Entropy Loss Syndrome, Analysis of the Essence of Fate

Chapter 32: "Entropy Loss Syndrome," Analysis of the Path's Essence

Meng Yi instructed "Red Queen" to integrate the technical concepts of "Longevity Type 1," as this concerned whether he could cash in big before leaving.

The purpose of "Evolution Paradise" was 'evolution'—which was superior, 'individual evolution' or 'civilization-level evolution'?

The evaluation was "World Origin Condensate."

So, if he helped elevate an entire world, completing a version iteration of shedding the old for the new, what grade of evaluation would he receive?

He asked about "Red Queen's" memory and storage capacity, and got an answer that left Meng Yi speechless.

In his previous life, before crossing over, China's "Tianhe-I" supercomputer matrix had a memory capacity of 262TB and a total storage capacity of 2PB.

(PS: Storage units from low to high: B, KB, MB, GB, TB, PB, EB, ZB, YB; conversion factor '1024:1'.)

"Super Red Queen," no larger than a tablet, had a memory capacity of 2EB and a total storage capacity of 20EB.

Using compression technology that Meng Yi couldn't yet understand, even cramming in 93.125% of Blue Star Civilization's knowledge only took up a negligible fraction of the total storage.

"Red Queen's" durability was also absurdly unscientific.

Running at full power for a hundred years, a thousand years—accumulated data clutter wouldn't degrade its computational efficiency.

The only flaw he could find was "Red Queen's" material, which hadn't exceeded the upper limit of laser cutting's material strength.

Meng Yi would have to be brain-dead to use "Red Queen" as a shield.

Was his hard-earned 'Blood Rebirth' just for show?

Did he need the auxiliary tool "Red Queen" to tank damage?

"Evolution Paradise's" Hidden Permission wouldn't give players an instant boost, but its bizarre methods were undeniably effective.

'A moderate increase in Hidden Permission' boosted the utilization efficiency of "D-Rank World Origin Crystal" to levels beyond comprehension.

After ordering "Red Queen" to do the grunt work, Meng Yi went to find Firefly and Luo Ji, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

The two 'teammates' from the Selection Dungeon were still in the same state.

Umbrella Corporation's food was too good; Luo Ji had visibly grown sideways, his face becoming noticeably rounder.

Firefly still couldn't gain weight no matter how much she ate, her flat little belly like a blue fat cat's fourth-dimensional pocket.

In contrast, Meng Yi had undergone a complete transformation, now able to go toe-to-toe with Firefly's combat power from the Manhattan Period.

"Brother Luo, in another 24 hours, our Selection Dungeon will be over."

"Are you really not going to get some physical enhancement from me?"

In the large lounge, Luo Ji, curled up on a sofa reading a book, closed it and shook his head with a calm expression.

"No need. Luo thanks Young Master Bai for his kindness, but Luo's mind is made up."

Three strikes and you're out. Meng Yi didn't press further. Each has their own ambition; he respected Luo Ji's choice.

Losing Luo Ji as a hidden thread just meant one fewer option in the future.

When the Trisolaran fleet bore down on the solar system, and the Singer Civilization's "Two-Dimensional Foil" painted its cosmic canvas, Luo Ji would have plenty of moments of despair.

By then, Meng Yi, who would stop at nothing to grow stronger, would likely have welded shut the door between the Nine Heavens of Chaos and the Material Universe, stuffing every 'ultimate abomination' from the Warhammer universe's Material Universe into a lab as specimens, leaving no rival in the cosmos.

If he still remembered Luo Ji at that point, Meng Yi wouldn't mind 'lending a hand' and 'debating a bit' with the Returner Civilization in the Three-Body Worldview.

"Firefly, come on, let's go to the lab."

"Huh? Again?"

Firefly pointed at her own face in surprise. The dungeon was almost over; she hadn't expected this fellow to be so 'persistent in his schemes.'

Meng Yi's gaze was unwavering, his tone brooking no refusal.

Poor Prison Firefly, yet again, lost the staring contest, sticking out her tongue in resignation and rising with a bitter face.

"Oh, fine."

Meng Yi and Firefly left, one after the other.

Watching their receding figures, Luo Ji, now in his thirties, closed his eyes. After a long moment, a sigh echoed through the large lounge.

