Chapter 103: Hologram

Chapter 103 Holographic

Wan Hong cleared his throat, his previously relaxed expression turning solemn and grave. "Since the Commander-in-Chief mentioned this, I’ll say a few words as well."

All base representatives turned their attention to Wan Hong.

Seeing everyone’s eyes on him, Wan Hong put on an act and nodded at them with feigned dignity.

"Humanity is at a life-or-death crossroads. All of mankind faces immense crises—food and water shortages, land pollution, mutated zombies. That we’re still alive is nothing short of a miracle."

"In such circumstances, I propose that all of humanity unite and work together to resist disasters and zombies!" Wan Hong looked around at the representatives from each base and asked, "I take it no one here objects?"

"None," the Commander-in-Chief of Base Q immediately responded.

"I fully agree," the Commander-in-Chief of Base H seconded.

The other base commanders remained silent. Wan Hong’s frustration showed and, after a glance around, singled someone out. "Commander-in-Chief Gu Jinsheng, I presume you also agree with my words?"

Wan Hong deliberately called on Gu Jinsheng, knowing his earlier statement was airtight—Gu Jinsheng could only answer in the affirmative.

If Gu Jinsheng agreed, Wan Hong would gain the moral high ground for his subsequent accusations. No matter how Gu Jinsheng tried to argue, Wan Hong could then label him as someone who refused to unite humanity.

Gu Jinsheng stared coldly at Wan Hong as he replied, "All of humanity? You mean Base R, the ones who turned our golden age into this living hell?"

"Base R doesn’t deserve to be called human. They’re traitors to humanity and should be executed ten thousand times over!"

"Only when they’ve paid for their crimes can you come talk to me about uniting all of humanity!"

Wan Hong hadn’t expected Gu Jinsheng to be so blunt. Stunned and humiliated, he nearly stormed out in anger.

The people of Base T had always clung tightly to the coattails of M and R nations, acting as their dogs but still acting high and mighty over other Chinese bases.

Wan Hong’s face twisted with malice as he glared at Gu Jinsheng. Gu Jinsheng, however, remained indifferent, not even sparing him a second glance.

Seeing the tension between the two, the Commander-in-Chief of Base Q quickly intervened to defuse the situation. "Now, now, let’s not be hasty. No one can say for sure what caused the apocalypse. Maybe Earth’s just cleaning house—after all, there were no nuclear weapons in the age of dinosaurs, yet Earth still brought down acid rain."

The Base Q commander thought he was being generous by giving Gu Jinsheng an out. Even if Gu Jinsheng was unwilling, he should suck it up for the sake of diplomacy.

Unfortunately, Gu Jinsheng had no intention of humoring him. "The age of dinosaurs had no nuclear weapons, but neither did its flora and fauna mutate. They didn’t grow two or three heads, four or five legs, or N-number of eyes. And there certainly weren’t any zombies."

Now even the Base Q commander looked pissed. The Base H commander had no choice but to step in awkwardly. "Regardless of whose fault it is, what’s done is done."

"On Earth today, compared to mutated creatures and zombies, we’re the ones on the ropes."

"That’s exactly why we shouldn’t be fighting among ourselves. We should unite and stand together against external threats."

"Don’t you all agree?"

Not a single base responded. The Base H commander flushed, humiliated.

Gu Jinsheng let out a derisive laugh. "That’s rich. The criminals who turned Earth into this hellscape don’t need to be held accountable? So, by that logic, if I capped you right now, and since we’re in an apocalypse where every human life is precious, I’d get a free pass?"

The Base H commander bristled. "That’s not the same!"

Gu Jinsheng’s gaze turned even colder. "Funny how that changes when it’s you?"

"I’d argue Base R is worse than a murderer. A murderer kills one person. But Base R turned the entire planet into a living hell, butchering countless of my people. How can we just let it go as if nothing happened?"

Unable to contain his temper any longer, Wan Hong slammed the table, snarling, "Then what do you want to do about it? Put your money where your mouth is!"

Gu Jinsheng looked at Wan Hong with a meaningful expression and said, "Oh, I will."

Just three simple words, spoken in a flat and unemotional tone, yet they made Wan Hong's blood run cold.

Dewitt, sitting beside Wan Hong, was utterly impatient. He couldn't care less about the issues between Gu Jinsheng and R Base. Even whether R Base—HSD Base's chief lapdog—would be destroyed was of no concern to him. His focus was solely on the Mental Scanner.

Dewitt whispered off-camera, urging, "Cut the crap. Just ask him why the Mental Scanner isn't being given to T Base. Hurry up!"

Suppressing his irritation, Wan Hong forced himself to speak calmly, "Commander-in-Chief Gu, whatever grievances you have with R Base are between you and them. T Base wants no part of this.

