My dream connects to three thousand years later.

Chapter 482 Goodbye Z, Nuwa! God's surname is... Su?

Chu Zhu opened her eyes, scanning the surrounding mechanical-style base, a strange glint in her eyes: "Z, are you there?"

Chu Zhu could feel that he had entered a special state from the Matrix timeline. That is, he could return to the real world immediately if he wanted to—which meant that he was still asleep.

A brief silence.

Strands of light coalesced, eventually transforming into a beautiful woman before Chu Zhu. Her skin was as smooth as jade, her black hair cascaded to her waist, her amber eyes were serene, and although her face was exquisite, Chu Zhu inexplicably had a sense of déjà vu.

"...Z?" Chu Zhu's voice carried a hint of uncertainty.

“Father, it’s me!” Z said earnestly, “You should have ‘returned’ now, right?”

Although it was a question, the tone was very certain.

"It seems you've been waiting for this day for a long time!" Chu Zhu nodded slightly. With just one sentence, he realized a great deal. It was clear that Z was indeed his pet; with just a raised eyebrow, Chu Zhu could inexplicably understand many of the other's thoughts. However, at the same time, Chu Zhu was still subconsciously trying to recall where he had seen Z's face before…

Then, he heard Z say somewhat speechlessly, "Father, don't think about it... My face should look somewhat similar to yours! By the way, I didn't read your memories... It's just that your expression is too easy to understand right now."

"!!!" Chu Zhu's eye twitched, unsure of what expression to make. Okay, so she really is a daughter now... Taking a deep breath, Chu Zhu said sternly, "You should know my purpose, right?"

“Yes! I know… Strictly speaking, I know part of it!” Z extended his palm to Chu Zhu. After a brief silence, Chu Zhu gripped Z’s palm tightly.

Then, the surrounding environment changed abruptly.

This is certainly not teleportation, because the virtual world we are in right now is completely controlled by Z.

"This is!" Chu Zhu stared at the enormous building in front of him, a strange look on his face. He had seen this building more than once... It was the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

"Your Majesty Nuwa is among them!" Z's voice was gentle. "There are some things I'm not clear about... but Your Majesty Nuwa should be able to explain! To avoid having to come back to her halfway through... let's come from the beginning!"

Chu Zhu gave Z a deep look, but said nothing more. She simply followed closely behind Z...

The gates of the virtual Imperial Ancestral Temple opened naturally.

then……

"...This!" Upon seeing the interior, Chu Zhu's expression changed drastically. Because the interior of the Imperial Ancestral Temple was completely different from the one he had forcibly entered when he ascended the throne.

"...You...have some nostalgia?" Z asked thoughtfully.

“Indeed!” Chu Zhu released Z’s hand, looked around, walked to the bar counter, sat down, and suddenly chuckled, his expression becoming extremely complicated, because at this moment, the interior of the Imperial Ancestral Temple was exactly what the interior of the Memory Domain looked like.

He wasn't sure if the realm of his life's memories had been moved to the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the capital, or if it was just a coincidence...

"Nuwa, what explanation do you have for this?" Chu Zhu raised his head and stared at the woman who had appeared in front of him at some point and whose face was quite similar to Lin Xinzhu's.

She seemed to have appeared just moments ago, yet she also seemed to have always been there... Nuwa was quiet and gentle, and poured Chu Zhu a glass of... milk?
“After all, you are still quite young in this world! You're not old enough to drink.” Nuwa smiled slightly. “So, Secretary-General, please.”

Another Secretary-General? Chu Zhu's mind raced. This meant that he had once again established a global government on this timeline... but he didn't know... no, since he had entered the Matrix timeline, the chances of the entire human civilization surviving were not high.

"...You should know that's not what I'm asking!"

Chu Zhu's gaze gradually sharpened. "And I'm very curious about the situation outside... Why did the timeline inexplicably jump to this one! Was it intentional on 'my' part, or an accident, or perhaps..."

"This is your choice!" Nuwa and Z exchanged a glance, her voice as always: "Ultimately, we simply did what you wanted us to do at certain crucial junctures in time! And then, during this period of time... we answered the questions you needed us to answer, nothing more!"

"Furthermore, don't assume we know everything, or that you have a clear understanding of everything... You've told us a lot! But you've also forbidden us from knowing many things... or only allowed us, within this timeframe, to learn some truths through you, to hear your questions, and to provide explanations!"

