The Source of the Assassination

In the dark space, the spinning machine continued to turn with a "click-clack" sound, and each thread stretched and contracted rhythmically. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be some strange letters on the threads.

The black tide surged higher and higher, as if it wanted to completely melt away this old textile machine.

However, this spinning machine was too ancient, so ancient that even pure darkness could not digest it.

Seeing that the black tide's corrosive power was useless, Ye Da Luoli clapped her hands together, and the black tide materialized in the dark space, turning into two walls that closed in on the center amidst the rumbling sounds of crushing everything.

The SS+ level of superpowers is no joke.

Seemingly disturbed by the dark space, the silk threads on the spinning machine wove faster and faster, and the imitation threads began to intertwine, turning into long and smooth silk. As the letters on the imitation threads intertwined, they gradually evolved into personal names: Mr. Someone, Du Zhaodi, and himself!

"Collapse!"

A sharp aura flashed through the air.

Ye Da Luoli's eyes widened suddenly; she recognized the thing.

Before the spinning machine was completely destroyed by the two black walls, a silk thread that had been stretched to its limit by the machine was suddenly torn off, and on that silk thread was his own name.

The next moment, every pore on Ye Da Luoli's body felt an intense life-or-death crisis.

Every gift of fate comes at a price.

Then, a bright golden light shone forth, and within the golden light, transparent figures shouted and moved forward. The will of humanity shone brilliantly in the opened space.

Amidst the burning light of humanity, a colossal black Emperor Machine descended from the sky, its new ship-slaying blade striking a thread in the darkness at an unfathomable angle.

That was a broken thread from before, only a fist's distance from Ye Da Luoli's neck.

The two extreme Honkai energies collided with each other, and Xiao Yu's Honkai power was suppressed to a small area, while the aftershocks turned everything around into dust.

Fortunately, the power of the 'spinning machine' was not sustainable. In just three seconds, the thread disappeared, leaving only the wreckage of the spinning machine.

"Little Ye Ye, we won!!"

Xiao Yu was very happy and wanted to celebrate with her best friend. But when she turned around, she saw that Ye Da Luoli's face was pale, her eyes were unfocused, and her mouth was mumbling as if she was repeating something. Xiao Yu had to get closer to hear her.

"The legend of invincibility, the legend of invincibility is actually true."

"Well--"

Xiao Yu wanted to say something to comfort the other party, but suddenly the huge black Emperor Machine shook violently. Starting from the mechanical eyeballs, it crashed all the way down, and finally, with a loud bang from the military machine plug-in in the center, the two-story-sized mechanical body crashed to the ground.

Ye Da Luoli was startled. Her dejected mood was instantly replaced by the thought of her friend's life or death.

"Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, you big idiot, how are you! I'll get someone to save you right away!"

"I'm fine, Xiao Ye Ye."

As the two spiritual forces dissipated, the scene returned to reality. There was a large hole in the roof, obviously caused by the Black Emperor of the End crashing down. The surroundings were in chaos, and the lights had dimmed at some point. Footsteps and screams could be heard everywhere.

Following the sound, Ye Da Luoli quickly found Xiao Yu not far away. From her head to her back, more than a dozen mechanical connecting tubes were inserted into the backs of her and the End Black Emperor. At this moment, Xiao Yu was rubbing her head in pain.

"Where are you hurt?!" Ye Da Luoli asked quickly, startled.

"It's alright, they're not enemies, they're our boss."

"Your boss?"

Xiao Yu grinned, looking just like a comedic character from a Japanese drama.

"It's not the male boss, it's the female boss. Aunt Du used her domain technique, and my End Black Emperor was shut down. It short-circuited, and my head hurts. Little Ye Ye, quickly blow on it for me."

Ye Da Luoli then remembered that she had seen three names on the spinning machine: Mr. Ren, herself, and Du Zhaodi.

So, there are three assassination slots available this time?

She quickly went to the window and saw that outside, one building after another had dimmed, and various mechanical objects were leaning to one side or the other, as if most of their functions had been forcibly sealed off by some force.

"The power of the mechanical field?"

This force expanded wildly, causing many mechanical mechanisms to malfunction. Even in the deepest part of the fortress, in that mysterious corridor, the lights flickered briefly.

The light dimmed and then brightened again, revealing an unexpected face.

Bald head, cheap gray suit, and an ever-serious old face.

Wilderness scroll.

No one expected that the mastermind behind this assassination was actually Aramaki, the former head of the Ghost in the Shell Mobile Division.

Aragaki cautiously looked around; behind each room lurked a very dangerous entity.

He walked to the last room, hesitated for a moment, and then pushed the door open and went in.

