Chapter 561: Simulated Universe: Gold and Machinery (9)

Consciousness ebbed like a tide, then surged back onto the shore——Xing blinked, almost drowned by the light waves before her.

"Where the hell did this come from again?"

"Louis Fleming's farewell speech." Heita sat in the seat beside Xing, "Watch closely, Xing, something big is coming."

Xing slightly raised her head and looked around; she found herself in a neat array of chairs, with uniformed company staff stretching endlessly in every direction. They almost reverently lifted their gazes to the massive holographic screen overhead, fixed on the stooped, silver-haired old man within.

Louis Fleming.

As the founder of the Interstellar Peace Company, a living business legend and totem, the embodiment of 【Wealth】 itself, his eyes had long lost their former sharpness, worn down over the ages to nothing but cloudiness and fatigue.

He cleared his throat, hoarse yet resolute, and announced: "——I will retire permanently, attending no further events."

Fleming's words were like a stone dropped into a still lake, instantly stirring up a great wave in the venue; countless company employees began whispering below.

"How long has he lived?" Xing asked Heita beside her.

"No exact count has been made, but he is one of only two lifelong directors who have remained unmoved in the 14,600th board meeting; to this day, some still believe he is alive. The company's official stance is that he still exists, and aside from that, everything is top secret. However, this appearance before you is his final public appearance to date."

"Could it be like Doctor Zhadeweike..."

Heita shrugged: "It's possible; some firmly believe Louis has shed his mortal coil, become data, even that he has ascended to godhood…… In short, such theories abound—just listen to them casually."

——

Genshin.

"Tens of thousands of years……Even bedrock would wear down. Can a human truly bear the burden of such endless time?"

True Monarch Lishui Dieshan found it somewhat unbelievable; regardless of tens of thousands of years, even a few millennia would be enough to wear down the Emperor and their immortal cohort—even if Fleming could prolong his flesh with technology, the resilience of his spirit could not be altered by tech, right?

As a True Monarch who has truly lived for thousands of years, he finds it hard to grasp the impact of the nearly intractable 'wear' that endless time imposes on them; if given a chance to meet Fleming face to face, he would truly wonder how a mortal could survive tens of millions of years.

"Heh, Lishui, you really buy the company's line……" True Monarch Liuyun Jiefeng gently set down his teacup, smiled faintly: "Don't even mention tens of thousands of years—just ten thousand—Lishui, you know how vast that span is; how could a flesh‑and‑body endure? In my view, unless the founder himself is an emissary, or was promoted to emissary midway……"

Liuyun closed his eyes, let out a barely audible sigh, and slowly shook his head.

"Liuyun, you mean…… Fleming is dead?"

"Even if he isn't dead, he's probably no different from a walking corpse. Remember Doctor Zhadeweike? It's much the same—either dead or turned into something like that Screw Gum; in short, they must have made some mental alterations."

"I think there's another possibility." The silent True Monarch Xueyue Zhuyang suddenly spoke up, "You two, do you still recall when the Emperor faked his death?"

"I do—I was scared half to death back then."

"Well, I suppose…… Fleming might just be a nominal figurehead in the company, his true self long ago altered or even had his memories erased by the company. Now he has gone off to other worlds, wandering as a mortal."

As he said that, Xueyue couldn't help but chuckle: "Maybe he's actually in Teyvat now, living a simple yet prosperous life. That wind‑wing left in Heita's space station? That's also the company's doing, huh?"

——

"Just as the emotions in the venue reached their peak——"

"Light…… suddenly appeared."

The originally neat and bright venue lighting was abruptly replaced by a slash of dazzling, gorgeous rosy light! The light refracted in the air into myriad splendors, undulating like a living tide, surging over every astonished face in the hall.

"What…… is this?" Xing couldn't help but raise a hand to shield her eyes; this light was simply too blinding.

"He has come." Heita crossed his arms, lips curling into a faint smile.

"Who?"

The core of the rosy light twisted and condensed on the stage.

A being descended.

He seemed composed of countless fragments of memory in myriad colors——his body refracted innumerable memories——the smiling face of a child on some unknown planet, the wreckage of a shattered star‑ship, the instant a tear evaporated, a person's final prayer on their deathbed…… All the universe's memories gathered like water droplets on him and took form here.

The star‑god of 【Memory】, Fuli.

His aura turned into a "temperature" that washed over Xing's face; in an instant she felt herself sealed within a "neutral memory bubble"——she had been about to absorb more memories, reaching out to touch——but she realized this was not 【Emptiness】; memories hung all around, intangible memory bubbles! Through contact, countless voices poured into Xing's mind……

The Benevolent Heaven's Discourse predicts a war even more vast and terrifying than before will erupt after a certain antivirus program is activated.

Antivirus emotion, a rare malady—unknown what feeling immediately deciphers the anti‑code, it assumes operational energy, the essence of cracking the program.

——

A Mortal's Journey to Immortality (Supplement).

Back Mountain of the Seven Mysteries Gate, a corner of the herb garden.

Han Li sat cross‑legged on the ground, hands forming seals, a faint green light weakly circulating around him—the sign of the Ever‑Spring Technique cycling the heavenly circuit. Yet the light flickered, showing his cultivation was not smooth.

After a long while, he slowly withdrew his practice, opened his eyes, and a flicker of fatigue and reluctance crossed his gaze.

"Still no good……" Han Li wiped sweat from his brow, sensing the barely there thread of true qi within him—still far from the level Doctor Mo demanded. Just thinking of Doctor Mo's ever‑colder eyes sent a chill down his spine.

"Han Li!"

A shout came from afar; Han Li looked up to see Li Feiyu waving at him.

"Has something strange happened again in the heavenly canopy?" Although the heavenly canopy had been visible for a long time, and one could look up to see it, Han Li's mind was wholly on his cultivation, so he inevitably missed many wondrous sights.

Li Feiyu chuckled, crouched beside Han Li, and lowered his voice: "You didn't see? Fuli has appeared again! That deity is……" He opened his mouth wide, at a loss for words, then said, "Um… anyway, that deity is extremely beautiful! Countless light‑shadow fragments and rosy light swirl around her! It's as if she bears all the memories of heaven and earth!"