Chapter Seventeen: The Trickster

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Back inside the mountain cave, it was already deep into the night.

As Ye Han finished setting up the repeaters and base stations, the ten bodies controlled by Chen Xu, Yang Qi, Xu Hao, and the others gradually awakened.

Through the inscription on their chests, Ye Han quickly confirmed their current locations and basic information.

They were all within the territory of the Eastern Li Dynasty.

Their assigned identities were all as slaves.

However, unlike Ye Han, none of them were as fortunate to have someone take their place in advance.

When they crossed over, they all appeared in slave camps, occupying the lowest rung of society.

Fortunately, because their bodies had been dormant previously, the slave contracts had not yet been signed. Coupled with the chaos wrought by a series of nuclear explosions during the day, the entire camp was in disarray, so they were safe for the moment.

“Alright, I understand.”

After confirming the positions of the ten, Ye Han still couldn’t determine which one would serve under his command.

He planned to ask the steward the next morning about the locations of his own faction’s slave camps.

Once the information was reported, we shift to a slave camp on the outskirts of the Eastern Li royal capital.

Chen Xu, hiding in a corner and gnawing on a moldy cornbread, contacted Ye Han in a private channel with the support of his think tank, tentatively probing, “Shouldn’t you give us a proper explanation?”

“An explanation?” Ye Han raised an eyebrow.

This was a well-crafted question. Without specifying what needed to be asked, it still conveyed Earth’s dissatisfaction, while subtly probing Ye Han’s limits as an equal.

“Fair enough, you have the right to know.”

Ye Han thought of his own origins on Earth, his consciousness bound to it, and knew that any future upgrades in authority would depend on his home civilization. He decided to be honest.

After a moment’s thought, Ye Han began, “My birthplace is: the Celestial Pool: Pan-Human Faction, Ninth Sequence, Liyang Star Domain.

As long as one is born in the main world belonging to a sequence, regardless of one’s status, at birth they will be bound to a planet from a subsidiary star realm.

Within the Liyang Star Domain, there are 27 subsidiary star realms, each essentially a universe under Liyang’s jurisdiction.

The planet I’m bound to, Vast Blue, is one within the 07 Star Realm.”

“What exactly is the Celestial Pool? Our Ear—”

Chen Xu was quick to interject, but Ye Han cut him off before he could finish. After all, their conversation was via the examination inscription, who knew if there were eavesdroppers.

“Our Vast Blue, though in the 07 Star Realm, is but a drop in the ocean compared to the enormity of the Celestial Pool.

By the way, the clone on Vast Blue with ID 32082... that’s your biological brother, isn’t it?

The college entrance examination is a major event for the entire Pan-Human Faction. If you die in this exam, I’ll be sure to look after your brother when I return!”

Ye Han’s offhand remark sent a chill down the spine of Chen Xu’s think tank.

Vast Blue? That string of numbers was unmistakably an Earth registration code!

They’d already investigated Chen Xu’s background—only child for three generations, not a single sibling, not even a cousin.

Ye Han’s mention of the Pan-Human Faction’s attention was instantly understood by the think tank.

“Urgent bulletin: Earth’s name remains undisclosed. Refer to everything as Vast Blue.”

The think tank’s dedicated reporter immediately logged out to inform the other nine teams and also reported the identification code Ye Han had provided.

As Earth began mobilizing resources to track down the individual with that code—

On Xiyuan Star, Ye Han continued, “You’re aware of the college entrance exam. It’s a process of survival of the fittest, affecting one billion candidates across the Pan-Human Faction.

Each sequence has its own characteristics. The Ninth Sequence, where I’m from, is technology-oriented; the other eight are shrouded in mystery.

The First Sequence belongs to the mystical immortal branch—the main world is a continent as vast as a universe, with 72 subsidiary star realms, forming the main force on the Celestial Battlefield.

The Second Sequence is the mystical fantasy branch, whose main world, like Liyang’s, belongs to its own universe with 21 subsidiary star realms, and mainly focuses on elemental manipulation; these people are relatively conservative.

The Third Sequence is the mysterious and uncanny branch, where world rules are chaotic and many phenomena defy scientific explanation—a world at odds with conventional reality. It has only 5 subsidiary star realms, the fewest among all sequences.

The Fourth Sequence is the mystical high-fantasy branch, with 36 subsidiary star realms and a philosophy of might makes right, but is famously impoverished among the Pan-Human Faction.

The Fifth Sequence is rather unique; I know little about it. Its ruler was once the mount of the Faction’s master, and it’s made up entirely of exotic beasts. It has 49 subsidiary star realms, and it’s said that with sufficient authority, one may choose a mount from this sequence.

In this entrance exam, the demon race are its candidates.

