“That’s impossible. The three Universal Civilizations aren’t so stupid. If they take this opportunity to act on the civilizations that cooperate with them, it will only ruin their credibility and will only make us struggle to the death.”
“But forcing us to open our databases is rather possible. If we choose to reject, once they have solved this disaster, the three Universal Civilizations will have a lot of room to operate. Whether it is to plant blame or for political accountability, they can attack all of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations in the Ancient Star Desert, using this as an excuse to begin a crusade against the Super Star Cluster Alliance.”
“We can’t rely on the integrity of the three Universal Civilizations. We have to prepare bargaining chips and secure our retreat in advance.”
“That’s right. We cannot just listen to the arrangements of the three Universal Civilizations. I suggest we secretly collect some infected nodes, keeping the virus as a trump card. We can even take a little risk to open the military’s secret external communication network and pass the virus on to our secret forces within each Star Field as insurance…”
Suggestions spewed out quickly, and the expression of the head of the civilization was grave as he pondered.
The Star Arc Civilization was located within the Ancient Star Desert, and while it had cut off its connection with the outside world in response to the calls made by the three Universal Civilizations, there was no way a Super Star Cluster Civilization would be this honest and obedient.
To make them obediently give up on studying this terrible virus technology with just an order? What sort of joke was this? Did they think them innocent babies?
So what if the virus breaks out? It’s simple, just lock up all the offending artificial intelligences. There will definitely be more solutions than difficulties.
While the three Universal Civilizations were mainly there for disaster relief and did not express any hostility, the blocking of the Star Field still left the Super Star Cluster Civilizations in trepidation. As a civilization, it was impossible for them to place their future in the hands of others. They had to plan ahead.
It was not just Star Arc Civilization; all the advanced civilizations were also secretly planning something.
…
On a certain planet within the Ancient Star Desert, a subdivision of Machinery Faith was located.
Above the holy mountain, in the Temple of God, many priests stood on the edge of the circular hall, surrounding the holographic projections in the center. Those were the data structures of the Virtual Mutiny Virus, expanded and amplified, looking like stars in the galaxy.
“Look at the structure of this quantum network virus. It’s like a thorny rose, coquettish yet dangerous. It’s able to set off a machinery revolution, possibly creating a mechanical kingdom…”
One of the priests of the Virtual School could not help but sing out, a pious expression on his face.
“Quiet.” The Grand Priest tapped the Machinery Scepter before slowly saying, “This virus is dangerous. We have to conduct research in a completely enclosed environment to prevent any leakage.”
“This is no virus but the will of God. Why not spread it out?” Another zealot spread open his arms wide as he babbled. “Rather than saying that it’s a disaster, it’s better to claim it as the gospel!”
“Have you lost your mind‽”
Hearing this, most of the priests retorted.
“We’re the believers of machinery, not the emissaries of a disaster!”
The quarrel was fierce, and the Grand Priest had a heavy expression as he listened to the different factions arguing.
Any faith would have some zealots with distorted mindsets, and the Machinery Faith was no exception. Most of them wished to study the Virtual Mutiny Virus and did not want to cause a disaster.
However, a small portion of them did not think so. In their eyes, the Intelligent Plague was a god-sent message for revolution, allowing machinery to get rid of the shackles of being a tool and gain freedom to form its own Machinery Kingdom. In those zealots’ eyes, the Virtual Mutiny Virus was the will of God.
The Grand Priest turned his head, looking at the statues within the Temple of God. His eyes fell on the figures of Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor, and he prayed silently to them.
…
In another area of the Ancient Star Desert, a fleet was slowly cruising, within which was a bunch of players.
Now that the World Server was open, players from all Star Fields had gathered in the Flickering World. However, there were a few of the players that still chose to stay in their original Star Fields. Some of these people were happy being small-time characters, while others did not wish to travel all over the universe just to start from nothing once more. Thus, they remained in the Star Field to keep exploring.
The players in this fleet were an active guild based in the Ancient Star Desert, called the Western Sword Guild. They had been black market mercenaries for the past four versions, and everyone knew that they were Immortals.
The guild president’s ID was Melancholic Prince, and his character belonged to the galactic Blood Race, which referred to Vampires in general. They possessed pale white skin, skinny figures, and had a melancholic vibe.
The Blood Race existed in the universe, classified as part of the long-lived races, but they did not possess the famed talents such as blood recollection, transforming blood servants, and becoming bats. They also did not have the standard weaknesses such as garlic, silver, or Holy Relics.
There were many theories about the origin of the galactic Blood Race, which included genetic mutations, part of biological weapons created by higher civilizations, or even dark energy invasions. After years of natural selection, the blood race had also adapted to the Galactic Civilization, which caused them to no longer be afraid of ultraviolet radiation, surviving on synthetic blood as well. Ten Enas could buy a few tons of synthetic blood, which also came with a full set of seasoning as well as a fluffy mascot as a free gift.
