Machine Lifeform X Broken Soul

As night fell.

The temporary camp of the Giant Beast Kingdom was shrouded in the night, a night unique to the Dark Continent.

Kevin looked at the Machine Lifeform in front of him.

Its chaotic and twisted structure cast an eerie shadow in the afterglow of the Bonfire.

Or rather, hostile Machine Lifeform.

"What do you mean by that?" Kevin asked in a deep voice, his muscles tense and his Nen Aura flowing around his body.

The fluctuations emanating from their minds indicated that the Machine Lifeform before them had seen and understood humans.

The way the mental fluctuations occurred was the same as that of the friendly Machine Lifeform we had seen before.

"Has your human communication system been updated and iterated again?" The machine's flickering red eyes seemed to reveal a kind of "confusion" in its emotions.

This Machine Lifeform actually conveyed this kind of meaning.

Kevin frowned, but he was also very curious.

The other party seemed very familiar with humans, but was also surprised by the current situation.

"That's true, the message you're conveying leans more towards human communication." Kevin tried to understand the other person's logic.

"Of course, I learned all of this from you, and it's certainly more in line with your way of exchanging information." The mechanical entity's mental fluctuations carried a sense of "it's only natural."

It's like having a conversation with someone.

Although the medium is unusual, the "intention" of the communication is clearly discernible.

Kevin understood perfectly.

Just like the communication with Little Wang, the forms of communication between Sapient Life forms can be varied, but the core is the transmission and understanding of information.

Especially after communicating with Little Wang.

Many creatures on the Dark Continent are intelligent, but because civilization does not exist, some individuals do not have much desire to communicate.

Here, most creatures are in a state of eating and being eaten.

For a civilization and wisdom to develop internally, its own population needs to be large enough.

Clearly, the Resentful Eater Snake is not in this category.

Therefore, these creatures are wild, unable to communicate, yet appear to be very intelligent.

When humans interact with these creatures, or rather, when there is excessive interaction, it leads to clashes between civilizations, exchanges of language, and physical contact.

This will enable these already highly intelligent creatures to quickly learn to express themselves verbally.

Or, to put it another way, learn how to express yourself in a way that the other person can understand.

Simply put, it was invaded and assimilated by a being of a higher level of intelligence and civilization.

This is a process of adaptation and learning.

"What did you mean by that? Have you met anyone else?" Kevin pressed, as this concerned the other party's attitude towards humans and their intentions.

"Of course, you can always see humans on the shore." The mechanical entity's mental fluctuations carried a calm, factual tone.

Kevin understood immediately.

The other party must have encountered a human Exploration Team on the Dark Continent.

Before V5 Blockade the coastline, Exploration Team were indeed frequently seen.

"That was many years ago, wasn't it?" Kevin speculated based on the duration of the Blockade.

"That's right, the last record before I saw you was two hundred and twenty-three years ago." The machine accurately stated the year.

The complete Blockade was implemented more than fifty years ago.

The fact that the other party hasn't seen a human for over two hundred years can only be attributed to bad luck; they either haven't encountered one, or not many people have come to this area.

This also indirectly illustrates the remoteness of this area.

"So, what brings you here?" Kevin remained vigilant, but once he confirmed that the other party was a communicable individual, his desire to communicate did increase.

Perhaps we can obtain valuable information about this region, or even about the High Tower's forces.

"Comminicate."

The mechanical entity in front of me said this.

"I don't understand what you mean. Is it just for communicating with humans?"

Kevin asked with some doubt, "Is communication the goal itself?"

The mechanical body clearly does not lack patience.

"Communication, communicating with humans—these highly civilized and intelligent beings—helps to invigorate my spirit and prevent me from perishing."

Kevin paused for a moment, pondering in his mind what communication meant for this Machine Lifeform.

It seems to be related to the other person's race and physical structure.

However, there's no point in speculating about these things.

