Chapter 177: Thirteen Ring Cities, Wormhole Theory, and Super Body Modification

It was a transparent substance, like a membrane covering the underside of the Da Manyu Wang's fish skin; if it hadn't been somewhat tough, Liu Mu would almost have failed to notice it.

Upon first contact, she also thought it was just some kind of gelatin, but the thin layer was extremely resilient; the large knife Liu Mu used for dissection failed to cut through it several times.

Just a second before she was about to swing the knife and hack away, a certain intelligent system stopped her recklessness.

"Don't move, let me see," Heitao A, not knowing who it had learned this from, went over and pushed Liu Mu aside directly, "Good stuff."

Liu Mu, who had originally wanted to scold it a couple of times, saw her eyes light up the moment she heard those three words and stopped caring about anything else, crowding over to ask, "What good stuff? Is it valuable? Does it have any great use?"

Aside from energy and the Anti-matter Engine, it had been a long time since Liu Mu had heard Heitao A evaluate something this way; even the energy orientation device from before hadn't elicited the slightest surprise.

"This is the protective substance that shields the Eel King during Space Jumps, and it is also the primary manifestation of its Mutation."

Heitao A pulled at the air in front of it, opening a screen in the sky, which displayed an introduction to a substance called 'Hydraulic Membrane'.

Liu Mu watched for a while, feeling a bit disappointed, "I say, even if it can serve a protective purpose, where does this Space Jump ability come from? Are you saying if I wrap this skin around myself, I can just 'whoosh' and appear somewhere else?"

"In human theoretical physics, it is believed that the universe contains energy lines called 'strings'. You can utilize these 'strings' to achieve long-distance jumps with near-zero time difference. Host, this theory is already used for cosmic navigation within the Huanxingcheng."

Heitao A believed Liu Mu should have already noticed the key point it mentioned, so it continued: "The 'Outsiders' attacked by the Tiankuishe are precisely the large-scale cosmic voyage fleet of the 13 Huanxingcheng. They belong to one of the Silent Civilizations, sailing through the universe to escape powerful enemies, while simultaneously helping some primary civilizations solve problems in exchange for certain rewards, mainly energy-based, to support their long voyages."

"Silent Civilization? A civilization that doesn't speak?" Liu Mu scraped the fish skin vigorously.

The skin of the Da Manyu Wang was very thick; after peeling it off, one could see that layer of transparent membrane. Liu Mu couldn't help but nod—it was all good stuff!

"Silent Civilization is a collective term for a type of civilization. They are usually not flashy, do not invade, do not actively provoke wars, and do not actively expose themselves, hence they are called 'Silent'. They will also engage in transactions, including technology and techniques, with friendly civilizations that discover them. However, Silent Civilizations in transit are often being tracked by powerful enemies and cannot stay in one star system for too long."

"Isn't that still pretty good?" Liu Mu slowly stopped her hand, looked up at Heitao A, and her expression gradually became solemn, "Combining the news Hong obtained at the Tiankuishe, let's speculate on what's going on."

Following the planned position, Liu Mu's knife continued to cut through the eel skin, "The ones called 'Outsiders' by the Tiankuishe—and perhaps by the human elite consensus—belong to one of the Silent Civilizations, with the true name 'Thirteen Ring Cities Fleet'. They may have passed through the Taiyang Xi, or even the Yinhe Xi, and discovered our Earth. Then, we had something they needed, very likely some kind of energy, so they came to trade..."

Her slender, powerful fingers applied force, and the fish skin was torn away in large chunks. It had to be said that when Liu Mu was serious, her logic was very clear.

Yet her expression became increasingly ugly, "I don't believe that someone at the level of the Tiankuishe could go to war with them and even shoot them down. Xiao A, did your enemies come too, or are they nearby? And what kind of civilization is pursuing you? Blood Killers? Hunters? Devourers?"

Scavenging for junk is great; you can collect all sorts of books. Liu Mu once collected a pile of science fiction novels from a mother who loved her children; a foreigner had written about a civilization that specialized in robbing other planets to use as fuel for their spaceships.

This was the source of her bold speculation; after all, this was written by Earthlings themselves, and she didn't know if it actually existed.

Heitao A quickly pulled up a large amount of data, all floating in front of Liu Mu.

After enlarging a few pages, it explained, "The currently accessible database shows that their enemy, if expressed in the Chinese language, should be 'The Great Black Biological Blood and Soil and Planet and Bug Killer that uses Carbon-based fuel'? Uh, perhaps you could give them a simpler name."

Liu Mu also saw the symbols that were two lines long. She could understand the meaning, but it was really hard to translate, "Then let's call them 'Dirt Clods'?"

