Qin Hong sat on the couch for a while and read several news' articles. However, he soon got tired of reading them. Chen's memories have not fully merged with his, and it's a hassle to keep scrolling through them to understand the articles. He decided to call out to Ring, but got an unexpected response:
(I will not be in contact with you for a while)
'Is something wrong?'
(Time traveling and holding your body in the void has exhausted me. Your blood has no energy and there's no spiritual energy, so I have no choice but to hibernate in order to save energy)
'You can't use the spiritual energy in the life farm?'
(If I use the spiritual energy, it causes instability to the space since I have to take it out of the spatial dimension in order to use it. It is meant to be used inside the life farm, and what you saw of me is just a projection inside)
'Oh...'
(Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, and you'll also be fine. Based on the information you've given me and the information I've gathered from detectable energy ripples, this human society outside the spiritual realm should be very stable and safe as long as you don't break any laws.)
'When will you awake?'
(Without any help, it'll take many years to awaken. But I can convert some physical energy in order to gain energy, which will shorten the time by a lot. Preferably, spiritual energy would be best if you can get some when the barrier collapses)
'Okay then'
(Shutting down then...)
The dim, dazzling ring in his dantian quickly dimmed before looking like a normal ring. No more energy could be detected and his spiritual energy gave it no response.
With a sigh, he left the inner view of his body and returned to reality. Once again, he was alone, with nobody to relate to. He decided to check out one more news article related to mining:
[The United Federation has been silent the past few mouths regarding the drastic increase in mining. Four months ago, the UF held a secret meeting with over a thousand mining industries. A week later, President of the United Federation, Mark Collins, released a subsidy bill covering 9 out of 10 of those industries. The amount of credits has yet to be released, but the effects are already being seen.]
[This is only the tip of the iceberg. For reasons unknown, the government is paying large amounts of credits for construction companies to pull out of restoring the Euthenia galaxy (Galaxy 3) and the Solymus galaxy (Galaxy 107). Not only that, but they are paying them to disassemble everything with full reimbursement. Families and individuals are also getting reimbursed for moving back.]
[Since four months ago, many companies are showing signs of pulling out from mining districts. Research facilities present around dead stars and black holes have been closing and disassembled. Both of these have been increasing in intensity as of this past months across all mining and research districts in many galaxies.]
[Could a major event be approaching? Could a huge disaster be approaching? We don't know, but these are signs that something big, and I mean big! Is approaching. Keep following the Milky Weekly for more future info.]
Looking at the article, there was a slight interest, considering that the Ring mentioned that the giant barrier around the cultivation realm is on the verge of collapse.
'Perhaps the two are connected?'
Bored, he meditated for a while before curiosity got the better of him. He turned on his console and decided to search something.
"Console, search up 'soul'."
[3,094,843,221 results for 'soul']
A holographic interface appeared in front of him and many links to soul research, religion, and facts were instantly shown. He began to click and read through each of them with some interest as he compared them to Chen's memories.
"According to the community of science, the 'soul' is a stable quantum field connected to the brain composed of the host's information, knowledge, and memories. The longer one lives, the bigger the quantum field becomes in response to information gathering. While the brain may forget, the soul will never forget."
"Upon death, the quantum field quickly becomes unstable before it dissipates into nothing. Studies have shown that individuals with more powerful quantum fields tend to last a very long time in a semi-conscious state, explaining the existence of ghosts."
"Wait a minute. does that mean my powerful soul is already known? Console! What can detect a person's soul?"
[Soul modules can be used to detect and measure a person's soul. Civilian-grade surveillance systems, police/security forces, and many types of androids also have features meant to measure one's soul strength.] It said aloud.
"Meaning, my soul has been visible the entire time?"
[Yes. Any efforts to hide your soul strength is futile in the face of authority. You are not the first person who has done this]
His face immediately turned blue from embarrassment. Once again, he was underestimating human technology, except with embarrassment this time. All the people that could see were probably sneering secretly at him while others were thinking he's an old man based on the size of his soul.
--------
Hong immediately left the internet and tried to stop thinking about the incident. He gradually calmed down before activating virtual reality.
The function is automatically installed in every console for every user regardless if they are poor or rich. Some basic single-player and multiplayer games are automatically there for everyone, which does a great job at generating happiness for those who are tired of reality and their jobs.
Additionally, if you pay a decent price, you can access the Virtual Realm of Living or VRL for short.
Considering how advanced virtual reality is, it is no surprise that there is a virtual realm where people live or visit. It is the same place for people to upload their minds into permanently to escape reality. Being no different than reality, it's basically another Milky Way but on an infinitely flat world.
Upon activating the VR function, the console trembled before turning into a viscous black liquid. It rolled up his arm and approached his face. The feeling felt cool and soothing, but it did no hide the uncomfortable look in his eyes.
'A person in the cultivation realm would probably think of this as a disgusting creature and try to kill it'
While suppressing the urge to throw it off him, he watched as it crawled up his neck before forming a shape.
Thankfully, it started from the back of his head and did not make it look like he was going to be smothered by a horrifying creature. The liquid gradually assembled into a spherical shape around his head, bringing a cool sensation.
Upon approaching his face, it formed two holes for his eyes before turning into glass. Then it turned into two holes for his nose to breath out, and then a hole for his mouth.
From an outside perspective, it was as if a black liquid encased his entire head before forming the shape of a helmet.
The two glass circles in front of his eyes flickered to life as interfaces appeared.
[Initializing VR...]
[Adjusting parameters to brain waves and quantum field...]
[Inducing mild sleep effect...]
His vision gradually blurred as he fell into a sleep.