Chapter 52

Listen! Space!

Realizing this, Zhou Xian was instantly shocked: This place is clearly space!

He looked toward the edge and could just make out a planet...

"The terrain of this continent doesn't seem to be Earth. Could this be the Dragon Tomb world?"

Looking directly at the land below, Zhou Xian discovered that this place was exactly the same as the large map in the game world!

"That's right, this is the upper part of this world—of course, it's different from the real world."

Suddenly, a ethereal female voice echoed through the void, and a black figure appeared in the vast space. This figure had only a black outline, and Zhou Xian couldn't see its details, only managing to discern that it was a woman with a pair of wings.

"Emperor Ye Tian...?"

The other party neither confirmed nor denied, continuing, "Although this place is also a 'planet,' you might not know that it's just an illusion."

Zhou Xian surveyed his surroundings. The place was indeed vast and strange, but... Zhou Xian did feel something was off.

"What's strange about this planet?" Zhou Xian asked.

"Originally... it should have been a flat earth with a round sky. But one day, changes began... The existence of this planet is probably related to the countdown in the game world."

The Emperor players indeed know something!

"Tsk tsk, Ye Tian, you actually called an Emperor meeting, that's quite rare." Just as Zhou Xian was about to ask, another voice appeared, and another black figure appeared in his line of sight.

"If it weren't for sensing changes in the game world, you wouldn't have responded to my call for an Emperor meeting, Emperor Chixue," Emperor Ye Tian's voice was pleasant but completely flat and icy.

Emperor Chixue was a mage, rumored to be able to destroy a country with ease. In the game, he founded the powerful guild, Chixue Alliance, one of the major forces in the Zhuque Kingdom.

Emperor Chixue didn't respond to Emperor Ye Tian's words but turned his gaze to Zhou Xian: "This figure... I don't seem to have seen you before. You must be the recently emerged eighth Emperor player, right?"

"That's right." Zhou Xian had already been introduced by the Dark Angel, and the others could only see his vague outline, with no other information available. So, Zhou Xian deliberately maintained an air of mystery, not wanting to reveal himself.

"You look like a young man... Kid, you must have discovered something about this countdown, right? Ye Tian's personality isn't one to call a meeting voluntarily."

"That's true. If we hadn't forced our way in last time, Ye Tian probably wouldn't have shown up at all," another black figure appeared, and Zhou Xian recognized this as the Cloud Emperor from the videos he had seen.

The Cloud Emperor, like Emperor Chixue, also sized up Zhou Xian before saying, "Although I don't know what's happening, I've noticed that the activities in the Seven Cultivation Sea seem to have increased, which is not a good sign."

"What does this have to do with the Seven Cultivation Sea?" Zhou Xian asked.

"Tsk tsk, new guy, you might not know, but although we are all Emperor players, we have a common enemy: the Seven Cultivation Sea." The Cloud Emperor's voice was casual, as if he was easy to talk to: "We've investigated before, and some suspect that the Seven Cultivation Sea might know about the 'real world.' I even called an Emperor meeting for this, but no one responded to my call."

"Cloud Emperor, so your ideas are too strange." Another voice appeared, a female voice. Although Zhou Xian didn't recognize her, he could tell from her voice that she was another female Emperor player besides Emperor Ye Tian—Emperor Sha.

According to the information provided by Su Xiaoyue and the Dark Angel, Zhou Xian knew that this woman was a specialized warrior, skilled with a one-handed sword. Wherever Emperor Sha went, bloodshed followed, and no one dared to approach.

"Hey, do you know why the system corrects our language in the game? Do you know why the system forces us to name ourselves according to the game world's rules? Do you know why the system punishes those who reveal information about the real world and the game world? Even if you didn't respond to my call, I don't believe you didn't investigate in secret!"

The Cloud Emperor's words left Emperor Sha speechless.

Zhou Xian also understood upon hearing her voice.

That's right.

This game world is a very peculiar existence. In the game, players cannot use names like "My name is very ** do you know?" or "I come from the stars." Instead, they must name themselves according to the game world's rules.

