The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 769 Living towards death
"Living towards death? If a cliff a thousand feet high appears before your eyes, only a few people will leap forward. Most people will hesitate and wait until danger finally arrives."

Qi Meng nodded, feeling gratified by the clone's ability to understand.

The tornado swept up dust and hit the aircraft. The two men sat in the narrow cockpit, looking at each other.

“Like what I’m doing.”

"What are you doing?" Huang Taiji, who was losing weight, looked surprised.

"You mean to say that you think you are engaged in a just cause and that you will soon succeed?"

Qi Meng gave the fat officer a teachable look: "I'm glad you thought of this."

Huang Taiji could not understand at all why this respected game designer in front of him could not live a good life in the upper space, but chose to take risks and become the enemy of Vine Company, and was wanted nationwide.

"It's clear you've poured all your energy into the game Late Ming Dynasty Hegemony. Rumor has it that you destroyed the server in anger because Vine Company demanded extra fees from players, leading you to this path of no return?"

Huang Taiji's expression was sincere, full of the expectations of a veteran player, but as soon as Qi Meng opened his mouth, he denied all of the fat man's fantasies.

"Of course it's not because of this. It's a long story, and you may not understand it."

The clone was clearly irritated by the words 'You may not understand'. His facial expression changed and he didn't speak for a long time.

The sandstorm began to dissipate, and he ordered all aircraft to take off immediately.

"It's time to go, Mr. Qi. As I said just now, you will be killed along the way. This is our last conversation."

Qi Meng said indifferently, "It's all up to you."

Kunpeng left the ground, flew through the smoke and dust, and flew towards the south.

"I want to know if it was the Senate that ordered my death, or was it the Vine Company?"

"What's the difference?"

Of course there is. If it was the Senate, it means that Qi Meng has become an abandoned pawn, and their previous promises to him were a joke. If it was Vine Company that wanted to kill him, everything would make sense.

Huang Taiji, who was losing weight, switched the aircraft to autopilot mode, skillfully took out a pistol from his waist, and pointed the gun at Qi Meng who was sitting in the co-pilot seat.

"Any last words?"

"not yet."

Qi Meng remained calm, his forehead against the muzzle of the gun:

"Death is easy. What's important is that we give each death a different meaning."

"That sounds familiar."

Huang Taiji recalled that it was a famous quote by Kotaro Isaka, a famous writer from Fuso Province in the 21st century.

"Are you prepared to die a few more times?"

He released the safety catch without removing the gun from its target.

Qi Meng raised his head, looked past the murderous clones, and looked at the starry earth outside the window.

"We've all died many times."

The fat man almost jumped out of the driver's seat.

"what?"

"Huang Taiji, you've died over three thousand times in this game. That means you've entered the game over three thousand times. Let me ask you, are the enemies you encounter the same every time?"

"Same thing. Every time, I'd fight the Jiannu first, then the White Lotus, annex the Liaozhen, attack Korea and Japan, and finally replace the Ming Dynasty. Until I met Zhang Zicheng, I was blown to death... Is there any problem?"

Qi Meng leaned closer and stared into the clone's blue eyes:
"Have you ever wondered why you are always knocked unconscious by flowers, why the enemies you encounter are always the same, and why your identity is the same? Huang Taiji in the weight loss phase is not Dorgon in the abstinence phase, nor is he Kang Mazi after the smallpox vaccination?"

Huang Taiji was completely bewildered. "What? I'm who I am. My ID is Huang Taiji. I can't change my ID after restarting the game."

The hand holding the gun trembled slightly: "What do you mean by this?"

Qi Meng patted the fat man on the shoulder and told the clone even more shocking news.

"Is it possible that the Late Ming Dynasty hegemony game has some connection with the reality we live in?"

Huang Taiji coughed twice and returned his gaze to the dashboard.

"Mr. Qi, although I am addicted to the game you designed and I admire your gaming record, this is not a reason not to kill you, do you understand? So please don't delay any longer..."

"Scavengers!"

The fat man looked out the window. Qi Meng pulled back with his left hand, pushed out with his right hand, and pushed his right foot towards Huang Taiji's left hip. The fat man lost his balance in an instant, and when he stood up again, the pistol had been taken away.

Huang Taiji remained calm and said, "Your skills are quite good, you are worthy of being the first person to pass the level. However, even if you kill me, you can't escape."

"Did the Senate send you, or the Vine Board?"

"What's the difference?"

"Say!"

"senate!"

Qi Meng handed the weapon to the astonished fat man: "Of course it's different."

Huang Taiji was extremely frightened.

"Remember after the bloody battle at Hunhe, we went to the Daqing Palace to pray for Jin Yuji and ask for medicine? Zhang Yihang, Taoist Master Zhang."

"Ah? Remember, is there anything wrong with Master Zhang?"

"If we lose the Battle of Hunhe, as long as Liu Zhaosun survives, Zhang and his party will summon meteorites, those nuclear bombs you see, to destroy Jianzhou and correct the course of the story... In short, no matter what, you will win, and no matter what, the Great Qi will be established. Once, while praying in the Great Qing Palace, I accidentally saw an asteroid falling from the sky. Then, Taoist Zhang invited me for tea, and I lost my memory of this incident."

