For the next three days, Feng Qi stayed at the Crimson Research Institute.
During this time, in addition to discussing the future development of the super virtual game with the senior members of the Institute, he handed over the detailed game code to them.
The subsequent stages of the game's development would now be handled jointly by Fang Zhiyou and the Crimson Research Institute.
He was filled with anticipation for this groundbreaking virtual game.
The initial framework of the game was already complete, and once the collaboration between the Crimson Research Institute and Lin Ran was finalized, the game could be launched at any time.
As for any missing game content, it could gradually be supplemented later.
Once the game went live, creative players would naturally contribute to expanding its content.
Through this game, Feng Qi had unearthed a time line capable of reaching the future, but humanity's lack of overall strength was a persistent issue.
Every encounter with the future inevitably ended with the tragic collapse of civilization.
Solving this problem required a substantial improvement in humanity's collective strength.
Thus, the release of the super virtual game carried extraordinary significance.
When the game officially launched, it could potentially lead to a population explosion in the future Star City Shelter, multiplying its numbers by tens or even hundreds of times.
This butterfly effect could bring transformative changes to the overall strength of the people in the future.
Everything was possible.
What he was most eager to uncover now was the true nature of the "great upheaval" mentioned by the Shadow.
But to learn the answer, the people of the future would first need to survive long enough for the upheaval to arrive.
After leaving the technology and plans with the Crimson Research Institute, Feng Qi returned to Star City Academy.
After stopping by the principal's office to greet Bai Fusheng, he headed to Fang Zhiyou's workspace.
Upon entering, he saw Fang Zhiyou, glasses perched on his nose, engrossed in his work as he stared at a screen.
The other newcomers in the workshop, like Fang Zhiyou, were all deeply focused on their tasks.
Hearing the door open, Fang Zhiyou turned his head and smiled.
"Qi-ge, you're here."
Feng Qi nodded and sat down beside him.
"Are you getting used to living here?"
"Very much so. My parents are fully supportive of my work on the virtual engine, and this is my passion. I've never felt so free."
"Also, the development of the virtual engine is basically complete, though there are still many areas for improvement. I've already started addressing those issues."
Seeing Fang Zhiyou's excitement, Feng Qi couldn't help but smile.
He then explained in detail the arrangements for the collaboration between the Crimson Research Institute and Fang Zhiyou.
Hearing that the Crimson Research Institute would provide support, Fang Zhiyou's face lit up with joy.
Despite his enthusiasm, Fang Zhiyou had always been concerned about the challenges of creating a super virtual game.
Being familiar with the field, he understood the immense difficulties involved.
Even with the virtual engine he had created, it was only the starting point. The subsequent development required gathering massive amounts of data, such as spell trajectories.
While Feng Qi had the capability to solve these problems, the timeline remained uncertain—at least twenty years by Fang Zhiyou's estimate.
Learning that a prestigious research institution would provide support, he felt that this timeline could be shortened by at least a decade.
This news was undoubtedly a major relief.
Feng Qi handed Fang Zhiyou the contact details for Director Long of the Crimson Research Institute's newly established virtual game department, instructing him to coordinate the game's development.
After explaining the situation in detail, Feng Qi returned to his dormitory.
Sitting at his desk, he opened a notebook.
The aftereffects of the overlapping memories had yet to fully dissipate, so he decided to wait a few more days before re-entering the future dreamscape.
In the meantime, he planned to chart the direction of his next future timeline.
With the extensive intelligence he had gathered, there were many potential paths to choose from.
After contemplating for a while, he began writing.
Future Line One: The Dark Line (Joining the Domain Forces)
Establish contact with domain assassins and attempt to join the domain force alliance to gain insider knowledge about the domain forces.
Remarks: Joining the domain alliance requires undergoing rune modification at the Crimson Research Institute to make oneself appear as a domain creature.
Remarks 2: Becoming part of the domain forces might reveal secrets about why domain forces infiltrate human society.
Remarks 3: As part of the domain alliance, surviving long enough might allow witnessing the "great upheaval" mentioned by the Shadow (high difficulty, requires living over 1,000 years).
Risk: To the assassins, I represent another domain faction supported by a powerful force. Gaining their trust won't be easy. If I confess to being a lone entity without any backing, it would raise suspicion, potentially leading to retaliation before I could join their ranks.