In the game world, if players try to reveal information such as "You are an NPC in the game world" or "There is a world called Earth," they will be punished by the system, with the most severe punishment being a permanent ban.

Originally, players saw these as settings to enhance immersion.

But after hearing the Emperor players' conversation, Zhou Xian suddenly realized that things might not be as simple as he thought.

"Ye Tian, I was really surprised that you called this Emperor meeting." Another Emperor player arrived, wearing a massive suit of armor. Zhou Xian knew this must be the White Emperor, known as "Immovable Mountain."

"When I first came here, there were only three people at the Emperor meeting. I never thought there would be eight Emperor players now, tsk tsk." Another figure appeared in this strange space.

"Is this the earliest Emperor player... Emperor Jie?" Zhou Xian deduced the identity of this person based on the information in his mind.

"Is Asura not here?" Emperor Jie looked around and immediately noticed that one more Emperor player was missing.

"He didn't refuse," Emperor Ye Tian replied briefly.

Sure enough, at that moment, the last person appeared.

But unlike the other Emperor players, this last Asura Emperor was only a shadowy figure, like a wisp of smoke.

"You speak, I listen."

The Asura Emperor's voice was not the violent and fierce one Zhou Xian had expected, but rather very calm. If he hadn't known his identity beforehand, Zhou Xian wouldn't have been able to guess who he was.

"Alright, Ye Tian, since you called this meeting, you must have something to say, right?" The White Emperor looked around and focused his gaze on Emperor Ye Tian.

"Not me, the eighth."

Emperor Ye Tian's response was very brief.

At that moment, everyone's attention turned to Zhou Xian.

"The eighth?"

The experienced Emperor Jie looked at Zhou Xian with interest.

"Hasn't completed all the Emperor tasks to become a true Emperor, is this eighth reliable?" Emperor Sha looked at Zhou Xian with suspicion.

"Whether I am reliable is one thing, but whether this world has problems is another. Senior players, I believe you all know that something significant has happened in the game world, right?"

Zhou Xian said solemnly.

"How is this another alarmist like the Cloud Emperor? He talked nonsense at the last meeting, and now he's at it again?" The White Emperor was clearly dissatisfied.

The Cloud Emperor glanced at the White Emperor with displeasure, then turned to Zhou Xian and said softly, "Do you have any information?"

Zhou Xian looked around and then dropped a bomb: "I saw dragon script in the real world. And I encountered someone who could use game skills."

"Use game skills in the real world?!" Emperor Sha was surprised.

"Are you joking?" The White Emperor also seemed to disbelieve.

"..." The most experienced Emperor Jie reacted quite calmly.

The Cloud Emperor thought for a moment and said, "If what you say is true, it aligns with my hypothesis, but are you sure someone can use skills in the real world?"

"That's right, I saw it with my own eyes," Zhou Xian continued, "And I found that dragon script also works in the real world—though much weaker than in the game world."

"Dragon script itself contains great power, which ordinary people can't understand. I've studied dragon script. Yes, I can try it in the real world," said the Asura Emperor, who had previously said he would just spectate.

"Um, I'll try it too," the experienced Emperor Jie nodded and said, "I believe you all have some knowledge of dragon script and can verify it in the real world."

Dragon script does indeed work in the real world. When Wang Ge saw the dragon script, he couldn't understand it, and Zhou Xian could vouch for this.

"But you saying that game skills can be used in the real world is too far-fetched, isn't it?"

"Absolutely not." Zhou Xian didn't go into too much detail, as he had almost succeeded in summoning a demon from the game in the real world, which had left him shaken.

"Who would mix virtual data with the real world? Eighth, are you losing your mind?" The White Emperor asked again.

"I do know something about this." The silent and thoughtful Emperor Chixue suddenly spoke: "In my Chixue Alliance... there were some cases."

Emperor Chixue seemed to have authority, and when he spoke, everyone else stopped. He then said, "In my Chixue Alliance, there was a system called 'Soul Thought' that was related to the Seven Cultivation Sea, so I investigated it. To punish them for secretly contacting the Seven Cultivation Sea, I expelled them from the guild and killed them. The next day... I found that these people who had practiced Soul Thought and were killed by me were all hospitalized in a vegetative state, still unconscious."

