Surprise, Fright

[You have implanted a Tier 2 Epic-level equipment, the 'Reactor Consciousness Device']

[Your endocrine system modification rate is 18%, exceeding 15%, therefore the assessment is successful.]

[Your compatibility with this equipment is 99%]

[As the head of the Sixth Department, you automatically inherit the legacy of the 'Machine Consciousness Department']

[Transformation successful, your endocrine system transformation rate +9%]

It felt like a second heart was beating in the engineer's chest, each beat bringing a burning sensation.

The senior engineer knew that this was the "consciousness" in the "reactor consciousness device".

Or rather, a special kind of 'combat intelligence'.

Compared to combat chips that excel at mimicking moves, learning skills, and judging timing, this "reactor consciousness" manipulates nothing other than the energy within the reactor.

Under its control, the human body's energy utilization rate can be increased by at least 40 percentage points during combat.

Within the planetary environment, this "saving mode" doesn't seem to be very important.

In outer space warfare, even a slight loss of energy could be fatal.

Moreover, it can also assist in battles on the energy side.

Reactor Consciousness Device (Tier 2 - Epic): It is not only an energy-saving artifact, but also an auxiliary combat artifact. Equipping it is equivalent to cultivating an "energy life" in the body.

[Your mechanical system upgrade rate has reached 200%]

[Your biological system modification rate has reached 200%]

[Your level is 40]

[Conditions met, wish to change jobs now?]

Whether

No!

As the hatch opened, a group of people waited outside. The senior engineer knew that now was probably not a good time to change jobs.

"Greetings, Minister Gao!"

"A robot said respectfully."

"How many of the six ministers actually attended the meeting?"

"The Minister of Humanity Experimentation Department, the Prophet of Consciousness from the Machine Consciousness Department, and the other three participated via holographic projection."

Normally, such meetings could be conducted using holographic projection, but according to the established rules of the six ministries, it is best for a minister to attend his first meeting in person, so the senior engineer came instead.

"Minister of Humanity, Prophet of Consciousness."

As soon as the senior engineer had a thought, Miss Shell, whose consciousness was connected to the senior engineer's, inputted their data into the senior engineer's brain.

The first thing that catches the eye is their appearance. The Minister of Human Resources is a man who always has a smile on his face and whose age is hard to guess. However, for some reason, when the senior engineer saw this man, he thought of wax figures. They are the kind of things that are exquisitely made and indistinguishable from real people, but they lack a bit of soul. Looking at them too much can even give you a creepy feeling.

As for the consciousness prophet, who is the head of the machine consciousness department, she is a dark-skinned, blind old woman.

In this era, skin color is no longer important to people on this planet, but the senior engineer can see that this "black skin" is not a natural color, but rather a dense mass of tiny black metallic dots squeezed out from every pore, which is why it looks like dark skin.

Of the six departments, the heads of five departments are called "ministers," but the head of the Machine Consciousness Department is called the "Machine Prophet." The reason is simple: the head of this department has the ability to "prophesy," and this prophecy is related to "machines," so he is also known as the Machine Prophet.

Among them, the "Human Minister" is the first-generation minister, while the "Machine Prophet" is the ninth-generation minister.

Judging from their appearances, it seems like they should be reversed.

This also suggests that this "Minister of Human Resources" is at least 80 years old.

In civilized times, this would be considered a long life.

In the cyber era, some technology may also be needed.

"Let's go and meet these two."

The senior engineer looked around and saw that the island was no longer surrounded by the sea, but by a thick fog.

Under the influence of this fog, even the planet's mainframe cannot see through it.

This is the core of the six major oversight departments, a joint information fog of the highest level, a third tier.

The Mother City controls the evolution of civilization, while the Six Ministries control species ethics.

This is an operating model that involves both cooperation and maintaining a certain distance between each other.

Only the "ministerial authority" can break through the fog of information and enter this small island.

The island is small, but it is a closed island. It looks like a large metal egg. Perhaps it is a coincidence, but the patterns on the surface of the "island egg" are very similar to the continental framework of this planet.

Throughout the journey, Miss Shell introduced everything to him.

"This island connects the systems of our six 'headquarters'. If a proposal cannot be handled by a single department, it must be sent here for department representatives to negotiate and discuss."

"Normally, this place is very quiet. It only gets a little lively during ministerial meetings, and also after each corporate war, when there are a lot of post-war profits to be divided."

"I thought the mother city would do all of this," the senior engineer said in surprise.

"The mother city has the final say; we are responsible for submitting the proposals."

The group entered a high-tech building with no gaps or doors; they simply walked in.

Nanostructures?

The senior engineer muttered to himself for a moment, then was immediately drawn to the scene before him. Virtual planets floated in the hall, and on the surface of each planet, a large amount of data was constantly changing.

"Every planet is a proposal."

The senior engineer walked up to a planet, and a large amount of data was refreshed right in front of him. In an instant, he understood what this "proposal" was.

A continental-level supercomputer!

Simply put, it's about merging the main brains of all the mechanical cities on a continent and evolving them into a continent-level control center, upgrading it from Tier 2 to Tier 3.

The enhancement and restructuring of human brain computing power.

The construction of a global network.