Future Line Two: Dawn Path (Mu Yao Line)
Lay low initially, waiting for the right opportunity to join the Dawn Army and attempt to approach Mu Qing. The goal is to uncover the truths and secrets of the world through her.
Note: This future path carries significant risks and could very likely result in an untimely demise, but it's worth a shot.
Future Line Three: Countering the Tiger Soul Research Institute (Tentative, Conflicts with Plan)
Unite with known allied forces to counter the Tiger Soul Research Institute and observe the resulting changes in the future.
Note: This future path conflicts with Lin Ran's anti-parasite plan targeting the Mist Lord. If the Tiger Soul Research Institute's future operations fail, Lin Ran's opportunity to seize the Mist Lord will also be lost.
Future Line Four: Allies Intelligence Path
Attempt to make contact with the Prajna Domain Combat Squad and the Victory Domain Combat Squad to gain more intelligence about the domain forces.
Note: Currently, the Prajna and Victory Domain Combat Squads are known allies. Engaging with them might yield unexpected gains.
Future Line Five: Total Human War Path
At present, the various domain forces believe I am one of their kind. Using this misperception, I can disguise myself as a representative of the domain forces, rally allies, and form a "Domain Alliance" to develop collaboratively. At the right time, we could reveal the truth about the domain forces hidden within human society, uniting humanity to fight against them.
Note: This is an aggressive and high-risk future path. It could expose many hidden domain forces at once but might also lead to the premature downfall of human civilization, potentially erasing even the Star City Shelter in the future.
Future Line Six: Institute of Technological Research Path (Little Black Path)
Rejoin the Institute of Technological Research, leveraging existing technology to climb to the second-tier core circle. From there, seek opportunities to advance to the first-tier core circle and attempt to uncover the deepest secrets of the institute, including those surrounding Mo.
Note: Only by reaching Mo can the core secrets of the Institute of Technological Research, as well as Little Black's mysteries, be unraveled.
Note 2: This future path has a small chance of obtaining a method to control Little Black.
After writing down the six future paths, Feng Qi set down his pen.
Based on the intelligence he had collected so far, he could have outlined even more future path options. However, he chose to focus on these six paths for this round of planning.
After some thought, he crossed out the future path involving countering the Tiger Soul Research Institute, as it conflicted with Lin Ran's plan to infiltrate the Mist Lord.
Now, five future path options remained before him.
Contemplating his choices, Feng Qi fell into deep thought.
After some hesitation, he decided to take a risk and choose the future path of joining the Dawn Army.
He had deliberated over this path for a long time.
It carried considerable risks but also immense potential rewards.
As long as he could approach Mu Qing, he would gain access to a wealth of valuable intelligence.
In the future, Mu Qing could also become an ally, offering support much like Wei Wei.
However, the risk of an early demise loomed large, and Feng Qi mentally prepared himself for the possibility that this path might yield no results.
Having made his decision, he ordered a batch of materials online to brew Clear Mind Brew.
After completing the payment, his account balance dropped to just over 1 million, insufficient for another round of materials for Clear Mind Brew.
However, a lack of funds was no longer a major concern.
Since he had disclosed his plans to the Crimson Research Institute, he could now seek financial support from them.
The only issue was the lingering effects of memory overlap.
While leaving behind a message wasn't a concern, the current situation differed significantly from the past.
Previously, he had used shallow probing of unknown information, but now, he sought a deeper investigation.
There was a significant risk of encountering misleading information left by adversaries, which could lead to a cascade of errors in subsequent judgments.
Although the Narrator had suggested avoiding the retrieval of future memories unless absolutely necessary, accessing those memories seemed like the best way to ensure the accuracy of the intelligence. It would also provide a detailed understanding of all experiences in the future line.
With this in mind, Feng Qi asked, "Narrator, is there a way to mitigate the effects of memory overlap?"
[Yes, I can offer you two solutions.]
"Explain them in detail."
[First, you could rest for a few days after each return from the future dreamscape to process the effects of memory overlap. However, the downside is that accumulating negative emotions over time could significantly impact your mental state, potentially leading to psychological issues. Second, you could acquire Infinite Memory. With this ability, you could instantly process any memory without any residual effects.]
