by <unknown>
At first, Li Yao was quite hesitative because the Glorious Sunlight Group had just been founded and was in dire need of money in every regard. He had wondered whether or not it was necessary to build such a route.
However, after witnessing Xiao Tianbao's remarkable skills, he could not help but feel lucky that he made a wise decision.
Unfortunately, the Spiritual Towers on the route were still too few. The signals were intermittent, and the speed of transmission was extremely slow.
Also, the size of the information contained in the Ice God Project and the Grand Illusionary Project was unbelievably huge. It took half an hour before they were sent over.
At this moment, there was one hour, nine minutes, and thirty-seven seconds to go before the 'Mist Clearing Operation'.
"The two proposals of planetary-level magical equipment are both very excellent. What are you worried about, Li Yao?"
After the relay across more than ten space zones, Professor Mo Xuan's picture on the light beam was twisting. Occasionally, streaks and flakes were popping up.
"I don't know. The plan looks perfect. I just…"
Narrowing his eyes, he tapped his temples and said, "I don't like the Grand Illusionary Soldier intuitionally. I feel that I smelt something uncomfortable."
"Our brain receives billions of items of information every day. 99% of that is deemed to be useless and is screened out," Professor Mo Xuan said. "Our brain will only process the 1% information that is useful for us.
"However, the 99% filtered information is not really abandoned forever. Some of it is still stored inside our brain and analyzed by our subconsciousness without us knowing it.
"Now and then, our subconsciousness will connect the blinking gold pieces in the 99% useless information and come up with some very precious conclusions.
"This is what our 'intuition' really is.
"A Cultivator's brain is much more developed than that of an ordinary person. The analysis and computational ability of our subconsciousness are also a hundred times better than those of ordinary people. Sometimes, our intuitions and predications are actually the results of the computation of our subconsciousness!
"Therefore, if you feel that the plan is inappropriate intuitionally, don't let go of your suspicion easily. Listen and sense with your heart. Stand in your subconsciousness and find the answer from the 99% useless information!"
Taking a deep breath, Li Yao closed his eyes and mumbled, "Did you know, Professor? I suddenly remembered the 'Limit Challenge Competition' in the Devil Flood Dragon Island, the first brutal battle that I ever participated in when I was young.
"In the Devil Flood Dragon Island, all the young genius near my hometown were gathered. Most of them were talented and the best, one-in-ten-thousand elites.
"At that time, my capability was merely mediocre compared to them.
"However, with my talents in refining, I was able to assemble most of the magical equipment on the Devil Flood Dragon Island and sold the tools to the geniuses.
"What they did not know was that I left a 'backdoor' in every piece of magical equipment, and I was the real master of their weapons!
"Therefore, even the geniuses whose capabilities far exceeded mine would be at the mercy of me as long as they were using magical equipment assembled by me!"
Professor Mo Xuan said casually, "I see where this is going. You are scared that somebody might leave 'backdoors' in the planetary-level magical equipment.
"Leaving backdoors is almost the unspoken rule in the circle of refiners. Even I always felt tempted to leave a few backdoors when I was refining magical equipment.
"However, if you're worried that the Grand Illusionary Soldier has backdoors, there are two critical questions that need to be addressed.
"Firstly, the Grand Illusionary Soldier is a piece of magical equipment highly dependent on the Spiritual Nexus. Without the Spiritual Nexus, they are barely of any value for a battle and will be a waste of resources.
"But the Flying Star Sector is too large a place, and the signals in the Spiritual Nexus are bound to lag when they are transmitted dozens of space zones away, not to mention the interference during transmission.
"Look. We are merely sending signals of picture and sound, and the transmission is already very unstable. It is terribly difficult to transmit complicated telepathic thoughts continuously.
"If there were really backdoors, how big would the backdoors have to be?
"Moreover, although most of the Spiritual Nexus is built and managed by the Grand Illusionary Group, the hundreds of sects scattered across dozens of space zones can influence the Spiritual Towers, too. They can always destroy the Spiritual Nexus if they realize that the Grand Illusionary Soldiers are going out of control.
"Once the Spiritual Nexus is down, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers will be wasted iron and coper!"
Li Yao frowned. "This is also the question that baffled me most. I wouldn't be so anxious if I knew the answer.
"The first problem can be resolved by technological approaches, however hard. But the second problem can barely be fixed," Professor Mo Xuan said.
"Before the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project is fully activated, technological hearings and source code examinations that can potentially take one to two years will be conducted first. There are many experts that specialize in crystal processors and the Spiritual Nexus in the Flying Star Sector. All the important sects have their own advisors, too. I've been in touch with some of them before, and they knew what they were talking about quite well.
"With so many experts, they can always run the test with the most simple and straightforward methods, say, 'infinite regress'. After one to two years, loopholes will definitely be found out if there are any.
"You don't think that the wisdom of all the experts in the Flying Star Sector combined is no match for a retard, do you?"
Li Yao was even more agitated. He was about to bash the wall with his head while he said, "Indeed! I thought so too. We are not making a movie right now. The experts and scholars are not stupid. They can locate any loophole and kick open any backdoor if they have one to two years."