"Drink tea..."

Qi Meng quickly said, "I'm really drinking tea, no innuendo." Huang Taiji put away his weapon, his expression solemn: "Are you saying that someone is manipulating everything? No wonder I can't pass the level!"

Qi Meng corrected him: "They prefer to call it the Eastern World."

"They're the guys on the Vines board,"

"The outcome of the bloody battle at Hunhe could have been countless. You could have died in ten thousand ways. You could have been killed by Nurhaci, Huang Taiji, Kang Yingqian, or even chopped to death by Jin Dajiu, who was desperate to save his sister. Yet, you survived and became the Marquis of Ping Liao."

"Do you know why?"

"why?"

The content of the conversation was completely beyond the player's comprehension, just as he couldn't understand why a game designer like Qi Meng would become an enemy of Vine Company, fighting against a chariot with an egg and fleeing for his life.

"I said, can you understand?"

Huang Taiji didn't want to be seen as an alien by natural people, and even more so by Qi Meng.

"I can try to understand."

"it is good."

Qi Meng showed a teachable expression:

"Do you know what the original intention of developing this game was?"

"I guess it's to give natural people and clones more comfort, just like the short videos and unique products at the beginning of this century..."

Asking a game player about the original purpose of game design is as absurd as asking a modern person "Who am I, where am I, and where am I going?"

“This is more than just a game.”

Qi Meng winked, indicating that all monitoring devices in the cockpit should be turned off first.

"Do you like those robots out there?"

Huang Taiji shook his head.

"One of Vine's visions is to replace us with silicon-based life forms—including human clones."

Vine Company, just as its name suggests, has long been like a vine, growing wildly and recklessly, entwining and controlling every corner of the empire.

The Senate was very dissatisfied with this situation, but they were helpless. Compared with the empire that controlled limited resources, borderless capital and artificial intelligence were undoubtedly more powerful.

"Thus, the Empire expended enormous resources to launch the Eastern World Project, creating endless possibilities with countless parallel worlds. One of them will always be in line with the development of Da Qi. This path will curb the expansion of capital, curb the oppression of silicon-based life forms on us, and nip the omnipotent vine in the bud."

Every time you enter the Eastern World, you become Liu Zhaosun, Kang Yingqian, or Liu Kan Liu Yufei.

Until you completely shed your human identity.

The experience of a tree, the perceptions and memories of various animals. I felt my body like many roots extending into the soil, absorbing water and nutrients, my branches and leaves growing upward and breathing in the sunlight. The feeling was too real, and completely different from human perception. It was a perception and experience that I had previously thought was impossible to imagine. It was not even at the level of a phantom limb.

You can imagine yourself with phantom limbs resembling thin plant branches and leaves, but in daily life, it's impossible to experience the high-information feeling of being a forest. Furthermore, it doesn't belong to any of the human senses. Just like how humans, no matter how much they analyze bats' neural structures through biology, can never imagine what it's like for bats to perceive their surroundings through echoes and ultrasonic reflections—not hearing, touch, or vision.

I am not just a tree or a pile of grass, I am an entire forest. I can clearly perceive every leaf, every cell, every insect, the details of the wind flowing through space, and the wave transfer of electromagnetic energy.

"Our mission is to clear the weeds."

Huang Taiji began to re-examine the meaning of life.

Tengman Company does not allow any changes. Zhang Yihang is their man, so Qi Meng kills him and destroys the server.

Huang Taiji asked curiously:
"What happened in the parallel world after the Emperor ascended to heaven?"

“Just like real history.”

Qi Meng looked dejected. "Liu Kan and Liu Yufei killed each other, resulting in heavy casualties. The empire was severely weakened, and the Europeans took advantage of the situation and invaded. The empire was colonized by the British, Portuguese, and Spanish..."

"A tragic ending."

“How many times have you tried?

Qi Meng answered skillfully:

“Countless times, no matter how hard I try, I end up back here and get caught by them.”

Huang Taiji was skeptical.

"In half a minute, we will be attacked by Vine Company's spacecraft, and you will die for the thirty-second time."

Qi Meng stated his prediction.

"If it's true, I will seriously consider it..."

Just as he finished speaking, a Kunpeng ship in front was bombarded and fell down with black smoke.

"Our enemies are no longer human. They think that by killing me, they can keep the empire as it is."

Huang Taiji blurted out: "So, the Senate is now in a hostile relationship with Vine Company? I am only loyal to the Senate."

"time is limited."

"what?"

"Will you join us in resisting the vines?"

Huang Taiji was hesitant.

"Time is running out. You need to take off earlier next time."

Huang Taiji was about to ask again when the Kunpeng aircraft suddenly vibrated violently and an alarm sounded in the cockpit. The next second, he saw the game designer sitting next to him being engulfed in flames.

The fire was burning fiercely, and Qi Meng opened his arms like a phoenix reborn from the ashes.

(End of this chapter)