The Sixth Sequence was once its own faction, but its ruler was defeated by the Pan-Human Faction on the Celestial Battlefield. Three of the Ninth Sequence’s subsidiary star realms were taken from them.

Now, the Sixth Sequence is peculiar; its people exist between the real and dark planes—a contradiction without souls or bodies, mere formless existences of dark energy and information.

Though their main focus is said to be technology, their doctrine is that all ‘spiritual energy’ and ‘elemental’ effects are simply manifestations of dark plane influences upon reality.

The human soul, they claim, is essentially data, and only by returning to the dark plane can humanity find its final destiny—only there can the soul unify and become immortal data.

Of course, this theory, except in the Third Sequence, is seen as negative elsewhere.

As for the Seventh Sequence, they’re unpopular everywhere, even the Sixth Sequence wants nothing to do with them.

They live off collecting faith—their 365 subsidiary star realms are inhabited by their believers.

They excel at seduction and infiltration; there’s nowhere on the Celestial Battlefield they cannot reach.

The Eighth Sequence is the Pan-Human Faction’s wasteland. Except for educated personnel in the main world, their 12 subsidiary star realms are all left to fend for themselves.

Candidates from this sequence usually disappear after the exam.

Without exception, they all leave the Faction’s territory, journeying alone to explore the Celestial Pool. After the exam, they’re either wandering the worlds or on their way to do so.

Because their consciousness is bound to the civilization of their home planet, as long as their civilization survives, even if they die throughout the Celestial Worlds, in time collective consciousness will revive them.

If their genes are preserved in advance, they can reconstruct their bodies upon awakening.”

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After giving an overview of the Pan-Human Faction, Ye Han fell silent.

Nine main worlds, 593 subsidiary star realms—a collective of 602 universes.

Earth, upon hearing all this, needed time to process.

Ye Han did not interrupt. Taking advantage of a free moment, he left his room and summoned the steward.

In the dead of night, the steward arrived, bleary-eyed.

Ye Han, seeing him, gave a direct order: “Go gather the locations of all the major slave camps in Eastern Li.”

“Yes, young master!” The steward nodded respectfully, unfazed by being awakened at such an hour.

Everyone, including those who had left the city, felt grateful for Ye Han’s prior command; otherwise, they would have been reduced to ashes by now.

There was no question, no doubt. The old steward immediately went to collect the information.

Once he left, Ye Han returned to his stone chamber.

“Mr. Ye, I’ve noted everything you said, but I have one more question.”

Soon, Chen Xu’s voice sounded again.

Mr. Ye?

Ye Han squinted slightly. He’d never told Chen Xu his name.

Clearly, the massive machine had begun to move.

But perhaps that was for the best.

If Earth couldn’t find his body, by the time he returned, it might already have been cremated.

Now that they’d found him, there was no need to worry.

Medical technology aside, maintaining the physiological functions of a vegetative body was certainly within their capability.

“What’s your question?” Ye Han asked.

Chen Xu said bluntly, “Why did the Pan-Human Faction establish this kind of entrance exam? Aren’t they afraid of internal disorder?”

Ye Han sighed. “There are two reasons. One is limited resources—there’s no place for the useless. The other is the constant wars for control over newly discovered universes in the Celestial Pool.

In the struggle for universal dominion, the universe itself becomes a meat grinder. Without seizing new universes, there are no new resources; complacency leads to eventual destruction by others, erasure from the Celestial Pool.

Thus, war is inevitable. The wars of the entrance exam are still under the Faction’s control, but on the Celestial Battlefield, life and death are left to fate.”

Ye Han’s explanation was simple and direct.

In the end, it was all about production.

To survive, one must continually expand, seize resources, and strengthen oneself.

“Oh, right!”

Ye Han seemed to recall something. “Because the main focus is war, the Faction’s spiritual construction is lacking—this might be an opening.

On the control panel, the immense evaluation values of ‘Capital Theory’ and ‘Marxist-Leninist Texts’ far surpass even the Dongfeng series.

This is just one crystallization of modern Earth’s spirit.

That evaluation is a composite index across all 602 universes of the Faction, reflecting the rarity of such achievements.

It’s one reason my predecessor pursued information engineering.

Entertainment is still a booming industry within the Faction.”

“Spiritual construction?” Chen Xu’s think tank’s eyes lit up.

That was something Earth had in abundance.

Building a spiritual world? Child’s play.

Earthlings might lack many things, but never spiritual nourishment.

“Quick, highlight this point!”

The think tank’s reporter immediately logged off to relay this to higher-ups.

Soon, a decision was made: to vigorously support online writers, making them eligible for professional titles equivalent to those in arts and culture.

Efforts would also be made to improve the welfare system for those in spiritual and artistic fields.

