Gu Chi's voice trembled slightly.

"You mean, my lord is now... researching? enduring hardship?"

He didn't know what was in the laboratory, but from the literal meaning and the context, he could guess a bit. If compared to familiar reference points, was the Lord's current status similar to the animals used within the Medical Department for studying and analyzing the power of words, or even a death row inmate?

Gu Chi never imagined in his life that these things would be related to his lord.

The girl said, "Yes."

Gu Chi blurted out, "Why? Why?"

He wanted to know why the Lord was being treated this way.

The girl's expression was neither sad nor happy, as if she were stating something unrelated to herself: "Why? Perhaps it's to continue the human race? Or perhaps it's to survive? Just like a drowning person grabbing at even a straw, they won't easily let go."

Gu Chi didn't understand: "What could be the connection between these two things..."

As he spoke, he realized what was happening first.

The girl previously revealed that the crazed, hunting undead were called "zombies." Zombies can infect others through blood and saliva, turning them into their own kind.

But the Lord is the exception.

The girl's calm voice clearly reached his ears: "If a vaccine against the zombie virus can be developed from 'me,' the zombie crisis can be fundamentally resolved—that's the best solution. If not, we can use 'me' to mass-produce new humans immune to the zombie virus—that's a middle-ground solution. Unfortunately, they can only choose the worst option..."

Gu Chi asked her, "What do you mean by the worst possible strategy?"

The girl said, "The worst-case scenario is to copy and clone 'me'."

Human civilization only needs people.

Gu Chi asked again, "Why are the best and middle strategies not feasible?"

The girl said, "From the perspective of human reproduction and continuation, these methods are not really a problem. But unfortunately, 'I' do not have the ability to reproduce between the sexes as you humans understand it, and I am not even a human as you understand it. So the best and second-best strategies will naturally not work."

After saying this, the girl's eyes showed a hint of pity.

"In the face of a cataclysmic disaster, some will try to save themselves using their own understanding, striving to secure a glimmer of hope for the survival of their race. Unfortunately, this is merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause. Where did the so-called 'zombie virus' come from? Where did this terrifying, corrosive rain that has lasted for months come from? Where did the ceaseless war come from? Can one really survive by focusing on just a tiny 'zombie virus'?"

"It's like a body with problems in its heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Any one of these problems alone is an incurable serious illness. What's the use of just focusing on an inflamed appendix?"

Gu Chi's mind was in complete chaos.

Russia then regained its composure.

These were all things of history that had already happened. Although he was curious, he didn't care: "Chi only wants to know where the Lord is."

The girl looked at him with a half-smile and teased, "Ah, Your Majesty probably doesn't want outsiders to see you in your most disheveled state."

Gu Chi: "The Lord has never considered me an outsider."

Compared to his outward disheveled appearance, the secrets within were far more hidden and could not be revealed. The Lord had even confided in him about the latter, let alone the former? How could he be sure that his entry into the Lord's dreams was not permitted?

The girl looked Gu Chi up and down seriously for a few moments.

After a long pause, he nodded and said, "Okay, as you wish."

The girl snapped her fingers.

In a short while, the world changed.

Gu Chi looked around, searching for Shen Tang's whereabouts.

"Didn't you say you'd take me to see the Lord? Where is she?"

The room was dimly lit, and Gu Chi could only make out the strange objects around him that he couldn't understand, thanks to a blue light shining from somewhere. The objects had a cold, metallic sheen, and the air was filled with a chilling coldness that seeped into his lungs, making him feel increasingly uneasy the more he looked at them.

Gu Chi tentatively asked, "Is this the Yellow Springs?"

Was His Lord imprisoned and suffered here?

This thought stirred up a surge of anger within him, like a volcano about to go out of control, which he could only suppress by placing his hand on the hilt of his sword and gripping it tightly.

The girl didn't answer, but simply raised her hand and pointed to the middle.

Gu Chi looked in the direction she pointed.

That's when I noticed there was a huge "bathtub".

The "bathtub" was filled with an unknown solution.

A person can be vaguely seen floating in it.

One glance was enough to make Gu Chi's heart almost stop beating.

This person was none other than the eleven or twelve-year-old lord.

Her chest cavity was ripped open, and something resembling vines crawled out of the gaping flesh, intertwining to form the shape of a heart.

A series of strange pipes connected her to the "bathtub".

Similar to human blood vessels, it pulsates and contracts rhythmically.

"My lord!"

Gu Chi strode forward.

That face, which always wore a nonchalant yet vibrant smile, was now ashen, utterly lifeless. Her almond-shaped eyes were tightly closed, her lips a bluish tinge. At first glance, she resembled a corpse devoid of life.

The girl pointed her finger at the wall again.

"Here, these are too."

"What do you mean by 'these also'—"

Gu Chi subconsciously spoke up to refute.

