Chapter 90
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Chapter 90:
After Gu Chenxin arrived, Liang Yongyuan had to be very careful when talking to Li Chunzhou, trying to avoid others. But after a while, people started to notice.
In the palace, for the past month, people have been summoned secretly to the Star-Picking Pavilion to perform rituals against evil spirits. Rumors were vague, saying that the emperor had encountered a ghost. Gu Chenxin initially didn’t take it seriously, but seeing Liang Yongyuan’s behavior made him suspicious, even thinking that Liang Yongyuan might be possessed by some evil spirit.
Gu Chenxin stared at the direction Liang Yongyuan had just looked, furrowing his brows, and asked Liang Yongyuan, "Who were you talking to?"
Liang Yongyuan stuttered and couldn’t articulate full sentences, looking very flustered.
Li Chunzhou patted his head, signaling for Liang Yongyuan not to be afraid. She could now materialize her whole body, but chose to appear semi-transparent in front of Gu Chenxin.
As soon as Gu Chenxin saw her, he jumped in surprise, instinctively pulling Liang Yongyuan’s hand and stepping back a few paces, sternly asking Li Chunzhou, "Who are you? Where do you come from?!"
Recalling her first meeting with Prime Minister Gu, Li Chunzhou smiled and, looking at the slightly naive young boy in front of her, took a few steps forward at a steady pace. Gu Chenxin stopped retreating, just positioning Liang Yongyuan behind him, watching Li Chunzhou vigilantly.
Standing in front of Gu Chenxin, Li Chunzhou raised her eyebrows, leaned slightly forward, almost by Gu Chenxin’s ear, and softly said, "Of course, from when ‘the building is about to fall’."
After saying this, she looked at him with a smile. Liang Yongyuan thought they were about to argue, quickly ran out from behind Gu Chenxin, arms outstretched between Li Chunzhou and Gu Chenxin in a protective stance, explaining to Gu Chenxin, "Lady Chun… Lady Chun is really not a bad person!"
Gu Chenxin watched as Liang Yongyuan’s behavior turned his elbows outward, not saying anything in response, only furrowing his brow as he pondered Li Chunzhou’s earlier words, wondering if they were about Daliang’s future.
Li Chunzhou waited for him to perhaps believe or not believe something to himself, but Gu Chenxin simply looked away, pretending as if he hadn’t seen her at all, leading Liang Yongyuan away. Li Chunzhou overheard him quietly advising Liang Yongyuan not to show in front of others that he could see what "Lady Chun" is.
Li Chunzhou raised an eyebrow, knowing that he was trying to avoid the truth. She was not worried, as she believed that eventually, Gu Chenxin would have to "see" her.
Starting from that day, Gu Chenxin would bring something to ward off evil spirits with him every time he entered the palace, sometimes it was a jade ornament believed to protect against evil, sometimes it was an upside-down broom. Li Chunzhou even had talismans placed on her by him, and salt thrown around.
Li Chunzhou was initially surprised, but now she just found it amusing.
Gu Chenxin’s attitude towards Li Chunzhou was also somewhat complicated. The details she revealed while chatting with Liang Yongyuan were enough to prove that she indeed knew about the future, but Gu Chenxin was still unwilling to believe. He was not sure why he was like this, could it be due to his aversion to supernatural activities? Or was it because deep down he was unwilling to believe in the downfall of Daliang?
When Li Chunzhou discussed the decaying court and corrupt officials, there was a hint of disgust in her expression, but more often she exuded a near-apathetic calmness, as if she knew that human nature was destined not to change, and therefore saw no need to change it. Hence, her emotions remained hidden and she never showed cynicism.
It was because she didn’t care that Li Chunzhou often gave off a gentle vibe that was quite appealing, as she always managed relationships delicately and didn’t embarrass anyone. Describing her as calm might not be entirely accurate; using terms like emotionally detached or having no ups and downs might be more precise. She seemed to lack emotions like joy, anger, sorrow or happiness, even if someone deliberately tried to provoke her, Li Chunzhou probably wouldn’t get angry. In general, she seemed quite indifferent, and sometimes when Gu Chenxin looked at her, he felt she didn’t seem quite like a "person."
