Slaughter Planet

Mi Feng had directly locked down Zhang Hao's phone and computer, so he had no idea that the videos of him practicing piano and singing were starting to go viral.

As for the company and factory, Wu Baoren was managing them, with Mi Feng giving him instructions. Zhang Hao didn't really have anything to do there, and he wasn't interested in going to the company and throwing his weight around. He didn't care in the slightest.

"Great God, can we go to the bridgehead again?" After crossing the spacetime bridgehead just once, Zhang Hao was already a little hooked. He wanted to figure out what kind of world the bridgehead faced. He wasn't satisfied with staying at the bridgehead; he wanted to enter the world it connected to.

Although Zhang Hao was very much a homebody, he still wanted to see the world outside—the real world beyond his own planet. He hoped to catch a glimpse of the world beyond that bridgehead.

You can. Your soul should be fine. Going there once won't be a problem.

Mi Feng answered without hesitation. In truth, he wanted to go over even more.

Cheng Yuan came over and handed him a box. It was a finely crafted jade box. He left after placing it in Zhang Hao's hands.

Holding the box, Zhang Hao saw that it seemed to be made of white jade. He tried to open it, but couldn't find a way in. Just then, Mi Feng prompted him.

Don't open it. Put it on the Conversion Platform. We'll deal with it after we get to the bridgehead.

"What are you being so secretive about?" Zhang Hao muttered. He didn't really care, though. The jade box was only palm-sized, so he casually slipped it into his pants pocket.

When he returned to the bridgehead, Zhang Hao grinned. "I don't know why, but being here makes me feel at ease."

Of course. Your Original Body is here. Naturally, you feel at ease.

Zhang Hao was surprised. "It can do that?"

This is your foundation! Of course it can. Oh, right—take out the jade box!

Zhang Hao took the jade box out of his pocket. This time, it opened easily. Inside was a boxful of little sesame-seed-sized balls.

"What is this stuff? Tiny sesame balls? What are they for?"

These are souls!

Zhang Hao nearly dropped the box in fright. He stared in horror. "Souls? Where did they come from? Whose souls are these?"

Ever since he'd learned about the relationship between souls and bodies, Zhang Hao had known that the bridgehead possessed technology for housing souls. But he hadn't expected Mi Feng to be collecting them. The thought filled him with shock and horror.

Don't worry. These souls weren't obtained through slaughter. They were collected from hospitals and purified. There's nothing left in them.

Rather than souls, they're more like programs—and blank ones at that. They're completely different from you. You should be able to accept that, right?

Knowing the souls hadn't come from killing made Zhang Hao feel a lot better, but he still felt somewhat uncomfortable. That was a consequence of the education he'd received in this world. Someone who'd lived through wartime probably wouldn't have had any problem with it, but Zhang Hao had grown up in a truly peaceful era.

"Fine. If you hadn't collected them, I guess they would've dissipated anyway."

That's right. These souls are very important to us. In the future, they'll become your important assistants.

Go activate the Conversion Platform.

Zhang Hao walked up to the black pillar and reached out to touch it. In an instant, he was sucked upward. The terrifying sensation of losing control over his entire body struck him again, but this time he was mentally prepared, so he wasn't as panicked.

The crossing itself actually took very little time. By the time Zhang Hao had gotten somewhat used to it, he realized his soul had entered a small beetle. He suddenly remembered Mi Feng's preparations from the last time he left: a Crystal Beetle! From the beetle's perspective, the seven-segmented machine bug beside it was enormous.

It beat its wings and flew up, then landed on the machine bug's second segment. A small Hole Entrance lay there, and the beetle quickly darted inside.

On the square Conversion Platform sat two machine bugs and a jade box. It had been sent over from the Main Bridgehead.

The machine bug controlled by Mi Feng quickly picked up the jade box, then hopped down from the Conversion Platform. Another platform rose nearby. Mi Feng's machine bug rushed over and swiftly pressed the jade box against it.

The platform rapidly swallowed the jade box. The whole process took no more than five seconds.

A line of text appeared before Zhang Hao. It was an unusual perspective, and the words appeared abruptly.

After conversion, if even half the souls in this jade box survive, it'll be lucky. During the conversion, souls that aren't strong enough will be eliminated. Does that seem cruel?

Dissipating might be a kind of release! Zhang Hao's thoughts were a little unusual.

That's right. Everyone's soul is different in strength. Dissipating might really be a release. In fact, they were already released long ago.

Zhang Hao thought for a moment, then voiced his question. "What's the world outside—or the planet outside—like? How do we get out there? Do we use our bodies as they are now?"

Slaughter Planet!

The planet outside is a famous Slaughter Planet!

When Zhang Hao saw the line of text, his soul shuddered. It sounded terrifying. From the name alone, this planet seemed like no place for the fainthearted.

"Killing people?" Zhang Hao asked incredulously.

No! Not killing people. Machines kill one another!

"Huh?" Zhang Hao was completely dumbfounded.

"Wait, not people? Is the whole planet full of machines?" Zhang Hao even took a moment to feel his own enormous, seven-segmented body.

Mi Feng couldn't explain it all at once.

Your world has online games, right? This is somewhat similar, but also different. Humans can't survive on this planet, but machines can be sent there. There's a kind of subterranean Crystal Life here, and it's extremely fierce. Humans use controlled machine bugs or large mechs to fight it.

Zhang Hao was very puzzled. Do humans have nothing better to do than come here specifically to kill Crystal Life?

Crystal Life means a handsome income!

Humans don't go onto this planet themselves, but they send in large numbers of intelligent machines to kill Crystal Life. Later, though, a serious problem arose: the Crystal Life gained control of these intelligent machines, which began producing even more intelligent killing machines to fight against humanity.

Eventually, they stopped sending in intelligent machines and switched to remote-controlled machines—the remote-controlled mech warriors that came later.

They're controlled through Quantum Communication, so the Crystal Life can't take control of them. This is just one of the planets controlled by humanity: a massive slaughterhouse and a planet rich in resources.

Intelligent machines kill one another; Crystal Life kills intelligent machines; and human-controlled mechs kill all hostile Crystal Life and intelligent machines. This planet is famous for its abundant resources. The humans there began expanding into space long ago, and their technological development far surpasses that of your home.

For some reason, hearing that there were no people on the planet made Zhang Hao breathe a sigh of relief. "So the bridgehead was built for the resources here?"

That's right! Some of the resources here are essential for building bridgeheads.

Zhang Hao's understanding was immediately conveyed to Mi Feng.

"So there are three factions here: Crystal Life and the intelligent machines it controls, the intelligent machines, and mechs controlled by humans."

There aren't three factions, but four. We count as one too—the faction that muddles the waters!

The human-controlled mechs here don't just kill Crystal Life and intelligent machines. They also kill one another!