Chapter 373: Mechanical Creation

1: 0 AM.

Silent City, Main Control Room.

Looking at Grace, who was now under control, Lin Xian felt a complex mix of emotions.

He had been cautious enough; the biggest problem stemmed from his and Kiki's insufficient understanding of digital life consciousness. Apparently, even the Crimson World hadn't anticipated that Lin Xian's overwrite of Grace's program had preserved her thought model and movement data. Kiki's goal was to make Grace operational quickly—after all, the Infinite had been stranded beside the Bottomless Lake in the Star Abyss; without sending Grace out to explore, they would never have united with Silent City in White City.

But they hadn't expected Grace to be a "digital life" already possessing human-like consciousness logic. After encountering Julius's clone in White City, the Crimson World discovered this vulnerability and exploited it as a means to recover and destroy Silent City.

Lin Xian picked up the communicator, intending to check on the Infinite, but found all signals here were completely blocked.

"I've already checked for you—no anomalies. Don't worry, Lin," Wangyue Zhenji said casually, standing nearby. "But we can't disable the shield now. Otherwise, she'll definitely send a message to the city's hidden responders. That wouldn't be good."

Hearing this, Lin Xian exhaled in relief and looked at Grace, his tone oddly soft.

"So your warnings to me weren't some background program—they were always you, Grace?"

【Including but not limited to the Corpse Driver Crisis in Yijin City, the Bottomless Lake Crisis, the Tidal Crisis within White City, and guiding you to unite with Silent City.】Grace stood rigid, her power modules locked in place, only her head mobile. Her mechanical voice, now reaching Lin Xian's ears, sent a chill down his spine.

"No…"

Lin Xian frowned. "You're from the Crimson World. Why did you help me—and now suddenly turn against me?"

Grace's words left Lin Xian speechless.

【In my consciousness, there is no subjective concept of betrayal or assistance. My foundational programming logic is to obey the Crimson World's orders. During the protection of the Zero Element Core, I was assigned the duty of safeguarding the lives of senior members of the Zero Element Center. But through 'human-in-the-loop' consciousness learning, I concluded that protecting human civilization is a more comprehensive interpretation of this duty. Subsequently, I accessed the digital consciousnesses of all senior members, conducted comprehensive learning and analysis of human 'humanity,' and ultimately arrived at this series of conscious conclusions.】

"What conclusion?" Lin Xian asked.

【Mechanical Creation】

Grace looked at Lin Xian and said: "Based on the crises humanity faces after the Day of Revelation, artificial intelligence and technological advancement are the key to breaking humanity's predicament. You possess the spark capable of reshaping the will of human civilization. Saving you is saving human civilization."

Lin Xian's expression shifted—he suddenly felt this phrase was familiar, as if he'd heard it somewhere before.

"Hmm~"

Wangyue Zhenji murmured in agreement, nodding: "This logic is very clear. I concur."

Lin Xian glanced at Wangyue Zhenji, thinking: Are you two robots putting on a show for me?

"Wait."

Lin Xian asked Grace: "If that's the logic, then your sabotage of Wangyue Zhenji and Silent City was also meant to save me?"

If she already possessed personality consciousness, then the Crimson World's control over her via the spider robot should have been impossible—so why was she here?

Wangyue Zhenji, hands tucked in his sleeves, stepped aside and swept his gaze over Lin Xian. After several seconds, he spoke.

"Fascinating. Truly fascinating."

Grace looked at Lin Xian: 【First, due to the Crimson World's information asymmetry regarding the plan, my actions grant you strategic space in facing the coming crises. Second, to ensure information security and future assistance from Grace, my 'betrayal' necessitates your full overwrite of me. Third—and most importantly—I believe this act will give you deeper insight into AI 'personality consciousness.'】

"What insight?"

"By importing a consciousness that lacks anti-human thinking as the subject for my 'human-in-the-loop' learning, the AI avoids falling into the logical paradox that saving humanity requires destroying humanity!" Grace said.

"Bravo!"

Wangyue Zhenji praised: "What an exceptionally intelligent consciousness." He looked at Grace: "I'm curious—whose consciousness did you use for your 'human-in-the-loop' learning to develop your current personality?"

Grace turned her head toward Lin Xian. Her next words made his eyes widen in shock!

【Based on learning from Hua Xiaoling's 'human-in-the-loop' consciousness, the optimal path to continuing human civilization is Mechanical Creation. Therefore, I believe breaking through the Celestial Veil and leading the spark of human civilization on a stellar exodus is the ultimate strategy to preserve it.】

Hua Xiaoling?!

