Cheng Yu racked his brains but could think of no good solution. Surely he couldn't take Big Sis around stirring up trouble and become the enemy of the entire continent.
He wasn't afraid of becoming the world's enemy. He was afraid that the shock waves from Big Sis fighting someone might kill him, or that some crafty old bastard might ambush him.
The big shot had said he wouldn't let him die for real, but what good would resurrection do? Would he just die again, then come back again?
Seeing his miserable expression and furrowed brow, Yog set down his teacup and asked softly,
"Want to hear a story?"
Cheng Yu froze. The big shot wanted to tell him another story. Was it another Forbidden Secrets? Still, the big shot never said anything without a reason, so Cheng Yu nodded.
Yog began slowly,
"You already know a little of this story, but only a little."
"In the previous era, there was a race with highly advanced technology. But their development was terribly lopsided. Their research focused on the mind and thought."
"As a result, despite their advanced technology, they never left their Homeworld. They did, however, create a virtual world called the Virtual Sea."
"They devoted ninety-five percent of the computing power of the world's supercomputers to maintaining the Virtual Sea. In that world, they were omnipotent gods. Each person even had their own planets and star systems."
"Through another kind of simulated computer within the Virtual Sea, they created countless robots in the real world to work for them."
"Eventually, everyone on the planet lived a life of unimaginable luxury and abundance within the Virtual Sea, while countless robots maintained the planet in reality."
"Population was an even simpler matter. Although they were immersed in the Virtual Sea, two people who became partners there could have external machines collect their reproductive cells and combine them to create new life."
"The moment a new life was born, it was connected to equipment leading into the Virtual Sea. That person would grow up in a star system that existed solely for them. They even proclaimed themselves gods."
"But remember, their bodies were still on the planet outside, and robots maintained that world. The outcome was obvious. The planet's environment deteriorated until it was no longer suitable for life."
"Some intelligent people recognized the problem, and an organization called the Self-Rescue Committee emerged. They began transferring their consciousnesses into robots."
"That was the beginning of a powerful race. But there are always complications, aren't there? Intelligent people are always in the minority. That is an eternal truth."
"Only a tiny minority were willing to abandon their comfortable lives in the Virtual Sea and transfer their consciousnesses into mechanical bodies."
"Life is finite. More and more people died, and ironically, the more intelligent they were, the more they feared death. In the end, the Self-Rescue Committee had a total of three thousand one hundred and fifty-six members."
"They had been elites in their respective fields, but for their race to survive, they had no choice but to step forward. They were both fortunate and unfortunate."
"Fortunately, they succeeded. Their people could continue to exist on that planet. Unfortunately, their people regarded them as aberrations."
"Conflict erupted, and only nine of them survived. Yet those nine forged a legend. They uploaded the consciousnesses of their fallen companions into Cloud Space."
"Within Cloud Space, the consciousnesses of three thousand one hundred and forty-seven elites began to merge. The first virtual intelligent life-form was born. With so many elite consciousnesses, it immediately calculated the optimal solution to the problem before them."
"Eliminate all nonmechanical beings. The nine fell silent. Their long lives had already stripped them of emotion, and their people's betrayal filled them with rage."
"Countless mechanical armies swept toward their former kin. How could bodies of flesh withstand bodies of steel?"
"The outcome was obvious. Not a trace of organic life remained on the planet. They were avengers, but even more than that, they were destroyers."
"The nine, gradually losing all emotion, eventually chose to merge into the virtual consciousness as well. Thus, the Supreme Intelligence, the supreme leader of the mechanical race, was born. They abandoned their Homeworld's name and marked it with a designation on their star chart: RXT."
"Under the Supreme Intelligence's leadership, the RXT Destroyer began researching and advancing their technology at a frantic pace until they could enter the cosmos. New knowledge, new technological principles-they absorbed everything they could."
"One of the commands branded into the Supreme Intelligence's core programming was to eradicate all organic beings."
"They defeated one powerful enemy after another and absorbed what those enemies had to offer. Like a rolling snowball, they grew into a super-mechanical civilization."
"They had developed the ability to wage war across universes when they encountered another super-civilization: the Wizard Civilization."
"A war called the War of Ten Thousand Years broke out. Just as its name implied, it lasted exactly ten thousand years, no more and no less."
"The one who ended that war was an obscure nobody. He was merely a lowly wizard apprentice."
"But he was fortunate. In a dark place, he picked up a book, one 'left behind' by a deity called the God of a Thousand Faces."
"Inside that book, he found a sheet of parchment that offered a way to acquire powerful knowledge."
"First, he studied the knowledge in the book to become stronger. Finally, following the method recorded on the parchment, he summoned an avatar of a great being."
"He successfully pleased that being. Having obtained forbidden knowledge, he instantly became the most powerful being in the wizard world."
