In some respects, Ji Heng and Su Er are completely similar and yet completely opposite.
The former is a meticulous thinker, and the latter is also logical, but neither of these factors affects his ability to imagine a melodramatic plot. So, the moment the side quest begins, Su Er's first reaction is, "What if Ji Heng is the key?"
Who could have expected that things would really develop in the worst direction? Fortunately, the game requires decisions to be made before midnight, and confusing time is the best way.
Sur took the tablet away in the name of charging it, and guided the players to use the tower clock as a tool to judge time. He secretly asked the little clay man to slow down the hands.
Everything went incredibly smoothly.
One moment, his attitude was cold and tough, and the next, he suddenly smiled brightly. Soul clapped his hands in a friendly manner, "That's great! Now that we have no way out, we can fight side by side again."
In the silence shrouded by the night, the slow-turned tower clock began to chime the hours, a full twelve times, which sounded inexplicably ironic.
Zhu Yu spoke out what everyone was thinking: "Is he the reincarnation of a demon?"
"Let's find a place to hide first." Jia Kanhua looked at the insect eggs that were becoming more and more rampant in the air and succumbed to reality.
There are not many people outside and their location is very conspicuous. If they encounter the parasite again, it will be very troublesome.
Sure enough, Su Er said, "Go back to the library."
Jia Kanhua's eyes twitched as a warning: "It's full of bugs, and there's a parasite chasing Xu Yangyang."
Su Er was very determined: "Hiding is not a solution. We must get information from Feng Peng."
Jia Kanhua pressed his fingers against his eyelids to stop them from twitching. "Why don't you ask when you have plenty of time during the day?"
"Isn't it to deal with you?"
As he spoke, Sur looked at them with a 'so ignorant' look.
"...."
The battle lines were forced to reunite; working together to defeat a single parasite wasn't difficult. So, the group returned to the library, but by the time they entered, Xu Yangyang had already addressed the hidden danger. The office worker fell from a height, becoming a pile of flesh, white insect eggs swarming frantically. He conveniently set his coat on fire and threw it on top.
A few minutes ago, when the game announced the failure of the side quest, Xu Yangyang almost vomited blood. Now, when he heard everyone say that they were going to find the old man, his face became even uglier. He had taken a lot of effort to run down from upstairs.
The third floor was a particularly infested area, and Su Er wasn't sure he could get through safely. He cleared his throat and asked, "Scientist Feng, could we meet?"
A minute later, nothing appeared.
Not upset, Su Er smiled slightly, looked at the others and said, "Next, I'm going to tell you a little love story that's full of age and frustration."
Just as he finished speaking, he was forced to take several steps back by a stream of Yin Qi and was about to hit the pillar. Fortunately, Ji Heng pulled him in time.
Feng Peng appeared, and the expression on his old face had changed a lot since he met him.
Su Er lowered his posture and pretended to be humbly seeking advice: "You haven't told us the specific content of the Central Plan yet."
The game will not launch side quests for no reason and can increase the player's chance of survival by 50%, which is enough to prove that this plan can temporarily maintain social order and stability.
While he was talking, Feng Peng glanced at Ji Heng with a complicated expression, while the latter turned his head and glanced at Suer out of the corner of his eye.
Princess Camellia looked at the three of them thoughtfully, sensing a strange atmosphere.
"More than three hundred years ago, the planet inhabited by humans was predicted to explode within fifty years." Feng Peng finally spoke, recounting a not-so-exciting past.
"In fact, the awareness of being prepared for danger in times of peace led various nations to begin preparing for migration centuries ago. During our long exploration, we only found one planet that was most suitable for survival. The climate, water resources, and temperature were all perfect. The only drawback was that the entire planet was almost completely covered in insects."
As expected, humans successfully found a new home after joining forces to kill the insects.
Xu Yangyang asked hurriedly, "Why is this period of history blank?"
Feng Peng sneered, "There's no such thing as a complete extermination of insects. Before the migration, scientists made a worst-case scenario prediction: if bitten, you could die from the infection."