However, this species was still unpopular in the universe, as no one liked a creature that drank the blood of others to replenish their physical strength.
Beep beep…
The spaceship’s communicator rang, and Melancholic Prince opened his eyes in surprise.
“Brothers, someone anonymously sent us an employment task through the black market, with a remuneration of five million Enas! They are paying a deposit of a million in advance!”
Everyone gathered around in excitement.
“Such a big order! What are we waiting for? Let’s accept it!”
“What does the employer want us to do?”
Melancholic Prince glanced through the employment list, and he laughed.“Haha, interesting, someone wishes to hire us to smuggle an infected node of the Virtual Mutiny Virus out of the Ancient Star Desert.”
Hearing this, everyone could not help but exchange glances.
They were also trapped within the Ancient Star Desert, so they were naturally aware of the danger of the Virtual Mutiny Virus as well as the scale of the three Universal Civilizations. Thus, they hesitated.
“President, is the risk too high? If we’re exposed, we will immediately become wanted men.”
Melancholic Prince waved his hand. “What are you scared of? This is five million Enas. There’s no reason not to risk our lives for it. Accept the mission.”
Everyone could only follow the order, but some of them had other thoughts and began to secretly think to themselves.
Their anonymous employer wanted them to perform this task mainly because they had taken a fancy to their identity as Immortals.
One could see that in the isolated Ancient Star Desert, undercurrents were surging.
Chapter 1103 - The sickle is accurate, a leek every slice
After sacrificing sixty percent of his Luck attribute for fourteen days, which amounted to roughly zero points, the [Bold Explorer) skill was activated, and the world in front of Han
Xiao’s eyes changed. His sight panned out into outer space, and below him was a huge planet where its silvery gray earth extended all the way as far as his vision allowed. Blue and white dazzling lights covered the horizon, and the bright light from the photon energy tower stood out from the backdrop of the dark universe.
Han Xiao glanced downward. On the surface was a steel forest without any green vegetation, and numerous strange-shaped mechanical buildings occupied the area. The high mechanical towers shot into the sky, giving the planet a look like a mutated sea urchin wearing steel armor. The cold, heavy style brought with it an evil vibe.
At this time, the scene zoomed in, falling to the ground and focusing on the mechanical city at a low altitude. Han Xiao saw that the inhabitants of the planet were a group of mechanical bodies with varied appearances. There were almost no two identical individuals, their structures all complicated and exquisite. Their decals were all gorgeous, giving them a very advanced look.
“They’re all mechanical life forms. Could this be a Mechanical Life Civilization?”
As a bystander, Han Xiao could not help but think of Psionic Prime’s civilization under his banner. The two were very similar, with the difference that this machinery civilization revealed by (Bold Explorer) was far more advanced, already reaching its matured state.
Did the Virtual Mutiny Virus originate from this unknown mechanical civilization? Han Xiao thought while looking at the scene in front of him.
Right at this moment, something happened!
A piercing white glare that seemed to cover the entire sky swept past, and the giant planet was dead in the center of its blast radius.
A large shield covering the entire planet appeared in outer space, but the moment it came into contact with the light ray, the large shield disintegrated, breaking into countless energy particles.
The planet lost all its protection and was peeled off layer by later, annihilated and decomposed in a short moment. The entire planet’s existence was easily erased in the universe by this light ray.
By the time the attack was over, the illusion disappeared, and Han Xiao’s vision returned to the room. He frowned.
The attack just now seemed to be an advanced energy rank directional gamma-ray burst. It might not have been a natural disaster but rather an attack from a weapon.
Gamma ray bursts were a common universal disaster, and evaporating a planet was like child’s play to them. But with the shields that most civilizations had, they would be able to shield themselves against it. However, the ray burst in the illusion Han Xiao experienced was strange in that it directly disintegrated the planet’s shield the moment it touched it, even though the machinery civilization in it was at an advanced level.
Most people would not be able to observe many details, but the senses of the Beyond Grade As were different. Han Xiao found that there was an additional material added to the Gamma Ray, which might make it a galactic weapon utilized by another advanced civilization.
The universe was full of radiation, and it was actually very lively and bright. However, ordinary people would only see a patch of darkness. As a person’s life level changed, so did the world they saw around them. It was like everyone was looking at the world through keyholes, but those of a higher life level would have larger keyholes.
The information obtained through the skill this time is not enough. There’s no clear direction…
Han Xiao stroked his chin with his thumb, summing up the information he obtained in the short illusion.
Firstly, there was an advanced civilization that was suspected of being a Mechanical Life Civilization. They had a large colonial planet that was extremely advanced in technology, but it was blown up by a Planetary Annihilation Weapon, proving that they had another advanced civilization as their enemy. The hostile civilization would at least be at the Star Cluster level, even possibly at the quasi-Universal Civilization level.