Li Yao paced to a corner of the room in annoyance, when his body suddenly stiffened.
"…If they have one to two years. One to two years."
He jumped high as if he had been struck by lightning, and his head crashed into the ceiling, which was more than four meters from the ground. After a crack, a giant hole was left on the ceiling, and he fell back to the ground with dusts all over his face.
Lying on the ground, Li Yao stretched out all his limbs and stared at the hole in the ceiling. His soul seemed to have exploded, and shocking brilliance beamed out of his eyes!
"Professor, I haven't found out the answer to your first question yet, but I've come up with a possibility for the second question.
"Professor, you and my four Senior Brothers are all special spectral Cultivators that are combinations of Phantom Entities and the mainframe crystal processor of Sparkle. Crystal processors are part of you, and your understanding about them must be a hundred times deeper than normal crystal processor experts!
"In your opinion, if the time for examination is shortened to three to six months, instead of one to two years like right now, is it possible to hide some of the loopholes?"
Professor Mo Xuan pondered for a moment and said, "Locating a loophole in the billions of lines of source code is like fishing for a needle in an ocean. If the time limit is three months or shorter, full-coverage methods such as 'infinite regress' will not be adopted. Theoretically speaking, it is possible to conceal a backdoor.
"However, it is just theoretical. As far as the Cultivators of the Flying Star Sector and the Heaven's Origin Sector that I know, I don't think any of them can achieve such a goal!"
"That's right! That's right!"
Li Yao suddenly sat straight. He crossed his legs, and brutal brilliance beamed out of his red eyes despite his face still being coated with dust.
> "Professor, the Temple of Immortals is a weird organization, is it not?
"In their debut one year ago, all their operations were smoke grenades, and their sole purpose was to raise a war between the Iron Plateau natives and the space residents!
"Their scheme was indeed seamless and flawless.
"If I, the weirdo neither from Iron Plateau nor from the space, did not show up, it is quite possible that their plan would have worked out!
"However, it has been an entire year after the battle of Iron Plateau, but the Temple of Immortals has kept a low profile and resorted to normal approaches such as assaults and assassinations.
"Such dull and straightforward methods are completely inconsistent with the wisdom implied in the scheme when they first showed up.
"It is almost like an unparalleled martial arts expert who starts waving his fists idiotically after he performed the most brilliance move in the world!"
"Maybe, the Temple of Immortals has been accumulated their strength in preparation for their thunderous attack, the Mist Plan," Professor Mo Xuan said.
Li Yao sniffed. "The thunderous attack has been fully unraveled before it is carried out. That's too stupid.
"However, let's put the 'Mist Plan' aside and look at Iron Plateau in retrospective.
"Professor Mo Xuan, what do you think will happen if I didn't show up and a great war between Iron Plateau natives and the space residents broke out exactly as the Temple of Immortals planned?"
Chapter 685: Better Be a Thief |
Mo Xuan was deep in thought. Gold sparks were bursting out of the two deep hollows on the metal skull, while he said, "If the Temple of Immortals' plan succeeded, the Iron Plateau natives would have been the cannon fodder of the Immortal Cultivators. They would have been projected to dozens of space zones nearby via the crystal warships of the space pirates. A total war would have broken out. What else?"
Li Yao's eyes were shining. He spoke so fast that his voice was like rushing bullets. "Then, the Flying Star Sector would have faced an enormous crisis that can only be resolved by focusing all the resources and manpower available.
"There would be two plans for the Cultivators to choose.
"But the Ice God Project would still have been impractical, because the modification of Ice King requires at least twenty years. During the twenty years, the combat ability of Ice King will remain at zero. The Iron Plateau natives and the Immortal Cultivators are no fools. They would not stand by and watch the Cultivators to transform Ice King but come up with a way to sabotage the project!
"Moreover, let's say that Ice King modifications are completed after twenty years and it's turned into an invincible starship, don't forget that the Cultivators have two targets right now: Iron Plateau and Spider Den!
"Awesome as Ice King may be, it can only hit one planet at most. It would is impossible to destroy Iron Plateau and Spider Den at the same time!
"Therefore, if the war broke out, the Ice God Project would have been out of the picture from the beginning.
After a brief silence, Professor Mo Xuan's voice turned sharp. "Then, there's only the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project left."
"Indeed," Li Yao said coldly. "The Grand Illusionary Soldiers are very cheap and can be refined by the other sects. As long as some of them are produced, they will boast a certain amount of combat ability. Also, they can be deployed in every corner of the Flying Star Sector. It is definitely a piece of perfect, tailor-made magical equipment for the 'riot of the Iron Plateau natives'!
"No. It is also possible that the 'riot of the Iron Plateau natives' was a scheme tailor-made for the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project!
"Faced with the incoming Iron Plateau natives, it would have been impossible for the Cultivators to run the most detailed tests within one to two years patiently.
"Think about it. In the endless darkness, at the edge of the Flying Star Sector, one space town after another is swallowed by the 'ferocious' Iron Plateau natives and space pirates. Countless ordinary people are butchered. The fearsome flames of war are ignited in every part of the Flying Star Sector and sweep across the world!
