However, although their relationship was not good, they did not instantly become enemies. On the contrary, the two of them maintained a certain extent of information partnership all this time. Mornisa occasionally provided some not so crucial internal information to Manison, from the way Manison looked at it, she was her way of fawning upon him and keeping him from attacking her.
He considered himself as someone who knew the personality of this student quite well. She was someone who would not give up easily once she set a goal for herself and would definitely find all methods possible to achieve it. She was not going to give up stealing his technology so easily.
Therefore, Mornisa’s invasion was out of Manison’s expectations but within his understanding.
Hearing this, Mornisa snickered. “Teacher, times have changed. Black Star’s rise took away the faith of the Machinery Faith; you’re no longer the invincible Mechanic Emperor you were decades ago.”
Hearing Black Star’s name, Manison snorted in his mind and did not refute it. He said, “Even so, beating you will still be easy.”
“I’m not so overconfident to think I’m capable of fighting you alone…” A sarcastic smile appeared on Mornisa’s face as she said, “I came with help this time!”
As soon as she said that, unusual data streams rose simultaneously from a few other directions and suddenly crashed into the firewall. Tons of code fragments shattered. Along with the data streams, a few other Beyond Grade A Mechanics appeared.
With the support of the part of the computing power of the main artificial intelligence of the three Universal Civilizations, the speed at which they broke through the firewall received astonishing bonuses. Defense blocks were shattered one after another, and layers of firewalls were filled with holes.
He was surrounded instantly! Manison’s expression changed slightly. These people were all direct members of the three Universal Civilizations. This was clearly a joint operation from the three sides.
Dealing with the invasion of several Beyond Grade A Mechanics was already troublesome enough, yet on top of that, the three Universal Civilizations even shared part of the computing power of their own main artificial intelligence to assist them.
The main artificial intelligences of the three Universal Civilizations had the highest computing power in the entire universe. They were improved and updated by Beyond Grade A Mechanics one generation after another, even fusing the memories, experience, and part of these Mechanics’ consciousnesses. They could be considered the strongest tools in the Virtual Technology field. Without them, the three Universal Civilizations’ core database would have been infiltrated many times.
However, usually, most of the computing power of the main artificial intelligences had to be used to maintain the operation of the civilizations’ affairs, so their strength was not displayed. If all of their computing power was focused in one, it would be extremely horrifying
Since the three of them were working together to assist several direct Beyond Grade A Mechanics, this kind of power was tough for one person to match up to. Sure, Manison was strong, but he still had limits.
Plus, because of Black Star, he was no longer at peak strength. He could not help but feel powerless.
“The three Universal Civilizations really think quite highly of me, huh,” Manison said with a deep voice. “Blame yourself for being so cocky in the past, always trying to steal the Federation of Light’s secrets. The federation has put up with you for a very long time, only letting you off because you were their loyal ally. You should’ve known this day would come. I only made the suggestion to the three Universal Civilizations and made it come sooner.
“They want to cleanse the secrets you stole and the intelligence of the various civilizations in the Primeval Star River you collected… As for your technology, they’re just rewards for me.”
Mornisa’s tone was filled with mockery and glee.
Manison snorted. Knowing there was no point in saying anything, he stomped the ground with his staff.
The next moment, the artificial intelligence soldier army charged forward to stop their invasion, while Finette appeared with many artificial intelligence lives and joined the battle.
At the same time, beams made of data streams suddenly shot out from the firewall, evaporating large portions of the invading data stream. The firewall’s formation also started to shift. The traps within were activated one after another to stop the enemies’ data streams.
As he opposed the three Universal Civilizations back during the Intelligent Plague, Manison planned ahead and reinforced his firewall afterward, as well as added a lot of Virtual Technology measures, all to prepare for this situation.
“You’re still the same. But, even if you made preparations in advance, can you stop us today?” Mornisa’s eyes flickered.
“Try me.” Manison was not affected.
The enemies’ invasion was stronger than he expected. He had already used all measures he had and was still unsure if he could hold on.
The two sides’ data stream continued slaughtering each other, analyzing and defusing each other’s tricks. The amount of information processed every second was unimaginable.
The passage of time in the Virtual Domain was different. It relied on the speed of the individual’s mind. To the Beyond Grade As, every second felt countless times longer.
Facing the powerful attacks, Manison started to show signs of defeat. The thickness of the firewall kept getting thinner, holes started to appear, and part of the low-level data at the exterior of the database was exposed.
The enemy’s data needles penetrated through these holes and stirred up a tsunami within, sending out data streams even deeper… The secret database at the most inside was their key target of this battle.
Although the situation was not good, Manison’s mood was still unaffected. He carefully tightened his line of defense, fighting the enemies firmly and accurately, cleaning out their data streams.