He didn’t want to believe in everything Li Chunzhou described about the future because he was still young, full of ambitions, and believed that he could change history with his own abilities or with a group of people.
But whether Gu Chenxin admits it or not, the days kept passing by, and the wheel of history rolled into the next year – 609 AD in Daliang.
After Li Chunzhou had been here for a year, she finally grew tired of the unchanging scenes in the palace. Long ago, she did not allow Li Zhexuan to consume consciousnesses other than players, or souls, but since coming here, because time does not flow back and there is no reincarnation, eating these consciousnesses had no effect, so she no longer restricted his diet.
Every day in this world, humans pass away. Even though the energy carried by the consciousness of ordinary people is not as much as players, the advantage lies in their large numbers. After a year, although the energy Li Zhexuan collected was far from enough to allow two people to travel through time and space together, he could now transform from a cat to a human. Yet, Li Zhexuan still chose to be a cat.
Since the scope of activities was no longer restricted as before, Li Chunzhou planned to take Li Zhexuan out of the palace to see how different Shengjing was thirty-nine years ago and in the future.
When Liang Yongyuan heard that she was leaving, he hesitated without saying anything. He seemed a bit sad, but he did not express his sadness to Li Chunzhou, just kept his head down with red eyes.
Having spent so much time with him, Li Chunzhou immediately understood Liang Yongyuan’s hesitation. Although Ahu was indeed not very straightforward, he listened to advice, was easy to talk to, and could be molded like soft dough. Li Chunzhou could also differentiate between basic kindness. Li Chunzhou’s efforts would be reciprocated, so she still quite liked him.
Li Chunzhou leaned down, her usually smiling face showing no ripples, gazing directly into Liang Yongyuan’s eyes, and softly said, "Ahu, don’t be afraid. I’m not leaving you, just going out for a stroll."
Upon hearing the words "going out," Jian Hou jumped down from the tree and followed beside Li Chunzhou, neither too close nor too far.
The palace was actually quite a distance away from the east and west cities, but Li Chunzhou currently felt no fatigue or pain, so she was willing to walk slowly. As she walked, she observed the bustling crowds around her and suddenly asked Jian Hou on the ground, "What is your daily life like? Is it very different from ours?"
Jian Hou looked puzzled for a moment, then carefully replied, "The biggest difference between our species and yours lies in how we use information, leaving aside the level of civilization development."
"…How we use information?" Li Chunzhou repeated his words.
Jian Hou took quick steps to catch up with Li Chunzhou and explained, "For a civilization to grow, it must pass on accumulated information, and the differences in how information is stored, transmitted, and processed are what distinguish civilizations."
Li Chunzhou rubbed her chin, "Explain further?"
[For example, take humans like you. You have various ways to pass on information, including genes, but the main one is language. Through language, whether spoken or written, you pass knowledge from one generation to the next. Though it may not seem sophisticated to us, it is far more advanced than any other species on this planet.]
Seeing him struggle to type while walking, Li Chunzhou lifted him off the ground and held him against her arm, making it easier for her to read the text on the screen.
Li Zhexuan stood on Li Chunzhou’s shoulder, glanced at Jian Hou indifferently, and licked his paw.
Jian Hou continued, "Cats and dogs communicate through sounds, body movements, and scents, but the range of vocalizations they can produce is fewer than humans (humans can produce at least 2000 different sounds). They lack the ability to distinguish homophones as humans do with characters, so their level of civilization is lower than yours and they can only be kept as pets."
"Isn’t this an intelligence gap? What does it have to do with information?"
Jian Hou looked at her, shook his head, "It is because of constantly accumulating information that intelligence can develop. There is not only one intelligent species on this planet. Do you know about ‘octopuses’?"
Li Chunzhou thought for a moment and said, "The kind that we eat? I know."
