Chapter 517
After Broca finished the handover, Shi Lei used the Rock platform to take him back to Liyue City. They planned to rest there for the night and then set off early the next morning to fly directly to the Endless Icefield.
After dinner, Shi Lei returned to his bedroom. He didn't need to sleep; he just wanted some peace and quiet.
However, Texas, Mudrock, and Xi still followed. They surrounded him, massaging his shoulders and legs and blowing on his ears, saying they wanted to come along.
This battle against Four-dimensional creature is no joke. A single misstep could cost us our lives.
No matter how much his girlfriends tried to please him or act coquettishly, even wearing the black stockings that Shi Lei loved most, he only agreed to take Mudrock; Texas and Xi were out of the question.
Mudrock is his subordinate, and its combat strength is roughly at the peak of the Immortal Realm. It is strong in single combat and can summon stone golems to clear out mobs in group combat. As long as it does not encounter Demons that can forcibly bind weapons and life, it can ensure its own safety in most situations.
Texas isn't weak; the only problem is that her dodge button is disabled. But when it comes to a direct confrontation with Demons, she's still a bit outmatched.
Xi also has the same problem; she's really not weak in normal combat. Summoning Ink Specter can clear out mobs, but she doesn't perform as well in one-on-one combat situations.
Xi, a socially awkward girl, rarely makes requests, but this time she offered to accompany him, only to be refused. She didn't show any dissatisfaction, but her tearful appearance was pitiful.
Seeing that Xi and Texas looked somewhat disappointed, Shi Lei knew he had to work hard tonight to comfort them.
To be honest, he wasn't very confident about closing the Mega-structure Gate. Anmatar's opening remarks about "our civilization" and "Higher Dimensional Being" sounded terrifying.
If things go wrong, Liyue, nestled high in the mountains, might be the last sanctuary. Creatures that even Shi Lei couldn't stop, other nations certainly can't.
But from another perspective, if it can be completed smoothly, it means that handling Sea Creatures's affairs in the future will be a piece of cake.
With Anmatar's assistance, he no longer had to face several Sea God transformed by the Sea Creatures alone.
"Alright, alright, we're not stubborn about going. We just wanted to help you out. If you don't want to take us, fine, we'll just help you out here."
After Texas finished speaking, she deftly pulled Shi Lei's tie, preparing to begin the part of the review that wasn't allowed to be written:
"Lie still and don't move around, just enjoy it."
The next morning, after having breakfast, Shi Lei prepared to set off, heading straight for the Endless Icefield of Sami.
Xi wanted to give him the painting of the giant Originium Crawler that Sistag had captured, but Shi Lei refused. It would be better to keep that thing to protect Liyue; he didn't need it.
From the moment they climbed onto the Rock House, Mudrock clung to Shi Lei's arm the entire time, unwilling to let go.
This time, she wasn't happy about being chosen; instead, she was extremely worried about Shi Lei's safety.
Mudrock had never seen him so serious before, which meant the situation was more dangerous than she had imagined. All she could do was stay by her master's side and carry out his instructions.
Shi Lei had considered bringing more reinforcements, but it would be useless to bring those whose strength was below the Immortal Realm, and there were very few experts who were at or above the Immortal Realm.
The only ones stronger than Mudrock and Broca are the four Oceanic Great Beast represented by Alty.
However, we don't know which country they are in, which is a disadvantage of not having Cross-border Communication Network. Even calling the Emperor, who is also under the Siren Records, didn't give us the approximate location of the Sunset Band.
After Ya Zaisi was sealed away, he left Yan, and since he didn't have a cell phone, he couldn't be contacted.
The fragments of Great Beast like Chongyue and Ling are several levels weaker, neither the best nor the worst. Their strength generally hovers between the early and peak stages of the Immortal Realm.
After much thought, the only exception was the Blood Demon Great Lord had been amplified and surpassed the peak of the Immortal Realm, but he was killed by Shi Lei.
Amiya possesses the Demon King Power, but her potential remains untapped, and she is still somewhat inexperienced in fighting Demons.
