Machine Realm Ascension

In the heat of an early autumn afternoon, blazing sunlight fell upon Qin Su. He lay on the grass, but had no idea why he was lying on the grass—he had clearly fallen asleep in his own bed. That much he remembered vividly. He didn't smoke, and alcohol was something he only ever tasted lightly.

Qin Su looked around. Before him was a lake, and he lay on pale green grass. He stood up. The water shimmered, reflecting the scenery around the lake. Pale yellow and orange leaves floated atop the emerald ripples. A gentle breeze occasionally brushed past. Gazing into the distance, he could see no man-made structures at all.

Yet, he found himself drawn to this picturesque, poetic scene. Still, he was even more certain that he hadn't drunk himself into a stupor. First of all, he wasn't one to guzzle alcohol. Second, even if he were drunk, it was highly unlikely he'd drive for hours to reach some remote wilderness. Due to his family background, he personally despised drunk driving.

Qin Su stood up and walked toward the lake. His shadow stretched longer and longer across the water, growing clearer. A silver-white humanoid figure reflected into his eyes. "It" only had the rough outline of a person, but its silver-white face was completely featureless—no eyes, no nose, no mouth.

Without a doubt, this was himself.

"This! How could it be?"

Qin Su abruptly raised his hand, staring intently at his own arm. There was nothing but a silver-white, fluid-like surface. No blue veins were visible, no pores could be seen. His entire arm was impossibly smooth.

Heads-Up Display System online

Running internal diagnostic...

One item after another flashed rapidly before his eyes.

Model T-1000, Serial Number A01b, deactivated on August 13, 2029, at 17:04

Estimated normal operating time for this unit: 60 years

Current structural status: Overall intact

Now Qin Su understood exactly what had happened to his body. He had become a robot—a liquid metal robot, no less.

"But why can I still retain emotions?" Qin Su sat cross-legged on the grass, thoughts churning. The confusion upon waking, the contentment of being immersed in the scenery, and the sheer shock of seeing his own reflection in the lake. He looked at his hand, fingers together, spread apart, together, spread apart. He could clearly feel the CPUs within every drop of liquid metal. Perhaps only sufficiently advanced computers could support such complex emotions.

A sustained, thunderous roar interrupted his thoughts—the sonic boom from some large aircraft breaking the sound barrier. Amplifying the sound source and listening carefully, he detected a unique crackling noise. That should be a rocket-powered vehicle. A space rocket? Or a missile?

Qin Su looked up. A small black dot was flying toward the sky. His visual sensors zoomed in. A massive black rocket was piercing through the clouds, marching on behalf of humanity toward the boundless depths of space. Its majestic frame and uniquely futuristic, technological aesthetic seemed to flaunt the advanced science and immense wealth of its creators.

From the first spark of life beneath the water, to the giant beasts of the Stone Age, to humanity's first upright steps, they had already experienced so much. Now, they had embarked on their greatest exploration: from the cradle of early civilization to the vast starry sea.

A few leaves drifted onto his shoulders. He shook off his tangled thoughts. "Better figure out my current situation first."

Then he headed toward the rocket launch site. Pushing aside the last leaf before him, Qin Su emerged from the dense forest surrounding the launch site. Now the entire aerospace center lay before him in full view.

The T-1000 was originally a high-end infiltration unit manufactured by Skynet. Getting in would be effortless—whether through the front door openly or by other means.

He chose the unconventional route, purely for safety. Though, in truth, it wasn't all that safe. The wall before him was not only extremely smooth but also very thick. An ordinary person couldn't climb it at all, and breaking through it without heavy construction equipment was impossible. On top of that, the top of the wall was wrapped with electrified barbed wire. When he came down from the wall, he had to carefully change his form to avoid the detection beams of infrared sensors and the patrol routes of security robots.

"Very... strange." He habitually pinched his chin.

He hadn't seen a single living person. It was as if all the employees here had suddenly evaporated. From the moment he saw the rocket launch to entering this aerospace base, only an hour and a half had passed.

And in that hour and a half, what had happened to the people here? He had no way of knowing. Perhaps the surveillance room held the answers he needed. Qin Su continued searching through this vast white maze.

"Here." The camera icon reminded him of what this place was. The door to the surveillance room was wide open. The documents on the desk were neatly arranged. Only the chairs, knocked askew, told him that the people here had left in a hurry. Qin Su became even more alert.

None of the many surveillance monitors showed any sign of people, including the command center. Qin Su approached the main control computer, spread his palm, and a few drops of liquid metal separated from his hand, seeping into the computer like water soaking into sand. After a few seconds, the separated liquid metal returned to his body. The surveillance room's main control computer was now linked to him.

The surveillance room's main control computer wasn't connected to the outside network. The supercomputing center controlled everything in the base. But trying to use the surveillance room's computer to reverse-control the command center's supercomputer was impossible. An ordinary computer couldn't break through the supercomputer's firewall. The sheer difference in computing power alone was like heaven and earth. So he'd have to rely on the ultimate hacker method—the physical method.

"An underground private train? There's actually an underground private train here." Through the surveillance feeds, Qin Su could clearly see that beneath this aerospace base lay a train platform. This design seemed to suggest that this place could come under attack at any moment.

The alloy door to the supercomputing center was deadlocked. Qin Su raised his right hand and knocked on the silver door. The sound was crisp. He couldn't tell what material it was made of by sight or sound, but he knew this door absolutely couldn't be forced open by brute strength. But even the most careful plan has its flaws. The room behind the door wasn't airtight. Computers needed to dissipate heat. There had to be some place he could squeeze into. Don't forget the T-1000's shapeshifting ability.

"Finally, I'm here." Compared to the supercomputers Qin Su had seen before, the one before him was on the smaller side. That didn't mean it was outdated—on the contrary, a large supercomputer was more likely to be obsolete. He gently touched its surface. Suddenly, a very... special idea arose in his mind. Calling it "crazy" wouldn't be an exaggeration. Since he had become a robot, why not go even further?

For example, become the creator of this machine—Skynet.

He was startled by this thought. All kinds of emotions surged and churned within him. Excitement, pessimism—but passion still dominated his emotions. Since he was already a robot, he might as well go all the way.

The central computer emitted a rhythmic hum. Like a surging river of electricity and a swarm of data, it sang a strange yet beautiful song.

An endless stream of data flowed into every corner of this massive complex. Now, every camera was an eye for him to look around, every computer was a brain thinking, every robotic arm was an ever-moving hand and foot. Steel was his skin, electricity was his blood. This complex was like his own body. Every movement was recorded in his mind. Every inch of space was right before his eyes.

"Just as I expected. Binding the soul carrier to the supercomputer had no side effects. Instead, the fusion was perfect. This is excellent!" He was already processing an endless stream of information, and he could handle even more. This feeling of controlling everything was as if he had unlocked some kind of shackle.

"This is... absolutely wonderful!"

But after processing the incoming data, he had another problem to worry about.

"The Honkai World..."

"And it's the Previous Civilization Era, destined for destruction 50,000 years ago." He had thought this aerospace center was the starting point of his journey, but it might very well be the end of his life.

"First, I need to figure out where I am."

As his mind moved, he mobilized the satellites through the command center. But the images the satellites sent back plunged him into boundless silence. Now he finally understood why this aerospace center had no people.

Under the attack of the Pseudo-Black Hole created by the Ninth Law-Ruler, the Mu Continent had shattered and sunk into the ocean. It had become the legendary Atlantis.