Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After leaving the school, Chen Zeyu slowly traveled down the wide road.
There was a lingering concern in his eyes that he just could not wipe off when he saw the streets filled with traffic.
Everywhere he looked, he saw skyscrapers, winding tunnels, and highways all paved with transparent tiles that made him feel like he was living in a sci-fi movie. The surrounding buildings were all speckless and from time to time, maglev trains would roar past the tracks that seemed to connect to every part of the city, from one edge to another.
“Based on the memory of this body, it should be the year 2043 which means I should be eighteen years old. I must say that I wasn’t expecting Blacklight Biotechnology to develop to such levels…”
Chen Zeyu had the memories from both lifetimes combined in one body. The memory of his other life was drastically different from the current life he led. He remembered growing up in an era marked by destruction and chaos. In that life, “that person” had disappeared and left the people of that world to ruin, trapped in a losing battle with the Consciousness Stealer.
In that life, he managed to take advantage of the artificial intelligence left by “that person” to gain control over Blacklight Biotechnology. Countless people tried to assassinate him so they could seize control of Blacklight Biotechnology, but he was resilient and managed to outlast all of their wretched plots in his life.
When he turned eighteen years old, the AI decided that he was finally worthy, and handed over everything that was left of Blacklight Biotechnology to him.
As a result, a united resistance army powerful enough to put up a respectable fight against the Holy Fusion Empire was born.
With that, he stood at the peak of the world like an emperor of ancient times. He held endless power and was blessed with a limitless lifespan. At that time, he was very confident in his abilities and was deeply convinced that he was powerful enough to take back everything from the Consciousness Stealer. However, after several rounds of battle with the enemy, reality served him a wake-up call and stripped away his hope.
The difference between his empire and the enemy was too drastic. The difference in the size of the army, resources, and the threat of enemy psionicists drove him to a corner. To make matters worse, the Consciousness Stealer was the master behind the Holy Fusion Empire and it could destroy the world if it wanted to.
With all the odds stacked against him, he crumbled. He gave up on the idea of unifying the world and reshaping human civilization. Days and nights were spent indulging in pleasures such as alcohol and women. The management of the city and the ongoing war with the Holy Fusion Empire were left entirely in the hands of the AI since the AI could do a better job than he ever could in that state.
In the blink of an eye, he had wasted four centuries away.
Originally, he thought that he could continue wasting away like that for all of eternity. However, the story of his memory ended abruptly on the final day of that four centuries.
On that fateful night, the b*stard that had disappeared for four centuries suddenly made an appearance.
That person reappeared just as abruptly as when he disappeared.
Chen Zeyu was admittedly horrified when he received news of that person’s return because he knew that person was going to reclaim everything that was once his. Chen Zeyu who had held onto and abused his position for the last four centuries was unwilling to bid farewell to his privileges because he was fearful of what would happen to him after. No matter what, he was not going to let anyone take away what he had!
Therefore, he decided to rebel. After all, the enemy was only one person against his gigantic army.
Needless to say, things ended disastrously for Chen Zeyu. The deceitful AI that had been serving him for four centuries betrayed him without any hesitation when it mattered most. Without barely any resistance, the entirety of Blacklight Biotechnology was yielded to that person’s hands.
Chen Zeyu’s final memory was of himself waiting for his death sentence on the platform, death by hanging. He still remembered how he felt when he stood on the platform, with a rope around his neck. All the hatred in his mind turned into strength, so much strength that he was hardly afraid of death. He spent every instant of the final seconds channeling his anger into spit as he cursed that person with every ounce of his being.
That was the last of his memories in that separate life.
Those four centuries he had led in the other world.
Standing in the middle of the city, the cumulative memory of those four centuries rushed over him and flooded over the eighteen years of memories in this body, this shell. He faced this world like it was a fever dream. Nothing in this world felt welcoming to him because his memory was still fixed at the moment of his execution. This world where he stood now was not one destroyed by the Consciousness Stealer. Taking a sharp contrast from that cursed world, this world sang a song of prosperity and peace for all of mankind!
“Surprise, surprise, Brother. I’m back…”
Chen Zeyu mumbled to himself while he tried to conceal the murderous look in his eyes. He decided that since his empire was overturned by that person in his past life, the story shall be relived the other way round in this world.