Shi Lei thought of all the powerful people he knew, but since there were no suitable reinforcements, he simply stopped looking.
They traversed Ursus airspace, spending over thirty hours flying to reach the Winterfang Mountains in the Endless Icefield field.
Sensing Shi Lei's arrival, Anmatar stepped forward to greet him. Surprisingly, Typhon, who should have returned to the Cyclops' lair, was also there.
Shi Lei glanced at it but didn't say anything. Anmatar, however, noticed and offered an explanation:
"Typhon's bow was formed from calamity, and it is extremely effective against Demons that fly at extremely high speeds."
The second type of Demons mentioned by Broca was precisely countered by Typhon's abilities. Shi Lei already knew this when she was his guide, and nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I know. Time is short, so this is the only number we can call this time. I'll take care of the most powerful ones, and the three of them will handle the ordinary Demons together."
Broca first met Anmatar, he bowed slightly to it as a sign of respect and then asked:
"The adults have already told us about this mission. What I want to know is, are there any successful cases of closing the Mega-structure Gate? What would happen if we stopped the Demons, but you didn't close the gates?"
Broca's concerns are not without merit.
He had absolute faith in Shi Lei's abilities, but not in Anmatar he had only met once.
This mission is no small matter, and any flaw in any link will affect the final result.
Anmatar pondered for a moment, then replied:
"I understand your concerns. There are indeed successful cases of closing 'Stargate' on this land."
The Creator built a Stargate at the southernmost and northernmost points of the continent. Before the ability to travel through time and space was activated, the two Starry Sky were interconnected.
The northern Starry Sky lies at the edge of the Yinfei Icefield, while the southern Stargate lies within Sargon's territory.
Lugasalgu, the 'King of Calendar,' was the Ruler of Sargon at the time. He quelled the rebellion of three Aslan and successfully ascended to the throne. About a thousand years ago, he joined forces with the Nightmare Army led by Haranduhan. Near the Southern Stargate, they encountered powerful beings from a Higher Dimensional Being Different Dimension.
Ultimately, the enemy was defeated at the cost of the deaths of two leaders, Lugasalgu and Haranduhan, the near annihilation of the Allied Forces, and the transformation of the battlefield into Scorched Earth.
They had no way to close it; they simply destroyed the Stargate with the most brutal and direct method. I know how to close the Stargate; it's relatively easier.
Shi Lei has a deep impression of Lugasalgu. Any book related to Sargon's geography, history, and law will inevitably mention this King of Calendar.
He was Aslan Clan, and the most powerful king in Sargon's history. Not only was he powerful and virtuous, but he also possessed unique insights into all things, and was revered as the 'King of Past and Future'.
The renowned Aslan Beast Lord Gawain was Lugasalgu's mount. After his death in battle, he led the remaining Aslan Clan to Victoria.
Gawain defeated Dolak, who had ruled Victoria for several years, forcing them to relinquish part of the country's sovereignty and creating the historic scene of Dual Monarchy.
Shi Lei had encountered a descendant of Haranduhan at the Kazimierz Tournament a year ago. He was the Nightmare Knight Tola, who called himself the 'Last Kheshig'. So, they had quite a connection.
Broca then asked some more questions, which Anmatar answered one by one.
There was nothing more to ask Mudrock; she only needed to do as her master instructed. Besides, knowing so much was useless; she just needed to smash the Demons.
Although everyone has gathered here to close the northern Stargate, the urgency of the matter is not so severe that a result must be available within a few hours.
Not wanting to fight an unprepared battle, Shi Lei sought more information about Demons from Anmatar.
"I have a question: Is there a specific upper limit to the number of these Demons? If they all come from another world, there must be a certain number of them. If their numbers decrease to a certain level, they should stop attacking, right?"
Upon hearing him ask such a question, a strange look flashed briefly in Anmatar's eyes.
It stared at Shi Lei for a long time before revealing a truth that shocked everyone present:
"Demons distort cognition and reality, and are not affected by the physical rules of the current world. In essence, they are a product of the transition from 'order' to 'disorder'."
