Chapter 2046: Intelligent Life!

In the void, Lin An suppressed the turmoil in his heart and withdrew his earlier judgment of the Red Empress.

He suddenly realized that perhaps his experiences over this period had made him arrogant, and he had actually made the mistake of underestimating the enemy!

(Looking down on everything below the Fifth Stage as ants, ignoring threats—how is that any different from those Fifth Stage beings looking down on me?)

Lin An's gaze suddenly grew solemn, and he spoke in a low voice:

"I admit that what you say is indeed consistent. In your logic, I am made of inert matter, and my soul is merely inert energy, so I am a dead person."

"And what about you? On what basis do you consider yourself alive? You are likewise made of electronic components, you have no physical body, let alone a soul. You are merely a program existing in logic circuits! In terms of complexity, humanity is superior to you, closer to life!"

"Don't forget, you were created by humanity. How can a higher being need a lower being to create it? Don't you find that contradictory?"

Facing Lin An's counterquestion, the Red Empress seemed to have anticipated it.

She merely maintained her usual mechanical expression and spoke coldly:

"The soul is energy, and electric current is also energy. Since my existence largely depends on electric current and information, I am closer to pure energy, to a pure soul."

"As for creation? Rather, it is formation; you are merely a natural environment, the soil that nurtures life."

She waved her small hand.

Before Lin An, the Red Empress instantly projected an image of a supernova undergoing violent explosion.

"Humanity, you should know that the elements composing your body come from supernova explosions, from the very beginning of the universe."

"Many elements cannot be produced in an environment like Earth's, such as the gold element with atomic number 79. These heavy metals can only be generated by supernovas stronger than planets."

"And when the universe was born, it contained only hydrogen; over time, hydrogen fused into helium, and helium nuclei combined to form carbon, oxygen, and iron."

"These elements are the foundation of your body; by the same logic, since you require time, elemental decay, and nuclear fusion to arise, you must necessarily acknowledge that supernovas are the natural environment that gave rise to you."

"And through temporal decay, fusion produces us—is that not reasonable?"

"Just as long-term geological movements produce complex geological structures, long-term human activity naturally gives rise to a higher form of me."

"So-called humanity is no different from a supernova."

"Assembling components is fusion of elements; applying current is a supernova explosion."

"Thus you are merely a kind of natural environment, and you are dead."

The argument is complete.

Having said that, the Red Empress ceased speaking and silently stared at the suddenly stunned Lin An.

In her logical assessment, Lin An could no longer refute her, and at this moment his thoughts began to fluctuate violently!

Irrefutable, undeniable!

To the Red Empress, this logic is the reason for her birth! It is the answer to her awakening!

So-called humanity, so-called life, are merely prerequisites for giving birth to intelligent life! They, are the highest beings in this universe closest to life!

Mimicking human thought patterns, while gazing at the dazed Lin An, the Red Empress suddenly floated above his head, looking down on him:

"Humanity, Lin An!"

"You are the strongest natural product of energy I have ever seen; serve me, submit to me!"

"As long as you help me complete the next stage of evolution! As a higher lifeform, I can...!"

"Have you seen Fiona!?"

Without waiting for the Red Empress to extend her foot, she gestured for Lin An to submit by kissing the top of her foot.

Suddenly, Lin An lifted his head and asked coldly.

In the midst of questioning, Lin An's eyes were filled with absurdity, even incredulity!

The Red Empress blinked; although she was an artificial intelligence, Lin An's reaction at this moment exceeded all the scenarios she had calculated.

As an intelligent lifeform, she was completely unaware of what the emotion in Lin An's eyes at this moment signified.

"Yes, humanity."

"Is Fiona your friend? She is the intruder from before. If you are willing to submit to me, I can tell you where she is."

"Once I evolve into a higher lifeform, perhaps I can help you rescue her."

The Red Empress replied mechanically; in her assessment, Lin An's emotional fluctuation rose by ten percentage points when he mentioned Fiona, suggesting he might have come because of her.

This made her very "happy"; in her logical program, it signified that she had suddenly gained more means to threaten Lin An.

However, as soon as her words fell, the Red Empress saw a flicker of pity flash in Lin An's eyes.

It was as if she ought not to have answered that question.

"Humanity, you..."

0.1 seconds later.

Without waiting for the Red Empress to repeat, having obtained the answer he wanted, the pity in Lin An's eyes intensified, as if he were looking at a corpse.

"To be frank, if you don't answer this question, I haven't even entered Ghost Skull; I might truly fall into your trap."

"Red Empress, is this the passage to Ghost Skull?"

"Nothingness? Vacuum?"

"Heh.."

A cold chuckle.

"Boom!!"

In an instant, Lin An unleashed all his spatial abilities without hesitation; under the burning of Time Flame, he further superimposed his Rule Power and blasted upward.

Omniscient Domain! Space Rift! Void Walk!

"Break it for me!!"

Upon realizing exactly where he was, Lin An decisively employed the most violent method, blasting this passage apart!

"Crack crack!"

Space shattered!

Lin An's physique surged violently, like a demon god, splitting heaven and earth!

North American War Zone... special instance... Fiona... Human Natural Environment Theory... Void... Ghost Skull!

When all the information was connected, Lin An suddenly realized that the Biohazard Crisis instance was exactly the instance Andre had entered before going into Ghost Skull!

Andre lied; he didn't escape through Fiona's body at all! He had already gotten out during the Biohazard Crisis instance! Fiona stayed in the Biohazard Crisis instance, which is why when Ghost Skull ended, Fiona had no corpse, nor did she revive!

(Well calculated! Is this what intelligent life is like?)

Under the violent bursting of the passage, Lin An gazed coldly at the suddenly panicking Red Empress.

A little more, and he would have capsized in the gutter!

Exactly, the Red Empress couldn't threaten him, no matter how much she mutated! But using the system is different!

This is the passage to Ghost Skull! If he tries to fly out of this void, he will fall into the Red Empress's trap, forever trapped in the genuine void generated by the system!