Chapter 799 - 673: Ascension

Under the great mental shock, Dylan, who was rescued from the stomach, basically answered Li Ang’s inquiries as if he were pouring beans out of a bamboo tube, leaving nothing unsaid.

Through the latter’s somewhat disorganized narration, supplemented by Li Cheng’s [Visual Memory] skill, everyone gradually learned the inside story.

The so-called Broken Land is a giant structure similar to a Mobius ring, composed of countless smaller or larger space fragments.

The explored area is no less than the size of an entire American continent, filled with deserts, forests, cities, rivers, seas, factories, and other terrains.

The space fragments are physically connected and can also be "slotted" into certain spatial fissures at specific locations, teleporting to distant areas.

The recorded history of the Broken Land by humans spans 507 years, with new space fragments constantly being inserted over five centuries, and people inexplicably passively crossing over to here.

Some people get hit by vehicles, some jump off buildings but fail, some simply open their front door after work.

Among them are not only modern people from the 21st century but also tribes from near antiquity, medieval, ancient, and even the Neolithic era.

Moreover, through simple communication, it’s evident that everyone comes from multiple different worlds—some claim Earth has two moons, Moon One and Moon Two, some claim Great Han and Rome are engaged in the First World War, and some claim humanity has been ruled by the Bloodline for millennia.

No matter what, once you fall into the Broken Land, don’t expect to get out. Survivors can only band together for warmth, forming an organization called the [Execution Committee],

establishing bases in relatively stable space fragments, organizing production, and rescuing newcomers who fall in later.

Dylan said: "The reason Zhu Youdong has the surname Zhu is because he fell into the Broken Land as a baby. According to the rules, he was raised by the [Execution Committee]-organized [Jianwen Relief Institute], which gave him his name."

Li Cheng’s eye twitches, "[Jianwen Relief Institute]... Damn, it wouldn’t happen to be built by Ming Hui Zong Zhu Yunwen, would it?"

Dylan, with a microphone stuck in his throat, couldn’t nod, "Yes. However, here he is the third chairman of the Execution Committee. Following his suggestion, all orphans found by the Relief Institute changed their surname to Zhu for ease of management."

"Eh, something’s wrong."

Mei Wenyi suddenly realized, "Wasn’t Ming Hui Zong driven away by his fourth uncle? Why use Zhu Di’s clan naming rules?"

"Maybe he was scared out of his wits."

Dylan said unsurely, "During his administration, it’s said that some ocean fleets led by Jinyi Guards and eunuchs fell into the Broken Land."

"Alright."

Mei Wenyi smacked her lips. Chinese young people might not be very familiar with the history of Lee’s Korea, perhaps only knowing about the Wanli Korean War and Lee Soon-shin,

but as a South Korean, she’s quite familiar with Ming dynasty history.

The reason is that near her hometown in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, at Chaozong Rock in Datong Temple, hundreds of descendants of Ming immigrants, history enthusiasts, and Hanfu enthusiasts wear Hanfu, perform the three kneelings and nine kowtows, using the calendar "382 years after Chongzhen" as a mark of Ming heritage.

The reasons behind this are complex, involving traditional cultural penetration, gratitude for Wanli sending troops to repel Japanese invasions, deliberately distinguishing from North Korea, and vying for legitimacy.

As for why Wanli agreed to support the Korean War but didn’t seize the peninsula afterward, it’s because the peninsula was extremely poor, unable to gather enough food for the Ming army, "all soldiers since crossing the river have no way to get vegetables, meat, salt, soy sauce,"

volunteer troops entering Korea had a disciplinary rule of "not making jokes about how poor North Korean locals are."

In some sense, the 21st century is unprecedentedly prosperous in peninsula history, regardless of North or South, with world status and influence far surpassing any past era,

and yet South Korean young people generally assume this is normal, that they were born with it, flowers blooming in colorful oil fierily, forever continuing in the future,

leading those slightly knowledgeable and patriotic Transcendents from South Korea like Mei Wenyi to privately sigh,

lamenting "willing to be a frivolous youth around Five Tombs, born in Zhenguan and Kaiyuan times. Chicken fighting and dog racing throughout life, ignorant of the danger to the world."

The Special Affairs Bureau side is alright, having long readied large-scale interstellar immigration.

South Korea can’t rely on the United States to take all fifty million South Koreans with them when they run.

Let’s take a close look at the distant GOC’s [Mirror Earth] plan, folks.

Complex emotions flash through, Mei Wenyi asked: "Isn’t the Horror Maggot Beast known for being docile? Why did it attack you?"

"I don’t know."

Dylan’s Electronic Eye sparks with electricity, sadly confused: "Maybe because of the earthquake. A year and a half, nine months, two months ago, multiple regions of the Broken Land experienced seismic disasters.

Native animals living in the Broken Land got restless, frequently attacking settlements.

Snake-men and Birdmen (other factions in the Broken Land) also hid away, losing contact.

Zhu Youdong claimed it was a precursor to disaster and set out to find a way to escape the Broken Land, then disappeared. Our squad set out to find him."

"A year and a half, nine months, two months..."

Mike chewed over these times, his face changing dramatically, exchanging glances with his teammates.

These are clearly the times of the previous seismic tremors in killing fields and globally coincident earthquakes and fissure invasion events.

Is it possible there is a connection between the two?

Mei Wenyi exchanged a look, ’How would you rate, is this native credible?’

’From the [Visual Memory] feedback, there’s no lying. Overall truth.’

Li Cheng likewise returned a look, ’I suggest we first find the so-called Execution Committee base for more information.’

"I agree."

Don Juan squinted, lips slightly moving, directly transmitting the sound wave, "The total area of North America is 24,220,000 square kilometers, seemingly vast and empty, but for Transcendent Lv25 and above, not that large.

If Michael, similar high-level figures like Side of Truth, or Cold Water Stone landed here, they should quickly contact us..."

Before he finished speaking, the walkie-talkies at everyone’s waist emitted buzzing sounds.

The walkie-talkies were a free gift from the Shabby Street Community Committee before departure, able to receive spiritual energy signals directly affiliated with the Committee.

"This is... GOC... Zhongtian Beiji."

All walkie-talkies had harsh cluttered static, proving it wasn’t a reception problem, but signal instability, "human players... stop the infighting... head towards... human form native bases..."

Zhongtian Beiji seemed to know the communication was unstable, increasing the volume, giving the final warning before the communication cut off,

"Do not ascend! Do not ascend! Do not ascend!"