Ten thousand I am across the heavens

Dao Tian still remembered that day. Although he could see that everyone was shrouded in illusion and pulled into a virtual world, he didn't stand up to expose it. He might experience many adventures he had never experienced before in his life, but in the countless long lives he had stolen, these were just one segment, and not necessarily anything new.

Dao Tian was also somewhat curious. What exactly did these people want to do by pulling everyone into the dream? Could it be that they wanted to extract their souls or use their bodies? Logically speaking, neither of these things seemed to require such trouble, given their immense power. They didn't need to reason with anyone to do what they wanted.

Just as Dao Tian was wondering, the warriors from the Shanhe Republic, assuming their original identities in the virtual world, gathered the villagers and began issuing missions.

"So it's conscription for corvée labor? That's a common occurrence during dynastic changes." Dao Tianxia subconsciously sighed, "Indeed, all crows are black... what a load of rubbish!"

He muttered for a moment before realizing, "Are you crazy? Who conscripts laborers in dreams? What kind of lunatic is this, making us work in our dreams?"

Dao Tian rarely showed such intense emotional fluctuations. Having lived so many lifetimes, he was usually quite indifferent to emotions, able to calmly face life-and-death separations, joys, and sorrows. Even in the face of astonishing scenes, he remained composed. But the strange logic of this group of people was truly baffling. Could it be that they couldn't even find peace in their dreams, or were there some kind of Gu worms that fed on human suffering, forcing them to labor painfully in their dreams, absorbing their pain?

But when he arrived at the podium, he found that reality was different from what he had imagined. The AI, acting as a staff member in the dream, offered relatively generous compensation; a week's hard work could even earn him half a Celestial Essence Stone—a high income that most people envied. Although it was a dream, he couldn't show too much excitement, so he could only feign joy and accept several beast-hunting missions from the bulletin board. He considered it a way to improve his life in the dream; after all, the enjoyment in the virtual world was just a string of data, and since the AI ​​was willing to pay, it wouldn't be stingy with the food and other delicacies created by virtual data.

Hunting wild beasts was as easy for him as eating and drinking, even though he only had the body of an ordinary human. His tens of thousands of years of combat experience allowed him to use traps with effortless ease to complete his hunts.

As the busy workday came to an end, Dao Tian noticed a problem in some details: the flow of time in the virtual world differed greatly from that in the outside world. He sensed this significant difference through the details of his own soul. In the real world, the soul has its own rhythm, changing regularly throughout the day. Even when his consciousness was pulled into a dream, the rhythm still followed the real-world rhythm, only this change was extremely subtle, almost imperceptible even to Gu Masters, and those who did perceive it rarely understood its significance.

Dao Tian could perceive the subtle change: a day in the real world would have been equivalent to half a year here. This made him even more curious as to why the other party would go to such lengths to send his group of ordinary villagers into the mental time chamber.

The answer was soon revealed: the initial task assignment was merely a way to establish trust, to convince the villagers that they would pay and keep their promises. Building trust takes time, and the work done in the past few days, along with the payment of their wages, was enough to establish a preliminary level of trust.

So they began to call on the villagers to build roads and infrastructure in the village. However, this work was not something that ordinary carpenters or bricklayers could handle; these outsiders had very high standards. The roads had to be flat and straight, and if there were any elevation changes, they had to be calculated carefully to ensure that the angle of each section of the road was within a certain range.

This requires a certain level of basic mathematical knowledge. It was only then that Daotian realized that these people had revealed their true intentions and started opening night schools in the village.

Only those who pass the relevant exams in night school are qualified to participate in high-tech tasks with higher pay and richer rewards.

Mathematics, writing, and even some basic knowledge about Gu worms were among the subjects he was learning. There was also a lot of common and uncommon natural science knowledge. All of this seemed too familiar to Dao Tian. Wasn't that just like his hometown?
Although his homeland was an empire, still retaining nobles and emperors, it didn't prevent it from being a highly developed civilization that had almost entered interstellar society, a country with a literacy rate of over 90% in basic education. The things taught in his night schools were so similar to what he had once studied, even though the mechs these people used were completely different from what he remembered. Yet, their characteristics were increasingly approaching those of Dao Tian's homeland.

"How about I take this course for a while? It'll be a good way to reminisce about my school days."

Dao Tian was arguably the most bright among the village's young people, and he received the most attention at school. He intended to appear mediocre, but once he picked up a book and pen, his yearning for civilization and the instincts buried deep within him made it difficult to hide his talent. Even though he tried his best not to appear too different, he became one of the top students in night school, just like before he transmigrated. He had always been an excellent student in the prestigious school, excelling in both academic subjects and mecha piloting.

Dao Tian no longer cares about the life trajectories of others. He only wants to fully experience this part of his life. Perhaps he will never be able to go home again. Even the power of the Nine Revolutions Venerable cannot refine a Homecoming Gu for him. Even the unparalleled Yu Dao killing move cannot open a passage for him to return to his hometown. Although he desperately wants to go home and has never forgotten his original wish, he has never expected that he can go back in this life. But that does not stop him from using this time to fully experience that feeling of home.

