Chapter 217

Chapter 217

Tata’s name was well-known; at least several students knew it, so their shock was no less than Ji Xinghai’s.

Tata, the fallen genius designer from the continent, and his decade of tragic experiences were a compelling story for anyone who loved mechs.

And now he had appeared in the records left behind in this ancient site!

A few students who had met Tata and his lover also noticed that the individual suspected to be an experimental subject on the same page was clearly Tata’s deranged lover.

"Could this place be..."

Before they could voice their suspicions, the NPC holding the documents began trembling. He flipped through the papers, his face growing paler, his expression more panicked, as if he were seeing an unimaginable and terrifying hallucination.

He was a researcher too, and he must have understood the text in these documents.

But what kind of description could it be?

"How is this possible? We are...?" The folder slipped from his hands as he turned and grabbed someone nearby, as if clinging to a lifeline. His eyes were wide open, with deep brown irises set against white sclerae, reflecting everything around him.

"How can I be false?"

As soon as he uttered this trembling question, an invisible force gripped his throat.

Ji Xinghai saw him exhibit signs of suffocation. Perhaps Death had snatched away his soul in that instant, and his body slumped down limply.

In Ji Xinghai’s calm gaze, this body gradually vanished.

"Ahh!" Such terrified screams echoed one after another as the terrible calamity befell every native who realized the truth. They disappeared one by one, and fewer people remained.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The general fired three shots at the ceiling, stopping this self-destructive trend. The remaining survivors ran out, screaming, "These are the words of the devil. I cannot believe them, cannot be deceived."

The NPCs had all fled, leaving only the students behind.

"So, the Chaku civilization’s ruins are like a ‘logout point’ left behind by this holographic game? Their research succeeded? Humans really entered an eternal virtual world in the form of consciousness?"

"Isn’t this what some scholars in our civilization study—digital life? Has any civilization actually succeeded?"

This scene had a significant impact on the students’ mental worlds, but since they were not directly involved, they managed to stay calm.

Ji Xinghai felt nothing much. He only had feelings for his hometown. Everything else, whether real or fake, was irrelevant to him.

If there was anything he cared about, it was Tata’s identity.

Inside the hologram, he was a genius designer and pilot; outside, a genius researcher and experimental subject.

How interesting.

The students took as many photos as possible before leaving Research Institute No. 5.

Outside, the NPCs were arguing fiercely, almost coming to blows. Some of them claimed they were traumatized and had lost interest in further secrets, so they wanted to leave. However, the authorities were determined to continue.

In the end, those who wanted to leave did so, while the rest continued exploring.

All the students stayed behind.

Although their rankings on both the level and wealth lists had been surpassed by other students on the continent, the ruins offered them nothing but the secrets of this world.

No contribution points, no experience, nothing.

"We can’t contact the students on the continent, but the rankings update in real-time. Does this mean we’re still in the holographic world but possibly not in the same space as the continent?"

"I have a hunch that once we uncover the truth of this world, the instance will end."

"Do you need a hunch for that?"

Research Institute No. 6 was not far from Research Institute No. 5. It had also hollowed out a mountain, but this mountain had been attacked by monsters, destroying a third of it, and the energy fluctuations were abnormally high.

Though the external traces had mostly disappeared, the cracked ground and large meteorite craters reminded everyone of the horrors that had occurred here.

"If everything follows a chronological order, then at this point, the Chaku civilization must have reached its final stages. At this time, a leader should have emerged among the monsters, and this leader would be an evolved intelligence type with some influence and control over the other monsters."

This could be deduced from the scene: humans and monsters were engaged in a clear war.

"It could be monsters or failed humans," Ji Xinghai suddenly said. "Ordinary people chose to cooperate with positively mutated humans, but what about non-positively mutated humans? Where did they go?"

Everyone was taken aback, then Ji Xinghai added, "There’s a huge difference in size between monsters and humans, so there’s no conflict in the food chain, but ordinary people and mutated humans do have conflicts."

"But can’t they cooperate? Since they’re all human..."

"No," Ji Xinghai said cruelly, "some abnormalities are also human mutations. Do you think we can live peacefully with abnormalities?"

The students recalled the abnormal creatures that fed on human souls and flesh. Peaceful coexistence? They shuddered violently.

Ji Xinghai, however, thought of the inspector.

"... If they could control their appetite, peaceful coexistence might be possible."

Speaking of which, this instance hadn’t detected his presence because he hadn’t used the opportunity to seek help from the ‘guide NPC’?

"From the results, the Chaku civilization’s self-rescue was both successful and failed. They lost their future and possibilities but gained a brief and false peace."

The students, also part of a civilization in evolution, felt complex emotions. If they failed, would they face such a hopeless outcome?

Carrying the heavy weight of witnessing death, they entered Research Institute No. 6.

Several spaces in Research Institute No. 6 have been destroyed, leaving only the room sealed by the bottommost gate intact.

They pushed open the door, and the pitch-black interior instantly lit up. A somewhat plain laboratory appeared before their eyes, filled with countless moving figures.

Many researchers, wearing white coats and badges on their chests, hurried through the space at an extremely fast pace.

Among them was a very prominent figure: young and handsome, with neatly styled shoulder-length red hair and skin as pale as melting snow. He wore a smile on his lips, exuding grace.

But as time passed, the young man's originally spirited face became burdened with an indelible heaviness.

He began arguing with his test subjects and was also questioned by others. Opposing groups stormed into the laboratory, wreaking havoc, while families of failed test subjects angrily cried out.

"Is that Tata?"

"Shh." The students blocked the doorway, realizing this was a fast-forwarded playback of events.