The girl was pointing to a transparent "glass mirror," behind which lay a vast space filled with hundreds and thousands of "coffins." Some were intact, while others were broken.

Something seemed to be curled up inside the "coffin".

Upon closer inspection, Gu Chi's eyes suddenly widened.

Some clearly resembled infants, while others were merely rotting lumps of flesh. Some were only the size of a thumb, while others were nearly full-term. The girl walked up to him and stood beside him.

With his arms crossed, he admired the scene before him: "Isn't it spectacular? These human embryos have all had fragments of 'my' genes inserted into them, using this method to cultivate new humans and gain immunity to the 'zombie virus.' It's just a pity that in the outside world, besides the 'zombie virus,' there is also war, deadly radiation, and natural disasters that could overturn the world... So, this place has been abandoned."

Gu Chi: "These..."

The girl said indifferently, "They're all dead, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Only a few lucky ones survived and were taken away... As for their fate, it's not worth worrying about..."

Gu Chi felt that his worldview had been shattered after entering the dream.

Just as he was feeling panicked, he heard the Lord's gentle yet firm voice in his ear, and all his anxiety vanished: "Don't scare him."

The person in the "bath" opened their eyes.

With the sound of splashing water, she stepped out of the "bath".

She asked Gu Chi, "How did Wang Chao find this place?"

Gu Chi had no idea why he was being entered into a dream.

He shook his head: "Chi doesn't know either. He only woke up in the master's dream. How is the master feeling? Is he still unwell?"

"Fortunately, I remembered some useless things."

Shen Tang's gaze fell on the girl.

The girl said, "You are me, and I am you."

Shen Tang nodded and asked a profound question: "Are you my memory? Or am I the one with all the memories?"

The girl countered Shen Tang's question: "Is there a difference between the two?"

Shen Tang thought about it and realized there was indeed no difference.

"Let's go, Wangchao, this place is not safe to stay any longer."

Gu Chi, however, kept turning back every three steps.

The girl disappeared without a trace.

As they walked forward, the scene behind them dissolved and collapsed, the "coffins" turning to ashes as if they had never existed.

Gu Chi hesitated, then said, "My lord..."

The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I didn't know where to begin.

He wanted to ask if the Lord had remembered something.

Do you recall the painful experiences you had in the laboratory?

"Don't overthink it. Don't imagine those miserable and pitiful scenes. Although I don't remember very clearly, as the only 'one and only' in the world, others have to use my blood sparingly, and they have to be careful not to let me get angry and die from a single word."

Gu Chi followed closely behind Shen Tang.

I don't know when I returned to that strange, dense forest.

He racked his brains to find a topic to break the atmosphere: "On the day that Shexing Pass fell, how did the Lord and Gongxi Chou escape?"

Shen Tang recalled: "It was the High Priest of Jimo who came to our aid."

They escaped at the last second.

Gu Chi asked her, "When will the master wake up?"

Shen Tang chuckled and said, "You shouldn't be asking me that; you should be asking when you're going to wake up. Didn't you pull me into the depths of a dream?"

Gu Chi: "..."

Shen Tang said helplessly, "The dream is my dream, but the one who dragged me into it is you. I've been trapped in this dream for quite some time now..."

Gu Chi: "..."

Seeing his innocent look, Shen Tang knew he was just as confused, and felt even more helpless: "Don't you want to think about it some more? If you don't let me wake up soon, Yuan Liang and the others will really cry..."

She recalled the time when she returned with her chest pierced by someone's fist, and how Qi Shan and the others looked even worse than corpses that had been lying in state for seven or eight days. She couldn't help but feel a chill for them, and for herself as well.

She managed to fool the others with her excuse that "her heart is on the right side," but Qi Shan and the others weren't so naive. Now that she's trapped in a dream for several days, wouldn't the outside world be in an uproar?

Gu Chi's face turned red.

He stared at Shen Tang, wide-eyed.

Shen Tang sighed, "Why don't you try to recall what happened before you entered the dream? Let's analyze it, maybe we can find the crux of the problem?"

Gu Chi had no choice but to tell the truth.

Shen Tang fell silent once again.

Good heavens, so this was a boomerang stuck in her own body? She deliberately indulged the rumors of her death in order to lure Bei Mo into taking the bait and letting her guard down. In the end, she caught Gu Chi in the trap and indirectly caused herself to be trapped in the depths of the dream.

She spread her hands: "Let's play ball!"

There's no hope. Just wait to die.

jingle!

jingle!

A clear ringtone drifted into my ears.

Shen Tang looked around, searching for the source of the sound, and then asked Gu Chi for confirmation: "Wang Chao, did you hear that?"

Gu Chi nodded: "I heard you."

As they spoke, their voices grew closer.

A figure went from blurry to clear.

Upon recognizing the person who had arrived, Gu Chi was momentarily taken aback.

"The High Priest of Jimo?"