“Just you wait, I’ll bide my time in this world. If not a year, then a decade. And if not a decade, then a century. When I have everything I need to take your throne, then I’ll make sure you experience all the pain and suffering I had to endure… Hm? Hold on, what do you want from me?”
While Chen Zeyu was drafting his grand scheme for the next decades or centuries to come, a black car with tinted windows suddenly screeched to a stop in front of him. Immediately after that, four gentlemen wearing suits and sunglasses stepped out of the car and approached him.
Before he could put up any resistance, two of them had grabbed Zeyu by his arms and pressed them hard behind his back. Without a word exchanged between them, he was shoved into the car.
The car departed the scene immediately after.
“What are you guys doing, are you crazy? Do you have any idea who I am?”
The moment Chen Zeyu uttered this sentence, he realized that anything he said now would not have any effect. Now that he had time to take a closer look at these suspicious individuals, he realized that he knew them. They were the secret Black Knights of Blacklight Biotechnology. These mindless zombies did not even have a conscience and all they knew to do was to follow the orders given by the mastermind AI.
He was familiar with them in his past life, the life he led for four centuries.
Since there was no way for him to escape this current predicament, he began strategizing what he should do now.
“Wait, maybe this isn’t what I think it is…”
Cold sweat pooled on his forehead without his noticing. Trapped in this situation with no way out, his mind began to race. “Calm down, calm down! I’ve already died once so how could I let something minor like this faze me? Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with me. Maybe the original Chen Zeyu caused some trouble and is just going to be reprimanded?”
Chen Zeyu rummaged through his mind for a reasonable explanation for what whoever was in charge could want with him. What in the world did he do? Why were the Black Knights here?
Chen Zeyu was brought to the Blacklight Central Building in this state of unrest. They passed through the long winding corridors and entered an elevator without stopping anywhere. Then, they headed for the top floor.
The doors of the elevator opened with a sharp beep and Chen Zeyu was greeted with the sight of an empty office.
The office looked more like a conference room, probably because it was so large since it was an entire floor of the building with all the walls torn down to be purposed as a gigantic office. The floors were surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and Chen Zeyu immediately noticed a man seated on a chair directly on the opposite end of the room. The man on the chair was gazing at the bustling city several hundred meters below.
“Sir Godfather, your brother is here.”
An elegant, well-dressed lady suddenly approached from Chen Zeyu’s side. She announced to the man on the opposite end of the room before turning to look at Chen Zeyu, seemingly sizing her up with several glances. She formed a smile with her eyes and greeted politely, “Hello little Zeyu, it’s been a while hasn’t it?”
“Who are… You?”
Zeyu knew that it was Little X and was about to address her as Little X but quickly stopped himself from doing so. He remembered that this person whom he now resided in had never met Little X before. He could not expose himself carelessly.
The surrounding Black Knights had let go of him by this point. Meanwhile, the figure on the opposite end of the room turned to face the new visitor. Chen Zeyu immediately recognized the man.
Chen Zeyu’s eyes turned into two tiny circles in the middle of sheets of pale irises. The person in front of him looked just like he would four centuries from now in this current timeline. How could the same person possibly not age a single day when he appeared in his past life set in the future…
“Calm down, Chen Zeyu. He won’t know what will happen four centuries from now nor will he know that you’ve traveled from four centuries in the future!”
Chen Zeyu tried to compose himself. He swallowed hard and mustered a hardly convincing smile. “Brother?”
“Zeyu.”
Chen Chen craned his neck to one side and eyed this young man with a scrutinizing look. It would seem that the Chen family genetics was quite strong. When he looked at this little brother of his, it felt like he was winding back the clock and looking at himself from more than twenty years ago. There was certainly a noticeable similarity in both their facial structures.
A well-toned body structure and well-defined facial features. Though it would be too generous to describe him as having a model appearance, he was more than pleasant to look at as is.
“Brother, is there anything you need from me?”
Chen Zeyu enquired again, his voice still quivered slightly.
“There’s something I’ve been wondering for some time.”
Chen Chen spoke in a low voice, “When you were a kid, you’d always cry when you see me. I always thought it’s because I was too intimidating for you but now I realized that wasn’t the case.”
“Brother, what are you talking about? I don’t get it.”
Chen Zeyu looked away from Chen Chen’s pointed gaze, his lips twitched. “Do Mom and Dad know that I’m here? I haven’t seen them in a while so maybe I can visit them…”
“Why would you head back? It’s not the weekend.”
