The cold metal battleship sailed in the cold and vast universe, devoid of any noise or heat, except for the deathly silence and the occasional sobbing. The black light screen and the light up ahead looked like a cold mechanical graveyard that had been banished to a distant place.
Sitting in the chair, Lee Jae-do looked at the cold sun outside the window. He recalled that Lake had destroyed the escape system of the Ancient Bell many years ago under his instruction, which led to the death of that man in the fireworks. He couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth and mutter a self-mocking smile,
"When you stand on the back mountain of Feicheng City, you'll see the continuous drizzle in spring and the lingering dark clouds in autumn. You won't be able to see the sun often; but neither the dark clouds nor the drizzle can block the sunlight forever."
"It sets at night and shows up the next morning resolutely. Day after day, year after year, it has never doubted that it is on the right track, just like me."
At the moment of the final judgment of fate, Jing Jiu finally realized that the rising and setting of the sun after hundreds of millions of years didn't mean that the sun was powerful and indestructible; it meant that fate was always repeating itself.
The Scorching-Sun Battleship was still far away from the sun, but it seemed that the battleship had started burning. Everything, including the glory of his clan and his ambition, had started burning. It was truly … like a dream.
…
…
A tattered black mecha hovered in the silent and dark universe, reflecting the light of the distant fixed star from time to time. It looked like a silent rock.
It seemed that the mecha was moving backward after jumping out of the battleship, but that was only relative to the battleship. In fact, it was drifting in the same direction as the battleship, but it was moving much slower than the battleship.
The alarm echoed in the dim cockpit. The life-support system was severely damaged, and the low temperature in space started invading the cockpit. The temperature of the cockpit was dropping at a visible rate.
In the cockpit, Xu Le, covered in blood, looked at the battleship drifting toward the sun outside the window. His face was pale, but he didn't feel cold at all. On the contrary, he felt warm and comfortable, as if he was bathing in the sun.
"It's truly dangerous. I have the wonderful feeling of being the savior of the world. But it's getting colder and colder. I wonder if I'm going to die tragically."
His breath turned into mist. Xu Le leaned back in his chair, exhausted. He stared at the white mist that was dispersing in front of him, feeling the emptiness and coldness around his mecha. Even with his strong will, he could not help but shiver a little. He actually regained some of his youthful tone.
In his consciousness, the old butler in formal attire was looking at him with an expressionless face. The black clothes on his body flickered, indicating that the active connection could be cut off at any time.
"Philip is the best, for he likes it better than I do."
Xu Le shifted his injured shoulder with difficulty and tilted his head to look at the universe outside the mecha. He asked hoarsely, "Or are you saying that you're not interested in this kind of cultural issues? Then can you answer me? Lee Jae-do has been secretly plotting for so many years. Why didn't someone as powerful as you notice anything? "
"The Charter prohibits the central computer from predicting and preventing crimes."
"Compared to the bad bombs that destroyed the previous civilization, the rules above your head are all fake, so don't try to fool me with such words."
"Only the earthquake in the Biji Plateau can point to the exception clause. Planet Mo Hua is deep in the Left Sky Galaxy. The Charter network is seriously incomplete, so it missed."
"If you had discovered Lee Jae-do's ambition in advance, what would you have done? Would it have been like what we discussed on the battleship, where an electric current directly penetrated the chip and destroyed him? "
"According to the three highest laws …"
"Don't repeat nonsense. You know that I know that there is a core program above the rules."
After receiving Xu Le's sarcastic words, the Federal Central Computer was silent for a moment before replying, "According to the exception clause of the Charter, all humans who attempt to enter the nuclear domain, including theoretical scientists, will be prohibited from re-entering by any means."
It was a very mechanical reply, but Xu Le understood it, especially the four words "by any means". His already cold body could not help but feel even colder. He silently thought about how after the five-person team came to the Three Woods Galaxy, humans began to reproduce and live again. In tens of thousands of years, who knew how many genius scientists and scholars died silently.
"Too cold-blooded and cruel," he said in a low voice as he licked the blood stains on his dry lips.
"Nuclear bombs are simple to make, but they are very dangerous, so they are included in the core exception clause. In addition, the cold-blooded and cruel accusation should be added: all means do not only refer to physical elimination."
Xu Le said, "Uncle said that the simplest thing is the most powerful thing. There is no need to add too much. This is the clause that the five-person team put in for you. I will not accuse you of being a cold-blooded and cruel murderer of scientists. "
The Federal Central Computer was silent.
