The current situation in Data City is no less turbulent than in the other world. After Chen Qing and King of Qin stirred things up, the Federation's previous situation was completely disrupted. The Western Federation lost its former strength. After losing many high-level warriors, it adopted a roundabout strategy, using a lot of conditions to exchange for more slots in the other world.
With the Central Federation leadership gaining the upper hand, things went increasingly smoothly in the diplomatic arena. It can be said that this period was the most comfortable time for Central Federation diplomats.
However, that only applies to overseas locations. Within the Central Federation Data City, various factions are still arguing fiercely over the quota issue. The newly appointed Allied Forces and the old forces are fighting Heavenly Capital, and many people are eager to obtain a quota in the other world immediately.
Wang Ye's current position in Data City is quite unique.
He was essentially Chen Qing's representative, possessing numerous privileges and authority. Various powerful forces both wanted to curry favor with him and were constantly on guard against him. Although high-ranking individuals frequently tried to curry favor with him, his comings and goings were also monitored by these forces, which put Wang Ye in a difficult situation during the investigation.
Wang Ye has been here for almost half a year, but he still has no clue about the matter Chen Qing asked him to handle.
As usual, Wang Ye got up early and left the hotel. There were no security cameras inside the hotel, but someone had been following him ever since he left his room.
This made it difficult for him to act alone. Although he had mastered spatial magic, he couldn't use it at will because he couldn't tell where there was surveillance and where there wasn't. Ninety percent of the entire Data City was under surveillance, and if high-energy data suddenly appeared in a certain place, it would immediately alert that place. Even after spending half a year, Wang Ye had not found a relatively safe route. His investigation was restricted by others, so it was naturally difficult to make progress.
"Sir, are you playing mahjong again?"
Upon arriving in the lobby, Wang Ye saw one of the familiar figures and felt a sense of helplessness. In the past two months, it seemed that Mr. Heavenly Secrets had become obsessed with this thing.
"Ah, it's been a long time since I felt this way." Heavenly Secrets laughed, "Back in my past life, I was actually quite fond of this stuff. People in other worlds lived such miserable lives that they had no time to develop such things. I've lived for so long without touching it, and I was already tired of it, but look what happened... I've gone back to my old ways."
Wang Ye was speechless. This guy didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, even though the two of them had been here for half a year.
Heavenly Secrets smiled at Wang Ye's expression, then declined the mahjong game, jokingly arranged to play again in the afternoon, before reluctantly standing up and following Wang Ye to the barrier.
The two blatantly set up a barrier in the hotel to prevent outsiders from monitoring them. The Federation officials didn't dare to keep too close an eye on them and allowed them to do so. As long as they didn't leave the hotel at will, they were mostly left to their own devices.
"Sir," Wang Ye sighed, "The past six months have been a complete waste."
"Why do you say that?" Heavenly Secrets asked, picking up a cup of coffee.
The tea here is utterly inferior to that of Jiangnan; it's practically inedible. Conversely, the less refined Western drinks are somewhat palatable due to their unique flavors, such as soda or this heavy-milk, heavy-sugar coffee.
"I originally thought that the power of the quota would allow some powerful families to secretly compromise and make it easier to extract intelligence, but it turns out I was wrong."
"If only things were that easy," Heavenly Secrets said with amusement, putting down his coffee cup.
"The newly emerging powers have too shallow a foundation and know very little about the Federation's secret files from the past. On the other hand, the established families are quite wary. As soon as I mention those old files, they get nervous and start investigating those things before I do," Wang Ye said helplessly. "I suspect they are more interested in knowing the details behind the scenes."
"You finally noticed," Heavenly Secrets said with a smile.
"You should have noticed this already?"
"Nonsense." Heavenly Secrets rolled his eyes at him. "I'm Number One. This group of designers is my team. I was appointed by my superiors and transferred directly from the special forces to participate in the training. The strangeness of that incident made me realize how much power those guys have."
Wang Ye listened patiently as usual. How many times had he heard the other person say these things before?
Back then, Mr. Heavenly Secrets was a special forces soldier. One day, he suddenly received orders from his superiors to infiltrate the New World. The teammates he was to bring this time were extraordinary. They were not like the previous ones, who used military personnel or civilians. Instead, they were a group of people who had been resurrected using data technology!
Even he, a soldier who was absolutely obedient, felt uneasy about the mission because he had never heard of Data City having such technology before!
It is possible to resurrect people who have been dead for thousands of years using a genetic algorithm from the past.
That's not the key point. The key point is, how did those genes from thousands of years ago survive to the present day?
He didn't think much of it at the time, but now, thinking back on it, it's terrifying.
"According to what you said back then, I tried to check, but there was no trace of it." Wang Ye said coldly, "Your military identification number from back then is long gone, and there are no records of it. You said you were a special forces soldier who served for over twenty years, but there's absolutely no file on you in the Federation database."
"Compared to preserving the genes of people from thousands of years ago, erasing the file of a special forces soldier is incredibly easy." Mr. Heavenly Secrets shook his head and smiled bitterly, "And that's not the only strange thing; it also includes the King of Qin."
Wang Ye nodded. "He's an unexpected person? Chen Qing just sent a message saying that the King of Qin isn't from your world. He gained some memories by chance, which led to who he is today."
"Really?" Mr. Heavenly Secrets was taken aback. "When did this happen?"
After listening to Wang Ye's explanation, he became even more astonished. " Ancient Demon Clan? So that's what Ziyue has been avoiding all along. The Warlock Dynasty is interesting, truly interesting. We humans have always been scheming against the other world, never truly taking the people of that world seriously. I'm afraid many people didn't expect that players could also suffer a backlash?"
"But there's still a problem," Heavenly Secrets said in a low voice, "Even if it was a coincidence, the person the King of Qin devoured was still unplanned."
"You mean other forces are involved?"
"It's hard to say," Heavenly Secrets shook his head. "It could be a hidden force guarding against me, or it could really be another power. It's definitely not simple. Chen Qing has caused such a big commotion here, and the King of Qin almost took control of the entire Data City after his transmigration, but those so-called masterminds haven't shown their faces at all. Do you think they can't stop it or they simply don't care to stop it?"
Wang Ye: "."
"Sir, with your deductive abilities, you haven't been able to deduce any cause and effect yet?" Wang Ye asked, frowning.
"It has been calculated."
"Then why don't you say so?"
Do you know why I've been playing mahjong for two months straight?
"Huh?" Wang Ye was taken aback. "Is there any necessary connection between these two?"
"When I participated in that mission, they said it was a near-death experience and asked me if I had any requests. My request was simply to play mahjong for a whole month."
Wang Ye was taken aback, but immediately became serious.
"You mean continuing the investigation is also a high-risk endeavor?"
"It's probably even worse," Heavenly Secrets said with a wry smile. "You know, with this ability of Heavenly Secrets, I've avoided countless dangers. I even found the entrance to the Divine Martial Guild's Buddha Kingdom. Even when I got there, my talent only told me it was dangerous inside. But this time is different. This time, my talent tells me that this secret is extremely dangerous. So dangerous that our lives are utterly insignificant!"