While Mornisa controlled her data stream and tried to penetrate Manison’s defenses, she taunted with a mocking tone, “Teacher, your abilities have become quite a lot weaker. Losing the bonuses from ruling the Machinery Faith and falling from your peak strength sure doesn’t feel good, does it?
“Why don’t you seek help from Black Star? Black Star would probably generously help someone he defeated… Oops, almost forgot, we blocked all communications to the outside world. We will have gotten what we came for by the time you send a rescue message.
“Black Star has been suffocating you, taking away what belongs to you time after time. I’m only surprised by how you can put up with how he treats you. If it were in the past, how could you let him be? Tsk tsk, you’ve really gotten more cowardly now you’re older, or did Black Star scare the sh*t out of you?”
Harassment came one message after another, all hitting where it hurt in Manison’s heart.
However, he maintained a poker face. His computing power was unaffected, and he coldly said, “… You done?”.
Hearing this, Mornisa suddenly felt as if a blood red ‘danger’ appeared above her head.
Just as she was about to react, Manison’s Virtual Soul lit up and locked onto her.
The next moment, a strange data stream appeared.
Mornisa’s sight turned blurry. Her Virtual Soul was dragged into a silver data world filled with countless machines by an irresistible force. An enormous silver giant stood before her; it was indeed Manison.
Manison looked down, his eyes like a god looking at mortals. He opened his mouth, and his voice echoed in this world.
“Are you prepared for a beating?”
Mornisa mocked, “Since I dared come to you, I prepared long ago. Getting beat up in exchange for your technology is worth it. Plus, this is just Virtual Paramount. How long can you trap me here?”
“Not long… but more than enough to thrash you, rebellious student!”
Manison bent his waist. His fist fell instantly and bashed Mornisa’s Virtual S
oul into a patty.
The entire world shook!
Chapter 1297 - Change
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Countless cannons roared, launching attacks toward Mornisa. The silver giant Manison thrashed Mornisa’s Virtual Soul.
In the Virtual Paramount territory, Mornisa was completely powerless and could do nothing but take Manison’s thunderous attacks. Agony rushed into her mind like a tsunami, wave after wave. Her mind almost stopped working. Her Virtual Soul was buzzing with white noise and looked extremely unstable.
“Argh!” Mornisa screamed and wailed. Although she was mentally prepared to get a beating from Manison, when her consciousness felt such intense pain, she could hardly endure it. She could feel the murderous intent from Manison’s attacks.
This pain reminded her of the lesson Manison gave her when she failed to steal his technology for the first time.
Back then, Mornisa had just become a Beyond Grade A. It was a time when she was arrogant and overconfident, and she did not know much about how strong the senior Beyond Grade As were. After she failed, she got absolutely crushed by Manison; all attempts to fight back were meaningless. She was just as helpless as she was now, being tortured like a powerless doll.
At that time, Manison adjusted her perception of reality, and the deep fear pushed Mornisa to join the Federation of Light.
This humiliating memory had been suppressed at the bottom of her heart. At this time, this mental scar of hers was reopened. Mornisa could almost feel her soul shivering intuitively. She clenched her teeth and endured the torture, hoping Manison would soon stop.
After an unknown period of time, Mornisa, who was doing her best to endure the pain, suddenly felt refreshed and left the Virtual Paramount territory, returning to the Virtual Intrusion battlefield where an intense battle was still carried out.
Mornisa’s mind almost collapsed. Although the actual amount of time she was controlled was very short, she felt like she had been tortured nonstop for more than a decade. It felt like countless mixers were stirring up her brain, turning her brain tissues into a mess.
Furthermore, in order to keep hacking, she could not stop working her mind and had no choice but to remain conscious, making the pain even worse.
In the moment right after she left the Virtual Paramount territory, her mind still remained stunned for a second. Her computing power plummeted, and the attacks on the area she was in charge of suddenly slowed down.
In this short instant, Manison who was prepared for it suddenly released a sea of data streams, attempting to break through the communication lock and send a message to the outside world.
Buzz!
Suddenly, layers of light curtains rose at the edge of this virtual battlefield. The data lock barrier formed by the main artificial intelligences of the three Universal Civilizations cut off the data sent to the outside world. These enormous streams of data bumped into the barrier and exploded like countless mosquitoes rushing onto an electric net, instantly vanishing.
“Ahem, don’t think you can easily send a message out while I’m wounded. I expected this…” Mornisa was still in a weakened state, but she still snickered when she saw this.
Maintaining the same poker face, Manison waited for Virtual Paramount to cool down while fighting against the invasion as well as trying to send a message to the outside world by any means necessary.
With his Virtual Technology, it was almost impossible for them to lock him down completely, but he still needed some time to break through.
Mornisa endured the pain in her mind and intercepted a message sent to the outside world. It was a distress signal sent to the Beyond Grade A Association.
Seeing this, though wounded, she still sneered. “That egotistical Mechanic Emperor finally learned to ask people for help? Where did your pride go?”