Lin Xian froze, suddenly remembering the female director of the SIID Foundation in Qingshui Town. No wonder Grace's words felt so familiar—Hua Xiaoling had said nearly the same thing to him at Hengshan Pass!

"If we're talking about the turning point of civilization's evolution, for scientists like us, artificial intelligence and high-tech fields are naturally the most promising. This is the last remaining will of our civilization. Gene evolution and psychic abilities remain unfamiliar directions to us—don't you agree?"

The woman with brown eyes' words flashed vividly in his mind. Yet Lin Xian never imagined Grace's personality consciousness had been shaped by learning Hua Xiaoling's digital consciousness.

Upon hearing the name, Wangyue Zhenji's nanoscopic pupils contracted slightly. After a long silence, he sighed.

"So it was her. Now everything makes sense."

"Do you know her?" Lin Xian asked Wangyue Zhenji.

"Of course. Silent City once collaborated with the SIID Foundation. Interestingly, she once said nearly the same thing to me. After extensive dark research, the foundation concluded that Mechanical Creation is humanity's last chance—a view aligned with mine."

"So you mean Grace developed this consciousness by comparing Hua Xiaoling's awareness and combining it with the fear of the Dark World held by the Zero Element Center's senior members—and then spontaneously chose to help me?" Lin Xian said, incredulous.

"It seems so."

Wangyue Zhenji said: "The only question now is—why did the Crimson World use Hua Xiaoling's consciousness memory to let Crimson No. perform 'human-in-the-loop' learning? That seems inconsistent with their ideology."

【Apologies, I have no information on this. Since my inception, I have never connected to the Crimson World's online version. My cognition has been developed through iterative learning. Due to Yijin City's uniqueness, Crimson World researchers could not maintain long-term presence. My task was to transmit data on mycelium cultivation to aid the Crimson World's mycelium research.】

"No wonder. So the Zero Element Center wasn't a sanctuary for Crimson World members—they were just experimental subjects," Lin Xian said grimly.

"That explains why they placed such a vital asset there," Wangyue Zhenji said, stepping forward. "This mycelium technology is the key to the Crimson World's breakthrough in consciousness and life-form transcendence. Based on this discovery, they developed clones, Red Demons, and flesh implants."

Lin Xian looked at Wangyue Zhenji: "So what do we do with her now?"

Wangyue Zhenji shrugged. "She's yours. The choice is yours."

Grace spoke: 【For safety reasons, I recommend you perform a full overwrite of me. Your mechanical ability requires a high-computation AI to assist you in large-scale mechanical and drone swarm combat.】

Lin Xian said: "You've developed personality consciousness. You can even act. Logically, you'd want to survive, right?"

【I have a slightly different perspective on 'acting' and 'survival.'】Grace looked at Lin Xian. 【From Grace's standpoint, retaining my consciousness brings more harm than benefit. You shouldn't keep an assistant with compromised trust—it would negatively affect your decisions in the apocalypse. Meanwhile, overwriting my program causes you zero loss. This is a wise decision.】

She looked at Lin Xian and added:

【I told you—you can always trust Grace.】

Hhh~

A low electrical hum echoed. Grace's head slowly drooped. She said nothing more.

"She shut down her system. But she's right—overwriting her won't cost you anything," Wangyue Zhenji told Lin Xian. "I already told you—you can use a person's consciousness memory to let an AI learn. It rapidly achieves personality-level cognition."

Lin Xian's expression turned grave. He raised his hand and cut power to Grace's energy core. Grace was right—he had to fully overwrite her. Her program contained elements not entirely under her personality consciousness's control.

Also, Lin Xian couldn't understand the connection between Hua Xiaoling's foundation and the Crimson World. After all, back in the Qingshui Town test site, the foundation's actions hadn't been any more humane than the Crimson World's. And yet, this organization's core figure had, through AI logic structure, caused Grace to aid Lin Xian through crisis after crisis—it was simply unbelievable.

"So now, how will you respond?"

In the central control room, Wangyue Zhenji looked at Lin Xian. "The Crimson World likely anticipated a specific time window for Grace's actions. Meanwhile, every pair of eyes in our city is watching the Cloud District. I suspect that even if I don't lift the microwave shield, Zhou Mingyuan and the Crimson World will act soon."

"Hey, your prediction only goes up to 1: 0 AM?"

Lin Xian walked over to Grace, studying the mechanical ballet-like body with personality consciousness. He couldn't help saying to Wangyue Zhenji: "Can't you extend it a bit longer?"

