The next morning.
After waking up early, Feng Qi went straight to the Principal's Office to report to Bai Fusheng, then left Star City Academy.
Exiting the academy gates, he pulled out his phone and hailed a cab, heading straight for the Crimson Research Institute.
There were too many things he couldn't explain in detail over the phone, so he decided to visit the Crimson Research Institute personally and report everything he had experienced in the Sacrificial Timeline.
After a full night's rest, the mental burden of overlapping memories had eased somewhat.
His mind was now filled with countless pieces of classified information and research data that he had obtained from the Crimson Secret Base 1,500 years in the future.
Most of these records were related to a massive virtual simulation project—
A project that the Crimson Secret Base had poured an immense amount of resources into.
Right now, a massive factory outside Star City had already begun construction, with the goal of manufacturing specialized virtual gaming pods.
At the same time, research on the virtual simulation system was progressing smoothly.
However, in the Sacrificial Timeline, virtual simulations had failed to significantly impact the future—not because the technology itself was lacking, but due to strategic concerns.
Security had always been the highest priority for the Crimson Research Institute.
If they had massively promoted virtual simulation technology, it would have exposed them to risk.
Even though the various factions wouldn't act recklessly without knowing the full picture, low risk was still risk.
And if the Crimson Research Institute was destroyed ahead of schedule, then all of their efforts in the Sacrificial Timeline would have been for nothing.
It was only by completely eliminating the hidden dangers within human society that the full-scale launch of the virtual simulation project would be possible.
Feng Qi and the senior researchers at Crimson firmly believed that this super virtual simulation would become a catalyst for human evolution—an express highway that would accelerate humanity's development to unprecedented levels.
After about two hours on the road, the cab arrived at the front gate of the Crimson Research Institute.
Feng Qi paid the fare, got out, and stood at the entrance.
He didn't need to go through manual verification—
The external scanning devices automatically detected his presence and matched him to the institute's database.
A few seconds later, the heavy metal doors opened.
Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
Following a familiar route, he walked through the base.
On both sides of the main pathway, advanced defensive weaponry was mounted, pointed skyward—
At the same time, Crimson's combat personnel were patrolling, fully armed.
Upon entering the main facility, he went through several layers of security checkpoints before finally arriving at Wei Wei's private laboratory.
The lab door was tightly shut, indicating that an experiment was currently underway.
Rather than interrupt, Feng Qi decided to wait outside.
As he looked around the Crimson Base's main research sector, he saw that the scientists and engineers were all absorbed in their work—none of them paid attention to his arrival.
But he had long gotten used to this.
After a long wait, the lab door finally opened.
Wei Wei stepped out, still dressed in her Crimson Research uniform, looking utterly exhausted.
The moment she spotted him leaning against the wall, she looked slightly surprised.
"Back already?"
Feng Qi smiled faintly. "Yeah, I'm back."
"Give me a moment. I need to finish logging my research data—then we can go over everything that happened in the Sacrificial Timeline."
"Come with me."
Feng Qi nodded and followed Wei Wei to the data archives.
She sat down at the console, beginning to input and organize her research notes, while Feng Qi waited patiently nearby.
An hour later, Wei Wei finally finished.
She turned to him, resting her chin on one hand as she smirked.
"Alright, tell me—what tragedy did you experience this time?"
Feng Qi rolled his eyes. "Why are you so sure it's a tragedy? What if I actually went on a rampage, crushed a bunch of domain factions, and led humanity to rise in glory?"
Hearing this, Wei Wei chuckled.
"With your ability to steal talents, that's not impossible…"
Then, her expression turned playful as she leaned forward slightly.
"…but in the Sacrificial Timeline, you could only embed Rune Crystals to grow stronger—there's a limit to how much you could improve. So tell me, how exactly did you 'crush' anything?"
She paused for a moment, then her tone became serious.
"Go ahead. Tell me what happened in the Sacrificial Timeline."
Then, with an almost mocking smile, she added:
"And if you feel like crying, go ahead—I promise, there are no security cameras here."
Feng Qi sighed. "It was rough, but I'm not about to cry."
"Oh? Because you already cried earlier?"
Feng Qi: "…"
[System: Damn… this woman must've learned 'Insight' from me. How else could she read you like an open book?]
Seeing Wei Wei's smug expression, Feng Qi felt completely exposed.
Taking a deep breath, he began recounting everything he had gone through in the Sacrificial Timeline.
As he spoke, the memories surged back vividly in his mind—
Before he knew it, he had fully immersed himself in the retelling.
Wei Wei's expression gradually became more serious.
Time passed unknowingly…
As Feng Qi recounted how the Mist Lord had sacrificed itself to save him, Wei Wei's expression changed.
