Chapter 75: “What enviable cohesion.”
Dongfang Qingdi’s boot stomped down hard on the head of the giant snake half, its tail thrashing and convulsing. Chunks of rubble fell from the rather unstable incubation pool.
Facing Sirius—whose state was incredibly bizarre, his body shaped like a “Y”—Xiang Nanli chose to communicate with him from a safe distance.
Hiding behind Xiao Qing, he crouched down, picked up a dried snake corpse from the ground, and poked Sirius’s visibly mutated face: “Can you understand me? If you can, nod your head.”
This would determine whether Xiang Nanli treated him as a human or an animal.
Sirius nodded hesitantly.
Xiang Nanli then used the stick to poke the snake head beside him.
After being poked in the face twice, the massive black snake violently bit down on the snake stick. Its sharp fangs possessed astonishing bite force, snapping the stiff, dried snake skin in its mouth like a brittle cracker.
Xiang Nanli picked up the broken snake corpse from the ground and tried to snap it, feeling as though he were pinching a sharp piece of metal.
Xiang Nanli clicked his tongue in admiration: “This beast has some serious teeth.”
The scales of this snake were black, but its head resembled a “flood dragon” from the Classic of Mountains and Seas more than a regular snake, complete with sharp horns on both sides of its forehead.
Dongfang Qingdi observed for a moment and spoke: “They share one body but possess two independent nervous systems. If I had to describe it, it’s more like two different lifeforms forcibly fused together. At the time, they were both extremely weak, preying on each other’s survival resources. However, within the embryo, neither could kill the other, ultimately resulting in this incongruous body.”
Xiao Qing continued: “However, perhaps the Holy Spirit’s will did not want to fuse with Sirius. It’s just that its body determined that allowing ‘itself’ to possess human-like intelligence would be beneficial for survival, so its body did not reject Sirius.
“In the Divine Court’s ideology, the soul and the body are mutually independent entities. The body is a vessel, and the soul is a form of consciousness. The vessel has an instinct to shield consciousness and autonomously evolve.
“Actually, this logic holds a certain degree of truth. Mechanical devices are also a type of ‘vessel,’ which is why the concept of mechanical synchronization rate exists. If the vessel doesn’t like you, the synchronization rate is low.”
Xiang Nanli gave a thoughtful “Oh,” then suddenly asked: “Then Xiao Qing, as electronic lifeforms, when you sync with mechanical devices, do you also have a mechanical synchronization rate? I remember many Omnics also use cybernetic prostheses and exoskeletons.”
Dongfang Qingdi fell silent for a moment before replying: “Yes, we do.”
“How high?”
“Generally speaking, it is one hundred percent.”
Without exception.
Therefore, even when using mechanical weapons of the same tier, an Omnic would wield them with far greater destructive power than a human.
“One hundred percent, huh,” a multitude of thoughts flashed through Xiang Nanli’s mind, but he was too lazy to delve deeper. Looking at the snarling black snake, he said cheerfully: “Alright, the name Ophiuchus is yours.”
Xiang Nanli pulled a can of nutrient paste from his pocket, peeled back the tin lid, and waved it in front of Ophiuchus’s nose.
Ophiuchus was firmly pinned to the ground, yet its facial features remained ferocious. However, uncooperative saliva dripped from the gaps between its bared fangs.
The companion spirits had long since been sucked dry. Whether it was Ophiuchus or Sirius, they were both starving.
Xiang Nanli used a spoon to divide the can into two halves.
He placed one half in front of Sirius and even patted his head, repeatedly chanting a single word: “Eat.”
Sirius’s method of eating was somewhat primitive; he didn’t chew at all, shoving it into his mouth and swallowing it whole in one breath.
Xiang Nanli continued: “Stop.”
Sirius, currently mid-meal, hadn’t reacted yet and kept swallowing. Xiang Nanli raised the stick in his hand and whacked Sirius hard on the head.
He ordered sharply: “Stop.”
After repeating “eat” and “stop” a few times, the intelligent Sirius barely managed to learn to follow commands.
Heh. He had plenty of experience training dogs.
Back when the research institute was newly established, the company didn’t have much money, so the facility was rented out in the suburbs. Both confidentiality and security were deeply concerning.
Fake corporate warfare: Short-selling stocks, hiring black PR to smear reputations, planting corporate spies to steal classified data.
Real corporate warfare: Secretly climbing over the wall after Xiang Nanli got off work, turning off the main breaker, causing all of Alpha’s unsaved backend data to be lost. Secretly climbing over the wall after Xiang Nanli got off work, sneaking into the lab, injecting Alpha with massive amounts of junk data, causing it to act like a mentally impaired AI during its demonstration to investors the next day. Secretly climbing over the wall after Xiang Nanli got off work, attempting to copy the code to plagiarize it…
The business world was truly too filthy!