Naturally, the main focus was on web novelists.

After all, these shut-ins might lack other skills, but they excelled at building realms of fantasy.

“Understood, Mr. Ye. I’ve noted everything.”

Chen Xu replied earnestly, “This entrance exam is both a challenge and an opportunity for Vast Blue. We will cooperate fully, even at the cost of our lives!”

Ye Han recognized this as the government speaking through Chen Xu.

He replied just as sincerely, “Vast Blue is my bound planet, my greatest support. It is the civilization of Vast Blue that sustains my spirit, that grants my consciousness immortality. I will strive for its prosperity all my life!”

With that, Ye Han ended the discussion and disconnected the inscription communication.

On Chen Xu’s end, as the hub of information transfer, his worldview had been completely overturned. Amidst excitement, he felt endless anxiety, fearing he might fail in his duties.

He was not alone. On Vast Blue, a certain little girl felt the same.

“How can this be!”

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Yan Qiluo sat limply on her knees in the command chair, her eyes vacant.

Through a backdoor port she’d left, she had intercepted all data from the clone Chen Xu controlled.

The massive influx of information shattered her psychological defenses completely.

“Vast Blue isn’t a virtual world… I’m not a virtual idol!”

Having confirmed the world was real, Yan Qiluo felt no joy, only deep worry.

Her ponytail drooped lifelessly down her back as she bit her crimson lips and weakly clutched her little toes.

She felt thoroughly played.

...

Inside the cave, the lights burned brightly.

“Young master, all the information you requested is here.”

Steward Zhou, having stayed up all night, stood at the door with a map, knocking softly.

The map of the Eastern Li Dynasty in his hand was marked with the locations of their family’s assets and the distribution of other powers.

Ye Han walked to the door, opened it a crack, and took the map, memorizing the details.

He compared the positions of the ten who had descended with him to Xiyuan.

Soon, Ye Han noticed that Xu Hao, the rich second-generation, was within his own sphere of influence.

He was now in Jiatong Pass—the very city where Ye Han had first arrived.

Since this city bordered the demon territories, it had not been directly hit by nuclear attacks, to prevent the candidates of the Fifth Sequence from gaining an advantage.

“Jiatong Pass is on the frontier, with a thriving market and over thirty thousand slaves.”

Studying the highlighted Jiatong Pass on the map, Ye Han fell into deep thought.

He commanded over 170,000 slaves in total, with nearly a sixth in Jiatong Pass alone.

If Xu Hao was there, he could easily be entrusted with its management.

With a think tank supporting him, Ye Han had no fear of Xu Hao making reckless moves.

The challenge lay in subtly maneuvering Xu Hao into leadership and having him fully take charge of the market.

If Ye Han simply gave a direct order, pulling him up without warning, it would draw the attention of the other candidates.

They would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one slip by.

Ye Han was certain that, if they had any suspicion, they would eliminate the target immediately.

After all, if they killed correctly, they could summon another native lifeform from their home territory—a very profitable trade.

As Ye Han pondered, Chen Xu suddenly contacted him: “Clan Chief Yan requests direct communication with you.”

“Yan Qiluo?”

Ye Han was stunned.

What was this girl up to now?

Sensing Ye Han’s confusion, Chen Xu sighed, “The clone’s control chip is based on parameters set by Clan Chief Yan.”

“She left a back door?!”

With that, Ye Han understood immediately.

She’d kept a trump card.

He’d thought she was trustworthy and reliable.

Ye Han rubbed his temples in frustration. “Let her connect, then.”

She’d already eavesdropped, so there was nothing more to hide. With her skills, she’d certainly left other tricks—a clean-up would be too late now.

Besides, she was too adorable for Ye Han to do anything drastic.

As Ye Han agreed to the connection, a virtual helmet dropped from a portal of light in the room.

“Oh?”

Looking at the pink pig-shaped helmet on the floor, Ye Han grinned.

She was clearly upset.

But that was good—it meant she was still willing to negotiate.

“If you want to speak face-to-face, so be it.” Ye Han picked up the helmet and put it on without hesitation.

“No-good liar!” The moment the connection was made, Yan Qiluo’s petulant voice echoed in his ears.

“Where is this?”

Ye Han opened his eyes to find himself in a room full of pink plush toys.

“This is my private space. What, not grand enough for you?”

In the virtual platform, Yan Qiluo clutched a pink pig plush, glowering at Ye Han with puffed cheeks. “Why did you lie to me?”

“When did I lie to you?” Ye Han scratched his nose awkwardly.

He’d just arrived and hadn’t realized this was her bedroom—a foolish question.

Vast Blue had undergone five waves of information innovation—virtual spaces were their specialty.

Earthlings had only adapted their own VR technology from this foundation.