A Civilization Reliant on the Sea

"There's something I'm curious about: what's the energy that powers all these weapons and equipment? It... doesn't seem to originate from what you call the 'Abyss'." After being shown a series of facilities by Vita, Zhu Yufeng spoke up. He could sense that although the energy driving these facilities could be considered Honkai Energy, it was somewhat different from the Honkai Energy he was familiar with.

The difference lies in the source.

Zhu Yufeng could only think of the Sea of Quantum as the cause of this difference. The Sea of Quantum and the Imaginary Tree are opposing entities, but unlike the Imaginary Tree, the Sea of Quantum lacks the ability to give birth to life. In other words, the many worlds existing in the Sea of Quantum can be seen as projections left in the Intrinsic World of the Sea of Quantum, rather than being native to the Sea of Quantum.

The Ming Dynasty had been researching the Sea of Quantum. Besides the observation plan that Mei devised to limit Kevin's future foolish actions, Mei also conducted other research on the Sea of Quantum. The Mu Continent had also conducted research on the Sea of Quantum. In a certain city that the Present to the bottom of the sea, there were the results of the Mu Continent's research on the Sea of Quantum, which is what the Ming Dynasty calls the Eye of the Abyss.

It is said that the Mu Continent originally discovered that there was seemingly inexhaustible energy in the Sea of Quantum, and they wanted to use it as a basis to fight against the Honkai. The purpose of building the Eye of the Abyss was to extract energy from the Sea of Quantum, but Lionel ultimately rejected this option, believing that this energy required more investigation.

Zhu Yufeng didn't know the details very well, but he had only heard from Beifengge that Lionel was a little worried about that energy source, and it was hard to say whether the quantum monsters that emerged when the Eye of the Abyss was opened would become another "Honkai". So Lionel eventually put the energy supply proposal on hold.

Before the Mu Continent achieves further research results, the Ninth Law will sink the Mu Continent...

Moreover, for some reason, Zhu Yufeng felt an instinctive aversion to the Honkai Energy from the Sea of Quantum... He had a desire to destroy all the facilities here that used this energy.

Is it because of the inherent opposition between the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quantum that the Present, as an apostle of the Imaginary Tree, also resent the power of the Sea of Quantum...? No, that doesn't make sense either, the current Welt has been immersed in the Sea of Quantum for so long... It's really strange.

As Zhu Yufeng pondered, Vita gave him a meaningful look. Indeed, this was why Vita had always been wary of Zhu Yufeng. Her current understanding was to combat the [Abyss] by extracting energy from the "sea," but this strange person...

Vita chuckled and said, "Oh dear, this is the result of collaborative research by the scientists of our planet! Relying solely on the planet's energy resources to combat the Abyss has its limits; once it's depleted, there's nothing left. But since we discovered the endless energy extraction from the Sea, all the problems have been solved!"

Zhu Yufeng remained silent. So this was the way this Ming Dynasty chose to fight against the Honkai? Each Ming Dynasty had a different way of fighting the Honkai, so Zhu Yufeng didn't bother to comment further.

He then asked, "So, why not use the power of the Abyss?"

Vita's smile deepened, "The Abyss is our enemy. Although we can indeed use the power of the Abyss, efficiency is one thing, but compared to the power of the Abyss, isn't the energy in the sea safer? After all, the embodiment of the power of the Abyss is those Abyss Beasts."

I feel that Vita wasn't telling the truth, or perhaps she was only telling half the truth.

According to Zhu Yufeng, neither the Honkai Energy from the Sea of Quantum nor the Honkai Energy from the Intrinsic World is necessarily safe. If one had to choose, the Intrinsic World's energy might be safer, because the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quantum coexist in opposition, and the discovery of the power of the Sea of Quantum on its branches...

There's no guarantee that something big might happen.

What Vita didn't mention was that the main source of energy for the [Sea] was the Spiritual Consciousness System they were developing and were about to deploy nationwide. This system could connect the thoughts of people all over the world, making the fight against the [Abyss] more efficient. However, because the Spiritual Consciousness System's coverage was nationwide, the power it consumed was enormous. Relying solely on the energy supply from the [Abyss] was insufficient, so it was better to directly rely on the [Sea] to extract its inexhaustible energy.