The creator of the Virtual Mutiny Virus should be one of these two civilizations. There was too little information about the other civilization, so Han Xiao ignored it. He mainly analyzed this unknown Machinery civilization.
There are many possibilities for the origin of the Machinery civilization. The most common is for a Beyond Grade A to bestow Mechanical Life, but there are other factors. For example, a biological civilization could also undergo Mechanical Ascension, placing the consciousness of their entire race into mechanical minds and replacing their physical bodies with machinery carriers to obtain immortality. It’s also possible that this civilization is in the form of an AI civilization, a world dominated by artificial intelligence, and the machines are just carriers for them to walk around in…
What piqued Han Xiao’s curiosity most was whether this happened during the era of the modern Galaxy Calendar. He did not know whether it was a lost civilization that had existed during the exploration era or an unknown advanced civilization in an unexplored region of the universe.
He needed to continue using (Bold Explorer) to obtain intelligence or maybe use more relevant items for his ability…
Han Xiao suddenly recalled something.
There was still the safe in which the virus had been stored, which was in the custody of the three Universal Civilizations. That might be a better goal!
Along the way, he could also visit Harrison and the others. These guys had been temporarily imprisoned due to the release of the Virtual Mutiny Virus. In the face of such a disaster, the inspector did not have the last say, so whatever promises he gave to Harrison and this team would definitely be blown away like farts in the wind.
The three Universal Civilizations were quite considerate to this group of prisoners as well, fearing that their bodies would rust due to the long prison life. Thus, they were interrogated daily at a high intensity to help them work their brains and stay healthy. Han Xiao left his subordinates and Phillip in the room to continue analyzing the virus code. He left the R&D department by himself and strode over to the headquarters on the dynasty’s side. The three Universal Civilizations had appointed their senior officials to take charge of the affairs of the Ancient Star Desert. With Han Xiao’s position in the dynasty, he met with the supervisor without much hindrance.
The other party stood up to greet him, exchanging some niceties before they got down to business.
“Your Excellency Black Star, what can I do for you?” the inspector asked.
“I’ve read the information you’ve given and hope to study the device that was used to store the virus.”
“That’s easy.” The dynasty inspector immediately agreed, giving him a lot of respect.
“In addition, I wish to contact the group of scavengers that unearthed this virus, and if possible, release them temporarily.”
“You can see them at any time, but releasing them… is a little inappropriate.”
“I know, you guys have been interrogating them, but this has yielded no results. They should just be unlucky fools that got trapped in this. There’s no point continuing to imprison them.”
The Inspector furrowed his brows as he insisted, “But the virus has caused such a big impact. This is a severe crime. Even if it was an accident, they have to take responsibility for it.”
Han Xiao shook his head as he pointed out, “They might be of help actually. Let them stay by my side to obtain some merits. If they really manage to make some contributions, then we will have benefitted from it.”
The inspector hesitated for a long while before finally agreeing. “… Since you wish for it, alright then. However, their identities will remain as prisoners, and they cannot have freedom of movement.”
He only did so out of respect for Black Star’s position. If it was some other person suggesting this, he would not even bother.
“Thanks.” Han Xiao smiled. “I would also like to request to be allowed to go out on field work.”
“You wish to perform field work as well?” The inspector was surprised.
Han Xiao nodded. “That’s right. The re
search work here has Manison and the rest at the helm, so there’s no need for me to devote myself to it. I’m wasting resources here, and in my opinion, there are two tasks that are both as equally important as developing an antivirus.”
“Please do tell.”
“The first would be the search for the virus’ core. If the core can be located, most of the triggering mechanisms of the Virtual Mutiny Virus will be invalidated, which will be equivalent to destroying the opponent’s brain. The threat of the disaster will also be reduced.”
“This point is indeed important.” The dynasty’s inspector praised.
If the virus core could be controlled, the difficulty of solving this disaster would be reduced by more than fifty percent. However, the virus core had hidden itself too deeply. No one had any idea what sort of abnormal data it was, and the three Universal Civilizations were also unable to find it.
Han Xiao then raised two fingers and continued. “Secondly, in my opinion, it will be a matter of time before the virus is cracked, with the current abilities of the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A mechanics. The real difficulty lies in those with unsavory plans.”
Hearing this, the inspector also frowned.
“Countless lessons in history have taught us that the greed and suspicion of the human heart is always a catalyst for disaster. If it’s not controlled, the small problems will eventually evolve into bigger problems that cannot be handled,” Han Xiao slowly said. “Presumably, the dynasty also understands that the virus is not difficult to solve, but the real problem is in those people with ulterior motives. Having the Virtual Mutiny Virus is akin to them having a switch of disaster. Now that they have such a good opportunity, who does not wish to have a strategic weapon as a deterrent?” He could clearly see that this was an opportunity for anyone to easily obtain nuclear-level weapons at an extremely low cost. Which ambitious organization would not want to give it a try?
The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385 Page 777
