To kill the supreme ruler of a country with a population of over a hundred million and vast territory...
And it’s not like ambushing them with firearms during a public parade, but rather breaking into the heavily guarded Forbidden City; this is almost impossible.
"This is basically unachievable."
Xu Shilan and Yamade both said simultaneously.
Yamade continued, "You said you became stronger after the 'Zhou' period, at least more than double your previous strength, but that’s still not feasible. Let me ask you, how big is the gap between you and that world's Transformation Qi Grandmaster?"
Wu Pifu thought for a moment and replied, "If I enter the controllable demonic state, I should be able to have a fifty-fifty chance. After all, I haven’t fought them yet; the outcome can only be known through actual combat."
Yamade immediately growled, "You yourself said that you used the controllable demonic state twice during the 'Zhou' period, and your mental negative feedback rate increased by one percent, right? If you continue to use it, you’ll die even faster!"
Wu Pifu slightly shook his head.
At this moment, Xu Shilan also said, "Even if you use the controllable demonic state and can match a Transformation Qi Grandmaster, can you take on two at once? Can you face a thousand soldiers alone? Can you charge at a line of riflemen? Can you withstand cannon fire with your flesh?"
Wu Pifu frankly shook his head, "I can’t do that."
Xu Shilan then spread her hands and said, "Then what basis do you have to kill the supreme ruler of the Qing Dynasty?"
Wu Pifu replied, "Because she will come to me to be killed."
Both Yamade and Xu Shilan were stunned.
Wu Pifu continued, "Because this is a world at baseline reality 0.9. As long as I don’t interfere with various historical trajectories on a large scale, in fact, I can’t interfere with historical trajectories in such a short time. Therefore, the supreme ruler of the Qing Dynasty will arrive near the Peace Hotel in four months, and she will come in a state of fleeing. I don’t know how many people will accompany her, but it shouldn’t exceed a thousand, mostly palace maids and eunuchs. That will be the best time to kill her!"
Yamade and Xu Shilan fell into contemplation once again.
Yamade pondered aloud, "If there’s a four-month buffer period, then I should be able to create a rudimentary disposable Gauss weapon; long-range sniping should be feasible."
Xu Shilan added, "Or we could manufacture some high-powered explosives. If there are radioactive elements, I can also help create some nuclear-like weapons for ambushes; a fleeing group of around a thousand should be manageable."
Wu Pifu immediately felt a headache coming on.
He looked at his two teammates for a long time before shaking his head.
What kind of people are they? No wonder they are maintenance personnel, consumables, pure super terrorists!
Uh, I’m also maintenance personnel, consumables...
Well, that’s fine.
Wu Pifu said, "We can consider it. After all, we still have about four months; we can plan slowly."
Both of them nodded.
Yamade then asked, "So are we planning to return to the Peace Hotel dream world now?"
Wu Pifu thought for a moment and said, "The time I agreed upon with Lin Heier is tomorrow. I’m extremely tired today, so I’ll just sleep here in Gaia, rest for the night, and recharge. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the Peace Hotel dream world and spend seven days there, completing the thirty-day garrison task. After that... I’ll probably have to go to the Song Dynasty’s Buddha Mud Yaksha dream world. You two..."
Yamade laughed heartily, patting his chest, "Isn’t that together? After all, without you as the main force, even if we go to the baseline reality 0.9 world, it would be fraught with danger. It’s better to stick with you."
Xu Shilan also smiled and nodded.
Wu Pifu felt warmth in his heart and slightly lowered his head, "Alright... First, we’ll go to the Peace Hotel dream world, then detour to the Song Dynasty Buddha Mud Yaksha dream world, complete the thirty-day garrison task there, and after that... I’ll take you to establish your sanctuary!"
The three of them relaxed and chatted happily.
Although Yamade and Xu Shilan had narrowly escaped death, one was a veteran of three wars, and the other had an unknown past but spoke of avenging her brother and had been exposed to numerous terrorist crimes by the mainframe.
It seemed she also had a reckless spirit deep down.
At this moment, although the three were not completely safe, and even the issue of food had not been resolved, they at least had a medical base station and over two thousand six hundred carbon-based nano units.
For the short term, they wouldn’t have to worry about survival, and they knew they had to take things one step at a time, so they all felt a bit more relaxed.
Wu Pifu distributed the remaining steamed buns to the other two.
They each ate a bun, drank some water, and then used the miscellaneous cloth and materials from the maintenance base to make three makeshift beds.
They lay down and chatted for a while until Yamade was the first to yawn.
Xu Shilan suddenly spoke up, "Do you think this Gaia is actually a virtual scene in the dream network?"
Yamade immediately opened his eyes from his drowsy state, and Wu Pifu did the same.
After a moment, Wu Pifu shook his head, "The brain in a vat theory, right? It was proposed in the twentieth century. The key is that we can’t verify it, can we?"
Xu Shilan forced a smile, "Yeah, we can’t verify it..."