Chu Zhu was taken aback. This was quite a riddle, but after a moment of thought, his expression changed drastically: "...I see!"

Chu Zhu silently sensed the change and was astonished to discover that his accumulated memories had increased by one-thousandth in just a few breaths.

His first reaction was naturally incomprehension, but after calming down and thinking carefully, Chu Zhu gradually began to understand.

Nuwa and Z are both deities!

The memories gained from spending time with them were far more significant than those from interacting with Ao Liwen and that group of silly dragons. This was truly achieving twice the result with half the effort!
Considering this, his good friend probably deliberately gave him this opportunity... so that he could become stronger in the shortest amount of time?

"What is my destiny for the fourth and fifth realms?" Chu Zhu asked abruptly. At the current rate and efficiency, it's highly likely that he can gather the necessary foundation for a breakthrough within two to three days.

“Go and remember a war that determined the fate of the world!” Nuwa said softly. She paused slightly, a wry smile appearing on her beautiful face. “However, I personally think you don’t need to worry too much about this… because you should be able to see and remember it very soon after you return!”

"?!" After a brief moment of stunned silence, Chu Zhu reacted, his heart churning with immense shock. He realized that the changes in the real world were far more significant and severe than he had previously imagined: "Tell me exactly what happened!"

“No,” Nuwa shook her head, “This is your suggestion from the future, I won’t tell you… or rather, what you know now is enough! Knowing more would be detrimental, or it might even ruin the opportunity for your breakthrough…”

Chu Zhu gave Nuwa a deep look, but said nothing more: "Anything else? Wait a moment!"

Chu Zhu suddenly woke up, her voice urgent: "Does the Heavenly Court and God still exist in this world?"

“Of course they exist!” Z picked up the conversation, her eyes flickering. “Of course, I can’t actually describe their appearance, condition, physique, name, origin, and many other related information…”

“However, I can tell you that besides our current illusory world, there is actually a Great Qian Empire outside… If you ‘wake up’ now, you should be able to enter!”

"???" Chu Zhu was shocked. After sorting through her thoughts for a while, she gasped, "In other words, this time we're actually taking two different routes?"

One possibility is that the virtual worlds constructed by artificial intelligence are part of a plan for the survival of humanity! Or rather, it was Z's doing...

The other possibility is that the artificial intelligence Nuwa created the continuation of humanity in the real world… and established the Great Qian Empire. This… Chu Zhu didn't know what expression to make for himself. He turned to look at Z, his expression subtly complex…

“Yes!” Nuwa said cautiously. She suddenly fell silent, her face showing struggle and hesitation. She stared at Chu Zhu for a long while before finally making up her mind. She gritted her teeth and suddenly said, “As for the situation of God… well, what do you think is the origin of the surname of the Great Qian Dynasty?”

"?" Chu Zhu looked at Nuwa strangely. What's the deal with this? Didn't they say it's a branch derived from the Chu surname? What does this have to do with God? Why is this suddenly being brought up...?!
Chu Zhu's brows furrowed, a tidal wave of emotions surging within him: "You mean, God's surname is actually..."

Nuwa's pupils contracted, and she instantly made a shushing gesture. However, visible to the naked eye, a black mark appeared on her fair, jade-like arm at that moment. Her beautiful face twitched slightly, but she said nothing, only staring intently at Chu Zhu with a serious expression.

"...You!" Chu Zhu's breath hitched for a moment, a series of guesses flashing through his mind. He nodded, expressionless, and said, "I understand! Then let's talk about something else..."

"It's wonderful that you understand!" Nuwa breathed a sigh of relief, then tapped her brow. "Also, it's best if you think about this information again after you get back... because in your time, there were no such pollution problems, but in this era..."

"...You're too late!" Chu Zhu's lips twitched, because the moment he heard Nuwa's words, he seriously considered the people with the surname Su around him... and then he thought of Su Mobai.

Could it be you? Chu Zhu pursed his lips, glanced at Nuwa whose expression had changed drastically, but after looking at him twice and finding that everything was normal, he breathed a sigh of relief and denied the guess!
After all, given Nuwa's current situation... simply revealing information, even just indirectly revealing a surname, has resulted in such a terrifying attack from afar!

If it really is Su Mobai... I'm afraid that by the time he thought about it, he would already be dead!
but.

