Chapter 8: Academic Discussion on Human Life

Federal New Calendar Year 106, May 23rd, 2 PM.

Inside the Stars Network Company building.

After a devastating fire, the scene was completely unrecognizable, turned into charred ruins, the air filled with a thick burnt smell, and the ground covered with scorched debris.

The firefighters were performing the final cleanup at the scene, extinguishing the remaining embers that still held sparks to prevent the resurgence of the fire.

8th floor.

Five men in suits and black coats looked up, assessing the damage caused by last night's battle.

Floors 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 had completely vanished; at first glance there was nothing but empty space, with only a few broken walls lonely supporting the structure.

The disappearance of those floors had inevitably unbalanced the building's structural integrity. If these remaining walls were to collapse, the entire building would snap in half instantly and crash into the surrounding bustling commercial area, causing incalculable casualties and property damage.

Fortunately, an alchemist from the Civil Engineering Department had arrived at the scene last night in time to reinforce the building urgently, preventing that terrible outcome from occurring during further battles.

"I'd never have guessed that Nangong Yi was an extraordinary person; he hid it so well, undetected for so many years.

Looking at this destructiveness, his rank must be quite high,"

remarked a man with a horizontal scar at the corner of his mouth, clicking his tongue in awe.

Nangong Yi was a well-known public figure. Even those not following the gaming circle could recognize him from frequent online surfing.

He possessed outstanding business acumen, starting from scratch and bringing Stars Network into the top hundred companies worldwide in just three years. His experience seemed like that of an urban fantasy protagonist, and his autobiography, "My Struggle," sold millions of copies.

As a world-class CEO, he was extraordinarily approachable, never putting on airs, willing to participate in offline gaming conventions, interact closely with players, and often live-stream gameplay, sharing progress on the development of "Child of Stardust."

What endeared him even more to the players was his active embrace of the vast pool of ideas and suggestions from players, incorporating them into the game—this was why "Child of Stardust" ultimately became an ultimate potpourri of everything.

Various maneuvers continued to enhance his reputation, eventually turning him into an industry benchmark, dearly loved by countless fans, and even surrounded by a fan club that conducted around-the-clock intensive internet patrolling—anyone daring to speak ill of him would be immediately attacked by the group.

It was clear that as long as "Child of Stardust" was released on time and performed well without crashing, Nangong Yi would indeed become the father of new era games, recorded in history and elevated to a godlike status.

But now, looking again,

all this was nothing more than a disguise Nangong Yi used for achieving a certain goal.

Since getting "that thing" from the bloody event seven years ago, he had begun his long preparations.

"Although I don't know what Nangong Yi really wants to do, 'Child of Stardust' must be related to 'that thing'. He wouldn't have founded a gaming company for no reason... Any thoughts?" Scarred man turned to ask his teammates.

His teammates shook their heads; "that thing" didn't even have a name, preventing them from making any guesses about the unknown.

The only information they had was that "that thing" had an anomaly level of Level 5, just below the world-destroying Level 6, possessing reality distortion ability, extremely dangerous.

"Zhao Junlang, why did you enter Xinhu without reporting it?"

Just then, a man in a black suit, leaning on a cane, walked over, his pale face stern as he stared at the man with the scar on his mouth.

"Our Mobile Task Force has the highest authority; we go wherever we want in non-emergency situations. Do we really need to report to you, Lord Kidney Deficiency?"

Zhao Junlang smiled, looking at the other party, not taking this big shot, who could shake Xinhu with a stomp, seriously at all.

"Besides, you should be aware of why we came here, right? Last night's incident was too complex for your Xinhu Control Bureau to handle alone."

Zhao Junlang counted with his fingers:

"On the surface, only Nangong Yi and the Red Robe Monks Association were fighting last night, but others who took secret actions include the Colorless Rainbow, Omega, Mechanical God Cult, MG Consortium, Land of Truth... and that's only those we've discovered; there are definitely more that have not been exposed. These people are true survivers; there wasn't a hint of a whisper before they made their move.

Nangong Yi thought he had hidden well, but he underestimated the allure of 'that thing'. Seven years were enough for some people to find clues and infiltrate the Stars Network.

I heard he was frantic when he escaped last night; probably because 'that thing' was snatched by someone else first; wonder who did it."

Zhao Junlang slightly narrowed his eyes: "Seven years of preparation taken by someone else, Nangong Yi won't just let it go, and neither will the major powers. Xinhu is surely going to see upheaval. How about we cooperate and fish for the big ones together?"