Since the other party was unwilling to talk, Zhu Yufeng stopped asking.

Vita spoke up again, "Then, Uncle Lucifer, can you answer a question for me?"

"What?" Zhu Yufeng looked at Vita.

"As far as I know, there is currently no sign of civilization, or rather, the birth of advanced civilization, on the Third Star. So how did you get here?" Vita asked with a smile.

Meanwhile, Vita had already taken precautions. When Zhu Yufeng introduced the various facilities here, she had secretly activated her Spiritual Consciousness System. If the conversation failed in the end, it would be a good opportunity to test the capabilities of her Spiritual Consciousness System.

After all, although the other party looked and tested somewhat like an apostle of the Abyss, the power fluctuations of the Abyss on his body were not very obvious. In addition, the Abyss is indeed incompatible with the Sea, so it can be said that using the power of the Sea to fight against the Abyss is very effective.

Yes, that's my advantage.

"Indeed, the Present Third Planet is probably in the Mesozoic Era, and the seeds of civilization don't even exist yet." Zhu Yufeng looked into Vita's eyes, a wicked thought rising in his mind. "So, if I said I was a human from the Third Planet in the future, would you believe me?"

Anyway, this is a holographic projection. Although the characters inside are quite intelligent and can adapt to changing circumstances, they are definitely simulated by the Cocoon of Finality. How could I possibly travel back hundreds of millions of years and jump over several years at a time?

And coincidentally, he always ran into Vita.

This Vita is clearly a key figure in Ben Ming's work!

"Humans from the future Third Planet? Hmm, that makes some sense." Vita nodded with a smile. "I never imagined that someone I bumped into on the street a few years ago was not only an alien, but also a person from the future."

Although Vita seemed to be speaking very sincerely, after dealing with Lilith for a long time, Zhu Yufeng could tell that Vita didn't really believe what he said. But he didn't care whether she believed him or not; he had just told the truth.

Why hasn't the next time jump started yet...?

Zhu Yufeng looked around. He could actually sense the changes in the nature of the energy around him. This Vita was not at ease and was secretly preparing to backstab him while they were talking.

Seeing Zhu Yufeng's expression, Vita fell silent.

Wow... This guy is so unpredictable! With such an "believe it or not" attitude, and maintaining an observer's perspective almost the entire time, could he really be from the future? Is that even possible?

"You... seem to rely a bit too much on digital technology." Zhu Yufeng recalled everything he had seen along the way: the researchers' thinking and calculations, the operation of the equipment—all seemed to be carried out using a special digital system that allowed for direct, remote communication. This certainly made things more efficient, but...

The premise is that no Herrscher of Erosion has appeared.

The idea of connecting all of humanity's thoughts with digital technology was something Fire Moth had considered, but ever since the Eighth Herrscher Incident caused the Fire Moth's consciousness to Honkai and the Apostles to be in various forms, if a Herrscher in the form of a virus appeared, the entire civilization would be doomed.

However, this idea was indirectly reflected in the Stigmata Project, which also means that Mobius and Mebius never gave up on this idea.

Moreover, the energy supply for manufacturing such a technology is also a problem.

Zhu Yufeng recalled the scene when he first met Vita. This civilization was indeed a bit too reliant on artificial intelligence... It can't be said to be bad, after all, artificial intelligence is also a major manifestation of human civilization's progress. However, this is Honkai omnipotent Honkai world. Relying entirely on artificial intelligence leaves a fatal flaw, and the Honkai often takes advantage of this opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

The reason why the Herrscher of Erosion was able to be suppressed was thanks to Sakura's ability to awaken a trace of humanity in Rin and prevent the situation from escalating. Otherwise, the root of all evil would not have been able to block the Herrscher of Erosion's firewall.

