Chapter 531: Identity Setting, But Only the Setting

The Jade Dragon Dynasty had stood for a thousand years, always enjoying favorable weather and a prosperous, peaceful populace—or so the officials below reported to their superiors.

Until today, when a heavenly dog devoured the sun in a total eclipse. It lasted for nearly an hour before the sun was spat back out.

But this was followed by an earth dragon turning over. Fortunately, the tremor wasn’t severe; it just caused a bit of a commotion, and casualties were negligible.

However, the impact on the Jade Dragon Dynasty’s public image was significant. After all, with two celestial disasters occurring back-to-back, various theories and rumors naturally began to circulate.

Fortunately, the Jade Dragon Dynasty acted decisively, immediately quelling the rumors with official explanations and propaganda, and thus quickly handled the situation.

Most commoners were just trying to make a living. They didn’t have much free time. Exhausted after a long day of labor, they would quickly forget about such matters if no one brought them up again.

After a while, it would all be forgotten.

So, as long as the Court could control the source of the rumors, the rest wasn’t a major problem.

‘The landing was a success, and there are no major issues.’ Qi Suian stretched his body.

His main body had successfully arrived in this world, concealed itself, and had already begun the process of “feeding.”

Although it was still stuffed, it had been digesting for a year, so taking a couple more bites wasn’t a problem.

Then, he’d dropped the “survivor” body he had previously created into the world and, using an improved technique, had also acquired an identity for it.

It was just a bit crude, and the identity had quite a few holes in it.

‘An ordinary peasant, making a living by farming.’

‘A very complete backstory. But the problem now is… where are my fields and my house? You can’t just give me a setting and a background and nothing else.’

Qi Suian was rather speechless.

‘Looks like the technology is still immature. Good thing I chose a farmer. If I had tried to make myself a prince or a general, I’d have been completely screwed.’

He had chosen this identity for two reasons. First, it was easy to arrange. With such a lowly status, one more or one less person wouldn’t cause any major issues.

And the second reason was even simpler: it was cheap.

Life as a prince or a general would certainly be more comfortable, and the starting point would be higher, but it would also come with too many problems.

Sometimes, a high-status start wouldn’t be helpful, especially since Qi Suian’s identity-creation technology still had many flaws.

The fabricated identity came with a backstory but no corresponding physical assets or records. The problem was obvious at a glance.

Although this world was a feudal dynasty, the ambient energy was not low at all, which meant its system of Extraordinary power was likely well-developed.

Moreover, one shouldn’t underestimate people from a feudal era, especially one with Extraordinary powers. Their knowledge and experience might not be inferior to that of modern humans, not to mention that Extraordinary power could even enhance their intelligence.

Therefore, having such a flawed identity while holding a high position would be fatal.

As for what would happen if people investigated him after he rose to prominence and found discrepancies?

That didn’t matter. Once he was powerful, what was there to fear from an investigation?

What did a few problems with his identity matter? By then, there would be plenty of people willing to make excuses for him.

While his current avatar was weak, he was reluctant to use his main body’s power. After all, if he did act, he would need to conceal it.

If he just used his power blatantly, did he think this world was blind?

His main body was indeed well hidden, but that didn’t mean the world hadn’t noticed his entry.

It was just that Qi Suian had hidden himself so well that the world couldn’t find him. Otherwise, where did the solar eclipse and the earthquake come from?

“Old Qi, heading to the fields?” A middle-aged man walked over and greeted Qi Suian.

“Yep, just about to head out,” Qi Suian replied, though he was complaining internally. ‘What fields? I don’t even know where my fields are.’

Besides, who was this person? He didn’t recognize him at all.

Fortunately, he was able to instantly use his power to collect data and pull up information on the man.

He was a local farmer. Because of Qi Suian’s identity implant, he had been abruptly inserted into the social networks of some people.

The parameters of the “implant” just weren’t very rigorous.

After the middle-aged farmer walked away, he muttered to himself in confusion. He knew the man, but why couldn’t he recall any strong impression of him?

Racking his brain, he couldn’t remember many interactions. He finally chalked it up to them simply not being very close.

If he thought about it any harder, he would surely notice something was wrong, but he was in a hurry to get to work and didn’t have time for such thoughts.

‘It seems the identity technology evolved from the “survivor” tech still has many flaws, but it’s effective enough. As long as it doesn’t involve real-world assets, the social connections are at least guaranteed.’

‘But this is the first time using it, so problems are inevitable. I’ll collect some data and make adjustments later.’

‘The most urgent task right now… is to find a place to live.’

Qi Suian’s current attributes were at the level of an ordinary person in this world.

A standard “1 point,” meaning he needed food, clothing, shelter, and transportation to survive.

So, he had to find a place to live before he could slowly begin his developments.

The energy level of this world was not low at all, far surpassing the four worlds previously pulled into the “Apocalypse Game” to be used as cannon fodder.

And with its feudal social structure, it was highly likely that the strong ruled over the weak.