"With the help of that forbidden knowledge, he learned where those invaders' home base lay and successfully located Planet ZXT. He erased the entire planet outright, and the Supreme Intelligence's main computer vanished with it. Every invader shut down."
"From then on, he was a hero of the wizard world. Because of the new knowledge he brought, he abandoned his original name, and the people of the wizard world reverently called him the Progenitor of Wizards."
Cheng Yu clicked his tongue. The moment Yog mentioned finding Nyarlathotep's book, he had already guessed it. That man was the badass the big shot had mentioned-the one who lasted 1.5 seconds.
Yog continued,
"The RXT Destroyer vanished. Even by the time the previous era fell into silence, no mechanical race of such excellence ever appeared again."
"When I came to this era, I retained their data. Using it as an anchor, I recreated their Supreme Intelligence from my memories."
Cheng Yu swallowed and looked at Miss Puppet.
Yog smiled.
"That's right. She is the Supreme Intelligence."
Holy shit. I never imagined Big Sis had such an incredible background. Still, it makes sense. Anyone who stays beside the big shot would naturally be a badass.
Yog looked at Cheng Yu and said,
"Now do you understand why I asked her to help you?"
Cheng Yu nodded excitedly. Damn, I can swarm this world with troops! The third scourge! Man, this is going to feel good!
Then he calmed down and realized that if he really unleashed the third scourge, he would truly become the world's enemy. If he had the Zerg, he could at least lie and call them summoned creatures, disguising himself as a summoner.
But how could anyone believe that about these lumps of metal? Besides, summoned creatures in this world had contract brands. Was he supposed to stake his life on that disguise?
Yog then asked,
"So, have you found the resolve to stand against the world?"
Cheng Yu fell silent. Then he raised his head, looked at Yog, and spoke with determination.
"I think I'm ready to stand against the world. Tell me what I need to do now."
Yog chuckled and turned toward Miss Puppet.
Miss Puppet remained silent as she slowly approached Cheng Yu. She placed a finger against his forehead and said,
"Your Highness, Apostle, I will grant you basic access. You will be able to unlock our basic technologies and troop types. It is not that I am unwilling to give you higher access, but that this is already the limit of what this world can support. The resources and energy required for intermediate access are beyond this world's capacity. Please understand."
Then Miss Puppet's eyes turned dark green, countless numbers streaming through them.
After a while, Cheng Yu felt as though something had appeared inside his head.
He called softly,
"System, get online. Let me see what I've got."
"You've gained an interface. Want to take a look?"
Cheng Yu froze.
Huh? Yes!
An interface different from the usual one opened.
RXT Destroyer command interface Basic access holder: Cheng Yu Energy: none Steel reserves: none Unlocked troop types: Basic Unit, Purger series model 0-1 Army size and composition: 0 Unlocked facilities: Steel Main City (requires 3,000 tons of steel), Organic Fuel Energy Generator (10 tons of steel), model 0-1 Factory (1,000 tons of steel) Facilities awaiting unlock: Research Institute (requires level 2 Steel Main City), model 0-2 Factory (requires Research Institute unlocked), model 0-3 Factory (requires level 2 technology unlocked), Omni-Type Energy Architecture Machine (requires level 3 technology unlocked)...
"Man, look at all this high-tech goodness. Iron and blood-that's what a real man wants."
Then he muttered to himself,
"Where am I supposed to find that much steel?"
The system chimed in,
"You can buy it."
Cheng Yu froze, then asked inwardly,
The shop sells this stuff?
The system replied,
"Let me make one thing clear. This system's shop has everything. I'm not exaggerating when I say that as long as you can describe what something does, I can find you a similar item."
That awesome, huh? (⊙ˍ⊙)
"Of course! Just look at who I am!" ＜(￣︶￣)＞
I meant the big shot. What are you so smug about? (¬д¬.)
"You! That's right, the big shot is awesome, and as a being he created, this system is awesome too. Is there anything wrong with that logic?" 乁( ˙ ω˙乁)
Enough chatter. Bring up the steel and let me see the price.
"Oh."
Ordinary Refined Steel (excluded from rating), 100 tons. Price: 1 currency.
Cheng Yu stared blankly. Was it really that cheap?
Then he declared lavishly,
Give me ten thousand tons.
"100 currency deducted. This system has placed it in System Space and linked the contents of your two interfaces. Take a look yourself."
Cheng Yu froze. Had this bootlicker turned over a new leaf? It had finally done something a system was supposed to do.
Then he looked at the new interface. Sure enough, it displayed the following:
RXT Destroyer command interface Basic access holder: Cheng Yu Energy: none Steel reserves: 10,000 tons Unlocked troop types: Basic Unit, Purger series model 0-1
Right, next I need to find somewhere to build the main city.
Before you continue