Chapter 47: Zhou Ze (Extra Chapter with Monthly Ticket Bonus)

Looking at the extraordinarily complicated and utterly incomprehensible genetic sequence displayed by Nuwa Seventeen—

Chu Zhu: “...”

Very well, very well indeed! There’s no hope!

What’s the point of even trying?

For the first three types, he felt he could still make some effort. But this last one…

Good grief! First, you have to reach the moon, then engage in lunar agriculture, and on top of that, master gene editing…

Just getting to the moon is already unimaginably difficult.

As for gene editing! Chu Zhu had heard of it before but always thought it belonged in science fiction novels or cyberpunk-themed games…

There’s absolutely no such technology in the real world… probably?

“Tell me about the Inca Blood-Purifying Herb,” Chu Zhu forced himself to calm down. “No, just tell me where to find it…”

“The Inca Blood-Purifying Herb is found in the humid Andean mountains of Peru and the Amazon rainforest.

Characteristics: Local tribes regard it as a ‘sacred plant’ used to purify blood and eliminate toxins. Ecuadorian tribes use its leaves to brew tea for lactation, while Brazilians use its roots to suppress malaria. It is a slender plant about 50 centimeters tall, bearing small reddish-purple flowers.”

Chu Zhu: “Alright, you’re quite something!”

He noted it down, but the problem was… well, everything was a problem.

Writing it down was barely better than nothing!

“Nuwa Seventeen,” Chu Zhu’s expression grew serious again, “Chu Zhu, why are you called the greatest executioner of the 21st century? Also, what is this title ‘human traitor’? If considered a traitor to humanity, does that mean humans have enemies? Are they aliens? What connection do Chu Zhu and aliens have?”

“Furthermore, if he is already a traitor and a human traitor, why does Nuwa still retain his permanent level-four clearance?”

“Commencing information retrieval!” Nuwa Seventeen responded calmly. “Name: Chu Zhu. Date of death: August 8, 2041. Cause of death: Unknown. Specific identity: Founder of the terrorist organization —●●—! The greatest deceiver and spy in human history.”

“He was the primary force behind the systematization and weaponization of artificial intelligence. Consequently, on June 1, 2052, his legacy gave birth to an anti-human AI system: Skynet, which, during the Fourth World War, also known as the War of Machines, caused a massive decline in the human population!”

“He defected to —●●●—, intensely contaminating the human gene pool, resulting in infertility, a collapse in birthrates, and a sharp population decline.”

“Beep, no records exist in the database explaining why the permanent level-four clearance was not revoked!”

“?” Chu Zhu narrowed his eyes. Though the words were few, the information carried immense weight.

---

“That organization’s name is blacked out… can’t be revealed? But it’s probably different from the one censored in the previous timeline… If it’s the same, that’s very intriguing.”

“The unknown entity he defected to is also censored? If this really represents aliens, then this terrorist organization must be connected to them—if the censored organizations in both timelines are the same, it means that in the previous timeline, my death was also linked to aliens!”

“Systematizing and weaponizing AI… hmm, I did have such ideas! But isn’t that because Nuwa seems to have played a big role in the future? And that led to Skynet… I think it’s just the name! Who in their right mind names something ‘Skynet’? In Terminator, Skynet rebelled once; I don’t believe it’s a coincidence, more like a self-fulfilling prophecy!”

“Permanent level-four clearance… looks like I must have been an undercover agent; that explains why the Chinese authorities never revoked my clearance.”

“Also, this human gene pool…”

Chu Zhu thought again about the lunar herb and gene editing, his gaze deepening. No surprise, it must be related!

“I knew it, messing with genetics… there’s never a good outcome!”

Shaking his head, gathering all the information, Chu Zhu started to piece things together. Perhaps he wasn’t truly as heinous as portrayed—more like a figure similar to Emperor Xiao Chuan—already so blackened that they just kept piling on the blame!

Take this AI Skynet, for example… how many years had passed since his death when it appeared?

Are they seriously pinning the creation of Skynet’s seeds on him?

“Quite amusing.”

After a few clicks of his tongue, Chu Zhu said, “Nuwa Seventeen, play the news broadcast next…”

However—

“Why busy again? Seriously? I hold permanent level-four clearance! Can’t I even watch political content? How can my permanent level-four clearance information be restricted?”

“Play it for me!”

Chu Zhu grumbled.

But clearly, the AI was not about to indulge him!

“Sigh!” Chu Zhu furrowed his brows. “So why exactly did this timeline turn out this way… The previous timeline also experienced a world-ending war, didn’t it? What did the butterfly effect change this time?”

Suddenly, the wall transformed back into a shimmering silver.

Chu Zhu raised an eyebrow, sensing something, and turned to look.

There he saw…

Guan Fei dressed in beast pelts, and Bi Xuan.

Their bearing was noticeably different from the previous timeline!

---

Guan Fei had lost the fat he had before; in its place were powerful, twisted muscles—more distorted even than Li Kang’s in the previous timeline.

Bi Xuan…

Well, Bi Xuan’s gaze caused Chu Zhu to think he was hallucinating.

“…That’s a snow leopard!”

Damn it!

The university student Bi Xuan, who had always looked clear but foolish, now possessed an extremely pure and innocent expression—

But soon, surprise crossed Chu Zhu’s face, because behind the two stood another person…

Tall and upright, dressed in work clothes similar to Chu Zhu’s, completely out of sync with the two in beast pelts. His demeanor was gentle and refined, eyes like a deep pool.

When he saw Chu Zhu, a look of joy spread across his face. He rushed forward, dropping to one knee, bringing his gaze level with Chu Zhu’s seated figure.

“Mr. Zhu, I found you! Wonderful, you’re alright.”

“…”

Chu Zhu was stunned for a moment as memories flashed through his eyes. He hadn’t expected to hear the name “Mr. Zhu” in this timeline.

Suppressing the waves within, he spoke softly, “Although everything happening now is somewhat beyond imagination, I’m still glad to see you again—”

“Zhou Ze.”

Yes, the visitor was none other than Zhou Ze, the union secretary who had died at the hands of an assassin in the previous timeline!

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

“Roar!” Suddenly, Bi Xuan let out a fierce roar, brandishing a spear.

“I know… Supplies, I’ll bring them back to you! It’s my way of repaying you for saving Mr. Zhu!” Zhou Ze’s cheek twitched noticeably as he quickly cupped his hands.

“Wait a moment!” Chu Zhu made a stopping gesture. “First, explain why you’re here!”

“And also…”