Manison glanced at her and did not respond.
He knew that after this distress signal was sent, Black Star would most likely be the one to come. God only knew how he would ridicule him.
If possible, he did not want to have any connections with Han Xiao, mostly to prevent Han Xiao from seeing his database. After all, (Virtual Purification-Restore) was his nemesis. However, in this situation, it was tough for him to hold on, so he had no choice but to call for help.
One side was resisting and trying to seek help, while the other side was invading and locking down the information. The situation remained in a stalemate for quite some time.
Despite Manison’s efforts to continuously mend his firewall, his line of defense kept shrinking in the face of the Beyond Grade A enemies and the main artificial intelligences of the three Universal Civilizations. More and more needles stabbed into his databases one after another, stealing the data he had accumulated over many years.
Virtual Paramount went off cooldown many times, and Manison used it every time on Mornisa and gave her a heavy beating.
It was not like Mornisa could suggest that Manison target her other teammates, so she had no choice but to endure all of it. Her injuries got worse and worse. If not for her teammates who were helping her, her consciousness would have been very close to being unable to maintain the intrusion.
Suddenly, an invading data stream finally penetrated the firewall and infiltrated the secret database. It only lasted for a short instant before being wiped out by Manison.
However, in that short time, this data stream absorbed a ton of nutrients and transmitted part of Manison’s secret data back.
A Mechanic sent a message to his teammates. “We got his key technology data!”
“Keep going!” Mornisa’s heavily damaged consciousness suddenly became energetic like she was on steroids.
It was like suddenly finding gold after mining for a very long time; all the torture she had gone through felt worth it!
However, Manison, who had remained calm, found a gap in the barrier and finally sent out a distress signal.
“Sh*t, he managed to send out a signal!”
Mornisa’s joy only lasted for a few seconds before her heart sank.
Her tone was arrogant, but she was actually quite worried inside. If the association’s Mechanics came to help, this mission would definitely fail.
That was especially so if the unfathomable Black Star came. That was a man who kicked her teacher who she once admired more than anything down from the top. Just thinking about it made her feel fearful.
If Black Star came, Mornisa would flee instantly… She dared to backstab Manison, who was no longer at his peak, but she did not dare touch Black Star, who was right at his peak.
“Don’t panic, we still have some time,” a teammate said with a deep voice.
Mornisa focused her mind, clenched her teeth, and tried her best to steal as much information as possible before reinforcements arrived. At the same time, she removed a large portion of the three Universal Civilizations’ main artificial intelligences’ computing power from the message blocking barrier and moved them to focus on invading.
Since Manison’s distress signal was out, there was no point spending so much effort to block his communications. The others also all focused on invading.
With no time to spare, their invading strength increased again. Data stream needles stabbed into one key database after another. Manison could only frown and resist with all he had.
After some time, a direct Mechanic who was calculating the time suddenly said, “That’s about time. If we remain here, reinforcements are going to arrive.”
“Retreat!”
Mornisa clenched her teeth. They were far from turning Manison’s database upside down, but she did not dare continue.
Glancing at Manison’s hole-filled firewall, they retrieved their computing power and retreated the way they came. At this time, Manison’s Virtual Paramount went off cooldown again. Before the invaders left, he dealt Mornisa another heavy blow.
Mornisa shivered. Her Virtual Soul became even more faint as she retreated and disappeared with her last shred o
f consciousness.
In the Virtual Mind Wave Enhancer somewhere in the Primeval Star River, their consciousnesses returned to their bodies.
“Go, quickly…”
Mornisa only had time to say two words before her avatar collapsed onto the floor and her Lord’s Descent got deactivated.
She had been Manison’s focus and was already at her limits at this point. As soon as the mission was over, her consciousness returned to her main body right away, and she almost fainted… It would take her at least a year to recover from the injuries she had suffered.
Judith glanced at her avatar on the floor, shook his head, and said, “Leave her alone and retreat with the data we stole. The Mechanic Emperor might come any time.”
The others nodded and activated the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device right away.
The two rings around the Virtual Mind Wave Enhancer started spinning and accelerating, and their afterimages formed a sphere.
The next moment, with a flash of blinding light, the entire Virtual Mind Wave Enhancer left through teleportation while the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device self-destructed and shattered into ash.
Inside the Virtual Domain, Manison looked at the mess the enemies made in his territory and slowly said, “Count the losses and give me a report.”
“…Understood.”
The main artificial intelligence responded and started checking the status of the various databases.
Very soon, a list was given to Manison.
He looked at the enormous losses on the list, closed his eyes with resignation, and sighed. His expression looked like he was laughing at himself.
Karma finally came…
About eighty percent of the information of the various large organizations he stored in his databases was stolen. He had obtained this information through monitoring these organizations for many years. Quite a big portion of the information was secret, especially the information of the few Super Star Cluster civilizations of the Primeval Star River.
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