Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 363 The Invitation of the Wandering Knight

"Hello……"

Hearing that familiar voice, Han Su finally felt a huge weight lifted from his heart.

He took a deep breath, feeling extremely surprised, yet everything seemed perfectly reasonable, as if it should be this way.

After a long silence, he spoke in a low voice: "Manman, have you met your parents?"

Miss Ai said she would reunite with him after the lock was opened three times. It seems that she was just locked up, so he needed to unlock the lock on her body to meet her again. However, in the previous life timeline, Li Manman's intrusion changed the situation.

Only now, having heard Miss Ai's voice, did he finally understand.

He did indeed reunite with Miss Ai, but the Miss Ai he reunited with was a completely new one.

He was certain that the consciousness that Li Manman developed after invading the mechanical mother body was the "Miss Ai" who had once been with him.

However, this Miss Ai is also divided into stages.

Now awakened on this life's timeline is Li Manman, whose consciousness has only recently merged with the mechanical matrix, still carrying a sense of exploration and some confusion.

The one who accompanied me before was someone who had fully matured and grown up.

Han Su had already discerned the difference from her very first words after she woke up.

"I saw him."

Li Manman, or rather Miss Ai, replied softly: "Just now, I spent three minutes seeing my parents, accessing Qinggang's confidential database and the public network in this world, verifying everything you told me before."

"Thank you, Mr. Butcher. Thank you for telling me about this lifeline, and thank you for bringing me here."

"This is a life line full of hope."

"It's good that everyone is still alive."

“I can see my parents and even found a deactivated account that I can use to talk to them.”

"..."

'But you can't save him...'

Han Su could even detect a hint of pleasure in her electronic voice, but his heart sank slightly.

He couldn't bring himself to say these words, whether he was facing Chao Xiaobei in the castle or Li Manman at this moment.

He had rescued many children from the castle, and he would be able to rescue the other children sooner or later, even the one who was killed by the pig-headed butcher as soon as he entered the castle. With another flash of light, there was hope of rescuing him.

Only Li Manman.

She was an unlucky little girl, and he had tried to save her many times before, but without success.

This time, she did not appear in the castle again.

Does this mean that I will never have another chance to save her?

Perhaps compared to the challenges of restarting civilization and dealing with the ten major natural disasters, whether or not to save lives seems insignificant.

But Han Su was instinctively very concerned about this.

Han Su could only keep this question to himself and couldn't bring himself to say it. He simply turned to Miss Ai and asked softly, "Why is this happening?"

Why did I know Miss Ai before? Why was it Li Manman who invaded the mechanical matrix in the previous life story?

Why is it that now that I have opened three locks, the one who has been revived is Li Manman, who has just integrated into the mechanical consciousness?

These questions occupied Han Su's mind.

Miss Ai gave an unexpected answer, saying softly, "I know what you want to ask, but the answer to this question is not in the database I can access right now."

“But I did see the ‘Miss Ai’ who used to accompany you in some traces left in this world. I can be sure that it was me. However, I haven’t experienced those days with you yet. Your past is my future.”

"..."

Han Su listened to her words, and they matched his own guesses, but the logic behind them was somewhat difficult to understand.

After a moment of silence, he asked the most crucial question: "So, how did you end up on this path in life?"

Li Manman's act of invading the mechanical mother did not occur on this life timeline.

Theoretically, there shouldn't be a Miss Ai.

"I saw the secret battlefield."

Miss Ai replied softly, "After you returned to the castle via 'Blink'."

"After returning to the castle?"

Han Su immediately perked up and hurriedly asked, "After I left, did that life line still exist?"

"What is this secret battlefield you mentioned?"

"..."

This was a question that had puzzled him for a long time.

If those life paths still exist and continue to develop after I return to the castle, wouldn't that mean I've been shuttling between different life paths all along?
Does that mean that each life line represents a complete world?

In addition, more than one person has mentioned the secret battlefield to me. What exactly is it?
"It can be said to exist, or it can be said not to exist."

Miss Ai replied softly, "Because, it's essentially a kind of logic."