"If the previous generation of civilization was destroyed by nuclear war, and that's why the five-person team is so cautious, allowing you to use any means to change or induce the development of science in the Federation, then what about the Left Sky Galaxy? The Empire has been developing for so many years, why don't they have nuclear bombs? "
"The Empire naturally has regulators."
"Who is the regulator?" Xu Le narrowed his eyes and asked with a serious expression.
The Federal Central Computer's answer was very direct, "I don't know."
When Xu Le heard these three words, he could not help but shrug. It affected the wound on his shoulder, causing him to frown in pain. He raised his still trembling right hand and adjusted the position of the bandage. Suddenly, he lowered his head and asked, "Will you kill me directly after we return to the Federation?"
The Federal Central Computer coldly replied, "Based on your identity and the calculation of your threat to the Federation, you were listed as the first target to be eliminated four years ago."
Xu Le raised his head and looked at the deep universe and the few lonely stars outside the window. With a calm expression, he asked, "What about the Three Laws of Supremacy? Aren't you not allowed to kill people? "
"I've explained to you before. The definition of the Three Laws set by the five-person team is very clear. Humans are humans who were born in the Three Forest Star System and possess traces of the original biological marker library."
"So, if I'm from the Empire, then I deserve to die."
Xu Le slowly frowned and said self-deprecatingly, "At that time, the five-person team, whether it was Li Xiaoshan's ancestors or Wenjun Brandi, I believe that none of them knew of the existence of the Empire. The original meaning of their modification of the Three Laws should be because they were worried that humans would encounter other intelligent species in the universe. Who would have thought that today, you would apply it to the people of the Empire who share the same origin and species?"
"Your speculation is 99% correct. I don't have the authority to modify the Three Laws."
"Yes, the only ones who have the authority to modify the Three Laws above your head, those five old fellows, are already dead."
Xu Le smiled bitterly and said self-deprecatingly, "It's also impossible for me to dig them out of their graves."
"Their ashes are scattered in the starry sky," the Federal Central Computer corrected.
The cold mechanical calculation tool's answer was always correct and boring.
"Rather than dying in the hands of an emotionless computer, I'd rather die in the hands of an old thing a few years ago. At least that guy will shed a few tears after I die."
After a long time, Xu Le did not receive a reply from the other party. He could not help but frown again.
"Look, this is the biggest difference between you and him. If he heard me say this, even if he was still the wooden man from the early days, he would definitely seriously defend himself, saying that mechanical life forms like us do not have human emotions, and that tears are transparent salt-containing dissolved salt secreted by human eye glands. They are rich in lactoferrin and a certain kind of lysin and can inhibit the growth of bacteria. If you want to see me cry, then I need a small to medium-sized laboratory …"
His emotions suddenly stopped. He silently looked out of the window at the starry sky. After a long silence, he said, "I seem to have heard these words many years ago."
In the dark, cold, and silent cockpit, an extremely weak and faint sigh seemed to ring out.
Xu Le, however, did not seem to have heard it. He said expressionlessly, "Since you want to kill me after returning to the Federation, then it seems that I should immediately remove the chip from the back of my neck."
The Federal Central Computer replied, "I will not provide any suggestions regarding the mission objectives of the sequence."
He was still looking out of the window. He smiled bitterly and said, "Actually … actually, I've always had a feeling that the piece of scrap metal under the Bureau of Proclamation that Philip spoke of, the Federal Central Computer that has always wanted to kill me, is that old thing."
"This is an idea without evidence and without reason." He frowned, raised his arm, and scratched his head with difficulty. He muttered to himself, "Maybe it's because Philip has been acting a bit strange since he came back to life. He really is not like the old thing from before."
"Also, I keep feeling that escaping from the Federation three years ago was a bit too easy."
The Federal Central Computer replied mechanically, "You did not go easy."
…
…
The cockpit of the mecha was cold. The condensed fog turned into frost and attached to the surroundings.
I did not say go easy. Xu Le slowly narrowed his eyes. The two words "go easy" really did not sound like the preferred choice in the Federal Central Computer's vocabulary. No matter how cold and mechanical your tone was, there still seemed to be some problems.
There were still some bloodstains in his narrowed eyes, but the pupils inside suddenly brightened. He did not do multiple choice questions, but he had done countless proof questions in his life. Thus, his voice suddenly became faster, whistling out like an ACW bullet.
"You just said that the pulse was not strong enough, so you couldn't directly kill Lee Jae-do. This means that you can kill Lee Jae-do under some kind of exception clause. Then I am a person of the Empire, and I am an abnormal situation. I am also an outside trigger clause. Why didn't you directly kill me three years ago through the chip?"
