Chapter 16: Time of Death—2053

After a brief silence, Nuwa Seventeen said, “Initiating data retrieval and deep analysis. Successfully retrieved data! Commencing display.”

“Name: Chu Zhu. Gender: Male. Time of death (ID cancellation timestamp): June 17, 2053, 13:14:27. Cause of death: Fourth ●● Campaign. Faced with ●●●●, post-war organ failure and cancer due to high-risk radiation exposure. Comprehensive identity rating: Level 0 citizen clearance holder.”

“Starting verification!”

A beam of white light once again illuminated Chu Zhu’s face.

“Warning: Age mismatch! Age mismatch!”

“Pupil scan passed! Facial recognition passed! Please raise your hand facing the light... Fingerprint scan passed! Preliminary assessment confirms identity as Chu Zhu, citizen of Shenzhou! Logical inconsistency detected! Correcting logical errors! Deep analysis suggests: ID stolen/mistakenly destroyed/death misidentified by relatives/other.”

“Commencing ID reissuance!”

After a moment of quiet, the white light shone again, this time with a softer hue.

“Welcome, Level 0 citizen clearance holder: Mr. Chu Zhu.”

“Really works, huh.” Chu Zhu’s expression was tinged with melancholy. He only had about twenty more years to live. Also, the Fourth... campaign? What campaign? A world war? Or some other conflict?

Death caused by exposure to highly dangerous nuclear radiation! No, this really used everything. He wondered if exposure to nuclear radiation back then might have triggered human evolution.

But human civilization’s destruction happened in the 22nd century, and there seemed to be a gap of forty or fifty years in between. Were there other wars during that interval?

Yet, when Chu Zhu asked again, Nuwa Seventeen fell into an artificial intelligence glitch.

“Alright!” Chu Zhu felt a slight headache and suddenly thought of a crucial question. “By the way, Li Kang, you should know who Li Kang is, right? The one just now. What level of clearance does he have?”

“Temporary Level 2 clearance (one year).”

“Wait... he’s Level 2? But why temporary clearance? Does it need renewal? And although I have Level 0 clearance, is mine permanent?” Chu Zhu’s mind stirred. Could it be that only true Shenzhou citizens hold permanent clearance?

“Do you know the current cultivation techniques in this world? The kind that uses nuclear radiation for training!” Chu Zhu blinked.

“Beginning deep analysis. Based on the inquirer’s words and referencing previous questions, it can be inferred that the inquirer wishes to obtain current cultivation techniques... Your clearance level is insufficient! Please upgrade before further inquiry.”

“Uh...” Chu Zhu struggled to suppress the urge to curse the AI, comforting himself that at least this confirmed the existence of such techniques. He patiently asked, “Then how can I upgrade my clearance?”

“Two reasonable methods after consideration: make sufficient contributions to the state! Pass the review! Clearance upgrade.”

“Second, successfully pass the Colonel’s Office assessment and undergo official information registration. Become a temporary Level 1 clearance holder and gain inquiry privileges!”

Chu Zhu: “...”

This ‘make contributions to the state’—does that mean the ancient one? How does one contribute? Rebuild Chixia Shenzhou?

“No, wait!” Chu Zhu pondered. If this really is years in the future, then if he returns to the real world and alters history there, could it cause a butterfly effect here?

Afterward, Chu Zhu asked questions intermittently. Most answers were classified. Of those answered, many concerned the current situation in Jinghai City. However... that was of little use. To put it bluntly, Nuwa Seventeen’s knowledge of Jinghai City was probably far less than Chu Zhu’s.

“However, some conclusions were drawn! Although Li Kang holds temporary Level 2 clearance, he cannot communicate with Nuwa Seventeen because he doesn’t understand Chinese and even mistook ‘Nuwa Seventeen’ as a prayer phrase. Therefore, he is unaware of Nuwa’s true nature as an artificial construct!”

“Moreover, Nuwa understands the language of the dream world but only replies in Chinese! This is perplexing... Why does Li Kang have this temporary clearance? Hmm, could it be that the upper echelons of the Great Qian Empire have individuals with deep knowledge of Nuwa?”

Chu Zhu contemplated. The imperial capital of the Great Qian Empire lies far to the north, too distant from Jinghai City... He was familiar with Tianjing, one of the empire’s secondary capitals nearby, but the imperial capital itself was largely unknown to him.

At best, he knew about one percent of the information. That was woefully inadequate.

Estimating the time passed—about two hours—Chu Zhu realized he hadn’t hit the time limit before Li Kang’s return. Turning away, he left. There was no point in asking further now; he could only wait to see if official channels passed him or if he should return to change history and upgrade his clearance before trying again.

“Nuwa Seventeen, open the door!” Chu Zhu suddenly remembered something and casually asked, “Oh, right, tell me—how many days until the next civil service exam? If I want to pass, how should I prepare?”

“Beginning deep analysis and data retrieval... Since you ask how to pass the exam, I assume you currently lack the necessary competency. In this case, remedial study is possible. However, according to the data, the next civil service exam is in three days, too short a time for remedial lessons...”

“Conclusion: The next assessment for the ‘tongsheng’ (junior scholar) position is in three days! After passing, you become a formal tongsheng and can join the official system as an officer or clerk. The current method to pass the exam is as follows...”

Chu Zhu: “...”

Staring in disbelief, Chu Zhu saw dense text projected on the silver walls—questions, answers, detailed exam procedures, assessment items, and requirements!

Wait, this is... outright cheating?

Hold on, so this information can be disclosed...

Chu Zhu realized belatedly. It seemed Nuwa Seventeen could not reveal ancient secrets, and most current knowledge involving the supernatural required higher clearance... The tongsheng exam doesn’t involve ancient or supernatural matters, so it apparently didn’t violate Nuwa Seventeen’s restrictions!

“...Impressive.” Chu Zhu silently gave a thumbs-up and meticulously memorized everything. His memory, naturally excellent, had become near perfect since becoming a transcendent.

Actually, at first, Chu Zhu thought he would have to reset the exam multiple times to memorize all questions and answers before passing. But being able to avoid dying multiple times was definitely a blessing.