"Just as you said, there really aren't any problems."
In the rooftop garden of the plant shop, Yu Zhezhong poured another cup of tea for Qin Xuezhong.
He didn't sit down but leaned against the railing, looking down the street. At the end was the old branch of the Federal Archives.
The Federal Archives allows citizens to access gradually declassified confidential information or, through optical glasses, directly connect to the main brain's physical library to view many documents that haven't been digitized.
One can imagine that in a federation overwhelmed by virtual dreams and simulated games, hardly anyone would take the time to visit the archives.
But now, there was a long queue outside.
The line even turned a corner, extending beyond Yu Zhezhong's line of sight.
—These were people seeking to understand true history and to find past records of themselves and their families.
Due to Ouyang Zhao's large-scale brainwashing across the federation and the planet, many people's lives and their parents' histories had been distorted.
Fortunately, as a researcher, Ouyang Zhao could never resist the temptation of "data preservation." For someone who developed 'Destiny' based on chaos theory, any piece of data or story of a person being changed would have a tremendous impact on the world.
So, she erased those records from the internet and people's memories, but printed them out and stored them in archives around the region.
After the illusions faded, the Ghost Organization took a strong stance in negotiations with the federal government, expressing Qin Xuezhong's hopes—to open the erased memory records, allowing people to understand what really happened back then.
This move faced considerable opposition.
Because the matters involved were vast, from the entire social history down to individual lives, all of which contained many falsehoods.
Once people were made aware of the truth, many might find it unbearable.
Even Yu Zhezhong had such concerns at first.
For the people of the federation, the fear of losing their minds had been a lifelong anxiety, almost a subconscious reaction.
Whenever something happened, their first worry was whether it would affect their mental state.
In fact, many times when there were mental issues, it was mainly due to the conflict between Ouyang Zhao's large-scale brainwashing and human brain instincts.
Now that the illusions had faded, everyone's psychological state began to stabilize, mirroring the outside environment.
Many people coming out of the archives were silent.
After all, the world they had recognized their entire lives suddenly looked completely different, and anyone would feel a strong impact.
Moreover, many had recently lost family and friends due to various events.
Yet, everyone still felt a sense of new hope.
Previously, under poor conditions and high-pressure living, each person was on the brink of collapse. Now, they could finally take a deep breath.
Yu Zhezhong had also heard that in the slums, some people had started organizing civilian pioneering teams, intending to leave Valley City and explore the wilderness, hoping to establish a new home.
To explore new land, find new resources, and start a new life…
It was said that many people in the slum district looked quite happy.
What surprised Qin Xuezhong was that Xue Zhi Shi actually wanted to join the pioneering team.
After resolving matters in the capital district, old Xue used the Ghost Organization's temporary permissions to check his wife's records in the main brain.
The results showed no stories of alteration or lies; his wife had indeed suffered total brain death in the virtual dream and could not return.
The culprit from back then had directly perished in the chaos engineered by Ouyang Zhao.
Losing his purpose in life, old Xue decided to leave Valley City to start a new chapter.
Jin An An, the dissecting expert, became the new head of the analysis department. She promoted deeper cooperation between the analysis department and others, simplifying work processes.
This change made Xie Ke very happy. He continued to immerse himself in the online world daily, not only playing games but also helping the Ghost Organization monitor various changes online, quietly serving as a guardian.
Zhang Yuan, however, withdrew from the security department and, along with Kaise, started managing the Ghost Organization full-time.
Now, the Ghost Organization was not only a hidden protector of the city but also established an online cooperation network throughout the federation, analyzing and further deepening Ouyang Zhao's "Destiny," hoping to perfect the program for application across human society.
Most of the higher-ups from the Fifth House and other conglomerates survived.
As the most powerful group in the federation, the old lady and the higher-ups had numerous means of survival, sufficient to keep them alive through disasters like the mothership's crash.
It was later discovered that Ouyang Zhao had long manipulated and brainwashed part of the upper echelons to handle these big figures at critical moments.
After experiencing such events, the old lady realized that most of the things the company had developed were also being controlled. After narrowly escaping death, she made a surprising decision to venture into space.
