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“Well—”

Gus was dazed for a long time. “Are you kidding me?”

“It is indeed self-deception, but what exactly is not self-deception?

The Fist King said solemnly, “I guarantee that I will delete all your memories about grief, pain, and trouble. When you wake up, you will be in an eternal paradise where you will enjoy the bliss of the world. You will never notice anything wrong, and you will never know that your family and friends, including yourself, are all ‘virtual humans’.

“…”

Gus clenched his fists so hard that they were shivering. He resisted the proposal out of instinct.

But he did not know what future would be better than the proposal of the boxing champion.

The boxing champion was right. Since everything was false and he was deceiving himself, how could he escape the virtual fate?

“Maybe, you feel that it is too boring to live in an eternal paradise that is as tranquil as an ancient well and face the endless milk and honey?

The Fist King said, “It doesn’t matter. As long as you help me eliminate Lu Qingchen, I can make you the protagonist of a hundred virtual worlds and let you enjoy a hundred thrilling adventures as the Child of Destiny.”

Gus was dazed. “What does that mean?”

“It’s simple. You know that I’ve created countless virtual worlds, such as the World of Magic, the World of Martial Arts, the World of Battle Aura, the World of Summoning, the World of Mechas, and the World of Cards. I’ve explored the evolution and integration of different power systems. Most of the time, after I set the initial data, I will let the worlds develop freely and won’t interfere with their progress easily. But occasionally, I will guide some of the worlds so that the experiments will proceed in the direction that I want. At that time, I will arrange some special virtual humans with ‘protagonist templates’ to carry out my will.

The Fist King said, “I can let you carry such a ‘protagonist template’ and descend into these worlds. Then, you will have fortuitous encounters one after another. You will have women on your left and you will have women on your right. At the critical moment, you will resolve one crisis after another, making all the enemies tremble in fear at your feet.

“All in all, everything that a man desires, money, beautiful women, strength, the cheers of thousands of people, the thrill of defeating the strongest evil demon king, or the most evil demon king, the awe-inspiring and awe-inspiring scene… you can get it all without any trouble. Oh, if you think it’s too easy, I can also arrange some soul-stirring, perilous plots and battles so that you can stand at the top of the world after going through all kinds of hardships.

“Of course, before you arrive in every virtual world, I can delete part of your memories so that you won’t realize that the world in front of you is a virtual experiment.

“In other words, you can live a hundred real, thrilling, and satisfying lives. You can be the protagonist of a hundred stories. If it is not enough, you can be the spokesperson of miracles and the protagonist of destiny in the virtual world that I created forever!”

Gus held his head, finding it hard to keep up with the boxing champion.

It took him a long time to understand what the boxing champion meant.

“Which means—”

In a trance, Gus said, “In the history of the Fist God’s World, there have been many great heroes who turned the tides. They—they were actually your puppets and your chess pieces that you arranged?”

“Some of them are, but they will never realize it themselves.

The Fist King said, “I don’t understand why you are so bothered by the fact that you were ‘arranged and manipulated’. As I said, I can delete part of your memories so that you will forget the existence of the ‘virtual experiment’ and return to the state before you met Lu Qingchen. Before you met Lu Qingchen, did you realize that the world, including yourself, is virtual? Is it really so important that it would cause you so much trouble?”

“Of course, it is!”

Gus summoned his courage and shouted, “Is my life true or false? Am I a living person, a puppet who pulls strings, or an ostrich whose head is buried in sand—is that not important?”

“Alright.”

The boxing champion sighed. “My child, if you don’t want to be a king in the virtual world, what exactly do you want?”

“I…”

Gus took a deep breath and looked at the Fist King. “I want to go to your world and the Pangu Universe. Is that okay?”

The boxing champion was silent for a while. He seemed to be in a dilemma.

“Why do you have such thoughts? Did you believe Lu Qingchen’s fancy words?”

The Fist King said very sincerely, “I’m sorry. I have to break your illusion. Although it’s true that the world of the Fist God and the Pangu Universe have ‘ascended’ from the low-dimensional universe to a higher dimension, a higher dimension does not mean a happier life.

“In fact, the Pangu Universe is not a paradise. There is no real paradise in the world.

“It’s true that the technology of the Pangu Universe is much more advanced than that of the Fist God’s World, but we are still faced with the shortage of resources, social contradictions, and the sharp friction between interest groups.

“Right now, with the efforts of Li Yao and countless heroes, the Pangu Universe is barely able to maintain the peace. But with Li Yao’s disappearance and the departure of countless experts from the Pangu Universe for more difficult missions, the undercurrents of the Pangu Universe are surging. The old forces, which are full of perils and refuse to give up, may counterattack at any time and reignite the cruel war.

“If you really ascend to the Pangu Universe, there won’t be too many technical problems. I can find you a shell of a spiritual puppet. The problem is, are you sure that it is the life you want?

“You must know that, in the virtual world, I can give you everything, and I can also help you get rid of all the crises and threats. You will become the protagonist of the world. But in the Pangu Universe, no one can protect you. You can only face the cold universe and the cruel world by yourself. In the vast, dark vacuum, you are just an insignificant speck of dust that will eventually be obliterated.

“Think about it carefully. Is this really what you want? To give up such a great opportunity for the so-called ‘truth’? Is it really worth it?”

Gus was silent for a long time.

He was caught in a dilemma.

“At least—”

He struggled to say, “After I ascended to the Pangu Universe, nobody could control my fate anymore, could they?”

“Nothing is certain.

The Fist King said, “Even in the Pangu Universe, how many people can truly face their destiny and defeat it?

