Awakening

A faint mechanical sound.

Slender, silver mechanical arms extended from all sides, removing the brain from the 'shelf'.

far away.

A small magnetic levitation transport platform, carrying a headless mechanical skeleton, slowly approached.

Then, these robotic arms, following precise trajectories, placed the pink brain onto the head of the mechanical skeleton and rapidly connected various light-emitting circuits.

"Successfully obtained the right to act."

Qin Yiguan heard this notification sound.

He slowly raised his arm, and what he saw was a hand that looked like a metal skull, with slender fingers and silver metal bearings at the joints.

He tried to take a step forward and saw another metal skull foot.

I was utterly shocked.

He immediately froze.

Ding-dong.

Suddenly, a high-tech female voice, ethereal and carrying a sense of distance, echoed slowly through the enormous room.

Based on Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

French biologist Lamarck, in turn, developed a more realistic Theory of Disuse *.

Its core content is...

'1. Species are variable.'

'2. Among living organisms in nature, there exists a hierarchical ladder from simple to complex, and living organisms possess an inherent "willpower" that drives their development and change.'

3. Organisms have a tremendous capacity to adapt to their environment; changes in the environment will cause changes in organisms, which will then improve and adapt accordingly.

4. Changes in the environment will cause changes in animal habits. These changes will lead to the development of certain organs through frequent use, while others will atrophy due to disuse. If the environment changes in a certain direction, due to the principle of use and disuse and the inheritance of acquired traits, small variations will gradually accumulate and eventually lead to the overall evolution of the biological population.

Qin Yiguan tilted his head slightly, but in reality, it was only the visual detector that was slightly raised.

He surveyed the enormous house.

The tech-savvy female voice still echoed slowly.

Current time: June 5th, 4123.

Immersive Metaverse technology has been around for 2,180 years.

'All other human organs have naturally degenerated, leaving only one valuable organ—the brain.'

Humanity has now entered a higher tier of the species hierarchy.

"Low morbidity, low attrition rate, and maximum lifespan."

"At the same time, all physiological needs can be satisfied in the virtual world."

"Number 0573, welcome back to the ' Living Brain Era '."

Qin Yiguan's shock doubled once again.

"The Living Brain Era..."

"This place is actually two thousand years in the future."

"Humans have actually evolved into this."

At this moment, Qin Yiguan felt like he was just a brain. Because he had no lungs, he couldn't breathe properly and could even feel the pressure coming from all directions. He felt like he was about to suffocate.

"You might not be able to accept these things in the Yiguan term."

The ' Boss Meng ' in front of me said gently, 'It's not that you've come two thousand years into the future, but that you already exist at this point in time.'

Immediately.

Boss Meng extended his mechanical arm and, as before, patted Qin Yiguan's shoulder, but it made a metallic clanging sound.

He laughed and said, "Yiguan, I think you need some fresh air."

Qin Yiguan followed Boss Meng as they walked through the huge, long and narrow room.

On both sides, there were rows and rows of countless pink brains, all connected to fluorescent circuits, and still wriggling slightly.

Qin Yiguan then looked at ' Boss Meng ' who was walking in front.

'He' is just a brain placed on a mechanical body, seemingly having no connection to humanity whatsoever. No matter how Qin Yiguan tried to connect the dots or how hard he tried, he couldn't possibly associate the name ' Boss Meng ' with such a bizarre being.

Five minutes later.

Two mechanical skeletons, each topped with a pink brain, arrived at the rooftop of the building and sat on the edge.

Four mechanical legs dangle from the edge of the building, with a drop of 100 meters below.

These two machines, which look almost identical, are Qin Yiguan and Meng Jihe.

Behind them, the sun, gleaming with a gray light, was sinking towards the horizon.

They gazed at the continent ahead, just as they had when they were children, sitting on the wall of the orphanage, looking out into the unknown distance.

From Qin Yiguan's perspective, there were grid-like building complexes stretching endlessly.

He knew perfectly well that among those were hundreds of millions of pink brains.

Apart from that, there were no plants or animals in this world, and not even a speck of dust in the air; everything was spotless.

"Yiguan."

"I also felt very uncomfortable when I first woke up."

"This place feels like the end of the world."

Boss Meng's voice came through the speaker on its chest, "But this is, without a doubt, the real world."

"Humanity is just as you see it."

"The world is exactly as you see it."

We are all residents of this era.

Boss Meng sighed, "This is the relentless march of time, the result of the evolution of the human race. Time cannot be reversed, and nothing can be changed."

Qin Yiguan simply stared silently at the gray, technologically advanced but lifeless land before him.

Actually, all of this isn't that hard to understand.

"On the magical Earth."

"In ancient times."

"A segment of mitochondria encased in phospholipids formed the first single-celled organisms. Over a long period of time, these organisms evolved into humans, achieving a qualitative leap."

"So, with the rapid advancement of technology, humanity optimizes itself and evolves once again into a highly integrated brain... Compared to that, this doesn't even seem like a leap."

As Boss Meng spoke, he slowly turned his head, his pink prefrontal cortex facing Qin Yiguan, "You and I were both born in this era, and from birth, we entered the virtual world to live."

"And the same goes for those two hundred million brains you can see."

"But unfortunately, both you and I have suffered significant and irreparable trauma in the virtual world."

Boss Meng slowly said, "Therefore, the Gemini Superbrain that control the entire world have withdrawn our consciousness and brought us back to reality."

Qin Yiguan muttered to himself, "Consciousness withdrawn?"

"Yes."

Boss Meng chuckled, "At the same time, our bodies left in the Metaverse will sprout white down and release drifting spores, just like we've 'ascended to immortality.'"

Qin Yiguan's mechanical body paused.

He had seen this scene many times.

Jiao Shensan, Boss Meng, their mother... they were all like that.

at the same time.

Rust City No. 03.

The Void Man stared silently at the ground in front of him.

Qin Yiguan's corpse was kneeling on the ground, his hands hanging naturally at his sides. White down was growing on his body, and white spores, like miniature jellyfish, were constantly rising from his body.

A strange smile gradually appeared on Void Man.

"You can also withdraw your consciousness, which can be understood as waking up from the real world."

Boss Meng chuckled. "So, now you should understand why the organization I used to contact you is called ' Awakening.'"