Chapter 29

No matter the cost!

For some reason, the Chief Scientist felt cold when he heard this word, even though the room was heated.

“What are you going to do?” said the Chief Scientist.

“Create a super powerful weapon to blow up the Boundary!” The Emperor waved his hand. “In my early years, I had established a weapons research institute in the Western Continent, equipped with supporting military factories.

“The guns and artillery produced there were superior compared to the old Dynasty.

“I intend to turn it into the Western Continent’s Special Research Institute. I’ll then mobilize a group of scientists to develop a new, superweapon. We’ll then blast our way to a new world, what do you… think?”

“This…”

Hearing these words, even though the Chief Scientist already had a vague guess. It still shook him to his core.

Blasting the World’s Boundary!

What kind of madness is this? No one had ever made such a decision, not even the past emperors of the Chi Dynasty who never stopped studying it.

Maybe someone thought about it in their mind, but never did they dare to implement it.

After all, it is bound to be costly, and likely to fail… besides, it is rumored that the Gods lived outside the Boundary.

No emperor would dare to risk the world by attacking the Gods’ realm

But he…

As for whether to accept… as the top scientist or as the Emperor’s “favorite”, he has no reason to refuse.

“… Yes”

……

Bang!

Lishan Martial Hall, in the study. [1]

As Lin Tuo clicked on the mouse, a shot echoed in his head.

On the screen, the last enemy fell dully on the edge of the playzone circle. [2]

“Huh, is physical improvement also helpful for playing games?” Lin Tuo leaned back on his chair and slowly took off his headphones.

After working, he seldom has the chance to play games; maybe only once or twice a month.

So his aiming skill has fallen dramatically since then.

But unexpectedly, he was able to win three games in a row.

Although there is a segment of his account that looks terrible—but it’s definitely because of noob teammates…

[3]

“En, it should be that the Ether has improved my reaction speed and my concentration.”

He got up, planning to take out a can of Coke from a refrigerator. Just when he was about to do so, his phone alarm rang up.

“It’s time to collect Ether again.”

Lin Tuo was full of spirit as he trotted back to the Sand Table. He looked down and found that the city on the Sand Table’s continent had expanded again, with some changes in the architectural style.

The most obvious changes are the countless electric lights at night and public trams. And in addition to bicycles, cars have begun appearing on the streets.

But they still look very bulky and are quite rare.

“Haa, It’s developing very fast…” said Lin Tuo.

He performed the “Breathing Method” again as he sucked up a wave of air. He then turned around and ate lunch—simply and contentedly.

He then once again became immersed in the game.

……

The Sand Table’s Empire.

In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed since the establishment of the new Empire.

Compared to the ever-changing Kyoto and many industrial cities.

Far away in the Great Western Continent, hidden between the mountains there. The Special Research Institute does not seem to have changed much.

From a distance, there are a few more buildings with a lot of equipment upgrades inside.

But the whole area was still desolate with very few people there.

Especially at night, it was chilly, with only the sound of wolves howling for company.

Only the constant and horrific inflow of cash at the Kyoto treasury managed to bring attention to this border.

“We are a group of pioneers, shouldering a noble mission, enduring loneliness and bitter cold.”

For ten years, the Chief Scientist had always inspired others with these words.

With the Emperor’s lavish investment and the dividend, the research has given quite a pleasant surprise.

One by one, hurdles were broken as the superweapon evolved from just an idea, to a sketch… and finally, into a real entity.

And so, several small-scale explosions were conducted.

This once made the Chief Scientist very excited, but as time goes on—as his understanding of the Boundary deepened—he began to waver.

Can the “Boundary” truly be broken?

And so, in late autumn, when His Majesty the Emperor came here to inspect again. He finally found the courage to voice out his doubt.

“So, you want to tell me that the research has failed?”

Special Research Institute, in a certain room.

The Emperor who had aged ten years, asked back with cold eyes.

The middle-aged man who was so vigorous at the beginning had aged. His hair and beard had faintly turned white, though his ego is growing day by day.

This was especially true for the officials of Kyoto.

When the Empire had stabilized, the Emperor started to extend his hands toward it. With a high degree of centralization, iron fist rule, and controlled public opinion; he gradually deepened his control of the Empire.

In the first few years, he at least was still willing to listen to the ministers’ opinion. But recently, he became more and more domineering as the whole court atmosphere became increasingly tense.