If he really ran into an Extraordinary Being and got caught in the crossfire, he would have no choice but to use his main body’s power to strike the person dead with a bolt of lightning.

What else could he do? Just watch his avatar die?

The cost of indirect interference was far lower than the cost of a “survivor” avatar, especially since the avatar’s value would continue to increase over time.

Theoretically, the longer it lived, the more valuable it became.

The housing issue was resolved quickly. Qi Suian found an old, abandoned house on the outskirts of the village where he had arrived.

It wasn’t a magnificent mansion, but an ordinary, extremely dilapidated dwelling.

Qi Suian could only make some repairs. As for the issue of farmland, he relied on the immense power of his main body, arranging it with a direct deus ex machina.

‘Looks like I’ll have to interfere myself to get any real-world assets later. Otherwise, it’s just too troublesome.’

Was Qi Suian really planning to be a farmer here for the rest of his life? Not at all. This was just a transitional phase.

After all, for him, the first step was to gather information.

His main body, simultaneously hiding and devouring the world, couldn’t move around too much. It was concealed, not invisible.

Any sudden movements would definitely be detected by the world. It was like the Apocalypse Game back then—he just had to stay put, unmoving as a mountain, even if all the “survivors” died out.

Qi Suian’s situation was slightly better; he was only limited to the vicinity of his avatar.

The task of data collection could be handled by the survivor avatar. It was just a matter of time.

And as it happened, time was something he had in abundance.

Although this world might be facing an apocalypse, Qi Suian took a look and realized… he seemed to be the apocalypse?

With his level of power, especially after having devoured the Apocalypse Game, his senses were naturally highly attuned to impending doom.

So, when he arrived, he could of course perceive that this world was perfectly healthy, without any signs of apocalyptic “sickness.”

It was only because a scourge like him had shown up. Otherwise, this world could have continued on its healthy path.

After finishing up, Qi Suian finally took a rest. The repairs had been exhausting, and if not for the deus ex machina-like help from his main body, he definitely wouldn’t have finished so quickly.

‘Phew. Next up, it’s time to start gathering information.’

‘From what I can tell so far, the average person doesn’t seem to have much awareness of the Extraordinary.’

Using his avatar as a node, Qi Suian collected data and memories from people within a several-mile radius, but found no intelligence related to the Extraordinary.

However, it wasn’t a complete dead end. There were plenty of rumors and legends.

For example, it was said that Scholars who passed the provincial exam were the Wenqu Star descended from the heavens, that some high-ranking monks possessed boundless Buddhist Teachings, and that Daoists could fly through the sky and burrow into the earth.

But… no one had ever seen it.

It was all hearsay.

The stories were told with great conviction, but the source was always a friend of a friend or some incredibly distant relative.

‘Being in a remote, isolated place is great for concealing the problems with my identity, but the lack of information flow is a huge pain.’

‘I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too.’

To put it simply, the farthest anyone in Qi Suian’s village had ever traveled was to the local town. They had never been anywhere beyond that.

The town was certainly more prosperous, but not by much. At most, there were a few more merchants, and the information available was more reliable.

But getting to town was no easy feat. It required a walk of several miles, so people generally didn’t go unless they had a good reason.

Before long, the Village Chief ambled over. He first sized up the farmhouse, then said, “Old Qi, you have to pay taxes on this.”

A Village Chief was similar to a village headman, but it was an official position, like a super-charged version of one. They managed household registration, tax collection, production, and more, making them a veritable local emperor.

So, when Qi Suian was repairing the house, someone had already gone to inform him.

But he didn’t come over immediately, waiting instead until after Qi Suian had finished the repairs and moved in.

Otherwise, what if he demanded taxes and the man simply refused and left?

Now that the house was repaired, the man had to either pay the tax or leave. Whether he collected the tax or got a newly renovated house for free, the Village Chief would come out ahead.

Qi Suian had no money, so he had no choice but to act.

“Village Chief, you must be confused. This has always been my family’s ancestral home,” Qi Suian said, spouting nonsense with a perfectly straight face.

Influenced by the main body, the Village Chief’s brow furrowed as a corresponding memory surfaced in his mind.

“This… it really is…” The Village Chief was puzzled. ‘If this is clearly his ancestral home, why did I come rushing over to collect taxes?’

“It seems there’s a problem with my household registration. Village Chief, perhaps you could help me fix it?” Seeing his chance, Qi Suian decided to strike while the iron was hot.

The Village Chief, feeling a bit embarrassed, could only nod. “Fine, come with me, and we’ll take a look.”

“It was my mistake.”

As for stubbornly denying his error to save face? He wasn’t that malicious; he was just after money.

Besides, if there were issues with the household registry, and it led to problems later with the Court’s military conscription or labor levies, he would be the one held directly responsible.

He would be the one to suffer. So, eliminating a potential problem was naturally for the best.

Especially since the man had offered his cooperation, he couldn’t just ignore the problem.