They won the Holy Grail War, but this turned out to be the Virtual Tree Universe.

Chapter 288 Using Zhige's Memories to Build a Barcelona
Fei Xiao made Dan Lei withdraw his power for a simple reason: Dan Lei had used too much energy to hold back the "two-ha" that was about to run away. After wrapping Fei Huang's chest and abdomen around it, when Fei Xiao returned to human form, the scene was self-evident.

If the environment were different, and viewed from a third-party perspective, one might think this scene was destined to become something more explicit.

So Dan Lei, somewhat embarrassed, withdrew the energy that had bound Fei Xiao, and then immediately changed the subject.
"Let's just leave it at that since Guiji ran away. Let's go back first."

After saying that, Dan Lei grabbed Fei Xiao's arm and used his powers to teleport directly back to the planet.

By now, the demonic creatures that had stolen the Interstellar Peace Corporation's spaceship and fled have been shot down by Morgan.

Yes, it was hit in a physical sense.

The demons don't know how to fly spaceships; someone set up the autopilot mode for them, so they can take off with the push of a button.

Of course, this automatic cruise mode can only fly out of the planet's atmosphere; it will only circle the planet afterward and will never be able to jump out of the star system.

The demon race was clearly tricked by Guiji.

After figuring out the demon species' actions, Dan Lei became certain that Oswaldo had definitely been involved in Gui Ji's escape.

Upon closer examination, Oswaldo's reason for helping Guiji escape is quite simple.

Because if Gui Ji escapes, he will definitely be able to enter the top eight.

It's worth noting that Guiji is a strong favorite to win this championship. Aside from being countered by Yinzhi, he has a 60/40 chance against other opponents.

Oswaldo doesn't have any ten-star spirits, so he's basically doomed to lose against Guiji, because once Death appears, the game is essentially over after seven rounds.

Furthermore, Death cannot be killed, nor can it be transformed by Ditto. Oswald has no option to use his high-quality memory spirits to wear down his opponent's ace.

For Oswaldo, having participated in this tournament and reached the quarterfinals, he cannot afford to lose to anyone but to return to oblivion.

Because losing gold dust and topaz might only draw some criticism from within the company, and losing to the strategic investment department in a game wouldn't significantly impact reputation.

But if they lose to Guiji, the Strategic Investment Department will definitely try to escalate the issue to the level of Interstellar Peace Corporation losing to the Antimatter Legion.

At that time, Oswaldo's rivals and enemies, whom he has accumulated along the way, will not let go of this opportunity to kick him while he is down.

Of course, even if Oswaldo helped Guiji, he wouldn't leave any evidence.

After all, he had simply given his pioneering fleet a break, and the entire fleet had voluntarily come to the scene to cheer him on.

The stolen spaceship was simply because someone carelessly forgot to close the hatch.

The automatic cruise setting is for normal planetary exploration.

You're saying that the Avalon Star Interstellar Peace Corporation can't conduct inspections at all?

Oswaldo would say that he only found out after arriving here, and that the program must have been set up when he set off.

As for how the demons who live deep in the mountains and forests knew there was a spaceship here? Without an operating manual, and unable to understand it (they don't know the universal language of the galaxy), how did they know about this button?
Of course, Guiji told them that we had a spaceship shot down and were victims!

In short, after returning to the planet, Dan Lei used his planetary privileges to thoroughly review the entire incident.

The entire process recorded by the planetary memory body has not yet yielded any evidence of cooperation between Oswald and Guiji.

Their only recent meeting was during the draw for the second round of the quarterfinals, when they exchanged some sarcastic remarks.

It's simply not convincing to say that they communicated during this dialogue.

Because the two relied more on mutual understanding between villains, and their cooperation was achieved through words and expressions.

Therefore, it's definitely not possible to take this opportunity to deal with Oswaldo. As the planet's owner, Danlei might even have to compensate him with a spaceship.

After all, the demon race are the native inhabitants of Avalon, and can be considered subjects of Danlei.

Of course, losing spaceships is a minor issue. Given the number of shops the Market Development Department has on Avalon, simply increasing taxes a little will easily cover the losses with a few more spaceships. Moreover, Oswaldo is unlikely to get entangled with Danlei.

At this point, the first half of the battle for the quarterfinals had ended, with Hureh vs. Tanheng and Sajin vs. Toppa ending in victories for Tanheng and Sajin respectively.

Let's not even mention Thunderfury; it's normal for a T7 hunter to lose to a Wall Dragon.

The match between Sand Gold and Toppa proved one thing: in gaming, luck sometimes really does matter more than skill.

Since it was already halftime, Dan Lei, with the mindset that there was no need to give advance notice of the final match, visualized the great battle at the edge of the galaxy and released it as a notification.

