Chapter 23: Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao (Please Bookmark, Vote for Recommendation)_1

It was Saturday again, but Jiang Yu had already lost touch with rest. After breakfast, he went to Ye Wenjie's house to continue taking Yang Dong out for a breath of fresh air.

Following Yang Dong's attempted suicide, Jiang Yu could clearly sense that Ye Wenjie treated him with greater warmth, more and more like the care given by an elder to a younger family member.

This was a positive sign, indicating that Ye Wenjie had started to see him as one of her own.

At the same time, Jiang Yu felt as if he were walking a tightrope over a cliff, needing to maintain the balance between Ye Wenjie and Kong Xiang to successfully reach the other side of the cliff.

Today, Jiang Yu didn't plan on taking Yang Dong to tourist spots again—it was too exhausting!

He brought Yang Dong to an arcade: "Have you played 'Three-Body,' the game that's all the rage among the scientific community?"

Yang Dong shook her head: "When do I have time to play games?"

"Now you have time," Jiang Yu said with a smile. "First, pick a game name for yourself. Hmm, everyone likes to use historical figures for their IDs."

Yang Dong thought for a moment: "Madame Curie!"

"Very well, Madame Curie, please gear up, and let's enter the game together."

Yang Dong asked, "What's your game name?"

"Zilu," Jiang Yu said resignedly. He had put in quite an effort to quickly gain Kong Xiang's trust before.

The two of them entered the game, and under Jiang Yu's guidance, Yang Dong selected the "multiplayer mode," and they appeared together on a vast expanse of white, blinding snowfields.

The sky still held a small sun, accompanied by two flying stars.

Yang Dong, observing the scenery in the game, exhaled a breath of cold air: "This game is really well-crafted!"

"The most exquisite part is that!" Jiang Yu pointed towards the sky and explained to Yang Dong what a flying star was, along with the constants of the Stable Era, Chaotic Era, and other game knowledge.

Yang Dong nodded in understanding: "Is this simulating a planet that's far from the sun?

"Judging by the size of the sun, the distance between this planet and the star is probably outside the Mars Orbit, but not yet reaching the main asteroid belt."

She looked up at the sky, only to find that the already small sun seemed to be shrinking, while one of the flying stars grew larger, and in a blink of an eye, the flying star became the sun, and the original sun turned into a flying star.

Yang Dong was dumbfounded: "What's happening here?"

"Part of the fun of this game is searching for clues and verifying answers yourself," Jiang Yu said with a smile. He pointed to the limit of the snowfield: "Over there, it looks like there are people."

The piercing cold wind whipped up the remnants of snow, turning the whole world into a blanket of white.

Within the white gusts, several dark figures were moving slowly.

Jiang Yu said, "We can only join the main storyline of the game through interaction with NPCs. Come on, I'll take you to experience this world of boundless imagination."

They approached the dark figures and discovered they were several slowly moving cars, which had a silhouette resembling those from the thirties or forties of the last century, giving off a nostalgic vibe.

The cars were equipped with track wheels, gliding effortlessly through the snow.

Jiang Yu waved at them, and the convoy stopped. A young man got out of the second car: "It's Zilu, welcome to the Han Empire."

The young man was quite tall, with phoenix eyes, a Lun Scarf on his head, a Crane Robe draped over his shoulders, and a Feather Fan in his hand.

Jiang Yu, familiar with the routine, asked: "Who are you? Where are you heading now?"

"I am Zhuge Liang!" The other party swayed his Feather Fan among the snow and ice: "I am on my way to meet with Emperor Han Xian to present the new hope I've found to him."

Jiang Yu asked: "Have you figured out the pattern of the sun's movement?"

"No, we've had a misconception all along. Our hope doesn't have to just come from above." Zhuge Liang said confidently.

"Can you take us with you?" Jiang Yu asked with a smile, "Perhaps we can help."

Zhuge Liang nodded, "Of course, please get in the car."

As they boarded the vehicle, Jiang Yu whispered to Yang Dong, "This is a highly autonomous game; you can search for relevant clues yourself."

Yang Dong nodded, and along with Jiang Yu, got into the car, and the convoy continued moving forward.

The space inside the carriage was expansive. Jiang Yu, Yang Dong, and Zhuge Liang sat facing each other, none of them feeling crowded.

Jiang Yu, pointing at the snowy landscape outside the window, asked, "Is this the Chaotic Era?"

"No, it's the Stable Era," Zhuge Liang replied. "The Stable Era has lasted for over two centuries, allowing our technology to develop rapidly. Look, that's the Steel Dragon we created."

Following Zhuge Liang's pointing finger, Jiang Yu saw a train roaring like a steel behemoth.

By the looks of the locomotive, it should be a diesel train, dragging carriage after carriage at high speed along the tracks.

Jiang Yu marveled, "The last civilization only reached the feudal era, yet you have advanced to the era of diesel engines."

Admiring the majestic form of the train, Zhuge Liang said with a smile, "This is all because we've been lucky enough. Look at the food in each of those carriages. It's all a gift from heaven!"

Interested in gathering more information, Yang Dong joined in, "What kind of food is in the train?"

"Fish from the sea!" Zhuge Liang replied with a smile. "The earth is frozen, making it impossible to grow crops, but the sea is teeming with life.

"This winter that has lasted over a decade, though it has left most people in a state of dehydration, the sea still provides food for 6% of the population, allowing us to keep searching for a way out of this predicament for our world."

Yang Dong's face lit up like a child who had just received candy, "I love it! A winter that lasts for over a decade! Brilliant!"

Jiang Yu, however, exhaled in despair, "This Stable Era is way too cold!"

Zhuge Liang countered, "It's still better than over two centuries ago when it would alternate between scorching heat and bitter cold."

Jiang Yu craned his neck to look outside. The operation of the three suns was now entirely different from what he had seen and heard before; he had no idea about the current situation in the Three-Body Star System.

Continuing to ask questions, Yang Dong quickly concluded that there were three permanent stars in the sky.

After all, she had just witnessed the transition of the sun into a flying star and back again, making it easier to reach this conclusion in this civilization than in any previous era.

When Zhuge Liang couldn't provide more clues, Jiang Yu sped up the game time.

After three days of travel, they finally arrived at the city of Luoyang, a place filled with Pyramids, with the largest one being the imperial palace.

After passing the strict security of layers of guards, Jiang Yu and the other two found themselves in a side hall, waiting for an audience with the Emperor.

Zhuge Liang took the opportunity to remind them, "The Emperor's Prime Minister Cao Cao is the actual ruler of the Empire, so don't get your allegiances wrong."

Jiang Yu commented on the history warped by ETO, "Weren't you supposed to pledge loyalty to Uncle Liu?"

Zhuge Liang was taken aback, "What book should I leave?"

"Forget I said anything," Jiang Yu said, pinching his forehead. It seemed that in the face of oppressive rule, there had been no peasant uprisings or warlords' battles.

Cao Cao had indeed achieved control over the court's powers, but Liu Bei and Sun Quan had no room for survival in such an environment.

Soon, the Emperor summoned the three visitors. In the wide Qin-Han style hall, the Emperor sat loftily above. Next to him stood a middle-aged man with small eyes and a beard.

The middle-aged man exuded even more authority than the Emperor. He asked, "Zhuge Liang, I hear you've thought of a way for us to escape our predicament once and for all?"

"Yes!" Zhuge Liang said, "We've always focused on the sky, neglecting the massive resources of the entire planet."