After being sabotaged a few times like this, Xiang Nanli started raising wolfhounds at the institute. Their defining traits were being robust and muscular, incredibly loyal, biting anyone they saw on sight, and only being absolute best friends with Xiang Nanli.
The wolfhounds indeed performed meritorious service for the company, chasing off several waves of competitors and maiming one of them. Fortunately, according to foreign laws, he didn’t have to pay compensation.
Later, as Immortality Tech grew bigger and stronger, the institute moved to a heavily guarded tech park. Xiang Nanli brought the dogs back to his massive villa and raised them until they passed away peacefully of old age.
Although something like a Holy Spirit wasn’t a dog, the principles of domestication were roughly the same; they were all intelligent beasts anyway.
Holding the remaining half of the can, Xiang Nanli said cautiously, “Xiao Qing, release it slowly in a moment. If it tries to bite me, hit it.”
Dongfang Qingdi gave a slight nod: “Okay.”
Ophiuchus was truly rebellious and untamable. Especially since, in its memory, humans and food belonged to the exact same category.
Sure enough, the moment it was slightly released, it opened its blood-soaked maw and lunged at Xiang Nanli.
Dongfang Qingdi smacked its head once again, slapping it to the ground with a single backhand.
He used quite a bit of force; the ground of the incubation pool caved in where the massive snake head crashed, sending rubble flying.
Ophiuchus couldn’t climb back up for a long time. Fangs fell to the ground.
After repeatedly smacking it like this several times, Ophiuchus finally learned to wait obediently. It lowered its head, flicking its forked tongue; its deep black eyes looked at Dongfang Qingdi one second, then at Xiang Nanli the next. A trace of cowering fear now lingered in its gaze.
It was just tough on Sirius, who shared a body with it. He hadn’t done anything wrong, yet he had to suffer beatings alongside it.
Xiang Nanli had Dongfang Qingdi release it entirely, then patted its head.
Due to malnutrition, Ophiuchus’s scales were falling off in patches. The body underneath, devoid of scales, surprisingly felt very soft, like a slippery fish.
Xiang Nanli retracted his hand and placed the can in front of Ophiuchus: “Eat.”
Ophiuchus licked the can spotlessly clean, observing Xiang Nanli. Confirming he had no intention of feeding it more, it turned its head, wanting to retreat into its nest.
Xiang Nanli grabbed the horn on its forehead and yanked its head back: “Did I say you could leave?”
Ophiuchus subconsciously wanted to bare its fangs, but remembering that half its teeth had already been slapped out, it obediently lowered its head instead. Only its impatiently swaying tail betrayed its mood.
Fortunately, Xiang Nanli never expected to make it obedient in a single day.
He let go: “Go back.”
In an instant, Ophiuchus slithered back into the cavern, dragging Sirius along with it as the massive body curled up tight.
Xiang Nanli waved at Dongfang Qingdi: “Let’s go.”
By the time they emerged from underground, it was 2:00 AM. Xiang Nanli rarely slept this late and couldn’t stop yawning.
The vehicle Andrew sent to pick them up was still parked by the roadside.
It wasn’t his private three-wheeler but a public bus of the Eternal City, equipped with an autonomous driving function.
After overthrowing the city’s original ruling class, these vehicles hadn’t been scrapped. Instead, they transitioned from serving a tiny minority to serving the vast majority. It was only at night, when everyone else was asleep, that Xiang Nanli got to enjoy the perk of using a public vehicle for private purposes.
He sat in a front-row seat, adjusted into a comfortable posture, and rested his head on Dongfang Qingdi’s shoulder.
As the vehicle drove them toward the dormitory, Andrew’s voice came through the PA system: “Xiang Nanli, you guys are out? How is Sirius?”
He was too busy and genuinely hadn’t thought about the incubation pool for quite a while.
Xiang Nanli answered with his eyes closed: “Sirius has fused with the Holy Spirit; his condition is decent. We might need to prepare more nutrient paste. When you go to the pasture later, cut two pounds of Fungus Cow meat, too. Let me see if they’ll eat that. During this period, don’t let any outsiders enter the incubation pool. If it can be tamed, I believe it will be very useful for the base.”
The Holy Spirit was originally a monster the Divine Court intended to use to attack Gusu City. Raised properly and given time to develop, it wouldn’t be weak by any means.