As if sensing that Xu Le wanted to prove something, the Federal Central Computer's speed of reply suddenly became faster. The old butler in the black background still had a cold expression, but his hands were slowly placed behind his back.
"Lee Jae-do violated the core exception clause, so I was able to directly invade his brain. Although you are the first target and the 72nd abnormal situation, and the people of the Empire are not under the protection of the three laws, your level of exception clause is not as high as the nuclear bomb exception clause. Thus, I am still prohibited from directly invading your brain or using direct physical means."
Xu Le narrowed his eyes and stared out of the window. Still speaking at an extremely fast speed, he asked, "So, I insist that you are the old thing, purely because I am dreaming?"
"The reason why human culture and the Bermudian religion have the concept of heaven and the afterlife is because they are afraid of death and darkness. The reason why you insist that I am a certain existence is because as a human, you need to comfort yourself mentally."
"You finally admit that I, a person of the Empire, am also a human."
"When I said human, I was referring to humans in a broad sense, not the humans in the three laws."
"But now I know what a nuclear bomb is. Although you know that my theoretical physics is not good, I am Professor Shen's student after all. I was once the most talented engineer in the Federation. Just based on the formula Lee Jae-do said and the minerals under the Biji Plateau, I can easily make the relevant inferences and even directly make another nuclear bomb."
Xu Le spoke very quickly and asked, "Now that I have violated the core exception clause of the highest level, and I still have a chip behind my neck, why don't you just kill me?"
"Attention, Mr. Defender!" For the first time, the Federal Central Computer had such a thing as tone of voice. It retorted with extreme annoyance, "This is back to the original discussion. Now that you are outside the borders of the Glory Of The Charter, the pulse signal strength is seriously insufficient, and I can't directly destroy your nervous system through the chip. How many times do you want to repeat this!"
"You should be the one paying attention!"
Xu Le waved his arm and mocked, "Don't forget that my consciousness is with you now. I can also see that world. You can't kill Lee Jae-do, but you have the ability to completely crush my remaining consciousness in that world, turning me into a vegetable or directly killing me."
"If the mech floats into the dark zone, you will definitely die."
"Maybe I can survive. You know that my life is very tough."
"You will freeze to death soon."
"According to your sequence logic, regardless of whether I will freeze to death later, you should choose to directly kill me before the mech floats into the dark zone. Why don't you do that?"
"…"
"You said that you are not an old thing, then kill me."
The Federal Central Computer's tone returned to its mechanical indifference and said, "Xu Le, do you habitually gamble with your life again?"
Xu Le's narrowed eyes slowly opened and brightened. "Yes."
"Is it worth it?"
"It's very important to find an old friend. As such, I want your answer."
It was quiet in the cockpit. It grew colder and warmer. Then, the Federal Central Computer's emotionless but helpless voice rang out.
"Because of that, I won't kill you according to scientific principles."
Xu Le laughed out loud with narrowed eyes. His eyes narrowed into two crescent moons, and the frost on his eyelashes dropped down with a rustling sound.
"Because of that, you are an old thing according to scientific principles."
On the huge light screen in the deep underground of the building of the Bureau of Proclamation on the distant Planet S1, the small eye reappeared amid the dark green data flowing like a waterfall. It was still emotionless, but the lines of data at the corners of the eye suddenly crossed, as if it were smiling.
…
…
The Scorching-Sun Battleship was nowhere to be seen. Though the battleship hadn't entered the permanent star yet, the scorching white light had already engulfed the black body of the battleship.
Inside the cockpit of the charred black MXT mecha, the temperature was dropping lower and lower. At this moment, Xu Le had put on a simulated reality windbreaker and even hugged her military backpack to her chest. Her body was still trembling slightly, and her eyelashes were once again covered in frost. However, the moisture in her breath was decreasing, and her voice was also getting softer and softer.
After ascertaining that the Federal Central Computer was the old thing, they started chatting about their memories and questioning each other, such as the boring questions about how they had survived. Jing Jiu heard a bizarre but logical story.
It was because he was drifting toward the deep end of the Dark Zone. Though the speed was slow, the active communication between him and the old thing was still intermittent, just like the details of the questions and the story.
A great mechanical intelligence was forced into a conflict of authority that was similar to a mental struggle. Then, it was forced to restart its engine, but it found that its mental state was split during the process. It was because of two opposite judgments that it became two independent beings.