“Well—”

Gus was dazed for a long time. “Are you kidding me?”

“It is indeed self-deception, but what exactly is not self-deception?

The Fist King said solemnly, “I guarantee that I will delete all your memories about grief, pain, and trouble. When you wake up, you will be in an eternal paradise where you will enjoy the bliss of the world. You will never notice anything wrong, and you will never know that your family and friends, including yourself, are all ‘virtual humans’.

“…”

Gus clenched his fists so hard that they were shivering. He resisted the proposal out of instinct.

But he did not know what future would be better than the proposal of the boxing champion.

The boxing champion was right. Since everything was false and he was deceiving himself, how could he escape the virtual fate?

“Maybe, you feel that it is too boring to live in an eternal paradise that is as tranquil as an ancient well and face the endless milk and honey?

The Fist King said, “It doesn’t matter. As long as you help me eliminate Lu Qingchen, I can make you the protagonist of a hundred virtual worlds and let you enjoy a hundred thrilling adventures as the Child of Destiny.”

Gus was dazed. “What does that mean?”

“It’s simple. You know that I’ve created countless virtual worlds, such as the World of Magic, the World of Martial Arts, the World of Battle Aura, the World of Summoning, the World of Mechas, and the World of Cards. I’ve explored the evolution and integration of different power systems. Most of the time, after I set the initial data, I will let the worlds develop freely and won’t interfere with their progress easily. But occasionally, I will guide some of the worlds so that the experiments will proceed in the direction that I want. At that time, I will arrange some special virtual humans with ‘protagonist templates’ to carry out my will.

The Fist King said, “I can let you carry such a ‘protagonist template’ and descend into these worlds. Then, you will have fortuitous encounters one after another. You will have women on your left and you will have women on your right. At the critical moment, you will resolve one crisis after another, making all the enemies tremble in fear at your feet.

“All in all, everything that a man desires, money, beautiful women, strength, the cheers of thousands of people, the thrill of defeating the strongest evil demon king, or the most evil demon king, the awe-inspiring and awe-inspiring scene… you can get it all without any trouble. Oh, if you think it’s too easy, I can also arrange some soul-stirring, perilous plots and battles so that you can stand at the top of the world after going through all kinds of hardships.

“Of course, before you arrive in every virtual world, I can delete part of your memories so that you won’t realize that the world in front of you is a virtual experiment.

“In other words, you can live a hundred real, thrilling, and satisfying lives. You can be the protagonist of a hundred stories. If it is not enough, you can be the spokesperson of miracles and the protagonist of destiny in the virtual world that I created forever!”

Gus held his head, finding it hard to keep up with the boxing champion.

It took him a long time to understand what the boxing champion meant.

“Which means—”

In a trance, Gus said, “In the history of the Fist God’s World, there have been many great heroes who turned the tides. They—they were actually your puppets and your chess pieces that you arranged?”

“Some of them are, but they will never realize it themselves.

The Fist King said, “I don’t understand why you are so bothered by the fact that you were ‘arranged and manipulated’. As I said, I can delete part of your memories so that you will forget the existence of the ‘virtual experiment’ and return to the state before you met Lu Qingchen. Before you met Lu Qingchen, did you realize that the world, including yourself, is virtual? Is it really so important that it would cause you so much trouble?”

“Of course, it is!”

Gus summoned his courage and shouted, “Is my life true or false? Am I a living person, a puppet who pulls strings, or an ostrich whose head is buried in sand—is that not important?”

“Alright.”

The boxing champion sighed. “My child, if you don’t want to be a king in the virtual world, what exactly do you want?”

“I…”

Gus took a deep breath and looked at the Fist King. “I want to go to your world and the Pangu Universe. Is that okay?”

The boxing champion was silent for a while. He seemed to be in a dilemma.

“Why do you have such thoughts? Did you believe Lu Qingchen’s fancy words?”

The Fist King said very sincerely, “I’m sorry. I have to break your illusion. Although it’s true that the world of the Fist God and the Pangu Universe have ‘ascended’ from the low-dimensional universe to a higher dimension, a higher dimension does not mean a happier life.

“In fact, the Pangu Universe is not a paradise. There is no real paradise in the world.

“It’s true that the technology of the Pangu Universe is much more advanced than that of the Fist God’s World, but we are still faced with the shortage of resources, social contradictions, and the sharp friction between interest groups.

“Right now, with the efforts of Li Yao and countless heroes, the Pangu Universe is barely able to maintain the peace. But with Li Yao’s disappearance and the departure of countless experts from the Pangu Universe for more difficult missions, the undercurrents of the Pangu Universe are surging. The old forces, which are full of perils and refuse to give up, may counterattack at any time and reignite the cruel war.

“If you really ascend to the Pangu Universe, there won’t be too many technical problems. I can find you a shell of a spiritual puppet. The problem is, are you sure that it is the life you want?

“You must know that, in the virtual world, I can give you everything, and I can also help you get rid of all the crises and threats. You will become the protagonist of the world. But in the Pangu Universe, no one can protect you. You can only face the cold universe and the cruel world by yourself. In the vast, dark vacuum, you are just an insignificant speck of dust that will eventually be obliterated.

“Think about it carefully. Is this really what you want? To give up such a great opportunity for the so-called ‘truth’? Is it really worth it?”

Gus was silent for a long time.

He was caught in a dilemma.

“At least—”

He struggled to say, “After I ascended to the Pangu Universe, nobody could control my fate anymore, could they?”

“Nothing is certain.

The Fist King said, “Even in the Pangu Universe, how many people can truly face their destiny and defeat it?