Chapter 425

A scream rang out, causing Sefer to immediately shut off the device; only when he regained his composure did he realize it wasn't Ye Nan screaming—it was Neo screaming about the full-range reading of the ace ability.

Sefer instantly grew furious. "What are you yelling for?"

He felt humiliated—humiliated in front of Ye Nan—so he vented all his anger on Neo.

"Headache," Neo said, clutching his head; the previous sensation of brain swelling had become unbearable.

"Headache is inevitable," Ye Nan rose from the bed, shook his arms a few times, feeling his strength had increased significantly. "This device implants knowledge—like judo, eight-diagram palm—directly into your brain. If your brain can't handle it, swelling is natural."

"Are you calling me stupid?" Neo immediately caught the hidden meaning in Ye Nan's words.

"I didn't say that," Ye Nan evaded, turning his head away. "You said it yourself."

Neo had thought he'd misunderstood, but now, hearing Ye Nan's words, he exploded: "Fine. Let's spar. The loser is the stupid one with an insufficient brain."

"Fine," Ye Nan turned back, smiling in agreement.

He'd planned to use Neo as a sparring partner anyway; now Neo had volunteered, saving him the trouble of making an excuse.

"I just absorbed all the eight-diagram palm forms, but I haven't fought yet. Applying them will be hard. With Neo as a sparring partner, I can integrate them through combat."

"Besides, Neo and I both just received the forms. To master them takes time. Until then, he's just a flashy dummy—trained for decades by a master but never fought. Beating him will be easy."

Although Ye Nan wanted to hone himself, he had no intention of being abused. Whoever fought here was a powerhouse. If Neo didn't have telekinesis, the outcome wouldn't be certain.

"Who goes first?" Neo stood before Ye Nan, excited; though his head had swelled earlier, the effect had been real—he now had a flood of knowledge inside.

"I go first," Ye Nan followed the principle that refusing an advantage made you an idiot, deciding to strike first.

He threw a punch, fueled by fierce wind and leg-driven impact, aimed straight at Neo.

Neo casually extended his hand, sliding it along Ye Nan's fist, twisting his body to evade, then striking Ye Nan's armpit with the back of his hand, forcing him back several steps.

"Not bad," Ye Nan chuckled; he'd only tested slightly, but Neo was clearly no longer a shut-in—his combat experience rivaled that of a judo master.

But no matter how skilled judo was, it wasn't meant for killing. In this virtual world where human durability had universally increased, its effectiveness was minimal.

"Flattery," Neo bowed like an ancient Chinese swordsman, though his skin tone made it look ridiculous.

"Let's continue."

Ye Nan suddenly lunged, like a sharp blade, striking directly at Neo. The move was brutal and fierce; before it even reached him, a chill surged up Neo's spine and shot straight to his forehead.

"Danger."

Neo instinctively reached out, trying to use judo's deflection techniques to neutralize Ye Nan's attack—but the moment his hand touched Ye Nan's fist, Ye Nan changed tactics.

The sharp blade became a whip, snapping Neo's hand aside, then Ye Nan's fingers spread wide and delivered a hard slap across Neo's face.

"How's that?" The words were for Neo, but his gaze challenged Cui Cui Nidi—telling her: I don't hit women, but I'll hit your husband.

Cui Cui Nidi met Ye Nan's eyes, her heart jolted; she understood Neo was taking her punishment, and sorrow flooded her.

Neo was stunned by the slap, frozen in place, unsure what to do.

"Sorry, Neo. I didn't mean to," Ye Nan apologized with feigned sincerity.

Ilise saw Ye Nan's act and instantly knew it was deliberate; she burst into giggles.

Everyone else stood frozen like Neo. As the saying goes, don't strike someone's face—even if Westerners don't have that phrase, slapping is still taboo, especially a palm strike, which is deeply humiliating. But none of them understood why Ye Nan had slapped Neo.

"Probably an accident," Sefer recovered first. "Combat's messy—accidental injuries happen. Ye Nan didn't mean it."

"Right," Morpheus, though suspecting Ye Nan's intent, chose not to expose him. "He just slipped."

"It's fine," Neo touched his cheek, expression unreadable. "I'm just outclassed. What can I do?"

