After Teacher Ren finished speaking, he directly pulled Zhao Zilong away. Because of what he said, no one stopped him from leaving this time. However, the students and tourists who were originally excitedly watching the heroes venture into the black hole suddenly felt everything becoming dull. It was like thinking you were eating fresh, lively lobster, praising its deliciousness, only to be told suddenly that it wasn’t natural lobster but artificial lobster meat inside a lobster shell. That feeling of being unable to swallow or spit out was quite terrible.
So, on this day, the usually bustling college square suddenly became deserted. After someone inquired about the reason, this news became the headline on the Star Network by dinnertime.
Meanwhile, Teacher Ren had already finished today’s ideological and academic education for Zhao Zilong and was having dinner with Yi Xiao.
“Can you stop being so picky? Isn’t that just dragon chives? Do you know how expensive these dragon chives are? Half of the dish contains dragon chives, and you’ve picked them all out,” the speaking young man had a very displeased expression. He had long, sharp eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips, giving him an aggressive aura. However, because his features were very handsome, this aggression didn’t repel people. Instead, it made them subconsciously feel inferior in his presence. In short, he had the aura of a handsome and domineering CEO.
And if such a handsome and domineering young man also had a perfect body and tall stature, he would basically be a remarkable heartthrob. When such a handsome seventeen-year-old tells you not to be picky, you should be sensible enough to earnestly promise not to be picky anymore.
Unfortunately, sitting across from him was another type of heartthrob teenager. Completely ignoring his aura, he seemed to have a counteracting effect.
Teacher Ren lifted his head with annoyance, conveying his disdain through his eyes. Yi Xiao, seeing this expression, changed the subject immediately: “Alright, if you don’t want to eat, don’t waste it. Just give it all to me.”
Then, the domineering young man directly picked up the plate and transferred all the dragon chives that the teenager had picked out into his own bowl.
Someone came over wanting to report the latest headline news, but ended up being surrounded by Zack and his friends, who were feeding off each other’s energy: “…”
“Although I’ve gotten used to it by now, every time I see our originally devilish boss, who used to send people to heaven with a single word, turns out to be a henpecked husband, I feel like there’s still true love in this world.”
“It’s not that there’s still true love in the world, but rather it’s the law of the jungle where only the fittest survive. Like our boss, there’s someone for everyone. I’m sure he’ll find a good wife like the boss’s wife, who’ll never leave him no matter what, even if he goes crazy. In fact, he’s probably saved the world in his previous life.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Well, if you put it that way, it’s not entirely wrong. Our boss’s father and grandfather and ancestors were all heroes who saved the world, right? He’s actually destined for this, but his brain suddenly went bad. Otherwise, he would have gone to participate in the Abyss Black Hole King Challenge held by the Grand Commander this year, right?”
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Yi Xiao and Ren Zhu had already noticed them. Yi Xiao continued to eat dragon chives, silently asking Zack what was up. His underlings usually wouldn’t report to him during meals, as it was too obvious and could easily earn them a beating.
Zack activated the terminal on his wrist, displaying a laser screen in front of everyone. At this moment, the screen was scrolling with a line of red text, and because more people were watching and clicking, the text became even redder and larger. This was the tasteless humor of headlines. However, if this headline had nothing to do with them, that would be even better.
“The Federal’s youngest mental power genius asserts: Super Abyss Black Hole Simulation is superficial, are the so-called Abyss Heroes just superficial?”
Ren Zhu looked at the headline and his eyelid twitched. Someone was deliberately trying to escalate the conflict. In recent years, no matter what he did, he always ended up in the headlines, as if the entire federation was especially focused on him. Just two days ago, because he had dinner with Yi Xiao at the Wisdom Star Hotel, it was exposed as “The Federal’s youngest mental power genius and the mental power waste have confirmed their romantic relationship”. This was simply absurd! Clearly, he hadn’t even confirmed a romantic relationship with Yi Xiao yet!
“Heh, so what? This is quite right. I don’t see anything wrong with it at all. Why are you showing me this?” Yi Xiao was almost eighteen now. However, his Chuunibyou syndrome hadn’t been cured along with his brain damage, and everyone had already gotten used to it.
“Although we all know this is true, the admirers of those heroes don’t see it that way. Right now, many people are cursing Little Zhu, saying he only knows how to talk big without putting in any effort himself. Even though he’s a mental power genius at level S, he’s not qualified to criticize their idols. After all, their idols actually dare to participate in the simulation of the Abyss Black Hole, but he doesn’t dare.”
“Are they idiots?! Ren Zhu doesn’t even know how to pilot a mech! And his physical condition is only at D level! He can’t even withstand the lowest driving intensity. Are those people’s brains broken?!” Yi Xiao didn’t mind when others talked about himself, but if anyone dared to say something wrong about his little bamboo, he would crush them with one foot.
Watching Yi Xiao’s outburst, Ren Zhu shrugged, “So what? People have to take responsibility for what they say. So, while they may have exaggerated my words, I did mean it. Let’s not worry about it. The Grand Commander won’t let this news dominate the headlines for too long. After all, there are more and more people thinking with their brains these days, not just acting impulsively. If he doesn’t want people’s determination to waver, he’ll have to announce other news soon.”