The pale-faced stern man was expressionless: "I disagree but does it matter?"

"Haha, of course, it doesn't. Well then, happy cooperation."

Zhao Junlang extended his hand with a vexing smile, but the pale-faced stern man did not respond and coldly turned away, leaning on his cane.

In the team, a woman with pink hair and earrings leaned towards Zhao Junlang and whispered, "This is my type of dish, Captain, can you get his contact for me? Conquering this kind of cold, domineering CEO is a real challenge."

"Every man is your type, isn't he?"

Zhao Junlang was speechless, "He doesn't show interest in women, best you give up on that idea."

"Ah? Is it men then?" the pink-haired woman asked, surprised.

"No."

Zhao Junlang shook his head, "He's kidney deficient, not interested in either. Otherwise, how do you think he got the nickname Lord Kidney Deficiency?"

"That..."

The pink-haired woman looked regretful, "Such a great man, how could he possibly be kidney deficient?"

"Let's go, let's find a place to stay first."

Zhao Junlang walked outside, his gaze sharpening, "This incident has attracted a whole bunch of odd creatures, we'll have to stay in Xinhu for a while.

We've been chasing 'that thing' for seven years, it's time for a result."

·

·

Puxi District, Snack Street.

Having secured a place to stay, Zhao Junlang and his group were wandering around, they hadn't been to Xinhu for many years and wanted to see if there was anything new.

Suddenly, a pink-haired spicy girl exclaimed in surprise, her eyes sparkling as she darted out like she had spotted prey.

"Handsome, want to add me on V?"

"Huh?"

At the roadside, Zhou Yuan, who was eating stir-fried noodles, looked up blankly, but what puzzled him more was the prompt that popped up:

"Wow, your damn charm is really outstanding. Congratulations, you have successfully attracted an extraordinary person. She wants to have an academic discussion about human life with you."

An extraordinary person?

Zhou Yuan's heart stirred immediately, and he flashed a business-like smile that had been honed through countless trials, pulling out his phone:

"You scan mine or I scan yours?"

"I'll scan yours," said the pink-haired spicy girl with a beaming smile. "My name is Mi Qi, don't forget to make a note."

"Zhou Yuan." Zhou Yuan thought about it and decided to use his real name, as the other party, being an extraordinary person, could probably easily find his information.

Soon, they had added each other as friends.

"Then let's chat when we have time, bye~~~"

Mi Qi winked playfully and then lightly jogged back to her group.

Zhou Yuan's gaze followed her:

"That's right, just as you thought, those five people in black are all extraordinary persons, the one with the scar on his mouth is even more important."

All were extraordinary persons...

Zhou Yuan discreetly withdrew his gaze to avoid being noticed.

"I didn't expect to encounter extraordinary persons just by coming out for a meal, I wonder if they are affiliated with the federal officials or some other extraordinary person organization.

Currently, my understanding of the Transcendent community is almost zero, maybe I could get some information from that pink-haired girl, but it seems she wants to sleep with me..."

Zhou Yuan was conflicted, thinking that if he failed to extract any information and instead got slept with, it would be a total loss... well, perhaps not that much of a loss.

Unless she was some kind of crazy bioengineered babe.

After the five black-clad people left, Zhou Yuan ordered another box of stir-fried noodles, but was still very hungry after eating, making him suspect whether he was being too oblivious.

Last night he had faced a life-threatening crisis, killed someone with his own hands today, and encountered those grotesque, disgusting fusion mutants, yet his appetite was unaffected, not even satisfied by two boxes of stir-fried noodles.

"My adaptability is unmatched."

Zhou Yuan tossed the disposable food box, scanning the surrounding shops, looking for something more to eat.

At that moment, a note caught his attention:

"Eating at this restaurant, you might discover something unexpected."

Zhou Yuan looked at the name of the restaurant—West Lake Soup Dumplings.

An unexpected discovery?

Let's see what it's all about.

Driven by curiosity, he walked into the shop.

The shop wasn't large, with only a few tables it was already slightly crowded, Zhou Yuan casually picked a spot to sit down:

"Boss, a basket of soup dumplings, please."

"Sure thing!"

A few minutes later.

A basket of steaming hot soup dumplings was placed before Zhou Yuan.

As he looked at the note that popped up, he fell silent.

"Soup dumplings, a traditional delicacy of East Continent, consists of approximately: 37% flour, 5% auxiliary materials, 5% broth, 3% seasonings, 30% pork, 20% human flesh."