TN –
Thank you to [SunsettClouds] for the child support. This is the 2nd extra upload out of 10.
“Considering oneself human” is a thought-provoking statement that can spark numerous follow-up questions with just a moment’s contemplation.
Based on the energy fluctuations emanating from Xu Yintang, Qingxiao swiftly formulated n+1 contingency plans to address any potential questions Xu Yintang might raise.
Although Xu Yintang’s expression seemed accepting of the sudden Schrödinger-like racial identity issue, with a gentle demeanor and even a hint of unconscious amusement while pondering with his head tilted, facial expressions in human guise can be misleading; Qingxiao trusted only the energy fluctuations monitored.
…
Alright, the energy fluctuations are very stable.
At present, Xu Yintang’s human guise and mental state are well-matched. When he tilted his head to think, his expression was gentle, with some unconscious smile, and he was not at all tempted to go berserk and jump into the sea of void.
Could this sufficiently prove that environmental factors far outweigh innate origins in shaping life forms? Qingxiao rapidly calculated the possibility of replicating Xu Yintang’s situation and spent about half a second in silent contemplation.
Xu Yintang, in fact, wasn’t particularly surprised to find himself partially stripped of his human status.
After all, juxtaposing the average lifespan and quality of life of patients admitted to hospitals with his own abnormal vitality, from frolicking around and playing hide and seek with attendants to retaining all faculties intact without going mad or foolish, even birthing four offspring of an ancient god…
Hmm, perhaps birthing too many awakened his true self.
After another half-second, Xu Yintang finally abandoned the philosophical pursuit of “who am I” and passed the baton of conversation to Qingxiao, “So, what are you then?”
As he spoke, he attempted to create something to sit on with his tentacles. Yes, they were part of him, but as long as the subjective self remained in the human guise he wore, sitting on his tentacles could be rounded up to sitting down.
[You catch on quickly.] Qingxiao praised, deflecting the question about their identity.
In their view, Xu Yintang gradually transformed into an irregular existence flowing between different layers of reality, with the subject shifting with his evolving self-identification. Just like his offspring could freely navigate between dreamscapes, shadows, virtual realms, and reality, this was the inherent ability of their kind.
The only difference lay in Xu Yintang’s origins, devoid of the meddling of Daeis, as a bound external part of the family. This influence was minimal compared to the fluidity he exhibited, even more so than his offspring.
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.
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“It’s actually not bad,” Xu Yintang said, settling into the chair conjured by his tentacles, adjusting the cushion’s softness and the backrest’s angle based on the actual seating sensation.
Compared to dealing with the moonlight that Daeis controlled, which hardly ever listened to his commands, his tentacles were downright obedient and convenient.
Xu Yintang didn’t press further on Qingxiao’s unanswered “Who are you” and instead politely made a new request: “I haven’t opened my system backpack. Could you help me get a cup of cola? It’s in the third compartment.”
[…]
After a moment of silence, a large cup of KFC-branded cola appeared in front of Xu Yintang.
Qingxiao even thoughtfully provided him with a straw, and the carbonated beverage, chilled with ice, exuded a more enticing allure than happiness itself.
“Thank you,” Xu Yintang said as he inserted the straw into the cola. The sound of ice clinking against the paper cup, coupled with the sensation of sweet bubbles rushing through his mouth, caused his lips to involuntarily curl up, his tone light and cheerful as he shifted the topic.
“The cola from fast food joints always tastes a bit better.”
Currently, his backpack was stocked with one-third bottles of cola and two-thirds of KFC’s large cups of cola.
[Because they’re fresh, the carbonation is stronger.] Qingxiao responded.
Then, they decided to confront the elephant in the room, or rather, the topic returned to Xu Yintang’s initial question—what Qingxiao wanted to discuss with him, which was somewhat related to this question.
[You can understand these myriad realms as a type of organism. Each world, whether it’s the one you’re in, a parallel world or any other kind of world, collectively maintains the health of this organism.]
Qingxiao tried to explain in terms that Xu Yintang could understand.
[The sea of void is the ultimate destination for the wreckage of destroyed or distorted worlds, a conglomerate of cancer cells, viruses, bacteria, and the like. Its existence itself pollutes normal worlds and ultimately leads them to destruction. And I am… well, my function leans more towards being an immune system. Players like you are the immune cells I’ve selected.]