What I want to ask is this: You promised that all bases within China would receive the core technology of the Mental Scanner for free. So why hasn’t T Base received it?

At a time when humanity is facing life-and-death survival, are you, Commander-in-Chief Gu, really trying to split us apart?"

Wan Hong believed his argument had seized the moral high ground. By hanging the 'divider' tag on him, he was sure to suffocate him under the weight of guilt.

Q Base and H Base seemed to share this sentiment. Their commanders-in-chief piled on: "Our bases haven’t received the core technology of the Mental Scanner either. Commander-in-Chief Gu, what do you mean by this? Are you truly trying to divide us?"

"At a time like this for China, instead of thinking about how to help the nation overcome this crisis, you’re lining your own pockets. Don’t you find such behavior utterly selfish and shameless?"

After delivering these righteous speeches, Wan Hong and the two commanders immediately adopted a haughty attitude, sneering down at Gu Jinsheng.

Gu Jinsheng replied coldly, "I did say that bases in China could receive the core technology. But I assumed the three of you no longer considered yourselves part of China—or even Chinese!"

With that, Gu Jinsheng publicly ripped the mask off Q and H Bases. The faces of the three commanders darkened.

Gu Jinsheng waved his hand behind him. Behind him, the crimson Chinese flag, adorned with a five-pointed star, slowly rose. He stood up, saluted the flag, and declared solemnly, "No matter what my base is called, it doesn’t change the red blood flowing in my veins or my identity as a Chinese. I am Chinese, Chinese to my last breath, and I am proud to be Chinese!"

Following his lead, two superpowered from South Base unfurled a national flag. The commander of South Base stood from his seat, saluted the flag, and proclaimed with equal solemnity, "South Base is a Chinese base. Everyone in South Base is Chinese. We take pride in our Chinese identity!"

South Base seemed to have sparked a wave. More and more bases displayed the Chinese flag in their video feeds, and one after another, oaths of allegiance thundered.

Some bases, unprepared, couldn’t find a physical flag in time. Instead, they threw up a digital flag on their screens and pledged their allegiance to it.

At a glance, nearly every video feed was a crimson tide—except for T, Q, and H Bases, which stood like pale ghosts against the sea of crimson.

Standing beneath the flag, Gu Jinsheng declared, "It seems I was right. My Mental Scanner technology is for our Chinese people only. Other countries can forget about it!"

Wan Hong’s veins throbbed at his temples in fury. He looked as though, if Gu Jinsheng were standing before him at that moment, he would strangle him with his bare hands.

"Do you really believe his nonsense? He's tearing China apart! Deliberately stirring conflict within China! He has nothing but ill intentions!" Wan Hong spat.

The commander-in-chief of Q Base added, "If he can treat us like this today, he’ll do the same to you tomorrow. Aren’t you afraid? Imagine when he unites all Chinese bases to ostracize you—what will you do then?"

H Base chimed in, "Gu Jinsheng is power-hungry to the core. Look at his actions—every single one of them ultimately benefits Jing City Base.

When the Psychic Zombie King besieged the cities, all bases suffered heavy losses. Only Jing City Base not only emerged unscathed but also profited immensely during the disaster, gobbling up bases left and right.

Luo City Base was once a major base, going toe-to-toe with Jing City Base, even surpassing it in some aspects. Yet now, it’s been devoured by Gu Jinsheng's machinations.

Aren’t you truly afraid? Aren’t you worried your base will be next in Jing City Base’s schemes?"

Wan Hong fanned the flames: "Don’t listen to Gu Jinsheng’s righteous speeches—look at what he’s done! He’s been annexing bases one after another. Can’t you see his wolf-in-sheep's-clothing act?"

The commander-in-chief of South Base looked at Wan Hong and said, "Instead of attacking Commander-in-Chief Gu, perhaps you should reflect on yourselves.

Commander-in-Chief Wan, since you said we should judge a person by their actions, not their words, maybe you should start by taking a long hard look in the mirror."

"All of China's bases have raised the national flag and solemnly sworn our oaths, so what about you three? Where are your national flags?"

"Or are you three Commanders-in-Chief declaring outright that you no longer belong to China and are no longer Chinese!"

"If you don’t want to be Chinese, then get off our land and stop meddling in China’s internal affairs—it's none of your business!"

"Commanders, kindly raise the flag."

The commanders of various bases simultaneously pressed the issue, leaving the Commanders-in-Chief of T, Q, and H bases completely humiliated. Having covertly and overtly sided with capitalist forces, they naturally dared not raise the flag symbolizing China here, and for a moment, they were left squirming in shame.

Wan Hong spluttered, "No one informed us beforehand that we needed to raise the national flag during the meeting, so we weren’t prepared."

The Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Base said, "If you weren’t prepared, you could raise a virtual flag. We’ll take that too."

Wan Hong stammered, unable to respond.

Gu Jinsheng said coldly, "Since you are no longer Chinese, you need not participate in China’s internal affairs from now on. Who we give the Mental Scanners to is none of your concern."

Gu Jinsheng then turned to the others. "There are still some matters I’d like to discuss with everyone. Originally, the Commanders-in-Chief of these bases, no longer being part of China, have no business hearing this. But we Chinese are generous, so we’ll humor you."

After speaking, a large screen behind Gu Jinsheng activated, and a superpowered individual stepped forward. Without a word, they sat on the sofa, pressed a few buttons on what looked like a watch on their wrist, and suddenly, a holographic screen appeared in midair before them, displaying a line of text: "Enter holographic immersion?"

Below the text were two options: "Yes" and "No."

The superpowered individual took a helmet of unidentifiable material from their Space Necklace and put it on.

Then they lay down—without ceremony, directly on the sofa—as if falling asleep. No one saw them move again or issue any voice commands. The "Yes" button on the holographic screen was pressed, and the screen vanished.

The large screen behind Gu Jinsheng suddenly displayed footage of a figure materializing as if from above, suddenly appearing on the screen.

The person turned around, and all the commanders gasped—it was the same face as the superpowered individual who had just been lying on the sofa.

Everyone instinctively looked back at the sofa, where the superpowered individual remained, lying still as if asleep.

Outside the video feed of the Capital Base, a male voice explained, "This is holographic immersion tech. The device resembling a smartwatch on the demonstrator’s wrist is actually a terminal."

"This terminal acts as a biometric ID—it’s an identity verifier. Once authentication is successful, you can enter the holographic immersion world."

"As for the helmet, it serves as the link between your consciousness and the terminal, projecting your consciousness into the holographic immersion world."

"The holographic immersion world is akin to the internet. Privacy-conscious users don’t wish to reveal their true identities online, so you can alter your appearance here."

The voice belonged to Ji An. As soon as he finished speaking, the man on the screen changed his appearance—transforming into Gu Jinsheng.

Ji An continued, "Changing your appearance is simple. Just imagine it in your mind, and the holographic immersion world, linked to your consciousness, will adjust accordingly. Here, you can become a lion, a tiger, or even the Capital Base’s Commander-in-Chief, Gu Jinsheng. There are no laws against it."

None of the commanders in the video were amused by Ji An’s words, though someone off-screen from the Capital Base burst out laughing. Gu Jinsheng shot a slightly aggrieved glance in the speaker’s direction.

Ji An quickly gave Gu Jinsheng a placating smile. "Of course, to prevent deception, the holographic immersion system has anti-fraud measures. All players’ real identities undergo genetic verification through the terminal. If a player isn’t using their true appearance, their profile will display the words 'virtual avatar.'"

"You can check this information yourselves."

"Many bases have recently faced sieges by the Psychic Zombie King. The purpose of holographic immersion is to enhance all superpowered individuals’ combat abilities."

"In reality, training against zombies in real life is too risky. We only have one life, after all—we can’t afford accidents. That’s why holographic immersion was created."

"Here, you can choose zombies of any difficulty level for training—one-on-one or many against one."

"Of course, there's also training to resist mental intrusion. If you fear being controlled by psychic zombies but don’t want to train with familiar psychics around you, unwilling to let them pry into your secrets, then come to the holographic training. Here, all levels of psychic abilities are simulated, allowing you to freely choose the difficulty without anyone discovering your secrets."

"If you find simulated training insufficiently realistic or flexible, you can opt for live training. All your personal information can be encrypted if you wish, so even if someone invades your mind, they won’t know who you are."

"To those who’ve obtained the Spatial Blade, Spatial Slash, and spatial displacement ability tutorials but still can’t master them no matter how hard you try—trust me, holographic training is your best bet. Here, you can learn your skills through the holographic system."

"If you believe your superpower has other undiscovered, more powerful abilities, you can register as an instructor, recruit students, and teach your secret skills. You can choose between paid or free instruction—both are voluntary."

By the end, Ji An’s speech had turned entirely into an advertisement.

The commanders’ attention was completely captured by the superpowered individual on the big screen.

The demonstrator was undergoing an experiment to resist mental intrusion, opting for the confidential version—live training.

On the other end was an actual psychic superpowered individual. The demonstrator had his mind invaded, but due to the holographic system’s protection, the invader could only perform Mind Control or plant mental suggestions—they couldn’t freely browse the demonstrator’s memories.

The demonstrator had chosen advanced-level resistance training, and what followed was pure humiliation.

