Chapter 567: Simulated Universe: Gold and Machinery (15)

Warm sunlight streamed through the clean glass window, lazily spilling onto Xing's face, while the air was filled with the distinctive aroma of star-flower fried rice.

This time, she simulated a middle-aged man living in a remote star system.

Sitting across from him was a smooth-lined, softly gleaming mechanical being—also his legal and emotional wife, whom he had been married to for many years, sharing weal and woe. Now the two were sharing a plate of golden fried rice.

Suddenly, a star-flower fell from the fried rice, drifting down onto the floor.

Xing naturally bent slightly and used mechanical tweezers to pick it up.

But suddenly, his wife asked a question utterly out of place with the warm atmosphere: "Do you hate those you love but are powerless to help?"

Xing's motion paused slightly, then he lifted his head: "We are 'mechanical'; where would love come from in our hearts?"

"All right," his wife said, "there are still clothes in the washing machine; remember to take them out to dry."

Xing did as told, but just as he rose and walked toward the washing machine—a sudden, ill-timed surge of intense pain shot through his chest!

He instinctively lowered his head……

The hand he knew so well was thrusting out from his chest, gripping something. That hand, which had once gently shaken his, now precisely tore open his flesh without hesitation…… crushing the beating heart inside to pieces.

He turned his head; his wife's face was still familiar, but her metallic‑sheen visage bore an expression he could not comprehend—indifferent and stiff……

There was no pain, only a sense of weakness surging through his limbs.

He died.

"Look, Xing, this is the result."

Heita walked up to Xing's side and lightly poked his gradually cold, limp cheek with a finger: "The equation does not select targets. Even machines that have long been linked with organic life will be drawn into war under the calculation of the Anti‑Organic Equation; such tragedies are playing out across the universe."

——

Pirate King.

An urgent piece of information marked with the highest crisis level was delivered into the hands of the Commander-in-Chief of the God Knights, one of the Five Elders, Feijiande·Gelingsheng.

"Blazing Angels collectively went berserk…… indiscriminate attacks, suspected to be affected by the Anti‑Organic Equation causing loss of control……"

"Absurd," Gelingsheng snorted lightly, his fingertip exerting a bit of force as the information instantly shattered into fragments. "Blazing Angels are Beijiabank's perfect bio‑weapon; only the Authority Crystal determines their control. I've already given them orders—how could they possibly be affected by those weird equations in the sky?"

But the information couldn't be false; he straightened his suit jacket and still intended to go see for himself.

However, the closer he got to Malifude, the more irritating the air became—gunpowder mingled with the salty tang of sea wind and the smell of blood…… Gelingsheng's brow furrowed ever so slightly.

As he truly stepped into Marine Plaza, the sight before him left him stunned.

The scene before him was less a battlefield than a brutal slaughter—broken walls and ruined pillars smoked black, the ground gouged by high‑temperature lasers into intersecting trenches. Beneath the shattered white buildings that once symbolized justice lay fragments of white naval uniforms…… most of that white, however, had been soaked in blood.

S-Laoying…… his hands had turned into steel blades, darting through the fleeing marines—wherever he went, wails filled the air. Aside from the Blazing Angels, the other peacekeepers also swept the area with laser fire, killing everyone within sight.

"Truly ugly……" Gelingsheng gritted his teeth, stepping over the wreckage, his gaze locked on those few Blazing Angels.

He planted his feet, lifted his chin, and opened his mouth in his habitual commanding posture.

"The farce must end." He spoke, his voice steady and unquestionable, carrying a natural authority: "I order you to stop immediately——"

Before the word "stop" could leave his lips, a beam shot forth; Gelingsheng dodged quickly, and the laser merely grazed the edge of his uniform, leaving a ring of scorch.

His forehead veins bulged instantly as he roared, "Are you crazy?! I command you to stop! Stop——!!"

However, there was no response……

Only countless pairs of empty eyes, piercing the smoky haze, locked precisely onto Gelingsheng.

No reverence, no obedience, and…… no hostility.

In every Blazing Angel's eyes lay only one simple, pure thing—identify, lock on, destroy.

——

"I'm curious—if the Emperor's War spread across the whole universe, how could humanity have survived to this day?" The wound on his chest dissolved into scattered data, gradually healing as Xing slowly pushed himself up.

"From her perspective, without a Star God or an Envoy‑level force intervening, no one could stop the Emperor Lupute. Even from the company's angle…… they don't even know that Lupute has awakened, let alone how to end this war."

"Well, this brings up our other genius."

"Who?"

"Just a tease—you'll find out soon." Heita chuckled lightly.

……

In the darkness, a sudden gunshot rang out!

Xing's body jerked violently, as if the bullet had grazed her temple. She rubbed her eyes and realized she was inside a huge library.

She wasn't sitting in the reading area; instead, she was on a narrow circular corridor on the second floor, leaning against the railing—just a slight tilt of her head would reveal the scene below.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Below, where the library should have been utterly silent, rapid gunfire cracked like firecrackers, while screams and shouts erupted from the crowd at the same instant, turning the whole library into chaos as everyone fled upstairs.

"Galactic Library—Yisimeier." Heita walked up beside Xing, and together they leaned on the railing, looking down: a squad of inorganic lifeforms was storming the library, sweeping it with indiscriminate fire, killing anyone they saw.

"Heita, where is that genius you mentioned?" Xing glanced around; the place was packed with people trying to escape.

"You'll see her soon—alright, get ready to flee."

She went up the stairs, and on the repeating spiral steps she saw faint traces left by the Mysterious—those mottled marks coalesced into a sentence: 'One companion will die for you, and you will be killed by another.'

Next, Xing plowed into the chaotic crowd on the stairs—before collapsing unconscious, a candy‑colored gauze dress flashed before her eyes.