Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 345 A Disappointing Answer

We'll be in Rodel City soon.

"Solio, which claims to be the world's strongest nation, is actually not that great."

"What right do these heretics have to be enemies of His Holiness the priest? Defeat is their inevitable fate."

After completing their raid on the border of the Solomon Empire, the followers of the French and the Church of the Fire Thieves are advancing toward Rodel, the most densely populated city near the border.

Their primary target in this attack was this city.

Although they verbally expressed contempt for Soromagna, these believers knew in their hearts that it was impossible to completely defeat the empire in one fell swoop.

Their mission was simply to strike at Rodel City and make Sororo pay for his previous assassination attempt.

The believers drove forward, and thousands of vehicles traveled along the highway. Before long, they could see the modern metropolis with its towering buildings in the distance.

Suddenly, a loud roar came from the front. Immediately afterwards, the convoy behind saw thick smoke billowing ahead and all stopped.

"what happened?"

"Was it an attack by those heretics?!"

The believers got out of the car and immediately stared wide-eyed.

What emerged from the billowing smoke were large war machines, three or four meters tall and gleaming with a bronze luster!
These war machines look like tanks at first glance, with a heavy chassis and tracks. However, in addition to two large-caliber cannons, the chassis is equipped with four high-speed rotating cannons, as well as surface-to-air missile silos and drone lifts.

It even has catapult-type chain guns mounted on both sides. This tracked combat machine, which integrates multiple strike methods such as cold and hot strikes, is like a mobile war fortress, something that has never appeared in the world before.

"What, what is this?!"

"It's like a super-modified tank. When did Soroma develop this kind of weapon?"

"These are probably secretly developed weapons of war! And there are more?!"

As the thick fog from the explosion dissipated, more war machines became visible, numbering at least several dozen.

Faced with dozens of war machines as tall as two-story buildings, the believers could not help but feel fear.

At that moment, the war fortresses all emitted mechanical electronic sounds.

"Humans within range have been designated as enemies; annihilation mode has been activated."

A massacre ensued immediately.

The dense barrage of fire from the high-speed rotating machine guns instantly killed many slow-reacting cultists, while the rest quickly huddled together, using defensive items and abilities to protect themselves.

However, tools and abilities are limited, while these terrifying war machines, with their massive size, can store a large amount of ammunition, enough to last them until they are exhausted.

Furthermore, some defensive items will be rapidly depleted when subjected to continuous attacks, especially those attacked not only by dense bullets but also by large-caliber heavy artillery.

The cars at the very front of the convoy, reduced to charred skeletons, were the ones that had been hit by heavy artillery fire.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

Several heavy artillery shells simultaneously bombarded the protective circle formed by more than a dozen cultists. By the third shell, the defensive structure was destroyed, and the cultists were immediately blown to pieces, not even having time to scream.

The other believers were frightened and wanted to run away, but when they turned around, they found that many war machines were rapidly approaching from behind.

This is a trap!
Many believers immediately realized that Soromagatovic had deliberately let them in so that he could then send out the war machines that were lying in ambush there, intending to wipe them out completely.

"Fight back!"

A member wearing a patterned black robe, whose status within the church was clearly higher than that of an ordinary person in a plain black robe, shouted.

At this person's command, the followers immediately used their respective abilities and items to attack.

However, these war machines appear to be made of a special metal, making them extremely defensive, and most attacks are completely ineffective against them.

"Damn it, if we can't break through the turtle shell, we'll just kill the person hiding inside!"

A cultist wielding a metal rod leaped onto a war machine, took out a vial of potion, drank it, and roared as he used his enhanced brute force to tear open the hatch on top.

He jumped down intending to kill the pilot inside, but upon entering the cabin, he discovered that apart from the stored ammunition and numerous electronic screens, there was no one there at all.

This is... self-driving?!

“How foolish.” A screen in the main control area lit up, displaying Dr. Heisenberg’s face.

He looked at the cultists and sneered, "Ignorant cultists, have you witnessed the power of the 'Destroyer'? You think you can shake the rule of the empire? You are truly overestimating yourselves."

Annihilator, is that the name of the war machine?
The cultist, enraged by the mocking face on the screen, brandished a metal rod and began smashing things inside, trying to destroy all the screens and control systems to cripple the Destroyer.

"You'll be buried with this Destroyer."