Then, the internet exploded instantly, with the barrage of questions and the comment section veerging from the competition content to other topics.

"Which company is good at managing games and will show battle clips during the intermission? Or is it a blockbuster like the Immortal Boat Alliance vs. the Antimatter Legion?"

"Hey, is it possible that this is a pre-recorded broadcast? Look at the scrolling announcements below."

[The player Guiji, in alliance with the Great Lord of Annihilation, Fenfeng, launched a surprise attack on the star system. The Great Lord of Annihilation has now been defeated, and only one match will be held in the second half. The player Guiji has been disqualified, and the player from Oswaldo has automatically advanced to the quarterfinals.]

"It can only be said that a leopard can't change its spots."

"This 'Great Lord of Annihilation,' Guiji, has been quite well-behaved in the previous matches. I thought he was the kind of person who sees destruction as work and gaming as life."

"The person who said something like that upstairs is a genius."

"You're focusing on the wrong thing. By the way, how many Annihilation Lords has Danlei Dragon Lord fought now?"

"I heard that Zhan Xingxiao from Luofu also participated, so there are five of them on the surface."

"I say, is it so strange to defeat an Extinction Lord? Have you forgotten how the rings of Avalon came to be?"

However, the fact that Danlei Dragon Lord failed to capture these three Annihilation Lords this time confirms that other Star Gods definitely participated in his battle with the [Pharmacist].

"Um, is it possible that even if other Star Gods participated in the battle, it would be extremely absurd for Lord Dragon to be able to participate and seize the [Pharmacist] equipment?"

……

In short, compared to the real-life PK at the Envoy level, almost no one is paying attention to the competition anymore, and the impact of Osvaldo's advancement due to his opponent's withdrawal has been minimized.

Of course, fewer people paid attention to the match between Xing and Giovanni.

Fortunately, the controversy surrounding the competition has come to an end.

Hu Lei offered almost no resistance and was obediently arrested after the match.

He had only one request: that Danlei release the hunting party he had developed on Avalon.

Seeing that Hu Lei hadn't instilled any opposition to him or the Immortal Boat Alliance into this so-called hunting group, Dan Lei decided not to make things difficult for them.

It must be said that Hu Lei was a leader who knew when to advance and when to retreat.

Dan Lei was able to get equipment from the [Pharmacist], so Hu Lei knew that this person was someone he couldn't possibly fight.

Moreover, this planet cannot kill intelligent life, so it cannot transmit the Crimson Moon within its body.

Knowing that resistance was futile, Hure chose to suppress his true nature, simply teaching his orcish subordinates how to fight and how to find glory in the hunt.

Hu Lei knew that this time he was back in prison, and the next time he could get out might be several hundred years, or even never.

Therefore, he pinned his hopes that the traditions and glory of the Buli people could be passed down among the orc races with similar habits.

Of course, the Immortal Boat Alliance scoffed at Hu Lei's idea. It would be strange if a small orc tribe of a few dozen people could pass on the traditions and glory of the Bu Li people. They estimated that within two generations, the tribe would be unable to endure the barbaric life in the wild and would migrate to the city.

Therefore, Danlei promised Hulei that he would not make things difficult for the small tribes he was developing, and no one objected to his support for the fox people of Avalon.

The issue of stopping the fighting really gave Dan Lei a headache.

After Gui Ji was eliminated, Dan Lei didn't really care who would ultimately win the match among the remaining eight players.

Only Ah-ha knows whether the power of the messenger he received has any hidden pitfalls; anyway, he wouldn't even take it if it were given to him.

As for the Amber King's Hammer Fragment, it's good, but not absolutely necessary.

But the outcome of the match was a complete surprise to Danlei.

Danlei originally thought that the champion of this competition would be either Xing or Huke.

Because the former has the protagonist's halo, they will win all kinds of games and competitions.

As for the latter, it can only be said that her image as the Silver Mountain champion during the Ether Wars was a bit too deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Moreover, in reality, Hook was truly gifted in troop deployment and command.

Danlei even thought that if Hook studied hard at the military academy, Bronya could focus on being the Great Guardian after graduation, and the position of Silvermane Iron Guard Commander should be given to Hook.

In fact, Dan Lei wasn't the only one with this idea. The Immortal Boat Alliance, the Interstellar Peace Company, and other major cosmic forces all granted Hook the opportunity to study abroad, reimbursing all his food and lodging expenses and providing him with generous scholarships every year.

However, Hook said he needed to go back and discuss the study abroad matter with his father, so he didn't respond to anyone.

However, the two championship contenders that Dan Lei favored were eliminated by Clara in the semifinals and finals, respectively.

