On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

For some reason, he found the young man quite pleasing to the eye. In addition, he was in a bad mood and didn't feel like doing research for the time being. He thought he might as well take advantage of this break to answer the questions of the younger generation, correct the research direction of ancient studies, and prevent such bad trends from happening again in the future.

So he nodded and said to Liao Ji, "Go ahead, what do you want to ask?"

"Professor, I've been doing research on elves recently, so could you please elaborate on the connection between the soul, the World Tree, and the elves?"

Researching the Elf species?

This is really rare.

Because of the closed nature of the Forest Alliance, such papers generally don't have much of a market, and few scholars delve into this area, since they can't get much funding. It's fair to say that they're doing this purely out of love.

Young people like him, who are purely passionate about academics, are becoming increasingly rare and precious. Therefore, Einstein's attitude towards Liao Ji improved considerably, and he patiently explained:

“Elves are born from nature, and the World Tree is like the mother of their entire race to them.”

"The World Tree possesses the extraordinary ability to connect all things, including souls. Hence the legend that the soul of every elf after death becomes a leaf of the World Tree, with the sacred World Tree connecting each elf. Therefore, in a sense, elves do not fear physical death; their pursuit is the soul."

Hearing this, Liao Ji couldn't help but interrupt Einstein before he could finish speaking:

"So, Professor, if an elf gives her body to someone else, does that mean it doesn't actually affect her, and her soul remains in the World Tree?"

"No, you're not entirely right. Theoretically, elves can indeed give their bodies to others, but in reality, it's simply not feasible. There are two reasons for this. First, it requires extremely strong control, which even that elite elf guard at the peak of his power probably couldn't do. Perhaps only Lady Reina, as a sorcerer, could do it?"

"Secondly, elves have severe mysophobia, and unlike mechanical life forms, they can completely shed their physical bodies and exist in the World Tree as digital life forms. But elves cannot. For their souls to remain active, they must have a new vessel. So, it would be difficult for a noble elf with severe mysophobia to have her soul enter another body."

Professor Einstein shook his head, as if it were beyond his imagination.

The old professor's knowledge was not found in the game, which greatly helped Liao Ji, making him feel as if he had grasped something.

Afterwards, Liao Ji consulted the old professor about some other things.

Just like.

"Professor, a friend of mine has always been curious: is the fertility of demi-humans really that high? Is there any way to reduce their birth rate?"

"The number of subhumans is large, but the demand is also large. Just be careful to be moderate. As long as you control the raw materials, even the most advanced workshop cannot produce in large quantities."

Liao Ji nodded in understanding, taking careful academic notes while asking another question:

"Professor, I have a friend who studies mechanical life. He just kissed an android. According to you, can that android really have children?"

"This depends on the complexity of your genetic material and the computing power of the android. In addition, none of the known androids currently possess a reproductive module."

Seeing that Liao Ji still seemed determined to continue asking questions, Professor Einstein couldn't take it anymore. The questions were getting more and more off track, so he waved his hand.

"Alright, that's enough for now. I have another project about witches later, so come find me when you have time."

Just as the old professor was about to leave, Liao Ji asked directly, "The Witch Project? Professor, are you referring to the predecessor of the Holy Kingdom's Goddess?"

This made the old professor stop again, turn around, and look surprised.

"Kel Technology also gave you this project? That's right. I think their hypothesis is quite interesting. The Goddess is actually just an ordinary village girl. Because she suffered many betrayals and deceptions on her turbulent escape, she was frantically flooded by the Evil. The Great Emperor probably discovered the Goddess's potential long ago, which is why he made her go through these trials, and then appear at the crucial moment to help the witch save herself and become the Holy Maiden she is today."

The old professor became animated and radiant whenever the topic turned to the emperor, but Liao Ji shook his head in rebuttal.

"Hmm, Professor, I think that perhaps the Emperor's encounter with the Goddess wasn't due to any complicated scheming, but just a coincidence? As for the Witch of Salvation, I think that's even less likely. Perhaps the Emperor simply took her in, gave her food and water? What truly overcame the will of the turbid calamity was her own kind heart?"

Liao Ji's words made the old professor frown. He immediately asked, "According to you, does that mean the remaining four guards were also encountered by the Emperor by chance?"

"At least I think that Zero and Empress Jiu are like this. Zero was accidentally found in a junkyard, and according to my research, Empress Jiu was probably a gladiator in the arena in her previous life. The Emperor just happened to watch that match and took a liking to her."