Campus life passed quickly, and Dao Tian graduated from night school with excellent grades, obtaining his industrial mecha pilot's license. Tens of thousands of years later, he touched a mecha again, though the model was completely different from his familiar one. The operating logic was also somewhat different, but as a genius mecha pilot, he only took a few minutes. He piloted the mecha as if it were his own body. He naturally became a star in the engineering team, even though he knew he was in a dream, in a virtual world. Any engineering work he did would never appear in the real world. But this didn't stop him from enjoying his time piloting the mecha.

For the first time, he felt that perhaps dragon slayers wouldn't necessarily become dragons, and that the dynastic cycles that had lasted for millions of years weren't necessarily as stable as he had imagined.

"It's a pity this is just a world of data. Otherwise, I really wanted to take this mech apart, see its internal structure, and understand its operating principles. Repairing mechs is a required course for any mech pilot. I wonder if I've become rusty?" Dao Tian had opened the hood of his mech during a break, only to be disappointed to find that the seemingly complex mechanical structure inside was just for show. It was merely an act, after all, maintaining the operation of the data world requires computing power. If every detail were made to be perfectly realistic, the computing power wasted would be too great. For a technological black box like a mech, the internal structure is naturally just a superficial construct to fool people. In the data world, as long as a piece of code is input, the mech can move, without needing to consider whether the mechanical structure is reasonable.

However, something unexpected happened again. Shortly after he curiously opened the hood and inspected the internal structure, NPCs found him. In his mind, he had already defined these people as NPCs.

"Comrade, didn't you dismantle our industrial mechs before?"

Dao Tian nodded, guessing what the other party had come for: "He's probably here to warn me. After all, if I discover any mechanical problems, it could expose the truth that this isn't the real world. He's probably warning me not to open the hood again."

"How is it? Does it seem complicated? Do you want to know how the basics work here?" The NPC's words completely surprised him.

He nodded almost instinctively. Then he saw the NPC enthusiastically lead him to the mecha, opening the hood and beginning to explain. He keenly noticed that the previously decorative mechanical structures had all undergone subtle changes, transforming into functional, plausible designs. An ordinary person seeing such complex structures for the first time would certainly not remember them. Even if there were changes, they would likely think they had misremembered. But he had near-absolute confidence in his field. He was certain his judgment was correct. This mecha had definitely undergone internal structural modifications, replacing the previous decorative elements with real ones.

"This... this is what it means to teach according to aptitude? This kind of talent cultivation system... feels even more advanced than the one in my hometown! In fact, their attitude towards talent is even more serious than that of the Empire. If it weren't for my family waiting for me in my hometown, I would really like to live in this country for several lifetimes."

Seeing his interest, the mechanic NPC began to systematically explain the mech's internal structure. He was naturally curious, and his foundational knowledge was exceptionally solid. Therefore, he learned remarkably quickly, even applying what he learned to other situations, and soon grasped the mech's operating principles. In his opinion, this engineering mech wasn't particularly advanced. Back in his hometown, it would have been considered an outdated version from many years ago.

However, the design of the mecha itself is top-notch. Outdated technology doesn't equate to poor design. The reason for outdated technology is likely insufficient industrial capacity. Insufficient infrastructure for mass production of more advanced mecha necessitates making the most of available resources. Using existing materials and precision, the goal is to design and manufacture the most cost-effective equipment, much like Soviet equipment from World War II—it may not appear particularly sophisticated, but it demonstrates unparalleled reliability.

"I have to admit that the person who designed this mecha is incredibly skilled in this field. He's not much worse than me. I never imagined that someone like him could exist in this world. Perhaps if he were in my world, he would also be doing very well."

Dao Tian, ​​driven by his own interest, spent every day learning about mechs and other mechanical devices from the mechanic NPC. He unknowingly forgot that he shouldn't be a troublemaker, and unknowingly forgot that he should keep a low profile.

However, upon closer examination, he realized he hadn't done anything particularly outrageous; he'd only displayed a tiny bit of curiosity and a slight talent for mechanics. These traits weren't rare among the general public; perhaps he was the only one like him in his village. In the dozen or so villages nearby, there were certainly many like him, and it seemed that if things continued this way, he wouldn't become anything particularly noteworthy.

And all of this is ultimately just a dream, a dream that will eventually end. He still doesn't understand why they're trapped in it. Why have they been forced to study and work in this dream for over a year? Perhaps when the dream ends, his dream of living in a world that feels like his hometown will shatter along with it?

As he thought this, he couldn't help but feel uneasy, unsure how to face the day he awoke from his dream, how to face all these beautiful fantasies, the day they would ultimately crumble. Perhaps on that day he would act just as genuinely as the other villagers, experiencing the same pain and disillusionment.

And that day would eventually come. Dreams can't last forever, and the end of a dream begins with a dream within a dream. On that day, the village's infrastructure was finally completed. A tall signal tower stood in the village square. One of the NPCs responsible for educating them finally told them it was a signal tower for internet access, and that connecting to it would allow them to connect to the network. They then taught everyone how to use specific tricks to go online. After everyone's consciousness was uploaded into the network, he had a premonition that his dream was finally over. He just didn't know what he would see after waking up.

Although only a few days had passed in the outside world, it had already undergone earth-shattering changes.

[To be continued]

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