As the underlying logic of the new magic system - "Arcane Runes" was completely conquered, Ian felt the relief he had not seen for a long time.
It feels like a programmer has finally fixed all the bugs and reconstructed a perfectly functioning underlying architecture. Although there is still a long way to go before the entire magic building is completed, the foundation has been laid indestructibly.
"It's time to celebrate."
Ian walked out of the laboratory filled with scratch papers and holographic projections and stretched. The long-term high-intensity mental work has put his current mental state in a period of exhaustion after extreme excitement.
He thought of Olivia.
That Ice Queen far away in the northern realm of another world.
"Since you want to relax, then do it thoroughly."
Ian did not choose to come to the body. Out of the last precaution against "Truth", he walked to the biochemical laboratory located deep in the dimension.
The training chamber opened, and a "Avatar (Avatar)" whose genetic sequence and magic circuit were exactly the same as his own body came out.
Ian projects part of his consciousness into it.
"Connection synchronization rate 100%. Let's go."
Amestris, the far north, Briggs Fortress.
Outside the window, there was snow and wind all over the sky, but the firelight from the fireplace in the office could not dispel the low pressure.
Olivia·Mira·Armstrong, who had just been promoted to general, was sitting behind his desk, the pen in his hand almost scratching the document paper.
It's been six months since that bastard last left.
Although for an interdimensional mage with a long life, half a year is just a blink of an eye, but for Olivia, who is in the critical period of power transfer and faces countless intrigues every day, these six months seem to be extremely long.
"Report to the general, today's patrol..."
Before the adjutant finished speaking, he saw Olivia suddenly raised his head, his eyes fixed on the open space in the center of the office.
There, there was a ripple in the space.
Ian (clone), wearing a black slim-fitting windbreaker and without any cold-proof equipment, walked out of thin air with that iconic, teeth-itching calm smile on his face.
"Long time no see, my queen."
"You also know it's been a long time no see?"
Olivia sneered, and the pen in her hand was broken with a "pop". She stood up, and the evil aura coming out of the mountain of corpses and sea of blood instantly locked onto Ian.
"I thought you had died in some unknown Dimensional Interstice, or as you wished, in the bellies of your four lovely wives."
"Ahem..."
Ian coughed twice in embarrassment, "It's just because I was too involved in a new scientific research project that my perception of the flow of time was biased. This is a common problem among scientific researchers, and I deeply apologize."
"Six months."
Olivia walked around the desk and walked in front of Ian. The sound of the high-heeled military boots on the floor was like a war drum, "You disappeared for six months. If you think that a light apology can make me forgive you for your dereliction of duty, then you underestimate the Armstrong family woman."
"I know words are pale."
Ian did not flinch, but took a step forward. The distance between the two was very close, "So I prepared an apology."
"What?"
"A surprise. Or... a date." Ian called the Snap, "Pack up your clothes and let's go to the water resort."
"Water... resort?"
Olivia frowned, this phrase was a bit unfamiliar to her. Amestris is a landlocked country with no ocean. The so-called "vacation" usually means going to a country manor to ride horses.
"You mean by the lake?" Olivia looked at him suspiciously, "Besides, are you sure you want to play in the water in this weather?"
A blizzard is howling outside the window.
"No, it's not that kind of simple place." Ian smiled mysteriously and glanced unscrupulously at Olivia's proud figure tightly wrapped in military uniform. "Go to a place where there is only sunshine, beach, waves... and bikinis."
"Bikini?" is another new word.
"A jersey that can perfectly show off your figure." Ian said bluntly, "Admit it, I've wanted to see you wearing that for a long time."
Olivia was stunned for a moment, then laughed angrily.
"Ha! Man."
She crossed her arms and looked at Ian condescendingly, "How dare you state such obscene desires so confidently. But..."
When she changed the topic, the anger in her eyes dissipated a little, replaced by a kind of wild provocation.
"Since you want to see it so much, then I will grant it to you. I hope your heart can bear it."
In fact, she just wanted to temporarily escape from this mountain of documents and suffocating bureaucracy. It would be better if she could fix this bastard who had disappeared for half a year.
"Leave tomorrow. Now, get out of here and don't hinder my work."
"As commanded."
The next day.
When Olivia passed through Spatial Door opened by Ian, she thought she would see the terrifying star fleet.
But no.
In front of you is a silver-white room full of technology. In the center of the room, stands another "Ian".
"Clone?" Olivia reacted immediately and looked at the one next to him.
"That's right." Ian beside him nodded, and then turned into a stream of light and merged into the body (actually a clone, but it was considered the body within the dimension).
"My body is still finishing up a key experiment, and I can't leave for the time being. And for safety reasons, I can move more freely in this dimension."
The two-in-one Ian explained and then waved.
Dozens of holographic projection screens are projected into the air, displaying various styles of swimwear - from conservative one-piece styles to extremely bold three-point styles.
"Choose one. Once you have chosen, Morgana will 'print' it directly for you."
"Printing clothes?" Olivia was once again shocked by the technology tree of this world.
In the next three hours, Ian had a profound understanding of Truth: Even the woman named Ice Queen was no different from ordinary women when it came to choosing clothes.
Even more picky.
"This piece is too tacky." "This piece has too much fabric, which affects my activities." "This piece is the wrong color and doesn't match my hair color."
Just when Ian was about to fall asleep on the sofa in the rest area, the door to the fitting room finally opened.
All the fatigue disappeared in an instant.
