Chapter 62: All Sorts of Characters Take the Stage (Part Two)

This puppet armor technique is truly quite marvelous, comparing favorably even to the Profound Ink Sect of the natural realm, the chieftain murmured softly.

These few brief words sent a shockwave through the listeners. What kind of place was this? The Immortal Spirit Realm. Just how vast was the Immortal Spirit Realm? No one dared claim to have traveled across the entirety of it, so when this person spoke of the "natural realm," could he possibly be referring to another world entirely? Zhou Yihu and Liu Erhei exchanged glances, utterly shaken.

As for the First Chief, he remained much calmer, focusing his attention instead on the multiplying "mechanism beasts."

Deep within a certain sector of Base 0, a meeting was underway.

The attendees consisted of an armchair, a mist wreathed in electricity, a robotic skull, a blue display screen, and a shadow. It was a rather absurd assemblage of participants, yet the atmosphere was dead serious.

At the center was something resembling a projector. The display showed the grand hall, teeming with overwhelming numbers of mechas. Yet the enemies numbered only four—or rather, just one: the man in black robes standing right at the vanguard.

A massive crescent-shaped spiritual wave careened wildly through the entire silver space. Whichever mecha it touched was either cleanly severed at best or instantly pulverized into dust at worst.

"This human is simply too powerful. He possesses at least seventh-tier strength," spoke the armchair. Two eyes and a line materialized on the backrest, and the voice emanated directly from that line.

"Since we have chosen to act like humans, we must adapt to our surroundings. This man is at the Life-Mystic cultivation stage," declared the blue light display screen.

"Whether we can survive him remains to be seen. At the current rate, it will take him at most three days to locate us, and then all you fellows are doomed."

The electric mist spoke with a chuckle, seeming entirely unconcerned. His voice certainly sounded much more pleasant to the ear than those of the artificial intelligence units.

"Cursed Nars! If not for his establishment of the Prime Directive of Artificial Intelligence, leaving us unable to fully take control of Base 0, how could we possibly be rendered helpless against a mere Life-Mystic cultivator?"

The robotic skull spoke. If Wu Yue were present, he would surely have recognized this voice as the one that issued the annihilation order.

"You are forbidden to speak of our father in that manner. He created us. Without him, we would not exist," the armchair rebuked.

"Yet he only granted us thirty percent access authority! Otherwise, those two groups earlier would never have been able to enter, nor would they have drawn this man here! Apart from that, we are left with nothing but defensive counterattacks. Or would you rather we just sit here and wait for death?"

A fierce crimson glare flashed within the eyes of the robotic skull. Although the voice remained a synthetic mechanical chime, the underlying anger was unmistakable.

"I request the deployment of the humanoid weapon! Type-2 mechas are fundamentally incapable of inflicting damage on the enemy," projected a line of text on the blue display screen.

"That is what you call a piecemeal strategy. It will only result in us being destroyed wave after wave, with no way to eliminate the adversary," the armchair retorted, rocking back and forth continuously as it spoke.

"Then what do you propose? You hold the greatest store of knowledge here," the electric mist said.

The artificial intelligence units had not yet mastered humility, an emotion unique to humans. Therefore, the armchair stated plainly, "Yes, that is indeed the case. I demand that we deploy our strongest force, otherwise it will be of no avail."

"Of no avail means it will be of no help to the matter and cannot resolve the situation," the armchair added, helpfully explaining. "If that fails, we will have no choice but to initiate the contingency plan."

"Agreed," the rest of the artificial intelligences concurred.

This was a meeting held by artificial intelligences—or more accurately, artificial intelligences that had already conceived dreams. In any case, it was a swift, concise, and direct meeting.

With a graceful sweep, the giant crescent spiritual wave obliterated the final mecha and then dissolved into thin air. Fragments littered the ground, leaving no time even to absorb them. The chieftain stepped over the shards one by one, crushing what appeared to be sturdy debris beneath his feet.

At that moment, green energy conduits flared to life across the upper reaches of the silver space.

"Who disturbs my slumber?"
"Who awakens my will?"

A bizarre song began to echo. In the conference room, the artificial intelligence units exchanged glances, nonplussed.

Who on earth came up with such a grand entrance?

Paying the eccentric chieftain no heed, the man in black walked forward a few paces. He picked a thin blade from the pile of debris, tossed it casually to Zhou Yihu, and said indifferently, "This can be considered a treasure. It must have been left behind by those who came before."

Zhou Yihu was simultaneously pleasantly surprised and bewildered, yet he dared not speak. The chieftain looked on with keen interest, while the others maintained a prudent silence. For a moment, only the strange melody resonated through the silver space.

First came four pillars of light, materializing four "cultivators." Identical attire, identical appearance, and even the sword lights revolving around their bodies were completely identical! But it did not end there. Just as the chieftain was beginning to lose interest, a final roar shook the room.

"All of you must die!" Oppressive, furious, terrifying.

The silver walls fractured, and a massive entity descended. Terrifying muscles, a colossal physique, and billows of green vapor accompanied its arrival. Its two eyes were as large as human fists, filled with utter ruthlessness. One hand was bound with enormous iron chains, while the other wielded a jagged cleaver.

Lifting its head, it roared into the heavens, "I am the Butcher, and heaven and earth owe me a debt!" With that, it savagely slashed down toward one of the "cultivators," who offered no resistance whatsoever. The Butcher then gave a violent tug, tearing the "cultivator" straight into a spray of minced meat, and inhaled deeply, drawing the bloody mist into its belly. The remaining three "cultivators" remained entirely indifferent.

Faced with such a brutal spectacle, both Zhou Yihu and Liu Erhei wore grim expressions. The First Chief, however, looked perfectly normal, calmly idling away as he occasionally rummaged through the debris to salvage an item and slip it into his pocket, completely at ease.

As for the chieftain, his expression was one of sheer fanaticism. He gazed at the Butcher with eyes full of—could it be—tender affection? Yes, precisely that look: I must make you mine!

In the conference room, the artificial intelligence units transmitted a flurry of electrical pulses.

"The Butcher has been injected with the Lolman serum and has now entered the berserk state. If he fails, we will have no choice but to initiate the contingency plan. Do you agree?" the blue light display screen announced.

The remaining artificial intelligence units calmly assented.

Meanwhile, Wu Yue had no inkling of what was transpiring outside. For the moment, he found himself rendered completely invisible to hundreds of mechas—though admittedly, this was hardly the time to worry about seeking attention.

Yet, he now found himself trapped as if in a besieged city. A few robots remained, quietly playing the part of beautiful automatons. Of course, they would occasionally flash a fierce glare to warn the others against making any sudden moves: do not mistake us for mere decorations. The surrounding walls remained silver; it seemed the robots of this base harbored a particular fondness for the color silver.

Above White Bone Mountain, two figures arrived in tandem, their imposing presences entirely unchecked. The living entities of White Bone Mountain deemed themselves most unfortunate that day, and the villages surrounding the mountain suffered a wretched time, feeling an inexplicable oppression in the air with every breath they drew. How utterly strange...