Yamade suddenly asked, "If this is truly a virtual reality, what would be the reason for the unified human government to do this? There must be a reason."
Xu Shilan lay back and stretched her hand upward, "A social experiment? A simulation of human mental limits? Or an exploration of the afterlife? Or something else? You may not know, but I know all too well. The thirteen Singularity Technology Groups can pull off such things. While the unified human government isn’t completely controlled by the thirteen Singularity Technology Groups, they still hold a significant share. They have conducted numerous utterly insane experiments..."
Wu Pifu remained silent because he recalled those network novels, those science fiction stories, and those comic movies that depicted the mad future corporations.
Although these were artistic works, art is derived from reality, and reality is often even more exaggerated.
He did not doubt Xu Shilan’s words.
Yamade was genuinely puzzled.
He was born and grew up in the late period of the Third War, during the time when humanity united to fight against the bio-beasts.
He couldn’t understand how such things could come to be.
He thought for a moment and said, "I keep hearing you mention the thirteen Singularity Technology Groups. I know what Singularity Technology is; it’s technology that transcends imagination and theoretical limits. But what kind of insane experiments have these thirteen Singularity Technology Groups conducted?"
Xu Shilan smiled, her smile even somewhat eerie.
She spoke in a tone that made Wu Pifu and Yamade feel a chill, "I won’t say much else, but let me mention one experiment I witnessed firsthand, and even partially participated in... the Afterlife Return Experiment."
"Afterlife... Return?" Wu Pifu and Yamade repeated the name.
Xu Shilan continued in that tone, "It’s not a transformation or transfer of ideology, nor is it about the soul leaving the body. It’s a true obliteration, a complete and utter annihilation, from the quantum level of absolute extinction. Then, using an extremely terrifying and non-ethical means, millions of lives were sent into the afterlife in this absolute annihilation manner. Following that, their clones, simulated personalities, and simulated consciousness were used to attempt to achieve some kind of influence similar to quantum entanglement, to confirm information about the afterlife..."
Xu Shilan paused, and the two men remained silent.
After a long while, Wu Pifu finally asked, "Did it succeed?"
"I don’t know."
Xu Shilan shook her head, "This experiment was expected to last three hundred years, but it was only halfway through when the Fourth War broke out, and I was removed from the list of informed participants. After that, I began to seek revenge for my brother."
Wu Pifu and Yamade then truly understood the madness of the thirteen Singularity Technology Groups and why the Fourth War broke out.
Wu Pifu asked, "So, does that mean the Human Revolutionary Alliance is just?"
Xu Shilan laughed mockingly, "If it’s just, then how did the Earth disappear? How did the solar system become a source of chaos, to the point where we had to embark on this interstellar journey? The unified human government is no better."
The three fell silent.
Yamade suddenly asked, "So... are we currently in the dream network? Have we become experimental subjects?"
Xu Shilan shook her head and remained silent.
Wu Pifu, however, said firmly, "I don’t know, but I won’t try it. My parents froze me and sent me to the future not to have me entangled in philosophical debates about what is real, risking my life to test it. They hoped for me to survive; as long as I live, there is hope. So I won’t think about whether reality is illusory, nor will I ponder how to prove whether this place is real or not. I only know..."
"When I’m hungry, I eat; when I’m tired, I sleep. If it’s an enemy, I must fight; if it’s a partner, I must protect... it’s that simple!"
Yamade and Xu Shilan listened quietly, each saying nothing.
After an unknown amount of time, Yamade’s snoring could be heard; he had actually fallen asleep.
Wu Pifu was also preparing to sleep when Xu Shilan suddenly spoke, "It’s nice, living so purely..."
Wu Pifu paused for a moment and said, "Sleep now; tomorrow we’ll enter the Peace Hotel dream world."
After another minute or two, Xu Shilan suddenly said softly, "Perhaps we are not in a virtual reality, nor are we subjects of some large social experiment conducted by the remnants of the thirteen Singularity Technology Companies. Here..."
"Perhaps we are experiencing the dream of the universe."
The dream of the universe...?
Wu Pifu gradually drifted into slumber.
Xu Rongyu was practicing his boxing stance under Lin Heier’s guidance.
Although he was still limping, he was trying hard to straighten his back and cherish this rare opportunity.
Suddenly, Xu Rongyu and Lin Heier saw a flash before their eyes, and Wu Pifu, Yamade, and Xu Shilan appeared before them, seemingly materializing out of thin air.
Lin Heier and Xu Rongyu were momentarily stunned, then smiles appeared on their faces.
Wu Pifu looked at the two, then at the tidied remnants of the righteous grave, and solemnly clasped his fists, "You two are indeed trustworthy people; today is the third day... I have come to see you!"
Lin Heier and Xu Rongyu exchanged glances.
Lin Heier naturally returned the gesture, and Xu Rongyu immediately respectfully clasped his fists in response to Wu Pifu.
"Greetings!"
The sun was high in the sky, and the sunlight was brilliant, with genuine smiles on everyone’s faces.
(End of Chapter)