"Who... who are you?!"
Berris's holographic image flipped and tumbled inside the cockpit.
She kept circling around Jiangnan, who was sitting in the driver's seat, and looking him over.
"Could it be... that you are an alien pilot left behind by First Unit?!"
Jiangnan ignored her peculiar thought process.
At this moment, his heart was filled with turbulent emotions.
The notification sound completely confirmed his previous suspicions.
Someone is manipulating spacetime!
Furthermore, considering that even technological creations like the Machine God exhibit memory retention...
This kind of "Restart" will probably happen more than once!
Jiangnan did not directly answer Berris's question, but instead asked...
How do I access the system's low-level logs for this mech?
"That's right!"
Upon hearing this, Berris slapped her forehead.
"Berris almost forgot about this!"
The system log records all underlying data files.
"By checking the logs and tracing the source, we can definitely find out why you, a Thunder Living Person, have the highest privileges!"
She immediately floated to the Main Control Console and rapidly typed commands on the holographic keyboard with both hands.
"Drop!"
With the unlocking sound, an encrypted underlying system log was projected onto the large screen in front of the two people.
However.
That's how it was adjusted...
Berris stood there dumbfounded, incredulous.
"This... how is this possible?"
Berris's voice trembled slightly.
Looking up from Jiangnan.
The logbook contained six completely different entries.
But the bizarre information that the start times overlap!
[Log 01]: At 07:05 today, the mecha suffered Quasi-God- level high-energy attack, and its armor was 100% destroyed.
Core meltdown.
At 07:06, an unknown spatiotemporal fluctuation was detected.
Error started... 404
[Log 02]: At 07:12 today, the mecha suffered Quasi-God- level high-energy attack, and its armor was 100% destroyed.
Core meltdown.
At 07:13, an unknown spatiotemporal fluctuation was detected.
An error message appeared... 404.
[Log 03]: At 06:58 today, the mecha suffered Quasi-God- level high-energy attack, and its armor was 100% destroyed.
Core meltdown.
At 06:59, an unknown spatiotemporal fluctuation was detected.
An error message appeared... 404.
[Log 04]: At 07:35 today, the mecha suffered Quasi-God- level high-energy attack, and its armor was 100% destroyed.
Core meltdown.
The pilot (Berris) voluntarily disengaged from the aircraft.
At 07:41, an unknown spatiotemporal fluctuation was detected.
An error message appeared... 404.
These log entries are all very similar, all dated around 7 a. m.
Although the fourth one took a little longer, the Machine God was still directly destroyed by the Quasi-God!
Subsequently, spatiotemporal fluctuations are detected, causing system garbled characters.
However, when the fifth log was seen...
Not only Berris, but even Jiangnan's eyes widened in surprise!
[Log 05]: At 07:45 today, a high energy source was detected (element determination: Purple Firmament Divine Thunder).
At 07:46, First Unit's hidden protocol was activated, and [Supernova Mode] was initiated.
At 08:05, the original driver (Berris) voluntarily transferred the driving privileges.
At 08:06, the highest driving authority has been changed!
Transfer to... Error &%E$%404!
At 08:21, the aircraft overloaded and exploded.
At 08:31, spatiotemporal fluctuations were detected.
An error message appeared... 404.
And the last one, the sixth log...
Only one message is displayed above.
[Log 06]: At 06:21 today, the No. 3 power center in the body's waist was damaged.
The overall combat capability of the airframe has decreased by 40%.
Currently running...
"What on earth is going on..."
Berris scratched her head in frustration, her face full of confusion.
But she did not doubt the authenticity of the Machine God's Log.
Because its prototype, First Unit, was a technological product of the [Federation Star System], far surpassing Blue Star capabilities of Earth's civilization.
Its core materials and black box even involve the application of higher-dimensional space.
This is why it was able to miraculously retain some of the underlying data during this time-space Restart.
Jiangnan squinted as he looked at the six logs.
I see...
We are currently in the sixth cycle.
"And the reason why Zhang Lingqi knew so many secrets and acted so unusually..."
"The root of everything may very well lie in the fifth playthrough!"