The psychic superpowered individual easily invaded the demonstrator’s mind, first using Mind Control to make him meow like a cat and bark like a dog, then forcing him to do a striptease while shouting, “I’m an idiot!”

After toying with the demonstrator enough, the psychic superpowered individual planted a mental suggestion—triggered by a specific name.

Then, another superpowered individual entered and casually uttered that name, causing the demonstrator to self-destruct his energy core, kicking all superpowered users out from the holographic world.

The watching commanders jumped at the sudden self-destruction, but realizing it was just a simulation, they immediately turned their gaze to the demonstrator lying on the sofa.

The demonstrator jolted awake, yanking off his helmet with a shaken expression. He said to someone off-screen, “Thank God I listened to you and set the pain threshold to the lowest. Otherwise, that core explosion pain would’ve actually killed me!”

Meanwhile, the commanders in the video were on their feet. One asked, “Commander-in-Chief Gu, does this superpowered comrade’s core still intact?”

“Of course,” the demonstrator replied. “The holographic system is just a simulation—my superpower core is fine.” As he spoke, he activated his ability.

“Even with the pain threshold set to 100%, it would only let me experience the pain of a real core explosion—not actually destroy my core. But let me warn you: those who’ve never trained in resisting mental intrusion, don’t jump straight into high difficulty. You’ll get humiliated.”

Suddenly, the demonstrator snarled into the video. “And to that psychic superpowered individual who invaded my mind—I know you’re real. You’d better hide your identity well. Never let me find out who you are, or else—”

An arm shot into frame from off-camera. “Or else what? You’re the one who sucks, yet you dare threaten others? Also, you should take your own advice. Offline, you’d better hope you never meet that psychic superpowered individual. Otherwise, you won’t even get the chance to mouth off—they’ll control your mind instantly, and if they tell you to hang yourself, you wouldn’t dare jump in front of a train.”

The demonstrator’s face flushed red, forced to admit the truth in those words.

The Beijing base contingent burst out laughing, the atmosphere relaxed, while commanders from other bases sat there stunned.

Ji An spoke up again. “As for the terminals—same deal as always. They’re only sold to our fellow Chinese. No sales to other countries, got it?”

Commander-in-Chief Gu nodded in agreement, then declared, “Those who wish to purchase can contact the Beijing base privately—as long as you’re Chinese. With that, today’s video conference is adjourned. I have other matters to attend to.”

Without giving other bases a chance to respond, Gu Jinsheng abruptly ended the call.

“Holographics? Is this real?” one commander blurted out. The others exchanged glances before abruptly ending the video to start their own discussion.

The video conference room emptied, leaving only the T, Q, and H bases.

These three bases had originally planned to unite against the Beijing base. Instead of succeeding, they’d been played yet again.

Holographics?

Is this true?

The three bases could only reluctantly hang up the video in the end.

Dewitt's face darkened. "Holograms, terminals, link helmets! Where did the Capital City Base get so many scientific achievements? Do their researchers never sleep? Can’t they just take a break?"

Wan Hong, who had been so arrogant in the video conference earlier, now stood before Dewitt offline, cowering like a quail.

"Suppress the information. Under no circumstances must Commander-in-Chief Charles learn about the existence of holograms, or neither you nor I will get off easy!"

As soon as Dewitt finished speaking, Charles' video call connected. His whole body shook, and he broke into a cold sweat, staring at video as if he’d seen a ghost.

In the end, Dewitt still answered the call—he didn’t dare not to. The consequences of ignoring it would be even worse.

"Ch-Charles," Dewitt stammered.

Charles fixed his lone eye on Dewitt, his gaze sinister. "Have you obtained the core technology of the Mental Scanner yet?"

Dewitt’s face was drenched in sweat. "Gu Jinsheng refused to hand it over, using T Base’s recent membership with us as the reason."

Charles asked coldly, "What about the holograms, then?"

Dewitt snapped his head up to look at Charles, his shock was unmistakable, unable to believe how quickly Charles had found out.

Charles said icily, "Dewitt, don’t you dare hide anything from me. I know everything."

Dewitt immediately lowered his head, not daring to meet Charles’ eyes. "I-I wouldn't dare deceive you."

Charles pressed again, "What about the holograms? Can you buy them?"

"That should be possible."

"Then go buy them now!"

"Yes."

After hanging up, Charles turned to his assistant. "Is that woman from the Capital City Base’s brain still impenetrable?"

The assistant trembled. "Nothing yet."

Charles said ruthlessly, "Tell those useless psychic superpower fools that if they can’t crack that woman’s brain, I’ll kill one psychic superpower every day until they succeed."

The assistant shivered even more, scrambling out to relay Charles’ orders.

Charles muttered to himself, "What kind of secret is it that has given the Capital City Base one technological breakthrough after another?"