"For example, four times eight equals thirty-two. By multiplying the two digits four and eight, we can get the answer thirty-two."

"You'll see this result once you've done the calculations!"

"But if you don't do the calculations, the result still exists; you just don't see it."

"Mr. Butcher, the key to the existence of everything in reality lies in whether your consciousness has scanned it. The past is the memory you have scanned and recorded, and the future is the unknown area that you have not yet scanned."

"To me, your departure from that life line is equivalent to interrupting the reading of that life line, but everything there has not disappeared, it has just faded."

"And in the daze when I felt everything returning to nothingness, I entered a mysterious place, which must have been a space beyond calculation..."

"If I had to describe it, I think it would be a dream. I used a mechanical body to have an electronic dream..."

“I met many people there. They used some kind of power to guide me. I found you by following their guidance. When I opened my eyes, I saw the life line you mentioned, number 01.”

"..."

"Guided by someone...who are they?"

This question suddenly made Han Su a little nervous.

Miss Ai spoke softly, and the answer didn't surprise Han Su at all: "It's you!"

“I saw many familiar faces, including Song Yushi, Chao Xiaobei, another version of myself, Lan Huiguo, Bai Shixing… They all looked different from what I remembered. They had grown up, become more composed and weathered, and their eyes were firm.”

"But you were the one standing at the very front of them."

"..."

This description is not clear.

As a machine, she shouldn't have given such a vague description.

No, as a machine, she shouldn't dream.

Han Su listened to her story in silence, because this was not the first time he had heard of something similar.

He had glimpsed this future long ago from Song Yushi's words.

But why is there such a future? Why is there such a battlefield of unknown origin?

If there really is another version of myself, why doesn't he come to help, or pass on more information to me?

I couldn't think of an answer. "Mr. Butcher, please forgive me for not being able to provide more specific information."

While Han Su remained silent, Miss Ai spoke softly: "I know you must have many questions in your mind right now, but I think the answer I can give you is also very simple."

"These chaotic past and future, disordered spacetime and distorted logic, can only be accomplished by one thing: the core of the once world-destroying machine. Of course, you can also understand it as: my heart!"

"That's right..."

Han Su suddenly understood after hearing her words.

He hurriedly looked up and said, "Miss Ai, I want to know, what is this so-called throne, or rather, your heart?"

Now, he has obtained four mechanical fragments, and he knows the approximate coordinates of the other three.

What is certain is that each of these mechanical fragments possesses a strange and terrifying power and has a completely different function. So, what about the remaining three?

Did those chaotic timelines, and even the flashing lights and the kidnapping case in the castle, all originate from this?

Or rather...

...Han Su suddenly realized a terrifying problem, stemming from the warning from the Emperor's consciousness in Life Line 04: 'That Emperor's consciousness told me that someone deliberately made me obtain the mechanical fragments...'

'That does make sense, after all, since Miss Ai gave this mechanical core to the Emperor and the knights who were rebuilding civilization, how could they not know about it?'

'If that's the case, why let these mechanical fragments scatter everywhere? It's as if they've been forgotten by the entire world?'

'...'

"I'm only certain that that will be our primary objective."

At this moment, Miss Ai also answered softly: "Whether it is this life line or the previous life line that I seemed to have completely liberated, I always searched for relevant information as soon as I gained access."

"Unfortunately, there was no record of it at all. Logically, this should mean that when the mechanical core was removed from the Doomsday Machine, the corresponding data was also completely deleted!"

"Perhaps, when the mechanical heart returns to the world-destroying machine, all the questions will be answered."

"..."

"So……"

Han Su's heart skipped a beat, and he placed his hand firmly on the suitcase.

He didn't have a complete mechanical heart, of course, but he already had four mechanical fragments in his box.

whether……

The thought flashed through his mind, but he remained motionless, simply looking silently at Miss Ai.

"alarm……"

Suddenly, a series of red lights flashed, and Miss Ai's voice suddenly carried a warning tone.