The current state of the virtual Elysian Realm also proves this point. In the digital world, the Herrscher of Erosion is equivalent to the Finality. Once it develops, there is no theoretical way to defeat it except to overturn the table and destroy the entire system.

Humanity's civilization was ultimately dealt its final blow by the Herrscher of Erosion. The Finality merely there to cleanse the surface, although by then, humanity's civilization was already like a terminally ill patient, barely clinging to life and beyond saving. Corrosion simply brought it to its death, and the Finality responsible for its burial.

Everyone knew the truth, but no one wanted to give up. Even though they had failed, they still wanted to leave a spark of hope for the future of civilization. Thus, the "The Final Banquet" was held to unite the last warriors. Thus, the Finality battle took place, and the last warriors went to their deaths, just to fight for the next civilization.

"That's just a nice way of putting it. Maybe Kevin and the others really think that way. As for me..." Zhu Yufeng smiled self-deprecatingly, "I just want to live up to all the sacrifices and perseverance along the way. It has nothing to do with the future of humanity. I just want to protect... those people I cherish."

It's also possible that he tried everything but failed to save Elysia, and with no Fallen Angel by his side anymore, he was utterly despondent and wanted to die.

"After all, the human body is too weak, isn't it?" Vita shrugged, saying with a hint of helplessness, "Our warriors can hardly contend with the Abyss Beasts on their own, or rather, they are not even on the same level. What other options do we have besides relying on machine assistance?"

"What if the Abyss attacks your system in the form of Digital Life forms?" Zhu Yufeng asked.

Vita was stunned for a moment. "What did you say?"

What did he just say, "If what?" After he said "If," she couldn't understand anything he said after that, as if it had been blocked by something.

Zhu Yufeng repeated his words, but Vita still couldn't understand what he was trying to say. And from that moment on, Vita was shocked to find that Zhu Yufeng's body seemed to be becoming somewhat translucent.

She could hardly believe what she was seeing.

Zhu Yufeng understood. It seemed that Wen Ai was indeed destroyed because of the Herrscher of Erosion. Shortly after he had this thought, he disappeared from Vita's sight without a trace.

But for Zhu Yufeng, it was just a fleeting moment.

And then Vita disappeared?

Zhu Yufeng slowly typed a question mark, then realized that the Present should be in the same location at another time. He glanced at the surrounding environment, which seemed unchanged from when Vita had shown him around.

In the silent research institute, there was no trace of human existence. If this civilization was destroyed by the Herrscher of Erosion, then what was the reason for the sound of machines running the Present? Moreover, compared to when Vita had shown him around before, this place seemed to have become much simpler.

Zhu Yufeng walked around for a while and found a road leading out of the research institute, so he went there.

After leaving the research institute, it was clear that across the bridge not far away was a residential area. Compared to how it looked from the main street, this residential area seemed rather retro.

Zhu Yufeng went over, and when he was halfway across the bridge, several Honkai Beast the Present in front of him and charged at him. Zhu Yufeng easily dealt with those Honkai Beasts; killing these things was effortless for him. Moreover... Zhu Yufeng glanced at the cube that the Present and was circling around him. Although he felt he could use Honkai Energy the previous two times, he could only use a limited amount. This time, it seemed as if the restrictions had been lifted directly on him.

I don't understand...

With that thought in mind, he went to the residential area and then witnessed a scene that left him speechless.

A mech pulled a condenser tube from its body, swatting ants on the ground while muttering something incoherently, "Destroy them all, you can't resist. Once, twice, three times... it'll be the same countless times!"

Zhu Yufeng: "..."

That sounds annoying, can it be dismantled?

Zhu Yufeng looked around and realized that something was really wrong with this residential area. There were no children running around on the street, and no other pedestrians. As far as the eye could see, there seemed to be only mechs sitting obediently in a fixed area in front of the residential buildings, and quite a few mechs were doing some strange things.

Difficult to understand.

"Lucifer?"

Vita's voice sounded from behind him. Zhu Yufeng turned around and looked over. Vita was standing not far away, looking at him with a hint of something unspeakable in her eyes.