Olivia chose a deep sapphire blue Splinching bikini. This color perfectly set off her fair skin and long golden hair. She wore a translucent silk gown on the outside, which was looming as she walked. She wore a pair of huge sunglasses and Crystal sandals. The aura of a queen that radiated from the bones, interpreted the word "sexy" to the extreme.
"Dear." Ian praised sincerely, "You are simply a gift from the Creation Lord."
"Stop talking nonsense." Olivia pushed up his sunglasses, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but raise, "Lead the way."
Dimensional Space·Third Quadrant·Artificial Ocean Zone.
When Olivia stepped out of the teleporter, the salty sea breeze and heat wave that hit her face made her feel a little dazed.
Above you are the vividly simulated blue sky, white clouds and artificial sun, at your feet is the delicate and soft white sand beach, and in the distance is the endless blue sea. The waves crash against the rocks, making a pleasant sound.
But that wasn't what shocked her the most.
What shocked her most was the people.
There are people everywhere on the beach. Men wearing swimming trunks and sunbathing, women wearing sunscreen, children playing in the shallow water, waiters carrying plates...
This place is like a lively coastal city in the real world, full of fireworks.
"What... what's going on?" Olivia took off his sunglasses and looked around in disbelief, "Didn't you say you are the only one in this dimension? Where did these people come from?"
"Since you asked, I won't hide it."
Ian handed her a glass of iced coconut juice, and his tone became a little deeper.
"They are all clones."
"All?"
"Everything. Every plant and tree here, even the seagull flying by, was created by me using genetic technology."
Ian looked at this prosperous scene, there was no warmth in his eyes, only a kind of Creation master's indifference.
"When I embarked on this road of pursuing Truth, I prepared for the worst. If one day, I get lost in the endless Void, or trapped in a dead world with no way to go back... I need a backup."
"Backup?"
"Yes. Civilized backup."
Ian pointed to the laughing crowd, "These clones possess the complete gene pool of the Arcane Empire citizens. Normally, they are frozen in Time-Stasis Field. Once an irreversible disaster occurs, they will be the kindling."
"I will awaken them, build a new society here, reproduce future generations, and rebuild civilization. Gathering the wisdom of hundreds of millions of people, we will one day find our way home."
Olivia felt a numbness in the scalp.
She looked at those "people" who had joy, anger, sorrow, and joy, and looked extremely vivid, and suddenly realized that in Ian's eyes, life might be just a kind of resource, a kind of data.
"What now? Since there is no disaster, why did you wake them up?"
"For you."
Ian turned his head and looked at Olivia, "If there were only two of us in the entire resort, it would be too deserted. A vacation needs atmosphere. So I unfrozen some people and implanted the memories of 'tourists' and 'waiters' into them, and asked them to accompany you in this scene."
"..."
Olivia was silent. In order to make her happy, Resurrection people from a city acted as foils. Even the "father" who wanted to become a god could not do this kind of thing.
"Don't look at me like that."
Ian seemed to see through her thoughts, "Compared to suffering in the outside world, they enjoy the top material life here, with no disease and no war. To them, this is Heaven."
"As long as you don't tell it, it's true."
In the next few weeks, Olivia forced himself to forget the fact of being a "clone" and began to enjoy this extremely luxurious vacation.
Ian took her to experience various unheard of entertainment projects.
From exciting deep-sea diving and skydiving to pleasant sunbathing and top-notch SPA.
Even, Ian deliberately unfroze a movie crew and thousands of viewers to make her smile, and held a grand movie premiere for her.
Olivia wore a gorgeous evening dress and walked across the red carpet holding Ian's arm, enjoying the flashing lights and cheers. Although I knew it was all fake, the vanity of being held in the palm of my hand was really intoxicating.
However, what excites the female general the most is the last day of the holiday.
Dimensional Space·Military Exercise Zone.
"Is this the 'fireworks' you want to show me?"
Olivia stood on the high platform and looked at the ruins of a simulated city below.
"Since you are a soldier, I think you would be interested in this kind of thing." Ian typed the Snap.
"The exercise begins."
The next second, dozens of drones swarmed past and accurately locked onto the target in the ruins.
Immediately afterwards, a group of soldiers wearing full-coverage exoskeleton power armor descended from the sky. They did not use magic, but used modern thermal weapons reproduced by Ian.
Ta-ta-ta-boom!
The tactical coordination is smooth and smooth. The penetration power of Gauss Rifle can see the wall as if it were nothing, and the miniature shoulder-fired missile can accurately call the target.
Olivia's eyes opened wider and wider.
She saw another form of war. No need for Alchemy, no need for a huge array, just relying on the advantages of equipment and information to achieve unilateral Carnage.
"This equipment called 'exoskeleton' can allow ordinary soldiers to have strength and endurance comparable to Chimera."
Ian explained on the side, "And that kind of drone can detect and attack enemies from an altitude of one thousand meters. If Briggs Fortress is equipped with these..."
"Drachma's army will be wiped out before they see us." Olivia took over the words, his voice trembling with excitement.
This is the gift she wants most.
Compared with that illusory resort, this kind of technology that can actually improve the combat effectiveness of the army is the trump card that impresses the queen.
"I have placed this set of drawings of Individual Combat System in your mind."
Ian looked at the enthusiastic Olivia and said with a smile, "Although limited by material science, you may not be able to create a complete version, but even a simple version is enough to make you Cleansweep the continent."
At the end of the vacation, Olivia returned to her battlefield contentedly with full harvest and ambition for the future.
And Ian also devoted himself to his boring and grand magic research again.