by <unknown>
Gritting his teeth, Li Yao struggled to wave his arms and shouted, "You—Whatever scheme you may have, I will not let things go your way!"
"Shut up!" The mental devil grinned hideously. "This is a serious business meeting between extraterrestrial devils. Are you even qualified to interject? Just be a good boy. Wash your neck and wait to be killed, idiot!"
Together with the laughter, more and more blood red thorns grew out of Li Yao's body, tying up the right half of his body and forcing him to bellow in excruciating pain. He had fallen to one knee, trembling harder and harder.
"Hehe. It doesn't matter if I have to tell you the truth now. Yes. I've been lurking inside the body of this idiot the whole time, partly because I was waiting for the best opportunity to devour his soul when the odds of success were highest and the cost was lowest!"
Rounds of blood stripes blossomed around the mental devil, which waved like dancing snakes, making it even more hideous. It proudly declared, "But on the other hand, this idiot was lucky enough to rise into a high position in the Star Glory Federation. My days were quite comfortable!
"The Blood Stripe Virus is different from the new extraterrestrial devils that consider cyberspace as a carrier such as you. We reside in the bodies of intelligent creatures and feed on their strong emotions, especially the negative ones in wars!
"Hehe. The Star Glory Federation is going to march to the center of the cosmos. Too many great battles will break out. It doesn't matter whether or not I can devour the soul of this idiot, because I can get everything I want under the identity of 'Li Yao'!
"Therefore, why should I, an ancient extraterrestrial devil from a traditional field, work with you, a weird, unorthodox cyber extraterrestrial devil? However hard you brag about your plan of cyberization of mankind, it is nothing but a bubble!"
"Cyberspace is the future of mankind. It is most certainly not a bubble!"
Perhaps because 'it' was really Professor Mo Xuan, or maybe because the extraterrestrial devils had their beliefs, too, Professor Mo Xuan suddenly raised his voice when the mental devil criticized the Spiritual Nexus as bubble. He shouted desperately, "We are about to usher in a new era of the 'Internet of Things'. Nothing can stop the trend!"
"Oh?" The mental devil chuckled and narrowed its eyes. "Then, what can an old devil like myself, whose host is still a fleshly body, do in the era of the Internet of Things?"
"Listen to me!" Professor Mo Xuan gradually calmed down, with passionate and earnest brilliance beaming out of his silver eyes. "I have really never lied to you. I have been searching for you all the time—the king of the Blood Stripe Virus of the highest level!
"I believe in the eventual cyberization of mankind, but your concerns are valid, too. In order to prevent more innocent victims from being killed, and to make the new world of absolute peace to come sooner, it is true that I may have rushed into certain things.
"Right now, we haven't prepared the most advanced super crystal processors for mankind as the containers of their souls. You may have seen the super crystal processors at the bottom of Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital that were 3D printed with biomimetics on a molecular level. They can simulate 99.99% of a human brain, but not only are they extremely costly, there is also a slight difference between them and real brains, which may lead to all kinds of side effects.
"Even if our plan works out, a fleshly body will still be the necessary 'shell' for the Spiriters for a long time in the future. At the very least, a brain is definitely needed!
"Therefore, I've been studying ways to build up the brain of humans so that they can be better adapted to constant life in the Spiriters' Realm.
"You also know that the human brains are too fragile right now and not fit to live inside cyberspace for long. The higher the simulation rate and the slower the virtual time, the heavier the burden for the human brains will be. They need to quit after every couple of hours to cool down their brains before they reenter!
"That's all because the human brain is too primitive. It was designed for collection and hunting in the barbaric world in the first place. Only a hundred thousand years of evolution is far from enough to drive it into the new era of the Internet of Things!
"Besides, there is still the problem of reproduction. It's true that we haven't figured out a way for Spiriters to have offspring in the Spiriters' Realm—real offspring. So, in reality, the brain and the reproductive organs cannot be abandoned but have to be strengthened!
"However, my research hit the bottleneck.