"Never mind!" Chu Zhu sighed, deciding that after returning, she would still carefully investigate Su Mobai's situation.

After all, this was the only person with the surname Su around him!

"By the way, if I remember correctly... God seems to be from Northeast China? Hmm..."

After careful consideration, Chu Zhu still felt a lingering fear. Even a deity like Nuwa, who was only indirectly involved, suffered such a terrifying blow...

Just how powerful is God?
And the root cause of this pollution that causes the mere mention of her name to result in... just how incredibly powerful and terrifying is it?!
Chu Zhu pinched the bridge of her nose and suddenly said, "Alright... now you can let me out! By the way, what's the situation outside... if it's still the Great Qian Dynasty outside, is Su Bo still the emperor?"

"Yes."

"...Wait a minute," Chu Zhu suddenly realized something was wrong and turned to look at Z with a start: "If that's the case, then what kind of system is this world...? And who is the leader?!"

Z stared at Chu Zhu expressionlessly, her eyes flickering slightly, as if a thousand thoughts were swirling within them. She pursed her lips and finally said, "Father, you may have misunderstood something!"

"?"

"Strictly speaking, the virtual world I live in... is actually a real institution for the continuation of humanity!"

"..." Chu Zhu suddenly had a terrifying guess.

“That’s how it is!” Z spread his palms: “The current virtual world, strictly speaking, is a stagnant human federal government... The area of ​​this virtual world is roughly equivalent to the area of ​​the entire solar system! The population hidden inside is as high as two billion.”

"Currently, the leader of the Virtual World Federation government... is Uncle Lin Xia! More accurately, his clone..."

Chu Zhu: "..."

Chu Zhu wanted to laugh, but couldn't.

Is this considered as two lines, one overt and one covert?
A human federation in a virtual world that has been stagnant for thousands of years!
"...Is it because people are still confused and curious about this Human Federation that technology hasn't progressed for so long?" Chu Zhu asked rhetorically.

"Just as you thought!" Nuwa replied.

Chu Zhu let out a soft breath, closed her eyes, and remained silent for a long, long time. She had roughly pieced together the situation… In other words, although humanity had still perished this time, or rather, only superficially perished, they had actually chosen to use virtual reality… to build a virtual civilization! This virtual civilization had continued for thousands of years… thus ensuring that human civilization had never ceased in the virtual world!
On the other hand, thousands of years later on the earth... Nuwa initiated the plan for the continuation of humanity, building yet another... human civilization! It may have also involved the factor of God, and it has continued to expand until it became the Great Qian Empire!
Chu Zhu was actually a little curious as to why they didn't simply place this virtual united world into the real world after surviving the great catastrophe, instead of choosing to restart it from scratch... However...

"I have a question!" Compared to this, Chu Zhu was more curious about something else.

Why are you all acting so normally right now?

Nuwa: "???"

Z: "...?"

A look of confusion appeared on the faces of both AIs.

"Well, what I'm saying might sound a bit strange, but in my understanding..." Chu Zhu paused, organized his thoughts, and began to explain earnestly. He recounted the events he'd encountered in previous timelines, Z... Nuwa...

In the previous timelines, even if he survived to reach the timeline of the dream world he inhabited… he would be half-dead, terribly polluted. He couldn't see them even if he wanted to! Or rather, seeing them would come at a great cost…

but now……

The two of them are terrifyingly normal!
Yes, although when Nuwa revealed God's surname to him... she suffered a devastating attack from the heavens, her body terribly contaminated. However, this contamination was clearly not fatal...

Unlike the Nuwa he had seen before, who, even when able to communicate, was in extremely poor condition and would even start to go crazy while talking... and began to lose control!

At that moment, the scene remained silent for a very long time.

Chu Zhu: "...?"

Chu Zhu sensed that the atmosphere was off, and her expression turned serious: "Can't you explain? If it's like this... you don't have to say it!"

"...It does touch on some past issues that we'd rather not discuss! We've roughly guessed the answer..." Z said with a wry smile, "If it were anyone else, they certainly wouldn't want to, but it's you after all!"

"Hmm!" Nuwa pursed her lips, considered for a moment, and then said with difficulty, "That situation... is most likely because the 'us' from those timelines you knew before were too close to that Heavenly God, right?"

(End of this chapter)