The mental devil slowly unfolded a video in Li Yao's soul, which was a picture of Chu Zhixiao being alone with the spider tank on a certain day in the past.
Although most of the memory chips on the spider tank had been damaged and melted due to the intense blast in the explosion, part of the data was still preserved, except that the picture was hazy and illusory, making it more like a mottled memory.
In the picture, 'Major' Chu Zhixiao was sitting by the window. There were starry lights outside, which seemed to be very high up. There was no telling whether she was in the skyscrapers of a certain planet or in the iron organs of a super enormous starship.
Half of her face was covered in shadows, and the other half was enshrouded in smoke. Next to her was an enormous ashtray that had been polished and cut off from a cannonball shell, which was filled with cigarette butts that were still burning on their own.
"She's smoking?"
There was no doubt that tobacco was the Temptation of the Extraterrestrial Demons.
If the people of the Holy League were pursuing peace of mind, they would certainly accept the illumination of the holy light instead of seeking the help of tobacco.
The Holy League did not produce tobacco itself. The cigarettes that Chu Zhixiao was smoking were the goods of the Imperium that were captured from the battlefield, too. The captain of the yaksha squad was truly a maverick and fearless person.
However, that was not the important point.
The important point was that the round, fat, clumsy, and hilarious spider tank was crouching before Chu Zhixiao like a pet pig. It was even asking in a very innocent voice that sounded no older than ten, "Major, Major, you seem to be very sad. What's wrong?"
BOOM!
Li Yao felt that a thunderbolt was exploding deep inside his soul.
He felt that his every consciousness was covered in goosebumps!
"Why —"
Li Yao found it hard to believe. "Why did the woman set her spider tank to sound so childish? In other words, if I were to pretend to be this spider tank, would I have to sound like a primary school student, too? "
"That's not all," the mental devil said.
The mental devil said, "Keep watching."
In the picture, Chu Zhixiao ignored the spider tank's concern. She was still smoking with a gloomy face, staring at the rising smoke in a daze now and then.
"Major, major …"
The Spider Chariot's voice was even sweeter than before. It wriggled its body clumsily and put its forelimbs on Chu Zhixiao's calf. "Don't be sad. Come and play with me. I'm so bored!"
"I …"
Li Yao's soul ripples were almost frozen, like the muscles on one's face that were cramping uncontrollably due to extreme shock.
"Why don't I dance for you, Major?"
In the picture, the spider chariot took two steps back. Its four front limbs were raised high, and it was supported by only two hind limbs. It stood up like a bear.
It spun shakily, but after two rounds, it lost its balance. Amidst a series of exclamations, it fell on its back with its bare abdomen facing the sky, and its six limbs trembling chaotically.
"Help, Major!"
The Spider Chariot let out an exaggerated cry. "I can't flip over, hurry and help me!"
Chu Zhixiao finally couldn't hold it in any longer. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He put out the cigarette and walked over.
"Haha. I saw the major smile!"
The Spider Chariot, which had turned over, said delightedly, "The major's smile is so beautiful. You should smile more often!"
The picture came to an end.
In fact, there was more, but Li Yao could not stand it anymore.
The awkward silence and the ripples that were almost frozen were spreading out when he and the mental devil looked at each other.
"What the f * ck … is going on exactly?"
Li Yao lowered his voice, but he could not hold back his confusion and fury. "Why did the super elite of the Inquisition, who is known as the 'ultimate weapon', who has slain countless experts of the Imperium on the battlefield, and who is known as the 'Goddess of Slaughter', set her portable magical equipment in such a way?"
"Well … It's hard to say," the mental devil said.
"First of all, the Spider Chariot of this model is not a real artificial intelligence. It means that all its behavior patterns and interaction interfaces are set according to the will of its master. The fact that it said something like 'the major's smile is so beautiful and you should smile more often means that Chu Zhixiao knows that she is beautiful when she smiles subconsciously and hopes that she can smile more often.
"You can simply interpret the relationship between Chu Zhixiao and the Spider Chariot as the relationship between us. The interaction pattern of the Spider Chariot reflects her other personality, which is entirely different from the 'Goddess of Slaughter'. She is a … well, an innocent little girl.
"It's quite understandable. She was an innocent little girl in the first place, and the blood of heretics flowed in her body. However, her childhood was deprived too early, and her real self was suppressed. Therefore, after controlling part of the permissions, she created such a 'big toy' for herself in order to relieve the pain and depression in her heart. It's perfectly normal!
