Chapter 479: Nuwa No. 17: Mr. Secretary-General, I Am Demon Capital City

Chu Bamboo sat in the wheel-less vehicle, gazing out at the world. This was no ordinary maglev car—it was an Anti-gravity Vehicle!

Human civilization had broken through its historical limits. After more than three thousand years since the twenty-first century, despite numerous setbacks, humanity had developed and mastered many technologies that were once beyond imagination.

But…

“…How did it come to this?” Chu Bamboo murmured.

“What is it?” Li Kang, who was driving, turned his head instantly.

“Nothing.” Chu Bamboo shook his head. Li Kang opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately just focused on his driving. Chu Bamboo’s gaze was heavy as he took in a scene that defied his imagination.

Compared to the flat plain it once was, Shanghai now sat atop a sprawling “colossal mountain.” This mountain was covered in skyscrapers… yet there were very few people walking the streets below.

Furthermore, most of the people on foot wore heavy, spacesuit-like garments… clearly to protect themselves from pollution.

Chu Bamboo slowly realized something. ‘Even though this protective gear exists, and it looks like it’s for sale… not everyone can afford it. Does that mean… walking on the street in normal clothes is a symbol of being ‘upper class’?’

As Chu Bamboo pondered this, he recalled the information he had pried from Ning Linglong and the others.

Shanghai was no longer a city built on the earth. To be precise, the city of Shanghai was now a colossal beast—Giant Beast No. 17, the Earth Dragon!

Because the Anti-gravity Vehicle was flying so high, Chu Bamboo could get a good look at the colossal mountain occupying the former Shanghai plain. He could just barely make out the general shape of a four-legged Earth Dragon…

Chu Bamboo pursed his lips. In an emergency, the Shanghai government could forcibly awaken the Earth Dragon, sending it fleeing into the nearby Sea or flying off into the boundless Cosmos…

When that happened, the people who lived in the city on its back would take refuge inside its body. The Earth Dragon was as large as a city, and it contained a massive, self-sustaining ecosystem within.

In essence, the Earth Dragon was a living, extraterrestrial ecological vessel. But it also possessed terrifying power, allowing it to repel any external enemies who might try to invade it during an emergency.

“Genetic technology… genetic technology.” Chu Bamboo mulled over the term, a wry smile suddenly appearing on his face. ‘We’ve really gone down a completely different path.’ He said aloud, “So, that means the Nu… that base we were just in is!”

Li Kang frowned. ‘Is that even a question?’ he seemed to think. A bit confused, he answered, “Isn’t that the Earth Dragon’s heart?”

“I see.” Chu Bamboo asked no more questions. He was pondering a serious problem. ‘What is the relationship between Nuwa No. 17 and the Earth Dragon? The Earth Dragon is Giant Beast No. 17. Two “number seventeens,” plus the location of Nuwa Base… it’d be stranger if they *weren’t* related.’

And…

‘What is the Earth Dragon’s combat power comparable to?’ Chu Bamboo wondered. ‘Does Nuwa have the method for creating it? Hmm, I can ask when I go back… or in my next life…’

Suddenly, an inexplicable sense of dread washed over Chu Bamboo. “Wait a sec—”

He didn’t get to finish.

A black sphere suddenly appeared on the path ahead, expanding at a terrifying rate. Even though Li Kang realized something was wrong and tried to make an emergency escape, it was too late. The sphere possessed an incredibly powerful gravity and swallowed the Anti-gravity Vehicle whole.

The next moment, everything began to reverse.

…

Opening his eyes again, Chu Bamboo looked at the Anti-gravity Vehicle he was in, then glanced at Li Kang, still driving beside him. His eye twitched.

‘Seriously? I just lost another life just like that? What the hell happened?!’

‘At this point, I’m starting to doubt I’m the so-called Crown Prince. Is this really the level of security he gets? I could be on my way to meet the Pope and just drop dead in the car!’

‘Where’s Su Po?’ Chu Bamboo cursed internally. ‘He acted like he was watching me every second, but now that I actually need him, he’s nowhere to be found?’

‘Then again, there’s an even worse possibility.’

Chu Bamboo’s breath hitched as a thought struck him. ‘This assassination… Su Po knew about it. He might have even sanctioned it! No, there’s at least a fifty percent chance Su Po was the one who did it…’

Chu Bamboo’s eyes darkened. And there was a simple way to test this theory.

Chu Bamboo waited quietly, glancing at the time. When the moment was right, just as he felt that familiar sense of dread, he spoke: “Su Po, God of Nations and Conquest!”

In that instant, Li Kang froze.

The next moment, the black hole devoured the Anti-gravity Vehicle once more.

…

“I knew it.” Chu Bamboo looked around the Nuwa Base, his expression unreadable. ‘So Su Po was in on it. The only question is whether he ordered the assassination himself, or…’

‘But it would make sense if he did… After all, in the last timeline, Su Po also sent people to kill me.’