Professor Einstein had provided him with a lot of help earlier, and Liao Ji was actually trying to help the old professor, intentionally or unintentionally, by telling more of his past stories, which might be helpful to his research on ancient studies.

But it is quite obvious.

The old professor frowned even more deeply, finally letting out a long sigh and patting Liao Ji on the shoulder.

"Young man, don't judge things by appearances. Often, many seemingly random things are actually inevitable. The Great Emperor is far-sighted and may have been secretly watching these potential seeds all along. Whether it's the junkyard or the arena, everything is just arranged by the Great Emperor."

Seeing that Liao Ji's lips were slightly moving, as if he was about to refute, the old professor raised his hand to interrupt him directly, indicating that he did not want to listen or that there was no value in exchanging ideas.

“Young man, I can tell you’re not very old. It’s normal for you to have this kind of predestined romance between the Emperor and his personal guards.”

"But once you experience a little more, you'll know that the Emperor is a terrifyingly rational person, someone who can abandon everything, even himself. The Emperor always wears a cloak and has never bought any other clothes, never purchased any real estate, and has never had any record of indulging in pleasure. The Emperor uses every resource and every means to achieve only one goal: to defeat the Turbid Calamity and save the world."

"If you look closely at history, you'll see that every step the Great Emperor took was for a profound reason. Each time he achieved great success and reaped many rewards. If it was luck once, what about the second, third, and every time? Was it all just luck? Obviously not. Perhaps only the Great Emperor himself knew the layers of design behind it."

Professor Einstein, for some reason—he wasn't usually this talkative—seemed to have many thoughts about this young man today, so he couldn't help but ask:

"Young man, what's your name?"

"Liao Ji".

"Little Liao, the waters here run deep. You can't grasp it yet. Study it for a few more decades."

Liao Ji—no, Little Liao—hesitated to speak.

But in the end, he nodded in approval of the old professor.

"The professor's criticisms are all reasonable, and I will keep them in mind and reflect on them carefully."

Chapter 226 The Traitor

After seeing the old professor off, Liao Ji and Yi Lin casually found a corner of the laboratory to sit down. He wasn't really here to do research or work; Liao Ji was actually there because of the location of the laboratory.

To implant the gang's virus into Kyle Technology, 86 needs to crack the company's firewall.

Besides programming in a virtual network, one can also use physical means to assist 86 in achieving this; that is, the deeper one goes into Kyle Technology, the easier it is to hack 86.

Kyle Technology highly values ​​scholars from Shanghai. The location of this laboratory is considered a prime spot within the entire company building. Given Liao Ji's current employee privileges, this is arguably the best hacking location he could find for 86.

Even with 86 computing power, it would take considerable effort to hack into a super-enterprise, especially one that is technology-driven.

Including the time spent at the morning meeting and chatting with Professor Einstein, Liao Ji waited for about ten more minutes before finally hearing the voice of "86" from the optically invisible terminal in his ear.

"Puzzling. Master, I have successfully gained partial access to Kyle Technology, but before implanting the virus, I discovered traces of vulnerabilities in the company's system. After further investigation, 86 tracked down a similar virus program that had already been implanted into the system, and the virus program was implanted no more than 48 hours ago."

Liao Ji was surprised by 86's words, and he immediately asked, "A similar virus program, also from the Black Fire Gang?"

"A tone of certainty. Yes, Master. Although analysis shows that there is about a 14% difference in the virus programs between the two, the underlying logic and template are the same. It can be confirmed that they are both Blackfire Gang viruses, and upgraded versions of the viruses we have."

This is really interesting, Liao Ji thought to himself.

Such an elite member of Kyle Technology's core team has turned out to be a mole who is colluding with the Blackfire Gang to cause trouble.

But the answer from 86 was somewhat unexpected by Liao Ji.

Why him?

It's worth noting that this exchange meeting of scholars from Shanghai was a project that William was in charge of. Moreover, judging from William's previous performance, he seemed to attach great importance to this press conference, as if he wanted to take a gamble and turn things around for the company.

Liao Ji was quite interested in this high-level mole; if he could find him, he might have another trump card up his sleeve.

"Oh? Brother Liao! You're in the lab too! That's great!"

It must be said that Professor Einstein was right. Often, behind many seemingly lucky and accidental events, there may actually be an inevitability under layers of design.

"The implanter only has a virtual IP address, making it impossible to determine the target's real identity. However, 86 can locate the implanter's position inside the company building by locking onto the IP address. Currently, the target is continuously approaching the owner's location and is estimated to be within visual range in seven seconds."

