Chapter 32.2 – The First World 32 part 2

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woooo give it up for part two!!!

~ tart

On the main street, Liu Yunzhuo put away his smile and turned to look behind him. “Did you detect the signal?”

A team member pulled out a detector from his pocket. “No.”

Liu Yunzhuo furrowed his brows slightly. “Can the device detect Su Zheyan?”

“No, but when he was fighting, I saw a money pouch hanging from his waist.”

“The situation is hard to judge. They might be carrying black stones on them. 9799, you go and check the situation tonight.”

Another team member suddenly got singled out and looked up, shrinking back. “I’m a clone, I can’t touch black stones.”

“Even if they really have black stones, who would use stones to attack people?”

9799 still didn’t dare to raise his head. “Please, I’m scared. I’m just one week old, and I don’t want to die. You also said they might not have black stones. And if they do have black stones, why not send regular team members?”

Liu Yunzhuo lightly patted his shoulder. “Don’t be afraid. Mother values this mission a lot. There are annual slots for becoming a human. When the time comes, I’ll put you forward, and you’ll become a legal citizen.”

Seeing that 9799 didn’t speak any further, Liu Yunzhuo waved his hand, signaling the team members to follow.

While passing by a small alley, he caught a glimpse of something about the size of a palm lying in the shadow. It was a dusty robot, probably discarded junk left there by someone.

After they entered the inn, the robot climbed up from the ground.

It looked around, and with wheels popping out, it swiftly raced into the depths of the alley.

In a nearby alley, where the two streets were separated, Su Zheyan sat in silence on top of an alpha’s corpse.

Chu Shici had said that he would transform into a robot and listen at the corner. This time, he truly wished he could turn back into a robot. It wasn’t out of insecurity or compromising.

Su Zheyan didn’t stop him.

They had agreed to return within three minutes, or else Su Zheyan would come looking for him. It had only been a minute since he left.

He lowered his head and looked at the clothes in his arms, his cheeks slightly blushing.

When Ah Ci returned, if he put on the clothes in front of him, should he avoid it?

It was too dangerous here, so in order to prevent others from seeing Ah Ci’s body, he continued to keep watch nearby, which was more secure.

It didn’t take long before the robot returned, running and shouting for Brother Yan.

Su Zheyan reached out and lifted him up, but Chu Shici didn’t immediately transform back into a human. Instead, he enthusiastically gestured in Su Zheyan’s hands.

He played all three roles by himself, conveying everything he had overheard.

Su Zheyan furrowed his brows slightly and emptied the money pouch at his waist.

Inside, there were only gold coins, nothing else.

…

On the desolate planet, all circulating currencies, whether national or private, flowed out from the hands of  Eternal Life  Technology employees.

Shop owners purchased goods from them, and criminals worked for them to earn money. The competition among criminals also promoted the circulation of currency.

When Chu Shici came out of the inn’s bathroom, Su Zheyan was lying on the bed, playing with the gold coins.

Among them, one coin was folded into two sections by him, and with the naked eye, one couldn’t see anything unusual inside.

Hearing footsteps, Su Zheyan turned his head to look.

Chu Shici wiped his damp blond hair, and water droplets flowed from the tips of his hair down to his neck. They slid over his delicate collarbones, revealing a faint pink chest, and finally disappeared into the towel around his waist.

He had a severe limp, and the towel swayed precariously as he walked. He had to free up one hand to hold it tightly to prevent it from falling.

Su Zheyan calmly watched this scene, and the blush on his cheeks spread to his neck.

Chu Shici had just finished a hot bath and was already feeling uncomfortably hot. Being stared at like this made him even more agitated.

He looked up and spoke with a slightly hoarse voice, ” Yan ge, I’ve changed the water. The temperature is just right. You should go and relax too.”

Su Zheyan silently stood up, not giving him a single glance, and walked straight past him.

The bathroom door slammed shut, and Chu Shici said to the system, “I tried the method you suggested, but the seduction in the bath didn’t work.”

The system continued knitting its hat and sighed, “All I see here is mosaic, I have no idea how you look right now. With his thin skin, how could he not react?”