After Xing's victory in the civil war against Danheng, he encountered Clara, who had defeated Sand Gold. As a result, the protagonist's aura failed him, and he was taken down in one fell swoop.

After defeating Osvaldo and Silver Wolves in succession, Hook lost to Clara in the final.

To be honest, this live broadcast, which attracted worldwide attention and resembled a TV series, ended with a duel between two underage girls, which was quite novel for the inhabitants of the universe.

It's important to understand that due to the time flow issue, within the Great Firewall, live broadcasts of matches are almost always aired over several days, with a dozen matches being broadcast simultaneously at the same time being quite common.

Many people need to watch the replays later to find out what happened in other people's matches.

However, cuteness is a universally appealing quality, so the two of them were already very popular.

Moreover, it's not surprising that Hook lost to Clara in a 5vs5 tower defense game.

Clara has an exceptionally strong command over machinery.

During that year, Zhige also taught her many tactics that were only applicable to mechanical systems.

Schwarz praised Clara for her exceptional talent in the field of mechanical engineering.

In fact, she is very talented in all fields involving mechanics.

Therefore, no matter how balanced Hook's combat power is, it can't compare to Clara, who has a built-in leadership ability, can fight, withstand attacks, output damage, and command while riding Zhige.

Ultimately, the champion of the first Memory Master Tournament on Avalon Star was Clara, a mechanical princess from the lower city of Arilo VI Belloborg.

Then, at the awards ceremony, Clara posed a difficult question to Danley.

When Danlei handed Clara the trophy from the first Memory Master Tournament and the fragments of the Amber King's hammer, and let her choose whether to become a messenger of joy or ask [Aha] for a blessing of joy, Clara asked earnestly.

"Mr. Danlei, can Clara use these rewards to exchange for Mr. Zhige's freedom?"
After spending this time together, Clara was certain that Mr. Zhige was not a bad person.

Danlei wanted to help her with this request, but outwardly he didn't hesitate at all and simply refused.

"Clara, I cannot grant you this request."

The harm done to the Xianzhou people by Zhige cannot be erased by your words.

Moreover, the effects it suffers from are most likely impossible to eradicate.

That program works normally when it's not activated (the little robot in the Tanrin Temple side quest), but once it's activated, it will surely unleash another bloodbath.

Therefore, I cannot grant your request.

The core of Zhige will definitely be formatted and then resealed; there's no room for discussion on that.

Clara didn't cry when her request was rejected. Instead, she looked dejected and hoped that Danlei would give her some time to say goodbye to Zhige.

Dan Lei did not refuse this request again, and agreed to let her see Zhi Ge one more time before formatting and sealing Zhi Ge's core.

However, Clara ultimately chose not to become the messenger of pleasure, but instead opted to receive a blessing.

This was, of course, Sambo's suggestion; he wouldn't push Clara into the cesspool of the Masked Fool.

Danlei doesn't know exactly what kind of blissful blessing Clara received, because it was a blessing secretly bestowed by [Aha] and could be used as a trump card.

After the championship trophy was awarded, Zhige reluctantly put Clara down and obediently followed the Cloud Cavalry to the Prison of Hell, becoming Hulei's neighbor.

However, the next day, because he had promised Clara that he would meet with Zhige before the core was sealed, Danlei took Zhige out of the cell and brought it to the interrogation room on the first floor.

Dan Lei then frightened Clara and temporarily dismissed the ghost messengers watching over Zhige.

To the ghost messengers of the Avalon prison, Dan Lei's words were equivalent to a general's order, so they naturally withdrew.

Then Danlei said to Zhige
“Stop the attack. I can extract your memories of spending time with Clara during this period from your core.”

Then, I will imbue this memory into a new android entity. Are you willing to cooperate?

Upon hearing this, Zhi Ge asked in surprise.

"You mean you're going to set me free?"

Dan Lei shook his head and replied.
"No, your core will still be formatted and sealed."

For you personally, the past six months have been like a dream you can't remember.

However, I can use your memories to create a new android that remembers this dream. It will have no relation to you and will only inherit your feelings for Clara.

After Dan Lei finished speaking, Zhi Ge replied almost without hesitation.

Clara said she had a family member named Swallow.

I envy them, but there's nothing I can do about it.

So, if my memories can become a new shield to protect Clara, you can take them.

Upon seeing this, Dan Lei directly extracted memory essence from Zhi Ge's memory module, obtaining all his memories of spending time with Clara.

After it was all over, Danlei said with a smile
“No problem. I will name the new android with your memories Basaka.”

　Thank you to "Why Can't I Get Enough Sleep" for the 100 book coins!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)