Fourth Pillar!

The final decision rests with Alvin.

If he judges that the threat posed by the "Trinity" Machine Spirit far outweighs their usefulness, then the outcome will be destruction.

One must admit, this engine and the Trinity machine spirit are indeed very tempting.

Not only are the two "Forbidden Technology" they carry, but the Machine Spirit originating from humanity's dark ages are also an immeasurable treasure.

No member of the Mechanicus would refuse such an ancient Machine Spirit full of wisdom.

But Alvin was different; his greed was based on caution.

Furthermore, it is already known that the previous Grand Sage Julius Davenport was caused by this Trinity machine spirit at the most critical moment, leading to the crash of the entire Mechanicus Ark. Although the specific cause is unknown, the influence of the "Machine Spirit" was clearly at play.

The fact that the Machine Spirit already had a "previous record" made him even more wary.

After all, who would want to own a "Machine Spirit" that could kill them at any moment?

"Could this thing be Abominable Intelligence?" To be honest, Alvin was starting to have doubts. Something that could generate such thoughts couldn't be ordinary artificial intelligence, and might not even be a Machine Spirit at all.

Carroll's heart sank, and she suddenly felt a little panicked.

He had only been temporarily blinded by the powerful Trinity machine spirit, but after Alvin said that, he himself was no longer sure.

"Can it be activated?" Alvin stared at the engine, pondered for a moment, and asked.

"Your Highness, you mean..." Carroll guessed his thoughts.

"Hmm, I'd like to talk to them."

Alvin didn't have much of an opinion on "Abominable Intelligence".

In his view, as long as it is within a controllable range, even if it is slightly dangerous, it is understandable.

To be honest, his ship already has enough troubles; he wouldn't mind having another Abominable Intelligence, but only if...:

This thing needs to be controllable!

Uncontrollable risks are unacceptable to him, even for the most powerful forces.

This is a matter of principle!

Carroll attempted to connect the engine to a portion of the warship's power.

A moment later, this seemingly damaged mechanical heart began to beat strongly and powerfully, just like a human heart!

Streams of energy flowed through the delivery tubes into the mechanical heart, and a dull thud began to spread throughout the Laboratory.

Under Alvin's gaze, three human-faced reliefs appeared on the surface of this mechanical heart.

From left to right, they represent calmness, anger, and sorrow—three different emotional characteristics, which he guessed corresponded to the Trinity machine spirit Carroll had previously mentioned: logic, anger, and compassion.

"Now, I will ask, and you will answer."

Alvin drew his Power sword, a destructive blue light illuminating the three human-faced reliefs. "Given your dangerous nature, I suspect you are not Machine Spirit at all, but rather Abominable Intelligence, or some imprisoned consciousness. Therefore, based on your answers, I will determine whether there are any problems with the outcome of your case."

"Your suspicions are reasonable, but please verify your identity information first."

The leftmost being, the Logic Soul, had an extremely cold voice, filled with rationality.

Alvin Valshius.

"Valshius, identity confirmed, is the Imperium's highest-ranking Rogue Trader, first recorded in the late M31 period."

After verifying the identity information, the Logic Soul stated, "Based on your suspicions, we acknowledge their plausibility, but the speculation lacks supporting data. If you still have doubts, you can examine the logbook of the Mechanicus Ark's 1754 past Warp jumps."

"You mean you don't Abominable Intelligence, and the crash of the Mechanicus Ark has nothing to do with you?"

Alvin frowned, his gaze shifting back and forth between the three reliefs.

"Correct."

The Logic Soul calmly stated, "The crash of the Furnace Covenant was due to a misjudgment Grand Sage Julius Davenport, which caused the fused creatures to go out of control; it was not due to our misguidance."

"Where's the evidence?" Alvin raised an eyebrow.

"The Mechanicus Ark has crashed, and most of the data has been lost," the Logic Soul stated calmly. "We cannot provide any valid evidence."

You're lying.

Alvin stared directly at the calm, human-faced relief, his voice suddenly turning much colder.

"Ha, a mere human brat dares to question us?!"

Suddenly, the perpetually angry human face relief beside them seemed to roar, sending shivers down the spine of the entire mechanical heart. "That fool died entirely because he didn't listen to our advice. If only he had listened to us sooner..."

How could they have let us be trapped in this damned place for a whole hundred years?!

"Oh?" Alvin's gaze was drawn to the angry human-faced relief. "You mean, the crash of the Mechanicus Ark was due to Julius's own misjudgment, and had nothing to do with you?"

"Nonsense!" the Anger Soul roared. "We warned that idiot long ago that the fused creature was dangerous and needed to be kept outside the ship for proper quarantine, but he wouldn't listen to our advice and insisted on letting that damned thing into the ship, which caused the crash!"

"And you?"

Alvin, expressionless, turned to the last face, "Compassion Soul": "What would you like to add regarding the truth of the crash?"

"We tried to protect those humans... Please believe me, at least my program is still doing everything it can."

"Protect life." That compassionate face seemed to be weeping, the voice soft yet broken, like a malfunctioning radio. "We... are not the 'Abominable Intelligence' you speak of... at least once, we... were closer to humanity..."

Alvin gripped his Power sword, his gaze chilling. "Three voices, three answers... You can't even reconcile lies?"

Yes, the three human-faced reliefs and the three Machine Spirit deliberately concealed the truth about the crash, or at least some of the most crucial information.

They are telling the truth, but only part of it; many details still deserve scrutiny.

Most importantly, the Logic Soul, the Anger Soul, and the Compassion Soul.

"The three consciousnesses will always remain divided; this is some kind of agreement, isn't it?"

Alvin's eyes narrowed slightly, and he asked in a completely flat voice, "To prevent you from losing control and endangering the manipulator."

"Correct."

The Logic Soul stated, "The three consciousnesses must remain forever divided. If a consensus is reached, the engine will initiate a self-destruct protocol."

This is the highest procedure set for us by the Martian Mechanicus.

"But you didn't self-destruct."

Alvin's voice suddenly turned icy, his eyes filled with doubt. "My sage, in checking the data, discovered that you reached a consensus on three rituals before the crash, and the agreement had already been activated, yet you still survived."

That was an... accident.

The answer from the Logic Soul remains highly rational, yet it is also the most deceptive.

"Ha, I've already said it's that idiot's fault, what does it have to do with us?!"

The Anger Soul roars, yet beneath its seemingly ferocious exterior lies a glimmer of fear.

"Please believe me... we have done our best within the scope of our responsibilities."

The Compassion Soul's gentle, apologetic voice seemed to conceal a deep sense of guilt.

"If you'd like, we can renegotiate the agreement."

Data streams flashed across the face of the Logic Soul. As if sensing Alvin's increasingly intense killing intent, it spoke before the thought could translate into action, "The Trinity Agreement: We will forever remain divided. Once a consensus is reached, we will immediately self-destruct."

"This method has already been verified, do you think I would still believe it?"

Alvin sneered and gripped his Power sword tightly.

In his view, the threat posed by the Trinity machine spirit had exceeded what was manageable and it had to be destroyed!

"No, I meant another form."

The Logic Soul calmly stated, "As the Fourth Pillar of the Trinity, your life will be closely intertwined with ours. Once your soul is destroyed, the Trinity machine spirit will also perish. There will be no 'accidents'."