Chapter 118: Wonder: Paradox Cloning Vat Venice Arsenal

This world is vast.

In Li Ang's eyes, this world is unimaginably vast.

Compared to the players' world and population size, this world is already so massive that it evokes a sense of awe. The Old World alone is already larger than the planet where the players are located, and the Old World is merely one of the more unique ones among countless realm worlds, not even the most massive one.

More and smaller worlds exist in isolation or linked to various places within the environment brought about by the Realm Ice Wall or certain geological disasters; all kinds of cultures, different races, populations, and other ideologies are constantly emerging.

The Old World might not even occupy one percent of the entire world. Just how massive the entire world is, is simply unimaginable.

However, at the same time, in Li Ang's eyes, this world also seems so tiny.

Known civilizations have had their technology and thoughts locked by the Chaos Gods; all actions and ideas, all gazes and perceptions, have been locked below an altitude of thirty thousand meters.

It is just like a massive terrarium, a huge, sealed-off terrarium. A group of organisms constantly evolves within this environment; from birth to death, from beginning to end, they have never truly seen the real sun, nor have they ever seen those brilliant stars.

All of this is the result of the shield's evolution, the last little bit of mercy given to the inhabitants of this planet by that Planetary Shield.

Li Ang feels a sense of suffocation at this. A suffocation like being unable to breathe, like someone gripping his throat.

In fact, when he mastered this system's ability, Li Ang already realized what he had to do. He was never alone; he certainly had to lead more people toward the future.

Whether the world believes it or not, Li Ang has always felt that controlling countless lives is a pleasurable thing. It is like playing a grand, never-ending symphony, watching the world dance in the palm of his hand, watching all things change form according to his will; this is a supreme happiness.

Li Ang advocates for technology, and he also advocates for methodology. As long as a phenomenon can be reproduced, as long as the laws and the way it operates can be organized, then it belongs to his own science. And these things will inevitably be organized and then reapplied to life and the operations of more aspects. Li Ang believes that his future will surely be incomparably brilliant, and he will certainly be able to reach worlds he previously dared not even imagine.

Who would not want to see their fleet roaming in deep space? Who would not want to witness those magnificent natural landscapes in the universe? Golden planets, canyons filled with diamonds, the rare and exotic beasts on various planets, and that unimaginable beauty—cosmic Wonders that transcend human cognition and the maximum expression of the self.

Who would not want to see such beautiful things? Even the echoes of the world's background in the universe sound so soul-stirring, so pleasant to the ear. It even makes one feel a moving sensation that makes them want to cry. Li Ang believes that the ultimate path of civilization is to head toward that undeniable instinct, to face the sea of stars.

But now, the curve toward the sky has been blocked by the Planetary Shield, and the technology on the ground has been tortured by the Chaos Gods; it seems to have reached a limit, it seems there is no path left to take.

As a participant, Li Ang seems to have to play a game with the Chaos Gods, seems to have to swallow those things.

Yes, he is already very powerful, arguably one of the most powerful individuals in this world.

But is he bigger than a planet? Is he bigger than this universe? These so-called gods, these monsters of the Subspace, gathered from all the thoughts of all sentient beings—can Li Ang really use his own thoughts and actions to directly shatter their lies and illusions?

In reality, it is an impossible thing. Because these gods are not enemies; they themselves are the echoes of all emotions and thoughts reflected in the mirror that is the Subspace.

It is all life that constitutes the Chaos Four Gods, not the Chaos Four Gods that constructed all life.

To completely end the interference of the Chaos Four Gods, one can only start from the root and directly slaughter every single living creature, all of them, to the last. Only by connecting all consciousness to himself can the sounds of Chaos in this world disappear entirely. This is an almost impossible project.

How many billions of people are alive in this world? No one knows. Because this planet is not only vast in surface area, but the interior is even hollow, extremely intricate and complex. Countless Underground Kingdoms crisscross within it; one could even say that, to some extent, the number and population of these kingdoms are far greater than those of the nations on the surface. Everything brought about by their wars underground is also more than that of the people on the surface.

To erase all living beings and all influence from this world, relying on the current state is not enough. He must find another way to deal with this noise.

Be it Lizardmen, Elves, Dark Elves, or Humans, these creatures ultimately have their own limitations and instability. The thought patterns of Elves, the extreme madness of Dark Elves, the changeability of Humans—these things are the characteristics of the races, and also the beginning of their negativity.

To thoroughly solve the problem, one must figure out where the root of the problem lies.

So Li Ang thought of what the root of the problem was.

It is population.

His population is simply too small; his troops and power, his thoughts and the teams extended from them, are simply too few, too few. Although the various achievements the Star-Bearer has attained in less than a year are enough to make everyone dumbfounded and speechless, for Li Ang, these are all too slow.

Truly too slow; he cannot even make his voice reach beyond the Old World. He cannot even make the people of the Old World obey his rules with his will.

Population—the population that can reverse everything, the population that can make him feel at ease—this is what Li Ang needs.

So he set his sights on a Wonder that is very important to him.

【Wonder: Venice Arsenal (Magic)】

【This Wonder uses paradox factors. You can utilize a Paradox Engine produced by some ancient civilization to fold and twist your space-time, turning one production element into two. This production is an act that transcends cognition and understanding. But to a certain extent, it can solve any problem.

There is no problem in this world that a paradox cannot solve; if there is, it must be that the equivalent is not enough. So you can try it and see what happens when you use this twin factory to forge more things.】

Paradox Factory—the core of this thing is to turn one phenomenon into two phenomena that appear in different locations through a space-time overlap.