"As you have pointed out, I am merely a specialist in the Spiritual Nexus who is not good at biological and genetic technology. Besides, the construction and maintenance of the Spiriters' Realm alone already consumed most of my energy. Did I really have the time and vitality to explore a second field of studies?"
"So," the mental devil said coldly, "you thought of me?"
"Exactly!" Professor Mo Xuan exclaimed. "Five thousand years ago, when your ancestors arrived on Iron Plateau, we were already neighbors. Although we never had the opportunity to meet, we did know about each other's existence in a certain mysterious way!
"Li Yao informed me of his experience on Iron Plateau later. Besides, the Glorious Sunlight Group came across certain uncanny creatures that were believed to have been infected by the Blood Stripe Virus when the Dark Continent of Iron Plateau was developed on a large scale. Such creatures were studied and determined to be ancient living creatures between bacterium and virus that boasted the function of activating the genes and building up the body!
"When I realized that the brain and the reproductive organ cannot be abandoned, naturally, the first thing that came to mind was you. I plan to develop brand-new brains that are oriented to the era of the Spiritual Nexus with the help of the Blood Stripe Virus!"
"That thing between bacterium and virus was not the real Blood Stripe Virus," the mental devil explained. "It was an ancient, primitive life from billions of years ago and the first-generation carriers of the Blood Stripe Virus. Or to quote your theory, it was just a 'shell'. You may consider them to be escape capsules that are prepared for long-distance journeys in the universe!"
Professor Mo Xuan was even more convinced after hearing the explanation. "It makes a lot of sense. I should've figured it out earlier. Although those things were capable of infecting and building up living creatures, they did not appear to be half as strong and intelligent as the Blood Stripe Virus that was attached to Yan Xibei in the past!
"It seems that most members of the Blood Stripe Virus are still low-level, primitive life, just like how most of the extraterrestrial devils wandering between the three-dimensional and the four-dimensional universes are nothing more than humble, underdeveloped 'energy worms'. The high-level extraterrestrial devils that have melded with intelligent life perfectly are few after all!"
The mental devil sniffed. "You are going off topic. How do you expect me to cooperate with you?"
"I want you to modify human brains to make them more powerful and better separated with the soul!" Professor Mo Xuan replied. "You have the naturally-endowed techniques of the Blood Stripe Virus, and you stayed in the Blood Demon Sector that was best known for their biotechnology for a long time.
"After we seize the supreme power of the Star Glory Federation, tremendous resources and the most distinguished talents will be supplied to you. I think that it shouldn't be a problem to complete the project within a hundred years, right?
"By then, the brains of all human beings will be connected to each other through cables or biochemical nerves, allowing them to spend a long time on the Spiritual Nexus. It will be not just the Internet of Things but the Internet of Brains!
"As for the rest of the body parts, to conserve the precious resources as much as possible, all of them can be abandoned except for the reproductive organs. I will need your help in that regard, too!
"Look. The demands that I proposed are all long-term ones. They are evident enough that I'm not just improvising a trap to fool
you but hoping to cooperate with you sincerely!"
The mental devil tilted its head and thought for a moment. Then it remarked, "Wait a moment. Let me conclude your demands. You are hoping that I can develop human beings into the following form. They boast a gigantic head, with a capacity five to seven times larger than right now, so that there will be enough room for cooling and to buffer the blast of overwhelming information for a long time. Their heads may also have certain natural interfaces where multiple types of biochemical nerves and crystal cabins can be plugged. But their limbs and internal organs can be restricted to the minimal size or even be removed once and for all. All they need is a system of rather powerful reproductive organs that allow them to produce normal seeds for their offspring to be born. That's what you want, right?
"Or to put it in a more vulgar way, the new human being in your mind will be a head with a dick hanging below, correct?"
"Not correct," Professor Mo Xuan said gravely. "The new human being does not need external genitalia. After all, artificial insemination technology nowadays is quite mature. Sex can be conducted in the Spiriters' Realm. In the material world, the only thing that is needed will be tiny internal genitalia. This is the most energy-conserving and optimal form. Do you have any questions?"