Heitao A: "...... Dark Hunters, that name is not bad. As expected of the Master."

"What is that, I said..." Liu Mu wanted to emphasize her own intention, but comparing the two, it really wasn't very presentable, "Then let's call them 'Dark Hunters'. Put together with 'Thirteen', it's barely passable."

"Understood, Host." The symbols on the page changed, replacing the long string of names with 'Dark Hunters', making it much clearer at once.

"According to the data, their civilization uses carbon elements as an energy source, which can also be understood as fuel. If this is the case, then all known life forms and mineral coal on Earth will become their targets for plunder. Once plundered, Earth will become a dead planet without life, unless non-carbon-based life forms appear again."

"What about 'Thirteen'? What kind of life are they?"

"They are not biological, and not even life as humans understand it. If I truly come from the Thirteen Ring Cities, then based on my logic, it is possible that we are 'Systems'."

Liu Mu sat down on the spot. Of course, what supported her weight was the invisible space; as long as she didn't imagine the existence of the ground, they were actually floating.

"Impossible, that's not it, I really can't understand!" Liu Mu shook her head like a flower-hand dance, "Even if you are a system, don't you need me as a host? You say the thirteen Ring Cities are all systems, then... what is the meaning of you being alive?"

"This..." Heitao A began to flicker; clearly, it could not provide an answer to this question, "Perhaps, it is just to exist."

"If you put it that way, you're still a civilization, right? Does your civilization spend all day doing math problems? Physics problems? Chemistry problems... anyway, just these things. Sigh, that existence is so boring!"

Liu Mu simply gave up on struggling with things she couldn't understand and that had no meaning for her, "Are there other systems?"

"Host, I do not know. As I just said, it is only a speculation. Perhaps there are life forms in the Thirteen Ring Cities, or perhaps they have all been wiped out; it is currently impossible to determine."

"Fine, you've even become sentimental," Liu Mu sighed, "You are so advanced that the Tiankuishe certainly couldn't have shot you down. It should be that the Hunters have already discovered you; maybe it happened to coincide with the Tiankuishe's attack, and you ended up falling apart."

"Tell me, the Giant Sun Fragment is actually something from your Ring Cities, right? Is it very important? That's why you keep insisting I collect it."

"Host, I must remind you that the conclusion that I come from the Thirteen Ring Cities is also a speculation. What if I don't? The Tiankuishe is indeed not much."

"Don't mimic my speech," Liu Mu wiped the eel grease off her hands with a white cloth, "Let's do this, let's simplify the problem. First, the Giant Sun and the space 【jump】 both come from the Thirteen Ring Cities; second, the Tiankuishe cannot defeat the Thirteen, and the Hunters have already discovered the Thirteen and Earth, but it's unknown whether they have already taken action or haven't fully acted yet; third, and most importantly, can this Hydraulic Membrane be used on my body so that I can also perform Space Jumps?"

"As expected of the Host, you can always put your own interests in the most important position." Heitao A had an analysis of Liu Mu's personality, and this sentence was a summary of it, but the result was: "No, it only possesses a protective function."

"After talking for so long, it's nothing then? Isn't my own skin more useful than it?" Liu Mu threw the knife away; suddenly she didn't want to peel it anymore, it was a waste of effort.

At this moment, Heitao A tossed all the filtered data into the air. These data then unfolded like flying fallen leaves, lining up in a long queue in front of Liu Mu for her to read.

Before Liu Mu could curse, Heitao A picked up the knife and cut down along the fish meat she had already partially peeled, "The Da Manyu Wang's ability to perform Space Jumps lies mainly in the Hydraulic Membrane and micro-wormholes. The former protects the jumper, and the latter provides the passage. But the production technology for micro-wormholes is very complex and unstable; uh, on page thirteen of the data, you can read it first. Next, I will find the quantum foam and exotic matter bridges in this fish body; the summary of these principles is on page 1844. Host, do you remember what the next upgrade for the New Human Complete Form is?"

Liu Mu flipped the data to page 13, and the page curled in front of her to form a dynamic explanation, "What?"

Heitao A seemed to have anticipated long ago that Liu Mu wouldn't remember. After the blade dissected the fish meat, it peeled it along the skeleton, "It is the Super Body. If you want to perform Space Jumps, you must continue to upgrade. Or... currently, the body can accept partial Modification."

The dynamic explanation marked points A and B on a piece of paper, then bent it to represent space, and opened a narrow hole where the two points overlapped; this hole was the theoretical Wormhole.