‘A dead end?’ Chu Bamboo mused. ‘Without a doubt, Su Po has his eyes on me now. In fact, I probably don’t even need to say his name. Just thinking about him is enough to cause trouble… After all, I haven’t forgotten how the Big Orange Cat showed up right in my face the moment I thought of it. And that cat hasn’t even achieved godhood…’

‘Of course, it’s possible the Big Orange Cat is just special. The Divine Techniques she controls might allow her to sense when she’s being thought of. But ordinary Divine Beings… you have to say their names for them to notice. And yet…’

‘For me, it makes no difference right now. Either way, I’m definitely being watched.’

After countless thoughts flashed through his mind, Chu Bamboo spoke calmly, “Nuwa No. 17! What is your relationship… with the giant beast?”

A question mark appeared on the light screen projected into the air, reflecting Nuwa No. 17’s confusion. “This unit *is* Giant Beast No. 17. Mr. Secretary-General, what are you talking about?”

“???” Chu Bamboo was stunned. He tried to process this. ‘Z managed to clone a physical body for himself, didn’t he? So it would be normal for Nuwa to do the same… Normal my ass!’

Chu Bamboo remembered the sheer size of the Earth Dragon he had seen, and his scalp prickled. ‘And this is just a sub-unit. By that logic… does that mean Yanjing is Nuwa’s main body?’

‘God, that’s terrifying!’

Chu Bamboo silently wiped the cold sweat from his brow and calmly explained, “Could you show me the data on anti-gravity? I’m, uh, preparing to write a novel. It’s about what would happen if someone traveled back to the twenty-first century and tried to advance technology… So, could you run a simulation for me? Simulate how to invent anti-gravity equipment using only early twenty-first-century tech. It’ll save me the trouble of doing all the research when I go back!”

After a short silence, Nuwa No. 17 said, “Reproduction would be nearly impossible.”

“…Fine.” Chu Bamboo’s eye twitched. He thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. “In that case, show me all the results of the first and second genetic revolutions! To be precise, the core results… display them all for me.”

A light screen appeared. Chu Bamboo breathed a small sigh of relief and began memorizing everything at high speed. There wasn’t much to say about the first genetic revolution… It actually wasn’t that much more advanced than the genetic data Chu Bamboo had brought back with him.

The only, or rather, the biggest difference was that it had been systematized.

Just as the Industrial Revolution was a vast industrial system, the genetic revolution wasn’t a single technology. It was a massive, cyclical system encompassing everything from genetic research to Genetic Modification, embryo cultivation, and Genetic Map studies—a system capable of self-propagation, self-research, and self-upgrading.

This was fundamentally different from the raw data Chu Bamboo had simply copied. Of course… this also meant the amount of information in the entire system was immense.

‘Luckily, I can memorize it all!’ Chu Bamboo thought, inwardly grateful. He began to absorb the information rapidly, completely engrossed.

Time trickled by.

When he snapped out of it, Chu Bamboo glanced at the time. It was already seven in the evening. He felt a little wistful, but recalling the information now stored in his mind, he knew the time spent had been worth it.

Then, for his final question, Chu Bamboo spoke slowly and deliberately. “Nuwa No. 17, is your combat power… comparable to that of a god?”

“I cannot engage a God-level life-form in combat,” Nuwa No. 17’s voice replied, flat as ever. “I can only guarantee that, no matter the scale of the attack from Cultivators of the Fourth Realm or below, all life within me will remain unharmed.”

‘…I see.’ Chu Bamboo thought calmly. That made sense. The giant beast obviously wasn’t designed as a warrior, but as a vessel to ensure the continuation of life.

“Can you contact your main unit?” Chu Bamboo asked, though he didn’t hold out much hope.

“I cannot.”

With a wry smile, Chu Bamboo’s eyes lit up with a thought. He took out his phone, a thoughtful look on his face, and checked his notes. Just as he suspected… even the phone numbers were the same. He dialed a number, and after a few rings, the call went through.

“What is it you want?”

The Pope’s voice, tinged with confusion, came through the phone.

“I…” Chu Bamboo opened his mouth, then, after a moment of careful consideration, he asked cautiously, “Are you a god?”

“???” The Pope was baffled, then he laughed, annoyed. “A god? Did you call me just to mock me? Or are you trying to show off that you’re going to inherit the Divine Position of the God of Nations and Conquest? You damn brat!”

The next moment, the line went dead.

Chu Bamboo’s expression soured. ‘In other words, not even the Pope can protect me from Su Po.’

“You’ve been thinking about me a lot today,” a voice with an indistinct, unplaceable timbre suddenly echoed.

Chu Bamboo sighed softly. ‘So it’s true. He can sense it just from my thoughts.’ This guy was patient, though, waiting until now to speak up… Without a moment’s hesitation, Chu Bamboo chose to kill himself. The shadow within his body swelled rapidly…

And then, time began to reverse.