Translator: CinderTL
Winterfrost City.
After sneaking into Winterfrost City, Feng Qi and the Lord of the Mist were now walking through the streets of the Eastern District.
Although the Lord of the Mist had stolen fragments of human memories, this was his first true experience in human society, and he showed great curiosity about his surroundings.
Feng Qi, who was also visiting Winterfrost City for the first time, shared this curiosity.
However, before arriving, he had already learned much about the city.
Winterfrost City was a city with a long history.
Due to its perpetually snowy climate, the city had a sophisticated snow removal system.
This system was developed with assistance from Future City's research institutions.
Unmanned robots operated around the clock to clear snow, while underground heating devices melted the snow more quickly, allowing it to flow into the sewers for processing.
Winterfrost City had once been the region in the Eastern District with the most severe food shortages.
However, the city was rich in natural resources such as mineral deposits and petroleum reserves.
Winterfrost City resolved its food shortage by trading these natural resources with other major cities for food supplies, thus meeting the consumption needs of its residents.
The people of this city were fiercely martial.
Having faced the threat of Domain Field expansion numerous times, they had nearly achieved universal conscription.
This martial spirit was also reflected in Winterfrost City's educational system.
The Winterfrost Academy, the city's highest institution of learning, was notorious for its cutthroat, survival-of-the-fittest environmentβa stark contrast to the practices of other academies.
Yet there was no denying that the Winterfrost Academy had produced a wealth of exceptional combat talents for humanity.
Simultaneously, its graduation sacrifice rate far exceeded that of any other academy.
This was particularly evident during the internship phase preceding graduation each year.
The Winterfrost Academy would send large numbers of students into the Domain Field for live combat training. Even with elite battle groups accompanying them, the annual casualty rate remained stubbornly high.
Feng Qi turned to gaze at the Lord of the Mist. The Lord now wore battered armor and stood over 1.8 meters tall. Apart from his unchanged purple hair and eyes, he had completely transformed his appearance.
This new body had been acquired through body possession of human warriors along his journey.
Feng Qi's mindset had undergone multiple adjustments during his journey to Winterfrost City.
While both the Sacrifice Line and the timeline where he joined the Technology Research Institute involved joining Domain Forces, there were still significant differences between the two.
In the Sacrifice Timeline, after joining the Technology Research Institute, the members of his own kind whom he had killed were imprisoned in the biochemical laboratory, their fates already sealed.
Even if he hadn't acted, other researchers would have eventually experimented on them.
But in this villainous timeline, he needed to actively commit evil.
His internal resistance to this was far stronger than before.
Yet, during his journey here, he had resolved to abandon all mercy.
Indecision would yield no intelligence and only drag him toward failure. In this villainous timeline, he had to make ruthless choices.
"We'll need to live in this city for a while to adapt to the environment before seeking opportunities for advancement," he said, turning to the Lord of the Mist.
"Very well. With my new identity, I should be able to integrate into human society quickly," the Lord of the Mist nodded.
"I think you should start by learning how to eat. That's the first step to acting human."
Through their interactions, Feng Qi had gained a basic understanding of the Lord of the Mist.
Unlike humans, his kind didn't need to consume food for sustenance. They primarily absorbed the qi blood of other living beings to fuel their bodies.
"I can do that. Just stuff the food in my mouth," the Lord of the Mist said with remarkable composure.
"Your kind of eating lacks soul. Putting food in your mouth is just the first step. You also need to chew with your mouth and show some expression..."
As Feng Qi explained, the Lord of the Mist nodded repeatedly.
Although he had seized some of his host's memories, they were fragmented and incomplete.
More importantly, even with the memories, he lacked the feeling of personal experience.
It was like reading a textbookβyou might understand the content, but it's nothing like experiencing it firsthand.
At that moment, Feng Qi was like a teacher, patiently explaining the structure of human society to the Lord of the Mist.
The Lord of the Mist would eventually learn these things anyway.
Feng Qi's goal was to accelerate this process, helping the Lord of the Mist mature more quickly.
He even considered using the Lord of the Mist to test the other Domain Forces, hoping to uncover their secrets through brute force.
The Lord of the Mist was the core of Feng Qi's Sacrifice Line.
The stronger the mist grew, the smoother the Sacrifice Line would progress.
As they chatted casually, they crossed the pedestrian walkway to a Chinese restaurant across the street, ready for some "practical training."
Feng Qi thoroughly enjoyed his meal.
The Lord of the Mist, however, found the experience utterly miserable.
His digestive system differed fundamentally from that of humans. While human digestion involves ingesting, transporting, breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, and eliminating waste, the Lord of the Mist's digestive functions were limited to converting energy and absorbing qi blood.
This meant that when food entered his body, he had to actively grind it into powder, extract its nutrients, and then find a way to expel the residue.
It felt like having a foreign object lodged inside him, a sensation he found utterly unbearable.
After finishing the meal, the Lord of the Mist followed Feng Qi to a trash can and vomited up everything he had eaten.
Seeing his wretched state, Feng Qi couldn't help but smile.
"What are you laughing at?" the Lord of the Mist glared at him.
"You'll get used to it," Feng Qi replied. "Since you plan to infiltrate human society, this minor discomfort shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
"Insignificant," the Lord of the Mist said with a dismissive expression.
"Let's go. Next, we'll head to the library. I'll show you how to better understand human society." With that, Feng Qi turned and strode toward the towering Winterfrost No. 2 Library in the distance.
The Lord of the Mist glanced down at the food remnants in the trash can before hurrying to catch up with Feng Qi.
Fueled by his ambitions for the future, he was determined to adapt to human life and seize any opportunity for advancement.
Five months later, brimming with ambition for the future, the Lord of the Mist joined a steel factory in Winterfrost City, becoming a proud laborer.
This wasn't Feng Qi's suggestion, but rather the Lord of the Mist's proactive choice to adapt to human life. By working alongside humans, he could observe their habits and understand their society firsthand.
Before this, Feng Qi and the Lord of the Mist had cycled through multiple jobs, switching roles almost monthly. During this time, the Lord of the Mist's understanding of human society grew increasingly clear.
After work that day, Feng Qi and the Lord of the Mist went to their usual park restaurant. After ordering, Feng Qi smiled at the Lord of the Mist, who was covered in grime:
"How's it going? Are you adjusting well?"
"Not bad. I think we can end this 'experience life' phase early. We're wasting time here."
Feng Qi nodded immediately. "Then what's next? What are your plans?"
"I've thoroughly analyzed human society. If we want to seize resources from the top, there are three options."
"Our first option is to establish a research institute. If it's powerful enough, we can secure substantial resource allocations from the city, even resources voluntarily supplied by other cities. More importantly, we'll gain access to classified intelligence, which would greatly benefit our development."
Feng Qi was taken aback by this.
He hadn't expected the Lord of the Mist to be considering establishing a research institute so early.
The key difference from historical events was that the Lord of the Mist now wanted to build his own institute, whereas later he chose to infiltrate existing ones.
"Our second option is to join the City Defense Force and climb to a high-ranking position. This path also grants access to intelligence and resources... but I don't think it suits us. Rapid promotion within the military is simply impossible."
"The third option is to form a domain combat team. This is the simplest of the three, but it yields the least intelligence. Its advantage lies in allowing us to quickly build up our own forces."
(End of the Chapter)
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