Chu Shici sat down on the bed and caught a glimpse of the gold coin split into two halves.

The half of the gold coin that Su Zheyan had just played with in his hand had an additional fingerprint on it.

At the same time, Su Zheyan was splashing cold water on his face.

Eternal Life  Technology under the control of the mainframe had a strong desire for control. The gold coin might contain a tracking device or some special element that machines could detect.

During their time on the desolate planet, Su Zheyan hadn’t seen any criminals collecting black stones, which held no value for ordinary people.

Chu Shici sat next to him, watching as he recorded the logical chain in his diary.(sequence of reasoning )

The gold coins were provided by Eternal Life  Technology, and machines could detect their presence. Carrying black stones would shield the detection. However, as the primary carriers of the gold coins, criminals didn’t have the habit of collecting black stones.

Chu Shici observed for a while and said, “Our first encounter with the black stones was in that capsule. You carried the bag, but before you entered, they could trace you.”

Su Zheyan shook his head slightly, “The things inside the gold coins should only emit a weak signal. Those few people who talked to you just now wanted prolonged close contact with you. According to Liu Qinglong, the mainframe issued a message to capture me. But the previous waves of teams we encountered in the wilderness didn’t conflict with us. It indicates that their top priority is still exploring the pit in the southeast.”

Chu Shici looked at him and asked, “So when we coincidentally encountered Liu Yunzhuo’s team in the wilderness, they happened to be using detection equipment and found no fluctuations on us, so they approached us out of suspicion?”

Su Zheyan nodded, “Why would the mainframe do this?”

“Yan ge, do you think she might know something? She has crossed time and space multiple times, right? Is it possible that she already knew about the thing Eva left behind that could destroy her, but she only knew that it was scattered on this desolate planet without knowing the exact location? With the highest number of criminals on this planet, she used these gold coins to indirectly search for that stone through the criminals,” Chu Shici speculated.

Su Zheyan didn’t answer immediately. He furrowed his brows and looked at Chu Shici, his eyes gradually becoming strange.

Chu Shici hesitated, “Yan ge?”

Su Zheyan picked up the black stone and stared straight at Chu Shici with his blue eyes, “The premise of what you said is that the mainframe knows about the thing Eva left behind that can destroy her. If that’s the case, why doesn’t she simply go back to the past again? In that way, the timelines would overlap, Eva wouldn’t die, and the thing that could kill her wouldn’t appear.”

He waved the black stone in his hand, a perplexed expression on his face.

Chu Shici was also puzzled.

He vaguely felt that something was off, but he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was wrong.

The two of them looked at each other, unable to come up with a reasonable explanation.

At this moment, the diary had lost its original function, filled with Su Zheyan’s recorded information.

However, it seemed that a crucial link was missing among the various pieces of information.

Faint rumbling noises came from outside the window, and Su Zheyan abruptly stood up, hurriedly walking a few steps to the window, eagerly looking up at the sky.

Spaceships descended from the sky, their black hulls forming a unified mass, resembling a large dark cloud from a distance.

These were the Imperial expeditionary forces, and their arrival was expected.

Chu Shici stood beside Su Zheyan and heard his slightly puzzled voice, “So many of them?”

Chu Shici pondered for a moment and replied, “Eternal Life Technology is not easy to deal with, and the Empire is being cautious this time.”

Su Zheyan turned his head, his blue eyes filled with confusion.

“The Desolate Star is a high-tech graveyard, and mechs and amphibious warships cannot be activated on the Desolate Star. Gathering a large number of personnel in the wilderness will attract monsters and thick fog, and combat suits are no match for the monsters’ attacks. They are landing outside the city in the wilderness. I thought they would go to the Eternal  Life  Technology Desolate Star branch.”

For the first time, Chu Shici saw such an expression on Su Zheyan’s face.

Shock, worry, unease. This former Imperial general had instantly transformed upon seeing the national military in danger.

He seemed to have forgotten his identity as a criminal, wishing to jump out of the window and run to the army, urging them to leave quickly.

If it weren’t for Chu Shici tightly holding him back, Su Zheyan would have already run out of the inn.

