Preparation Before the War

In cosmic civilizations, the path of leveling up by defeating monsters is very niche, only suitable for some carbon-based civilizations... and the Fourth Calamity.

Most of them follow the technology route.

With enough technology points, it's entirely possible to advance one's strength from Tier 1 to Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4, or even higher.

Just like how a senior engineer at the first level can transform Director Du into an "industrial AI," this is a typical way of technological upgrading.

Now, what Gao Gong is doing is to let Du Zhaodi devour the shipborne AI, break through the second-order limitation, and upgrade to the third-order super industrial intelligence.

Generally speaking... this is also impossible.

After all, while a technological path can lead to leapfrog advancements, it requires a sufficient number of technological points and branches, necessitating the essence of an entire technological system.

And starships perfectly fulfill this requirement; they are, in themselves, the industrial crown jewels of a Type III civilization.

Not every Tier 3 civilization can "mass-produce" ships.

Not to mention that the Star of Machine Rift was merely a testing ground for a Level 2 civilization.

All I can say is, thank you to my Cybertronian friends for sending me the 'big plane'.

More than a dozen tentacles rose from the senior engineer's back, striking various parts of Du Zhaodi's body like acupressure points. The tips of the tentacles were enveloped in almost tangible, top-level radiation energy.

A starship's mechanical energy is measured in "hundreds of millions".

However, absorbing such a massive amount of mechanical energy will put immense pressure on Director Du's body.

And that's when the male technicians step in.

[Radiation Massage]: Massage, as the ultimate skill of a technician, becomes a way to stimulate the potential of the body with the help of your professional skills. After all, radiation itself is a mutation.

Countless complex mutated patterns appeared on Du Zhaodi's hands and feet, which temporarily and significantly strengthened her circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, and nervous systems.

This enhancement effectively alleviated the pressure of the transformation.

Soon, the starship stopped trembling, and a large amount of 'dye' returned to the girls' bodies. This indicated that the 'Great Scimitar' had been initially brought under control without the need for the 'liquid weapon printer' to suppress it.

Having devoured a 'small mechanical system' with mechanical energy in the hundreds of millions, Du Zhaodi was naturally able to break through to the second tier.

And now we've reached the toughest part.

Each starship has its own 'control center'. This 'virtual defense' of a third-tier creation, while not as powerful as a planetary mainframe, is still in a similar league.

Data streams flashed in the senior engineer's eyes as he activated the 'virtual world'.

The next moment, Du Zhaodi disappeared, and the Great Curved Blade also disappeared.

Amidst a vast cloud of garbled digital data, a colossal mechanical asteroid sits atop the clouds, with hundreds of mechanical orbits circling it for 2000 km. A person standing before it appears as insignificant as a drop in the ocean.

Such a colossal object inspires fear just by looking at it, let alone trying to decipher it.

"Hmm, the 'orbital combination lock' located on the 'planetary digital cloud' is a bit of a headache."

As a seasoned veteran of the virtual world, the senior engineer immediately recognized the nature of this "virtual firewall." This "firewall" wasn't particularly complex, but it required skilled hackers to painstakingly work through it bit by bit, which was extremely time-consuming.

"Well, luckily I was prepared."

With a gentle twist of his left hand, the senior engineer conjured up a walking stick. With a light tap of the tip, a hyperlink protocol starting with "http" appeared.

Significant data transmission fluctuations have occurred in cyberspace.

The next moment, a giant firebird over a thousand meters long appeared, its beak opening to reveal the teeth of a virus software called "Cloud Disk Killer," which bit into one of the mechanical tracks. With a flap of its wings, terrifying virtual flames spread wildly to both sides, their power so great that it seemed capable of burning through the heavens and earth.

Besides the hacker illusion "Firebird," more than a dozen other powerful digital illusions, though not as powerful as level 60 digital lifeforms, rose up. Data streams, artificial intelligence programs, data network folds and grids, system vulnerabilities, Trojan horse intrusions, subconscious black mirrors... all sorts of bizarre and powerful hacking methods began to attack the host defense system of the "Great Curved Blade."