Shen Tang raised an eyebrow: "Was my dream about a vegetable market?"

Are they all crowding in?

Ji Moqiu was clearly surprised to see Gu Chi here: "King Shen suddenly suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma. The medical professionals were helpless, so I volunteered to come and find someone."

The fall of Shexing Pass dealt a heavy blow to morale. With the king seriously injured and absent for a long time, the army's morale was easily demoralized, allowing the Northern Desert to exploit the situation.

Shen Tang inquired about the situation outside and learned from Ji Moqiu that while everyone was keeping the news from her, they had Qi Shan impersonate Shen Tang to stabilize morale. As a result, no major chaos occurred, but it was not a solution for her to remain unconscious—Qi Shan could not fight and kill for her.

Hearing Qi Shan's name, she felt a moment of guilt.

Upon learning that her opponent was Yunda himself, she instructed Sansui to sever all contact with Qishan. It was fortunate she did so; otherwise, Yunda's heart-ripping attack might not have taken her, but it would have definitely taken Qishan away.

The thought of Qi Shan harboring resentment while having to maintain a cold and indifferent facade made it hard for her to suppress the smile on her lips.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, High Priest. If it's convenient, could you also send Wangchao back? He's not very familiar with using his new ability."

Ji Moqiu nodded in agreement: "It's no trouble at all."

It's actually normal that Gu Chi can't go back.

Because he and the King of Shen were on the eighteenth level of the dream.

The higher the level of a dream, the more expansive and complex the space, and the more restrictions it imposes, making it a natural prison for consciousness. Even if the consciousness can still vaguely perceive the outside world through the body, the probability of waking up naturally is close to zero, and in severe cases, one may even fall into a deep sleep.

——

My body felt heavier and heavier, and the surroundings became noisier.

Upon closer listening, all the voices sounded familiar.

"She's awake! She's awake!"

"Phew, my lord has finally woken up."

"Give me a hand." Shen Tang had just woken up from the dream and was still a little unaccustomed to her body. She only felt better as her senses returned one by one.

The physician was on standby outside the tent. After taking the pulse, he said, "Your Majesty's pulse is healthy and your qi and blood are sufficient. To be on the safe side, we should give you a few more doses of medicine to nourish your body."

Shen Tang nodded in agreement.

When others asked her why she suddenly fainted, she lied through her teeth, claiming she didn't know, and even gave Ji Moqiu, the honest boy, a meaningful look, reminding him not to let anything slip.

Seeing that they couldn't get a clear answer from the questions, the others didn't press the matter.

As long as it's not a malicious person causing harm, nothing else matters.

Upon hearing this, Shen Tang secretly looked away in embarrassment.

There was no intentional harm, but there were accidental injuries.

It's unclear what Gu Chi's situation is. If his entry into the dream is controllable and harmless, the information transmission speed could be even faster than "DingTalk"!

Today, this "DingTalk" not only consumes the nation's resources, but also has significant distance limitations and is highly dependent on the scholarly way of Qin Li.

Otherwise, if Qin Li's effective scholarly methods didn't shine on the battlefield, then she must have been out of her mind...

Shen Tang snapped out of her thoughts and changed the subject.

"How are the arrangements at Shooting Star Pass going?"

Lost territory must always be reclaimed.

She also feared that the Northern Desert might have some hidden trump card to launch a full-scale attack on Kunzhou. Without the city's defenses to hinder them, the Northern Desert's southward advance would be significantly easier. Once the Northern Desert solved its logistical and supply problems, they would likely have no more scruples, and she would be in big trouble then.

Shen Tang naturally wouldn't give them that chance.

The group suggested that, while the main force of the Northern Desert was defending Shexing Pass, they should send troops to take out the remaining two and a half grain depot camps of the Northern Desert.

If you rob me of my territory, I'll burn your manhood.

One for one, everyone hurts each other!

However, this plan has a fatal flaw.

Apart from the half-burnt granary camp, the locations of the other two are unknown. We only have a few unverified intelligence reports, and we don't know if they are true or false. Taking action rashly could easily lead us into the enemy's trap.

At a loss, Shen Tang looked at the medical practitioners and suddenly came up with a clumsy idea: "When an epidemic breaks out in a region, it's essential to control the source of infection and cut off the transmission routes. The grain supplies from the Northern Desert are the source of infection; since we can't find them, why not start with their grain transport routes!"

She put forward an extremely bold idea.

【Let's blow up everything around Shexing Pass! We won't even fight them; let's see how they manage to get their supplies in!】

Waaah, I'm never bleaching my hair again.

I saw someone with pink hair today and thought it looked really good, so I impulsively got it. As a result, I've been sitting in jail since 1 p.m., for eleven hours now. I'm barely managing to keep today's update by typing on my phone.

I'll correct the typos when I get back to my computer...

P.S.: The dye job didn't turn out well, boohoo, now I have a rainbow of colors... This is killing me.