Chapter 30: Someone Trying to Exploit a Glitch in the Void Realm

Chapter 30: Someone Trying to Exploit the Virtual Realm

Night. The main conference hall.

The hall was quite lively tonight, with the number of people having increased from twenty-seven to over three hundred. More than ninety percent of the newcomers had arrived between last night and this evening.

Some were young geniuses who had already achieved significant success at a tender age—Lu Yu was a prime example. Others were experts in niche fields; while their overall academic standing might not have been extraordinary, in their specific areas, they were world-class figures.

Xiong Yan sat on the platform, scanning the crowd repeatedly, spotting many familiar faces. These acquaintances might not have possessed the illustrious achievements of the "Three Grandmasters" or the "Four Professors," but in their respective domains, they were true experts. If the Grandmasters and Professors were the leaders, then these familiar faces were the backbone and the elite, serving as the essential link between the leaders and the rank and file.

*Clang.*

Xiong Yan gently struck the bronze bell before him. The scholars, who had been whispering and even debating key points in their papers, fell silent immediately.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a new era has arrived."

"The bronze bell in my hand is one piece of evidence."

"Just now, if you were observant when you heard the bell, you surely noticed something."

"In that instant, you suddenly became quiet. This silence came from within, from the depths of your hearts."

"Even those who were arguing until their faces turned red just moments ago fell silent."

"This bell comes from the Virtual Realm. It is the product of a small Virtual Realm that has transitioned from the void into reality, and it is the last trace that realm left in this world."

"In a moment, you will become the second group to enter the Virtual Realm. When Chu Xuan pulls you in, do not resist."

"As for the questions in your hearts, I do not wish to answer them now. It will not be too late to ask once you have seen the Virtual Realm with your own eyes."

After Xiong Yan finished speaking, Chu Xuan picked up the microphone.

"Everyone, among you are experts, scholars, and defenders of the Great Xia—the most admirable people of our nation."

"The resurgence of spiritual energy brings not only benefits but also hazards. As humans evolve, animals, bacteria, and viruses do the same."

"We humans are actually quite fragile; to this day, we cannot even cure the common cold."

"What if rats evolve? Could they trigger a plague?"

"What if cockroaches evolve? What then?"

Cockroaches are so numerous and reproduce so quickly; if a super-cockroach were to evolve and multiply in the sewers, eventually occupying the entire city and threatening human life, it would not be impossible if humanity were not prepared in advance.

"And the ocean—that place is fraught with even greater crises!"

"The resurgence of spiritual energy and the arrival of the transcendent bring not only the opportunity for the Great Xia’s rise but also the hidden danger of human extinction!"

"And this is where our responsibility lies!"

"Researching and analyzing the transcendent is the duty of the Research Institute; protecting the safety of the Great Xia and the well-being of its people is the duty of the Management Bureau..."

A moment later, Chu Xuan checked the time. "Next, I will use the authority of the Realm Master to pull you into the Virtual Realm. Do not resist, and do not refuse."

...

With a blink of their eyes, everyone appeared within the Virtual Realm.

Looking at the sun in the sky and the surrounding environment, Jiang Ju subconsciously remarked, "The sun was in this exact position when I left."

"Didn't the Director say long ago that after we leave the Virtual Realm, time within it remains frozen?" Ning Fan didn't understand why this was worth mentioning.

Hearing this, Jiang Ju formed a new perspective on Ning Fan’s intelligence level. "I mean, I didn't expect the Virtual Realm to be so miraculous. But what is the principle behind it?"

"Why is it that while a day has passed in the real world, time in the Virtual Realm remains frozen?"

"Why is it that no matter how long we stay when we enter the Virtual Realm, it is only a fleeting instant in the outside world?"

"What does this signify? What secrets are hidden behind this?"

"If we can figure these things out, it will surely be of great use and significance in understanding the essence of the Virtual Realm!"

"Oh, I see," Ning Fan whispered.

"This afternoon, you may tour this small town. We start our studies tomorrow," Chu Xuan announced loudly.

The town was not large, with a population of only about a thousand, so the sudden addition of three hundred people made it extremely lively. Even when night fell, a significant number of people were too excited to sleep, wandering around to examine everything they could see.

From then on, Xiong Yan would personally teach the first group of twenty-six people in the mornings. In the afternoons, these twenty-six individuals would become teachers themselves, explaining the basic concepts of the transcendent from scratch to the three hundred newcomers in an open-air area.

Beyond coordinating the big picture, Chu Xuan had to solve the food supply issues and conduct "Version 1.0" dimension-elevation experiments on the town, attempting to see if more citizens could be "refreshed" from the white mist.

Chu Xuan had even begun trying to explore whether the Virtual Realm itself possessed consciousness. If it didn't, what were its rules?

He was likely trying to dance on the edge of those rules, or perhaps even trying to exploit a bug! To think he would dare to exploit a bug in the Virtual Realm itself!

Days passed, and everyone began to develop a foundational and comprehensive understanding of the transcendent. The original twenty-seven members were also making steady progress in their cultivation and began pursuing their own projects.

Take Huang Zixing, for example. Besides listening to lectures in the morning and teaching in the afternoon, he spent all his time in the rice paddies searching for seeds with high spiritual energy content. Sometimes, he would wander the mountains and fields, idly touching wild grasses to see if any had mutated, possessed unusually high spiritual energy, or held potential for cultivation.

After all, Xiong Yan had promised: "You just focus on your work, and I will find a way to bring things out of the Virtual Realm." So, Huang Zixing believed him and focused his heart and soul on farming, farming, and more farming!

Then there was Jiang Ju. She listened to lectures in the morning, taught in the afternoon, and spent the rest of her time learning from experts in other fields. Since awakening her talent, she had found her mind to be much sharper; both her reaction time and thinking speed had undergone a qualitative transformation. She did not waste this talent, instead adopting the same intensity she had during her final year of high school, staying up late and rising early, doing nothing but studying. Even her complaints about the poor food had dwindled.

As for Ning Fan, he had begun trying to communicate with animals. To facilitate this, he lived like an ascetic, eating raw meat, drinking mountain spring water, and consuming wild berries. While there were no visible results yet, at least the birds no longer avoided him—in fact, some of the bolder ones had even started perching on his head to relieve themselves...