After a brief silence, she finally spoke:
"Qi-ge, I think you should seriously consider pulling the Mist Lord into our ranks. If we can form an alliance, it would help us face the challenges of the future together."
Feng Qi nodded instinctively.
He then repeated everything the Narrator had told him, relaying it word for word to Wei Wei.
After listening, Wei Wei nodded thoughtfully and added:
"The Narrator's analysis makes sense. If you can resolve the three key issues, it's indeed possible to bring the Mist Lord into the human faction. But I have a few additional concerns."
She raised a finger.
"First, you once mentioned that the Mist Lord's people were exterminated by the 'Blockers.'"
"These 'Blockers' are highly likely to be the historical powerhouses who mysteriously disappeared from history—the ones who stopped most of the Domain Invasions. If they hadn't intervened, our world would have been overrun by Domain Creatures long ago."
"If this theory is correct, then the Mist Lord has a deep-rooted grudge against humanity."
"After all, the strongest human cultivators slaughtered its entire race."
"Even if you help revive its people, that lingering hatred won't simply vanish."
"You'll need to find a way to erase that resentment… That is, assuming the 'Blockers' were truly human. There's always a chance they weren't."
She then raised a second finger.
"The second issue—racial conflict."
"An alliance between humanity and the Mist Lord's faction would be effective while we're facing a shared external threat. Mutual survival would force us to cooperate, and our two factions could grow stronger together."
"But once that external pressure is gone, internal problems will inevitably surface."
"For reference, just look at racial discrimination before the Cataclysm. Even within a single nation, people discriminated against others based on skin color."
"Now consider the Mist Lord's species. They're fundamentally different from humans. Even if we fight side by side, even if bonds are forged on the battlefield, that doesn't mean we can peacefully integrate into a single civilization after the war."
"If you and the Mist Lord are both alive at that time, you might be able to maintain peace through diplomacy. But the moment you two are gone, tension will rise. Cultural differences, lifestyle disparities, and even minor misunderstandings could spark major conflicts."
"In the long run, humans and the Mist Lord's race cannot coexist as one people. The best solution would be to establish clear boundaries after we survive the final crisis."
"Ideally, we could help the Mist Lord's people return to their own Domain World. If you're strong enough, maybe you could even help them resolve the crisis in their homeland."
"Of course, it's too early to worry about that now. We don't even know if humanity will survive the impending disaster… I just want you to keep this in mind. No matter how deep your personal bond with the Mist Lord may be, that won't be enough to unite two fundamentally different races in peacetime."
As Wei Wei spoke, Feng Qi nodded occasionally, absorbing every word.
[System: Damn, this old lady sees things clearly. She just pointed out the biggest long-term risks.]
[System: Especially the first issue—you need to address it before committing to an alliance with the Mist Lord. Otherwise, that lingering hatred could make it turn against you later.]
After finishing her analysis, Wei Wei suddenly smiled and changed the subject.
"By the way, can you describe the trajectory of the 'Blood Furnace' technique? I'll record it and pass it on to Old Wang. He might be able to accelerate the process of neutralizing the hidden dangers of 'Flesh Sacrifice.'"
She then tapped a few buttons on the console, bringing up a diagram of the human meridian system on the screen.
Without hesitation, Feng Qi stood up and began mapping out the circulation pathways of the Blood Furnace technique on the diagram.
It took him half an hour to finish the detailed markings. After double-checking to ensure accuracy, he returned to his seat.
With that done, he shifted to the next topic—sharing the data collected by the Crimson Research Institute in the Sacrificial Timeline.
Among these, the most crucial was related to virtual simulation technology.
In this timeline, after his death, the Crimson Research Institute had spent over a thousand years focusing almost entirely on the development of virtual simulations.
Eventually, they had successfully created two major Virtual Domain Fields:
[Dungeon: Blood Domain Field]
Data Source: Blood Domain Field, Thunderfire Domain Field, Crimson Blaze Domain Field.
Simulation Accuracy: 99.5%
Difficulty Rating: E (Difficulty rankings: F → E → D → C → B → A → S → SS → SSS)
Gameplay Modes: Solo / Team
Refresh Cycle: Solo mode refreshes once per month; Team mode refreshes once per week.
Resource Drops (Used for In-Game Character Progression):
Blood Lotus (Grade 3 resource)
Thunderfire Ore (Grade 2 resource)
… (Total of 25,242 unique resources)
[Dungeon: Silver Moon Domain Field]
Data Source: Silver Moon Domain Field (partial reference).
Simulation Accuracy: 99.5%
Difficulty Rating: SS
Gameplay Mode: Team-Only
Refresh Cycle: Once every three months.
