Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 304 The Third Mechanical Fragment (Monthly Ticket Giveaway in Progress)

The downloaded mechanical mother was actually a consciousness that was completely unfamiliar to me?
And what about Miss Ai?
Where has Miss Ai, whom I knew so well, gone now?
Or perhaps, we should rephrase the question: Who exactly is Miss Ai, and how did she come to be by my side?

At that moment, Han Su found it difficult to describe the feeling that was both familiar and strange.

First of all, it must be acknowledged that the consciousness that Anwei downloaded did indeed carry the same temperament as the "Miss Ai" from the Disaster Management Bureau, but it was by no means the same Miss Ai that Anwei knew.

It was like seeing a familiar face, but this face had completely unfamiliar eyes, as if the soul had been replaced.

But going deeper, even I have to admit that it seems that my current demeanor is what the Mother of Machines should have originally looked like.

I had seen the mysterious Mechanical Mother in the Emperor's Book. She should be cold, rational, and efficient like this. The very human-like behavior of Miss Ai that I knew before seemed strange and illogical.

"Copper key detected, now performing perfect model adjustments..."

In the town square of Baila Mountain, when the priest Songchai and others knelt before Anwei, Anwei began to speak completely different words, and even her eyes seemed to suddenly become deep and empty.

A consciousness long absent from this world reappeared within her body, but this consciousness was devoid of any emotional fluctuations, only cold calculations.

The first thing she did upon arriving was to scan everything in Bailashan Town: the number of believers, the altar of the auxiliary priests, the mechanical ghosts, and the living bronze puppets. Combining this with the information she gleaned from the field, she determined the situation and juncture she was currently facing.

The next moment, twisted and dazzling sparks of electricity burst forth from her body, traveling in all directions along the mental field.

Thus, a powerful and subtle command affected everyone in this field. The mechanical ghosts began to move uncontrollably, all the living bronze puppets were activated, and even the positions of the seven auxiliary priest altars began to be subtly adjusted.

The locations of these altars, mechanical ghosts, and living bronze puppets are themselves a model.

It is the foundation built for the eventual appearance of the gate between reality and illusion.

At this moment, with her recovery, the first thing to do was to fine-tune the model to achieve a more perfect balance.

"Eliminate hidden threats..."

"Creating a real chaotic sea..."

"..."

After adjusting all the models in the Baila Mountain area, two more commands were issued in quick succession. The speed of the commands surprised the priests and others present. They looked up and met each other's eyes, realizing something strange.

The consciousness that was summoned was operating too fast.

However, because it was operating so quickly, some problems that they had not noticed before began to surface.

Her scan was too fast, instantly covering the entire Baila Mountain area without any reaction. This indicates that she has accepted the faction of the scientific giants as believers.
The heir is currently hiding in Baila Mountain, but why is it that she still doesn't consider him a dangerous factor?

Clearly, that heir is incompatible with this field, while the Mechanical Mother's position is inherently influenced by this field. Under such circumstances, the heir who is outside the field should be labeled as a heretic by the Mechanical Mother!

These problems are obvious, but because she pushed things forward so quickly, there was no time for people to question them.

The next moment, the field began to surge and churn under her influence, becoming increasingly heavy, like a magnet that was being placed into reality and growing ever heavier.

This magnet will make reality increasingly thin, eventually leading to chaos and disorder. After this chaos reaches its extreme, the Chaos Sea will appear, through which the gaps in history can be anchored.

This is the key to creating the gateway between reality and illusion.

However, anchoring historical gaps only creates a passageway that leads to history.

However, only by controlling this passage can it be considered a door.

Only by building this "door" that can be opened at any time but also kept closed year-round can one be said to have mastered the power to intimidate the real world. This is the complete plan that these believers in the Bronze Script are willing to pursue at all costs.

But right now, this machine is just frantically pushing forward its plan to build the Chaos Sea, without any restraint whatsoever.

This could very well create a situation where historical gaps appear, but they are unable to control them.

"Songchai Sacrifice..."

Someone raised their head slightly and spoke urgently.

Priest Songchai knew what they wanted to ask, so he quickly lowered his head and looked at Hou Zhizhu. Now, Hou Zhizhu was the embodiment of this field, and he was also the only channel in the field that could communicate with the Mother of Machines. If there were any questions, it was up to him to ask.

However, Hou Zhizhu sensed the urgency of the priest Songchai, who closed his eyes and his eyeballs rolled around erratically.

After a long pause, he slowly spoke: "The instructions are correct, the plan is complete, and everything is progressing normally."

"It's too easily influenced..."

Amidst their fluctuating thoughts, everyone subconsciously turned their gaze toward Priest Songchai.

Unlike other things, the believers of the Bronze Inscription Church felt a subconscious awe when faced with the legendary mechanical consciousness, so they dared not make any wild guesses.

However, the priest, Songchai, was much calmer than expected, and said softly, "There's nothing surprising about it."

"..."

The mechanical spirit priest couldn't help but ask, "You predicted this all along?"

"No."

Priest Songchai said in a low voice, "I'm just prepared for any unexpected event to happen."