Feng Qi had long desired Infinite Memory.
However, there were no clues on how to obtain such a skill, so he dismissed the second suggestion from the Narrator.
The first option was feasible but came with its own risks. Ignoring the buildup of negative emotions wasn't an option, as it could eventually drive him mad.
Realizing the problem of negative emotions stacking up could be resolved, he immediately inquired, "Is there a way to address the accumulation of negative emotions caused by memory overlap?"
[It can be resolved, but you need to acquire a talent ability capable of purifying the mind. With such an ability, you can neutralize the effects of emotional accumulation after each memory retrieval.]
Understanding that a solution existed, Feng Qi pressed further. "Is a purification-type talent as hard to obtain as Infinite Memory?"
[Indeed, it is extremely difficult to acquire. However, there is currently a viable target.]
"What target?"
[Do you remember Three-Tailed monster? Back then, when you tried to control it with telekinesis, it instantly purified and countered you. That ability clearly included mental purification effects.]
Hearing this, the image of Three-Tailed monster immediately surfaced in his mind.
His encounter with Three-Tailed monster had been purely coincidental. In a prior future dreamscape, after checking the database at the Star City Shelter, he learned that the timeline's version of himself had mysteriously died in his dormitory just hours after leaving. This revelation made him aware of an imminent life-and-death crisis upon returning to reality.
Determined to grow stronger, he chose to spend that future dreamscape hunting domain creatures to enhance his abilities instead of gathering intelligence. He aimed to be ready to confront domain assassins upon his return.
During his hunt, he unexpectedly crossed paths with Three-Tailed monster. The Narrator had suggested the creature was weak and ripe for slaughter, so he went for it.
Three-Tailed monster's combat prowess wasn't overwhelming, but its agility was extraordinary. Even with his Blood Source ability active, he couldn't match its speed.
The real problem arose when Three-Tailed monster, known for holding grudges, began a relentless mental torment campaign. For the entire future dreamscape, wherever Feng Qi went, Three-Tailed monster followed, mocking him with its peculiar swaying tail dance. The memory of its bizarre movements still made his scalp tingle.
The final insult came in Three-Tailed monster's dying moments, when it taunted him with one last face-to-face sneer, an experience he vividly remembered as a form of psychological torture.
Now realizing that killing Three-Tailed monster might solve his issue with emotional accumulation, a surge of determination to hunt it down arose within him. The main challenge, however, was Three-Tailed monster's incredible agility, which far outpaced his current abilities. To harvest its talent, he would need to significantly strengthen himself beforehand.
Lost in thought, time slipped by as Feng Qi added a new plan to his future path: enhancing his strength and hunting Three-Tailed monster.
Over the next few days, Feng Qi decided to give himself a break—not a complete vacation but enough time to process the lingering effects of memory overlap. Meanwhile, he continued teaching his cultivation research classes at Star City Academy.
His influence at the academy had been growing steadily. He had garnered a devoted following of students, and his lectures were always packed to capacity. Students from other classes often came to audit his sessions, and the topics he introduced frequently became trending discussions on the academy's forums.
One afternoon, Feng Qi received a call from Bai Fusheng bearing good news: the Ministry of Education had approved his teaching certification.
He was now the only teacher at the academy to achieve this milestone without having graduated himself.
Upon hearing the news, Feng Qi immediately expressed his gratitude to Bai Fusheng over the phone. This achievement wasn't solely due to his accolades, such as the Outstanding Contribution to Humanity Silver Medal or the recognition of the "Tiger Fist" technique. Bai Fusheng's efforts behind the scenes were instrumental.
His teaching prowess, combined with Bai Fusheng's strong recommendation, had convinced the Ministry of Education to drop its reservations about his qualifications. A vote was held internally, and with unanimous approval, Feng Qi was officially granted his teaching certification at Star City Academy.
From that day forward, he was no longer a provisional instructor. He had shed his student identity entirely, becoming a full-fledged teacher with all associated benefits, including a monthly salary of 150,000 credits.
Feng Qi was overjoyed. That evening, he gathered Lin Ran, Mu Qing, and other students at the northern corner of the academy cafeteria to celebrate. During the meal, he announced his official teaching status and treated them to a feast.
Of course, the meal didn't cost him a cent—after all, all the food in the academy cafeteria was free.