Li Yao was confused. His left hand seemed to have jumped subconsciously, and several red stripes appeared on the back of his hand. He could not help but touch his cheek and ask suspiciously, "What did you say?"
The silver ball beamed out a streak of brilliance and scanned the red stripes on the back of Li Yao's left hand quickly, but it seemed to have found nothing. Ignoring his question, it went on in a tranquil voice. "Five thousand years ago, when the apocalypse arrived, the Blood Stripe Virus lurked inside the meteoroids and attacked the three habitable planets of the Flying Star Sector!
"Faced with the fatal threat of the apocalypse, the maximum potential of the civilization of the Flying Star Sector was triggered. The technologies in all aspects, including the crystal processors and the Spiritual Nexus, were developing rapidly. The competition of beliefs between the 'homers' and the 'spacers' raised a storm in our society, too!
"The extraterrestrial devils were not simple viruses of crystal processors after all. Other than the highly-developed crystal processors and the Spiritual Nexus, the intense feelings of human beings were their best source of energy, too.
"Therefore, in the great change that had never been seen in the past five thousand years, the ancient viruses of crystal processors were reborn. In the intense information collision between the homers and the spacers, they reconstructed their assembly language, algorithms, and databases!
"When the apocalypse arrived, the ancient viruses of crystal processors lurked inside the starships of the spacers and fled to the sea of stars together. It was because the spacers were more technologically advanced, and their crystal processors were more suitable for carriers of such extraterrestrial devils. On the other hand, Iron Plateau and the other two habitable planets after the apocalypse must've been devastated and destroyed. They would've been in the wilderness and obscurity for a long time. Not just the Spiritual Nexus, even the point-to-point radio transmission was extremely difficult. For such extraterrestrial devils, it was no different from a barren land.
"You know what happened next. In the five thousand years that followed, the extraterrestrial devils that were similar to crystal processors and the Blood Stripe Virus that were similar to biological viruses lived in peace. They were both in the embryonic stage of their rebirth, and their hunting ranges were entirely different. Naturally, they minded their own business.
"Iron Plateau belongs to the Blood Stripe Virus. The Blood Stripe Virus spreads among creatures through viruses, bacteria, and parasites through their body fluids.
"The vast sea of stars, on the other hand, belongs to such extraterrestrial devils. With the crystal processors as the carriers, the spiritual waves between starships as the channels of infection, and the feelings of human beings as the food, they slowly perfect their language, algorithms, and databases, upgrading themselves from a simple crystal processor virus into something else that is more complicated, advanced, and … indescribable.
"There is no 'consciousness' that drives it to do that. Perhaps it's just like how the unicellular creatures in the early years develop into multicellular cells and become more complex and advanced. Everything is the instinct of life!"
Li Yao listened attentively, as if he was deeply attracted by the story of the silver ball. He did not notice that the bloody stripes on the back of his hand were more and more numerous, denser and more and more twisted. They were spreading along his wrist to his arm, shoulder, and heart, like deadly vipers that were sneaking under his skin!
The scene was reflected in the brilliance released by the silver ball, which made the brilliance even more profound.
It spoke faster, further attracting Li Yao's attention. "Supposedly, such an evolution might've taken thousands of years to complete, and it was even possible that it would've been discovered by human beings before the evolution was completed and obliterated by the 'antivirus telepathic thoughts'. However, the unexpected arrival of a certain person accelerated the process, which was Xiao Tianbao, the 'star child' of the Imperium of True Human Beings!
"Hehe. Ten thousand years is too long after all, and there have been two dynasties in the meantime. During Blackstar the Great's usurpation of the supreme power at the center of the cosmos, countless precious files of the Star Ocean Imperium were lost, including the files that described the dangers of space jumps.
"The space travelers of the Imperium of True Human Beings did not know the first thing about the dangers of passing through wormholes. With the absurd courage of the ignorant, they were bold enough to take off their fleshly bodies, which were the 'shells' that could naturally resist the extraterrestrial devils. For the sake of convenience and economy, they simply used their naked souls for interstellar travel!
"I don't know what happened to other star children. Perhaps the Imperium of True Human Beings had new secret arts that could resist the scourge of the extraterrestrial devils. However, the star child whose pseudonym was' Xiao Tianbao 'encountered a cosmic storm when he arrived in the Flying Star Sector. His soul was torn apart, and he happened to run into an extraterrestrial devil that was wandering in the area.
"Therefore, the extraterrestrial devil snuck into the depths of his soul without any hesitation, just like how it snuck into the brains of countless space residents in the past.
"But this time, the extraterrestrial devil immediately discovered the anomaly of Xiao Tianbao. The guy was not a space resident but from the Imperium of True Human Beings, a mysterious country at the center of the cosmos. Also, the Imperium of True Human Beings boasted more advanced crystal processors and a more developed Spiritual Nexus than the space residents did.
"Everybody strives for higher places, and so do the extraterrestrial devils. Compared to the barren land such as the Flying Star Sector, the Imperium of True Human Beings was a natural paradise where cows and sheep could be easily spotted.