Chen Chen frowned. “Plus, you’re not a child anymore. You’re more than four hundred years old. It’s about time you stop clinging to your parents and live independently.”
“Hmm… Hmm?”
Chen Zeyu shuddered the moment he heard this. He jerked up and looked at Chen Chen. “Brother, what do you mean four hundred years old? I-I’m just eighteen years old!”
Chen Chen could not hold back a soft smile anymore when he heard this. He turned to Little X, who in turn glanced at Chen Zeyu with a look of empathy. “I’m sure you know about the God chip?”
“God chip?”
Chen Zeyu turned pale when Little X mentioned the God chip. “Hold on, when did you insert the God chip in me? When did this happen?”
“A long, long time ago.”
Little X replied, “Before you were a teenager, we’ve already implanted the second generation God chip inside your brain using the teleporter.”
“D*mn it…”
Chen Zeyu’s face turned sickly white. He was aware of the second generation God chip. It was a modified version of the first generation God chip. The improvement of the second generation God chip was that it was implanted in the cortex of the host’s brain instead. In addition to its ability to locate and manipulate the host’s body remotely, it was capable of something far more sophisticated…
Deciphering the consciousness of the host!
The modified second generation God chip could directly collect the host’s nerve signal and translate it into a common language, essentially being used to read the hosts’ minds.
This meant that the moment he entered this body, Little X was already notified of it!
Chen Zeyu was struck with despair when he thought of this. He decided that there was no use beating around the bush anymore and roared menacingly, “You monster, you even implanted the God chip in your brother! Chen Chen, where’s your humanity?”
“Usually, I wouldn’t be bothered with digging into your mind to see what you’re thinking.”
Chen Chen shrugged innocently. “But I’ve learned my lesson since you’ve betrayed my trust once. Under these circumstances, wouldn’t you say that it’s reasonable for me to be cautious and take the initiative?”
“What, what are you saying…”
Chen Zeyu’s heart hit against his chest violently. Any moment now his heart was lunged out of his chest and dropped onto the cold hard tile. It occurred to him what Chen Chen was implying, but he thought it was a ridiculous idea…
“Consciousness Stealer, Joint Resistance Army, Holy Fusion Empire…”
Chen Chen raised several fingers and listed one by one. “I’ve been to the world you came from as well. I was the one who called for your execution…”
Chen Zeyu’s entire body trembled involuntarily when he heard such a claim from Chen Chen. He felt a wave of chill penetrate deep into his bones that made him stumble several paces backward while shaking his head in disbelief. “That’s impossible, that’s impossible… You’re lying!”
Only after taking several steps backward, he bumped into the Black Knights who immediately pressed him to the ground and held him in place.
“Send him down.”
Chen Chen gestured for the Black Knights to take Chen Zeyu who was on the brink of mental collapse away.
After Chen Zeyu was taken away, he continued staring at the elevator with a profound expression.
“This happened almost immediately after you refused the request of those primordial voices in the subspace, the timing is uncanny…”
Little X remarked suspiciously, “You can’t convince me that these two events aren’t interconnected.”
“At least this confirms one of my suspicions.”
Chen Chen answered, “We now know that the Consciousness Stealer is also interconnected with the subspace. I didn’t expect it to pull off something like this. I wonder if this is the work of the subspace.”
“Could you sense any subspace presence on him?”
Little X asked.
“No, but what’s curious is that I do sense a psionic presence in him.”
Chen Chen smirked.
“Psionic?”
Little X was enthused by the idea. People with natural psionic energy sources were like a gold mine waiting for Chen Chen to get their hands on them so further research could be performed on them. There was always something that could be taken from such individuals.
A small part of Little X even felt bad for Chen Zeyu. It would appear that he was going to be thrown into the Spire laboratory and be treated as a live experiment subject for some time.
“First things first, we’ll need to create a clone.”
Chen Chen announced suddenly, “I wouldn’t want my parents to think that their darling children were at each other’s throats. Let’s create a clone to replace him.”
“Leave it to me.”
Little X stated, “I’ll only need three months to develop a fully matured clone using a T-virus infected embryo. Over these three months, I can observe Chen Zeyu’s behavior and replicate them in the clone. Your parents won’t be able to tell the difference.”
Just like that, the fate of Chen Zeyu was decided…