Brain in a Vat

Not long ago, Huang Yuanli took Gao Gong to catch Giant Bugs. On the way back, they encountered a nuclear blast type super monster.

One glance was almost enough to kill her from radiation poisoning, a memory she held vividly.

Professor Han watched the scene calmly and moved forward slowly, the surrounding scenery rapidly receding.

Radiation, explosions, and flames were right before their eyes. Some attacks even passed directly through their bodies without causing any damage.

"This—"

Huang Yuanli saw the nuclear blast monster's true form for the first time.

It was a colossal creature, ten meters tall, resembling a four-armed flayed giant. Cracks covered its body, and high-intensity radiation energy surged within them.

Whenever the giant attacked, all the cracks on its body would light up, and then, a 'miniature nuclear reaction' would erupt from its target, turning into a massive explosion.

"Amazing, isn't it? Artificial nuclear reaction, not Uranium-235, but a new radioactive isotope. And this spontaneous movement and change should be the fourth sequence, after Uranium, Thorium, and Actinium."

Professor Han adjusted his glasses. "Although I'm not an expert in this field, I know that if this Fission Duke existed in a civilized era, it would receive the highest awards in the scientific community."

"It, it's called Fission Duke. They are—"

Huang Yuanli's eyes widened as she watched the battle. Hundreds of large mechanical beasts crawled out from the Metal Nest, madly attacking the Fission Duke.

None of these large mechanical beasts were below C-Class.

On the outer perimeter of the Fission Duke, a Flesh Blanket churned the ground like waves. Each wave of flesh engulfed a large mechanical beast. More importantly, these waves blocked most of the damage for the Duke, allowing it to advance steadily.

"As you can see, this newly promoted A-Class monster has allied with the veteran Crimson Queen and is attacking another A-Class monster leader, the Mechanical Fortress. The battle's aftermath has spread from the high-risk zone to the low-risk zone."

"What does the struggle between those monsters have to do with us?" Huang Yuanli retorted, her eyes flickering.

"Is that so?"

Professor Han looked at her deeply.

"Then I'll take you to see other places."

Next, under Professor Han's control, Huang Yuanli appeared in various corners of the Scavenger City. In every location, Radiation Beasts were in a state of inexplicable frenzy. They began to leave their habitats and actively attack. Anything alive was within their attack range.

"I can feel it, and I believe you can too. The urban circle has changed, become more dangerous. I don't know if someone is controlling it, but the food chain cycle is accelerating."

"All species that cannot survive in the high-elimination food chain will become someone else's food."

Professor Han looked at Huang Yuanli seriously. "So, Lily, what should we do?"

Gao Gong wiped the blade of the Red Unicorn, confirming there were no nicks, and got straight to the point.

"Enough talk, let's just fight."

The young Professor Han opened his mouth, but Gao Gong interrupted him.

"While I personally don't dislike the 'Brain in a Vat' form of existence, and there are all sorts of civilizations in the universe, many far stranger than this.

"But to expect an immature scientific product to solve everyone's survival problems, I think it's not the Brain in a Vat that has a problem, it's your brain that has a problem."

Professor Han's expression darkened, and he stopped speaking, retreating outside the plastic track.

The next moment, figures surrounded them from all directions, each holding rebar and hunting rifles, their expressions fierce.

Needless to say, these were all lackeys of the Great Elder's faction.

Or rather, living people who had been consumed by the 'Brain in a Vat'.

Gao Gong's gaze swept over them calmly. He sheathed his sword, bowed, and the next moment, with a roar of electricity, six heads flew into the sky.

Huang Yuanli stared fixedly at Professor Han, who also looked at her with a calm expression.

Around them, the scenery of the Scavenger City gradually disappeared, and crimson brain sulci squeezed out from the surroundings.

The cerebral cortex was overhead, the parietal and frontal lobes were on the sides of the ceiling, and cerebrospinal fluid dripped down like rain.

Countless nerve bundles squeezed out from the brain matter, and needle-like nerve fibers pierced their bodies.

"We can leave here, Professor," Huang Yuanli made a final plea.

"Leave here, and go where? In this cannibalistic world, are there any other good places?"

Professor Han let out a strange laugh, countless nerve fibers already filling his eyeballs, nostrils, and temples.

"You know, I once believed in a group of people. They told me they could restore this city, but they failed. All their grand ambitions couldn't withstand the terrifying, dark Beast Tide.

"So, this time, I'll do it myself."

Gao Gong brought his sword down, decapitating the Great Elder. He spat out a mouthful of blood and provocatively glanced at Professor Han. Dead bodies littered the ground.

These scavengers, besides being fearless of death, were all weaklings. Only three of them could cause him slight harm: the Great Elder, who controlled the 'Metal Manipulation' ability; a Mutated Warrior similar to Meng Duo; and a Slave Master, a subordinate of a native warlord, who used Molotov cocktails and flamethrowers, likely having modified his lungs and respiratory system.

Professor Han remained silent, merely watching him calmly.