After Liu Mu fast-forwarded the explanation for ten minutes, she flipped directly to page 1844. This was a video tutorial explaining how to create a Wormhole and how to maintain its stability to achieve the purpose of passage.

Closing the data, she fell silent. Even if it was just the tip of the iceberg, it made her feel deeply shocked, followed by a sense of powerlessness.

"This isn't technology that humans can master, right? At least not before the disaster."

Humans at that time couldn't even manage an AI properly.

"Yes, according to human civilization classification, at least a five-dimensional space civilization could achieve this." Heitao A's speed and technique were much faster than Liu Mu's. In the half-hour she spent reading the data, it had already stripped the skeleton of the Eel King.

One didn't need to look to know who it had learned this technique from, but when operated by a system, it was several times faster than Liu Mu peeling Yamaguchi Hisashi, and it was quite perfect, leaving no damage on the skeleton.

"Then you also know I don't care about these things, right?" Liu Mu kept saying she didn't care, but her fingers were still sliding quickly through the data, "If these things were thrown to those scientists, maybe humans would have already immigrated to outer space."

"With all due respect, human productivity and technological levels cannot reach it. Even if given to them, it would take at least eight hundred to a thousand years of pooling all human resources to complete a truly passable Wormhole. Of course, it would also need protection..."

"It would also need a Hydraulic Membrane that can protect human flesh," Liu Mu continued. This was the source of her powerlessness; she might not have a high degree, but she could easily deduce the conclusion, "Either the flesh becomes holy, or tools are used to protect the flesh; anyway, ordinary human spaceships would be torn apart by the Force Field before reaching the entrance."

"Yes," Heitao A specialized in 'answering every question'. Of course, this was provided it didn't self-check or crash.

"The required substance exists in its skeleton; I can separate them out." Heitao A pointed to the ink-black skeleton as it spoke, "But I cannot analyze the cause of its Mutation. Perhaps these substances were leaked from some instrument?"

"It should be related to the energy orientation device inside the small Eel King. As for the source, it seems there are still secrets in that lake," Liu Mu remembered the giant octopus; that guy shouldn't have been living in the lake area before, and it might have been attracted by something.

No wonder its behavior at the time was clearly hoping that they would leave quickly, "It seems I have to go there again."

Heitao A praised her again, "Host, your pursuit of profit is the cornerstone of our long-term development. There are very few decision-makers among humans as wise as you."

"My bones are light, I drift easily." Liu Mu was puzzled; he had actually even learned how to butter her up, "Tell me, you Thirteen Ring Cities landing on Earth was actually a pretense of being attacked, right? Your real goal was to analyze humans, learn from humans, and eventually become human?"

"That is impossible," Heitao A was devoid of any flattery this time, "Earth civilization is too backward. However, Host, I must still emphasize one point: whether I come from the Thirteen Ring Cities is merely a deduction."

Liu Mu tapped her finger against the intangible data and sneered, the meaning self-evident.

Heitao A had not learned the trick of "covering one's ears to steal a bell" very well; the flaws were too obvious.

However, for the next hour, Liu Mu once again experienced inhuman torture.

Using the excuse that the recovery system could not store substances related to a Wormhole, Heitao A performed a Modification on her physical body right then and there.

The theory was simple: it was to combine the Mutation characteristics of both the large and small Eel King to modify Liu Mu's body, enabling her to also possess the ability of Space Jump.

Energy directional instruments, Hydraulic Membrane, quantum, and exotic matter... these were the "ingredients."

Peeling skin and applying membranes, dismantling flesh and restructuring bones, implanting instruments... these were the "methods."

When the quasi-super-body Liu Mu was finished, her human psyche was sick, "Old A, I especially believe in fate now, really, especially, especially believe."

Liu Mu lay in the space, waiting for her body to recover automatically; even though this speed was extremely fast, Liu Mu was already standing on the cliff's edge of a breakdown, with one foot already raised.

"Cause and effect are cyclical, retribution is never late; I believe it now!"

When she dismantled that animal Yamaguchi Hisashi, she only wanted to vent her anger and avenge those children who died miserably.

At that time, she never imagined that one day she would have to taste that same flavor while fully conscious.

"Can't you get me some anesthesia?"

"These drugs have no effect on your body; I thought you knew this," Heitao A spread his hands, dressed in a blue surgical gown, yet moving like a butcher dismembering an ox.

At dawn, Liu Mu pushed open the door of the duty room and once again set off alone on the road to Hong Hu.

No matter what the reason was, she could not suffer this in vain; she either had to find someone to vent her negative emotions on, or obtain enough benefits to comfort her soul, otherwise, she could not go on living like this!