"As for whether or not the leadership of the Holy League knew about it, they must've been aware of it. Judging from the settings of the 'Yaksha Squad', they were part of a certain enormous experiment in the first place. How could they not know such a thing? However, such a trivial matter as creating a toy should've been within the tolerance range of the leadership.
"As a result, it turned out to be what we are seeing right now."
"Therefore —"
Li Yao ignored the messy origins, depression, and personality projections and went straight to the core of the problem. "If we were to lurk next to Chu Zhixiao in the appearance of the Spider Chariot, we would have to hold our voices and speak like primary school students. We would even have to dance for her when she was upset, right?"
"The dance is not very difficult," the mental devil said.
The mental devil said, "I've analyzed all the voiceprint data of the spider tank, the vocabulary, and the movement track of the dance. I can simulate it 100%. Rest assured."
"Rest assured my ass! The problem is not whether or not the dance can be simulated 100%!"
Li Yao finally burst into fury. "I am the Father of the Nation of the Xing Yao Federation, the Black Wind King of the Imperium of True Human Beings, and the best expert of the Pangu universe! Even the Speaker of the Federation had to wash my feet, and His Majesty of the Imperium of True Human Beings had to call me 'Big Brother' respectfully. Xiao Xuance, Lu Zui, Skeleton Dragon, the resurrected Pangu, and even Blackstar the Great were all blown into smithereens by me! 'Vulture Li Yao' is exactly such a strong, dominating, and invincible man. But after more than a hundred years in the sea of stars, I have to pretend to be such — such an idiot in the end. Isn't it too humiliating? "
"Since when did the Speaker of the Federation have to wash your feet?"
The mental devil said, "Isn't it the other way around?"
"Shut up. It doesn't matter who washes whose feet. What matters is that I have the dignity as the Father of the Federation, the Black Wind King, the best expert of the Pangu universe, and a virus of a higher dimension!"
Li Yao said angrily, "What can't be tolerated? With my identity and position today, if I do such a thing in the picture, how can I show my face in public?"
"However, lurking next to Chu Zhixiao and following the clues by 'hunting the Puppet King' is the most convenient and most promising way to lock onto the leadership of the Holy League."
The mental devil said, "Think about it carefully. Judging from the data we collected in the past few days, the main-force fleets of the Holy League are gathering and relocating nonstop. Fleets from the central worlds of the Holy League have joined the iron torrent one after another. They are truly out in full strength.
"The great war that will decide the fate of the center of the cosmos is right around the corner. We don't have much time to waste.
"Don't you like to say 'for the future of the civilization of mankind, for the peace at the center of the cosmos, for the fate of the Xing Yao Federation'? Then, for everything, it's not so unacceptable to sacrifice your image, is it? Besides, you don't have much of an image to speak of in the first place! "
"What did you say?"
Li Yao's soul was sharpening like electric arcs.
"That's exactly the case. You even played Wuying Qi's short videos in front of the entire universe. Do you think that you are not notorious enough?"
"… Fine."
Pondering for a long time, Li Yao was frustrated. "Are there more pictures of Chu Zhixiao and the spider tank together? Show them to me. I'll think about it."
"Yes."
The mental devil played a few more videos.
In one of the videos, Chu Zhixiao was fighting a few ghouls, while the spider tank was cheering behind him.
"Come on! Come on! Major, you're so awesome! Major, you're so awesome! I admire you so much!"
There was also a video in which Spider Tank used a paintbrush to draw a smiley face with a crooked mouth and slanted eyes on its shell. It suddenly jumped in front of Chu Zhixiao. "Major!"
The other dozens of videos were the same.
Li Yao: "…"
The mental devil: "…"
Li Yao: "I've made up my mind to abandon the infiltration and change to the second target. Don't try to persuade me. If you do, we won't be brothers anymore!"
The mental devil: "Fine. Fine. The infiltration plan is indeed more difficult than before. Let's just look for the second target and waste a few days. It can't be helped."
"Very good. Then, let's retreat in secret."
Li Yao said, "Before the spider tank is sent to Chu Zhixiao."
"Wait."
The mental devil's voice suddenly became a hundred times weirder than before. "I've found a new video."
"So what?"
Li Yao said, "I've seen enough of such videos. I'd rather die than surrender!"
"No. Look at this."
The mental devil retrieved the files of the spider tank and displayed a new picture in Li Yao's soul.
In the picture, a man who was tall and slim, with a face as smooth as an egg, was smiling at Chu Zhixiao and the spider tank.
"My name is Li Yao. 'Vulture Li Yao'."
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