He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

Chapter 106 Cardinal Heavy Industry

Fairy Spirits: Transformation of Living Beings

The moment he heard the name from Xiaobai, Baihuizhili instantly found its origin.

As a ripple spread across the red liquid, the power of recollection channeled a fragmented piece of secret knowledge into Ai's vessel: "Long, long ago, the sun still hung high in the sky, its radiance brilliant and inextinguishable, flowing eternally from the dwellings—it was noon, and the light permeated the entire world. Darkness and ignorance were questions excluded from illumination and intellect, while the ash wood fulfilled the earth's duty, spreading and growing from its old form into the shape of a new village."

"At that time, almost all living beings were drawn to the light, and the earliest fairies established their kingdoms near the source of the radiance—"

"That place is: Arcadia, the city of fairies, also known as Dreamland by the fairies."

"Noon—" Ai murmured silently.

He knew that noon was the era after the "Paradise Calendar" and the "Shell Calendar," that is, the era after Eden had collapsed—and how far this history was from the "Nest Era" was still unknown, as there was no reference point yet.

The main problem is that Ai doesn't know what role those humans, who lost the sky and became accustomed to crawling in the dark, played in the Noon Calendar after the era of the Self-Identifying Shells passed, or how they survived.

These are all questions.

"Sigh—" the fox sighed.

—While not as ancient as Paradise, Noon is also a lost chapter in the history of the Nest Era—how it began and how it ended—no one knows.

Even Ai, a Radiant Being, only possesses fragmented information and can only piece together some scattered guesses.

"Xiao Bai?" Although he didn't have much hope, he still tentatively asked, "Don't you have anything you want to tell me?"

Is it possible that it's not what I want to tell you, but rather what you want to know?

Doorway bluntly retorted, "Don't you think there are enough main quests already piled up? Let me tell you clearly, just like the Shell Calendar belongs to the Shell species rather than humans, the Noon Calendar is also not the era of humans—at least the protagonists on the world stage are not humans—as for what species they are—in any case, they are not immortals."

At this point, Xiaobai suddenly paused, then mumbled, "Oh right—I suddenly remembered that you seem to be going there in person soon, so I won't spoil it for you."

"Hehe." Ai didn't insist much, but her expression became a forced smile. "Riddle Gate is really something."

"Hehehehe————"

Ignoring the obnoxious Xiaobai, Ai continued to browse the secret knowledge that had sunk into her soul. This time, it was about the characteristics of beings like fairies: "Fairies are the purest and most mysterious species. Unlike normal races that need a 'material structure' as a foundation to anchor their lives, fairies don't rely much on physical bodies. They are born with the power of spiritualization, and are naturally unrestrained and free-spirited—and as this trait becomes purer and cleaner with the propagation of their species, until it manifests a 'chaotic' side, they gain the favor of the 'moths' and become the followers of the Moths' Code."

Next, the origin of the celestial spirits is explained: "The first celestial spirit was born from the pool's liquid. It was called the 'Primordial Spirit'—because it was born without a physical form and belonged to the spiritual side, the red pool imbued it with a special status in its spiritual world—this being, who reached 'grandeur' upon its birth, is the ruler of the 'Principles of Dreams,' anchoring the rituals of dreams, and is the god of illusions in the midday calendar."

"Legend has it that the later fairies were born from the dreams of that 'First Spirit.' Dreams are ever-changing and illusory, and the fairies inherited this trait, giving rise to many subspecies: flower fairies, shapeshifting spirits, undead spirits, rare spirits, sprites, fairies, elemental spirits, dream demons, mist demons—they formed a vast and strange race, living together in the kingdom built from the 'First Spirit's' dreams, worshipping and chasing the radiance flowing from the far reaches of the land."

"The 'Changeable Beings' are a rather special subspecies among the Celestials: they are regarded as 'unpleasant remnants,' and are also a symbol of deformity and unpopularity within the entire Celestial race—because they inherit a trait from the 'Primordial Spirits': the absence of a physical form—which was originally a noble quality, but unlike other Celestials, they cannot change their form between physical and spiritual bodies, nor do they possess the great power of the Primordial Spirits that allows them to disregard the rules."

"In the society of the immortals, material activities are also an extremely important social channel. The swapped beings, who are born without a physical medium, cannot even master the abilities that the immortals should be born with. Although the immortals have not expelled them, the isolated swapped beings are in a position in the dream world that is no different from being banished."