Yet, this very newly formed gang managed to have a high-level insider within a behemoth like Kyle Technology.

Luo Xiaoji was showing the laboratory to the girls next to him in a very professional manner, like a great scholar, which attracted admiring and respectful looks from the girls. It was clear that Luo Xiaoji was enjoying himself very much and was overjoyed.

Two of them were people Liao Ji knew: Luo Xiaoji, a rich second-generation from Shanghai, and William, an executive at Keltech and the head of their Shanghai scholar group.

“He shook his head. It’s the man next to Luo Xiaoji.”

Should we move closer to this laboratory?

The fact that it's the same Blackfire Gang virus, and an upgraded version at that, undoubtedly proves that there's a mole from the Blackfire Gang inside Kyle Technology. And considering that it took 86 so long to crack the firewall, this mole's rank within the company is probably not low.

The remaining girl was right next to Luo Xiaoji. She had a pretty and delicate face, wore a red scarf, and looked very innocent and charming. She was the kind of girl who gave you a feeling of first love at first glance.

And how did William end up with Luo Xiaoji now? And what's the deal with the girl next to Luo Xiaoji?

The method itself isn't difficult.

Having thought of this, Liao Ji no longer hesitated, immediately got up from his seat, and walked straight towards Luo Xiaoji and the other two.

The situation seemed to have suddenly become more complicated than he had imagined. Liao Ji was determined to get the witch's mark at the press conference two days later, and in order to ensure that no accidents would happen, he had to investigate the matter immediately.

They even meticulously planned a "poaching" scheme to pave the way for the press conference and the company's future.

Luo Xiaoji's attention was completely focused on the girl next to him, and it was clear that he was quite infatuated with her. He didn't realize it until Liao Ji got close enough.

"86, can you trace who implanted this virus program?"

As for why the conversation about love has led us to this point, it's quite simple.

William?

Liao Ji was taken aback by 86's answer. The Black Fire Gang's virus came from William? In other words, Manager William was the mole at Kyle Technology that he was looking for?

hiss

This was something Liao Ji had never expected.

Is the other party also a member of the Demon City Scholars Group?

Or

As the countdown of 86 in the headphones ended precisely, the laboratory doors opened automatically to both sides, and a group of three people appeared in Liao Ji's field of vision.

Ok

It seems I really underestimated the Blackfire Gang.

Liao Ji's intuition told him that there was definitely something else going on.

"Yan Yan, look, this is our lab. Come on, look at all this equipment. Isn't it professional? Isn't it amazing? Let me tell you, even though our ancient studies seem more theoretical, there are actually quite a few experiments that require hands-on practice. Hey! Quick, quick, this is interesting, come and see this!"

Liao Ji had done some research on the background of the Black Fire Gang. It wasn't a long-established gang; on the contrary, it was a dark horse that had emerged in recent years, and many people thought it had just gotten lucky.

Right now, Luo Xiaoji is chatting and laughing with this pure and innocent-looking girl, talking non-stop about something. Even a fool could see that he was pursuing her.

Sitting in the corner, Liao Ji went unnoticed by Luo Xiaoji. He looked at the three of them and couldn't help but ask, "86, is the person you mentioned who implanted the virus Luo Xiaoji?"

However, many other researchers and scholars in the laboratory frowned and were quite disgusted by Luo Xiaoji's behavior and the fact that he had brought an outsider in. But since William was also with them, and the manager seemed to have tacitly approved of this behavior of treating the laboratory as a tourist attraction, they did not dare to speak up.

Upon seeing Liao Ji, Luo Xiaoji's eyes lit up. He had been worried because he had boasted to Yan Yan for a long time, but in the end, he didn't recognize a single scholar around him, which made him feel bad.

Now that Liao Jiyi has come out, as Luo Xiaoji's only friend from the scholar group, he has solved Luo's problem.

"Quickly, let me introduce you. Yan Yan, this is my best buddy, an old acquaintance who has been studying academically with me for many years. Let me tell you, the two of us have cracked countless academic problems and won countless awards. Our hands are sore from exhaustion. He is an absolute rising star in the ancient academic world of Magic City, Brother Liao! Dr. Liao Ji!"

Upon hearing Luo Xiaoji's introduction, and that long prefix, the girl named "Yan Yan" seemed genuinely naive and immediately believed him. She was very nervous, avoiding eye contact, and greeted Liao Ji with great restraint: