That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

That being said, Hall was not worried that the God of War, Artesius, would cause him trouble.

The strongest will have the strongest posture and will not be shaken by any preparations or actions of the weak.

Arthas, the God of War, is undoubtedly the strongest. He sits forever on the throne of the strongest, waiting for a challenger to appear and dispel his weariness.

The stronger the challenger, the happier the God of War, Artesius.

Before formally declaring war on the God of War, Artesius, even if he knew the characteristics of humans, he probably wouldn't take action. Instead, he would patiently wait for Hall to complete all preparations before intending to utterly destroy him.

This is the dignity of the strongest, the way of the strongest, and the power of the strongest.

However, the wings of the God of War Artesius, the Skywing race, are a different matter altogether.

Chapter 248 Divine Essence Refining Array

The conference room was a large space with only one desk. There were three people there: Hall, Rick, and Yuki, who stood silently to the side.

The conference hall offers a panoramic view of half the city; the city, large enough to accommodate 50 people but home to fewer than 3000, is quiet and empty.

Hall sat at the table, his fingers interlaced on the surface, chin resting on his hand. The light reflected from his glasses obscured his eyes as he asked, "Rick, do you know how many years the Star Cup has lasted?"

Rick shook his head.

"Before the birth of humankind, and even before the birth and destruction of the many races in this world, tens of millions of years? Or hundreds of millions of years, the Star Cup Wars repeated themselves countless times, without any result."

Rick keenly noticed the hidden information in Hall's words and said slowly, "If the Star Cup was the cause of the war, it couldn't have ended without a result. There must be a reason for this phenomenon."

Hall looked up, his gaze full of admiration: "That's right, the root cause is Artesius, the creator of the God of War."

Rick slightly opened his eyes: "The strongest divine species."

Hall stood up, his back to Rick, his eyes gazing at the city view through the floor-to-ceiling windows: "As long as the God of War lives, the war will never end. He undoubtedly possesses the strength to end this Star Cup war. However, in countless wars over the years, he has been waiting for a challenger to appear. The strongest is the strongest even without the Star Cup. Since he is the strongest, why hasn't the Star Cup directly appeared in his hands?"

Rick hesitated and asked, "You mean the Star Cup didn't recognize the God of War as the strongest?"

Hall shook his head: "But he is indeed recognized as the strongest in this world. Based on this logical contradiction, if he is not considered the strongest by the Star Cup, then there must be a challenger who can defeat him. Perhaps what he wants more than the Star Cup is a challenger who can make him go all out and then be defeated."

Rick concludes: "In other words, the God of War Artesius is humanity's enemy and an unavoidable obstacle to ending the war."

“We are the weakest challengers.” Hall nodded in agreement, then turned to Rick and asked again, “Do you think humanity today is qualified to challenge God?”

Rick said in confusion, "I don't know. If it were before, I could be certain that this was impossible, but now that you are standing in front of me, your existence and even what you have done are impossible miracles in my eyes."

Hall chuckled and said, "What I'm doing isn't as great as you think. What I can do now are capabilities and technologies that humanity will inevitably master in the future."

Rick looked up, his eyes like unsheathed blades, cold and clear, containing a determination to cut through everything: "So, what do you want me to do in order to defeat the strongest God of War?"

"expedition."

"expedition?"

“I have already formed an expedition team for you, but the team is currently lacking an excellent leader.”

Rick frowned and said, "Zion doesn't seem to be making any moves lately."

Hall casually remarked, "Of course, there are no humans among the members of this team, at least no residents of Zion. There are three Mechs and some androids that have escaped the virtual reality world."

Just like in The Matrix, in the virtual reality world created by the androids, on average one android every day realizes that it is living in a world created by others. These androids are often intelligent and sensitive, each with its own strengths, and can quickly become excellent soldiers after training.

Hall gave them two options.

First: Take the blue pill to erase related memories and return to life in the virtual world.

Second: Take the red pill, understand the current human condition, and dedicate yourself to the rise of humanity.

Current statistics show that the inclinations for the two choices are basically balanced.

Rick looked grave and nodded, saying, "Specifically, what do you need me to do?"

"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to start a war, although I don't rule out using war as a means to achieve your goal." Hall nodded to Yuki beside him.

YUKI stepped forward, her small face expressionless, her eyes slightly moving. A planetary projection appeared before the two of them, lifelike, marking the current power map of different races, conflict levels, and other information. It was clear that dozens of coordinate points were set up in different locations.

Clearly, those coordinates are what Hall wanted to show.

"What are these?"

Hall explained, "You need to set up an energy passage device at the coordinates listed on this world map."

What is its purpose?

"Once everything is set up, it will become a special device, which I call the Divine Essence Alchemy Array. It is a necessary preparation for us to defeat the God of War, Artes. It's a bit complicated to explain in detail, so you can ask your wife, Shubi. Yuki has already synchronized the information with her."

Half a year ago, Hall and Kloni officiated at Rick and Schwie's wedding.

Incidentally, the Machine Gundam has not yet synchronized with the heart that Shubi received from Riku; this was Shubi's decision.

"I understand. I'll go back and prepare, and I'll give you a detailed answer tomorrow."

"Wait, catch it."

Hall tossed Rick a device that resembled a watch.

"This is?"

"The location and communication device allows you to locate your squad members and view maps. There are still many functions to be developed. After the satellite is launched in a few days, you can use it to contact Zion no matter where you are."