"Thus, the yearning for physical form became their species' worship—driven by chaotic minds and intense desires, the swapped beings became infamous 'parasites'—as spirits, they were born with a stronger soul power than ordinary species, so they began to secretly replace newborns in other species and grow using the original body."

"After such heinous behavior was discovered by the various races and the Primordial Spirits, the Celestials officially banished the troublesome Transformed Beings from Arcadia and demanded that they not be allowed to return home until they received forgiveness from the Primordial Spirits or the Radiance. This banishment lasted until the end of the Noon Calendar, the Radiance's severe damage, and the collapse of Dreamland."

"Now, whether the exile period has ended is no longer relevant."

The long and arduous journey of secret knowledge has come to an end here. The upgraded Whitebeak Gift is indeed powerful. With the "clues" given by Little White, it has basically revealed the ancestors of the Changing Life race for eighteen generations.

"Ugh, they're a bunch of jinxes—"

Ai gave a brief summary, but didn't have any further feelings about these seemingly pathetic guys in front of her.

This dangerous and troublesome species is a threat to other life even in its very existence, so it's no wonder that Hallownest has identified it as a "mutant".

Now, the fox's gaze toward the group of people in front of it was gradually becoming dangerous.

—I'm already thinking about where to bury them.

As for trying to use them? The client must be out of their mind. They're even more monstrous than moths. Besides causing destruction, if you expect these idiots with brains full of mush to do anything logical, it will probably turn into a disaster.

The thought that these creatures had come up from the lower hive and might be everywhere filled Ai with pessimism about the world below this hive.

—That kind of place must be hell (sad).

However—

Before collecting the bodies of these swapped-lives, the things in their minds are still quite valuable.

For example, how did they manage to cross the "Antarn Wall" and reach the lower city while carrying the bodies of these bottom-nest people?

Ai shook her head.

—As for why it was almost immediately clear they came from the bottom nest—

Thinking this, the fox took two steps forward, and the next second, its two big ears drooped down tightly, sticking to the sides of its hair—but this instinctive reaction was obviously useless.

The vibrations emanating from the Passion Chamber were still incredibly loud. As I approached, the pitch of these altered beings rose another notch—and since they used vibrations to transmit information, they didn't even need to keep up with the "speech speed." Twenty people produced the cacophony of hundreds speaking at the same time. The fox's fluffy tail, which had just been bathed, had been puffed up into a huge ball of fur.

"Damn it!" Ai glared at him, and the principle of silence swept over him instantly, calming the tremors.

—Finally, it's quiet.

He breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to take the time to carefully observe the creatures. He frowned as he looked at their appearances—the most conspicuous man had a strange smile on his face, and the right half of his chest was exposed with a layer of "bronze" flesh. This was not tanned skin, but genuine metal—it looked like scrap material that had rusted off.

The seal of this "skin" doesn't look very good. It's just been roughly shaped with welding rods, and the welding points are clearly visible. You can vaguely see the messy black ribbon cables inside, and a corner of the dark "air pump lung" that is operating inefficiently is also peeking out.

With those old, replaced "rubber tube esophagus" also in use, one might wonder if a sip of soup would leak from his chest.

Ai tilted her head, thinking that this seemed to make sense.

—Perhaps this is part of the design of this breathing system? To prevent insufficient heat dissipation, they might pour some coolant into it when steam is emitted—

"It also supports water cooling."

The fox wagged its tail. "No wonder you're from the bottom nest. I've learned something new."

Besides these, there was also a guy whose limbs had been replaced with semi-powered robotic arms and whose eye sockets could pop out like cylindrical lenses, and a bald woman whose neck was replaced with a bearing. As for why you could tell she was a woman, it was probably because she had breasts.

As for what was inside those two protrusions, Ai didn't know, but she couldn't rule out the possibility that they were grenades.

"Turtle—" The fox's eyes widened. He now had to admit that he had to maintain the utmost respect for the bottom nest at all times.

This is why it's easy to tell they come from a lower level—not because of their degree of mechanical modification—these people appear to have only about 40% mechanical body composition, some may have even less, which is not as extreme as some of the 90% mechanically modified fanatics in the lower city.