The fifth playthrough, which lasted the longest and involved even my own involvement.
This is probably the only time in this deadly situation that they have touched upon the truth and a new breakthrough!
We need to find out exactly what happened in the fifth playthrough.
Jiangnan immediately reached out and tapped the screen, attempting to retrieve the cockpit surveillance footage from the fifth timeline.
[Ding! The file is corrupted and cannot be read.]
The Machine God displayed an error message.
Don't bother.
Berris suddenly floated in front of Jiangnan.
"Thunder Living Person, although Berris still doesn't understand what those spacetime fluctuations are all about..."
But Berris isn't stupid!
She pointed to the fifth diary entry.
"This record clearly states that Berris personally transferred the highest authority of the Machine God to you!"
This shows that...
"In the fifth playthrough, you are someone Berris can trust!"
Berris's tone became serious.
"Since you are now the one with the highest privileges..."
"Then, let's follow the procedure Berris described!"
"Let's go and read the [black box] of First Unit's core!"
"Although the video is damaged, the black box definitely contains audio information!"
Jiangnan nodded. "Okay."
Under Berris's guidance.
Click.
A metal Rubik's Cube popped out from below the Main Control Console.
Jiangnan connects them.
A fragmented recording began to play in the driver's cab.
"Sizzle... He... doesn't want to kill his own offspring..."
"The Underworld Tree... once activated..."
"The twelve Evil God... are blossoming across the land..."
"Destroying the planet... Grotesque Tree..."
"We've survived this long..."
"It's entirely because... Gabetan is still alive..."
The recording abruptly ended there.
Upon hearing this last sentence, Jiangnan frowned.
Although the sound was somewhat distorted, he could still make out that it was accurate.
This is not Zhang Lingqi's voice!
But the voice felt familiar, as if he had just heard it not long ago.
"If it's not Zhang Lingqi... then who could it be?"
Jiangnan didn't know who was speaking.
But the content revealed in this recording...
That was enough for him to connect all the clues and analyze the whole truth!
Berris floated to the side, recording the data.
"I see..."
"Is this the real reason why Jiahao forcibly destroyed the Machine God's Power System?"
Looking at her miserable record of being instantly killed in the first four playthroughs, Berris gritted her teeth and said.
"If we don't stop Berris..."
"Berris will definitely fly his mech to the bottom of the ocean and then just throw his life away..."
Jiangnan also gave up his idea of going to sea to seek revenge on Gabetan.
Gabetan is not a dungeon boss that you can just farm at will!
It's practically a walking Pandora's box!
Once it is killed, the world will be met with attacks from the Underworld Tree and the Grotesque Tree!
The consequences would be unimaginable!
At the same time, the tragedy of Circle being beheaded by Zhang Lingqi was finally explained.
"If its death was to activate the [World Tree] within Guo Shuai's body..."
Jiangnan's gaze sharpened slightly. "That means the World Tree is the only force capable of directly confronting that Grotesque Tree."
Jiangnan sighed.
Zhang Lingqi's actions were aimed at saving this doomed world.
Whether it's right or wrong, Jiangnan has no right to judge, nor does he want to argue.
Because of this deep-seated blood feud, the final choice must be made by Guo Shuai himself.
And now...
"Since the seabed is a powder keg that cannot be touched."
Jiangnan raised his head and looked at the distant sea shrouded in wind and rain.
"The most urgent task at present is to bypass Gabetan in this First Sea Region."
"Straight across the Second Sea Region and Third Sea Region to [Deep Pool Fortress]."
"Break through there and storm the Dragon Xia Imperial City."
But...
He couldn't guarantee that Gabetan, hiding on the seabed, wouldn't suddenly go berserk and launch a sneak attack on the RV passing by on the surface.
Then there's only one way...
Jiangnan turned his head and looked at the Machine God.
"Drive it, fly over there."
Just as Jiangnan was plotting how to seize this mecha for himself...
Berris suddenly flew in front of him, put her hands on her hips, and said angrily.
Hey! Thunder Living Person!
"Now that the truth has been uncovered, quickly return the highest authority to Berris!"
"Berris needs to take Machine God back to my old man Deng right away and give him a full physical exam again!"