The sheer volume of these digital illusions emerging from the connection protocol suggests that at least a hundred Cyber Hacker were simultaneously infiltrating the Starship system.

"It's up to you all now."

The senior engineer smiled slightly and withdrew from view.

In reality, as the last piece of the artificial skull shut down, intense heat gradually rose from Director Du's body. This heat was so strong that even the space around her began to distort. At the same time, the Great Curved Blade's subspace engine emitted its signature sound. Unlike the roar of a gas engine or the silent start of an electric car, the sound of this type of starship engine was similar to the static electricity when taking off a sweater in winter. It was the sound of changing spatial parameters.

Through the 'panel,' the senior engineer could see that Director Du's three measurements—no, his five attributes—were increasing at a rate of one point per minute.

This is because, under the effect of human-ship integration, the subspace engine actively enhances her physical body.

"Tsk tsk, free Tier 3 technology upgrade, how enviable."

Despite saying that, the senior engineer's tone didn't carry much envy. The reason was simple: he had already taken this technical route in his previous life, and this time he chose one with greater potential and greater difficulty.

"It seems Director Du won't wake up anytime soon."

"But Mr. Gao, Sister Du isn't here, and the corporate war—" Secretary Douya exclaimed in astonishment.

"It's alright. The female CEO isn't here, but her male secretary is. War is a small matter; we can just have a quick one."

The senior engineer strode forward, and Douya barely kept up with him. The two descended the starship's stairs and went directly to Dugo Technologies's headquarters conference room. One mechanical door after another opened, and as the last door opened, dozens of Dugo Technologies executives turned to look at the senior engineer at a long table, their expressions ranging from surprise to suspicion to smiles.

Only a small portion of them knew the senior engineer; the vast majority were trusted confidants that Director Du had cultivated over the past year.

"It's you, Sister Du?" the young woman asked curiously, as she was quite familiar with Engineer Gao.

The senior engineer didn't answer, but instead looked her up and down, then curled his lip and said, "Such a high-end women's suit looks like children's clothing on you, what a waste."

You pervert!

!

The senior engineer pressed one hand down on the other person's head, then plopped down in Director Du's executive chair, glanced around, and smiled:

"Some of you know me, and some don't, but whether you know me or not doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that I will temporarily take over this corporate battle."

The senior engineer turned his head and looked at Qin Chunzi, a tall, beautiful woman in a suit and black stockings, who held a high position in the legal department.

Qin Chunzi was an old hand at this, and he didn't show any change in expression at the senior engineer's "usurpation." He calmly tapped the table, and the next moment, electronic lights on the table lit up, and a holographic projection of a planet appeared. The entire projection was divided into 30 zones, marked with different colors and different spheres of influence.

With a flick of the finger, the projection zooms in, and a highlighted area lights up.

"The fourteenth district of the Southern Hemisphere, the 'Drug Zone,' is the battlefield we drew lots for. There are six mechanical cities in total. It is an important human drug testing area for the four major biological giants: Saint Brain Group, Tianping Bio Group, Venus Life Safety Group, and Johnson & Johnson Group. The four forces are intertwined. If we want to conduct war experiments here, we will undoubtedly be affected and interfered with by the four forces."

"What's even worse is that in the lottery, we were grouped with not only an emerging company in the field of 'neural editing technology,' but also the Venus Life Safety Group, the most dangerous biological giant."

"Six mechanical cities and forty million 'human data' must achieve a 50% transformation rate first in order to stand out in the corporate war and qualify for the advanced war."

Artificial data network war

Real-world mechanical warfare

And inevitably, biological warfare and viral invasions will occur.

Only by breaking through in all three directions can one advance to the next stage of the selection competition.

Our opponent is very strong, so according to our original plan, we should deploy a large number of mechanized soldiers and corporate mercenaries. This would prevent the biological virus from infiltrating and allow us to cooperate with that emerging company..."

The senior engineer raised his hand, interrupting the other person.

"Is this a plan you and Director Du discussed?"

Qin Chunzi frowned and said:

"That's right."

"Am I included in the plan?"

"Mr. Du didn't say it, but there's no doubt that you have the right to act freely."

"In that case, let's revise the plan a little."