The next moment, the surrounding corpses slowly disappeared, and living people once again surrounded Gao Gong.

The Great Elder's withered, claw-like hand trembled violently. The next moment, Gao Gong clearly heard the 'creak' of his titanium alloy bones.

Zhao Yi, his son, stomped his foot hard on the ground, his body swelling by two meters, his muscular frame charging at him.

Meanwhile, the tattooed Slave Master clicked his teeth, and a large fireball erupted from his mouth.

Facing the attack, Gao Gong's fingers twitched slightly. The next moment, his monofilament wire claws shot out, directly pinning Zhao Yi's thigh. The high-tensile pull of the launcher brought the two closer at high speed, while the fireball missed its target.

As they closed in, Gao Gong slammed his scabbard into the ground. The strong repulsive force from the 'Electromagnetic Exciter' sent him soaring into the air. With a flash of his blade, his opponent's head was severed.

At the same time, Gao Gong flicked his wrist, the monofilament wire wrapping around the Slave Master's neck. The two rapidly approached each other again. Gao Gong merely lifted the tip of his blade slightly, piercing a bloody hole through the opponent's chest.

"Basic metal manipulation isn't very useful. True power lies in molecular-level metal control, the kind that can crush warships."

As Gao Gong once again decapitated the Great Elder, a system prompt sounded.

[You have killed the Great Elder, EXP +130]

[You have killed the Flame Slave Master, EXP +80]

[You have killed the Mutated Warrior Zhao Yi, EXP +150]

After mastering the 'Rainy Night Blade Killer' mode, Gao Gong had truly become a formidable grinder.

He cast a reluctant glance around.

"If I didn't have to complete the mission, this would be a great place to farm monsters."

The next moment, monsters respawned. Great Elders, Zhao Yis, and Slave Masters emerged in the hundreds.

Gao Gong looked at Professor Han and said calmly, "Is this what you wanted? To turn everyone into your puppet toys?"

"It's the only way to survive!" Professor Han gritted out.

"You haven't been to the Supply Base, have you?"

Gao Gong suddenly said. He pulled a high-tech metal ring from his back pocket and put it on his head.

"So you also don't know that this isn't your imagination, but my Memory Projection."

"You've dragged this out for too long. By now, you must be using those young women as vessels. What a perverted old man."

"What do you mean?" Professor Han asked coldly.

"You pulled me into the Brain in a Vat, so I'm a part of this 'brain.' The young women are too, and everyone you've consumed before has become part of your simulated life game."

"Then do you know that if you push a game too hard, the graphics card will burn out, especially when you're in the middle of reinstalling the system?"

Gao Gong grinned and activated the 'Central Nerve Direct Control Ring.'

"It doesn't matter if it burns out now. Let your Lightning Mage, Professor Yang, give you a hand."

The next moment, a powerful electric shock erupted from Gao Gong's forehead. Not only did Gao Gong feel the pain, but Professor Han and the summoned humans also displayed expressions of intense suffering.

Name: Central Nerve Direct Control Ring Category: Auxiliary Equipment Quality: Fine Weight: 90g Operation Mode: Remote Control Auxiliary Module: Beast Taming Mode Remarks: Can perform restrictive modifications on the nervous systems of small to medium-sized mechanical species. Applicable range: Radiation level below 10000.

The principle behind this device is actually the 'Professor Yang' mode, combined with strong mental suggestion, ultimately achieving a form of beast taming.

Of course, if you want to be electrocuted until you're half-dead, you can wear it yourself.

When the brain receives intense, unbearable pain signals, it will shield itself.

The button for this pain switch is located in the amygdala.

Professor Han's image in Gao Gong's vision became distorted and ancient, countless nerve bundles replacing people, biological currents surging.

Before sinking, he gave Professor Han the middle finger.

In my previous life, I created virtual worlds, spent countless hours and researched numerous tech trees. The number of interstellar civilizations I hacked into was easily in the hundreds, if not thousands. Do you really think being a shut-in is easy?

Just a mere Brain in a Vat.

Someone who can only copy-paste character creation has no soul!

Legend has it that the first sensation a person experiences at birth is sinking.

On a mental level, or when entering and exiting cyberspace, 'sinking' is a crucial signal, much like a power-on indicator light.

Gao Gong's vision went black, his body seemingly sinking into an ocean of simulated signals. When he reached the seabed, he returned to reality.

"Now I finally understand why the Monkey King behaved himself," Gao Gong rubbed his head vigorously. "The equipment effects being too realistic isn't entirely a good thing."

Something viscous seemed to be under his feet. He looked down and found that half of his body had been submerged in artificial protein.

He forcefully pulled his calf out, tearing off the nerve connection wires clinging to his calf. He looked around and saw that Huang Yuanli had been completely submerged in brain matter, with nerve circuits all around.

He sighed.

"Just hang in there a bit longer. I'll pull you out later."

"Look on the bright side, at least you're holding a brain, not some other R-rated apparatus."