Chapter 182: How Could a Soul Like Yours Even Dare to Go Out!

The transmigrator with codename Li, when he first came to this world, was very unaccustomed.

Of course, he wasn't the only one who was unaccustomed.

His squad, the Grey Crow, including the commander, could not adapt to this overly ideal world.

Humanity mastered the technology of interstellar expansion, and the Earth government, which had the Human Union as its predecessor, became the leader of the Stellar Alliance.

Prosperous and peaceful, with not a trace of apocalyptic atmosphere.

Even the pathogens that teammates unintentionally brought from their original world—the Paimish virus capable of infecting machinery and human bodies—became minor issues that could be easily suppressed or even reversed in this world.

Relying on this world's technology, they could completely resolve the crisis of their homeworld—realizing this, they naturally launched action.

On one hand, they cooperated with local laws to register and receive cognitive assistance from its 'enlightenment education'; on the other hand, they regularly went to Heaven Gate to provide beacons to seek their homeland.

At the same time, they strove to adapt and understand this world, seeking a plan to save their homeland.

In less than a year, they accomplished all of this.

According to Heaven Gate staff, it was because their homeworld's 'Earth' and 'civilization' were still reasonably ideal, parallel worlds weren't too numerous, and they 'had good luck'.

But compared to that luck, obtaining help turned out unexpectedly easy, because this world's extended laws for 'transmigrants' already included a complete regulation on 'world cooperation'.

The existence of such regulations also proves that this world, or rather the Earth government implementing these regulations, already has extensive experience handling similar requests.

And this batch of transmigrants thus belonged to those who benefited from the efforts of their predecessors.

【According to civilizational crisis deduction, assign A-level priority, execute immediately】

【Open Earth No. 4 Heaven Gate access rights, initial anchoring period one Stellar Alliance year, open one Heart of Terra sub-node for accompaniment】

【Please assist the Federal Special Dispatch Team to reach a friendly consensus with the extraterrestrial humans' largest gathering place, the 'Sky Garden'】

——

【For a period of five Stellar Alliance months, the human civilization of z2153 World escapes crisis, the remaining seven months shift to observation period,】

【New data collection completed, permit permanent anchoring of Heaven Gate No. 4 for z2153 World, its permanent office registered name 'Sky Garden', record the initial exploration team name as 'Grey Crow'】

One year's time.

Clearly he remembers every moment, yet each moment feels like a dream; even now, when he recalls it, Li still feels somewhat unreal.

Together with his teammates, he transmigrated to this world, and in less than three months he was able to return to his homeland with a force of only ten thousand, to exterminate enemies, recover lost lands, purge the virus, and build homes.

Five months of action, combined with those three months, makes eight months of dreamlike illusion.

Eight months later, he and his squad returned to this world as friendly representatives. The Grey Crow office was reactivated; this time, there were more familiar faces, and they could at any moment return to their homeland to visit.

Such happiness, for those who once struggled in the apocalypse, is filled with unreality.

In just eight months, they cleared almost all of the Paimish virus.

Those that turned into biological entities exist as virus attachments.

And the reason it's said to be 'almost all' is because the otherworldly teams also took away many samples of the Paimish virus.

Moreover, there are some units that likewise carry the virus yet can control the opposition; after negotiation, it was confirmed they need not be disposed of.

Meanwhile,

In the process of resolving these viruses, the Federal troops further assisted Sky Garden in uniting and recruiting neutral organizations to join, among which there was even an organization formed of AI.

In this regard, the main role was played by the Heart of Terra sub-node.

That was the super AI—Gestalt—jointly developed by the original world's Scientific Council gathering global elite talents, and they frankly admitted it was a realm beyond reach.

With such a sweeping victory, even Li's commander often joked: 'Good thing I've already graduated, otherwise I'd have to memorize this year's major events in history class until my head hurts.'

She looks very relaxed, unlike myself, who from time to time wonders if I'm dreaming.

Should I say she's highly adaptable, or am I just too rational?

No, overly rational people should focus on reality rather than occasionally doubting whether they're dreaming.

I probably just care too much about the past… Li thought.

Cleary, just two days ago I was still talking with my brother Mo Rui, who works at the Sky Garden Association here, yet I still can't help wondering what would happen if all this were false.

What if all this were just a dream?

He is actually quite familiar with this state, because he has a special prosthetic.

Mech name: Super Engrave. This offensive Omega-specialized mech requires extremely high computation; due to the technology not being perfected, it often plunges him into strange, solitary dreams.

This side effect was only resolved after he transmigrated to this world——

——It should have been resolved, but it seems it wasn't.

He is still being troubled by thoughts.

And this is no longer a problem of the mech, but of the person himself.

Li is quite clear about the agitation in his consciousness sea; it does not cause thought beacon drift, nor does it cause misalignment with the mech's synchronization, but he occasionally falls into hallucinations.

That is extremely similar to the field of vision when he uses the mech's function to observe dimensions.

Seeing different versions of himself, different scenes, different choices.

And also different traumas and sufferings.

"I think before seeing me, you should go see a psychiatrist."

Now, he sits at the agreed-upon spot, waiting for the demon he met in that dark, twisted dream to arrive.

The title is Snake.

The species is demon.

Both are always associated with evil and cruelty in mythology, and he had prepared himself for the possibility that the encounter would start off unpleasant.

But when the opponent sat opposite him and spoke the first words, he still froze.

Not only because of the opponent's overly 'scientific' advice, but also because the opponent wore a helmet of special design.

Special, yet also familiar.

That was the head of an Angel Gundam.

He vaguely recalled that in the original rescue squad there was a warrior who piloted that astonishing war machine, slaughtering the heterogeneous beings with an immunity to all viruses.

That was indeed a quite popular war machine; the girl nicknamed Qishi in the squad really wanted to pilot it.

The silent warrior never agreed, merely giving her a helmet shaped like an angel's head.

It looked exactly like the one this person is wearing, except Qishi's eyes didn't glow.

But the one they were wearing really was glowing.

... Why would it glow?

Li, zoning out, thought.

Zoning out was his bad habit.

His role in the squad was that of a gunner skilled in calculation; any mech demanded high processing, making his thoughts quick but also prone to overthinking.

But those thoughts, due to the high processing, usually flashed by and didn't interfere with life or combat.

In combat, this even counts as an advantage, because his 'zoning out' during searching is multithreaded calculation, pointing straight to the path of victory.

Even in daily life, if his zoning out ends quickly enough, it goes unnoticed, just like Li's quick reply, as if spoken without thought:

"You… really have to wear this helmet?"

Although this world is indeed very free.

So free that legendary fantastical creatures walk openly on the streets, and even fashionably dressed eccentrics make themselves look hardly human.

One can't tell whether it's cosy or just how they naturally look, but the person opposite definitely doesn't look like that, right?

A human youth's body in everyday clothes even looks quite natural; although a bit stern, the long sleeves and pants look a little hot, but it's not counted in Li's prejudice that 'a demon's fashion sense might be extremely bizarre'.

But take a look at the face—it's actually a Gundam!

This outfit would still be the most eye‑catching even among a crowd of eccentrically dressed people, wouldn't it?

Especially since the eye crystals really glow.

"It's just a slight mishap; otherwise I wouldn't want to wear it—just think of my face as inconvenient to show."

His voice wasn't as deep and resonant as in the dream, but that's not surprising, after all he appeared in human form.

"Are you a fugitive?"

"That's a rather dark thought, just like I had back then, but to be frank…" Snake said, reaching a hand out from his pocket.

That hand was glowing, drawing the gaze of other patrons.

Then he put it back.

"Now you understand."

I understand, but not completely.

So even demons can have luminous bodies?

Aren't luminous beings angels? Or could they be fallen‑angel demons?

Li's mind flashed through several possibilities, but since they both said it was an accident, he didn't ask for details, merely sizing him up again and asking: "You really are a snake?"

Although his voice indeed resembles that demon's, in this world voice actually means little.

"No need to pretend, right? But if you insist on asking, do you still remember that extra piece of advice?" the other asked, "The one about the hidden wall."

【There is a hidden wall ahead, ah, treasure ah】

【No hidden wall, it's a liar】

In that otherwise lifeless dream, those two contradictory messages left a deep impression on him.

The designer's deliberate misdirection was corrected, also convincing him that there was a second person here.

"Remember," Li nodded, "then I am Li."

It's a somewhat redundant self‑introduction, but neither side minds; the other went on to say, "You can tell—you're not actually white‑haired, are you?"

Of course, the mech he used this time under the callsign 'Random' had no excessive personalization, just an initial brown, ear‑length hair.

"…… I am a zero‑grade cybernetic; hair color doesn't matter, it's just a paint job."

More precisely, it's a construct; as long as it's compatible with tantalum‑193 copolymer, consciousness can be peeled off and stored in a mechanical body.

In this world, that's zero‑grade cybernetization, higher than first‑grade where everything but the brain is replaced.

This wording is also a euphemistic version of mechanical ascension.

It's a relatively uncommon choice.

In a world where technology and source energy are so advanced, those who still choose mechanical ascension either truly despise the flesh, or are wealthy patrons urgently needing combat power fast.

"No problem; as long as one is human, one can't help but long for the past." Aomo said calmly.

He had been observing Li, through the cosplay helmet that seemed to obstruct vision but actually gave a full view via its crystal lenses.

It looks indistinguishable from a human, even the changes in gaze and facial expression have detailed feedback.

Such a construct striving for realism is either for play or for nostalgia of one's former human self.

But he didn't know: constructs pursue this more to stabilize the 'sea of consciousness'.

This is a technical limitation, like organ transplant rejection; a construct's consciousness sea isn't suited to link with a body of dissimilar structure.

But how is this not the soul longing for the past?

Li had heard federal researchers lament this, but he hadn't expected it here. He only felt that the other was indeed a demon, no mistake; a single sentence hit right at his worry.

It was also a misunderstanding, but not entirely.

Because Aomo truly saw that he was absent‑minded and his gaze shifted, and more importantly—in the soul vision of a demon, the other, though having a human outline, also had countless intersecting lines.

Like sutures fixing the soul, or like dividing lines splitting soul blocks, each block's hue and saturation differed from its neighbors.

This somewhat triggered his OCD.