Tata, in his white coat, stood in a corner, facing his test subject, who wore a blue uniform. His expression showed signs of struggle, as if he were making a very painful and difficult choice.

The room then changed again, revealing a massive cryo-chamber. The young man in the blue uniform lay inside.

Soon, blood flowed from all seven orifices of the young man, and Tata pushed open the glass door to save him.

However, they did not give up their research. Soon, an advanced version of the cryo-chamber appeared. The students couldn't help but look at it; it looked eerily similar to the one they used when entering the VR game.

The young man lay inside once more. This time, he did not emerge bleeding from the seven orifices, and all the other researchers cheered. But Tata sat in a chair, looking exhausted, with a somewhat dazed gaze.

'Abandoning human bodies to exist as virtual characters in a virtual world? No, if I must accept such a false future, I'd rather die!'

'Spending so many resources on a mere possibility is madness. It would be better to preserve human genes along with those of other organisms and send them to other universes. The person who proposed uploading consciousness is insane.'

'Can we freely set our own lives? I just want a peaceful life without monsters.'

'Give me a family, anyone. Also, can you make me forget everything?'

'This is a conspiracy. There are no conscious beings; this must be a scam. The government just wants to kill us burdens. Once we're all dead, they'll escape this hell.'

'Can the virtual world make me a genius? Can I customize myself?'

'I want to change my appearance; I don't like how I look now.'

All the figures disappeared, leaving behind a black data world where green data continuously appeared, each line accompanied by a voice, like a last testament.

Their speed increased, and the students could only hear a buzzing sound and see the rapidly flashing green data.

They greedily watched everything, unaware of the broken-faced NPC following them.

Even the most resolute general wavered, unable to save anyone else and fleeing the passage at breakneck speed.

Yet the students remained awestruck by what they saw.

Finally, the voices dwindled, and the green data decreased until only one remained.

'Prepare a blank shell for me, please.'

The students left Research Institute No. 6, and the path was now empty except for the twelve of them. All the NPCs had either vanished or fled, their whereabouts unknown.

Perhaps they could return safely to the mainland and reveal the truth. Or perhaps they would remain here forever, burying everything.

The students sighed, quickly forgetting about it.

"Do you think Tata will be a key figure?"

On the way to the last research institute, the students were excited, having touched upon the truth of this world.

Virtual worlds and conscious beings had already succeeded. They finally understood the divide between the Special Operations Group and ordinary people, as well as the various cities and realistic NPCs.

'They've forgotten their origins and live in this VR world with pre-set identities. Those seeking peace have found it, and those wanting to fight monsters have achieved their goals in the dream world.'

'Are the monsters also imported data? Why import them?'

'Unable to defeat them in reality, they seek victory in dreams?'

'Why leave a civilization like Tea Kuk? To remind themselves?'

"... " Listening to their discussion, Ji Xinghai tilted his head slightly, gazing at the clouds floating in the sky.

The green data were the original inhabitants of this world, while the red data, probably implanted later, connected to energy bodies that he could consume.

Who implanted them? Gold Academy?

Ji Xinghai flew away from the crowd on his hoverboard, not joining the discussion even if there were members of the Hungry Academy among them. Others noticed that he often acted alone unless necessary, so they didn't disturb him.

But during the night camp, they couldn't resist asking Ji Xinghai about Tata, as he had interacted with him the most.

"There is still one more research institute. Even if we don't explore it, the truth will be revealed to us," Ji Xinghai said, avoiding questions about Tata.

To the entire civilization, Tata was merely a minor NPC, but to Ji Xinghai, he was the teacher who taught him to pilot a mech. Therefore, he wouldn't disclose such private information.

After traversing multiple worlds, the lines between fiction and reality seemed blurred.

On the fifty-sixth game day, equivalent to about five and a half days in the real world, they finally found the last research institute.

It was the only building standing on the ground.

Entirely black and box-shaped, it resembled a giant urn capable of holding the remains of an entire civilization. The entrance they needed was located at the very bottom of this structure.

Duo Xi, usually fearless, felt a strange sense of awe. The impending touch of a civilization's final lament made her heart tremble: "Lai Duoduo, I..."

"Boss, the people from the Hungry Academy have gone in."

Lai Duoduo reminded her.

Duo Xi snapped out of her own emotions, as did the others. All they could see was Ji Xinghai’s unwavering back as he moved forward without hesitation.

The students then ran toward the square building, which made them feel as small and insignificant as ants compared to its massive structure.

"Oh my God."

At the end of the passage, Ji Xinghai stood motionless in the light. They didn’t know what he was looking at until they also entered the interior of the vast building.

Before their eyes, rows upon rows of hibernation pods were stacked, just like when they first entered this holographic world, surrounding them on all sides.

Only these hibernation pods were now silent and lifeless.

They didn’t bother checking if there were any corpses inside; it wouldn’t matter either way.

Not far from the exit, in front of Ji Xinghai, stood a somewhat familiar figure. The man wore a blue uniform, and beside him coiled a massive black python that shimmered with light.

"Welcome to this place, unexpected guests from another world."

The man approached them, the giant black snake circling around, its fierce eyes with white outlines staring at them.

"There are NPCs here?"

"Isn’t this person one of Tata’s test subjects? I remember he was the first to enter the hibernation pod."

"That’s right, it’s him. Is that giant python his too? So this person is a beast tamer?"

Whispers from the students behind them could be heard. Ji Xinghai’s gaze shifted from the massive black snake to the man.

He thought this person had been consumed by the consciousness mecha during login. Turns out he’s still alive.

His eyes suddenly lit up: he knew what gift to bring for Tata.