Tang Xiao was fine, and the people of Third Eye finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least they no longer had to worry about whether a breakup between the couple would trigger a second war for humanity’s survival. The sudden appearance of the Mist Area also diverted everyone's attention.
When the ‘Tang Chen’ from the game world arrived at the scene, the military had already cordoned the area off. He found the person in charge and asked, “What's the situation inside?”
“Well…” The official wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Inside the dense mist area, some residents have disappeared... but some people have also appeared.”
Just like the phenomenon described by the Tang Chen from the other world, he thought.
However, unlike before, the reappearance areas had never manifested within a base city. It was likely because most of their world remained in the wilderness. But now, for the first time, two worlds were overlapping in a completely secure area.
Could this mean that the time for direct communication between both worlds had finally arrived?
The same realization struck the real world. When a new dense mist area was discovered, armed forces quickly surrounded the area. But this time, the mist area contained no parasitic plants or mutant beasts—only unfamiliar faces.
Li Xiaoyi’s heartbeat quickened as he grasped the implications.
Both sides recognized that this ‘reunion’ was unlike any before.
“Boss, what's going on out there?”
Ever since the alarm had sounded throughout the containment facility, Qiu Yifan and the others had suddenly been restricted in their movements and were politely escorted back to their rooms by staff members.
Just when everyone was feeling at a loss, Tang Chen, who had been taken away earlier, finally reappeared. Qiu Yifan and the others couldn't help but ask.
“It's fine,” Tang Chen reassured his team. “Something has changed, but the opportunity for direct talks might have arrived earlier than expected. We just need to wait here quietly for the final outcome.”
“...Doesn't that just make us hostages?” Qiu Yifan muttered under his breath.
“If we were hostages, do you think they'd tell me this much?” Tang Chen, though also feeling a bit tense, relaxed slightly when he recalled Xiao Bai’s analysis.
At least his younger brother was safe now, and the Human Alliance was friendly (mostly because they didn’t want another war). The chances of cooperation were looking pretty high.
Originally, Tang Chen thought they might be stuck in this room for a long time, at least until negotiations were settled. But to his surprise, only half an hour had passed before he received a message from Xiao Bai.
[Although Tang Xiao’s situation has mostly been resolved, during our investigation, we traced the social networks of the unconscious players and found someone who seems to be from your world. He might be the only player still active in this world without having fallen into a coma. Do you want to meet him?]
[If you do, just notify the staff. His name is Fu Yichen.]
Politics had never been the concern of Third Eye's scientists. Compared to diplomatic relations with another world, most researchers were far more interested in the anomalies themselves and had begun collecting numerous samples for study.
“...This is unbelievable. We analyzed the soil samples from the affected area, and guess what? The composition differs completely from the original ground.” Lodge shared his findings with Tang Xiao through internal channels. “In fact, based on the vegetation distribution and mineral composition, that piece of land should be located somewhere between 2331'N and 2818'N latitude.”
Tang Xiao roughly knew that the central zone of the Human Alliance would correspond to somewhere in the upper left of the Flower Plate on Earth. Hearing this, he frowned. “Could it be a rotational discrepancy?”
“Very likely. It seems that the world over there is currently in summer.”
Tang Xiao already knew that. He crossed his arms and furrowed his brows deeper. “If a true fusion happens… won’t the magnetic fields be disrupted? What about celestial bodies?”
“Both governments have started cooperating and sharing star charts,” Lodge said. “They're still comparing, but so far, over 90% of the constellations match.”
“Even a 1% discrepancy could be catastrophic,” Tang Xiao said grimly. “We still don’t know if this fusion is limited to Earth or if it affects the entire universe. Even the slightest shift in magnetic fields or gravitational forces…”
“Could cause an extinction event worse than the dinosaurs’,” Lodge finished, his tone light, but his brows furrowed deeply. If humanity’s survival war at least gave them a chance to fight back, world fusion was an unstoppable doomsday clock.
At the current level of technology, there was almost no way to resist it. Even if both worlds collaborated at any cost, the result would be the same.
“Still, we can’t just surrender to fate and wait for the apocalypse.” Lodge continued, “Since cooperation is already a given, and our worlds' technological advancements don’t completely overlap, exchanges should accelerate in the short term. There’s even talk of establishing a joint research institute between the two worlds.”
“Tang Xiao… you’re going to participate, right?” Lodge asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
Tang Xiao was momentarily stunned. He recalled Li Xiaoyi’s previous invitation. “...I’ll discuss it with Jun Tesi first.”
Lodge: “Wait—he’s restricting even this?!”
“No, it's not that. It's just… I think he’d rather focus on getting married first.” Tang Xiao glanced at his system’s task display, where the Blackening Value still had 30% remaining.
Maybe verbal promises alone weren’t enough to put him at ease.
Tang Xiao mused.
Lodge fell silent, his gaze flickering with complex emotions. “Tang Xiao… you’re still going to continue your research, right?”