Man proposes, God disposes. No one could have imagined that the true ability of this insect was parasitism.
Xu Yangyang twitched the corner of his mouth: "This judgment... is a bit hasty!"
Feng Peng: "There's not enough time."
Explosions could happen at any time, and the migration of all mankind would be a long process.
Seeing that the old man was getting more and more impatient, Xu Yangyang shut up and didn't want to interrupt him any further.
"Shortly after the migration, we were faced with nearly half a century of darkness. Later, through continued research, we discovered that peach blossoms have an anti-insect effect," Feng Peng sighed. "Once we successfully developed a vaccine, we thought the situation would be over."
Many details were omitted. It was said that the research process under special circumstances subverted human ethics, and the live experiments were almost about to be carried out openly.
Soul murmured to himself, "Everything has the ability to evolve."
Feng Peng gave him a rare admiring look. "Yes, the bugs are inexhaustible, and their parasitic abilities grow stronger each time they revive. Until a few decades ago... a true genius appeared."
Su Er noticed that his gaze returned to Ji Heng when he said this.
"That person's research has always been one step ahead of the insect eggs' evolution. He concluded that within thirty years at most, the insect eggs will have evolved to a point where they can no longer be controlled."
Sur instinctively didn't want to hear what was coming next.
"Unfortunately, even geniuses are subject to aging, sickness, and death," Feng Peng said slowly. "Because of a long period of irregular sleep and rest, that person contracted a terminal illness at a young age. A well-intentioned reminder was taken as a sign of intellectual decline, and someone suggested at the time..."
"What?"
"Change his body."
Facing the incredulous gazes, Feng Peng smiled bitterly and said, "You don't understand. Because his previous research results were so outstanding, he was unconsciously regarded as a savior within the organization."
Xu Yangyang instantly thought of various science fiction works about source code and couldn't help but mention it.
Feng Peng shook his head. "To be precise, it's human brain transplant technology. His brain is transplanted into a young and healthy body."
Hearing this, Su Er's heart seemed to be tugged at, and his tone was unusually harsh: "Aren't you afraid of divine punishment?"
Zhu Yu also lamented: "I have devoted my whole life to scientific research, but ended up like this."
People's hearts are too cold.
"Pathetic? Not necessarily!" Feng Peng resumed his cold tone. "He was even more ruthless. After that, he proposed the 'Central Project.' He brought together leading scientists from various countries and produced a report proving the invincibility of the insect eggs. He stated that the Central Project was the only way to survive."
Finally hearing the key point, everyone subconsciously held their breath.
Feng Peng's voice trembled. "The report indicates that if we can't eliminate the eggs, we must change ourselves. The insects' destructive power lies in their parasitism. As long as they lose their flesh, all problems will be solved."
"…"
Xu Yangyang looked strange: "Isn't this nonsense?"
Instigating collective "suicide" of all mankind?
Feng Peng looked at him as if he were a goldfish.
Xu Yangyang then remembered the source code he had mentioned a few minutes ago and whispered, "Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is revenge."
"On the contrary, knowing he couldn't resist his superiors' orders, he calmly accepted the brain transplant plan, explaining that it was the inspiration. He then collaborated with a group of lunatics to develop a special device that allows humans to live in a virtual world as souls. The core of the device's operation is called the Hub, equivalent to the 'key', and he volunteered to take on this role."
Everyone's attention was focused on the old man, so the scene of Suer lowering his eyes in deep thought was not noticed.
At this moment, he understood a lot of things. No wonder in Ji Heng's memory, Feng Peng wanted to compete for the central position. Not only because he had a high opinion of himself, but also because letting Ji Heng be the central person was like setting off a time bomb.
"What happened next?" Seeing that Feng Peng seemed to be lost in distant memories, Suer asked.
"The day after the Central Plan was approved, the memories of the relevant personnel mysteriously disappeared, and he also disappeared."
