Chapter 8: The Mirror World

"Let me formally introduce myself. I am the person in charge of Universe No. 404-10086, under the Trans-Planar Entertainment Corporation. You may call me Mr. Qiao," Qiao Mian announced.

His surname had already been revealed, so he didn't mind repeating it.

"Wang Lang," Wang Lang replied, "Mr. Qiao, you can just call me Old Wang."

Qiao Mian let out a curious "Oh?"

Wang Lang blinked. "I'm quite an upright person, actually."

A rabbit never fights a battle it cannot win.

Not knowing Qiao Mian’s true nature, Wang Lang did his best to show goodwill.

Liang Xiaoyu, standing nearby, covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

She hadn't expected this stern-looking man to be so humorous.

Realizing the others were looking at her, she quickly subdued her smile and balled her fists. "My name is Liang Xiaoyu. I'm a livestreamer."

Noticing Qiao Mian nod, she eagerly asked, "May I start streaming?"

Wang Lang couldn't help but frown.

"Of course," Qiao Mian said at once.

Wang Lang shot a subtle glance at Liang Xiaoyu, his meaning clear.

Liang Xiaoyu instinctively straightened her modest chest, but then, as if remembering something, her expression turned pitiful.

"Anyway, this place will be opening to the public soon," Qiao Mian added.

Wang Lang was momentarily taken aback.

Qiao Mian continued, "Our company's mission is to transform the impoverished forms of entertainment in lower-level human societies. That’s why we've built this all-encompassing fantasy park, and so of course, it will be open to the public."

Before Wang Lang could respond, he pointed to the other three. "And these three, how should I address you?"

"Zhang Fei, ordinary soldier," said the young man with the gun, glancing at Wang Lang before speaking.

The bespectacled middle-aged man spoke softly, "My name is Wang Yangzhe. I study biology."

"Ancient creatures?" Qiao Mian asked, intrigued.

Wang Yangzhe scratched his neck awkwardly. "No, not exactly."

He explained, "Time was tight, and I just happened to be nearby."

Qiao Mian nodded in understanding.

He turned to the last man.

This one appeared to be in his forties, wearing a gray shirt and a slightly wooden expression.

"My name is Yang Xu, I research computers."

"Computers?" Qiao Mian was surprised.

"They’re both professors at Jiaotong University and happened to be nearby." Wang Lang offered, "They were the most suitable people I could find on short notice."

Qiao Mian waved his hand dismissively and was about to leave when Yang Xu suddenly asked, "That battle suit of yours—is it really controlled by artificial intelligence?"

"Of course," Qiao Mian replied.

Yang Xu's eyes sparkled. "Does it have complete self-awareness?"

Qiao Mian smiled. "It seems I should properly introduce our company."

Everyone's demeanor became more solemn.

Liang Xiaoyu quietly restarted her livestream.

As her feed went live again, the barrage of comments poured in like rain, so thick she could barely see Qiao Mian’s Iron Man-esque face on the screen.

[Can someone tell me what’s happening? Why is there an Iron Man?]

[Wasn't the streamer just detained? Now she’s free again?]

[Xiaoyu, are you okay?]

[Wait, isn’t that our professor?]

[Iron Man is saying something—sounds impressive.]

[That guy’s submachine gun has to be fake, right?]

[Are you blind? Can’t you see the armored vehicle behind him?]

[Xiaoyu, you rock!]

[I want to see dinosaurs!]

Liang Xiaoyu skimmed the comments quickly, then listened intently to Qiao Mian.

"The Trans-Planar Entertainment Corporation is based in Plane Zero, what we call the Origin Plane," Qiao Mian explained.

"In terms you might understand, a 'plane' is like what your Earthlings call a universe..."

Wang Lang couldn't help interrupting, "You mean other universes?"

"Is that so hard to grasp?" Qiao Mian spread his hands. "Once your civilization evolves to Type III, you'll be able to detect the existence of other universes."

"Wait, Type III civilization means?" Yang Xu asked.

"In our history lessons, we learn about the progression of civilization," Qiao Mian said leisurely. "When you venture off your home planet and achieve short-range space travel, that’s a Type I civilization."

"By short-range, you mean within the solar system?" Wang Yangzhe interjected. "Like our moon or Mars?"

Qiao Mian’s tone was dismissive. "That’s what we call an infant’s crawl."

"Short-range means within your galaxy."

Everyone fell silent.

"When you begin to grasp the secrets of the cosmos and achieve long-distance space jumps within the universe, that's Type II."

"Having the ability to jump across universes—that marks a Type III civilization."

"When you completely merge the macro and micro worlds, technically realizing what you might call ‘a world in a flower,’ and begin to master the mysteries of all dimensions, you reach Type IV—a civilization with a universe in its palm."

"As for us, we are the only known Type V civilization."

Qiao Mian scanned their faces and added, "Of course, all this is far beyond you for now. We too have survived endless epochs and uncountable crises."

"Do you look just like us?" Wang Yangzhe asked.

Qiao Mian nodded. "That’s why our company chose to open a branch in a primitive universe like yours, and why I, the unlucky one, was sent here."

Wang Lang chuckled awkwardly. "Here, anyone who gets sent abroad is considered a top talent."

Qiao Mian gave a half-smile. "Then you don't understand our society."

"In our world, every official citizen possesses a mirror universe unique to themselves. In that universe, each person is a supreme god."

"Mirror universe?" Yang Xu became even more excited. "Like our virtual reality technology?"

"No," Qiao Mian shook his head. "I’ve read a book from your Earth called 'The Three-Body Problem.' It mentions sophons—you all know them, right?"

"I do!" Liang Xiaoyu quickly said. "They're..."

Qiao Mian cut her off. "You can think of it as something like a sophon—a complete universe compressed into a single microscopic particle. We are the will of that universe."

Wang Lang felt a chill. "Then our universe?"

"The universe is constantly being born anew. We only modify freshly born universes without intelligent life," Qiao Mian explained. "Otherwise, we wouldn’t bother opening a branch here."

He raised a finger and pointed at the sun. "If we were to classify you as a hostile universe, any official citizen could use just one finger to wipe out everything here."

A heavy silence fell.

"Mr. Qiao, you’re not an official citizen yet?" Liang Xiaoyu asked curiously.

"Do you think it’s that easy?" Qiao Mian exclaimed. "It takes ten thousand citizen points."

"If it weren’t for wanting to earn points quickly, would I have come to this backwater planet?"

Liang Xiaoyu stuck out her tongue and glanced at the live chat.

[We’re a primitive planet? This guy is so full of himself.]

[Their place sounds brutal.]

[Maybe you misunderstand what ‘brutal’ means.]

[I seriously suspect Earth is just the mirror universe of one of their former official citizens—maybe even Pangu!]

[God would disagree with that!]

[That actually makes some sense…]

[Why are you all writing novels in the chat? This sounds far-fetched.]

[Iron Man’s here and you still think it’s far-fetched? Didn’t you see he hasn’t even landed yet?]

[Wow, I just saw Bumblebee again—he’s waving!]

…