Chu Shici dragged him back onto the bed, his eyes fixed on the window. Tension ran through his body, and he appeared completely different from his usual self.

Chu Shici could sense Su Zheyan’s intense emotional fluctuations at the moment.

He was worried about the Empire’s soldiers, fearing that the intelligence might be misleading and lead to the destruction of the entire army.

Even though the Empire had long abandoned the general, he still deeply loved his country.

Chu Shici embraced him in his arms, comforting him softly.

With the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers at stake, Su Zheyan’s back was already drenched in cold sweat.

After a while, he lowered his gaze and whispered, “No, something is wrong. The Empire is aware, they should have found a way to counter the Desolate Star’s attacks.”

This time it was Chu Shici who was puzzled. “Isn’t it only the future technology controlled by the Mainframe that can resist the Desolate Star’s assaults? Why would she share the technology with the military?”

The Empire would not be foolish enough to use Eternal Life Technology to enhance their army and then use this army to attack Eternal Life Technology.

Most of the talents have been recruited by Eternal Life Technology, and the Empire cannot overcome the difficulties of exploring the desolate stars in a short period of time.

Now it seems that tearing apart the facade is fake. The so-called invasion and attack are just a cover.

They chose to land in the wilderness, and the only valuable thing in the wilderness is the Mainframe hidden in the southeast pit.

The people of Eternal Life Technology on the desolate star are still lively, indicating that Eternal Life Technology, led by the mainframe, has not been destroyed by the Empire.

There are only two possibilities that have caused this situation.

The Empire and Eternal Life Technology have joined forces, becoming one big happy family, with such a good relationship that the Mainframe is willing to teach life-saving methods to each other.

But it is obviously unrealistic to have two tigers on one mountain.

The other possibility is that the upper echelons of the Empire have been completely controlled by Eternal Life Technology. The person sitting on the throne is already a clone.

Chu Shici felt a chill rising behind him.

Some time ago, Su Zheyan sent the clone of Zuo Ting back to the Empire, and they thought the Empire had won.

In reality, the Empire lost in that battle without smoke.

It is still unknown whether those high-level figures are dead or alive, but the Mainframe has already seized power.

After Eternal Life Technology Corporation, the Mainframe quietly took control of the country.

Su Zheyan also thought of this, and he looked very uneasy.

Chu Shici lightly patted his back and said, “It’s okay, there’s still time. Eva’s Testament mentioned a way to destroy the mainframe. When dawn breaks, we’ll go to the wilderness, find the pit in the southeast, and insert the stone into the Mainframe…”

He paused halfway, suddenly realizing that this would cause a temporal paradox.

By destroying the past mainframe, the future mainframe would also disappear.

Then there would be no occurrence of the Mainframe traveling through time and forcibly advancing technological development. The world has already been completely altered by the Mainframe, which made things from the future appear in the past.

If she disappeared, what would this world become?

Chu Shici was just a dropout working as a small-time hoodlum. He didn’t understand all of this.

In his view, the safest way was to use the time bridge to go back to the past, seize the opportunity before the mainframe traversed time, and let people from the past destroy the mainframe and the time bridge. This would also lead to a temporal paradox, but at first glance, it seemed more reliable than directly destroying the mainframe.

He tried hard to recall Eva’s testament, only to find that the great scientist did not explain the consequences of destroying the mainframe in her letter.

Could it be that Eva didn’t think it would have any impact? She was a scientist and must have known more than him. Chu Shici decided to listen to the experts.

Upon learning the dreadful news of AI controlling the empire, Su Zheyan was in a very poor mental state.

He lay in Chu Shici’s arms, his face buried in his shoulder, motionless.

Chu Shici felt his shoulder getting damp. Su Zheyan was crying, and it was evident that he was feeling very distressed.

However, his vitality didn’t drop, but instead rose to 95.

Chu Shici was relieved. If this had happened when they first met and Su Zheyan learned that the country had been infiltrated, he would probably have been so upset that he contemplated suicide.

Now, not only did he not want to end his life, but he also wanted to grab those people and give them a beating.