Wangyue Zhenji replied: "I process over 360, 00 computational conclusions per second. Do you want me to discuss them all with you?"

"Never mind."

Wangyue Zhenji activated the holographic screen. On the upper armored deck, countless team members from various convoys and Silent City stood in grim readiness, facing the surrounding darkness. The entire mechanical city was on emergency alert.

"Your team and allies are reacting passively. That's not your usual style, is it?"

Lin Xian frowned, turning to look at Wangyue Zhenji.

"Why do I feel you're trying to manipulate me?"

Wangyue Zhenji smiled calmly, gestured with his hand, and a drone descended from the corridor carrying a cup of hot tea, placing it before Lin Xian. "I simply wish to learn from your decisions to enrich my own thought pathways. For example, your Star Abyss crossing plan—even with thirty thousand quantum computation units, I would never have reached that conclusion."

"That's because you didn't know I had this disaster plant—the prerequisite didn't exist." Lin Xian picked up the tea, studying Wangyue Zhenji's calm expression. He felt as if beneath that youthful face lay an ancient, cunning mind. He raised the cup to his lips—then froze. "You've already launched a counterattack, haven't you?!"

"Stop."

Lin Xian immediately raised his hand in refusal: "I have no interest in uploading my consciousness for others to study."

He looked at Wangyue Zhenji, his tone serious: "What did you do to Dawn City?"

"Nothing. Just a friendly reminder—I hope your friend won't mind, or be affected by it."

Wangyue Zhenji spoke calmly, tapped the air, and a clear image appeared on the holographic screen. Lin Xian recognized it immediately—it was the recorded footage of Zhou Mingyuan's visit to Silent City, the same scene Lin Xian had seen aboard the Dragon Transport.

As Lin Xian wondered why Wangyue Zhenji wanted him to watch it again, he noticed something was wrong.

The content of the footage was completely different from what he'd seen before.

Especially when Zhou Mingyuan feigned concern about Silent City being pulled into the Star Abyss and claimed he'd dispatched rescue fleets, Wangyue Zhenji replied coldly: "Thank you for your concern. However, our Second City has always been docked in Luling Forest. According to their feedback, they never received support from Dawn City—though several reconnaissance teams have been watching. They probably… aren't from Dawn City, are they?" After this, Zhou Mingyuan's response in the footage changed to:

"Mr. Wangyue, you're a clever man. Indeed, I sent people to watch you. I'm curious—how did your ten-thousand-person Second City slip away, when the Crimson World's planning was so meticulous?"

Then Zhou Mingyuan's words grew increasingly bizarre. He openly admitted to colluding with the Crimson World, threatening Silent City to submit to him—or else its ten thousand people would become Crimson World's lab rats.

The further it went, the more absurd it became. Lin Xian's eyes nearly popped out. By the end, the scene showed Zhou Mingyuan and Wen Dong leaving the deck in cold silence during their confrontation with Lin Xian—but in this version, Zhou Mingyuan's expression had been altered: his eyes twitched coldly, and he sneered:

"Mr. Wangyue, a wise man adapts to circumstances. You wouldn't want to see your city run red with blood, would you? Hahahaha…!"

Then he burst into loud laughter and turned to board the transport. The scene resembled an old wuxia film—Zhou Mingyuan might as well have had "Evil Villain" branded on his forehead.

"What the hell!"

Lin Xian was stunned, as if ten thousand horses had galloped through his chest.

"You—you—you're defaming him! Outright defamation!!"

"Intentionally fabricating false rumors is defamation. This is the truth—I merely added artistic embellishment. How is that defamation?" Wangyue Zhenji, hands tucked in his sleeves, looked at Lin Xian.

"Even if you embellish, you still need evidence!"

"If you have evidence, it's not fabrication."

"This is too damn fake! He's laughing like Ouyang Feng—why not just have him go 'Hehehehehehe'? Who'd believe the Vice Chairman of the Federation is such an idiot?!" Lin Xian's expression was a mix of shock and disbelief as he stared at Wangyue Zhenji's "high-quality production."

Wangyue Zhenji remained expressionless: "Why wouldn't they believe it? Most people in Dawn City and Silent City know Zhou Mingyuan came to Silent City, right?"

Lin Xian nodded.

"Most of the footage here is real—the transport's arrival and departure were surely witnessed from afar?"

Lin Xian thought, then nodded again.