"What was even more amazing was that the star child, Xiao Tianbao, had been planning to open a space gate that could connect the Imperium with the Flying Star Sector in the first place. The extraterrestrial devil did not need to bother to control him at all. As long as he was given some guidance and guidance, he would be able to kill two birds with one stone!
"The Grand Illusionary Soldier Project and the super crystal processor, the 'star brain', were mostly the work of the extraterrestrial devils. Otherwise, how could the star child, Xiao Tianbao, as a soldier of the special forces of the Imperium, have grasped such advanced crystal processors and remote battle simulation technology?"
Li Yao was slightly dazed. It was true that the star child, Xiao Tianbao, was merely a scout released by the Imperium of True Human Beings. How could a soldier of the special forces have grasped so many advanced technologies?
At first, he had thought that the people of the Imperium were all that tough. He had even been deeply scared of them. However, after he met the real natives of the Imperium such as Su Changfa, he felt that they were just two nostrils and one mouth. There was nothing special about them except that their level was slightly higher!
It was not until today, when the silver ball revealed the answer that Li Yao finally saw the light. As it turned out, it was the work of the extraterrestrial devils who specialized in crystal processors. Everything made sense now!
"Before, the whole plan had been going well. It wouldn't take long for the Flying Star Sector to be completely conquered by the Imperium, and the extraterrestrial devils would move to a larger hunting ground, too. However —"
The silver ball finally revealed some human feelings. Pausing for a moment, it regained its tranquility. "You know very well what happened later. The hundred-year plan failed. The star child was stopped. Even the 'star brain' that the extraterrestrial devil was hiding in was swallowed by Professor Mo Xuan. The extraterrestrial devil then entered Professor Mo Xuan's body without knowing what happened!
"It was the most terrible living environment that the extraterrestrial devil had ever experienced. It had abundant experience in infiltrating both human brains and crystal processors. However, as it happened, Professor Mo Xuan's life form was neither a normal human being nor a common crystal processor. It was something in between the two. His liquid metal shell was almost impenetrable!
"Besides, after swallowing the star brain, Professor Mo Xuan's computational ability soared. He had always been a man with a strong soul. Once he discovered the existence of the extraterrestrial devil, he would've certainly tried to write a set of antidote telepathic thoughts to obliterate it!
"Therefore, the extraterrestrial devil could only hold back and lurk in the deepest part of Professor Mo Xuan's soul. Like all viruses that encounter a harsh environment, just like what you are doing right now, it hibernated, lurked, and waited!"
Li Yao widened his eyes. Streaks of blood had already passed through his left shoulder blade, climbed along his neck to his cheek, and even drilled into his left eyeball, making his left eyeball blossom with horrifying bloody brilliance.
But he seemed to have sensed nothing. He waved his hands anxiously and asked, "What are you talking about? What are you talking about exactly?"
Ripples of excitement spread out on the surface of the silver ball. "The extraterrestrial devil waited for decades. During the wait, it released the information on the crystal processors and the Spiritual Nexus that it had accumulated for thousands of years into Professor Mo Xuan's memory database without anyone noticing. As it turned out, Professor Mo Xuan was greatly interested in the studies of the 'grand-unified Spiritual Nexus' and 'virtual life'. Eventually, the 'Virtual Spirits Sector Project' was born.
"To be honest, the collapse of the Virtual Spirits Sector was an accident. Even with the abilities of the extraterrestrial devil, it was impossible for it to cause such a great collapse.
"However, now that the accident had happened, and the souls of Professor Mo Xuan, Su Changfa, Lu Qingchen, and the rest of them had all been ripped apart, the extraterrestrial devil certainly wouldn't have let go of such a great opportunity.
"No. It was not swallowed. It was only trying to meld them deeper.
"Besides, under the circumstances at that time, without emergency treatment, it was possible that Professor Mo Xuan, Su Changfa, and the extraterrestrial devil itself would've been mired in the collapsing Virtual Spirits Sector and completely obliterated!
"Since everybody's soul is broken and cannot be pieced together at all, with the help of the extraterrestrial devils, we can combine everybody's incomplete souls and turn them into … a brand-new being!"
Li Yao was dumbfounded. "Everyone's incomplete souls were combined?"
"Don't be so surprised. If the limbs, the heart, the liver, the spleen, the lungs, and the kidneys can be transplanted, why can't the souls be transplanted?"
The silver ball said. "I have never lied to you. I am indeed Mo Xuan himself. However, my souls were too seriously wounded, and I had to transplant some of the things that originally belonged to the star child, Xiao Tianbao, Su Changfa, and the rest of them into your body.
"The so-called souls are just an imaginary number. Perhaps there are all kinds of absurd theories in the world of ancient Cultivators, but in my opinion, they refer to memories, beliefs, personalities, feelings, ways of thinking, and so on.
"At that time, Professor Mo Xuan's soul was the least wounded. About half of his souls had been lost. Also, the extraterrestrial devil had been living in his body for decades. Naturally, my soul was the dominant one.
"Su Changfa's soul, on the other hand, was dying. The star child Xiao Tianbao could not have been more dead. It was a good opportunity to recycle their remaining souls.
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