Afterwards, it was consistent with the information they obtained from the diary. The old man "committed suicide" to preserve his memory, and his body was stored in a freezer after his death.
"Wait!" Zhu Yu's pupils trembled, and she pointed at Ji Heng: "He is the key designated for the side quest, doesn't that mean..."
He didn't say the rest of the words. His voice was so sharp that he almost lost his voice. After a long moment, he looked at Ji Heng tremblingly: "How old are you this year?"
As the leader of Guifen, Ji Heng's basic information is not a secret. Although Zhu Yu knew it, he couldn't help but ask again.
Ji Heng's calmness was frightening as he actually answered, "Twenty-seven."
Zhu Yu closed his eyes tightly in an instant... Twenty-seven years ago, the initiator of the Central Plan disappeared, and a newborn named Ji Heng appeared in the real world.
No. Is that really the real world?
If the other party is a native of the copy, are you the same?
Ji Heng said coldly: "It's useless to think too much, it's better to think about the task of completing it."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yu stared at him intently, trying to read any emotion on his face, but failed. She couldn't help but feel a wave of fear. For an ordinary person, even if they didn't collapse after hearing this information, it would be difficult for them to mentally accept it for a while. The fact that Ji Heng could remain so calm was truly terrifying.
Xu Yangyang thought further and chuckled, "Do we know too much?"
There's always a feeling that I'm going to be silenced by the game.
Suer raised his eyebrows slightly. The side quest would most likely reveal Ji Heng's identity as an aboriginal, but the game was released openly. It was indeed unreasonable.
At this moment, Feng Peng finally broke free from his memories and smiled strangely: "If I had known that I could access higher mysteries after death, I would have ended my life a few years earlier."
Ghosts, rules... Only after experiencing these things personally did I realize that I was just a frog in a well.
Ji Heng always had a clear goal: "Who was the first to invade this planet?"
Feng Peng was stunned by the question and said speechlessly, "The history of three hundred years ago has long been erased. I only know the general idea because of my research, and I have to abide by the confidentiality agreement..." He paused and said, "No, that person should know. He is very interested in ancient history."
He chuckled softly and said, "It's a pity you missed it."
The words imply that if Ji Heng agrees to reset the key, he will know who the original invader is.
Su Er suddenly winked at the others, indicating that they should go outside and communicate alone.
·
The night wind was very cold, but people were still in a daze. When Zhu Yu thought that the real world might be a virtual world, he couldn't help shivering.
Xu Yangyang was more worried about the possibility of silencing someone in the game, so she changed the subject to distract attention: "I hope Ji Heng can get some useful clues."
The glass windows had already shattered when the office workers forced their way into the building, and even from a distance, one could clearly see the confrontation between the man and the ghost. He only hoped that no one else was present, as Feng Peng might accidentally leak some information due to his personal grudge.
Inside the library.
It was Camellia Princess who broke the silence first, her tone tinged with gloating. "Honestly, only you know who the original invaders were. If you complete the central mission, you'll regain your memories and live in this world as a native once again. The other players can also evacuate safely... Tsk, what a bargain."
"That's what I thought half an hour ago." Ji Heng said lightly.
However, when he saw Su Er taking the trouble to sabotage the side quest, he gave up the idea. No one had ever done this for him before. It could be said that the other person gave him another meaning for living.
Princess Camellia has a photographic memory, and of course she remembers Ji Heng's expression at that time. It was obvious that he was very moved. Combined with this sentence now... some things are even more confirmed.
It's really funny and ironic.
"You're moved."
The tone was quite firm.
Ji Heng did not deny it, and his eyes showed no sadness or joy: "Su Er is different, he is young and energetic... things that are decided will never change."
Feng Peng couldn't help but interrupt: "But don't you love me?"
"…"
Princess Camellia was horrified... What the hell?!
The wrinkles on his face deepened with doubt. Feng Peng wondered, "Since you admit that the brain is the most sexy part, why do you like young people now?"
Ji Heng looked at him steadily: "Because love will disappear."