Translator: CinderTL
After parting ways with Wang Jinsheng, Feng Qi returned to Star City Academy.
In the days that followed, he devoted himself entirely to his studies, allowing himself no rest outside of class hours.
During this ti, Wei Wei contacted him online.
To help him study more effectively, the Scarlet Research Institute had prepared a detailed study plan for him. It specified exactly which books he should start with and in what order.
With this plan, his learning efficiency skyrocketed.
Ti flew by like a white horse passing through a crack in a wall.
A year passed in the blink of an eye.
During this ti, Bai Fusheng summoned Feng Qi several tis, trying to persuade him to join the Tiger Soul Research Institute and not waste his ti and talent on "aningless" pursuits.
Feng Qi understood that Bai Fusheng's persistence stemd from his genuine concern for him.
But Bai Fusheng didn't know that what Feng Qi was doing now was the most aningful thing he could possibly do on this path of sacrifice.
His silence wasn't due to a lack of words, but because the situation was too complex to explain in a few sentences.
After repeated attempts to persuade him failed, Bai Fusheng could only sigh and give up.
Feng Qi finally faced the first round of assessnts at the technology research institute.
This round was conducted online and primarily tested foundational knowledge.
Feng Qi wasn't worried about this exam. After a year of diligent study, he was confident he could pass the basic assessnt.
Half an hour after the exam ended, the results were released.
As he expected, he scored 278 out of 300, easily passing the basic assessnt.
Even after passing, Feng Qi didn't relax. He imdiately returned to his studies. Several more rounds of exams awaited him, and he wasn't confident he could pass them. He knew he needed to keep working hard.
Ti flew by, and two weeks later, the second round of assessnts arrived.
Since the technology research institute was located in Future City, far from many cities, testing centers were set up in each city. Star City's testing center was at Star City No. 2 High School.
That morning, Feng Qi quickly ate breakfast and set off.
This round's difficulty had noticeably increased, but thanks to the study schedule specifically tailored for him by the Scarlet Research Institute, he passed with ease.
Next ca the third round, the fourth round...
There were five rounds of exams in total. Feng Qi passed the first four, but he stumbled in the fifth.
When he checked the online results and saw the "Failed" mark, he didn't feel discouraged. Instead, he lowered his head and resolved to keep trying.
If not this year, then next year.
During this ti, he received a new study schedule from the Scarlet Research Institute and threw himself back into his studies.
Ti flew by. Spring turned to autumn, and another year passed in the blink of an eye.
Throughout this period, Feng Qi's diligent figure could be seen studying tirelessly in the library and on the sports field.
He applied again for the technology research institute's entrance exam.
This ti, he passed all five rounds with exceptional scores, earning his admission.
As he saw his results, a smile spread across Feng Qi's face. His relentless pursuit of his goal had finally yielded results... even if it ant entering hell.
With Bai Fusheng's regret and his students' bewildernt, he resigned from his position as a teacher at Star City Academy and set off for Future City.
The journey from Star City Academy to Future City was long and arduous, separated by mountain ranges. However, a direct underground tunnel connected the two cities, requiring a trip to Star City's subway station first.
On the day he left Star City Academy, a light rain fell from the sky. Lin Ran, Mu Qing, and others had co to see him off.
Listening to their farewell wishes, he offered them a smile in return.
No one knew he was heading into the abyss, nor did they need to.
As he boarded the train and watched their figures shrink in the rearview mirror, he suppressed the pang of reluctance in his heart.
At the subway station, he stood outside the safety line, pushing his luggage and quietly waiting for the train to arrive.
Monts later, the train pulled into the station, but no one disembarked.
Years ago, Star City had sent over a hundred thousand soldiers to Future City to help repel the Domain Invasion. Fewer than three thousand returned.
Later, the subway lines between Star City and Future City were connected. Every morning at dawn, an empty train would run from Future City to Star City, carrying the souls of fallen heroes who had never returned from the battlefield ho.
As he waited in silence, the station entrance opened, and Feng Qi stepped inside.
The iron doors closed behind him, and his vision blurred as the train sped forward. The reluctance in his heart hardened into resolve.
Future City was nestled among the mountains, where the climate was cold and damp.
Yet it was hailed as the City of Technology.
Here stood not only the technology academy, but also the technology research institute and the Future Research Institute—goals many students dread of.
After half a day's journey, the subway slowly ca to a halt.
Exiting the station, Feng Qi was t by countless maglev cars weaving through the towering skyscrapers. Everything here exuded a sense of advanced technology.
He pulled out his phone to hail a car, and a maglev car in midair suddenly changed direction and descended before him.
The door slowly opened, and Feng Qi slid inside.
A green light scanned him, followed by a synthesized voice:
"Identity verification complete. Confirm destination: Technology Research Institute?"
"Confirm."
"Information confird. This journey will be provided by Vast Corporation's unmanned navigation maglev car, model A2123. Have a pleasant trip."
The door closed, and the maglev car slowly ascended, joining the flow of traffic as it headed toward its destination.
Gazing down at Future City from above, Feng Qi, who had never left Star City before, was deeply moved.
After a journey of one hour and twenty-three minutes, the unmanned car stopped in a remote area of the city.
After paying and exiting the vehicle, he found himself standing before a small city enclosed by tal walls.