"Young Master Bai, you give people too strong a sense of security, protecting your teammates too well..."

"Teaming up with you is certainly easy, but you, who calculates everything, have you ever given others a chance to grow?"

Luo Ji's dim eyes cleared, and he mused calmly, "The universe is a dark forest. In the end, a person can only rely on themselves."

Who was right and who was wrong between him and Meng Yi? Who was correct and who was mistaken?

It couldn't be seen now; only 'time' could answer that question.

A temporary high-end lab had been cleared out. The previous, more advanced one had been wrecked by Meng Yi and was unusable in the short term.

Moreover, the previous laboratory had been "kindly provided" by Albert Wesker with over thirty years' worth of "White Soul Rings," which felt inauspicious to use.

Out of personal respect for Firefly and to prevent any potential resistance from her, this study on "Entropy Loss Syndrome" involved no other assistants besides the patient Firefly and the doctor Meng Yi.

(Red Queen: ...Huh? I'm not human, so never mind!)

Blood draws, tests...

C+ grade "Psionic Power," aided by a high-precision microscope perspective, conducted observations in the Microcosm Domain at molecular precision in advance.

Within the dual vision of mind and microscope, every basic molecular unit of Firefly's cells was entwined with azure "threads," causing a chronic dissociation of the modified body's physical structure.

This technique had severe side effects, subjecting her to constant pain and burning, a slow death waiting to happen...

In contrast, the positive effects of "Entropy Loss Syndrome" were equally outstanding.

At the very least, even without piloting a fully compatible external armor, the modified body's strength far exceeded the human limit (F+).

By turning life into fuel, it forcibly pushed the Genetically Modified Human to a baseline level ranging from (E- to E+).

Moreover, surgically modified humans could accelerate the rate of life-force combustion, unleashing greater power—a scientific means of "power burst."

"Not a bad technique."

"Red Queen, calculate the solution to this formula."

Meng Yi wrote out a string of "Baiology Formulas" that only he and his bound equipment, Red Queen, could understand.

In less than 0.00001 seconds, the highly efficient Red Queen gave the answer.

"Chairman, the answer is: 1379."

A batch-produced Genetically Modified Human on the assembly line, burning all life-force in one go, could unleash a peak output 1379 times their baseline.

The consequence? Exhausted to the bone, only death remains.

"Firefly, your Glamoth Empire should have means to replenish life-force, right?"

Hearing Meng Yi's inquiry, Firefly lay on the test table, staring blankly at the incandescent light on the ceiling. Lost in thought for a long time, she said uncertainly, "Probably, maybe, perhaps?"

"As the most basic model of modified human, I'd be scrapped once burned out, not qualified for the Empire's high-end technology to replenish me."

Meng Yi nodded in understanding. He had figured out the output of Firefly's "shattering the planet's core."

Burning all life-force for a 1379-times E+ level Physical Fitness, "Imaginary Space" providing endless "Imaginary Energy," the "Doomsday Path" tread in despair offering a certain multiplier "lever," and the Sam Mecha acting as an external energy release device.

Each link was indispensable, and multiplying all four together produced the physical destructive power of "one strike to shatter a star."

Note: it was multiplication, not addition.

The multiplier of the "lever" provided by the "Doomsday Aeon King" was incalculable, because Meng Yi had no understanding of the elusive Idealism System "Path Striders."

Even if Firefly were to replicate "one strike to shatter a star," with life-burning base + abundant energy + Path lever + mecha release, it would still be a stretch to pull off.

The Idealism System demanded too much of the mental state—high ceiling, low floor, fluctuating wildly, extremely unstable.

Where could he prepare for Firefly the mental state of the Glamoth Empire's fall and the Celestial Front's collapse?

He speculated that only an "Emanator," granted authority by an Aeon, could stabilize the "Path of Destiny Lever" at a high multiplier range, making every move possess immense physical destructive power—the conventional "star-shattering" level.

"Commander, do you think I can still be saved?"

It wasn't hard to hear the deep longing for "life" in Firefly's words. She didn't want to die; she wanted to live.

After a moment of thought, Meng Yi gave a wry smile.

"If you'd come to me a few days ago, the answer would be no."

"Now? Perhaps it's worth a try."