor her. If anything unusual happens, you must force her to shut down. We'll discuss everything when I return."
Artificial intelligence destroying humanity is a common theme in science fiction movies, and Chen Mu, as someone who traveled from Earth to this world, naturally knows to be wary of this.
"Okay! I'll remember that."
A Huo didn't have as many Thought as Chen Duo; he would do whatever Chen Mu instructed him to do.
Chen Mu nodded to himself. He was actually most at ease with A Huo managing the chip. The reason he gave Chen Duo a copy was just as a backup.
Taichu's individual strength is secondary; more importantly, she is Spirit Network creature, capable of appearing almost instantly anywhere in the Chen Kingdom, and she also possesses terrifying group combat power.
Back in the Chen Kingdom, Taichu almost single-handedly forced back the more than two million elite troops of the King Who Pacifies Jing's Residence. After more than a year of development and expansion, her group combat ability has become stronger, and the effect of mental runes on her has become weaker and weaker.
With the current Taichu, the Chen Kingdom is like having a million-strong army that can appear anywhere within its territory at any time, which is extremely useful for the military defense of the Chen Kingdom.
If it weren't for the fact that the vicinity of Taichu required Rune Core Server to provide computing power, he would have been too Heaven-Defying and could have become an invincible surprise weapon on the battlefield.
For over a year, the Devil Race and the King Who Pacifies Jing's Residence have suffered greatly at the hands of Taichu, which is why Chen Mu felt so comfortable leaving the Pan Emperor Continent.
With the Taichu protecting the Chen Kingdom, even if the Heavenly Court and the Abyss Devil Race were to join forces one day, they might not be able to destroy the Chen Kingdom.