The mental devil frowned. "My question is, what can I gain from all this?"
"Of course, there will be tremendous benefits," Professor Mo Xuan said. "The evolution of the new human beings cannot be completed without the help of the Blood Stripe Virus. By then, the Blood Stripe Virus will live inside the super brains of all new human beings and absorb intense emotional fluctuation without doing anything. Isn't this your greatest dream?"
Chapter 1778: Perfect Symbiosis |
Survival, reproduction, and expansion were the most primitive and powerful instincts for all lives.
The mental devil seemed to have been convinced by Professor Mo Xuan. As it was deep in thought, the evil brilliance inside its eyes was even more intense than before, and the bloody thorns around Li Yao were dancing much more actively, too.
Li Yao's screams became more and more hoarse, as if he had been completely suppressed by the mental devil.
Professor Mo Xuan thought that the mental devil was really tempted. He was overjoyed. "How about it? There's no need for me to deceive you at all. By then, I will only need the world in cyberspace, and the bodies of the hundreds of billions of people in the entire federation will be the most prosperous home for the Blood Stripe Virus. No. Not just hundreds of billions. As long as the two of us join our hands, it is definitely possible to accomplish what the Mad Armageddon started ten thousand years ago and sweep across the entire universe!"
The mental devil sniffed, giving neither approval nor disapproval. "Blood God, the Mad Armageddon. You are truly cocky enough to compare us to him. Getting to the bottom of it, the two of us are merely two bumpkin extraterrestrial devils at the edge of the cosmos…"
"There's no other way now. We have no retreat," Professor Mo Xuan replied, half calmly and half insanely. "The Pangu Civilization is about to be reborn. The Alliance of the Holy Covenant is the best evidence. We also saw a living member of the Pangu Clan personally on Kunlun!
"The Pangu Clan cut their emotions with secret techniques, transforming themselves and all their vassal species into cold, heartless machines, for the sole purpose of destroying the soil in which Chaos, or the extraterrestrial devils, thrived!
"Chaos, the extraterrestrial devils, and the ancient Blood Stripe Virus were the same in the eyes of the Pangu Civilization. They were all evil energy lives. The sole significance of the Pangu Civilization seemed to be annihilating energy civilizations!
"Now, the existence of the Star Glory Federation is no longer a secret. Since the Imperium of True Human Beings is capable enough of discovering this place and launching an expedition army, one day, the Alliance of the Holy Covenant will discover us and send an expedition army, too, with the will of Pangu!
"The Pangu Civilization is cold and merciless. Do you think that they will let us go? By then, in a relatively better case, everybody will be brainwashed, their feelings and emotions gone. Kindness or evil, beauty or ugliness, all the emotions will be washed. After that, all individuals will be resealed with the 'Three Fundamental Laws' and turned into the walking dead and the most perfect tools!
"In the worst case, the entire habitable planet will be demolished and burnt into a translucent glass ball with overwhelming fire that is beyond the imagination of any human being. Not just human beings, even bacteria and viruses, which you considered carriers in the past, will not survive!
"It is definitely going to happen!
"For the Imperium of True Human Beings, this place is a conquerable territory, a land of high wealth and value. At the very least, the civilians here are slaves that can be exploited. So, the Imperium of True Human Beings has come to swallow this place. They won't completely destroy all the habitable planets or kill everyone here.
"But for the Alliance of the Holy Covenant and the Pangu Civilization behind it, the edge of the cosmos, savaged by the extraterrestrial devils, is a highly-infected area of plagues. They will not come here to conquer the place but to purge it!
"Do you see it now? The extraterrestrial devils and human beings should be good friends fighting by each other's side. Or rather, they should be in a deeply integrated symbiotic relationship. Whether you consider yourself an extraterrestrial devil or a human being, this is no time for an inner struggle! Let's build a powerful Human 2.0 civilization to bring out the maximal power of the Grand-Unified Spiritual Nexus. That's the only chance for us to resist the 'purge' of the Pangu Civilization. We may even be able to march to the center of the cosmos before we are attacked and exterminate the reborn Pangu Civilization while it is still in its cradle!"
