下载大智慧经典版

“Our tribe is called the Steel Guardians, created by the Far Traveler. Initially, our ancestors were merely monotonous mechanical beings, endlessly devouring steel, silicon, and petroleum, and replicating incessantly. As with biological creatures, mutations occurred during the replication process. Useful mutations accumulated gradually, eventually giving rise to self-awareness. Judging by your expression, you must not know who the Far Traveler is, right?”

Liuzi nodded.

“The Far Traveler is our creator, born from the vast and boundless Sea of Consciousness of humanity, carrying the most beautiful and purest parts of the human Sea of Consciousness. After his departure, the remaining parts separated: the clear ascended to become gods; the murky descended to form the Shadows, and the middle connected with animals and plants, forming you.”

The sudden expansion of the world view excited Liuzi.

He began to record this information about the worldview, and he specially created a subcategory under “Space Navigator” at the Game Inn to store what he had heard.

After finishing the recording, he continued to ask, “This must be classified information, right? How do you know about it?”

“Not many Steel Guardians have awakened self-awareness. Over the years, there have been only a few thousand of us, and thus we are also known as Awakened Guardians. Awakened Guardians have the right and duty to know their own history, so I am also aware.”

“But your companion still wanted to slaughter you!” Liuzi asked in surprise.

“I can’t help it; the one with a higher rank gets to call the shots. And he didn’t really want to kill me, he just wanted to cut off my head and take it back to see what the problem was.”

Liuzi looked at the other speechlessly, feeling that silicon-based beings really had a different way of thinking from carbon-based beings.

Then, he asked, “So you have a hierarchy, do silicon-based lifeforms really get into that sort of thing?”

Fei looked at Liuzi with a strange expression: “Why wouldn’t we?”

“I thought silicon-based life implied wisdom. Seems I misunderstood. So, I want to ask a key question, why are you insistent on taking us away?”

“It is both our mission and our duty. The Steel Guardians were created to ensure that you can escape the Shadows and explore the vast world with us, following in the footsteps of the Far Traveler. However, it took you way too long to simply step out of the Shadows.”

With a gentle tap on the chest, a holographic image began to appear, displaying the Heavenly Tao Network on the screen.

Fei’s voice sounded, beginning to explain the surrounding area: “The glowing middle section is the Heavenly Tao Network, covering a vast number of galaxies. However, outside of it, the volume of the Shadows is a thousand times greater than the Heavenly Tao Network, trapping the immense network of light within its clutches, unable to escape.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Railroads are the only technology currently capable of escaping this expanse of Shadows, but they require someone to pave the way.”

“Thus, the Far Traveler created us on the periphery of the Shadows, and we are responsible for receiving those of you emerging from the Shadows. Our role is that of assistants; our task is to join you in pursuit of the Far Traveler once the last of the animals, plants, and gods have left this place.”

This mission sounded appealing, like an exit plan the Far Traveler had considered for his former companions.

However, after hearing this, Xiemen Waidao instinctively began searching for a loophole, then said, “If I were in your place, I’d slaughter all the animals and plants until only one is left, then enshrine it as a mascot. That way, we Steel Guardians would become the rulers and everyone would have to listen to us from then on.”

Fei gasped, looking at Xiemen Waidao with a more serious gaze: “You’re even more hardline than the strongest of the Extinction Faction. The Extinction Faction is a group within us Awakened Guardians, and my companion and superior belonged to this faction. But even this faction believes that reducing the number of animals and plants to a mere million would suffice, as we have the capability to take the rest out. You are truly evil.”

“Heh heh heh…”

“I wasn’t complimenting you. In any case, I apologize for the clock bomb earlier. We Awakened Guardians have a very strict hierarchy, and I almost can’t resist any order from my superiors, so I could only create that bomb.”

“Wait, you mean to say that you created the items from before?”

“Yes.” Fei nodded, “Each Awakened Guardian receives some standard chips and special chips spontaneously. The standard chips, which we have from birth, manage most functions. But the special chips are personal to each Awakened Guardian. My special chip is creation, I can process items into tools with special properties, though the effects are random, but mostly quite useful.”

At this point, Fei excitedly asked, “By the way, I remember crafting quite a lot of items for you, did you find them useful?”

“It’s quite useful,” Xiemen Waidao nodded. “We’ve made a good profit with them, and then it even triggered a financial crisis, almost…”

Without needing Liuzi’s instruction, Mukuai 1234 clamped Xiemen Waidao’s mouth shut, silencing him.

After learning that Fei was “Factory Girl,” the players shouted one after another, “I have a question, can I take a photo with you?”

“Of course.”

“Can I take a photo on your shoulder?”

“Of course.”

“Could you sign this marriage application?”

“You don’t think I’ll say yes to everything, do you?”

Members of the Morals Aid Group immediately hopped onto Fei to take a snapshot for keepsake, then posted the screenshot to the Game Inn, alongside a highly sarcastic caption: “Guess who’s taking a photo with the big, cool, factory girl, the beautiful robot maiden? Definitely not you, that’s for sure.”

Before the other players could verbally crucify them, they had already made a swift exit, or stayed to enjoy the breakdown scene, basking in the fun of it all.

After many questions were raised, the players finally had a thorough understanding of Fei’s origins.

Unlike the Extinction Faction, Fei was a member of the Harmony Faction. She advocated for the gradual nurturing of residents within the Heavenly Tao network, enabling them to eventually step out of the Shadows on their own strength.

But the Extinction Faction couldn’t wait.

They realized that rail technology was just the beginning; their technological prowess was still insufficient for them to depart en masse from their original timeline and reach beyond the Shadows.

The Awakened Guardians had been waiting for a millennium, and it was an almost hopeless wait.

No one knew whether tomorrow or an accident would come first, nor when the fragile Heavenly Tao network might collapse.

Instead of enduring the agony of waiting, why not intervene directly, strangle the adversary, and then carry the remaining spark to the Starry Sea, in search of the Far Traveler’s trail?

In the end, Liuzi asked the critical question, “What do you think the Far Traveler is really like?”

“Very kind, and he has a way of making those around him feel at ease. He seems to be a natural leader, a perfect actor, the deepest of sages. We were branded with his mark the moment we were born, and our desire to follow in his footsteps has been written into our instincts, a part of our instinct chips.”

Nodding, Liuzi expressed understanding.

“One more question, I know about the special chips, but what about the ordinary chips?”

“Oh, there are many types of ordinary chips, such as the Self-Repair Chip, Record Chip, Self-Destruction Chip, Engineering Chip…”

“Wait, what the heck is a Self-Destruction Chip? Don’t nonchalantly mention terrifying terms like that, okay?”

“The Self-Destruction Chip sounds scary, but it actually has its own flaw; it only activates upon detecting information of an entity more powerful than the Far Traveler, and then it self-destructs to prevent our manufacturing methods from falling into enemy hands. However, there hasn’t been a single case of such an incident for a long time, so it should be fine.”

Meanwhile, as Fei and Liuzi exchanged information, Fang Cheng was also watching the situation through a monitor.

Upon understanding the function of the Self-Destruction Chip, Fang Cheng nodded and said, “No wonder, that explains why I can’t go in.”

If he did go in, he might have the pleasure of witnessing a spectacular fireworks show.