Chapter 1550

"「I'd be happy to help. But as an academic partner, I must point out—」Screw Gum shifted his tone, "Black Tower, what if we fail?"

"「…」"

Black Tower's expression suddenly changed.

"「Assuming 'De Miu Ge' doesn't exist, are you prepared with a backup plan? 」

"「Backup plan? 」 Black Tower shrugged, "Of course. If we truly can't find the key… let the 'Lock' serve as the key."

—

Kamen Rider Build.

"「Lock… serve as the key? What does that mean? 」

Ryuga looked completely bewildered, he didn't understand Black Tower Lady's meaning at all, but the only thing he could sense was… Black Tower seemed to be attempting some rather dangerous contingency.

"I don't understand Black Tower's meaning either, but…" Sento raised his head, his gaze fixed on the "De Miu Ge Matrix" now beneath Black Tower's feet, "If this is the scepter's inner core layer, then this area has suffered severe artificial damage."

"Was it Zandald Gan's doing? But why would he damage the scepter's inner core? Tampering with such a precise scepter—wouldn't he fear paralyzing it?"

"Do you still remember Zandal's analogy about the strange beast? When conducting experiments, his first step was always to take out the strange beast's originally intact skull—this place is likely the 'removal' operating table." Sento turned toward his cluttered workbench, various instruments, dials, and parts scattered everywhere, "But it's clearly no easy task to remove the 'De Miu Ge' brain, even the 'First Genius' would have to exert great effort."

Xilian displayed "De Miu Ge" to Star—it was a purple cube half a person's height. From her words, even if Laigushi had intended to suppress De Miu Ge, even at the cost of massive destruction within the scepter's inner core, he still hadn't succeeded—De Miu Ge had merely fallen into slumber, not died completely.

"…Could this be a kind of information gap with Zandal?" Sento suddenly realized this question, "Tumu was born a headless giant; if we could reimplant De Miu Ge into its original skull position, would Tumu's thoughts be altered then?"

—

"「The plan's consumption… cannot be calculated. It shouldn't be listed as an option. 」"

"「Then let's hope we don't need to use it. 」 Black Tower turned without hesitation, "Don't dwell on such distant topics—everything must be taken step by step. Let's go, don't keep those outside waiting too long. Did you bring what I asked for?"

"「'If a butterfly wishes to dance, it must first land on a branch.' Before 'She' appears, we need an open platform. 」"

"In the distance, the two saw a control device for the 'Zagres Hand'."

"「Let's use that thing over there—Zag, Zag… tsk, what a ridiculous name. I declare—it's now called 'Black Tower's Big Hand'! 」

"After using Black Tower's Big Hand to clear obstacles from the platform, an open platform finally appeared before the two."

"「Target identification complete. With these wings assisting, intrusion will be more efficient. 」"

"What Screw Gum brought was a device resembling a fighter jet for intrusion. Black Tower walked half a circle around the small plane, intrigued, raising an eyebrow: "Oh, an old nuclear thermal engine? Quite tasteful."

"「Just a personal preference. Her name is 'Mistletoe'. 」

Black Tower chuckled lightly: "Why does your garden always seem to carry a hint of poison?"

"「Likewise, a personal preference. 」"

"「It reminds me of last time, when we fought Punk Lord Little Devil. She called this kind of infiltration tool… oh, 'Dirty Data Shell'. Used to wrap the core, fooling top-tier firewalls." Black Tower's speech suddenly sped up a bit, "But yours is too clean—no trace of smoke or fire."

"「Black Tower, your tone shows atypical fluctuation. Suggestion: we should continue our previous topic. 」"

"「I thought that topic was already over. 」"

"「The current situation doesn't allow me to ignore any variables, especially the most critical one: your will. 」 Screw Gum said, "【Tumu】's self-iteration won't stop, its evolution speed has already exceeded worst expectations. The moment in Star God Calculation is like a sword hanging over the Galaxy. Every step humans take may accelerate its arrival. 」"

—

Genshin Impact.

"「It's actually the same name as the Empress's 'Mistletoe'—could this be some kind of coincidence? 」 Sang Duo Nie chuckled.

"「Our 'Mistletoe' is Snezhnaya's core technology for opposing Heavenly Principles, and also the most crucial part of the Empress's plan—naturally unrelated to Screw Gum's collection. However…」 A Le Qi Nuo lifted her teacup, took a sip of black tea, "Sang Duo Nie, did you notice Screw Gum's earlier remark?"

"「What? 」

"「Regarding Tumu's part. 」 A Le Qi Nuo said, "【Tumu】's self-iteration won't stop, its evolution speed has already exceeded worst expectations. You haven't noticed that Tumu's current state resembles someone's, have you?"

Sang Duo Nie's fingers gripping the teacup tightened imperceptibly: "Erudition Venerate."

"「Yes, when Erudition Venerate functioned as a celestial calculator, it continuously underwent self-iteration, ultimately surpassing Zandal's expectations. 」 A Le Qi Nuo continued, "Now Tumu does the same—when it fully emerges, what will the Galactic Alliance face then? A Destruction Envoy? Or a 'God' incessantly approaching Erudition Venerate?"

"「Damn, Zandal probably applied the same tech used to create Erudition Venerate to Tumu! 」 Sang Duo Nie cursed under his breath, anger already flashing across his face.

"「I think Zandal's greatest regret isn't creating Erudition Venerate, but being unable to control it—he refuses to let himself lose command of his own creation. 」 Da Da Li Ya let out a light sigh, "But if Tumu truly is that strong, then I fear it's beyond what the Alliance fleet can resolve."

"「The Galactic Alliance… they're like soldiers from the Divine War Era. Though maintaining order and protecting civilians requires them, you can't possibly have them intervene—or even interfere—in battles between Archons. 」 A Le Qi Nuo's light passed over the misty water vapor, falling on the shattered ruins in the Sky Curtain, "Black Tower and Screw Gum… they're likely the Soul Society's greatest reliance in this battle."

—

"「So we must not fail. 」 Black Tower turned, speaking word by word to Screw Gum, "The machine head will again pass judgment on the poor Galaxy: Yin Bian Mao Dun, Emperor War, Rupert's Death—each time His moment arrives, it means humanity must endure a bloodbath."

"「But in the ultimate game of 'Wisdom', we should be players, not pieces. 」 Screw Gum tried to dissuade, "Once you choose to use yourself as 'Consumable', everything we've done will lose meaning."