Strange Voyage: Summoning the Fourth Disaster.

Chapter 804 Father
As Wei Yu and Fu You walked deeper into the Dead Machine Jungle in search of other Devouring Machine Hives, Wei Yu inquired about matters related to this place.

With sufficient phlogiston and a mechanical lower body, the mayfly's self-awareness became more complete, enabling it to clearly answer Wei Yu's questions.

Thus, some important intelligence about Gelgard, the situation in the Dead Machine Jungle area, and the origin of the mayflies were gradually revealed to Wei Yu.

Geergda.

This is a region obsessed with incantations and mechanical technology, where most people firmly believe that they can find another form of life, constantly improve themselves, and ultimately discover the ultimate secrets of life.

However, during the development process, various ideological differences also emerged in Geirgda.

Originally, if it were just a difference in ideas, it wouldn't have any impact.

But with the rise of an organization called the "Cross Bell" in Gharqa, the entire city of Gharqa took a completely different turn.

The political environment in Gharqa became extremely turbulent due to the Cross Bell, leading to a large exodus of scholars from the city.

Some people left and disappeared, while others could not completely sever their ties with Ghargda, so they used spell-based mechanical technology to create "Traveler's Land," a type of movable soil.

The inhabitants of the land where the Dead Machine Jungle is located firmly believe that they can use human emotions to give birth to mechanical life forms, thereby enabling them to possess the creativity of intelligent life and become a completely new species.

Mayflies are born on this land, created by their creator, whom they call their "father".

As a resident of this land of travelers, a top scholar who agrees with this concept, Mayfly's father was born with exceptional intelligence and developed many new technologies at a young age, which made him highly valued by the land of travelers.

He believed he could create a miracle, a mechanical intelligent life form with a strong sense of self and emotions.

To this end, the mayfly's father devoted a great deal of energy, seeking investment from the local parliament and traveling around to collect materials for research, pouring his life's blood into it.

As a talented scholar, the mayfly father's series of actions have attracted much attention. The residents of the travel land are curious and expectant, believing that the mayfly father may really be able to create the true mechanical life in their minds.

Thus, under the watchful eyes of countless people, the creative process reached its final stage.

But if something were really that easy to accomplish, there wouldn't be so many failures.

The mayfly father's attempt failed.

Moreover, it failed under the eagerly anticipating gaze of almost all the residents of Turkestan.

When mayflies are born, their bodies exhibit numerous rejection reactions and abnormalities. Not only do they fail to become the creations their creators envisioned, but they are also inferior to ordinary mechanical creations.

Moreover, some unprecedented anomalies have occurred, causing the body to age and decay rapidly, turning those originally expensive materials into a pile of scrap metal.

Without a doubt, this was a complete failure.

As the saying goes, the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.

As a result of this failure, naturally, the traveler lost hope in his research and relegated him to the sidelines.

The residents also considered him a liar who only talked big and was full of lies, an incompetent scholar who was not worthy of his reputation and had no real talent or knowledge.

For a time, the mayfly's father became a laughing stock in the land.

As a result, the mayfly father suffered a great blow and became somewhat disheartened, spending his days curled up in his little house.

However, even though what was created was a defective product or even a waste product, the mayfly was not destroyed, but was still kept by the mayfly's father.

The mayfly's father believed it was his own fault and mistake, and that this congenital defect was not the mayfly's fault.

However, a flawed mechanical life form is clearly unable to learn some important knowledge, and it also won't live long.

So, perhaps out of self-deprecation, or perhaps out of some expectation, he named it "Mayfly".

The mayfly's identity has also changed from a highly anticipated research object to a defective "self-use mechanical body" for a local resident.

The mayfly and her father lived a simple and uneventful life for a long time.

Logically speaking, barring any unforeseen circumstances, a mayfly can live alongside its creator for a period of time until its body develops an irreparable malfunction and becomes completely unusable.

But at this time, an accident happened.

The jungles on the border of the Traveler's Land have been invaded by an unknown force. The Machine Hive has sprung up and launched an attack on the Traveler's Land.

At first, the inhabitants of the land relied on their technology and the garrison to resist.

However, after the Devouring Machine Xenomorph devoured the machine body, it continued to evolve and mutate.

Finally, after the First Great War, the entire garrison of the Brigade was annihilated, and the Brigade's plea for help to Gelgard and other Brigades had yet to be met with reinforcements. Under these circumstances, the Brigade leader had no choice but to issue a military order... that is, to conscript all the residents' personal mechs to slow down the attack of the Mech-Eating Aliens, thereby buying time for the entire Brigade.

Although the land they inhabited always promoted the idea that mechanical life forms were equal to the inhabitants.

But at this point, the residents naturally didn't want to die.

These self-contained mechanical beings, devoid of emotions and complete self-awareness, naturally became the best cannon fodder.

After all, they feel no pain and will faithfully carry out orders. As long as they can hold off the machine-devouring aliens long enough, they will be able to wait for reinforcements...

But... the mayfly's father showed unusual resistance to this order.

Mayfly still remembers his father's excited reaction after he received the conscription order and told him about it.

……

No! You can't go!

"They want you to go and die, to buy time for those cowardly fools who are scared out of their wits!"

"They are a bunch of hypocritical bastards, a bunch of liars who have betrayed their own beliefs and this land. None of their orders are worth obeying!"

"Stop, mayfly, stop!"

The mayfly's father, in a fit of rage, overturned the workbench and angrily called out to him.

Upon hearing its father's instruction, the mayfly stopped what it was doing, looking somewhat puzzled.

But then he saw his father walk up and remove the part of his mechanical body that had received the military command signal.

After a moment of silence, he put on the somewhat rusty replacement limbs and protective armor piece by piece.

After doing all this, he took a deep breath, squatted down in front of the mayfly, and looked at it.

"ephemera."

"...They always say that human love is great, a gift from the world, capable of transforming machines, turning gears into bones, and steel into new flesh and blood. Our mission is to pass on this gift..."

“I once firmly believed this.”

"The same is true now, and it has never changed."

"It is only their filthy mouths that have defiled these sacred words."

"They broke their promise, but I won't."

At this point, the mayfly's father sighed.

"...I'm sorry, my stupidity and mistakes have made you who you are now, you can't even understand what I'm saying..."

"I am a failed creator."

"In short, listen carefully to my last instruction..."

"Take care of yourself, mayfly."

The mayfly's father opened his arms and gently embraced the mayfly's body, his warm chest and arms transferring their heat to the cold mechanical body.

Then he stood up and stepped out the door.

He would not trample on his own ideals, but he also could not cower and live in the face of disaster, letting others charge into battle.

Therefore, he had to step forward.

As a father, it is perfectly normal to give the chance to live to your child.

And after receiving the instructions.

Seemingly due to an inherent defect, or perhaps some malfunction, the mayfly remained silent for quite some time.

Only after the mayfly's father had completely left and disappeared did he utter intermittent sounds.

"Instruction...received..."

(End of this chapter)