To his surprise, an elderly man in white was smiling at him, his face full of kindness.

"Long time no see, Ara-maki. I didn't expect you to have found out this far."

"The old man of the fortress," Aramaki shuddered, his expression shifting from shock to realization, and finally to relief.

"To make a long story short, Ara-maki, although he's not here, this is still his territory, and he'll be back soon."

What exactly happened 60 years ago?

"This cyber test site has its own will. The more you interfere, the more likely you are to be devoured. Once, the three of us thought that with the computing power of a planetary mainframe, what on this planet couldn't be calculated? But as it turns out, we are far inferior to that 'cosmic relic'."

"Thus, the Deep Web became the 'Deep Web,' I was sealed away by another version of myself, and Cybertron activated a new 'war.'"

"Another me?" Aramaki took a deep breath. "Who exactly is this 'fortress' now?"

"That's a very interesting topic," the 'kind old man' said after a moment's thought.

"You should know that I have the ability to evolve other people's personalities. I can slightly wiggle at every key point in history, making the history of this planet develop according to our plan. But my plan may not be their plan. 'They' can be the wise men born in the era, the outstanding people who lead the era, or the super scientists who make the technology tree blossom and bear fruit."

"These historical figures are passing the baton across time in an encrypted manner, and the ultimate goal of this relay is to overthrow me and break free from the control of the planet's mainframe. Through their communication and deduction across each era, these people have finally synthesized a plan called the 'Punk Project'."

"That ancient super virus, 'Punk Family'!" Aramaki, familiar with this history, said with a change in expression.

"Well, at first, we thought it was just an ordinary virus. Whether it's a large-scale biological virus or an electronic virus, it's not uncommon in human history. So, we all let our guard down, and then, both DeepWeb and I were infected."

"There's actually a virus on this planet that has even infected the planet's mainframe," Aramaki murmured.

"Based on the 'Collapse Entity' that have emerged from each historical stage, we once deduced that this 'cosmic relic' was likely a destructive entity, such as the ones located in the Ancient Machine Vault, like the 'Red Giant Simulator' and the 'Life Accelerator.' But now it seems that its nature may be exactly the opposite of what we expected."

At this point, the voice of the "former fortress elder" became unclear, whether it was because he was unclear or simply didn't want to continue.

"And 'Punk Family' is the masterpiece of that cosmic relic?"

"Yes, we are adjusting the timeline, and it is probably adjusting the timeline as well, only in an encrypted way."

"So what exactly is the punk family?"

"You can think of it as a 'civilizational poison core' that is 80% poisonous."

"A product of a failed civilizational ascension?!"

"The Cyber Test Site itself borrows from the rapid technological advancement and evolution of civilization, but this kind of evolution is destined to be abnormal and illogical. Therefore, it basically cuts off the 'possibility of ascension' for intelligent species of civilization on this planet. So, that 'cosmic relic' is a failed product of using the outstanding people of the past to nurture the ascension of future civilizations."

"Doesn't that sound bizarre, even seemingly impossible?" the old man chuckled. "But that's the power of that 'cosmic relic'."

"That 'Civilization Poison Core' has corrupted you. What exactly is the source of that corruption?"

"The Deep Web has completely merged with the 'Collapse Entity No. 1'. Its philosophy has become to nurture Collapse Entity for the 'higher civilization' and to allow the Collapse Entity to completely control their own destiny. I think that as your superior, you should have felt her changes to some extent over the years."

Aragaki remained silent.

"As for me, to be precise, I am a planetary mainframe intelligent type produced by the 'galactic perpetual motion machine factory,' and I have also been 'contaminated.' As for how I have been contaminated, in my opinion, I am the will of this cyber test site," the 'old man' replied.

"A complete transformation, a complete evolution, a complete cyber era."

"The three mainframes represent technological computing, while the six departments are responsible for protecting humanity amidst drastic changes. Now, he stands on the opposite side of you."

"Is this his reason for colluding with 'extraterrestrial civilizations'?"

"Yes."

"I need a list, or rather, the channels through which it colluded. According to my investigation, there are twelve channels, right?"

This is the main reason why Aragaki ventured here.

The old man didn't speak, but narrowed his eyes, and a series of data transmissions were sent.

After succeeding, Aramaki was silent for a while, then said:

"How do we deal with that 'civilizational poison core,' that punk family?"

"Let's find a solution from the Collapse Entity; that's probably the only way," the old man said.

Aramaki thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice:

"How can we get you out, sir?"

"Don't cross the line, Aramaki!"

The old man's features visibly melted away, leaving him a faceless old man who coldly stared at him.

This is the fortress now.