Chapter 875

The people in the meeting room listened as Li Yi explained knowledge about cultivation and evolution; though they understood, they remained silent, for they realized the true reason why cultivation was impossible.

The universe's energy in this world is thin, the environment terrible, the human body regressed—cultivation is an impossible thing.

This path capable of changing the future, they could only watch helplessly, for it was utterly impassable.

Zhao Hongjie took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, then rallied himself again; though his original plan had failed, as a leader, minor setbacks meant nothing.

"Tai Yi, since the path of cultivation is blocked, can we rely on technology to deal with the dead?"

Li Yi said: "I don't know. When power resides within oneself, technology becomes mere ornamentation. But your world's technological level is extremely low—raising it may not help you fight the dead, but at least it can improve living conditions and boost productivity."

Thinking of this, he pulled several smartphones from his storage ring.

"These are phones from our world, but they're currently dead. Once you charge them and restart them, these few devices will give your technological level a massive leap."

Keep in mind that these are phones used by evolvers, all equipped with the Smart Brain system; although we don't know which generation of AI it is, in this world it's a game-changing advantage.

"Thank you for your help." Zhao Hongjie took the phones and glanced at them.

The technological level was indeed high—every phone had not a single button; to an outsider, they looked like nothing but transparent glass.

But he didn't study them further, merely handed them casually to his secretary.

These things belonged in the hands of specialists; keeping them with him would only be a waste. Though this exchange hadn't achieved the desired effect, helping the nation advance technologically made the trip worthwhile.

"But I'm curious about how your world deals with the dead. When do you plan to act on that place? I'd like to observe." Li Yi said then.

Zhao Hongjie glanced at his secretary.

The secretary immediately said: "We plan to act at ten p. . tomorrow, because the dead only appear at night."

Li Yi nodded: "I'll be there on time."

He wouldn't feel safe until that building was destroyed; if the dead from this world reached Tianchang City, they'd cause trouble. Tianchang City is being rebuilt, order restored—hidden threats must be eliminated.

"Besides destroying that building, do you have any other needs?" Zhao Hongjie asked again.

Li Yi waved his hand: "I'm different from you. Cultivators have minimal needs. I came here solely to resolve this matter—and after I'm done, I'll leave and not interfere in your lives."

Hearing this, Zhao Hongjie smiled: "Cultivators truly are different from ordinary people. Honestly, I'm glad to have met someone of your lofty character."

"No need for flattery. You're a straightforward leader." Li Yi said.

At that moment, a middle-aged man with half his face burned off strode forward and whispered something to Zhao Hongjie's side.

After listening, Zhao Hongjie said with surprise: "Tai Yi, you've also been haunted by the dead? I can resolve it for you immediately—we have experience in freeing people from such hauntings."

"No need." Li Yi shook his head. "I want to see how this dead one kills."

"That's extremely dangerous," Zhao Hongjie said.

Li Yi laughed: "It doesn't matter. If I die, don't bother collecting my body—I won't leave one. I'll just dissolve into energy and scatter across this world."

Does he not fear death? Are cultivators truly this carefree?

Those present couldn't help but think so.

They could clearly sense that this man named Tai Yi thought nothing like them.

As the conversation continued,

Li Yi clearly felt Zhao Hongjie desperately wanted to extract more benefits from him—whether cultivation, technology, or knowledge of other worlds.

But he understood: even a fraction of what he offered could change a nation, change a world.

Li Yi wasn't stingy. Since this body couldn't return home, he was willing to offer them some help.

But was it an illusion?

As time passed, the invisible dead clinging to his back grew heavier—though this weight mattered only to ordinary people; for his body, it was still negligible.

"Could it be trying to crush me?" Li Yi thought.

Beside him, Zhang Yan observed Li Yi's condition and checked the time.

Under normal circumstances,

a living person haunted by the dead wouldn't last long—most died before dawn.

But now dawn had come.

Li Yi was still alive, unharmed.

"Cultivators truly are different—he passed the first night effortlessly," Zhang Yan thought inwardly.

And not just he thought so—the living dead watching from outside the room were also surprised, yet remembering his power to split the earth like a god, they concluded the dead might not harm him at all.

Zhao Hongjie had always wanted to help Li Yi, hoping to build goodwill—it would surely benefit the future.

Too bad Li Yi had no demands whatsoever, leaving Zhao Hongjie both frustrated and reflective.

Perhaps it was precisely this mindset that made him a true cultivator.

Wealth, power, status—mere illusions of ordinary people, useless to someone like Tai Yi.

When morning reached eight o'clock,

the meeting ended.

But Zhao Hongjie only went to rest—he didn't leave the building—and assured Li Yi he could contact him directly for anything.

"I need to learn about the living dead," Li Yi also requested.

Zhao Hongjie immediately agreed.

Soon,

the meeting room emptied of ordinary people; one by one, those with living dead identities entered—over a dozen, each with an unmistakable aura.

Clearly, they were all experts.

At least by the standards of this world.

But to Li Yi, living dead were no different from ordinary people—one lightning strike would kill them. He merely wanted more information about the dead.

"It's truly easier to use high-level authority. If I'd wandered alone, I'd never have met living dead."

At this moment, his gaze swept across them and settled on a young woman in her early twenties.

Her eyes were gray-white, like cataracts—but Li Yi sensed they could perceive something others could not.

"Let me introduce myself—I'm Han Chuan. I can see the dead clinging to your back." The woman spoke up.

"My intuition was right," Li Yi nodded slightly. "Then describe what the dead on my back looks like."

Han Chuan said: "I can't. Because I've seen it, and it's seen me. If I describe its form, it will haunt me. This is a boundary between the living and the dead—never to be lightly broken."

"Can I understand that I was haunted because, as a living person, I crossed this boundary?" Li Yi's expression shifted.

A man with half his face burned said seriously: "Yes. Your insight is sharp—you grasped the reason immediately. But the boundary between living and dead is extremely vague; no one knows what actions constitute crossing it."

"Still, we've compiled some observations into a book. You may read it."

He handed over a booklet.

Li Yi reached out with his mind, drew the booklet to him, flipped through it briefly, then smiled: "Interesting. Living in your world must be exhausting—bound by countless rules, utterly unfree."

The booklet listed many things living people must not do: don't go out in the rain, don't turn back when walking at night, don't speak while eating alone—many rules seemed absurd.

"For survival, there's no choice," said the man with the charred face.