“You really don’t know? So, does that mean the T-virus wasn’t your doing either?”
Ning Yu furrowed her brow, realizing that things were indeed not as she had imagined.
“Some of your and William’s records were hidden in the metadata of the T-virus serum.”
She stated this fact but didn’t explain how she had decrypted it.
Upon hearing this, Lacy was momentarily stunned, then suddenly laughed in relief.
“So that’s how it is. It seems Lord William did some other things as well.”
“Now everything makes sense.”
Ning Yu also stepped closer to her, glancing at the screen beside her.
“Why don’t you elaborate?”
Lacy took a deep breath, the light wings behind her flickering twice before dimming.
She began to speak slowly.
“To bring happiness to all humanity—this has always been Lord William’s dream.”
“He wanted to eradicate sickness, disaster, and the inevitability of aging and death, allowing everyone to continue existing in some form forever.”
“The method he chose was cyberization.”
Lacy raised her arm, the sophistication of her body far surpassing what Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue could have imagined.
The skin on her hand spread apart in perfect arcs, revealing intricate structures beneath—delicate circuits and transistors arranged like stars in the night sky.
Then, all the structures in her hand rearranged themselves, transforming into a small, adorable mechanical rabbit before shifting back to her hand.
“However, in many voluntary human experiments on critically ill patients, cyberization encountered unprecedented failures.”
“It seems humanity is bound by a genetic shackle.”
Hearing this, Ning Yu blurted out:
“51%?”
“Correct.”
Lacy nodded, knowing that Ning Yu must have also obtained this information from the virus metadata.
“Then how were you able to break through this limitation?”
Ning Yu felt puzzled.
“This body of mine once belonged to Lord William’s fiancée.”
“She suffered from an incurable malignant disease. In a moment of utter despair, Lord William attempted the first human cyberization on her.”
“But this cyberization succeeded on the first try.”
“It was also the only successful one.”
Lacy opened her palm, lifting it and gazing at it with an unfamiliar expression.
“She? Aren’t you her?”
Ning Yu seemed to have noticed a detail.
“After the transformation, I completely lost all my previous memories. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m still her.”
“If you replaced a part of your body or some of your memories with something else, would you still be you?”
She murmured, as if lost in thought.
“But based on his gaze and reactions, my rational judgment tells me that Lord William doesn’t believe I’m still her.”
“No matter how much I wish…”
She was about to continue but suddenly stopped, her eyes returning to normal as if some mechanism had triggered a reset.
“Never mind, it’s not important.”
She shook her head, seemingly refocusing on the main topic.
Ning Yu, however, clearly sensed something unusual about Lacy. She recalled a recording in which William had once said to Lacy:
‘You will always be my beloved.’
Was this statement true or false? And who exactly did the ‘you’ refer to? Perhaps only William himself knew.
But judging from the current conversation, it seemed William had indeed…
“To solve the issue of humanity’s genetic shackle, William experimented and created the Utopia serum.”
Lacy pointed to a small vial that appeared on the screen, engraved with the letter “U.” The liquid inside shimmered with a faint, multicolored glow.
“Isn’t this…”
Shen Yiyue had a strong impression of this Mary Sue-like liquid, and Ning Yu also seemed to recall it.
“What you’re seeing now—the phenomenon of zombification—is what occurs when the Utopia experiment fails.”
She clicked on a video on the screen:
Inside a sealed laboratory, a creature that could no longer be called human wandered aimlessly.
Its face contorted grotesquely, its limbs flailing wildly under the shackles, its mouth agape as if trying to bite something.
Yet, it was far less terrifying than the current zombies. At least its skin didn’t have the sickly grayish hue, and its body showed no signs of decay.
“Utopia doesn’t have the horrifying effects of the current T-virus. Its primary purpose was to completely transform the human body to resolve the rejection effects caused by cyberization.”
“The T-virus was Leon’s creation, based on Utopia.”
At the mention of Leon’s name, Lacy’s eyes instantly sharpened, filled with unmistakable hatred and a desire to kill.
“He and Lord William were students of the same teacher, and Leon was the teacher’s biological son.”
“Although both were students, the teacher imparted all his knowledge to Lord William and sent Leon to the Clock Tower Magical Association in the Fog City.”
The screen displayed a man with long black hair, wearing round glasses, his features handsome and gentle—a classic image of a beautiful man.
He stood in front of a massive clock tower, dressed in a black robe, facing the camera with an expressionless face.
This was likely Leon.
“Unfortunately, in this era, magic has long since declined. Leon is the last student of the Clock Tower in Fog City.”
“He is known as the greatest magician of the present age.”
Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue didn’t quite understand what magic was, exchanging confused glances.
“Magic, in essence, refers to artificially created mysteries or miracles that can be achieved with current technology.”
Noticing their expressions, Lacy added an explanation.
“These magicians spend their entire lives pursuing a single goal.”
Hearing this, Ning Yu’s heart skipped a beat.
“Could it be… reaching the Root?”
“Correct.”
Lacy confirmed Ning Yu’s guess.
“It is said that in that place, you and I are one, past and future coexist, and it contains all supreme knowledge and truth.”
“In a way, magicians are also pitiful philosophers. The Root, to them, is like a flame to a moth—irresistibly fatal.”
“If one could reach it, all questions would be answered, all worries and delusions would vanish, and ultimate happiness could be attained.”
“That’s how they describe it.”
Lacy’s tone was filled with disdain for what sounded like a lofty ideal.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