If a brain-computer interface is modified but a mechanical main brain is still retained, will it lead to a disguised form of a hive society?

Strengthen oversight of businesses and relax control over human-generated data.

It is clear that these issues are all closely related to this "continental-level mastermind," involving networks, storage, ethics, and regulation, making them quite complex.

The senior engineer then walked to another 'virtual planet'.

Another cooperation proposal emerged.

Mechanomicrobiology

Simply put, the idea is to leverage the massive computing power brought by the Electronic Brain Project to allow mechanical engineering to penetrate the microscopic realm, implanting 'nanobots' into every cell, so that life on the entire planet will evolve into advanced mechanical life.

The senior engineer looked at it and it seemed more and more familiar. "You old fool, isn't this just 'micro-mechanical cells'? The standard equipment for mechanical life in the universe. Are you trying to elevate all life on the entire planet to the third level all at once?"

This raises questions about whether it will interfere with the evolution of biotechnology and whether it is meaningful for the integration of civilizations.

Virtual Human Project

"Higher Species Fusion Project"

Super Prosthetic Body Modification Project

Soul Transformation Project

So it turns out your Cyber Test Site is doing "planned technology".

If the plan is approved, the mother city will then guide and support one or two super-enterprises as soon as possible to carry out social transformation plans.

It's a corporate war.

Of course, not all "plans" were formulated by the six ministries.

Most of them evolved naturally from the technology tree of Enterprise Points.

The Six Departments also encouraged this kind of exploration of 'unknown technological fields'; for example, Puppet City, Beehive City, and City Never Sleeps all came about in this way.

"Minister, what are you thinking about?"

"No, I was just wondering, with such rapid technological advancements, can the Six Departments truly control species ethics?"

The tech tree isn't just about apples; it also has poisonous apples.

If they were to point out another "civilizational poison core" like Punk Group, things would get really interesting.

"For at least the first 63 years, we didn't have any problems."

"Believe me, problems will arise soon," the senior engineer said meaningfully.

"Haha, it seems our new head of the Ghost in the Shell Mobile Division doesn't have much confidence in us inspectors."

A voice rang out, and the senior engineer turned around to see the minister, dressed in a red suit, walking over with a smile.

"Minister of Human Resources."

"Minister Gao."

The two shook hands briefly.

"Minister Gao controls our only armed force department. It wouldn't be a good thing if we didn't have confidence in it."

"Whether you have confidence or not is not important, as long as you can fight," the senior engineer said indifferently.

"Please," the Minister of Human Resources said nonchalantly, extending his arm.

"By the way," the senior engineer suddenly said, remembering something on the way, "I heard that Minister Ren was assassinated at the celebration party for the Electronic Brain Project. Is that true?"

"Just a petty thief, nothing serious."

"Is anyone hurt?"

"No, it has no impact at all."

The two walked to the center of a group of 'virtual planets', where there were six large chairs with backs that looked like a small mountain made of stacked graphics cards, giving them an imposing presence.

This is the Supervisor's Chair. Once the minister sits on it, he can directly connect to the "department core," which is a processing center similar to the "Ghost in the Shell" center.

In this way, the two sides can transmit a large amount of data and perform calculations in an instant, and finally reach a conclusion.

Each minister has one vote on each proposal, and the minority submits to the majority.

However, there was still some time for casual conversation before the formal meeting.

An old woman holding a black cat was sitting in a chair, dozing off.

"Mrs. Prophet, the new Minister Gao has arrived."

The minister gently patted the old lady's back. The old lady opened her eyes groggily, revealing two blood-red, black holes.

"Is this the new Minister Gao? Kid, come here, let me touch him."

The child doesn't want you to touch them.

The senior engineer was somewhat resistant.

However, the Minister of Humanity said softly, "The Machine Consciousness Department is mainly responsible for providing data correction for anti-programming events of artificial intelligence. The Prophet's revelation can help you better control your mechanical body."

In layman's terms, it's about suppressing the AI rebellion.

So, there are advantages to this?

However, the senior engineer still had some doubts. As a seasoned virtual expert, he knew very well that any attempt to create mystery or obfuscation at the information level could very well be a trap.

He secretly activated his ascension talent, "Divine Sense".

Then, something happened that made the senior engineer's eyes twitch. The dark-skinned old woman in front of him was covered in memory worms from head to toe. These worms were densely packed, crawling in and out. Some of the worms were as thick as a forearm, clinging to her face and peeking half their heads out of her eye sockets. It was very horrifying.

Without saying a word, the senior engineer took three steps back and bowed deeply.

"Madam, you've had a long day. I wouldn't dare trouble you, sir. Please take a seat."

Then he took several steps back and plopped down on the chair furthest away.

Mr. Ren's tone carried a hint of surprise. "Manager Gao, what is this? This is an apocalypse! Not every minister can enjoy such a benefit."

"Mainly, my eyesight isn't very good. I just got one yesterday, and the nerve is still hurting, so I'll just let it go this time."

The senior engineer looked at Mr. Ren again, and his eye twitched violently once more.

A golden light was shining from the other person's abdomen, constantly radiating outwards and disintegrating.

Golden Avalanche!

It's you, kid!