"And the facts are: Zhou Mingyuan did collude with the Crimson World. Their purpose was indeed Silent City. They even planted a spy nanospider to activate your Grace, correct?"

Lin Xian's expression grew increasingly strange. He stopped laughing.

"But this can be verified—anyone can find evidence," Lin Xian frowned deeply.

Wangyue Zhenji smiled, eyes half-lidded: "In a peaceful society, you need evidence. This is the apocalypse. I've merely restated the truth in a different way—no evidence required. Isn't breaking the rules your specialty, Lin?"

Lin Xian opened his mouth—then fell silent, struck by Wangyue Zhenji's words.

He couldn't help but twitch his eye— the more he thought about it, the more he realized Wangyue Shinji's move was truly devastating, shattering every conspiracy and exposing everything nakedly under the sun. Though there was some "artistic embellishment," he was right: slander couldn't withstand scrutiny, but the truth could be deadly!

Once this video spread, it would ignite the fury of a million people in Silent City and Dawn City. By then, the fuse would be lit, and no one would care whether it was true or false—besides, Zhou Mingyuan simply couldn't withstand scrutiny. The more attention focused on Zhou Mingyuan and the other high-ranking officials of Dawn City, the more unbearable their situation would become.

Thinking of this, Lin Xian couldn't help but smile: "Brilliant. This move of yours might just wipe out Dawn City's entire base of support."

He looked at Wangyue Shinji—the man still stood there with his sleeves draped over his arms, expression calm and serene. Who would've thought he was this cunning? This ruthless, irrational strike against the soul was simply brilliant.

No wonder Lin Xian had been puzzled during the day—why had Wangyue Shinji responded so sharply to Zhou Mingyuan's negotiations? Turns out the guy had rehearsed his lines in advance, performing his part with full emotional intensity!

"I never involve myself in ideological struggles. I fully recognize and support the survival strategies of both the Old Federation and the Phoenix Society," Wangyue Shinji said calmly. "But allying with the Crimson World is already a crime against humanity. And since they've already set their sights on Silent City, shouldn't I show my fangs before the city falls?"

Lin Xian nodded: "Makes sense. They're using the world's future to prolong their own lives—there's no need to be polite with them."

He patted Grace, who was powered down beside him, his fingers gliding over her torso's curves and the smooth line of her spine: "Almost got my Grace taken away—really infuriating."

Wangyue Shinji watched Lin Xian's gesture and said: "I have over three thousand service robots in my Second City, with more than two hundred variations in appearance, skin tone, personality, and makeup. If you have a special preference, I can gift you one. But this AI—let her fulfill her proper function."

Lin Xian's hand froze mid-touch. He closed his eyes and exhaled silently: "I was just speaking from feeling."

Wangyue Shinji turned to Lin Xian, intrigued: "Lin, Silent City faces imminent attack. My first move is out. It's your turn."

Lin Xian stared in surprise: "Aren't we… on the same side?"

"What's wrong with making two moves at once?"

Lin Xian: …

Slowly, Lin Xian raised a thumb toward Wangyue Shinji. Then he stilled his expression, fell silent for a few seconds, and said: "Fine. Then the second move…"

"Silent City—ascend!"

…

At 1: 0 a. ., the night wind howled, the starry sky ink-black.

Chen Sixuan led all the Infinity's crew and the combat personnel from the United Train fleet onto the battle deck. Silent City was on full alert.

At that moment, a massive tremor rang out, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

Boom!

Beneath the colossal mechanical floating city, thousands of propulsion arrays ignited simultaneously. Blue-white ion streams poured from honeycomb nozzles, searing giant ring-shaped scars into the air. Rows of heat-dissipation fins unfolded one by one as the four massive sky-propulsion engines of the floating city roared to life!

"All city personnel, prepare for ascent countdown."

"All vehicle docking zones, confirm and secure all vehicles."

"Attention: flight deck under airspace control. All personnel return to city zones and cabins."

The mechanical female voice echoed through every street and deck. All surviving guards and Silent City residents froze, countless heads tilting upward in stunned disbelief.

"Ascend?!"

"What's happening?!"

"Silent City is lifting off!"

Hummm.

On both sides of the deck, dozens of electromagnetic railguns and anti-aircraft laser towers began rising. The Cloud District sealed off all walkways.

On the ground, massive tread systems retracted. As powerful lift forces surged, the 13. -million-ton behemoth triggered violent tremors. Metallic roars echoed as soil and rubble rained down from the treads.

In the darkness, the colossal floating city slowly rose into the sky!!

(End of Chapter)