“No, Your Majesty, everything is going well with the research, except that the Boundary is far stronger than we thought. It is so strong that our warhead was unable to even shake it.” The Chief Scientist trembled as he explained.

“Unable to?” said the Emperor, “nothing in this world is unbreakable. If it is, that just shows that the weapon is not strong enough and the lack of determination.”

“Your Majesty… I do not doubt your determination in the slightest, but there is just a limit to how strong a single—”

“If one is not enough, then add a few more!” said the Emperor, as his gaze became firm. “Since one is not enough, then make it a thousand! Or even ten thousand! Do not worry about the fund, the Empire will raise it.”

“This is not a problem of funding…” The Chief Scientist laughed bitterly. “We have thought about this option, and in theory, it is indeed possible to increase the destructive power by stacking it—but once the power exceeds a certain value—it would have a serious impact on the ecology of the entire continent… or worse, destroy the world.”

“Destroy the world?” Mulling over this, the aged Emperor stared straight at the Chief Scientist, with madness brewing inside his eyes.

“After this year, I will be sixty years old,” said the Emperor calmly.

“Huh?” asked the Chief Scientist, somewhat bewildered.

“Some time ago, the Imperial Doctor diagnosed me with a brain tumor. With the current medical technology, it is very risky to have an operation… I can’t live long.”

“Your Majesty… it doesn’t have to be like thi—”

The Emperor raised his hand. “I spent the first half of my life as an emperor, I should be satisfied with it. But, I’m still not reconciled, I just want to see—with my own eyes—how the outside of the Boundary looked like, before I die.

“Do you remember what I said ten years ago? That winter? I said, I will conquer it, no matter the cost.”

“This…”

“Well, help me call all the core leaders of this project here. I want to have a meeting,” said the Emperor.

The Chief Scientist walked out in a daze. He vaguely felt that something… was wrong, but he still didn’t dare disobey His Majesty’s order.

Soon, he returned with a dozen core leaders of the project.

Because the project was top-secret, only the core leaders knew the details of the plan.

“Your Majesty? Everyone is here.” When the group of people walked into the conference room, the Chief Scientist saw the aging Emperor, sitting on the main seat with his back towards them.

Hearing that, the Emperor slowly turned around.

At some point, a square and ancient imperial seal appeared in his right hand.

The Chief Scientist’s face changed as he finally guessed something. “The Imperial Seal?! Your Majesty—”

Immediately, he saw the Emperor activating the Imperial Seal, unfolding the power of hypnosis as he smiled to the people.

“Now, let us destroy the world together.”

……

Growl

Lishan Martial Hall.

When Lin Tuo finished the last game contentedly, a burst of growl came from his stomach.

There is no other way, he only ate snacks at noon and didn’t seriously eat.

“It’s already time?” Lin Tuo was startled as he looked at the time, which is already close to evening.

Entertainment really kills time. It doesn’t feel like much time has passed, and yet it’s almost night already.

After closing the game and turning off the computer, Lin Tuo looked at the Sand Table—which caused him to raise his eyebrows slightly.

He saw that at this moment, airplanes had begun to appear inside.

Of course, it could only fly at low altitude.

“It’s even faster than I thought.” After marveling for a bit, Lin Tuo shook his head. He switched the Sand Table’s continent to the “Observation Mode”.

Light and shadow changed and in the blink of an eye, Yangcheng replaced the “New Empire” in front of him.

“I’ve been busy for so long. Let’s have a good meal tonight… en, this is it.” Lin Tuo looked down at Yangcheng as his eyes fell on a hotpot restaurant—a familiar one.

Although it is a little strange to eat hotpot alone, there is just no other way.

He put his clone to a secluded place and switched his consciousness with it… a routine he is very familiar with.

Compared to going down the mountain which wastes hours of time, this is way much faster.

And since the main body doesn’t go outside, it can deal with any “accident” quickly.

“Accidents? What kind of accident can there be, it’s not like the whole Empire will crumble in the middle of a meal, right?” muttered Lin Tuo.

He walked out of a secluded alley and in a good mood, walked toward the famous hotpot restaurant.

“Damn it, I forgot to make a reservation… hah… I don’t know if I can get a seat…”

The wind and waves in Yangcheng were calm.

……

At the same time, inside the Taklimakan’s black box, the Sand Table’s Empire. [4]

In the deepest depth of the Great Western Continent.

An “experiment” that is crazy enough to destroy the world… begun.