Chapter 282

What's up with the cook? Qiming said future battlefields might need tactical logistics mechs, i. e., mobile kitchens, fighting while cooking. I think this position suits me.

At that moment, the TV screen switched to Chen Guang's interview.

The reporter asked about the temporal perception disorder, Chen Guang pushed his glasses, calmly said: "Any technological leap has a cost. Compared to being cleared by the Harvesters, this side effect is acceptable."

That's true.

Lao Wu finished the last bite of the energy bar, then put the tray into the recycling slot.

The machine automatically washed and disinfected it, ready for the next person.

As he walked out of the cafeteria, he looked up at the sky.

During the day, the Heaven's Punishment Platform cannot be seen.

But he knew they were there, over three hundred of them, and still increasing.

There's still one year and two months.

Dragon Chant Control Center, evening.

Qiming's algorithm's voice suddenly sounded on all channels, still calm, but this time it carried some… complex emotion?

【Detected activation of encrypted subprogram.】

【Gamma-7 Civilization's reserved information, deep analysis complete.】

【Now playing.】

On the holographic screen, a segment of image appeared.

Not a video, but a projection of some kind of consciousness stream.

Starry sky, formulas, geometric shapes, and a fleeting civilization silhouette.

It finally froze on a line of text, written in universal cosmic code, but Qiming thoughtfully translated it into Chinese:

"Successors, this is our final gift."

"Efficiency improvement is just the first step; the real 'loophole' lies in creating things they cannot calculate—love, art, randomness. Good luck."

The image ended.

No one spoke in the control room.

Wang Hao was the first to break the silence: "So… are we supposed to draw against the aliens?"

"Things they cannot understand." Chen Guang mused.

"The Harvesters are pure logic programs; their thinking is built on a calculable, predictable foundation."

"But artistic creation, emotional expression, random behavior… these are chaotic, incalculable."

Li Yang picked up: "So if we use art as a weapon, their systems might… crash?"

"At least it would also cause chaos." Chen You laid out the logic chain: "It's like letting a program that only solves math problems appreciate poetry; it will crash."

Feng Yan stood up, walked to the window: "Qiming, if we concentrate all of human civilization's cultural and artistic achievements, encode them into some kind of signal, how much impact could it have on the Harvesters?"

Qiming fell silent for a few seconds, calculating.

Then:

【According to Gamma-7 Civilization data, a similar attempt was once carried out in the civilization designated Gamma-12. They sent the Harvesters a data stream of their civilization's epic poetry, music, and paintings.】

【Result: The Harvesters' evaluation system stalled for 0.3 seconds, then they classified that civilization as a logical anomaly, raising its elimination priority to the highest.】

"Uh…" Wang Hao choked, "So this move is suicide?"

【No. Gamma-12's failure was because they only sent the finished works, not the process. Art is incalculable precisely because of the randomness, emotional fluctuations, and irrational choices in the creative process.】

Qiming paused:

【Suggestion: Do not send completed artworks, but send real-time data streams of the creative process. Let the Harvesters confront unfathomable chaos.】

This idea made everyone's eyes light up.

"Like letting a germaphobe look at a landfill?" Wang Hao grinned, "Make them vomit?"

"Pretty much." Chen Guang rarely smiled, "And if we combine it with a technological strike, attacking when their systems are in chaos could multiply the effect."

The plan began to take shape.

Feng Yan turned around: "Li Yang, your Yinglong-Omega design needs to incorporate artistic elements. Make it fight like it's dancing, like it's creating."

Li Yang nodded: "Understood. Action pre-set as a cuboid, attack trajectory randomized."

"Wang Hao, your missiles also need to be changed. Don't make the trajectory too regular; give it an artistic deviation."

"I've got this!" Wang Hao slapped his chest, "I'll design it a Crazy Grass Trajectory Mode, guaranteeing the aliens can't figure it out!"

"Chen Guang, you're in charge of data encoding. Digitize all of humanity's artistic creation processes, from cave wall paintings to quantum music, leaving none out."

"The workload is huge, but Qiming can help." Chen Guang pushed his glasses.

"Also I suggest adding ordinary people's daily life: the taste of Mom's cooking, the moment a child takes its first steps, the silhouette of an elderly couple holding hands while strolling. These are the most incalculable emotional data."

"Okay." Feng Yan finally said, "Open Source, tighten your vacuum zero-point energy stack. If the artistic weapon needs power, we must be able to supply it."

"Don't worry, we'll see the outcome in 72 hours."

Task allocation completed.

But Qiming spoke again:

【Reminder: The spacetime distortion caused by higher-dimensional calculation is intensifying.】

【Within three kilometers around the Moon Base, the time flow speed difference has expanded to 15%.】

【Recommend evacuating non-essential personnel.】

【Also…】

【I have detected that among the researchers participating in the algorithm, 37 people have begun to see clear future fragments.】

【Genuine timeline projections.】

【Among them, the fragment seen by Dr. Chen Guang… is related to the Harvesters' final battle.】

Everyone looked at Chen Guang.

Chen Guang stood quietly, hand in their pocket.

After a while, they took it out, palm spread, and inside was a sheet of paper with something roughly sketched in pencil.

"I drew this yesterday," they said softly, "when I was in the algorithm, I saw a fleeting image."

They placed the paper on the table.

On the drawing: against a star‑filled sky, countless platforms with purple patterns were firing.

In the center, a mech—Li Yang's design, the Ying Long-Ω—had a blinding light shining from its chest.

Farther away, a huge, indescribable shadow was closing in.

In the corner of the drawing, there was a line of small text:

"We will win. Only the cost... is huge."

The control room fell silent.

After a long while, Feng Yan asked, "Qiming, is precognition of time possible?"

【In a higher‑dimensional computing environment, local spacetime causal chains become fuzzy. Seeing fragments of the future is possible, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed; the future is a cloud of probabilities, not certainty.】

Chen Guang folded the paper away: "I know this may not be true. But at least... it gave us a direction."

They looked at Li Yang: "Your mech, that energy core on its chest, may need adjustment. In the image I saw, it shone far too brightly, as if about to explode."

Li Yang nodded: "I'll keep an eye on it."

Outside the window, night had fallen.

Toward the moon, the light from the computing hub pierced the atmosphere, casting a faint violet halo in Blue Star's night sky.

Qiming's voice sounded for the last time:

【The first phase of the computational power revolution is complete.】

【Next, we enter the artistic weapon development phase.】

【Human civilization, wish you pleasant creation.】

Communications cut off.

In the control room, everyone glanced at each other.

Wang Hao suddenly laughed: "Come to think of it, I haven't designed the missile paint scheme yet. What do you think, should I go abstract or impressionist?"

Li Yang also laughed: "Whatever you like, just don't make it too ugly."

"No way, I'm serious about the art."