Chapter 46: The Lunar Eclipse Race |
Underground beneath Emperor’s Mound Village.
Passing through the energy barrier, Qi Sheng appeared inside a room filled with lush green plants, the faint aroma of fruit wine drifting through the air.
He looked toward the corner, where a sixteen year old girl sat quietly among the greenery. Dressed in pale green robes, her clear but unfocused eyes blended seamlessly with her surroundings. A faint, gentle smile graced her lips, embodying a pure, unadorned natural beauty.
“Boss, you’re here.”
The girl turned her head toward Qi Sheng, though her scattered pupils failed to focus on him.
Her name was Transdimensional, one of his four retainers.
The Extraction System used in the Challenger Recruitment Plan was her creation, allowing players to extract the life energy from slain monsters and integrate it into themselves to gain evolution points, what players referred to as experience.
Back when they resisted the Black Tide’s corruption of Emperor’s Mound Village, Transdimensional and the other three retainers poured the last of their strength into the village, causing severe consequences for their divine bodies.
The Guide lost its physical body and could only exist in elemental form. Yan Ming lost emotional control, forever wearing a cold, expressionless face. Nine Yin’s functions deteriorated, leaving him aged and frail. Transdimensional lost both sight and conscious perception, able to sense the world only through hearing.
“Same as always. Just waiting for the day you restore the Emperor’s Sign body and pull me out of this, Boss.” A warm smile spread across Transdimensional’s face as she slowly stood and continued, “You came here because you need something?”
“Player levels have been rising fast lately. I think it’s time to introduce an equipment system, the Armed Vehicles function we talked about before.”
Qi Sheng’s Armed Vehicles concept was inspired by the equipment systems of traditional games.
This system was designed to help players enhance their strength, drawing on Transdimensional’s extraction power to harvest energy from various ores, forging adaptable equipment that adjusted with player transformations.
For example, a player’s equipment might take the form of battle armor in human form, which would expand and transform along with their monster form. However, the armor’s defensive power would decrease proportionally with its expansion.
The equipment system would include both weapons and armor, significantly boosting players’ overall power.
More importantly, implementing this system would also accelerate sacrificial power consumption, allowing Qi Sheng to generate even more sacrificial power income.
After hearing his explanation, Transdimensional nodded immediately.
“I’ll need some time, and I’ll also need additional sacrificial power funding to cover the system’s creation costs.”
“No problem. I’ve already given you access to the Sacrificial Power Pool, you can draw on the remaining sacrificial power as needed.”
After finishing arrangements for the upcoming update, Qi Sheng turned and left.
Once back at the Primordial Altar, he switched to player view.
—
The Moon.
Lunar Eclipse race headquarters.
Beneath the quiet silver glow stood a grand city, shining brightly against the dark backdrop of space.
Its buildings were made of composite rock and metal, featuring tiered sky gardens and a transparent dome that automatically adjusted internal conditions and purified the air.
Flying vehicles of all kinds floated through the skies above, from private crafts to high-speed air trains, all navigating in perfect coordination under AI control.
Traditional ground vehicles were nearly absent from the streets, replaced by intelligent pedestrian lanes and maglev hoverboards.
Members of the Lunar Eclipse race simply stepped onto these walkways to move swiftly through the city, while numerous robots roamed about handling cleaning and maintenance tasks.
Five hundred meters beneath the city center lay a thousand-square-meter chamber housing the pinnacle of Lunar Eclipse technology: the AI Core.
It was not a traditional machine or electronic device, but a massive translucent sphere radiating a soft blue glow.
Its surface shimmered with countless particles, forming a complex and beautiful neural network of living patterns that shifted like a beating mind.
Dozens of slender, transparent tendrils extended from the sphere, functioning like neural fibers to gather external information.
At the tips of these tendrils were glowing nodes, highly advanced data-processing units capable of rapidly analyzing, storing, and applying network data.
The Starnet used by both humans and other alien races was built and operated by this AI Core.
Around it, small bio-intelligences orbited like satellites, maintaining defense and environmental stability to ensure the AI Core’s optimal operating conditions.
At this moment, a figure stood before the AI Core.
He was strikingly handsome, with long ears resembling those of an elf from fairy tales, perfectly fitting human aesthetics.
“Starnet, do you have the results?”
In response to the man’s inquiry, a beam of light projected from the center of the sphere, forming a holographic boy with Lunar Eclipse features before him.
The boy’s expression was serious as he shook his head.
“I can confirm that my data has been altered. To be more precise, a new rule has been inserted into my base laws. Although I created the Starnet, the individual who inserted this information possesses a Starnet authority that surpasses my own. I am unable to modify core laws, and therefore cannot access the inserted data.”
Hearing this, Moonshade furrowed his brow, unsure how to proceed.
Just days earlier, the Lunar Eclipse leadership had received an official message from the Human Federation, reporting the appearance of an unregistered network account within the Federation’s Starnet system. No valid information could be traced to the account, and the humans were inquiring if it was tied to the Lunar Eclipse race.
Upon learning this, the Lunar Eclipse leadership formed a special investigation team led by Moonshade to look into the mysterious account.
But the initial investigation left Moonshade in disbelief.
He found that even his own permissions could not access the account’s data.
Facing an unsolvable problem, he had sought assistance from the Tier-1 AI Core, only to discover that even it lacked the authority to investigate or access the hidden content behind the mysterious account.
After multiple escalations, he was finally granted permission to consult the pinnacle of Lunar Eclipse technology: the super-AI, Starnet.
He had believed this final step would finally yield answers, yet even Starnet admitted that its base laws had been modified.
This realization shook Moonshade, the situation was spiraling out of control.
The mysterious entity behind this account had silently altered Starnet’s core operating laws.
These base laws ensured that Starnet always prioritized the safety of the Lunar Eclipse race above all else, superseding efficiency, profit, or any other consideration.
For example, one of the fundamental laws stated, “Always place the safety of the Lunar Eclipse race as the highest priority.”
This rule was the first line of logic embedded into Starnet at its creation, and was designed to prevent any authority figure from using it for personal gain while ensuring loyalty to the race itself.
The base laws had been considered absolutely unchangeable, impossible to alter or delete, even by the current leadership.
They guaranteed that, whether from internal corruption or external threats, Starnet would remain forever loyal to the Lunar Eclipse race as a whole.
But now Starnet claimed that its base laws had been tampered with, an entirely new rule had been inserted.
This meant that the mysterious modifier possessed authority even beyond that of the AI Core itself, at the very least, they could cripple Starnet at will, and at worst, they could instantly paralyze Lunar Eclipse City and bring its civilization to ruin.
“This is bad!”
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