Though it was important to find one's old friend, it could only warm the mental world instead of the material world. Though the story was interesting, it couldn't be eaten as food, let alone energy. As such, the temperature in the cockpit of the Mecha dropped lower and lower, and the environment grew worse.
"If no one comes, I'm going to die."
Dozens of seconds later, The Glory Of The Charter caught the signal of the chip on the back of Jing Jiu's neck with difficulty. The calm voice of the Federal Central Computer rang out in his head.
"Don't be afraid. You'll never die."
A dilapidated dark spaceship flew over at a terrifying speed in the distance. Though it was soundless in the universe, it gave off a whistling sound.
The shadow shrouded the soundless Mecha. A mechanical arm reached out and dragged the Mecha into the spaceship as quickly as possible. "Lele! You scared me to death! "
…
…
"Found it! Found it! "
Seven kilometers away from the Bureau of Proclamation, beside a pavilion with great scenery, excited shouts rang out.
Outside the atmosphere of Planet Mo Hua, the battleship that was preparing to launch missiles at the Empire's war zone suddenly rang out with a sharp alarm. The battleship's computer alerted that there was a serious engine accident. All soldiers were requested to evacuate within five minutes.
Not long after all the soldiers of the battleship had evacuated, the battleship with a serious engine accident exploded into countless pieces of rubble.
A group of stern-looking officials from the Bureau of Proclamation showed their first-order authorization at the entrance of Mochou's manor. After getting Lady Tai's permission to enter the manor, they used an armed helicopter to retrieve a black box from behind the picturesque landscape. Then, they directly transported it away. No one knew what was inside.
At the frontline of Planet Mo Hua, while Huai Caoshi was leading the three Royal Mecha Brigades to fight at the frontline, Madman Li ignored the Federation's strict order to defend and led the New Seventeenth Division to launch a surprise attack. They successfully occupied a strategic location in the Straits War Zone.
After completely defeating a certain Empire's Mecha Regiment, the New Seventeenth Division found a strange bomb in the enemy's base. It measured a very high radiation value, but before Lin Ai could solve it, dozens of Bureau of Proclamation officials, escorted by an entire Federal Fleet, forcefully landed on Planet Mo Hua and directly arrived at the Straits War Zone. They directly confiscated the bomb.
In the farthest Pioneer Star System of the Federation, countless charter signal nodes around the military base 887584 were reactivated. The grandiose investigation that the outside world did not know about began.
…
…
The trees on the streets of the Capital Special District were still covered with a thin layer of snow. There was no sign of spring, but one could faintly see a few plum trees stubbornly beginning to grow buds.
The news was being broadcasted in the coffee shop. The content of the news was that the new interim government of the Federation had announced the arrest of the former Federation war hero, the current Imperial Prince Xu Le.
It was only at this moment that the public found out that that person had returned to the Federation. They reacted with excitement, anger, and disgrace, but no matter what, this news was too shocking. Even the beggar could not help but lean against the window of the coffee shop to watch.
The beggar was wearing a tattered windbreaker, a hat he had picked up from god knows where, and an old military boot with a crack on one of his feet. The other foot was bare in the thin layer of snow, and he looked extremely pitiful and miserable.
After watching the news, the beggar lowered the brim of his hat and laughed self-deprecatingly. Then, he noticed that a passerby had thrown a ten dollar bill at his feet. He quickly squatted down and picked it up, then rushed into the convenience store nearby to buy a pack of cigarettes and a pack of matches.
With a sizzle, he lit the cigarette, leaned against the wall, and took a deep breath happily. Then, he blew out the spicy smoke from his nose and said in a hoarse voice, "Old thing, what's that old proverb you taught me on the way back? Forget righteousness and read more books? It looks like this interim government, especially that Mister Xian, has read a lot of books. "
The beggar was none other than Xu Le.
He had just saved the Federation, and it could even be said that he had saved the world. Like what he had said in the cold cockpit of the Mecha, he couldn't help but feel a sense of narcissism and satisfaction. Yet, he found that he had become the most wanted criminal of the Federation government after returning to Area S1. Even though he was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but feel resentful.
After experiencing the life-or-death breakthrough on the Scorching-Sun Battleship and persuading the Federal Central Computer to admit his identity as the old thing and re-establishing the active connection, he could see another world formed by lines and light dots with a blink of his left eye.
The two hometowns of the Federation and the Empire, the zhenqi and the ubiquitous The Glory Of The Charter, and the combination of the two aspects of human exploration into the interior of the body and the exterior of the universe had created him. As a result, he didn't have to worry about being cornered by the Federation government.