[An octopus has about 500 million neurons. They are also intelligent species. Even after observing the behavior of other octopuses, they can quickly learn new skills. However, their evolution is limited to the ocean, which means they cannot pass down knowledge from one generation to the next. So, each octopus must start learning about the world from scratch without any guidance, resulting in slow development of their civilization.]
[For our species, we view the way you humans pass on information like how humans view octopuses.]
Li Chunzhou laughed and said, "That’s right. Every person is born without any knowledge and must learn to acquire all the knowledge accumulated by ancestors. Also, humans die and can only live for a few decades. If a person could live for thousands of years, things might not be the same as they are now. But do you remember things and speak as soon as you are born?"
[No, we just have a more advanced way of storing and transmitting information compared to you. For us, information can be directly transmitted from one person’s ‘mind’ to another through symbols, but this method is not the most advanced… You must have seen Li Zhexuan’s ‘Memory’, right? The Time Beast’s memory bank stores all memories of their lineage, and they can also absorb the memories of other beings by devouring their consciousness. So, they have access to a far greater amount of information than us.]
Therefore, the knowledge and civilization that humans took millions of years to evolve, for Li Zhexuan, can be acquired by devouring enough human consciousness and obtaining all that knowledge in an instant.
Li Chunzhou had already felt that merely feeding on consciousness within the Dungeon World would not satisfy Li Zhexuan. His craving for information was instinctual, so one of the reasons she wanted to escape the cycle was to ensure that Li Zhexuan was truly satisfied.
"So, if that’s the case, isn’t it simple for you to destroy us, or humans from other worlds? Why create the Dungeon World?"
[The Main God System rarely destroys a lower civilization without reason, similar to how you wouldn’t destroy an ant nest unless there was a good reason. In the Dungeon World, players are like food on a production line to the gods, only becoming delicious after going through enough challenges. The emotions and brainwaves released by humans in various environments are like a byproduct.]
Li Chunzhou looked a bit surprised and asked, "I thought you were here for the resources on our planet. Don’t you need them? Land, gold, minerals…"
[It’s a common misconception. The Main God System doesn’t need the resources humans value like land, gold, and minerals. They need things like time, space, and dimensions that humans might not understand.]
"If you don’t need the same things we do, why do you want player consciousness?"
Jian Hou became serious and explained, "Consciousness is above all dimensions. Humans’ consciousness drifts after death and cycles endlessly. If a life form resonates with a certain consciousness, another person’s consciousness may appear in that body simultaneously."
Jian Hou apologized for going off track and emphasized the importance of consciousness, even for beings like Time Beasts. All consciousnesses are equal in the afterlife, making them valuable food and resources for the Main God System.
Li Chunzhou asked, "What is that something?"
["Emotions – human emotions are the best seasoning, adding different flavors to consciousness," Jian Hou replied.]
"Li Chunzhou smiled and asked if he truly understood emotions."
[Do I feel disgusted?" Jian Hou unconsciously hid his feelings while listening to Li Chunzhou hum a lullaby, "I did feel ‘disgusted’ because she was tricky before dealing with Chihong.]
If his consciousness was not in a human body at that time, Jian Hou felt he might not have this emotion because it was unnecessary. It was being in a human body that made human emotions arise.
When Li Chunzhou heard him mention Chihong, her face paled, suddenly dropping the orange cat from her arm. Jian Hou didn’t understand why she suddenly got angry, but he continued speaking, "So, can I link my consciousness to yours? It would be better for us to cooperate to evade pursuit from the Main God System."
"No, you reap what you sow," Li Chunzhou said decisively.
Jian Hou looked puzzled, "Why? Do you think I’m not professional enough? I have also worked on systems before (and very experienced), cooperation is the best outcome I calculated. If the Main God finds out about me leaking memories, I won’t be able to survive, and there is also information about you in my memories. If I am dissected by them, it won’t benefit you either…"
Li Chunzhou interrupted him for the first time, her dark eyes gazing lightly at Jian Hou, "Because I hate you, didn’t you realize?"
Jian Hou was stunned, standing still for a moment before catching up with Li Chunzhou.
For the first time, he realized that a cat’s heart could also feel sad.