The selection principle involves being infected by “viruses” (mostly manifesting as encountering supernatural events) and surviving successfully, being physically healthy, and possessing sufficient reasoning ability, natural adaptability, and immunity.
The game is Qingxiao’s experiment to see what form is the easiest for these selected “immune cells” to accept and adapt to, particularly suitable for tasks that require quick elimination of viruses.
[As for rebuilding, that’s another matter.]
—Xu Yintang thought of Long Hao in the village instance.
“Dream Life?”
[Well… that’s one of them, and there are other types depending on the specific reconstruction needs. Dream Life and Nightmare Time are independent game systems. But if you complete the system task of ‘exploring new games,’ they can be merged to upgrade the system and share data resources.]
As Xu Yintang adjusted his posture with his tentacles, he displayed appropriate surprise—it’s not that his emotional feedback wasn’t sensitive, but hearing something so deeply rooted in the essence of the world made it difficult to have too excited emotions. However, through Shi Yuebai’s training, he somewhat understood that he needed to make some responses at this moment.
“Ah,” he managed to express some genuine emotion, “that’s indeed something I hadn’t considered.”
“I thought they were antagonistic systems.”
—Qing Xiao felt that his emotions were more human than Xu Yintang’s.
After all, Qingxiao was originally human, but Xu Yintang was not.
Oops, the theory that environmental factors have a greater impact on life forms than innate origins has been usurped.
Qingxiao had to momentarily align with Xu Yintang’s mindset again and explained, “Saying they’re antagonistic is not a problem. Ultimately, only one system can occupy the dominant position.”
“You don’t oppose them consuming each other?” Xu Yintang inquired.
[No, I hope to facilitate that. I hope that some game systems can eventually merge into one, giving birth to a truly meaningful ‘main system.’ That’s why I’ve made them all independent games.]
Otherwise, with Qingxiao’s computational capacity, managing several thousand games simultaneously would be more than manageable.
Xu Yintang pondered but couldn’t grasp the significance of this approach. “Why?”
[For retirement.]
It wasn’t Xu Yintang’s imagination; a shadow of resentment suddenly crept over Qingxiao’s bright light.
[I just seek enlightenment. It’s indeed fine to die after hearing the Way, but I don’t want to be so entrenched in the heavenly path that I can’t even be human anymore. I’m very satisfied with my original race.]
Seeing that Xu Yintang still didn’t understand, Qingxiao provided a straightforward analogy: [It’s like you only enjoy drinking cola, but you don’t want to become cola.]
Xu Yintang understood.
He looked at Qingxiao in front of him, or rather, the cola in front of him, with a hint of pity in his eyes, and said after a moment, “Sending some butterflies parasitized by Sanhua to that world again should complete the mission.”
Qingxiao’s light flickered a few times, and the shadow of resentment was engulfed by the cheerful light. Several points of fragmented light separated from the large light cluster and were placed into the empty cola cup by Xu Yintang.
[The ability of game fusion can radiate to more parallel worlds. Many worlds may not necessarily be dangerous… just like this world, not particularly difficult but severely polluted. It will have a reaction to your presence and your offspring, and similar worlds will increase. Because your origin is from the sea of void, those worlds will instinctively gravitate towards you, wanting you to return to your source.]
[Feeding some of these to your offspring and yourself can conceal your presence. As long as you don’t jump back into the sea of void, you won’t be targeted.]
[They might not taste very good though…]
Qingxiao’s light shimmered, adding a patch of rigor, [But Fourth Joy will probably enjoy them.]
For offspring constructing their own small worlds, the taste of rules was as natural as breathing. Unless completely void, even in the chaos of the sea of void, rules were an indispensable part.
Author’s note –
Mother Xu Yingtang: Babies, it’s time for your medicine! [takes out a light sphere]
Working hard to create the background of the world.
Trying to come up with a plausible reason for the emergence of the game. [distant gaze]
Love how the author is developing the wider world
Humm, interesting to see why the Games came into being.
I didn’t get all that 😥
Thank you for your translation 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