If humans lose consciousness and reason, they become Collapser with cognitive impairments, incapable of communication. The Ursus- created Inner Guards, for example, uses Ursus soldiers as containers for fragments of Demons. The price for increased combat power is turning their bodies into black matter. They must be permanently bound in special uniforms to maintain their human form and consciousness.
If the Combat Suit is damaged, causing contact between the inside and outside, the Demons will leak out uncontrollably, releasing large amounts of 'kingdoms' into the current world. However, the Demons and the kingdom are not the same substance. It is the Demons that brings the kingdom, polluting objects in the real world.
Rather than saying that the kingdom is a product of the descent of Demons, it's more accurate to say that the kingdom is the limbs of Demons. The creatures, objects, or concepts contaminated by the kingdom are simply Collapser.
"Speaking of which, Mister Zhongli, you are a man of great learning and profound knowledge, you should know about the theory of 'entropy', right?"
With Typhon and other Native present, Anmatar couldn't easily mention Alien Civilization. So, he subtly reminded Shi Lei by praising his knowledge, pointing out that Terra's current technological level didn't yet include the concept of entropy.
Shi Lei had graduated several years before his time travel. Upon hearing this, he frowned and replied:
"I know, but it's been a long time since I've used this knowledge. Let me think about it."
Anmatar nodded in understanding. Even Beast Lord like them, who have lived for tens of thousands of years, have knowledge that they forget after a long period of inactivity.
The other three looked completely bewildered, having no idea what entropy was or what its specific concept was. They could only stare at each other blankly, not daring to interrupt.
Shi Lei sat cross-legged on a nearby tree stump, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state. Theoretical knowledge and practical applications of entropy gradually began to surface in his mind.
The concept of entropy is usually used to represent the uniformity of the distribution of any kind of energy in space. The more uniform the energy distribution, the greater the entropy.
We can understand entropy as a measure of the state of a material system.
The greater the entropy, the more disordered the system; this is called entropy increase. The smaller the entropy, the more ordered the system; this is called entropy decrease.
Entropy is not a concrete thing, but a disorder index. According to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy will always increase with time. Because time is irreversible, entropy is also irreversible. Entropy is always increasing, or rather, the direction of the flow of time is the direction of increasing entropy; this is the theory of entropy increase.
If you don't understand this concept, you can take mahjong as an example. A standard set of Shangshu Mahjong has no flowers, no honors, no winds, east, south, west, north, white, red, or green tiles, and has a total of 108 tiles.
The 108 tiles represent 108 kinds of information. The process of drawing mahjong tiles is the process of acquiring information.
Initially, we have no information about what card we will draw next. Information entropy is at its maximum when information is zero. As we continue to draw cards, information entropy gradually decreases. Until we draw the last card, we can understand the overall trend of the game, at which point information entropy is zero. This is the form of entropy change that occurs during the transmission of information.
The concept of entropy can be applied to many things. As long as there is no external intervention within a closed system, the entropy value will continue to increase. Just like garbage, if it is not cleaned up, it will accumulate. Cleaning is a kind of external intervention, thus affecting the result.
Human growth is a process of increasing entropy. Within the closed system of the human body, the orderly coordination of various organs is essential for its proper functioning. As time passes, the body's organs gradually age. Eventually, when the limit of entropy is reached, death occurs.
Shi Lei remembered a passage, but forgot who said it. The person said that life feeds on negative entropy, and the meaning of human life is to constantly fight against the process of increasing entropy.
Once he had recalled most of what was happening, he reopened his eyes and looked at Anmatar, saying:
"I've roughly remembered some of it. Please continue. I'll interrupt if there's anything I don't understand."
Anmatar nodded. He couldn't explain the concept of entropy to the others. But Zhongli was from an extraterrestrial civilization; knowing what it was made things easier.
"The existence of something in time needs to be built on the foundation of its existence in space."
Without space as the carrier of time, time alone loses its meaning.