Rick nodded and left the meeting room.

Seeing Yuki lost in thought, Hall casually asked, "What's wrong?"

Yuki tidied her short hair behind her ear, a subtle change in her expression, and said softly, "I'm processing the information from the virtual world, Master. I'm thinking, humans are truly a wondrous race. They are so weak and have such short lifespans, yet they contain such a vast amount of information."

Hall ruffled her short hair: "You'll need to figure that out gradually. How's it going over there?"

"It seems like I understand the existence of the heart, but I can't describe it in detail."

YUKI continued reporting: "Based on your suggestion, we are currently constructing network spheres for classification, strengthening the existence of individuals, issuing principle commands for migration, and constructing more worlds. We are currently investing all observation and analysis entities in the secondary construction of pseudo-divine essences. In world number 1435, [Hunter's Dream], we have successfully activated [Moon God].

"What is the situation at containment?"

"Currently, the Moon Goddess has not broken through the abilities of world number 1435 [Hunter's Dream], but her influence extends to world number 1436 [Burning the Flame], and she intends to create a deeper world."

"Increase the investment in the consciousness of this world, complete the activation of the simulated divine essence and make a communication request. If communication is not possible, then discard it."

"Understood, the base number of consciousness entities has been increased by 10000."

Chapter 249 Skynet System

The following day, in the deserted outskirts of Zion.

Hall led Rick to a towering building. The building stood quietly, standing out among a group of low-rise buildings. Its smooth, flat walls had no windows, only a single entrance made of alloy doors.

This building is one of the pinnacles of the Machine race's technology, with a defense level capable of withstanding the Sky Strike of the Sky Wing race. Unless the God race intervenes, it is virtually impossible to breach it.

However, the building's defenses were not designed to protect against external threats.

The alloy door is at least a meter thick, and entering requires going through layers of security checks and screenings. What Rick found incredible was that the building did not look very large from the outside, but the interior space was at least a hundred times larger than its surface size.

As the two walked through the dimly lit tunnel, Hall noticed Rick's confusion and explained, "The building is just the entrance. This is an alternate dimension built by the Machines. Because of the characteristics of this space, there is no concept of matter. Here, the boundary between reality and virtuality becomes blurred."

"What is the boundary between reality and virtuality?"

Hall said, "Yes, this place was originally a laboratory used to materialize the existence of virtual reality worlds."

Rick could barely understand what Hall meant. He was also an anthropologist and could gain more knowledge from Huggie after meeting her, but he was still quite different from Hall.

Before long, the two emerged from the tunnel and entered another city. Unlike Zion, this city was incredibly bustling, with people coming and going everywhere, and a peaceful atmosphere prevailed.

Rick felt as if he had entered a completely new world. The noise of the streets made him feel out of place, and the glass of the tall buildings made him dizzy. He stared blankly as pedestrians passed by him.

He turned around and found that the tunnel that led him here had changed completely.

"Crack~"

Hall snapped his fingers, and all was silent; time seemed to stand still for a moment.

"Where is this?" Rick asked in his sleep.

"Director 3: Deep World [Dark City], in this world there is only one day. At dawn, the consciousness of all the residents here is reset to the previous day. It is one of the laboratories used to test the influence of virtual reality on human consciousness," Hall explained calmly.

Rick's gaze gradually turned cold as he locked his heart, convincing himself that the consciousnesses here were not human.

In reality, the consciousness here is no different from that of a real human being.

Hall led Rick into a taxi and instructed, "YUKI, to the bar."

The taxi driver was none other than YUKI, who was wearing a uniform. She nodded expressionlessly and started the taxi.

More than ten minutes later, the taxi stopped at the entrance of a narrow and secluded alley. Inside, there was a staircase leading underground and a heavy, ancient wooden door.

Hall pushed open the door and entered, and time flowed on again; more precisely, only the time in this bar was different from that in the outside world.

The spacious and luxurious interior of the bar contrasts sharply with the narrow entrance, and the dim lighting reflects the gleam of the liquor on the shelves, with the aroma of alcohol permeating the air.

The seats were full of people—or could they be called people? Rick swore he had never seen anything so bizarre.

Humans dressed in armor similar in style to the machine race and an old man in a gray robe were drinking, while a human skeleton danced on the bar, the dazzling lights highlighting the stark white of the bones.

There were also people dressed in full armor but burning with flames, almost enough to serve as a light source for a bar.

The bizarre and fantastical scenes are like piecing together all the races of the real world, giving people a sense of absurdity that is detached from reality.

This bar is one of the transit points for all virtual reality worlds.

All eyes instantly focused on Hall, and the atmosphere became heavy.

Hall nodded to the boss and said, "YUKI, the usual."

Yuki, who had somehow gotten into a bartender's uniform, nodded and served Hall a glass of warm milk.

It's real milk, the kind without any added flavorings.

"Hey, BOSS, is this the captain you were talking about?" A cowboy walked over and asked with a grin.

Hall nodded: "From now on, you will obey his orders, even if it means your deaths."

"He's really strict. Oh well, I've already received payment. Speaking of which, doesn't he have any abilities? Won't he become a burden on the mission?"

“He is different from you; he is a human being from the real world.”

Rick said coldly, "Don't worry, if I become a burden, I will automatically leave the team. That's my principle."

The cowboy paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Not bad eye."