As soon as Haisen finished speaking, he remotely activated the individual self-destruct system.

With a deafening roar, the missiles stored inside the Destroyer exploded on their own, destroying itself and killing the cultist in the process.

In just seven or eight minutes, the black-robed cultists suffered heavy casualties. Faced with these intelligent war machines like the Annihilators, human beings of flesh and blood were simply too fragile.

In the laboratory, Dr. Heisenberg, who was remotely observing the battle, looked quite pleased with himself.

The remarkable success of this new weapon, which he designed himself, on its very first mission is proof enough of his capabilities.

but……

As if struck by a thought, Hesen turned and walked into a separate laboratory.

In the center of the room is a special type of intelligent robot supported by multiple brackets. Its appearance is so lifelike that it is almost indistinguishable from a human.

Heisen gazed at it, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of hope and fervor, and murmured, "His Majesty's most valued 'angel,' if it can be successfully activated, humanity might truly be able to step into a new world..."

……

Landing site.

The questioner, designated by the Human Alliance, walks up to the alien intelligent entity and asks the question to be decided by the meeting vote.

"Given the current level of human technology, what methods can be used to obtain a safe, inexpensive, and virtually unlimited energy source?"

At the meeting of the Federation of People's Associations, the question to be asked was ultimately decided by vote.

Compared to other issues, energy is an issue that cannot be ignored and is urgent.

Tianshui is an energy-rich planet, and at first glance, it seems to have no shortage of energy due to the large-scale extinction of its population.

The truth is quite the opposite.

Whether it's Soroma's intelligent robot project, the human-initiated space colonization program, or other large-scale scientific research projects underway, they are all like black holes, devouring massive amounts of energy.

According to AI-assisted predictions, given the current rate of human energy consumption, it is possible that in another year, many projects will have to be suspended or postponed due to energy shortages.

This is unacceptable for humanity as a whole.

To combat the fire-stealers and the rules of the apocalypse, nations are actively seeking breakthroughs in various scientific research areas. For example, Soromagnetia has been continuously investing in and enhancing its intelligent AI, consuming astronomical amounts of electricity and other resources daily.

The construction of other large-scale equipment required for scientific research also requires massive amounts of energy.

Space colonization, one of humanity's self-rescue options, consumes enormous amounts of fuel from rockets and spacecraft.

So far, only two experimental manned rockets have been launched. Once the experiment is completely successful, subsequent launches should be launched continuously for immigration, at which point all kinds of energy will be indispensable.

Based on these issues, the countries eventually reached a consensus: they wanted to try to solve the energy problem by asking questions.

The alien intelligence's spaceship is capable of warp travel, which must be due to the use of some kind of super energy. If humanity can master this energy, our overall technological level will surely experience a great leap forward.

At that moment, after the question was raised, the alien intelligent entity immediately took action, devouring the parasitic food that had been laid out around it.

The other soldiers had seen it a few times and had gotten used to it. Guan Tong, however, was witnessing the black mud devouring lives firsthand for the first time, and couldn't help but feel horrified.

That method of eating, which completely devours humanoid life, leaving not even a trace, would surely instill psychological trauma and instinctive disgust and hatred in every human who witnesses it.

It's no wonder that many people online are calling on the Human Consortium to try and kill this alien intelligent being. Firstly, to avenge the humans who were eaten, and secondly, to retaliate against the fire-stealers out of hatred for them.

The rules state that the Firebringers will reclaim this alien intelligent entity after the rules expire. So, many people, out of hatred for the Firebringers, want to try and kill it during the rule period to see how it will be reclaimed.

However, the Federation of Peoples cannot accept being coerced by public opinion; for the safety of humanity as a whole, it cannot do so.

Guan Tong glanced at Si Gaoqin beside her. The latter had a serious expression and was staring intently at the alien intelligent entity, constantly calculating the number of things it had devoured.

She would undoubtedly take command immediately should there be any signs of things getting out of control.

I just don't know how much food is needed.
Guan Tong heard the question very clearly.

It's not surprising that the Human Alliance wants to control more energy sources to power various human self-rescue projects.

But can this guy really provide the answer to the kind of near-infinite energy that humanity desires?

Guan Tong looked at the raging black mud, but there was something else on his mind.

coming!

