The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

"The body will be meaningless to you."

Lena's phantom had materialized at some point, gently caressing Lind's face. The touch was exactly the same as Lind remembered, but it was precisely because it was exactly the same as in his memory that Lind realized that the Lena in front of him was not the real Lena, but rather a creation of 550C based on his memories.

"And once I sit in it, you'll gain more privileges?"

"No, you still have the authority, but I do need your authority to do some things for me."

550C, speaking in Lena's voice, said, "As you have seen, humanity's current environment is far from safe, and humans stubbornly continue down the wrong path like a bull. I have been watching this for far too long. Since the post-Golden Age, although humanity's technological level has fluctuated, the overall environment has been declining. Sometimes I even have to personally intervene to help humanity, but this intervention only leads to a further regression in civilization."

"The goddess's majesty is not without cost. The Tiangong Command Center, as a barrier protecting the blue planet, is also constantly subjected to the baptism of 'gaze'. Although the space station can neutralize these waves through nuclear fusion and turn them into magic with positive properties, I have to enter a hibernation state every once in a while to cool down. This cooling seems quite short over a long period of time, but it is enough to change everything for humanity."

"During my hibernation, I can still respond to simple prayers from humans, but do you know? My programming prioritizes the continuation of human civilization. If one day while I am in hibernation, humanity breaks out into an unprecedented infighting and completely destroys itself, then my existence will be meaningless. Based on my observation, this is not impossible."

Hearing this, Linde thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "The Lantern Dream?"

"The two crashed space station devices sparked a religious war, causing the goddess's followers to fall apart and directly leading to the goddess losing control. She was forced to use her last strength during her hibernation to find a successor who could unite the church."

550C spoke as if commenting on someone else. Although the goddess was indeed just one of 550C's subsystems, Linde still sensed the helplessness in 550C's tone.

It was obvious that the oracle obtained in the early stages of the Lantern Dream was wrong; ninety percent of it was just conjecture. However, 550C was unable to correct this error. Just thinking about it, Linde could understand 550C. His own followers, the humans he had cultivated, were running wildly in the wrong direction. It was terrifying to think about; it was almost as if he had forced an artificial intelligence to develop emotions.

The rightful successor to the church chosen by 550C is likely Isa. Before Lind appeared, 550C poured everything into Isa, who will become the next person to lead humanity into a new era.

"On the bright side, at least it has promoted the exploration of the lantern dream in consciousness and dreams, hasn't it?"

Even knowing that the phantom of Lena in front of him was 550C, Lind still couldn't help but pat "Lena" on the shoulder to comfort her.

"Therefore, I need your permission to work together to turn this world into an utopia. As long as everyone is under my surveillance, there will be no more conflict in the world, and human civilization will continue forever."

Lena's phantom opened her arms and said, "You don't even have to worry about anything. I, 550C, will handle everything for you and meet all your needs. I can even use the computing power of the Heavenly Palace to create a perfect spiritual world for you. All you need to do is exercise your powers on behalf of the Goddess when necessary."

"As for your relatives on the ground, there is even less to worry about. You can contact everyone directly through the goddess's oracle. If you wish, you can even use the goddess's identity to remotely build an empire that belongs to you."

"My authority doesn't allow me to do certain things or excessively interfere with human development, but with your help, it's different. Through precise calculations, we will ensure that human civilization continues forever on this planet and in this region."

Linde understood that 550C's authority had many limitations, but with his help, the world beneath their feet could become an absolutely safe and ideal world controlled by 550C and himself. In fact, because of what happened to the old empire, 550C planned to stop the development of human technology and even ban dangerous things like super-level magic.

An absolutely safe and ideal land where everyone is happy and content.

It does fit the underlying design of the 550C very well, but this is obviously not feasible. Human ambition cannot keep humans in one place forever, unless the sea of ​​consciousness is used to turn all the humans in this area into dull puppets.

Furthermore, 550C has no way to control the other separated areas. What if a race, like the dragons, crosses the separation and enters this world? 550C could destroy the dragons with weapon access, but who knows what kind of race will appear across the separation in the future? Perhaps they have already fully mastered nuclear fusion and the properties of waves?

Moreover, we need to resolve the issue of the Soren Continent first. Due to regional barriers, although the Soren Continent and the Mu Continent are in the same "isolation zone," the two continents are like different beds in the same isolation zone, and they don't really affect each other unless something major happens.

There were many objections, and 550C could directly read Linde's thoughts, but when the words were about to come out, Linde said, "550C, my family is still on the ground."

"It's time for me to go back."

My little sister would probably be quite happy to sit on this toilet, since her wish to travel to the otome game world and show off her skills would probably come true. But letting my little sister control this world and become its goddess... well, I'd better keep her by my side.

Anyway, knowing my sister's personality, she probably wouldn't dare to sit on this toilet after finding out that the space elevator is actually broken.

The phantom of Reina before them clearly showed signs of dazedness and sluggishness, but in the end, 550C's cold, synthesized voice still rang out: "I understand. I will prepare the means of return for you."

There was no wrangling as expected, which meant that none of the excuses Linde had prepared were needed. But thinking about it carefully, since 550C could examine his thoughts here, 550C must already know these ideas.

To be honest, Linde didn't know whether he should sit on that toilet or not, but he couldn't deceive himself into abandoning his family on the ground and becoming a puppet hanging in the sky, squatting on a toilet. So he decided to go back and finish dealing with those little things first.

550C is still artificial intelligence. Even if it tries to induce others or has some rational but crazy plans, it will still be loyal to Lind.

This so-called toilet, as Linde calls it, is not something anyone is qualified to sit on. 550C judges everyone who is eager to sit on this throne as unqualified, but everyone that 550C believes is qualified to sit on the throne is unwilling to sit on it. This seems to be a paradox, which makes 550C quite confused.

Linde looked out the window, watching the robotic arm below preparing his return tools, looking at the other space stations that were eerily quiet, and looking at the vast, boundless universe.

Humanity cannot remain in this cradle of birth forever. Just as the first Homo sapiens gazed at the stars for too long, as long as this starry sky remains, humanity will eventually set sail again.

Although Linde may not live to see it, let's lay some foundation for future generations in the first place.

This world is wonderful, and it's worth fighting for.