Hearing how tired Xiang Nanli was, Andrew hesitated for two seconds before continuing: “I’ve finished writing the base recruitment notice. Can you take a look to see if anything needs editing?”
Xiang Nanli pinched himself: “Read it.”
6:00 AM. The sun wasn’t up yet. But the farmers of the Eternal City had already woken up early, preparing to go to the fields to farm.
Plumes of cooking smoke rose from the cafeteria kitchen; the air carried the steaming aroma of rice and the sweetness of sweet potatoes. Ah, today’s breakfast must be sweet potato porridge.
When Laifu arrived at the cafeteria, he saw a large crowd gathered in front of the blackboard normally used by the cafeteria.
This blackboard was generally used to record cafeteria expenses, proving the kitchen staff wasn’t embezzling public funds. The other half was used to list the daily menu.
Cafeteria regulations stated that each person could receive one egg per day. Teenagers between the ages of 5 and 18, regardless of gender, could receive a bottle of milk a week. They didn’t let children younger than that drink it out of fear they were lactose intolerant.
The surface environment was harsh, and despite repeated warnings, the farmers’ homes still weren’t very clean. A simple case of diarrhea could easily take a child’s life.
The cafeteria food was extremely monotonous in Laifu’s eyes.
But for the serfs, it was a rare delicacy they had never enjoyed in the past.
“Laifu is here!” someone in the crowd shouted.
A young man walked over and pulled him to the front of the blackboard: “Teacher, you can read. Could you read this for us?”
The Human Alliance language utilized pictographs, originating from ancient Chinese but possessing a certain degree of evolution. Back then, scholars feared civilization would face a generational gap due to war, so they attempted to alter the characters into images even monkeys could understand.
Looking at the structures of the current Human Alliance characters, they weren’t difficult. But truly understanding them required long-term study.
Laifu pushed his glasses up and looked at the first line on the blackboard, reading aloud: “To the citizens of the Eternal City—my dear friends, this is a letter requesting assistance.”
The exact same letter appeared in front of major blackboards at various buildings throughout the city.
The cafeteria, the school, the farm, and the city gates. Gospel had controlled the city’s robots, working through the night to write the identical text.
“We hail from the Survivor Base. Perhaps you have long yearned for it, or perhaps you have been curious about its origins.”
“Now, then, allow me to tell you a story about the survivors of a disaster and about spring.”
“We come from six hundred years ago. We were once lifelong employees of a major corporation.”
“In the most severe era of the Omnic Crisis, the corporation made a bold attempt: to establish a shelter, freezing all employees in cryo-sleep, waiting to set sail once more when spring arrived.”
“Six hundred years passed, and the cryo-chambers detected that the external environment had stabilized. We were awakened by the system for the very first time, holding our first all-hands meeting over the intranet.”
“Some believed the time was ripe, that it was time to awaken; others believed, based on information transmitted back by robots, that the situation on the surface remained dire, and it would be best for us to wait until the next epoch.”
“In the end, the employees opted for a balance. A portion of the brave chose to be thawed in advance, desiring to change this world and heal the suffering borne by this scarred homeland.”
“We live beneath the same blue sky; we are members of intelligent life; we are not victors, merely survivors of a disaster. Our choice to freeze ourselves with massive resources six hundred years ago was not to shirk responsibility, but to act as seeds enduring winter, awaiting the arrival of spring.”
“Is it spring now? I do not know. But spring can be created by our own hands.”
“We have ignited flames upon the ruins, we have built bridges over the glaciers, we have restored fundamental transportation, power, and communication… But this is far from enough. My friends, the base needs aid! We need more like-minded builders.”
“This is destined to be a path battered by wind and rain, fraught with thorns.”
“Are you willing to walk it with us?”
“We, the first batch of the awakened from the Survivor Base (Xiang Nanli / Dongfang Qingdi / Andrew), on behalf of the entire base, extend to you our sincerest invitation.”
“If you are willing to travel to the Main City District to participate in the construction and production of the base, you may register at the window on the 1st floor of the Eternal City City Hall. We will provide room and board, along with identity certification as Honorary Residents of the Base. Note: Due to the base’s limited transport capacity, this quota is strictly limited to 50 individuals. Thank you…”
Before Laifu had even finished reading the final sentence, the citizens on the outermost edge of the crowd had already turned and sprinted toward the nearby City Hall.
And there was no small number of people taking the exact same action.
Laifu felt his heart stir slightly. After all, if the Eternal City was already this good, maybe the base would be even better?
But he was a descendant of the Divine Court.
Laifu pushed the glasses on his face and walked toward the interior of the cafeteria: “What enviable cohesion.”