"Under such circumstances, how can you expect to examine the Grand Illusionary Soldier for one to two years?
"Even three to six months might be too long.
"If I were a leader of a sect, and the space towns in my territory were being assaulted by the Iron Plateau natives, I would definitely try to buy a batch of Grand Illusionary Soldiers to solve the imminent threat whatever the cost.
"In such a case, the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project would be implemented in haste after a short period of one to two months of examination, if it is examined at all, won't it?
"Professor, based on your experience, do you think it is possible to check the loopholes once the Grand Illusionary Project is fully initiated?"
Mo Xuan shook his head. "That would be very difficult.
"Li Yao, you are not a professor in the field of crystal processors. I can only explain it to you with the shallowest metaphor.
"Before the Grand Illusionary Project is activated, the star brain is in the original state. It is like a frozen, solid ocean.
"Although it is difficult to fish for a needle in a frozen ocean, it is still possible once countless experts are gathered.
"However, after the project is activated and the star brain starts running, billions of telepathic thoughts will enter and exit the star brain every second. The frozen ocean will be unfrozen, and surging tides will rage everywhere.
"Think about it. How is it possible to locate a needle that is flowing together with the waves in a rampant ocean with immeasurable undercurrents?"
Li Yao's voice was chilly. "So, if no loopholes are found in the preliminary tests in the beginning one to two months, it is unlikely that they will be found in the future, correct?"
Mo Xuan spoke with a voice resembling the sound of rusted gears. "Yes."
The training room was caught in a brief silence. The only sounds were Li Yao's heavy breaths and the background noises when the crystal processors were transmitting information over a long distance.
After a long time, Li Yao took a long breath and said, "The great bandit Fengyu Zhong revealed himself in order to attract the Cultivators to the Iron Plateau Space Zone. The battle in the Iron Plateau Space Zone was meant to drive the Cultivators to Iron Plateau in order to raise a great war between Iron Plateau natives and space residents.
"Once the war broke out, the world of Cultivators would have had to pick the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project!
"If that were the case, everything would be more logical.
"Since the appearance of Immortal Cultivators in the big explosion during the Skyhill Sword Seminar, we have considered the Temple of Immortals to be the schemers and the space pirates to be their puppets.
"Therefore, Cultivators devoted all their resources and attention to the Temple of Immortals.
"No one has ever thought the other possibility. If space pirates are the puppets of the Temple of Immortals, are the Temple of Immortals a puppet of somebody else?"
Mo Xuan pondered for a moment. "You are suspecting Xiao Xuance?"
"He is indeed worth suspecting," Li Yao replied.
"What's his motive?" Mo Xuan asked. "He is the CEO of the Grand Illusionary Group and the crownless king of the Flying Star Sector. He is already at the peak of the world of Cultivators. Does he have any reason to destroy the mountain below his feet?"
"A crownless king is not as good as a crowned king," Li Yao answered gloomily.
Mo Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Fair enough. But there are two points that call for our attention.
"Firstly, the Temple of Immortals' scheme on Iron Plateau has met a fiasco. The Iron Plateau natives and the space residents are communicating closely right now. It is practically impossible that a war will threaten to break out again. But still, the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project has been introduced and is waiting to be tested.
"Thi
s point alone is enough to disapprove your assumption just now.
"Secondly, as the CEO of the Grand Illusionary Group and the leader of the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project, Xiao Xuance will be standing in the spotlight from the beginning. He will be scrutinized and suspected by everybody. If he is the real schemer behind everything, it seems to be a very risky decision.
"Think about what happened on Iron Plateau. Yan Xibei, the Mountain King, was the real schemer, but he pushed his nephew Yan Chifeng to the front and did not expose himself until the last moment when he had no alternatives.
"Isn't it too early for Xiao Xuance to jump out and take charge of everything personally?"
Li Yao's eyes were rapidly flickering from side to side. He scratched his head and mumbled, "It's indeed very strange, unless, of course, Xiao Xuance has an unquestionable way to prove his innocence. But, how can he?
"Is the schemer not Xiao Xuance but somebody else in the Grand Illusionary Group?"
"Everything you said is just your assumption," Mo Xuan said. "You came to the conclusion by setting your perspective and your goal in advance. It is a very far-fetched deduction that is not supported by any proof.
"If you throw out your theory right now, nobody will believe it, and you won't be able to lock onto the real schemer even if they do!"
Li Yao scratched his hair in desperation. His pupils suddenly constricted while he gnashed his teeth.
"No!
"If my assumption is correct, there is definitely something wrong with the Mist Plan and the Mist Clearing Operation!
"An unexpected situation will force the world of Cultivators to initiate the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project in a hurry without testing it first!"
Mo Xuan observed calmly, "Maybe. But look at your watch. The Mist Clearing Operation will be carried out in 55 minutes and 33 seconds. How can you expect to stop it with your words?
"Don't forget who you are. In the eyes of Cultivators, you are still an Iron Plateau native. Although the Iron Plateau natives and space residents are in a close relationship right now, it is impossible for them to question Xiao Xuance and the Grand Illusionary Group co-funded by the six sects or cancel the Mist Clearing Operation just because of your accusations.