Chapter 43

Chapter 43

To his surprise, Du Ze didn't seem surprised at all, merely saying, "That sounds rough, but rest assured, you can leave any work to me. I won't let you down, Master."

Lu Yunqi was deeply moved and patted Du Ze on the shoulder. "Appreciate it, Du. By the way, can we fast-track medical tech? I'm due in eight months. I hope the medical technology can improve a bit by then. If something goes wrong during delivery, at least there'll be a way to save me."

Du Ze nodded. "Don't worry, Master. At the rate we're going, by the time you give birth, we'll definitely have some seriously advanced medical tech."

Lu Yunqi made a sound of acknowledgment, then turned to look at the refugees who had just been relocated. "How are they holding up?"

Du Ze sighed. "They're severely malnourished. This timeline is an absolute disaster. This dynasty is rotten to the core, though compared to the others, it's still the best of a bad bunch. The other two kingdoms are even worse than we thought. They don't treat their people like humans—just tools to be squeezed dry."

Lu Yunqi mulled it over, then asked, "If Murong Jie became emperor, where would he lead this nation?"

Du Ze pondered for a moment before answering, "If he were his true self, he could at least drag this country forward by a massive leap, getting it to a level like the Song Dynasty in your world. He could feed a lot more people and give them a far better standard of living. But since he's a warrior-emperor, the country would be a lot more stable."

Lu Yunqi let out an "Oh." "So I ruined a perfectly good emperor?"

Du Ze shook his head. "Not you—everyone in this timeline who doesn't want progress. They're living large now, stepping on a mountain of bones and making others serve them. If civilization stays stuck, they keep their cushy lives forever."

Lu Yunqi was puzzled. "But once civilization advances, even regular folks would live better than today's nobles!"

He was a time traveler—he knew exactly what the future held. AC in summer, heat in winter, and in spring or fall, even regular people could just go out and enjoy themselves.

In this timeline, even nobles couldn't just take a bath whenever they felt like it, because servants had to boil the water and get everything ready—at least half an hour just for that.

Modern civilized society? Different story. Hot water 24/7 was the bare minimum. Even out in the countryside, a basic solar water heater handled all that.

Du Ze sighed. "Master, you know what the future holds, but the people in this timeline don't. Their ancestors didn't either. If they want to be reborn into this world, they can only be born into their own bloodlines. But to live comfortably within those bloodlines, they have to maintain their noble status. In a way, they are powerful, because they can unite to kill an emperor who might change the world. But precisely because that power is so stubborn and outdated, that's why you were needed to personally complete this mission."

Lu Yunqi asked, "Why does it have to be Murong Jie? Couldn't I just develop this timeline to 0.7 civilization myself?"

Du Ze shook his head again. "No, Master. We're not from this timeline—we're bugs. Without Murong Jie's guidance, even if we reached 0.7 civilization, there would be a strong rejection reaction from this world. Only the key figure who leads this timeline to its turning point can keep it alive. Otherwise, even if we succeed, the timeline's repair function will eventually purge us as extreme bugs. And for our residents, it would all just be a dream. When they wake up, they'd return to their original suffering—continuing their lives of poverty and weakness..."

For the first time, a look of melancholy appeared in Lu Yunqi's eyes. He had pursued Murong Jie nine times, and in the first nine attempts, all he wanted was to survive.

To survive his hands and return to the twenty-first century where he belonged, to the fertile soil of civilization.

This was the first time he pondered: if he went back, how many skeletons would the people here become?

In his original timeline, countless ancestors had pushed through numerous reforms, and countless revolutionary martyrs had sacrificed their lives to achieve the peaceful and prosperous era they now enjoyed.

If he fled—even if he died—the countless lives in this timeline would all fade away into the river of history.

The people would meet their deaths in the most extreme and painful ways, and this timeline would gradually turn into a desolate wasteland due to chaos.

After a long silence, Lu Yunqi's voice trembled. "So, only by truly winning over Murong Jie will he lead this timeline toward survival, right?"

Du Ze let out a rare long sigh. "Yes, Master."

He was an NPC, traveling across various timelines, but he was also a living person—not a lump of data, not a string of code like Xiao Jiu.

He said to Lu Yunqi, "I once witnessed the collapse of a timeline. Actually, the collapse of a timeline isn't true extinction. It becomes a chaotic ocean where living beings no longer have a food chain, and no higher intelligent life forms emerge. They just repeat meaningless slaughter over and over. Their only goal is killing—not even survival. Master, I've seen it only once, but I never want to see it again. That's why I was reluctant to take this mission. But I'm just an NPC—I have no choice."

Lu Yunqi was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled. He said to Du Ze, "Don't be so tense. Relax. We still have plenty of time, right? Keep up the good work, little Du. I'll give you a raise and a promotion later."

Lu Yunqi fed Du Ze an empty promise, then left Wanping Wasteland. He returned to his room and went straight to find Murong Jie.

He felt he needed to speed up Murong Jie's rise to power. He wanted Murong Jie to become the Crown Prince.

So he went to the study and wrote a letter to Lu Tong. The letter was simple—just one line: "Dad, I want my man to be emperor. I want to be empress!"

Seven days later, Lu Tong received the letter and cursed through gritted teeth. "That damn brat! Always giving his old man impossible tasks!"

Lu An came in and asked, "Dad, what's troubling you?"

Lu Tong shoved the letter into Lu An's arms. "They say a married daughter is like water spilled out! But nobody told me that raising a son would turn out the same damn way!"