Lugasalgu, the King of Calendar, was the first person on this land to understand the theory of entropy.
In order to suppress the 'nothingness' that gives rise to Demons, it is necessary to create 'something'.
As long as energy is continuously produced, "existence" can be reduced. Only by reducing "existence" can the generation of Demons be effectively curbed.
Lugasalgu and Haranduhan waged an eternal war using time. Through the concept of war, they continuously created 'being'. Through the 'being' they created, they continuously consumed 'non-being'. In this way, they could suppress the source of Demons.
Typhon, Mudrock, and Broca were completely bewildered, their heads practically spinning.
Seeing Zhongli frowning and remaining silent, Anmatar summarized his question:
"To put it simply, Lugasalgu and Haranduhan used their power to divide time and space, creating a perpetually cycling battlefield outside of the current time and space. Most of the Demons will be wiped out in the endless war they wage. Only a small number of Demons escape from the Southern Stargate, either by luck or for other reasons."
The Stargate to the north is currently intact; closing it will seal the spacetime rift, severing the connection to the Demons realm and providing a more efficient way to resist the Demons invasion.
Hearing this, Shi Lei nodded, and his tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
"I see, I understand. So, how long will it take to close the Stargate?"
"If all goes well, it should only take half an hour. If any parts are damaged, we'll need to find the corresponding replacements. If we can't find spare parts, we won't be able to close the Stargate."
Before Shi Lei could speak, Broca preemptively posed a question. Having fought against Demons for many years, he wanted to know how to eradicate these damned calamities:
"What if it can't be turned off? What will happen?"
Anmatar found the question strange, but out of consideration for his local origin, he patiently explained:
"It can't be closed, not physically. The Space-Time Rift connecting the current world to the subspace still exists and will gradually widen over time. If new Demons emerge in the future, there is a certain probability that they will invade the real world through this rift."
Broca one of the few learned Wendigo in the Sarkaz. But when he hears all sorts of unfamiliar terms, his feelings are quite complicated.
In any case, Shi Lei understood that as long as the northern Stargate could be closed, everything would be fine. If it couldn't be closed, other solutions would have to be sought.
He had no way to replicate the methods of Demons reduction used by Lugasalgu and Haranduhan.
Even with the system at his disposal, Shi Lei still hasn't reached the level of manipulating time and space. It's estimated that he needs to advance to the True God Realm at the level of Heavenly Principles before he can even glimpse its mysteries.
He ignored whether Broca understood or not and continued to press Anmatar for answers:
"One last question: should we clear out the enemy from the outside and go all the way in, or fly directly to the Stargate?"
Anmatar pondered for a moment and replied:
"To be honest, either way is fine. If you want to play it safe, you can attack from the outside, but that will alert the Demons near the Stargate, causing them to ambush you or flee. If you airdrop near the Stargate, you'll encounter even more Demons."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mudrock and Broca looked over at the same time. No matter what decision Shi Lei made, they would resolutely complete the assigned task even if it meant sacrificing their lives.
"I think we should finish this quickly. Attacking from the outside is too exhausting; it would be best to wipe them out in one fell swoop."
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Chapter 592 Slaughter All Demons (4K)
Because the names involved were too technical, Shi Lei was a bit confused by Mudrock and Broca. So he used a tree-structured analysis method to help them clarify the approach to this mission.
In simpler terms, first list all the steps required after Anmatar reaches the Northern Stargate. Then, assume that something unexpected happens at each step and consider how to handle the situation. This way, you can maintain a clear mind and avoid being at a loss when danger arises.
Shi Lei can manipulate the Rock platform to carry everyone up to an altitude of over 6,000 meters. At this altitude, there's no need to worry about being detected by the Demons and Collapser En route. They can then parachute near the northern Stargate and strike directly at the enemy's main camp.
The first step after landing is to clear out the Demons and Collapser near the Stargate.
If no sufficiently powerful calamity appears, leave the task to Mudrock, Broca, and Typhon to handle. This is to preserve Shi Lei's strength as much as possible to deal with the powerful Demons that may appear later.