The difference lies in the form of these prosthetic bodies.

The prosthetic bodies produced in the city do not have this type of design. Even the Cybertronian psychopaths in the suburbs whose modification rate exceeds 80% use pre-packaged prosthetic bodies, and their appearance is not much different from that of ordinary people. At most, the size and specifications of some organs are not quite right.

Instead of the ones in front of me, where every inch of flesh and prosthetics transitions so stiffly, grotesquely, and even madly, as if dismantling and transforming a person as if they were an inorganic object, they are full of rugged beauty, relentlessly pushing the limits of pragmatism and violent aesthetics.

—This is the style of the bottom nest. Judging from the situation, these people in front of us are probably in the standard state of bottom nest workers.

Aside from their "biological brains," the only thing they originally had left was their souls—and these unfortunate souls in front of them had even had their souls replaced.

"Tsk—"

Even the fox couldn't help but marvel. With its current knowledge of "human anatomy," it couldn't figure out how these people had survived—this kind of drastic modification that completely ignored the rejection reaction of flesh and blood was simply a medical miracle.

Of course, that's not the main point right now.

Grabbing the guy who was practically freezing cold, Ai Yi stomped on his head with a slipper to firmly restrain him—a violent struggle came from under his foot, but from that grinning face, the fox couldn't glean anything more.

The alien beings inhabiting the area paid no heed to the "hostility" displayed by the "Messenger of Light," or rather, they were simply unable to discern or understand what "hostility" meant.

When the silencing spell cast on him was lifted, the noisy sounds flooded his mind once again.

—Aaaaaaah! Light! Aaaaaah! Stomp on me! Stomp on me! Let me lick you! Aaaaaah!

apua..

—Holy crap, there's a pervert.

The fox shuddered, silently withdrew its foot, and then chose a secret technique, using the mage's hand to firmly press the fox to the ground. At the same time, all the creatures around it turned their gazes toward the fox, each one filled with envy.

—Holy crap, they're all perverts.

I can't stand even a little bit.

Feeling that staying in this environment would be detrimental to her physical and mental health, Ai decided to make a quick decision—although she felt that the dialogue process was not very meaningful, she still had to go through it.

"Now, I'll ask, and you'll answer: How did you get through that wall to this floor?"

He hesitated for a moment, then added, "Answer the question, and the light will reveal the way home to you."

The next instant, a vibration of an even higher frequency reached his brain, and Ai, while rubbing his temples, analyzed its meaning:

—A wall? What wall? Where did this wall come from?

—What does "wall" mean?

Where are we now? When did I get online?

—Has it come up yet? As above. Is it really up yet? I don't know, I don't know.

—Aaaaaaah, light! Aaaaaah!

—Back home, back home, back home, back home!

— Stack them up, and if you stack them high enough, you can climb up!

—Just one lick, just one lick!

...endendendend—

"What the hell is this thing?!"

The idea of ​​communicating with these guys was a complete mistake.

It's like seeing two tentacles sticking out from behind a mouse, and then having to take it apart to see for yourself whether it's a cockroach or Lu Bu inside.

It turned out to be a centipede.

Ai silently reapplied the silence spell she had just cast, her face expressionless. She briefly questioned her life, but quickly regained her composure and, following Mia's example, began to plunder their utensils.

The fox's understanding of souls far surpassed that of the foolish deer-man. As she delved deeper, Ai bypassed the chaotic memories belonging to the swapped beings and chose to collect the fragmented "original memories."

It seems that these replaced beings have not been inhabiting the body for long, and the replacement did not begin "from the newborn stage" as recorded in the secret knowledge. Instead, it seems to be a kind of forced parasitism. There are traces of resistance in the vessel, and there are still many remnants of the souls of these bottom nest people.

The results were obtained very quickly.

"Copper Moss—" This was something Mia had asked earlier; it seemed to be the name of an organization.

-besides.

Ai murmured softly: "A commission—important cargo—transportation—Cardinal Heavy Industries—the possibility of the singularity—"

Unexpectedly, he obtained some fragmented information and a strange name from the mind of the bottom-nest people.

"Cardinal Heavy Industries —"

Ai frowned in thought, feeling that the name looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place it for the moment, so she could only continue to sort out her thoughts.

"Singularity—huh?!"

The next second, it dawned on him, "Who's behind the singularity?"