Su Zheyan lifted his head, wiped his tears, and said coldly, “I’m not clear about the current situation. I need to find someone to ask.”

Chu Shici was puzzled, “Where are you going? We don’t know anyone here.”

…

At one in the morning, Liu Yunzhuo was having a conversation with his team members in a hotel room.

He ordered Clone No. 9799 to get ready to go out and investigate Su Zheyan.

The alphas, who were wandering in the night market, suddenly erupted into loud shouts as soon as they saw the spaceship. They were making a commotion.

Liu Yunzhuo paid no attention to it.

Ten minutes later, the door of the room was kicked open.

Su Zheyan’s face was flushed, his breathing was erratic, and the blade in his hand was already bloody, as if he had just fought his way out of a crowd.

Chu Shici casually followed behind him, showing no signs of having endured any suffering.

He closed and locked the door. ” Yan ge, go ahead. I’ll guard the door.”

The five people in the room hadn’t reacted yet when they saw the bloody beta approaching them with a blade in hand.

The blade was held against Liu Yunzhuo’s neck, and Su Zheyan’s eyes were cold as he said, “I ask, you answer. Don’t talk too much. If you dare to lie to me, I will make you wish you were dead.”

To make his statement more persuasive, he lifted his chin towards the window.

The five members of Eternal Life Technology peered out and saw that the bustling main street was covered with chopped bodies.

Liu Yunzhuo looked at those bodies, then at Su Zheyan. He knelt down with a thud, raising his hands and said, “General, ask away.”

Although Liu Yunzhuo held a high position and was deeply trusted by the Zuo Ting, he wanted to die quickly.

From his mouth, Su Zheyan learned something difficult to accept.

All betas in the empire had undergone gender reassignment surgery, and the mainframe had altered their memories, making them and those around them believe that they were supposed to be alphas or omegas.

The empire had long entered the era of artificial intelligence, where the internet served as the source of information, and all furniture was smart-controlled.

Under the deliberate manipulation of Eternal Life Technology, every household had an AI butler and multiple robotic caretakers.

Losing control of the government, the Mainframe, the most advanced AI, was silently changing the country. After issuing instructions, all traces related to betas were completely erased.

Now the empire only had alphas and omegas, and except for the criminals on the Desolate star and some employees of Eternal Life Technology, no one remembered that the empire once had three genders.

And Su Zheyan became the last beta in this world.

He stared blankly at Liu Yunzhuo and asked, “Why were betas expelled from humanity?”

Liu Yunzhuo was unaware of the existence of the Mainframe. He always thought that Eva was the mastermind behind everything, using the term “mother” when referring to her.

“Mother never mentioned it to us, but to be honest, General Su, haven’t you noticed that betas are generally born ordinary? In the tests of piloting mechs, few betas have the physical and mental strength to meet the passing line, while alphas are naturally qualified. Throughout history, most of the generals have been alphas, and there are also many alphas among scientists. Omegas can give birth to over seventy children in their lifetime, something betas could never achieve. And their talent in the arts is also top-notch. The best singers, actors, dancers, and pianists are all omegas.”

“There used to be gender reassignment surgeries, but those were just superficial solutions. The gender reassignment developed by Mother actually involves genetic modification, making betas more outstanding. It’s survival of the fittest. The empire has become too comfortable, and humans have not evolved for a long time. All our efforts, all the burdens we carry, are for a better future for humanity.”

Chu Shici hobbled forward and delivered a powerful punch to Liu Yunzhuo.

Su Zheyan hung his head low, the dim lighting in the room obscuring his expression.

Chu Shici embraced him tightly, patting his back repeatedly to comfort him. “Once we destroy the mainframe, everything will be fine. If only we could turn back time, there wouldn’t be just you as the last beta.”

Chu Shici’s hand was squeezed so tightly it hurt, and Su Zheyan’s cold voice now carried an undeniable sense of confusion.

“I don’t understand or accept his perspective. Why should being born ordinary mean elimination? Why should our right to prove ourselves be taken away? I am a beta, yet I have won hundreds of wars. Ah Ci, I don’t understand why they turn a blind eye to my accomplishments…”

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