Number Three
In the Federation's sealed intelligence, there is a record about Number Three, which says that before Number One officially rose to power, the entire Correction Plan was maintained by Number Three. It was precisely because of Number Three's existence that the Corrector, who were born a thousand years earlier than Number One, were not completely destroyed.
Number Three's loyalty and credibility were even higher than Number One's. Twenty years ago, with the defeat of the King of Qin, Number Three also suddenly lost contact with Data City.
Therefore, one of my tasks this time is to secretly contact Number Three.
However, since I sent the signal, Number Three has not moved. I had guessed that Number Three had probably died and Samsara somewhere in this world, and had not yet regained his memories. But now it seems that this is not the case. The other party has been following me for a long time, and judging from his age and appearance, he was not in any trouble twenty years ago!
A chill completely extinguished his previously somewhat joyful mood.
His immediate thought was to notify his superiors and transmit the intelligence as soon as possible. They also needed to know about the Disintegration Program for Number Three, and that Number Three had deliberately severed contact, harboring malicious intentions!
"I advise you, young man, to reconsider before reporting my situation," Heavenly Secrets said with a slight smile. "After all, if I wanted to harm you, I wouldn't give you time to react."
Jiang Xiaoling was taken aback, and as if possessed, she stopped reporting and looked at the other person.
He didn't know why he listened to the other person; perhaps it was out of curiosity, or perhaps it was because deep down he had some resistance to those in power.
Looking at Jiang Xiaoling's expression, Heavenly Secrets nodded and said, "Shall we talk somewhere else?"
Jiang Xiaoling hesitated for a moment, then nodded. The two walked to a quiet spot in the academy and found a stone bench to sit down.
As soon as she sat down, Jiang Xiaoling asked impatiently, "What exactly is your purpose?"
"What do you think my purpose could be?" Heavenly Secrets asked with a smile.
How would I know?
"That's it. Now I'll tell you my purpose, can you tell if it's true or false? Asking this kind of question proves you're not very smart."
Jiang Xiaoling: "."
"Why don't you ask something more practical?"
Jiang Xiaoling was silent for a moment before finally saying, "The classified files say that among that batch of Corrector, you showed the highest level of loyalty. Even with different spacetime dimensions, you repeatedly relayed intelligence, which solidified the higher-ups' confidence, increased their energy, and brought the spacetime of the two realms closer to balance."
"According to records, you did a lot of things and suffered a lot of hardships that ordinary people cannot understand in order to keep those Corrector alive. So why did you choose to sever ties with the higher-ups twenty years ago?"
Judging from the other person's age, there is absolutely no possibility of Samsara losing their memory due to reincarnation; this most likely means they actively severed contact with their superiors.
"Because the failure twenty years ago taught me something."
"What's up?"
Humans and demons cannot coexist!
"Huh?" Jiang Xiaoling was taken aback. "Human Demon?"
Looking at the stunned Jiang Xiaoling, Heavenly Secrets asked with a smile, "Tell me, how have your parents treated you during your five years here?"
"Excellent!" Jiang Xiaoling hesitated for a moment, but still honestly replied, "My father had me late in life and dotes on me immensely. This is the first time in my life I've experienced true family affection."
"Is that so?" Heavenly Secrets's eyes flashed with a hint of melancholy upon hearing this. "Indeed, our generation of digital beings has had a tough time. Compared to that seemingly real world, this Virtual Realm offers far more warmth. Sometimes it's really hard to tell which side is truly human."
Jiang Xiaoling: "What do you mean?"
"That means, in this world, they are human." Heavenly Secrets pointed to two students strolling and discussing academics in the distance, then pointed to himself and said, "We are demons!"
Jiang Xiaoling: "."
You're exaggerating.
"Is this alarmist?" Heavenly Secrets said with a half-smile, "If your parents knew your origins, do you think they would still treat you as their son, or would they think you're a demon who ate their son and was reborn through another's womb?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaoling's entire expression changed, and his usually gentle eyes revealed murderous intent!
"It seems you knew the outcome."
Jiang Xiaoling gritted her teeth. "Are you threatening me?"
"Why would I threaten you?" Heavenly Secrets chuckled. "Every one of us Corrector has experienced something like this. No matter what kind of relationship we have with the people of this world—whether it's friendship, kinship, or even love—it's all useless. Once they know our identities, they'll all see us as demons. I'm just reminding you not to get too emotionally involved."
"This is none of your business!" Jiang Xiaoling said coldly.
He had considered this problem, but he just didn't want to face it.
"It's no use trying to avoid facing it." Heavenly Secrets shook his head. "Once the Federation starts sending large numbers of people into this world, the situation you fear will inevitably happen sooner or later. You should understand that."
"I used to love this place and its people just like you. In my eyes, they were the real people, with joys and sorrows, ordinary lives, with both ugliness and beauty. During my thousand years of travel, I enjoyed being with ordinary people while saving my compatriots. I would even embark on one life after another, meeting different people and experiencing different emotions."
"That's why I dislike my compatriots who can't control their demonic blood and resort to cannibalism. You asked me why we lost contact twenty years ago? Because at that time I realized something. Back then, the King of Qin almost reached the pinnacle of prestige among humans, just one step away from ending the world's misery, but... he was ruined by his own identity."
"No matter how much you do, once your identity is exposed, you'll be an outsider. You'll be feared and abandoned by the people here, do you understand?"
Jiang Xiaoling grew paler and paler as she listened, her mind filled with images of her mother and sister discovering her identity, followed by their fearful and unfamiliar gazes.
The next second, he shook his head violently and said sharply, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"What I'm saying is, if you want to continue to enjoy the emotions of this world and the feeling of being human, then you can't let the Federation people in!"
Jiang Xiaoling: "You"
"You should know this," Heavenly Secrets stared intently at the other person, "Humans and demons cannot coexist. A small number of us might be able to hide and survive, but once a large number of our compatriots come, it will be a different story. War will definitely break out. Have you heard of the ancient Native Americans? If you let the Federation people in, the massacres recorded in ancient history will definitely happen here!"
"Either they exterminate us, or we exterminate them!!"