“From the very beginning, I knew that cooperating with that person in Qinggang was like dealing with a tiger for its skin, and I never expected it to go smoothly. I knew there would definitely be problems, but I didn’t know where they would appear.”

"I am certain that this is the only opportunity in the past two thousand years, and I don't know if there will be another opportunity in the next few thousand years, so I must come and bet everything on it."

"These slight surprises are nothing compared to what's to come. The key indicates that the construction of the virtual-real gate will take place at midnight, and it's only just approaching evening. That means there are still seven hours until the actual virtual-real gate is completed."

"Anything can happen in these seven hours."

"Perhaps those well-known independent investigators from Qinggang will join forces to launch an attack against us."

"Perhaps Qinggang's current defenses will suddenly turn against us."

"Or perhaps, the city-slaughtering priests and the Abyss Studio, whom we've been trying to avoid, will detect our actions in time and come to sabotage our plans at all costs..."

"Each of them could potentially ruin our plans."

"..."

With each word he spoke, the atmosphere grew heavier, because they were all the truth.

Although the Copper Script Church has set up an impenetrable defense around White Wax Mountain, it is now capable of fighting back against both the strong attacks from Qinggang and the encirclement and suppression by the Abyss Studio.

However, constructing the gate between reality and illusion is an extremely delicate matter, and the most dangerous thing for a delicate matter is a chaotic impact. They did not want to see any accidents occur.

However, it is impossible to avoid unexpected events.

"so……"

The High Priest of the Mechanical Soul frowned slightly: "Since you've realized this, haven't you made any contingency plans?"

What do you think we're doing?

Hearing this, Priest Songchai gave a wry smile: "We are rewriting reality. We are planning to build a nation that rivals the rebuilt civilization and revive the greatest civilization. Therefore, we are susceptible to any influence."

"We can be extremely careful, but we absolutely cannot make contingency plans to prevent every possible accident. We can only accept the occurrence of these unexpected events..."

As the others listened, a sense of unease settled in their hearts, and even a shadow of despair began to flicker within them.

But then the priest suddenly laughed and said, "Of course, unless we do something that no one else expects first."

After saying this, he looked at Professor Ferrar beside him.

This is the most unique among all the religious groups that have arrived in the Baila Mountain region. He is highly senior, has a great reputation in the real world, and owns his own altar.

However, he was all alone, without students, fellow believers, or even core followers, so he appeared lonely and taciturn. But the three levels of golden cell division made him someone not to be underestimated.

If a fight were to break out, Professor Philar would likely be the most powerful among the Bronze Script believers.

"I do have a way."

Facing the gazes of the crowd, the white-haired, blue-eyed old man smiled wryly: "However, this final safeguard plan can only be activated when we feel that the situation is extremely out of control, making us uneasy, but we have no way to solve it."

Those listening were already slightly agitated: "What?"

"It is a machine, or rather, a piece of a machine with a mysterious origin."

Professor Philar spoke slowly, his gaze sweeping over everyone: "Unlike you all, I have been pursuing the will of God. It was my fascination with mechanics that led me to hear the voice of bronze, and then, in pursuit of higher knowledge, I joined the Church of Bronze."

"Therefore, my only hobby in the majority of my life has been studying the machines and equipment in various ruins that are beyond the level of current technology."

"My work in the real world is also about eliminating the dangers of those mysterious machines and then introducing them into practical use."

"The revival and operation of ancient machinery in this world that began thirty years ago was first initiated by my wife and me."

"It is precisely because of this hobby that I recently discovered a phenomenon that might seem counterintuitive to everyone here..." "The Bronze Age in history was the most technologically advanced era, far more advanced than now, even creating ultimate weapons like 'active copper'. However, in terms of mechanical manufacturing, the Bronze Age was not the most advanced!"

"..."

"what?"

He had barely finished speaking when a chorus of doubts arose around him, and some people were even subconsciously provoked.

To slander the machinery of the Bronze Age as not being the most advanced or sophisticated is tantamount to saying that the queen was not the most beautiful woman in the world.

"This is the truth, everyone!"

Professor Ferrar remained calm and said softly, "I have discovered a machine that surpasses bronze artifacts in every aspect, both in terms of manufacturing process and sophistication. Its precision and manufacturing process surpass any bronze artifact I have ever seen."

"More importantly... what I saw was just a fragment, but that single fragment surpassed everything else."

"This is impossible!"

"Nonsense!"

What started as mere skepticism has now turned into a chorus of condemnation.

The followers of the Bronze Script are all genius engineers, geniuses with knowledge of a surreal era.

Their knowledge far surpasses that of ordinary people, naturally giving them extreme confidence and the ability to discern what is a lie.

Amidst the accusations, only the priest Songchai remained silent.

"I'm not surprised by your reaction."

Professor Ferrar sighed softly and said, "Because I've long been aware of a problem myself."

"Theoretically, if such a sophisticated and advanced machine truly exists in the world, then we, the followers of the Bronze Script, would certainly be the first to notice its existence."

