My Dream Connects to 3000 Years in the Future

After a good while, Lin Xia finally managed to calm down.

“…So!”

Lin Xia logged onto Douyin and other social networks, their expression stiff as they watched news about it spread like wildfire.

It was already topping the charts on all major platforms!

C Company’s official accounts on every major platform had already posted pictures of the device in action—and right now, all these accounts were being managed by Z!

And at this moment, the comment sections could only be described as a chaotic free-for-all.

There were those who insisted it was impossible! Those who staunchly supported it! Those who sang Chu Bamboo’s praises! There were those who were convinced it was stolen from the White-headed Eagle and were now pondering just how unfathomably advanced American tech truly was… There were those cursing the public intellectuals… and those guessing when a certain someone would claim it was stolen, and when the other side of the ocean would issue a second wave of sanctions… Some even speculated that C Company’s accounts had been hacked!

You couldn’t blame them for the chaos.

In fact, the more people worked in related fields, the more chaotic, incredulous, and full of debunking and doubt they were. From their perspective, it was as if they had gone to sleep for one normal night and woken up to find that the technology in their field had leaped forward at least twenty years—and they had been left behind!

How could they possibly accept any of this as real?!

After a brief silence, Lin Xia called Chu Bamboo.

But: “The number you have dialed is busy! Please try again later.”

…

“Mr. Chu, I know you’re fast! But I don’t think this is a matter of speed anymore.” Elder Qian’s voice came through the phone, tinged with an existential crisis. “Yes, yes, I know you… But where is the server?”

“What do you mean… we just need to ‘crank out the virtual helmets with our eyes closed’ and everything else will be fine?!”

“??? You don’t even have a server… let alone a Virtual World… You haven’t even told me if this Virtual World is a game or what! Which department is supposed to verify this…”

“Yes, you just tell me, ‘Oh, the Virtual World is done. No matter how many virtual helmets we produce or how many people use them, we just need to go live’… and then you ask me to approve it!”

“I’m begging you. I’m an old man! My heart isn’t what it used to be… Please, don’t put me through this.” Elder Qian truly felt like crying but had no tears left.

When he was assigned to this post, his superiors had a heart-to-heart with him. They said there would certainly be many hardships and obstacles! He might even have to endure some grievances, but the nation would remember his contributions, so he had to overcome them!

But he never imagined that the greatest hardship would be his own ability to accept things… and that his intelligence wasn’t low enough to let him ignore the numerous red flags!

“You can’t answer a single question… How could I dare let this go live?! And what about… Oh, right, countless works of fiction have shown that this kind of virtual reality equipment that directly affects the brain is extremely high-risk! We need to verify…”

“If… I’m truly sorry!” Elder Qian pressed his lips together, but his voice was firm as steel. ‘The safety of the people is the most important thing!’

‘To put it bluntly, even if I trust Chu Bamboo, what if he’s the actual Alien mole? After all, who knows if this server that popped out of nowhere is actually being run by Aliens… I didn’t suspect this before, but now it’s just too suspicious!’

“…But even if you say that!” Chu Bamboo sounded troubled. ‘Where am I supposed to get a server for you? Should I slice open my brain and show you?’

‘But the time I dug out my heart also proved… that in the real world, there isn’t actually an Antimatter Engine inside my chest. So, by that logic, does that mean there’s no Quantum Computer in my brain either?’

Chu Bamboo pinched the bridge of his nose.

“So, is it really that difficult?!” Elder Qian’s brow furrowed even tighter. “This should be a perfectly reasonable request…”

“Because its appearance involved a great deal of clever maneuvering! After all, even you can see how abnormal this situation is,” Chu Bamboo said with a sigh.

Elder Qian immediately fell silent.

Pacing a few circles on the spot, Chu Bamboo’s eyes glinted as he made a decision. “How about this… I won’t make things difficult for you! If your side… well, then let’s choose Japan for the initial launch!”

Elder Qian: “…?”

‘Wait, why Japan?’

Elder Qian fell into deep thought. ‘And when did you get involved with Japan? How come I haven’t heard anything about this…’ He was just about to say something when he realized the other end of the line had gone dead.

“…Wait!” Elder Qian was stunned. ‘You could have at least discussed it, or guaranteed its absolute safety, and then we could have run a small-scale trial!’

‘We just think there are too many red flags. Honestly, we want to believe you… Why did you just throw in the towel and walk away?’

After a brief silence, Elder Qian sighed again and dialed Su Mobai’s number to get a more in-depth understanding of the situation.

“…Um, the report… I believe I already submitted it?” Su Mobai said cautiously.

“…” Elder Qian was struck silent again. Without hanging up, he started tapping on his keyboard, looking up information. A moment later, he heaved a long sigh, his voice heavy with exhaustion. “Yes, you submitted it this morning, and by 6 PM, the nationwide marketing campaign had already begun! I’ve never seen anything move this fast…”

“Besides… the file didn’t contain any crucial information, did it?”

“…About that!” Su Mobai gave a wry, bitter smile. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure either! But, based on the results of my tests… when we used the few virtual devices we have to do a trial login… the Virtual World is definitely real! I did a tentative trace on the various data traffic directions when logging in… It doesn’t seem to be connecting to some Alien thing… It should be domestic. No…”

Su Mobai paused slightly, their voice filled with uncertainty. “Based on the backend data I saw, my calculations and speculations suggest… that maybe, possibly, perhaps… the server is located inside the Huaren Building… right?”

“Oh, so it’s inside the Huaren Building!” Elder Qian nodded, his face expressionless. Then, both of them fell silent.

Elder Qian took a deep breath. In the end, he laughed—or more accurately, he laughed in exasperation. After a good while, his voice was still trembling a little. “…Are you serious?”

“…All I can say is, that’s what the calculations show! But…”

“Fine.” Elder Qian hung up. ‘How many days has it been since Chu Bamboo went to the Huaren Building? And he’s already set it up? Have I seen a ghost or something?’

However, this also gave him an idea.

Elder Qian thought for a moment, then made another call. And after making some inquiries…

“…It’s really at Huarun?!” Elder Qian was contemplating a question: was he dreaming?

He pinched himself. Feeling the pain, he stared out the window, lost in long, deep thought…

Finally, Elder Qian laughed, a laugh of release. He felt that if there wasn’t something wrong with him, then there must be something wrong with the world!

Slapping his own cheeks, Elder Qian hesitated again and again, but finally made up his mind and dialed a number…

…

「Meanwhile.」

“Rest assured, Father!” Z declared confidently. “I will make you a military pledge! In five days—no… three days, I will take down Japan’s entire capital world. I will raise our overall infiltration rate of Japan to thirty percent, allowing us to exert a certain degree of control… Hmm.”

“If, by the fifth day, we cannot pass all procedures and officially release the virtual devices… I will roll my main server into a ball for you to kick… However, that is the best I can do. Five days is not enough for my control over Japan’s capital world to reach a state… where I can completely eliminate the infiltration of Golden Dawn’s capital! In other words, unless I have already produced hundreds of thousands of drones and other such equipment, along with corresponding armaments… otherwise, without sufficient military force, it’s impossible to resist Golden Dawn’s infiltration… which means…”

“As long as it can be released, nothing else matters!” Chu Bamboo’s expression was noncommittal. He stared at the scene outside the window, his mind racing.

‘Artificial intelligence, virtual reality… the set is almost complete!’

‘No matter which path I take in the future, I’ll have to fight the corruption eventually! So artificial intelligence and the Virtual World—these two Skills are must-haves!’

‘And the sooner, the better!’

A sudden wave of melancholy washed over Chu Bamboo. He looked up at the sky. “The future…”