This is a mysterious Wonder that no one currently knows about, nor would anyone build.

It is like the World Scar and Stonehenge; although there are detailed construction processes and correction factors, there is a limit to the construction of these things. They cannot build a second one. Because the space-time loophole cycle will be anchored by the Paradox Factory using time anchors, causing one item to be viewed as two. Such a miracle cannot appear a second time.

If the appearance of Stonehenge is a Wonder that cannot be built because of all life's faith in the power of destruction, then the Paradox Factory is a paradox that would not even appear in theory, caused by all life's duality of self-cognition. The core element to build this factory actually only has one point: that is, the thing that exists in this world but does not exist.

Only this core element can create the Paradox Factory from nothingness.

And wanting to make the Paradox Factory take effect is actually very simple. Just find the location of the factory you want that needs paradox output, and after placing your Paradox Engine in the environment, the space-time lockdown will take effect. One production location will become two production units because of the power of the Paradox Engine.

It is as if one has found the broken connection point in that infinitely circulating Möbius strip, making an object that was originally viewed as one appear as two; this impossible time is the core of the paradox.

And for Li Ang, what he wants is population. And what does population need?

"Population needs nothing... In the end, humans and life are merely the self-expression of genes and flesh after growth. And the Soulless are bodies that have obtained a purer self after removing the reflection of the Subspace. Then the true answer is, just create life directly."

"Cloning Vat, Cloning Factory. Using the Ancient Ones' laboratory, through the individual technology obtained by directly infusing magic power, the miracle that finally evolves—I only need this..."

"As long as there is population, then there is everything in this world."

Looking at the huge glass frame in front of him, Li Ang watched the densely packed figures inside, and the expression on his face became increasingly subtle.

He really did not want to do this, and he also knew that his actions seemed to transcend the ethics on the planet. Creating artificial humans, the Soulless, and then using the Paradox Factory to start high-speed troop production—this kind of thing does not sound like something a righteous gentleman would do.

But what other choice does he have?

Looking around, what surrounds him are either insects or a group of unimaginable big monsters.

He is just a poor, helpless novice civilization player; look at what kind of things are all around. Technology locked, culture locked, vitality locked, combat gives the opponent buffs—is this a difficulty for humans to play? Moreover, everyone is hostile to his faction, and the few supporters are actually rapidly declining now. Various industries and various populations all have to rely on high-speed flowing outsiders to be realized, but these outsiders are "whoever feeds me is my mother," and it is impossible for them to support the Star-Bearer's important industries and production capacity.

This planet is so vast, with such a wonderful world, but there is still a Planetary Shield blocking the sky, not letting people look at it at all.

What else can Li Ang do? What other choices does he have?

He cannot just return to the player world, abandon his foundation, start all over again from Antarctica, and leave behind a Gaia World with twenty-five tiles of productivity and Wonders to use a small four-tile planet, right? Feeling the incompatibility between his spirit and this world, recalling the scenes of his journey, Li Ang looked at the Cloning Vat in front of him that had almost formed a small hill, completely crafted from his own magic power and technical cognition, and solemnly and slowly reached out his hand toward his own brain.

In that instant, his cognition of this world was split into two clear parts.

One part was Li Ang's cognition of the original world before he transmigrated. The knowledge and history of that world, as well as the changes in various different worldviews and cosmic perspectives, collided invisibly with this current world.

That was not purely a difference of planets, but a deeper level, a completely different one from the perspective of the universe. Currently, this world is not Li Ang's original universe at all; only this most intense cognition and soul, which is a paradox to the universe itself, can truly build a legendary Wonder.

【Wonder: Paradox Factory construction started!】

【Wonder construction requirements: Paradox Engine beacon, the concept of the factory individual needed. This concept must not exceed the size of one factory in cognition, and the footprint must not exceed five hundred thousand square meters.】

【Selected target: Primitive Cloning Vat】

"The Wonder has begun construction!"

Before Li Ang, his vision began to gradually twist, then intersect and overlap.

Language cannot describe this kind of marvelous yet terrifying change; it was as if space-time itself were warping. Even though he stood in place watching the factory remain unchanged, as he manifested his heart and conviction into reality, that intense, paradoxical matter that should not exist in reality caused the entire environment to begin twisting like a Möbius strip.

In human cognition, a Möbius strip is a plane with only one side, an endless surface. But as long as one possesses cognition from another angle, one can realize that the broken section contains another side.

Overlapping with time and space, one factory became two, yet it remained only one factory.

The Möbius loop began to link, and the factory began to exert its utility.

At the same time, in the same location, two clones existing in different space-times opened their eyes and looked at the world before them.

One saw a sky filled with pure white snow and the Golden Veil, while the exit at the other end of the loop saw a shattered Golden Veil and a world filled with black blizzards, like a curse.

"You should be able to hear my voice."

The moment they finally gained consciousness, a voice emerged within their minds.

"Greetings, my newly born, lovely subjects. I am your leader, and I am your master. You may call me the Star-Bearer Lord, Li Ang. I hope you can have a bright future, a wonderful future that replaces this world."

"Being born from a womb versus being born in a culture vat is merely a moral distinction, not an essential difference. If you are born with selfhood and the ability to work, who can stop you from being living beings?"

"Go and begin your work; do what you wish to do."

"You have obtained the right to survive."

(First update, four thousand words! Another six thousand at ten o'clock!) (End of chapter)