"But this machine itself has extraordinary characteristics. It is remembered for its ever-changing nature, and it always escapes the capture of the real world. I think that you have all seen the existence of this machine to some extent."

"At least, you've heard of it, but you've forgotten about it."

"..."

"forget?"

An increasingly bizarre atmosphere spread among the crowd, and some people immediately began searching their memories.

However, no trace was found.

Only one person raised the most fundamental question: "If we all forget, how did you remember?"

"I paid a heavy price."

Professor Ferrar's smile was bitter: "Perhaps some of you still remember that I once belonged to a huge cult, with a history older than the Soul of Machines and more believers than the pillars of civilization."

“I still have many talented students, and a wife who is more knowledgeable and skilled than me... but now, I am all alone…”

"And all this endless effort only resulted in one thing: that I can remember it."

"I can remember it, but I can't even communicate it with people. Just like now, I'm mentioning it to you all, but soon you'll forget it. You won't remember that I had this conversation with you, or that I ever mentioned it."

"..."

Because Professor Philarr's life level was the highest among them, the atmosphere was already somewhat oppressive.

After a long pause, someone whispered, "You're bringing this up now because you want to..."

“This is a protection mechanism that I discussed with Priest Songchai. Because I didn’t mention the mechanical fragment to him, I only told him what I could do, so he will remember that I intend to trade with the mechanical fragment at a crucial moment.”

Professor Ferrar said, "Steal time, right up to midnight."

"Until midnight?"

Everyone present was a person of extremely high spiritual level and extensive knowledge, yet at this moment they all clearly looked bewildered.

"The ability of that mechanical fragment is to steal time."

Professor Ferrar smiled, a look of fascination on his face: "Given the current situation, since we've committed to this plan, we must accept all the uncertainties it brings."

"In other words, we have made all the preparations and can foresee that things will develop as we imagined. What we expect is the most reasonable outcome."

"However, we all know that unexpected things can happen, and we don't know if we can solve these problems."

"Therefore, we must push time directly to midnight before any unexpected events occur, so that the gate between reality and illusion can be successfully built."

"..."

He tried his best to explain, but no one in the room understood.

"It sounds outrageous, but I've tried it."

Professor Ferrar chuckled, “I once made a deal with this mechanical fragment, using it to steal my time. It was one o’clock in the afternoon, and I had just finished lunch.”

"After this mechanical fragment started operating, I opened my eyes and it was already midnight. I was hungry. I had no memory of the period from one o'clock in the afternoon to midnight, nor any corresponding experience."

"Time skipped frames."

"..."

"you you……"

The priest of the Mechanical Soul even stammered a little: "Is it possible that your consciousness has simply been shut down...?"

"Since I'm going to conduct the experiment, I'm certainly making more than just this much preparation."

Professor Ferrar said, "Before stealing time from myself, I invited a friend to meet me at three o'clock in the afternoon, but after the time jump, this friend did not come to visit me."

His explanation afterward was that he was delayed by other things at the time.

"But for the sake of the accuracy of the experiment, I kidnapped him, dissected him, and then conducted a meticulous search of his brain."

"Afterwards, I received the exact answer: at that time, he had actually forgotten about me as a friend and about my invitation to him."

“My time was stolen, so it formed an independent system. At that time, I was just sitting in a chair, and after a period of time was cut off, I opened my eyes in this chair again and continued the logic of reality.”

"And most importantly, I'm hungry, which means that my logic is still continuing."

"Of course, I did some other experiments after that, such as having my assistant bribe an assassin to assassinate me at a certain time, but I hypnotized myself to forget about it and then stole my own time at the corresponding time."

In the end, I was safe and sound.

"so……"

He only explained this much before turning his gaze to Anvi in ​​front of the mechanical Buddha, looking into her empty eyes: "Now is the time to use this machine."

"Once it is used, both the Mother of Machines and Mount Baila will become an independent system. We will see the moment when the Gate of Reality and Illusion is successfully built, right up until midnight."

"No matter how many people are watching us, whether it's Qinggang or anywhere else, they won't have time to cause us any accidents, and they might even forget about us."

"That's why, even knowing there are so many uncontrollable factors, we still want to carry out this Bronze Script Holy Scripture..."

"..."

"Can't……"

The group was even somewhat taken aback by Professor Ferrar's words, but after a moment's consideration, they immediately objected: "Even if such mechanical fragments really exist, we cannot use them casually when we don't know enough about them..."

"You should have told us about this mechanical fragment sooner, so we could have collectively experimented on it..."

"The gateway between reality and illusion is of great significance; we cannot introduce such an uncontrollable factor at this crucial moment..."

"..."

Professor Ferrar saw the opposition and anger of the crowd, but he slowly raised his head, looked at them, and smiled, "But I've already activated it..."

"Gentlemen, please forgive my selfishness!"

“I also want to become one of the three high priests, to stand before the gate between reality and illusion, and to converse with history, but as things stand, it’s impossible for me to compete with you all…”

"Unless we utilize this mechanical fragment..."

"..."

Everyone stared at him in utter astonishment, the ticking sound already ringing in their ears.

(End of this chapter)