Shall we meet?
The other side is in a more urgent situation than expected. Why are they so eager?
Chen Qing looked around, puzzled as to why the so-called Federation was so eager to interfere in this world. Was this world really that alluring?
"How do we meet?" Chen Qing asked curiously.
Does that mean he'll be transported directly to that side?
Although he was also quite eager to see what the other world was like now, he wouldn't do it given the unknown risks. If they were really just a mass of data and left this world, would they be at the mercy of others there? He really didn't know. After all, the idea of digital life sounded even more absurd than time travel.
"At the designated location, a virtual zone will be set up in advance. A buffer zone will briefly appear in that area. You don't need to leave this world, and you won't be able to see the other side. You can only meet briefly in that buffer zone."
"A buffer zone?" Chen Qing asked in confusion, "There's such a thing?"
"These are some loopholes that were found when the higher-ups conquered this area. These loopholes are classified, and they provided you with a confidential set of coordinates for this meeting."
"Oh?" Chen Qing narrowed his eyes. So, they could hack into this place?
The loopholes... it seems he needs to quickly understand that so-called Data City. He feels that the so-called Federation intervention is only a matter of time.
"What do you mean?" Jiang Xiaoling asked cautiously.
"If it's just a discussion, you could easily relay the message, so why insist on meeting me in person?" Chen Qing looked at the other person. "What's the point?"
"I'm not high enough rank," Jiang Xiaoling shook her head. "There are some confidential matters I'm not qualified to know."
"A confidential matter?" Chen Qing looked at the other person with a half-smile. If the other person wasn't lying and wasn't trying to trick him this time, then it seemed that this Mr. Zhang was someone with a lot of influence.
The reason is simple: Jiang Xiaoling has already been sent in, so how could there be any confidential information she can't let him know? The only plausible explanation is that the man surnamed Zhang intends to negotiate some terms with her privately, and the fact that this private meeting was tacitly approved shows just how much power he wields.
Thinking of this, Chen Qing nodded. "When?"
"In an hour, the coordinates will be not far from Jiangnan, at this location," Jiang Xiaoling said, pointing to the map on the table.
Chen Qing was taken aback. That location was in Nanming Prefecture, the original capital of Jiangnan. The weak point in the Federation's attack happened to be in this location. Was it a coincidence? Or had the Federation attempted to breach the capitals of every region?
Unable to figure out the situation, he could only leave first. This time, he didn't use his Divine Descent ability. An hour was enough; if he took the fastest ship in Jiangnan, he could make it. He wanted to see what the Federation was planning to do to this world.
" Zhang Zhengyuan met with you alone?"
Data City, in a secret space, prominent councilors from various regions gathered to discuss the newly arrived intelligence!
Clearly, each district has planted agents within the Federation, and the energy-intensive action of exploiting a game vulnerability cannot be concealed from these agents.
"Could this be a bluff from Central China?" asked Duke, the leading member of the Western Europe Region, with a frown and a hint of doubt.
The Federation Parliament had just announced the restart of this project, and then Zhang Zhengyuan went to meet with that Chen Qing privately. Could it be that he was deliberately trying to attract their attention?
Others couldn't explain it clearly either. Central China had always kept that project hidden the deepest. Over the years, the intelligence agents had only been able to glean very limited information from it. Some even suspected that it was a fake project that Central China was trying to use to swindle them out of their energy resources.
However, according to investigations over the years, although Central China's energy output is clearly the highest in the Federation, the per capita energy allocated is even less than that of the Northern Europe Region, which has the lowest technological conditions. Where has the energy gone while people there are living such a hard life?
Surely it couldn't all have been embezzled, could it?
"The project should be real," the former head of the Federation, North America Region senator, finally spoke. "However, many details have likely been concealed by the cunning Central China people. I think the later we join, the more disadvantageous it will be for us. I propose that we join the project immediately, but demand that Central China disclose all intelligence, especially regarding the key figure in that project: Chen Qing!"
