After Chu Minghao finished all this, he appeared as if nothing had happened, offering no explanations, still smiling as he led the three to a tavern.
After tossing out two strings of copper coins, he was guided by the waiter to a private room.
Xu Shilan silently observed everything.
She sat down at the table and said, “Very skilled, how many levels of shelters have you established in this Dream World?”
“None,” Chu Minghao replied with a smile as he poured tea for the three of them.
He then instructed the waiter to bring the dishes before continuing, “I came to find you; I just arrived a day earlier than you, having arrived yesterday.”
The three were puzzled.
Xu Shilan, who had a history with Chu Minghao, naturally asked, “What do you mean? It’s been a long time since we last met. When did you become so mysterious?”
“No, no, it’s just that I haven’t started explaining yet.” Chu Minghao took out a mirror from his pocket and said, “I used this to find the three of you. This is a Magic Mirror, a fantasy object with incredible power, and its abilities include foresight, searching, and locating.”
Wu Pifu’s heart stirred as he thought of his Magic Conch...
Truly, comparing people makes one die, comparing goods makes one throw them away.
Just look at that dazzling sword light of his, look at those impressive sunglasses, and then think about his agricultural skills and that long-winded Magic Conch...
Chu Minghao placed the Magic Mirror on the table and said, “Miss Xu, I didn’t come specifically for you. I didn’t even know you had awakened; I was just searching for all the surviving Maintenance Personnel from various districts and subdivisions.”
Xu Shilan immediately replied, “Don’t play coy. You are a Level Seven Citizen, with authority second only to the President. You even have a share allocated by the Mainframe. Since you’ve awakened, you could activate the internal defense system of Gaia at any time, or open any isolation walls. Isn’t it possible to find us directly in reality? Or are you worried about the grotesqueries outside those isolation walls? Sending out a communication announcement shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“I can’t do that.” Chu Minghao smiled bitterly and considered his words before saying, “The Mainframe rejected my permission request. It’s not that it doesn’t recognize me as a Level Seven Citizen, but rather… the Mainframe has issues.”
Wu Pifu, Yamadai, and Xu Shilan were all confused.
They exchanged glances, and it was Xu Shilan who asked, “What’s wrong with the Mainframe? Don’t tell me it’s an intelligent awakening or a mechanical crisis. We both know the situation with the Mainframe; such things are impossible! And if they truly happened, we would have died long ago. How could the Mainframe still lead us through the Dream World?”
“That’s not it.” Chu Minghao seemed very troubled.
After pondering for a long time, he shook his head and said, “No, I really can’t tell you… Let’s put it this way: with the ‘Zhou’ weekend triggering a dramatic change in the Dream Network and the birth of the Dream World, under such circumstances, knowledge, information, and secrets are all subject to contamination. Regarding the issues with the Mainframe, although it’s just my speculation, your strengths might not be able to bear it.”
Xu Shilan’s expression changed immediately.
She hurriedly said, “Meme!? The Ninth Company did this!?”
“No, no, no, it’s not a meme.”
Chu Minghao’s expression was extremely conflicted.
He sighed and said, “It’s contamination, stemming from the pollution triggered by the ‘Zhou’ weekend.”
Xu Shilan didn’t pursue this further, as she was very familiar with Chu Minghao.
He was sincere in his dealings but had strong principles; if he didn’t want to say something, he wouldn’t say it.
Xu Shilan then asked about something else, “So, you’re also trapped in Gaia?”
Chu Minghao shook his head and replied, “Not exactly, but for certain reasons, I can’t stay in Gaia for long, specifically in the Baseline Reality 1.0 world. Therefore, I can’t contribute to liberating the isolated areas of Gaia; that will have to rely on you all, on all the Maintenance Personnel.”
At this moment, the waitstaff began serving the dishes, and Chu Minghao fell silent.
Once the waitstaff left, he directly said, “Aside from some taboo information, you can share everything else… for example, the remnants of the Thirteen Singularities Group and the remnants of the Human Revolutionary Alliance are hunting me.”
Xu Shilan looked incredulous and exclaimed, “Impossible! The core of the Human Revolutionary Alliance perished along with the Thirteen Singularities Group! I witnessed it all!”
“I witnessed it too. I thought they were gone, but…”
Chu Minghao patted the sword box behind him, and a burst of white light erupted from it, forming a spherical object above the dining table.
As the object drew closer, everyone could see what it was… Gaia, the ship carrying humanity for interstellar migration.
Chu Minghao pointed at the white light, and the scene changed, shifting to a small area beside the Gaia ship.
As the view zoomed in, several spherical ships were seen following Gaia through space.
“According to my investigation, the remnants of the Singularities Group created a miniature version of Gaia and hid it in Gaia’s quantum overlap zone, following it all along. As for the remnants of the Human Revolutionary Alliance, I haven’t tracked their whereabouts yet, but they are either hiding in the Dream World or in the Mainframe’s core area.”