The alien parasite moved to the vicinity of the living dead and without hesitation enveloped and devoured several surrounding parasites, including the living dead.

have eaten……!
Guan Tong's eyes lit up with joy, and he turned to look at Si Gaoqin, who was also looking at him with excitement on her face.

She knew exactly where Guan Tong had placed the undead, and seeing it being eaten, she felt a sense of relief.

The fact that the undead can be used as food means Guan Tong has the opportunity to ask questions, which seems to be disadvantageous to Xisia. But from another perspective, if a question causes the alien intelligence to go out of control and there aren't enough parasites, wouldn't Guan Tong's undead be able to step in at a critical moment?

Although Si Gaoqin didn't know how many living dead Guan Tong could create, she knew there must be a lot, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to meet the requirements for asking questions.

At this point, the alien intelligent entity stopped after consuming more than a thousand portions of food.

This number surprised everyone.

It's not too much, it's too little.

It's worth noting that the Human Consortium prepared tens of thousands of parasites as food, because they felt that answering this question would consume a lot of resources.

As a result, this time the amount of money spent was less than the amount spent asking "how to identify parasites" last time.

A bad feeling crept into Sgorchin's heart.

She felt this likely meant the answer would disappoint humanity.

The next moment, a deep voice came from the pool of black mud.

This time it used almost entirely human language, with only one short syllable that it couldn't understand.

"You cannot obtain this energy because this planet lacks the necessary materials science."

"Unable to overcome the limitations of materials science?" The questioner seemed to become agitated with some kind of despair. "Then wouldn't that mean..."

Before he could finish speaking, muffled gunshots rang out one after another.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

The person asking the question was instantly killed when a bullet struck their vital organs.

Almost everyone present was momentarily stunned.

Guan Tong looked towards the sniper's booth in the distance, and there was no doubt that the snipers inside had killed the questioner.

As the questioner designated by the People's Federation, he must not say anything more after asking his question, as this would violate the rules.

Sgorchen, regaining his senses, said, "Go and clean up the corpses!"

Some soldiers immediately stepped forward to clean up the body of the person who asked the question.

At this moment, during the remote meeting of the People's Federation, the committee members fell silent after witnessing this scene.

After a moment, one of the committee members spoke first: "I...I can understand him. Why did the questioner lose control of his emotions? He must be from a scientific research background like me, so he immediately understood the meaning of the extraterrestrial intelligent being's answer."

The other committee members all looked over, waiting for him to continue.

The committee member took a deep breath, his tone filled with despair: "Based on the answers given by the extraterrestrial intelligent beings, there may be a special substance in the universe, but we on Tianshui do not have that substance, so we cannot break through the fundamental limitations of materials science."

"Materials science may well be the foundation for obtaining unlimited energy—this is not surprising, as many cutting-edge scientific fields have been unable to continue to explore and achieve breakthroughs precisely because of the limitations of materials."

"For example, in electronic chip technology, our research on silicon-based chips has almost reached the physical limit. Due to material limitations, we cannot make further breakthroughs in nanoscale processes."

"There are also the energy density limits of batteries, the melting point limitations of spacecraft coatings, and biocompatible biological media in biomedicine... Breakthroughs in these fields are all based on materials. If we cannot overcome the material barrier, it will be difficult for humanity's cutting-edge technology to reach a completely new level."

The committee member looked dejected after speaking, clearly having suffered a major blow.

The other committee members also looked extremely grim, never expecting that the answer they received would be so detrimental to humanity.

"Since we don't have that special substance on our planet, could other planets like Terra have it?" Gao Liangwei asked in a deep voice. "If Terra doesn't have it, could other planets in this system have it?"

"This...no one can know, right?"

"Since nobody knows, let's try to find it. Never giving up is the creed of humankind."

“I agree with Chairman Gao on this point,” Mary said, “but we need to figure out what this special substance is first.”

“We still need more corpus to crack its language. Since we didn’t use much parasite this time, let’s raise new questions immediately tomorrow and obtain a large amount of corpus through continuous questioning to crack it,” one committee member suggested.

“It is indeed necessary to ask more questions, and for this, more parasites are indispensable. So, is there any progress in the research on mental networks?” Toraft asked.

None of the committee members provided feedback.

Mary said, "The old methods aren't working anymore; without clues, we can't even begin. Chairman Gao, has your North Star Countermeasures Research Office discovered anything?"

Gao Liangwei shook his head, recalling Zhang Minglu's report.

(End of this chapter)