Wen Quan nodded beside him, “Almost all the comments in the Wisdom Alliance are mocking those brain-dead fans. Several masters have analyzed the feelings and emotions of their students after they entered the simulated Abyss Black Hole. Many masters feel that the simulations in these virtual places are not comprehensive.” By the way, Wen Quan is currently recognized as a counselor within the Education Alliance, but his rank and strength are not as outstanding as Ren Zhu’s.
With Wen Quan’s words, Ren Zhu opened the terminal on his wrist and browsed the internal system of the Education Alliance. Sure enough, he saw the discussions of those masters mentioned by Wen Quan, as well as messages from many friends within the alliance.
“So, in a few days, we should be able to see the Grand Commander’s announcement.”
Ren Zhu’s words were confirmed three days later. At that time, people across the federation were arguing over whether the Abyss Simulation Field could fully simulate the Abyss Black Hole. Some believed Ren Zhu was right, arguing that no matter how accurate the simulation was, who knew if there were other problems inside? But more people believed that since the Federation had already stated it was a 100% complete simulation, it must be accurate. Moreover, those heroes were all very powerful and experienced individuals, and their efforts should not be disregarded.
At this time, the Federal Grand Commander directly issued a command on the Star Network:
“To inform all citizens of the Federation, in ten days, the Federation will gather and summon Federal heroes who have achieved Silver Hero or above in the Abyss Simulation Field over the past five years to gather at the Federal Abyss Defense Satellite. Twenty days later, the channel leading to the Abyss Black Hole will officially open. I, on behalf of the Federal Government, express our determination to conquer the Abyss Black Hole. I believe our heroes will not let us down! So long, Abyss Defense Satellite.”
With this command, people across the federation began to celebrate. They felt that since the Grand Commander dared to open the channel that had been sealed for five hundred years, defeating it was only a matter of time! Except for a few people who were still observing, most people believed that victory was only a matter of time.
While the whole nation was celebrating, the communication terminal in Ren Zhu’s hand began to flash wildly.
Ren Zhu opened the terminal, and a young man wearing glasses, who looked very much like an otaku, appeared in the air. Seeing him, Ren Zhu raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
The otaku pushed up his high-tech multifunctional glasses, looking very solemn, even a bit crazy, “Just now, there was a major movement in the Abyss Black Hole under my surveillance.”
Ren Zhu instantly narrowed his eyes, and Yi Xiao, who had brought out two cups of coffee from the kitchen upon hearing the news, quickly sat down next to Ren Zhu, “What major movement?”
The otaku glanced disdainfully at Yi Xiao, then turned around. Suddenly, a fluctuating and very simple pixelated image appeared on the laser screen in the air. It looked like a messy circle that even a two-year-old could draw, but the otaku’s expression was one of excitement, confusion, and excitement:
“This! The Abyss Black Hole is experiencing intense fluctuations. Its size is constantly changing, and this is the first time in ten years of monitoring the Abyss Black Hole that I have discovered such a significant fluctuation. And the reason for this fluctuation, I can’t find it at all! This is definitely an opportunity, an opportunity to defeat the Abyss Black Hole!!”
Ren Zhu and Yi Xiao were surprised to find that the irregular prototype of this fluctuation, which was sometimes large and sometimes small, was actually a two-dimensional drawing of the Abyss Black Hole. They never expected the Abyss Black Hole to have such significant fluctuations. Yi Xiao spoke directly, “Are there no people around the Abyss Black Hole right now?”
The otaku nodded excitedly, “Absolutely no one around. Even the channel hasn’t opened yet, and there are no anomalies in the guards and barriers around it. But even so, the Abyss Black Hole is shrinking! Although it’s been fluctuating in size, I’ve observed over the past five years that it has indeed been shrinking. It’s strange. What could be the reason?”
Ren Zhu thought for a moment, then after a while, a subtle expression appeared on his face as he slowly spoke, “Generally speaking, the methods we know of to weaken or destroy the Abyss Black Hole involve entering it, like Yi Xiao’s father and grandfather did, finding the dark matter inside, and then using one’s body to fill the huge hole. So, Federation researchers believe that only self-detonation of spiritual power or high-intensity bodily detonation can destroy the black hole, or finding the dark matter from within and destroying the black hole.”
“But, over the past five years, you’ve observed the Abyss Black Hole shrinking somewhat. And just now, after the Grand Commander issued the command, the Abyss Black Hole experienced intense fluctuations and changes, but overall, it’s still shrinking?”
The otaku nodded, “You summed it up very well! Ah, with the Abyss Black Hole experiencing such a major event, the Federal Research Institute has also noticed.” Obviously, this guy not only monitored the Abyss Black Hole, but also took the opportunity to monitor the Federal Research Institute.
Yi Xiao frowned, “So? Is the Abyss Black Hole related to the Grand Commander? Five years… or is it related to the virtual black hole?”
Ren Zhu took a sip of starry beverage and slowly spoke, “Perhaps we can think from another angle. In fact, this seems to be a very obvious clue—five years ago, the black hole was continuously expanding, within the past five years it has slightly decreased; after the Grand Commander issued the order, the black hole underwent intense fluctuations, but overall it’s still shrinking. All of this is related to people.”
“People?”
Both the otaku and Yi Xiao were slightly stunned, then they both exclaimed, “It’s human consciousness!!”
Ren Zhu showed a somewhat unpleasant smile, “Congratulations, I think that’s the right answer. But… this is the most annoying answer among all the possibilities we’ve considered.”
“Because human consciousness or thought is the most uncontrollable existence.”
Thank you for the chapter