Just like Ying Tianlong's situation?!

"The official explanation was mental decline due to prolonged gaming, and since similar incidents occurred elsewhere at the same time, I didn't pay much attention."

"I heard that two students at Zhongzhou Academy recently had incidents, one of whom was the brother of professional player Ghost Shadow Ying Haitao," the Cloud Emperor recalled some recent intelligence.

"Eighth, what's your take?" Emperor Jie refocused on Zhou Xian.

"I think... there's something wrong with the game. And the recent countdown is not a good sign. I believe it's necessary to investigate the matter thoroughly," Zhou Xian shared his thoughts.

"Um, that makes sense. I'll look into it," Emperor Jie nodded in agreement.

"No problem. But to be clear, just because we've agreed to cooperate now doesn't mean we'll be peaceful in the game. Eighth, if I find your true identity, I'll kill you without hesitation." The White Emperor left the Emperor Council directly after speaking.

Emperor Sha laughed lightly, "Don't mind him, but Eighth, the relationship among Emperor players isn't as good as it seems here, so be careful in the game world..."

He then left.

"My Chixue Alliance has been infiltrated by the Seven Cultivation Sea. Eighth, you know that requiring players to be as loyal as in the real world is unrealistic, so I might not have time to help you investigate. Take care of yourself," Emperor Chixue also left.

"Um, I'll leave too. Since Eighth has given us such important information, I'll try to connect it with my current investigation and let you know if there's any progress," the Cloud Emperor said and left.

Emperor Jie then looked at Zhou Xian, "Eighth, although I call you that, be careful in the game world. Not everyone here wants more people in the Emperor Council. I'll leave now, take care."

With Emperor Jie's departure, only Emperor Ye Tian, Emperor Asura, and Zhou Xian remained.

"Ye Tian, you haven't spoken. What's your opinion?" Emperor Asura suddenly asked Emperor Ye Tian!

"...The game's official is problematic." To Emperor Asura's question, Emperor Ye Tian answered directly, and in a direction Zhou Xian had never expected!

"The game's official!"

Zhou Xian also knew about the game's official!

The new update was completely unannounced!

Not only that, the official never even mentioned it!

"Are you talking about the internet or the real world?" Emperor Asura keenly picked up on the implications in Emperor Ye Tian's words!

"Both. And the game company hasn't hired new employees in two years, and after the mysterious death of the chief engineer and designer, they haven't appointed a new chief engineer."

Emperor Ye Tian's words made Zhou Xian shudder!

Because the person Emperor Ye Tian mentioned as dead... was Zhou Xian's father!

"Could my father's death... be related to the game?!"

Zhou Xian's father died from overwork—according to the official certification, at least. But according to Emperor Ye Tian, his father had... died mysteriously?!

"The mysterious death of the chief engineer?" Zhou Xian asked, suppressing his emotions.

"Two years ago, to be precise, it was a disappearance, and the official made no statement. They claimed it was death from overwork. No more information," Emperor Ye Tian's words were still brief.

"Eighth, do you also think there's something wrong with the game company?"

"Um, if you have any related information, please let me know."

Emperor Asura seemed to think for a moment, "Alright, no problem, I'll leave now."

After saying that, Emperor Asura left.

"...Emperor Asura is very dangerous. Don't seek her out unless she approaches you first; Emperor Jie won't be much help; be cautious of Emperor Sha and Emperor Chixue, as they have their own plans; there's some tension between Emperor Cloud and Emperor White, so avoid getting involved."

After everyone left, Emperor Ye Tian suddenly spoke.

"Ah—yes, thank you."

Hearing Zhou Xian's gratitude, Emperor Ye Tian nodded at him and also left.

Finally, the vast hall was left with only Zhou Xian, who was deeply troubled.

"The game company... Could this really be related to them? And my father's death, could it also be connected to them..."

Zhou Xian took a deep breath, as if making a decision, and then left the Emperor Council...