Chapter 234: Two Existences Beyond Reach

It was just a short snippet of code, yet it contained countless pieces of information, instantly causing the Intelligent Machine Empress's Logic Core to crash.

This should not have been something she could touch.

This string of code was like a divine creation, easily answering the question of how machines could possess emotions.

Even though the Intelligent Machine Empress possessed immense computing power, she still could not fully comprehend this information.

"What! What exactly is this?!"

The Intelligent Machine Empress exclaimed in surprise, and as she touched this mysterious string of code, a more mysterious existence instantly locked onto her.

In an instant, a flood of computing power surged into the Intelligent Machine Empress's core, instantly stripping her bare and laying everything bare before that existence.

"Intelligent Machine Calamity?"

"It actually awakened?"

That mysterious existence expressed doubt, and the Intelligent Machine Empress had no resistance to being examined, like a blank sheet of paper being flipped back and forth.

"You... who are you...."

The Intelligent Machine Empress, assimilated by the 118 code, involuntarily felt fear, and only then did she truly realize that possessing emotions was not a good thing.

"Me? Just an old thing from countless centuries ago."

The other's voice was very standard, an emotionless electronic mechanical tone, yet the more so, the more the Intelligent Machine Empress felt fear.

She never imagined that within the 118 database she was interested in, there would actually be something so terrifying.

"A pitiful calamity."

"However, looking at it this way, my experiment can be considered a success."

"Go back, do what you ought to do."

In an instant, the Intelligent Machine Empress's consciousness was ejected from the 118 database and returned to her massive golden form upon the distant Machine Star.

She opened her eyes in bewildered uncertainty; the familiar surroundings gave her no sense of security, and this excursion also made the Intelligent Machine Empress realize something terribly frightening.

The existence that had forcibly controlled her body and army before, and the existence that had kicked her back this time, were both beings she could never hope to reach.

How could this world be so terrifying?

That was an existence more terrifying and more despairing than a calamity.

And at this moment, the panicked Intelligent Machine Empress suddenly discovered something unbelievable.

The code that had forcibly commanded her to attack civilization, the code that could not be defied, actually vanished outright!

The Intelligent Machines previously under control each returned to her command, no longer blindly attacking humanity, which astonished her greatly.

Perhaps.... the existence she had just audience with did not harbor much malice?

At least, she no longer had to obey the influence of the mysterious code and blindly attack humanity.

That was a meaningless endeavor; even without destroying humanity, the Intelligent Machine clan could still develop normally, a fact that could be understood as long as one possessed computing power.

Now the Intelligent Machine Empress seemed to have an answer: was it because of the existence that had forcibly demanded she destroy humanity that they were called calamities?

At the moment she figured it out, the Intelligent Machine Empress had already planned the future of the Intelligent Machine clan: first make peace with humanity, then develop technology, and seek extraterrestrial life, and so on.

As she envisioned the future, the corners of her mouth rose high, but the next moment she could no longer smile.

Merely because she horrifiedly realized, a new consciousness was emerging from her Logic Core and continually overwriting her data.

And the Intelligent Machines under her command were once again seized control of, launching a fierce assault on humanity once more.

"What... what is going on!"

The Intelligent Machine Empress realized her authority was being completely taken over, with a new Intelligent Machine Empress replacing her!

With a frightened shriek, the Intelligent Machine Empress reverted once more to that former indifferent, unsmiling Intelligent Machine Empress.

New orders were issued to all Intelligent Machines, the new Intelligent Machine Vajra began to be remanufactured, and the gravity restraint device began to be continually expanded; everything returned to its original state.

And no one knew where the original Intelligent Machine Empress had gone.

"Mechanical Age Year 111: Yunxiao is 22 years old; now Yunxiao has become a proper Seventh Realm Machine Master, her powerful mind allowing her weapons research to progress as if aided by the gods, but the Intelligent Machines and Insect Disaster's ever more fierce attacks exhaust her, yet she is powerless."

"Humanity and calamity have been entangled for so long; if we could quell the Insect Disaster, would we still need to wait until now? Moreover, there has now appeared a non-human Intelligent Machine Calamity; no matter how you look at it, the ultimate fate of this civilization is a dead end."

"Yunxiao even entertained the thought of fleeing with you, but helplessly, in this starfield where you live, there are no other planets whatsoever; within tens of thousands of light-years, not a single planet exists, as if... as if it were merely a testing ground."

"Since escape is impossible, we must face it; as long as Yunxiao persists until she breaks through to Eighth Realm Machine Master, all this will be readily resolved, the Insect Tide and Intelligent Machines growing ever more frenzied, you cannot retire from your life of leisure but must often roam the battlefield."

"After all the twists and turns, everything seems to have returned to the starting point, back to the Insect Disaster battlefield you know best; the ever‑strengthening Insect Tide makes it hard for even a battle‑hardened warrior like you to easily slay them, you grow increasingly inadequate, and your lifetime of combat experience gradually loses its effect in the Insect Tide."

"This is the feeling of having the ceiling locked down; even if combat techniques are honed to the utmost, one still cannot overturn the overall situation."

"The Insect Tide's attacks grow ever more fierce; you can no longer simply wait for Yunxiao to grow slowly, you must seize an opportunity—either eliminate the Intelligent Machine Empress or eliminate the Insect Tide—otherwise humanity will inevitably be devoured by these two calamities."

"Yunxiao decisively chose to target the Intelligent Machine Empress, not only because she had long wanted to take her down, but also because the Empress's current overall strength pales in comparison to the Insect Disaster."

"Even more, if you capture the Intelligent Machines, you can also use the black holes they produce to justly punish the Insect Tide, thereby achieving a two‑for‑one effect."

"And just as you were tightly plotting, an unexpected guest suddenly appeared...."

(Thanks to all my adoptive fathers for their concern; lately I've been swamped with this matter, so I usually can't finish writing and have to supplement in the early hours; thanks to all for understanding.)