She suspected that First Unit definitely had many hidden functions that had not yet been discovered!
Not only is he proficient in that abnormal [Supernova Mode], but he also has expertise in the spacetime domain!
Otherwise, there would never have been any record of these memory logs!
"I won't pay."
Jiangnan leaned back in his chair and refused outright.
This is like a windfall from heaven.
Who would be foolish enough to just give it up?
You're a scoundrel!
Berris was furious. With a wave of her hand, she created a holographic rotten egg.
It slammed towards Jiangnan's mask!
Smack!
The holographic egg pierced through Jiangnan's body, turning into code and dissipating.
Jiangnan remained unmoved, not even lifting an eyelid.
With the crisis temporarily averted, Jiangnan was too lazy to waste any more words.
He simply extended his finger and typed a line of text on the main control screen, showing it to Berris.
[Does anyone know how you gave me access last time?]
[Maybe you sold it to me.]
[Or perhaps they were beaten to tears, begging me to sell them access and save them?]
Otherwise, who would willingly relinquish such important privileges?
"You... you're talking nonsense!"
Berris was momentarily speechless after being choked by those words.
She was stunned for a full three seconds before she reacted, her face flushed red as she roared.
"That was last week's timeline!"
"But in this lifetime, Berris hasn't gotten a single benefit! This is robbery!"
Jiangnan continued typing with one hand, and added a [bear shrug] emoji to the screen.
Below was a line of text.
[I don't care, I have the stuff now.]
[Want it back? Sure, but you'll have to exchange it for something of equal value.]
"Ugh! I'm so angry! You shameless Thunder Living Person!"
Berris got furious.
She pounced on Jiangnan, opened her small mouth, and bit down on Jiangnan head!
However, in her holographic data state, she takes zero physical damage!
She couldn't even touch a hair on Jiangnan's head, let alone get her saliva on Jiangnan thunder armor.
Don't get too cocky!
Berris took a mouthful of air and floated angrily in mid-air.
She pointed at Jiangnan and gave a mischievous smile.
"Although I can't touch you, Berris, but..."
"I can pilot the Machine God to touch you!"
"Don't forget, I'm now essentially the spirit of the Machine God!"
Even without the highest level of privileges, Berris can still perform some low-level, non-authorized operations!
The words had barely left his mouth.
Berris waved her little hand in the air!
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, two nerve wires shot out from the seat behind Jiangnan pierced his spine!
"Hiss!"
Jiangnan was caught off guard and gasped in pain.
This kind of stinging pain, which feels like a forced connection to the nerves, would probably have made an ordinary person faint.
After all, it pierced directly into the spine!
Hahaha! Serves you right for being so arrogant! You got what you deserved!
"Remember this: online, Berris is like a father!"
"Berry does whatever she thinks!"
"From now on, you better keep a low profile when you see me, hahaha!"
Berris burst into laughter mid-air, completely overjoyed.
But.
The next second...
The smile on her face froze.
Because, the instant those two nerve connections pierced Jiangnan's body...
The Machine God System has automatically detected the [Purple Firmament Divine Thunder] within Jiangnan's body!
[Beep! A matching high-energy power source has been detected!]
[Initiating pre-charging for Supernova Mode...]
"Buzz!"
The purple current flowed back into the Machine God along the two nerve connections!
Berris, who is a fusion of the weapon spirit and the Machine God.
At this moment, it received every last bit of feedback from the purple lightning!
"Oh no..."
Berris's face turned deathly pale.
"Zzzzz!!!"
"Aaaaaah!"
"Yohoohoohoo!"
"Help! Stop!"
"Stop! Berris was wrong! Berris will never do it again!"
"It's so numb... um... it feels so familiar..."
"This feeling is so weird!!!"
Berris's data stream distorted into wavy lines on the screen as she convulsed and screamed in agony.
With tears welling up in her eyes, she reached out and tugged at those two nerve threads.
Jiangnan, sitting in the driver's seat, crossed his arms.
He stared expressionlessly at the blonde girl who was completely mesmerized by the electric shock, and even typed another line of text on the screen.
[Go on, I think it's really fun.]