Kevin asked directly, "I'm sorry, I don't know much about you or your race, so if you don't mind, could you answer my questions?"

"Of course, just as I have communicated with your kind before, I will try to explain it to you."

"However, you seem much calmer than your companions. When I communicated with your kind in the past, they always tried to attack me or were extremely wary of me. I always had to waste precious computing power to communicate with them."

It seemed that Kevin's attitude was so different from that of the humans he had once been with that even the Machine Lifeform in front of him couldn't help but complain.

Kevin smiled upon hearing this.

If it were Kevin's first time here, and he encountered a Red-Eyed Robot that stalked him and lingered around the camp, he would have reacted just as strongly.

However, his strength has now reached a certain level, and unless an extremely unexpected event occurs, it is unlikely that he will face a fatal crisis.

Strength naturally brings confidence, and confidence naturally makes all actions kind and generous.

Only then can one appear to be in complete control.

The fluctuations emanating from the Machine Lifeform were also transmitted to the minds of the others nearby.

Nine hundred and thirty-one years ago, the Hub I was in lost its connection with the core, a connection that left our core without a home.

"As time goes by, our bodies begin to deteriorate, and the Storage Crystal begin to crack, so we have no choice but to transfer our consciousness to another vessel."

As the other person spoke, Kevin tried to understand the meaning of each word.

He roughly understood the possible composition of the other party.

The first is the external body, that is, the mechanical body.

The second is Storage Crystal storage device.

Thirdly, it is the most important Calculation Unit.

The mechanical body is the physical body, the Storage Crystal can perhaps be understood as the brain, and the Calculation Unit is probably the core, such as the soul?

The machine continued, "My kind began to reduce their calculations; they stopped calculating until they could no longer be started."

"The crack in the Storage Crystal caused errors in our calculations, necessitating activation."

"The first human I encountered outside was one who took the initiative to communicate with me. Through our conversation, my calculations became active."

"I have found that communicating with Sapient Life like humans helps maintain the operation of Calculation Unit, so I always try to communicate with humans and try to get humans to communicate with my fellow humans."

Kevin nodded slightly, roughly understanding what the other person meant.

"If you don't mind, let's talk in detail. This will satisfy your need for communication and also provide us with useful information."

"A reasonable demand is that humans always require transactions based on equivalent exchange."

For these Machine Lifeform, the concept of trade doesn't exist, but they've learned it through interaction with humans.

Clearly, there's no chance of resting tonight.

And so, the group gathered around the mechanical object and began to talk.

Of course, necessary vigilance is essential.

Until the sun rose on the horizon.

"We chatted all night."

Kevin stood up and patted the dirt off his backside.

If there was anything Kevin gained that night, it far exceeded his expectations.

First, the existence of an intelligent race on the Dark Continent was confirmed.

They also gained a detailed understanding of the ethnic group's structure and their current situation.

Take this mechanical being in front of me, for example. His name is Tuck, which was given to him by the original human.

The Tuck was created 1350 years ago.

Their core location is 4,000 kilometers from the coast.

This is already an extremely long distance, and this is the Dark Continent. You have no idea what kind of outrageous accidents you might encounter while crossing four thousand kilometers.

Explorers like Tuck and his team were well aware that venturing such a long distance to explore carried a high risk of their equipment being destroyed.

But they still chose to go.

The Bronze Black High Tower was their stronghold.

The purpose of building High Tower is to maintain connection with the core.

This requires understanding the ethnic structure of Tuck and his group.

In Kevin's view, their mechanical bodies were a complete hoax; they were not digital life forms at all.

It is definitely not the consciousness awakened by a mechanical being.

After a brief exchange, Kevin deduced that their true life form was actually a Spiritual Lifeform.

This is different from what Little Wang and his group are like.

Little Wang and the others can be understood as beings of Nen Aura, essentially beings without flesh and blood, but with vast Nen Aura sufficient to support their will and soul.

Tuck and his companions didn't even possess massive amounts of Nen Aura; they were simply specially constructed souls with unwavering willpower.