Xu Shilan looked at the scene formed by the white light and clicked her tongue, “They didn’t fight?”
Chu Minghao laughed heartily, “How could they not have fought? Both sides have spilled their brains. During my investigation of the remnants of the two major factions, I found at least a dozen corpses of core figures from both sides.”
Xu Shilan hesitated and asked, “Then… what about ‘his’ corpse?”
Chu Minghao’s expression darkened.
He shook his head and said, “I haven’t found it. The personnel from the Singularities Group are also desperately searching for ‘him,’ but you know, ‘he’ can’t be so easily killed.”
Xu Shilan merely gritted her teeth, pain and hatred evident on her face.
Chu Minghao remained silent.
At that moment, Wu Pifu suddenly picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and chewed it a few times before saying, “So, Chu Minghao, do you have something important to discuss with us Maintenance Personnel?”
Chu Minghao replied cheerfully, “I’m here to help you all. All Maintenance Personnel are my targets for assistance. If you haven’t established a shelter, I will lead you to set up the first shelter in the relatively safe Baseline Reality 0.8 or 0.7 world. If you have already established the first shelter, I will provide you with important intelligence support or help eliminate dangers to the best of my ability when I arrive.”
“What’s the reason?”
Wu Pifu continued to question, “Is it a free lunch from the sky? You’re helping us without any interests? I don’t believe it.”
Chu Minghao was frank and directly admitted, “It’s definitely not completely free. I need you all to stay alive, or to be more straightforward, I need there to be enough living people on Gaia!”
At this moment, Yamadai, like Wu Pifu, began to eat and drink without restraint.
He spoke without reservation, “I don’t believe it either. To put it bluntly, we are Maintenance Personnel. To the Mainframe and to you citizens, we are merely consumables. Don’t tell me about your selfless love; perhaps you are a good person, an idealistic fool, but that still isn’t a reason.”
Chu Minghao didn’t get angry; instead, he looked at Wu Pifu and Yamadai with appreciation.
“Because this is also saving myself. If you have viewed the Gaia map through the Mainframe, then you should have noticed that some areas are already devoid of human presence. The Maintenance Personnel there have been completely wiped out. Through my investigation, as the reality world of Gaia is gradually emptied, humanity will face utter destruction.” Chu Minghao said solemnly.
Wu Pifu and the others exchanged glances, and Xu Shilan asked, “Specifically? What kind of utter destruction?”
Chu Minghao pondered for a moment and said, “The ‘Zhou’ weekend, as well as human civilization, and all individual humans.”
Xu Shilan immediately replied, “I haven’t experienced the ‘Zhou’ weekend, so I don’t know what that is, but as for human civilization… Chu Minghao, haven’t you given up on that unrealistic dream of yours? Saying you want to correct all of humanity, saying you want to bring peace to all disputes in the world, saying you want to heal all the pain and hatred in people’s hearts. And what’s the result?”
“So I’ve given up.”
Chu Minghao laughed heartily, his white teeth shining as he even gave a thumbs up.
Seeing this, Wu Pifu and Yamadai’s goodwill toward Chu Minghao soared, but Xu Shilan seemed to be provoked, slamming her hand on the table, causing the food on the table to tremble.
She almost roared from her throat, “Again like this, again like this, again like this… You are like this, ‘he’ is like this. Why can both of you be so carefree, so obsessed with your dreams, completely disregarding how ordinary people are attracted to your brilliance, like moths to a flame, only to end up self-immolating? You, you, you… go die!”
Xu Shilan grew more agitated, grabbing a plate from the table and throwing it at Chu Minghao, splattering soup and water all over him.
The three saw Chu Minghao extend his hand and lightly tap the plates, and then a shocking scene occurred: the plates, food, and soup seemed to flow back to their original places, not a drop of oil or water spilled.
After doing all this, Chu Minghao slightly bowed his head to Xu Shilan and said, “I’m very sorry about your brother.”
Xu Shilan screamed hysterically, “What’s the use of your apology!? My brother is already dead! He held the most beautiful hopes for humanity’s future, only to be deceived by ‘him’ and abandoned by you. Do you know how desperate he was when he died!?”
Chu Minghao sighed and said, “Did he come back to find you? I can’t argue about this; I indeed couldn’t save your brother… but there is still hope.”
“What hope!?” Xu Shilan’s eyes were bloodshot as she stared at Chu Minghao, “People are dead; what hope can there be?”
Chu Minghao replied, his expression unchanged, “The world after death is not just a world after death. It’s a chaotic realm beyond description, pure emotions and thoughts, distorted concepts and definitions; everything lies beneath that…”
“This is why I began searching for all surviving humans and helping you. As long as the number of living people on Gaia falls below a critical point, then humanity…”
“Will be lost to the unknown!”
(End of Chapter)