Caras were mounted along the periter, and drones patrolled the airspace above.
Everything here resembled the future world depicted in movies, creating a powerful visual impact.
At the entrance to the Technology Research Institute, he placed his admission letter in the identification zone.
A green light scanned the letter and then swept over his entire body. The tal gate slowly opened.
He stepped inside without looking back.
There was no turning back on this path.
Ti flies like an arrow, and years pass like a shuttle.
In his third year at the technology research institute, Feng Qi turned 23.
He had risen from a lowly assistant to a researcher at the Technology Starry Sky Branch.
Over the past three years, he had never stopped studying, all in the hope of one day entering the core circle of the technology research institute.
For this step, he had bided his ti for three years, constantly laying the groundwork for his future.
To his colleagues, he seed like a perpetually negative person, always complaining about the world's injustices and often lanting how much better things would be if the system could be overturned and rebuilt from scratch.
Yet in his work, he never made a single mistake, always striving for perfection.
He would complete a month's worth of work in half the ti, working tirelessly through the night.
During this period, he frequently contacted Mo Fei from the Viper Branch.
Mo Fei already knew his secret.
To help Feng Qi enter the core circle, Mo Fei often shared his research findings with him, helping to bolster his resu.
The specter of his early death spurred him to relentless effort.
He also frequently left ssages in his private email to his future self, but these ssages contained no bitterness or hardship, only boundless hope.
This sacrifice line had no one to bear more for him.
Therefore, he needed to hide his inner weakness and bring hope to his future self.
Through day after day of effort, he was promoted to a core mber of the Starry Sky Branch, gaining access to so of the Academy of Technology's more confidential research.
But this wasn't what he truly wanted.
Finally, at the age of 29, he received an opportunity to join the core circle of the technology research institute.
The shadowy figure he had seen in Le Ping'an's mory fragnts appeared before him, offering to help him build his ideal human society.
Feng Qi expressed his doubts and even reached for the ergency alarm in the room.
He had rehearsed this mont countless tis in his mind, and his performance satisfied the shadowy figure.
Next ca a seductive negotiation. The figure's words seed to possess a magical power, constantly stirring his deepest desires.
Feng Qi chose to play along, gradually transitioning from struggle to compromise.
In the end, he agreed to the shadowy figure's demands.
To ensure his compliance, the figure implanted a spirit energy mark within him.
Similar to the one on Le Ping'an, this mark had no surveillance function but held control over Feng Qi's life and death.
The switch for this mark was held by the Shadow. Once triggered, the mark would cause his body to be consud by spirit energy, eventually dissolving into spiritual energy fragnts.
The switch could also be activated by the Shadow's own consciousness, serving as a ans of self-destruction in desperate situations.
To control him further, the Shadow gave him a bottle of white pills.
After taking these pills, he would need to take them regularly. Otherwise, he would suffer excruciating physical and ntal tornt, a fate worse than death.
Feng Qi accepted this without hesitation.
Descending into hell was the future of his sacrifice line. There was nothing he couldn't sacrifice.
In the days that followed, Feng Qi gained access to so core content from the Technology Research Institute.
Just as Mo Fei had predicted, the institute's Spirit Energy Technology was already highly advanced, yet it had never been publicly disclosed.
This technology had the potential to propel Human Civilization forward.
The institute refused to let such technology benefit future generations, choosing instead to conceal it and publicly claim that the technology was still immature.
As for the technology related to Spirit Energy Nanoworms, his clearance level was too low, and he wasn't qualified to access it.
To raise his clearance, he began working tirelessly, driven to the brink of madness.
During this ti, Feng Qi discovered that the technology research institute was secretly researching a "virus" experint capable of destroying humanity. They were using human genetic samples to create a supervirus that would target the entire human race.
The experintal base held nurous live human subjects. These were either holess people from the streets or human geniuses secretly abducted for experintation.
Feng Qi himself was a mber of this project.
Throughout the experints, he maintained a detached expression, even volunteering for more projects. His cruelty was so extre that even his fellow "traitor" researchers found it difficult to bear.
Yet his performance greatly pleased the Domain Force controlling the technology research institute.
He concealed his inner grief so deeply that it never surfaced.
Through his efforts, he drew closer to the true core circle, and closer to launching his plan against the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
One day, during a long holiday, he returned to Star City.
In a cafe outside Star City Academy, he t Wei Wei again.
By now, Feng Qi was a middle-aged man, while Wei Wei remained as youthful and radiant as ever, her face still bright with a confident smile.
Gazing at Feng Qi's bloodshot eyes, strained from overwork, and the lines that had aged him compared to his mories, Wei Wei opened her mouth, then softly whispered, "It must be so painful."
At that mont, the man whose hands were stained with the blood of dozens of his own kind, and who was known as a "demon" within the technology research institute's core circle, suddenly began to weep.
Under the astonished gazes of passersby, he finally succumbed to his grief, curling up and weeping uncontrollably.
None of this was his choice, yet he had been forced to do it.
Only Wei Wei could truly understand the bitterness of his journey.
Returning this ti felt like a rat crawling out of the sewer. He had caught a glimpse of the dazzling world outside, but ultimately, he had to scurry back into the shadows.
From now on, everything would remain the sa. He would once again beco the cold, ruthless "Demon."
(End of the Chapter)
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