Machine Lifeform are merely an illusion; they are more like armored vehicles or work tools.

The Storage Crystal are their true core and necessity.

Kevin was able to know such detailed and secret information because Tuck was willing to answer whenever he asked, and the answers were very smooth, as if there was no concealment or deception involved.

Clearly, for beings like Tuck and his companions, deception and concealment seem to be meaningless.

Because they are Connected Spiritual Lifeform.

First of all, they were originally born inside the Storage Crystal.

However, based on their reproductive methods, it is clear that the Storage Crystal were not the actual cradle for their birth, but rather a way to protect their embryos.

They separated a small portion of their spiritual consciousness and stored it within the Storage Crystal.

As time goes by, the consciousness Storage Crystal will be reactivated and become its own individual entity.

Once such individuals exist and grow, they can jump from one Storage Crystal another.

It can even temporarily attach itself to things that are not actually Storage Crystal.

However, this attachment is temporary. If it lasts too long, their mental bodies will undergo abnormalities because it means that their mental bodies are exposed to the outside world and are easily affected by various external factors.

It should only be used as an emergency measure.

In other words, as long as there are enough Storage Crystal, their consciousness can continue eternally.

Of course, this is just Kevin's speculation, or it could simply be a matter of time.

After all, Tuck and his group didn't think about things like lifespan.

"So the machines around that High Tower, which are slightly different from yours and look more intact, are also your kind?"

"What about those mechanical beings that have gone berserk and will attack any living thing they see?"

"They look more like you, but they're completely incapable of communication and have an extremely strong aggressive tendency."

Although Kevin had a rough idea of why this was happening, he still wanted to get the answer from the person in front of him.

"Those whose bodies are not damaged are our kind. They did not replace their Storage Crystal, and the Storage Crystal are well preserved, thus reducing their computing power."

They want to wait, to wait for the connection to be restored.

"Those that attack frantically, and whose appearance is more similar to mine, were forced to transfer to a non-crystal body after their Storage Crystal shattered, due to unforeseen circumstances. They exist in a frenzied manner as time goes by."

"But people like me actively transfer our crystals to new bodies, seeking the possibility of returning."

Simply put, there are three possibilities.

One type is those who are lucky enough to have their crystals break slowly, allowing them to maintain a calm mind and prolong their lives through a function similar to hibernation.

One possibility is bad luck; the crystal breaks, and the person needs a new body. However, without the crystal, their will gradually goes mad.

This is why friendly Machine Lifeform would try to trade with Kevin, exchanging a part from one of those broken Machine Lifeform.

Because that part is stored there, meaning crazy.

For these Machine Lifeform, these are their fellow beings; though they have gone mad, they still need to be found and preserved.

After all, what if those crystals are found again? Perhaps if the mad consciousness is put back, it will recover over time.

Tuck in front of me is an active explorer.

Waiting is pointless; we must take the initiative to save ourselves.

Tuck found a way to communicate with humans and stay mentally alert without falling into chaos.

"Can your current Storage Crystal still be used?"

"It's unusable now. I'm hiding on a Rock. If I hadn't met you all, I probably would have gone mad like my kind in a few decades."

As he spoke, Tuck actually caused the area of his head to split open, revealing an irregularly shaped jade-like object inside.

He showed it briefly and then put it away.

"So you didn't try to get your companions to communicate with humans?"

"There aren't enough of them, and humans have a strong self-destructive tendency, so they can't be captured."

What does it mean that humans have a strong tendency towards self-destruction?

Then Kevin found out.

Having roamed this area for so long, Tuck knew exactly which areas were extremely dangerous.

But every human he encountered tried to venture into the most dangerous places.

If this isn't self-destructive tendency, what is it?

This left Kevin with no way to refute it.

This is why, after learning of the presence of human traces, he was extremely eager to come and try to communicate.

If we're too slow, humanity will perish.