The former Laoda of the white people has spoken, so others naturally began to consider it carefully. Currently, there are serious problems with insufficient capacity in various regions, and it is only a matter of time before public anger is aroused. Rather than that, it is better to give it a try. Even if the project fails in the end, Central China, as the initiator, must bear the main responsibility. At that time, the conflict will be transferred outwards, and at least the internal public opinion against us can be reduced a lot.
Most of the members of parliament nodded slowly upon hearing this, but some diehards still believed that this was a conspiracy to defraud energy in Central China and advocated for conservative development.
Despite the numerous speculations from outsiders, Zhang Zhengyuan, who had stirred up the storm, remained completely unconcerned. He didn't even care about the suspicions of the higher-ups within Central China; after all, ever since he took control of the Jade Dynasty World, there had been no shortage of suspicion directed at him. But so what? What could they do?
In the designated encrypted space, he waited quietly for about two hours before a phantom figure appeared.
The Ying Yi in white, looked around curiously before finally fixing its gaze on itself.
Zhang Zhengyuan looked at the other person curiously, and finally took the initiative to speak with a smile, "Should I address you as Mr. Pu Yunchuan or Mr. Chen Qing?"
"Just call me Chen Qing," Chen Qing replied calmly.
Through Jiang Xiaoling, he roughly learned some things about the past. Now he even doubted whether he was Pu Yunchuan, because he had no memory of the time when Pu Yunchuan was seriously ill.
Furthermore, he holds a peculiar attitude towards digital life; having uploaded memories and undergoing intelligent growth based on genetic algorithms, is this still the same person he once was?
Even if I am truly a digital life form created from Pu Yunchuan's memories, am I still the person I once was?
"It seems Mr. Chen Qing is more accepting of his current status," Zhang Zhengyuan said with a smile.
Chen Qing looked at the other party, then glanced around and said quietly, "Since your people can create a central area here, why can't you just invade directly?"
"Intrusion is a double-edged sword," Zhang Zhengyuan laughed. "It's not a good thing. Based on past experience, unilaterally hacking into such an intelligent game world will backfire and is very risky. The Federation once had an example of a world counter-intrusion, which resulted in many deaths and injuries, with a third of the digital life being lost. Your world is more than a hundred times larger than the world that caused that accident. If a counter-intrusion occurs, the entire Federation could be completely destroyed."
"That's amazing?" Chen Qing felt a little surprised.
It was just a game he designed; he never imagined it would one day become so powerful that it could threaten the survival of humanity.
That's really true.
"It's more impressive than you think," Zhang Zhengyuan laughed. "Although humanity has been studying the field of digital intelligence for hundreds of thousands of years, we still can't fully master it. It has miraculously evolved into a true dimensional world, and many things are still inexplicable, including why virtual supernatural powers in the game world can be used in the data world in the same way."
Chen Qing looked at the other person in surprise. "Such important information, you just told me so easily?"
"There's nothing wrong with telling you," Zhang Zhengyuan said with a smile. "You can get this kind of information by spending a little time. Since we're planning an alliance, there's no need to hide such open information."
"Boss, you're very generous," Chen Qing smiled, sat down, and looked at the other party, saying, "Then why don't you tell me how you plan to cooperate?"
"I plan to send five hundred men to your Jiangnan tomorrow."
"Oh?" Chen Qing squinted and rubbed his fingers together. "How should I deliver it?"
"With current technology, the data is directly injected into a designated area through an energy channel. In the past, data injected into your world would be absorbed by the Yin-Yang Road as a spirit and enter the Samsara."
"Directly sucked into Samsara?" Chen Qing asked with some doubt, "Without going through other places on the Yin-Yang Road? Directly at the Samsara point?"
No wonder. None of the Reincarnator have ever been eaten by evil spirits.
"That was how it was before, but it's different here." Zhang Zhengyuan looked at Chen Qing: "So I really want to know one thing. The Divine Path Style can control the Underworld, and the Underworld can control Samsara. So, I really want to know, can the Underworld intercept those Reincarnator to your Jiangnan?"
One more chapter to go!