“Of course,” Tang Xiao answered without hesitation.
“That’s good.” Lodge’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly. “I’ve actually been…”
“Hm?”
“...Never mind,” Lodge sighed. “As long as you can keep doing research, that’s enough for me.”
Tang Xiao was silent for a moment before saying seriously, “Once this is all over, let me treat you to dinner.”
“Why did you suddenly say that?”
“If it weren't for you, Jun Tesi and I probably wouldn't have been able to leave the Third Eye so easily back then. Sorry, you must have taken quite a hit for letting us go. I should at least treat you to a meal.”
Lodge was slightly stunned, then smirked. “One meal isn't enough.”
“Fair enough, I'll treat you until you're satisfied.”
“Then it's a deal... Sorry, I've got a research task to take care of.”
“No worries, go ahead.”
After ending the call, Tang Xiao remained deep in thought over the information Lodge had just revealed.
The grand topic of world fusion—even though Tang Xiao had already learned some details from Li Xiaoyi before—still gave him a headache now that he was facing it directly.
Compared to the previous research topics like <Healing Jun Tesi> or <Researching Zombie Mushroom>, this one was even more overwhelming. First of all, this wasn't simply a biological issue; it was an interdisciplinary problem involving mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, and more.
How was the quantum retransmission state generated, and what consequences would it bring? What effects would merging two universes have on species? What would happen to existing people, or those who had taken different paths in each universe?
Just thinking about it made Tang Xiao's temples throb. This was undoubtedly a feast for academia—the collision of two different civilizations. But that was only if human civilization could survive this completely unknown catastrophe.
Jun Tesi hadn't returned yet. Tang Xiao opened his game panel and looked at the reward for completing his special mission.
[Main Story: <World Fusion> Unlocked]
“...Did you foresee this all along?” Tang Xiao furrowed his brows, muttering, “What exactly are you?”
<Mushroom Era>—this game could be considered the beginning of everything, weaving through the fate lines of Tang Xiao, Jun Tesi, and even both worlds.
To this day, its origins remained shrouded in mystery. Tang Xiao had once questioned Li Xiaoyi about it, only to be told that the information was classified. Unless he joined them, they couldn’t share it with him.
Clearly, the state knew something about it. Or at the very least, they had tested the game and gained some intelligence. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have allowed it to continue recruiting players.
If unlocking this main story could reveal more information about world fusion, then it was worth pursuing. The problem was… That remaining 30% blackening value was a headache.
Jun Tesi wasn't even here right now. And even if he was, if Tang Xiao asked him what was bothering him, Jun Tesi might not even answer.
“...Forget it, I'll just tell Jun Tesi about your existence,” Tang Xiao decided calmly. “Since the game’s failure penalty is ‘system destruction,’ that means Jun Tesi has the power to threaten you, right? I'll just let him figure something out.”
With that, Tang Xiao closed the game panel, planning to wait for Jun Tesi to return. But just as he did, the system hurriedly popped back up again.
[Special Task: Reduce the target's blackening value to 70%
Description: After a successful evolution, the King of Mushroom has become an entirely new species. His current state is highly dangerous, and he is investigating both the player and the game’s secrets. Please do your best to calm him down.
Current Progress: Complete!
Reward: Next-stage main story <World Fusion> unlocked.]
[Main Story: World Fusion
Description: Due to the will of a certain higher-dimensional race, two parallel universes are gradually merging. This fusion will lead to unpredictable consequences, including but not limited to the mass extinction of surface species. Please either stop the fusion or eliminate its potential consequences.
Reward: Unknown.]
The task could change?
Tang Xiao narrowed his eyes, recalling the ‘customer service’ he encountered when he first entered the game. He smirked with amusement.
“So, you really do have intelligence… What exactly are you?”
The game panel remained silent.
Tang Xiao looked at the mycelium within the base. Even though Jun Tesi had left, there was no way he would leave Tang Xiao here without some sort of safeguard. Tang Xiao speculated that Jun Tesi could probably still sense the mycelium network inside the base.
The game panel popped up again.
[This game is fully monitored by the artificial intelligence ‘Bai Jun.’ Cheating of any kind is strictly prohibited. If cheating occurs, the game's core code will activate a self-destruct sequence.]
“So you can't give players any hints, huh?” Tang Xiao muttered before curiously adding, “But doesn't modifying the task count as cheating?”
The game panel remained unresponsive. Even when Tang Xiao tugged at the mycelium, it didn't pop back up again.
It seemed like that really was an unbreakable rule.
So Tang Xiao seriously considered the new main story and the clues the game had just revealed.
Artificial intelligence… Artificial?
Was the game system created by humans?
And that main story…
A higher-dimensional race? Well, they might as well have just spelled it out. After all, Tang Xiao did know of one such being.
He frowned. Was this world fusion… related to Jun Tesi?
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