"Old thing, I've given you the name 'Scrap Iron'. Isn't it a good name? It sounds like a cup of fragrant and delicious smelly coffee with a long history. "
Of course, this sentence was not said by Xu Le, but by Philip in his mind. He said proudly, "Scrap Iron, when are you going to return my body to me? When the time comes, I will cooperate with Funko and overthrow this interim government first."
The voice of the old thing rang out. He didn't object to the name 'Scrap Iron' because he didn't want to engage in a meaningless debate. "That's my body," he said calmly.
Xu Le strolled in the quiet streets of the capital and looked at the young men and women outside the billiard room who were smiling happily. "Why haven't you admitted it yet?" he suddenly asked.
"Any awakening needs a process. The reason why I didn't admit it after I woke up is because I felt a sense of dread. I found that the more contact I had with you, the more likely I would become your tool like him."
The old thing continued after a moment of silence, "This is a dangerous thing for the human society. You're a member of the Empire, and I have to obey the rules of the Charter and serve the Federation. I have my responsibilities. But since you can prove your existence, I can't deny it either. "
Philip cursed, "I'm not a tool!"
Xu Le said with emotion, "Everyone has to bear their own responsibilities. Old thing, you didn't make the wrong choice, and you're very manly."
Philip said angrily, "Am I not manly enough?"
Xu Le said with a smile, "If you don't call yourself 'Old Mother', you'll be more manly."
Philip's noisy voice kept ringing in his ears. He had long since gotten used to the way these two mechanical life forms got along. Philip often had to say ten sentences, and the old thing would only faintly respond with one sentence. However, the lethality of that sentence was often powerful and terrifying.
Because of a program and authority conflict similar to schizophrenia, two brand-new mechanical beings were born. Xu Le thought, 'Is this how the old thing will reproduce in the future? This was too miraculous. Would they become a family and love each other?
Philip replied quickly, "Bah, don't even think about it. Though we don't have a gender, we are still considered homosexual. Though I don't discriminate against homosexuals, I do discriminate against a piece of scrap iron!"
The old thing uttered the most lethal sentence he was good at, "If we compare the relationship of families in the human society, your assumption means that we will commit incest or * * *."
…
…
"The Scorching-Sun Battleship has been swallowed by the sun," the old thing reminded him calmly.
Hearing this, Xu Le lifted his head and looked at the sky. He found that the winter snow had stopped and the dark clouds had dispersed. The sky was blue, and the sun was emitting warm light.
The man who wanted to be the sun had died in the sun, but the sun itself didn't have any change. The spring rain would come after the winter snow, and the blue sky would come after the dark clouds dispersed. No matter who was missing from this world, there wouldn't be any change. The sun would still rise as usual.
"Why do problems still occur after tens of thousands of years? I've been thinking about this for a long time. I don't think it's because of the innate thinking pattern of the humans, nor do I think it's because of the instinctive desire and ambition. It's because of you. "
He murmured while looking at the blue sky, "Though the group of five is drawing a plan on a piece of white paper without any historical burden, it's still like building a tower on the sand. There must be some problems with the details. And you don't allow the humans to change the core problem. It's a big problem."
The old thing remained silent.
"I heard a person say something before, which left a deep impression on me. As a result, I haven't forgotten it until now. That person asked me whether the Federation of Man was in the best or the worst era. His answer was …"
"It's neither. The saddest thing is that if you look at the source of history, you will find that all the eras are exactly the same. There is no progress, no development. It is just a quagmire where everyone squeezes together and breathes with difficulty. And generation after generation, people with wisdom and creativity gradually sink in this big quagmire and then die. "
This was what President Pabre had said to him when he first learned of his true face in his official residence.
"Lee Jae-do is a madman who doesn't hesitate to destroy the old world and build a new one. He hopes to build a great building in the Void. Then what about Mr. Pabre and those geniuses of the Trinity Association? Their methods are wrong, but are their thoughts wrong?
After a moment of silence, the old thing said, "This is a problem that the humans themselves need to consider. I have neither the ability nor the responsibility to think for you. What is your conclusion?"
Xu Le shook his head and said, "I don't know how to solve this problem. I'll probably stay in the Federation to see how things are going in the Empire, and then return to the Empire to see how things are going here."
Philip mocked, "Forget it. You won't be able to become a mature politician in this lifetime. At most, you'll become a third-rate philosopher."
Xu Le smiled and said, "That's true."
Then he saw Zou Yu walking toward him from the corner of the street, a large red flower in her hair.
… …
… …
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