The mental devil and Li Yao both widened their eyes.
Professor Mo Xuan was not just shouting desperately; he was also persuading them heartily.
The mental devil thought for a long time and then mumbled, "Then, I'm more confused now. Was the ideology of 'absolute peace' you mentioned just now merely an excuse?
"Most of the extraterrestrial devils feed on the intense emotional fluctuations of living creatures. If all the worlds you build up in the virtual world are as peaceful and eventless as Peach Blossom Paradise, there won't be too much intense emotion at all!
"Also, you know that the Pangu Civilization is gradually reviving. They have even found a strong spokesperson named the Alliance of the Holy Covenant. After they finish the Imperium of True Human Beings, they will certainly come here and 'purge' the Star Glory Federation. Still, you are planning to build virtual words of 'absolute peace'? Won't it destroy everybody's fighting will and get them killed in the end?"
Professor Mo Xuan was silent for a moment. Then he burst into laughter.
In his laughter, the whole world was shaking violently again. The sky and the earth collapsed. The furiously burning village turned into red, dancing butterflies before they became shiny crimson crystal balls far, far away.
Now, Li Yao, the mental devil, and Professor Mo Xuan were in the middle of space.
Glittering stars were all around them. Upon closer inspection, every star was a crystal ball in a different color that contained all the things in the tiniest details. They were all splendid and wonderful small worlds!
Hundreds of crystal worlds were emanating eccentric brightness in the deep, profound universe. An extremely thin wire extended from every world and was connected to Professor Mo Xuan's body.
Clusters of brightness as tiny as millet were transmitted into Professor Mo Xuan's body from the crystal worlds through the wires, as if they were providing powerful energy for him incessantly!
The mental devil looked around and observed, "This is…"
"Welcome to the deepest part of the Spiriters' Realm. If it weren't for the fact that you are my own kind, I never would have opened this place to you."
Professor M
o Xuan smiled. The thousand wires that were connected to him shivered quickly and pulled a few crystal balls over.
Behind him, the crystal balls were enlarged nonstop, and bloody scenes of war were clearly visible. Together, they constituted a cruel, ruthless world of killing.
"Your question does have a point. The challenges that Li Yao proposed just now were quite reasonable, too," Professor Mo Xuan said. "If everybody lives in a peaceful, quiet paradise after they enter the Spiriters' Realm, and they can get anything they want without any trouble, wouldn't the spirits and will of mankind be utterly deformed and destroyed? Where will the civilization of mankind go? How can it defend itself when faced with the Pangu Civilization or other alien species?
"Hehe. Even someone like Li Yao was able to think of the simple question. How could it have escaped my attention?"
Li Yao grunted while he was struggling in pain. "Hey, hey, hey. Professor, what do you mean by 'someone like Li Yao'? You extraterrestrial devils are too mean!"
Professor Mo Xuan finally glanced at him and smiled. "Li Yao, don't worry. I've got everything planned out for the civilization of mankind!
"Distress is the source of progress, and contentment is the beginning of decadence. The Spiriters' Realm is certainly much more than meaningless entertainment. In the Spiriters' Realm, there are both peaceful, quiet, carefree places such as 'Peach Blossom Village' and places where resolution and courage will be honed. There are also places where you can study all kinds of latest technology and explore the external world!
"Do you see those worlds of killing? They are as perfectly real as Peach Blossom Village and even more real than reality! After the souls of ordinary people enter them and receive the battle training of the highest intensity, they can also grow into great warriors to defend the civilization of mankind one day. By then, their souls will be projected to advanced 'battle shells', like what we did in Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital. Together with the help of the tremendous battle artificial intelligences, they will be the great army for us to resist the Pangu Civilization and march into the sea of stars!"