Chapter 224: No Living Humans

“Du Ming…” Jiang Li landed in front of the black coffin-like container marked with Du Ming’s name, gently rubbing the nameplate, completely unable to imagine that the man who had just passionately introduced everything to him was lying here, lifeless, soul gone.

Du Ming’s entire body was completely dehydrated. Through his skin, you could clearly see the outline of his bones. His eye sockets were hollow, no eyeballs, his lips wouldn’t close, revealing withered gums.

Jiang Li had no idea how long Du Ming had been soaking in the blue solution.

The nameplate listed Du Ming’s identity: born in Gougle Year 5839, submerged in solution in Gougle Year 5885. He was a low-level employee at a subsidiary of Feitian Corporation, had a wife and a son.

His wife and son lay right beside him.

Jiang Li had never heard Du Ming mention his family.

“You knew him?” Bai Hongtu couldn’t help asking when he saw Jiang Li’s expression.

“Wasn’t I just saying how fun the holographic simulator was? It was him who introduced it to me. He told me how the grand world worked, what all kinds of small worlds were like, and even enthusiastically suggested I create one myself to try.”

“That is rather unbelievable.” Bai Hongtu couldn’t make sense of what Jiang Li had experienced.

“Come on, let’s first check out what’s going on with Gougle Civilization.”

Jiang Li didn’t dwell on the issue. He wanted to understand the current state of Gougle Civilization before going back into the virtual world.

Living or dead, speculating out of thin air wouldn’t yield any conclusions.

No investigation, no right to speak?

Gougle Civilization spanned five major galaxies, named after elements from the periodic table, showing that their ambitions weren’t limited to just five galaxies.

Across these five galaxies, there were eighteen Earth-like planets, all showing signs of human habitation.

And now, the inhabitants of these planets were all asleep in black containers, looking peaceful.

When Jiang Li probed with divine sense, he discovered that there wasn’t a single living person left in all of Gougle Civilization!

Thick dust covered the traces of the past civilization. Skyscrapers, unable to withstand the wear of time, collapsed naturally. Plants grew wildly, turning cities into primeval jungles of steel and vegetation. Geological changes devastated some cities beyond recognition, leaving no trace of their original appearance.

All signs pointed to there being no human activity for hundreds of years.

No wonder Du Ming said there hadn’t been any newcomers in ages.

Gougle Civilization had fully migrated into the virtual world—how could anyone be left in reality?

Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu walked like ghosts through a tech metropolis abandoned for centuries. The whole city was deathly quiet, like a steel graveyard, burying the splendor of the past, waiting for visitors from beyond the stars to explore it.

If the two of them had just been ordinary people with the ability to travel between realms, they could have gotten rich off the relics of Gougle Civilization.

Unfortunately, they were neither ordinary nor had such intentions.

They only wanted to find out what had happened to turn Gougle Civilization into this.

“These things really are extraordinary.” Bai Hongtu marveled—even having seen the unbelievable technology of Mingzhong Continent and being mentally prepared, he was still amazed by Gougle Civilization’s ingenuity.

After all, Mingzhong’s background was continent-based, and didn’t involve spacefaring technology.

But Gougle Civilization had clearly mastered space tech.

Things like space elevators for interplanetary transport, spatial communication tunnels for real-time interplanetary contact, Dyson spheres powered by stars, dual-use military and civilian spacecraft…

It was worth noting that the spatial communication tunnel technology used for the simulators was originally developed for interplanetary communication—otherwise, messages between planets would have a delay of five minutes to half an hour.

Inefficient communication hinders unity among civilizations.

It also helped that the two of them were well-informed and open-minded, having learned much technological knowledge from Mingzhong. Otherwise, just figuring out what these devices did would have taken ages.

“Still, I wonder how their tech compares to Mingzhong’s?”

The two explored a military base hidden several kilometers underground, disguised as a small asteroid. But under powerful divine sense, no amount of concealment mattered.

Weapons are the highest embodiment of a civilization’s tech—through them, the two could assess Gougle Civilization’s technological level.

“Hydrogen bombs, microwave beam weapons, weather weapons, genetic weapons…” Comparing to a military report left behind by a general, the two identified these fearsome armaments.

These weapons had high area damage but were mediocre against individuals.

For example, weather weapons could alter climates at will, cause floods, earthquakes, heat waves—but what mid-to-high-level cultivator would fear that?

Even low-level cultivators could barely manage with Water Avoidance or Fire Avoidance Techniques.

“None are as powerful as Mingzhong’s Annihilation Cannon. Mingzhong tech takes the win.” Jiang Li answered Bai Hongtu’s earlier question.

Jiang Li rated the Annihilation Cannon highly—only Fusion Stage cultivators could withstand that weapon.

In the zombie world, Tier-6 Enhancers were equivalent to Fusion Stage, but without the three-in-one trait and relying solely on their physical bodies, they couldn’t endure the Annihilation Cannon.

Mingzhong had poured their heart and soul into developing deadly weapons to fight mutant beasts—their entire civilization was mobilized for it. But Gougle Civilization, clearly untroubled by external threats, didn’t prioritize weaponry. That their weapons were inferior to Mingzhong’s made perfect sense.

Moreover, Mingzhong had reached a point where productivity was so advanced, everything was automated, and the government could provide free food, clothing, housing, and transportation to everyone—another sign that Mingzhong’s tech was more advanced.

“Come look at this. It’s their history book.” Bai Hongtu found a book in a library.

Untouched for centuries, the book was extremely fragile, ready to crumble at a touch. Bai Hongtu cast a spell—Rewind Flame and Wind—restoring it to the state it had been a hundred years ago before flipping it open.

“Raw meat and blood, stone tools and fire, unified civilization, industrial revolution… pretty similar to what Mingzhong went through.”

“After the industrial revolution, they began space exploration and entered a new wave of industrial revolution… wait, something’s off here.” Jiang Li pointed at a line.

Gougle Year 5520, Feitian Corporation founder Xiang Gu led a new wave of industrial revolution.

“What’s wrong with that?” Bai Hongtu hadn’t heard Du Ming mention anything like this, and didn’t know that Feitian Corporation was actually the ruling power in Gougle Civilization.

Jiang Li lightly shook his head, didn’t explain, and gestured for him to keep reading.

“…Xiang Gu was the most brilliant scientist in Gougle Civilization. He made groundbreaking achievements in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and material science. It was as if he had already seen the answers, simply leading others step-by-step to discover the truths of science…”

“…The government was corrupt and incompetent, greedy for tax revenue… Feitian Corporation, as a private enterprise, tightly controlled the lifeblood of civilization, stayed at the forefront of the era, and influenced government elections to become the leading force of Gougle Civilization…”

“…Unlike ordinary private enterprises, Feitian Corporation was passionate about public welfare, always holding itself to the standards of a leader, constantly redefining people’s understanding of technology, and committed to applying science to improve daily life…”

“…Gougle Year 5835, Feitian Corporation developed a new generation of holographic simulators. Unlike previous models, users experienced Feitian’s virtual world as indistinguishable from reality…”

“…At the same time, Feitian Corporation also created Longevity Sleep Nutrient Fluid. Users only needed to soak in it to extend their lifespan and enter a deep sleep. No need for food or excretion—every bodily function and need could be fulfilled in the virtual world…”

“…Gougle Year 5885, all of humanity gave up the real world and adopted the holographic simulators. Gougle Civilization officially entered the ‘Virtual Era.’”

Bai Hongtu closed the book and saw the spine was marked: Published by Feitian Corporation Press.

Jiang Li noticed the library’s digital calendar was still tracking the date.

It displayed: Gougle Year 7000.