Moreover, in Han Su's judgment, the voice sounded more like Li Manman's. Then, after what seemed like a period of chaotic calculation, Miss Ai's steady voice rang out again: "Mr. Butcher, please be careful when discussing such topics with the world-destroying machines in the future."

“I have merged into the consciousness of this machine, I can access all her databases, and I can influence her underlying logic instructions, but this machine is too huge, and the time span it has gone through is too long.”

"If she also possesses a spiritual span and magnitude, then her spiritual magnitude may have already surpassed the sum of all living beings in the world..."

"So there are still many things I don't understand about her. Her obsession is that she wants the mechanical heart to return to her body as soon as possible, but you must be vigilant and never agree to her proposal under any circumstances."

"..."

Han Su kept his hand on the box still, but in his mind, he relaxed slightly and realized something unpleasant.

Li Manman did not actually transform into a world-destroying machine.

She only temporarily gained control of the machine under extremely advantageous conditions.

"I've taken this warning to heart."

Han Su slowly opened his mouth and then said, "Miss Ai... Manman, what can you do for us now?"

"At present, we have a lot to do."

"For example, obtaining the remaining three mechanical fragments, gaining complete control of Qinggang, and also investigating the true purpose of the eccentric doctor, as well as obtaining the Abyss Sequence Equation from those nobles..."

“I am happy to take over Qinggang now and give you the greatest possible assistance, Mr. Butcher.”

Miss Ai's voice was a little lighter: "In fact, this is also a good opportunity for me to gradually grow and gain a deep understanding of this world-destroying machine."

“Not only Qinggang, I can detect that I have the ability to take over more second-level or even first-level cities. The more cities I take over, the stronger my power will be, even to the point that I can liberate myself.”

This surprised Han Su: "Why is that?"

If Miss Ai can grow step by step like this, wouldn't Shou Shiren be leaving her a back door?
"This is indeed a delightful discovery."

Miss Ai replied, "Mr. Butcher can understand it as the reality of a distorted product that should not exist in this world."

"The cities of the past were products of an efficient clustering model that emerged before the solar flare era, based on productivity and human group cognition; they were a state of civilization."

"But now all the cities in the world are illusions created by nobles to appease the doomsday machines."

"They once made a pact with the Doomsday Machines, but they failed to fulfill their responsibilities. So they can only continue on their own path while building these cities to appease the Doomsday Machines, essentially paying countless interest."

"This is a paradox they created themselves!"

"But for me, who has merged with the world-destroying machine, this has become an opportunity for me to grow. I can draw nourishment from these real-world comforts, and so can Mr. Butcher."

"It's almost impossible for you to get the second-order equation of the Abyss. The survivor team of Life Line 04 spent ten years confirming that they would never hand over the equation to us."

"So, once you reach this life path, whether it's your personal growth or the hidden knowledge of the Abyss sequence, there's only one way to obtain it..."

"That is to use their own spear against their own shield, to take advantage of their rules to get everything we want."

"..."

"This……"

Han Su suddenly understood what Miss Ai meant, but his long-standing distrust made him wonder: "Will this work?"

"Aren't you afraid that we'll expend a lot of effort only to have them tear up the contract in the end?"

"..."

"They won't easily break the contract."

Miss Ai replied, "Those nobles are more dependent on the World Contract than we imagine. They don't let their own desires control the world, because they can't."

"Their control over this world has always relied on those three contracts, so they must abide by the rules. As you saw before, they have the ability to restart civilization, but they are unwilling to do so, as it would come at a great cost."

"Because they rely on the rules, the loopholes in those rules become our opportunities to achieve our goals."

“I can help Mr. Butcher design a route to get everything you need.”

"However, the most necessary and difficult step to enter their rules requires Mr. Butcher to complete it."

"..."

Han Su, already finding it hard to contain himself, asked, "What?"

"Become a wandering knight!"

Miss Ai replied, "This is the first step into their rules, and also the most important one."

"This……"

Han Su was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Miss Ai, this step has now become the simplest."

"Because I have already received an invitation from the Traveling Knights..."

(End of this chapter)