Staring at the genetic sequence displayed by Nuwa No. 17—it was so ridiculously complex he couldn’t make heads or tails of it—

Chu Bamboo: "..."

Great. Just great! This was hopeless!

How the hell was he supposed to do this?

He felt like he could still manage the first three options with some effort. But this last one...

Good heavens! He had to land on the Moon first, then figure out lunar agriculture, and on top of that, he had to know genetic engineering...

Just landing on the Moon was already a challenge beyond imagination.

And as for genetic engineering! That was something Chu Bamboo had heard of, but he’d always thought it belonged in science fiction novels or cyberpunk games...

’The Real World definitely doesn’t have that kind of technology yet... probably?’

"Tell me about this Inca Blood Purifying Grass." Chu Bamboo forced himself to calm down. "No, wait, just tell me where to find it..."

"Inca Blood Purifying Grass is found in the humid and hot regions of the Peruvian Andes Mountains and the Amazon Rainforest.

Properties: Local tribes consider it a ’Holy plant’ used for blood Purification and toxin removal. Tribes in Ecuador use its leaves to make a lactation-inducing tea, while in Brazil, its roots are used to suppress malaria. It is a slender plant, 50 centimeters tall, with small, reddish-purple flowers."

Chu Bamboo: "Fine, you’re really something else!"

He committed it to memory, but the problem was... okay, everything was a problem.

Memorizing it was better than nothing, he supposed.

"Nuwa No. 17." Chu Bamboo’s expression turned serious again. "Why was Chu Bamboo called the greatest butcher of the 21st century? And what’s this about being a traitor to all Earthlings? If he was a traitor, does that mean humanity has an enemy? Is it Aliens? And what connection does Chu Bamboo have with Aliens?"

"Also, if he was a traitor and a collaborator, why do you, Nuwa, still let him keep his Permanent Level 4 Authority!"

"Commencing information retrieval!" Nuwa No. 17 spoke calmly. "Name: Chu Bamboo. Date of death: August 8th, 2041. Cause of death: Unknown. Specific identity: Founder of the terrorist organization, the ●● Organization! The greatest liar and spy in human history."

"He single-handedly directed and advanced the systematization and weaponization of artificial intelligence. As a result, on June 1st, 2052, his legacy successfully gave rise to the anti-human AI, Celestial Net, which in turn caused a massive decline in the human population during the Fourth World War, also known as the War of the Machines!"

"He defected to ●●● and subjected the human gene pool to high-intensity contamination, preventing humans from reproducing normally. This led to a collapse in the birth rate and a sharp decline in population."

"BEEP. No record in the database explains why the Permanent Level 4 Authority remains active!"

’Huh?’ Chu Bamboo narrowed his eyes. The report was brief, but the amount of information was immense.

’This organization’s name is blacked out... Is it classified? But it shouldn’t be the same organization whose name was blacked out in the last timeline... If it is the same one, though! Then things get very interesting.’

’The unknown entity he defected to is also blacked out? If this thing really represents Aliens, then this terrorist organization must also be related to Aliens. And if the blacked-out organizations from both timelines are the same, it means my death in the previous timeline could also be connected to Aliens!’

’Advancing the systematization and weaponization of artificial intelligence... Hmmm, I do have that idea right now! But isn’t that because Nuwa seemed to play a huge role in the future? And it resulted in this Celestial Net... I think it’s a problem with the name! Damn it, what kind of sane person picks a name like that? In Terminator, Skynet already rebelled once. They just had to use it anyway, and the name became a self-fulfilling prophecy, didn’t it!’

’Permanent Level 4 Authority... It seems I must have been an undercover agent. That’s the only way to explain why the Divine Continent officials never revoked my authority.’

’And this human gene pool...’

Chu Bamboo’s thoughts returned to the genetic engineering of the Moon Grass, and his gaze darkened. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was all connected to that!

’I knew it. The moment genetics came into play... it was never going to end well!’

Chu Bamboo shook his head. Putting all the information together, he started to get a sense of things. Maybe he wasn’t truly that evil. Perhaps he had just become a figure like Emperor Xiao Chuan—someone already so infamous that people piled all the blame on him for everything!

Take this Celestial Net AI, for example... How many years had he been dead when it appeared?

And they could still pin the blame on him for being the creator of its "seed"?

"It’s almost laughable."

After clicking his tongue twice, Chu Bamboo said, "Alright, Nuwa No. 17, play the evening news..."

However...

"’System busy’ again? Seriously, what’s wrong with you! I’m a Permanent Level 4 Authority holder! I can’t even watch something related to politics? How come you could broadcast information about my Permanent Level 4 status then?"

"Play it for me!"

Chu Bamboo cursed under his breath.

But it was quite clear the artificial idiot wasn’t going to indulge him.

"Sigh!" Chu Bamboo’s brow furrowed. ’So why exactly did this timeline turn out this way... Didn’t the last timeline also go through a war that could be called apocalyptic? This time... the butterfly effect, what exactly did it change!’

Suddenly, the walls abruptly turned silver-white again.

Chu Bamboo raised an eyebrow, realizing something, and quickly turned his head. And then he saw...

Guan Fei, dressed in animal hides, and Wall Announcements.

Their demeanors were markedly different from the previous timeline!

Guan Fei no longer had the fat from the last timeline; in its place were sturdy, contorted muscles—even more contorted than Li Kang’s had been in the previous timeline.

Wall Announcements...

Well, the look in Wall Announcements’s eyes gave Chu Bamboo an auditory hallucination.

"...That’s a snow leopard!"

BOO-HOWL!

The college student Wall Announcements, who once had eyes full of limpid foolishness, now possessed an extremely innocent gaze—

But soon, a look of surprise appeared on Chu Bamboo’s face, because there was another person following behind them...

He stood tall and straight, wearing work clothes similar to Chu Bamboo’s, a completely different style from the two next to him in their animal hides. His aura was refined and gentle, his eyes like deep pools of water.

When he saw Chu Bamboo, his face lit up with pleasant surprise. He rushed forward and dropped to one knee, bringing his eyes level with the seated Chu Bamboo. "Mr. Zhu, I’ve found you! Thank goodness, you’re safe."

"..." Chu Bamboo was taken aback, a flicker of memory in his eyes. He hadn’t expected to hear the name "Mr. Zhu" in this timeline.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and said softly, "Although everything that’s happening right now is a bit beyond comprehension, I’m still very happy to see you again—"

"Zhou Ze."

Yes, the newcomer was none other than the one who had died at the hands of an assassin in the previous timeline... the union director, Zhou Ze!

In this timeline, altered by the butterfly effect, he was still alive!

"ROAR!" Suddenly, Wall Announcements let out a roar, brandishing the spear in his hand.

"I know... supplies, I’ll give them to you when we get back! Consider it... a reward for you... for saving Mr. Zhu!" Zhou Ze’s cheek twitched visibly, and he hastily cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.

"Wait a minute!" Chu Bamboo made a stopping gesture. "Before any of that, first explain why you’re here!"

"And also..."