"At this time, ordinary people know they should explore new lands. If we remain fixated on the present world, it would be too shortsighted. Now that humanity's past shackles have completely vanished, space stations should not only be used for entertainment but also for opening up new cosmic territories, representing new resources and possibilities..."
On the light screen in front of Qin Xuezhong, the old lady's impassioned speech played, along with subsequent plans and benefits.
If all these plans could be implemented, Qin Xuezhong could already see the slowly unfolding blueprint of a new era behind it.
Of course, the Fifth House and all other companies still strictly adhered to the two-hour workday established by Qin Xuezhong.
Surprisingly, as more people found leisure time to pursue their interests, the federation began to see an increasing number of innovative technologies and research achievements, and society presented a thriving scene.
At Qin Xuezhong's request, her name and that of the Ghost Organization did not appear in promotional materials; she didn't want to gain fame and attract troublesome matters.
Now, she still served as a nominal consultant at the Bay Area Public Security Bureau, occasionally thinking of going out but unsure where to go. Instead, she often returned to her office in the analysis department on the third underground floor for a quick nap.
To this, Jin An An and Xie Ke were not surprised; they occasionally pulled Qin Xuezhong along to watch concerts or play games.
At first, the two had a hard time explaining to the new staff in the office why a peculiar woman would occasionally come to the analysis department to sleep.
Just as Qin Xuezhong was sipping tea in the plant shop, thinking about heading to the analysis department early that afternoon since she had promised Xie Ke to explore a new area in the game, she suddenly received a message from the main brain.
[Destiny analysis has made new breakthroughs. Please come quickly.]
Qin Xuezhong and Yu Zhezhong exchanged glances and immediately stood up.
The shuttle swiftly and smoothly landed on the helipad above the main brain's core shaft.
As Qin Xuezhong pulled open the hatch, a physicist from the Ghost Organization approached and explained, "We've integrated the underlying data from Destiny with the triggering data from your abilities and successfully opened a high-dimensional passage. However, we cannot read the information inside. The main brain deduced that it might be related to you, and you need to connect directly."
Qin Xuezhong was taken aback.
A high-dimensional passage related to herself… wasn't it due to the original host's death and the triggered passage? Did that mean she could go back?
But so much time had passed; if she died suddenly in the office, she'd probably be reduced to ashes. Could she still return?
She wondered how her family was doing…
The three hurried to the core research room. After Qin Xuezhong got a general understanding of the situation, she decisively connected to the main brain.
As soon as she connected, she understood.
This was indeed a passage, but merely a small window that allowed her to see some images and engage in simple communication.
Just as Qin Xuezhong began to think about what kind of scene she would see, she immediately found herself in a conference room.
And the conference room looked very familiar—it was the one from her company before the crossover!
At the head of the table sat someone who looked exactly like her!
The "Qin Xuezhong" in the image had transformed from the overworked and dispirited person she once was into a confident figure dressed in a tailored suit, passionately discussing strategies.
As if sensing Qin Xuezhong's observation, the figure paused, stepped out of the conference room, and pretended to take a phone call, looking in Qin Xuezhong's direction.
"So you're the little unfortunate soul who crossed into my body in Valley City?"
Upon hearing this question, Qin Xuezhong quickly realized—
—She hadn't crossed over herself; instead, she and the original host had swapped places!
In Valley City, the original host was a fierce person who had risen from the slums to a board position under the Fifth House, secretly a member of the Children of the Moon, and had triggered the crossing passage through death…
Such a person had crossed into Qin Xuezhong's original body and climbed straight to the upper echelons of the company!
Qin Xuezhong briefly explained the situation in Valley City to the original host.
The original host said, "Oh? You're doing well too. That's great! I was thinking if I go back, there's a mess waiting for me. How about this: can you let me stay a bit longer? Your world is safe and fun, and there's just too much delicious food!"
"No way," Qin Xuezhong decisively refused. "I've had more than enough of this hellhole of Valley City. Once the passage is stabilized, I'm going back! We can set a date for an exchange and switch back on time!"
"Fine, but aren't you going to need some time to study before you can fully open the passage? I need to enjoy myself while I can."
"Hey, hey, hey, don't you dare make me gain weight!"
"I know!"
…