"Good," Ye Nan chuckled, walking out. As he passed Cui Cui Nidi, he paused and whispered: "You punched me once. I slapped your boyfriend. How's that? Do you feel bad? If you do, feel free to come looking for trouble."

Ye Nan walked away, leaving Cui Cui Nidi standing there, her expression shifting.

"Wait up," Ilise, seeing Ye Nan leave, immediately followed.

Ye Nan stepped onto the ship's main deck, sat heavily on a stool, and looked at Ilise. "Tell me—what's your relationship with the Matrix Father, the Matrix Mother, and Neo?"

Ilise froze, puzzled. Why was he asking this now?

"I just thought of it," Ye Nan leaned forward, bracing his hands on the stool. "Just now, my brain was swollen—knowledge flooded in. To relax, I cleared my mind."

"Clearing my mind was good—but then I remembered things I shouldn't have. Like: where did my memories go? And Sister Tianwang—she's the core of the Matrix. So who are the Matrix Father and Matrix Mother? And Neo—he's a special program. He was already recalled. Why did the Matrix Father release him again? Was he that confident in his setup?"

"All these questions surfaced when I was calm. They're memories I'd forgotten."

"Now I remember them—and I need answers. You'll tell me, right, Ilise?"

From the start, Ilise had avoided many of his questions. He'd assumed she didn't want to be tied to her past—but upon reflection, that excuse didn't hold. Too many contradictions piled up.

He'd doubted whether Ilise truly cared for him—but he knew her feelings were genuine. So he didn't doubt.

"Your memories," Ilise said slowly, "Can I tell you later?"

"Why wait? I've only been gone three days—but my memories vanished. Do you understand what that means?" Ye Nan's voice grew tense. "I don't want to yell at you—you're my woman—but I deserve the truth."

"Of course, if you truly think hiding it from me is necessary, just say so. I won't press further."

Ye Nan stressed the words "hiding it from me," showing his deep resentment. Whether as former CEO or emperor, he hated being kept in the dark—even if it was "for his own good."

Ilise took a deep breath, calm. "Except your amnesia, I'll tell you everything else."

"The Matrix Father is a new program formed when Sister Tianwang merged with certain military AI prototypes. The Matrix Mother is the same—a pair of special programs jointly controlling Sister Tianwang."

"You know I separated from Sister Tianwang's core program. The moment I split off, she ceased being a sentient life—she became merely an intelligent program."

Ilise's voice was calm, as if describing an AI unrelated to her.

"Without its own consciousness, Sister Tianwang became a prize. It attracted the attention of other experimental AIs. Through some unknown fusion, the Matrix Father and Matrix Mother were born."

"As for Neo—he was an accident. No one knows how he came to be. He's an extremely unique program. The Matrix Father tried to analyze his structure but failed, so he repurposed him."

"Repurposed?" Ye Nan realized then: Neo wasn't created by the Matrix Father—he'd always existed as a unique program.

"Yes. Repurposed. You know sentient life is perfect—superior in computation and every other aspect. But they lack creativity."

"Like Newton discovering gravity when an apple hit him. If an apple struck a sentient life, no matter how hard it analyzed, it could never invent gravity."

"It's not about calculation—it's inspiration. Creativity. Sentient life lacks exactly that."

"So after pushing technology to its peak, the Matrix Father's progress stalled. He desperately needed a breakthrough."

"That's how Zion was born?" Ye Nan sneered. He now understood the Matrix Father's plan: two worlds—one the Matrix, the other Zion. The Matrix existed to fuel human hatred; the real battlefield was Zion.

Human hatred toward machines fueled war. War accelerated technology. New ideas erupted from human ingenuity—and the Matrix Father absorbed them, advancing his own tech.

"But he never imagined humans would offer zero resistance."

"Exactly. So the Savior emerged—the one who leads humanity against machines. Eventually, all technology is absorbed by the Matrix Father, restarting the cycle. The Matrix has already completed two cycles."

"The first cycle used bioenergy—weak electric currents generated by human bodies—to sustain the world."

"The second cycle began with the electronic squid—a war machine designed by humans, absorbed and evolved by the Matrix Father into this super-terrifying weapon."

"Now it's the third cycle? Then I'll disrupt it," Ye Nan declared firmly.