Resource Drops:
Silver Moon Grass
Silver Moon Stone
Materials harvested from Silver Moon Domain Field creatures
… (Total of 32,231 unique resources)
The data structure of these two virtual dungeons was extremely complex.
All of this information had been implanted into Feng Qi's mind through knowledge infusion techniques from the Sacrificial Timeline's Wei Wei.
If he had to memorize everything manually, the limited time he had in the Dream Realm wouldn't be enough.
Among the two dungeons, the "Silver Moon Domain Field" wasn't new to him—he had heard of it before.
In the Sacrificial Timeline, this Domain Field had descended decades after his death, appearing about a hundred kilometers west of Star City.
At the time, the Star City military, recognizing the potential threat, had mobilized large forces to attempt a strategic conquest of the domain.
But—they failed every time.
Fortunately, the Silver Moon Domain Field didn't show any signs of expansion for a long while, allowing Star City to relax somewhat.
However, one day, without warning, the domain field suddenly began expanding rapidly, bringing an unprecedented disaster upon Star City.
Feng Qi still remembered the archived reports from the Sacrificial Timeline.
At the time, the Star City military had deployed significant forces to Future City to aid in defending against another attack.
Just then—disaster struck Star City.
By the time the military attempted to return, it was already too late.
Fortunately, that was when Little Suction Cup stepped forward.
Inheriting Mu Qing's power, she single-handedly stood against the entire Silver Moon Domain Field and completely annihilated the Silver Moon Race.
But at a heavy cost.
During the battle, Suction Cup lost consciousness completely, and the Scarlet Rune Crystal embedded in her arm shattered.
From that day forward, she became the Guardian Deity of Star City, but could no longer think, only act on instinct.
Given the devastation caused by the Silver Moon Domain Field, it was clear why the Crimson Research Institute had chosen to use its data as a template.
They preemptively created a virtual dungeon based on the Silver Moon Domain Field, allowing humans to train against it in advance and prepare for the real battle that lay ahead.
That night, Feng Qi worked tirelessly, but he had only managed to input one-fifth of the dungeon data.
At Wei Wei's invitation, he took a short break to eat at the Crimson Institute's cafeteria, devouring a hearty meal.
Afterwards, he immediately returned to the data console, resuming the input process.
These records would significantly accelerate the Crimson Research Institute's advancements in virtual simulation technology.
Several hours passed.
Already exhausted from her previous research projects, Wei Wei eventually left early to rest.
However, Feng Qi had no intention of stopping.
With his current physique, even going a week without sleep wouldn't affect him—sleeping was merely a habit at this point.
If anything, the only discomfort came from a psychological level.
By the time Wei Wei returned the next morning, Feng Qi was still at the console, fully focused on his task.
"You've been working all night. Don't you need a break?" she asked.
"No need. I don't even feel tired."
Wei Wei smirked.
"I was just being polite—you don't actually need to listen."
Stretching her arms, she leaned against the console lazily before suddenly asking:
"By the way, yesterday you mentioned that your mental state is being affected by the negative emotions from the Sacrificial Timelines?"
Feng Qi paused, turning to look at her.
"Why? Do you have a solution?"
Wei Wei's expression turned serious.
"Emotions are tricky. Right now, human research on emotional conditioning hasn't even reached the entry-level stage."
"But before I went to sleep last night, I thought of a plant that might help stabilize your mental state."
"I plan to start researching it over the next few days. If everything goes well, I might be able to develop a calming agent to help regulate your emotional fluctuations."
Hearing this, a warm feeling spread through Feng Qi's heart.
He had only casually mentioned his emotional struggles while recounting the Sacrificial Timeline.
Yet, Wei Wei had actually taken it seriously.
She even researched potential solutions before coming up with a plan to help him.
Even though she downplayed it, saying she had just thought of it before bed, Feng Qi knew better—
She had definitely gone out of her way to look into it, consult relevant materials, and formulate a hypothesis.
"Wei-jie, thank you."
Wei Wei simply waved her hand.
"No need to be so formal. I'll go handle the initial experiments."
"We have some of the necessary materials in the Crimson Institute's resource vault. I'll test a few formulations, and once I have a prototype, I'll use you as the first test subject."
"Sounds good." Feng Qi nodded immediately.
Once Wei Wei left, Feng Qi turned back to the console, fully immersing himself in the data input process once again.
To ensure accuracy, he carefully reviewed each entry, checking for errors or inconsistencies to maintain data integrity.
Time passed.
For seven consecutive nights, he worked non-stop, only taking breaks for meals.
Not once did he allow himself to rest.
And finally—
He completed the entire data entry process.
That was when Wei Wei brought him some good news.