Star Odyssey

Chapter 1713: First Edition City

The First Protector smiled when he saw Lu Yin's surprise. "I have watched humanity’s technology develop for countless years, and there are always some outstanding geniuses. The Technocracy is able to produce androids with the power of Envoys, and my Human Domain has the same ability. However, due to the limited supply of various materials, very few such androids can be produced.”

Lu Yin’s first thought after hearing this explanation was of the giants’ technology.

There were stories from long ago about how the Expeditionary Forces had eliminated the giants’ technology after they developed the means of producing weapons that could unleash attacks at the Envoy level. The rumors claimed that the technology had been destroyed, but Lu Yin always believed that the Hall of Honor had confiscated the technology instead. At this moment, his suspicions were finally validated.

Lu Yin initially thought that the giants’ technology had been eliminated because the Hall of Honor did not want any of the Human Domain’s civilizations or powers to develop too quickly, as that might threaten the Hall of Honor’s status or create a terrible power struggle. However, after thinking about it for some time, Lu Yin felt that there was most likely a deeper reason, which was the materials needed to produce such weaponry.

The Hall of Honor had long since possessed the technology to create weapons as powerful as an Envoy, but the domain’s severely limited materials meant that such things could never be mass-produced. While the giants had achieved similar results with their technology, they would still require materials at a similar level, which meant that they would have been competing with the Hall of Honor.

In that situation, how could the Hall of Honor possibly allow the giants’ technology to continue? Thus, the Hall of Honor had assimilated the giants’ research and technological accomplishments, as not only would this allow the Hall of Honor to further optimize their own technologies, but they would also be able to acquire some desperately needed materials. For these reasons, the Hall of Honor naturally had not hesitated to move against the giants.

It could only be said that the giants had not developed their technology to a high enough level at the right time, and they had also not been able to keep their accomplishments secret. If Lu Yin had been Arch-Elder Zen, he would have also chosen to eliminate the giants’ technology.

Regardless of whether the Hall of Honor had acted selfishly or domineeringly, it was still better for them to have the rare materials than for the giants to use them on their own technologies.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration sprang up within Lu Yin’s mind, stunning him into a daze. He had glimpsed some thought, but it had flashed by, and he had failed to hold onto it. What was it? He had instantly forgotten that momentary thought, but he knew that it was very important, and he even felt like it was the key to solving the various mysteries around him, but what was it?

Lu Yin frowned and stopped to think.

Emperor Luo and others looked at him oddly.

The First Protector’s eyes flickered; was this an epiphany? No, this did not seem like that. The kid seemed more like he was spellbound.

Lu Yin remained frozen for an entire hour, but he was never able to recapture his previous thought. He even repeated every word that he had thought leading up to that glimpse of inspiration, but he simply could not remember whatever it had been.

He shrugged and let out a sigh. He had forgotten, and the ethereal thought had completely vanished. Still, it had probably been something very important.

"Let's go," Lu Yin said.

The group from the Sixth Mainland soon continued on their way. Their numbers were the same as before, but some people had been replaced by Lu Yin and the others.

The route that the Sixth Mainland cultivators had planned to take to First Edition City was different from the route that Lu Yin and the others had tried to take. They had been headed to a part of the Technocracy that was under Sky Creation Institute’s control, and the new path was clearly closer to First Edition City.

Lu Yin had technically been dead when he entered the Technocracy the last time. After he woke back up, he had found himself on a planet with Fat Bro and Yan Xiaojing. Lu Yin recalled that the planet had been known as Star Duolun. After that, Lu Yin had met Hui Kong, who was extremely familiar with the Technocracy.

The Technocracy was full of machinery. When the Ghost Monkey had dragged Lu Yin across the border to hide in the Technocracy, Lu Yin’s body had been skewered by a random piece of metal flying around the void at the border of the Technocracy.

At that time, Lu Yin hadn’t even been able to see the Technocracy’s defenses, but this time, when they reached the border, he saw metal spikes hidden in the void, as well as metal frames connecting various planets in the distance. The planets and the metal frameworks actually formed nets that spread out far into the distance.

If an outside force tried to break into the Technocracy, the entire framework would instantly collapse upon them, and unless the invader’s strength had reached a level that surpassed the Technocracy’s defenses, they would be trapped and defeated regardless of their numbers.

This was Technocracy.

To Lu Yin’s eyes, the strange thing was that he could not see where the metal framework even started. How far did the net extend? How was it fixed in place? He could not see any answers to his questions.

There were many planets in the Technocracy that were inhabited by ordinary people, much like Star Duolun where Huang San and Yan Xiaojing lived. There were many other similar planets in the Technocracy, and they were inhabited by more than just humans. As far as the Technocracy was concerned, humans were just another astral beast species, and the Technocracy did not ostracize any creatures.

As the Cloud Valley Master’s servant and his party led Lu Yin and the others into the Technocracy, they were not blocked or inspected, and they simply continued moving further deeper into the Technocracy.

As they traveled, Emperor Luo kept verifying their route while also attempting to locate the battlefield that lay between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy. Unfortunately, he could not locate the battlefield.

After several days passed, Lu Yin was passing the time by observing some of the Technocracy’s planets, as well as a large number of androids and battleships. These vessels were not piloted by humans, but rather possessed their own self-awareness. They were essentially alive, could communicate, and even had emotions. They were able to merge with each other through fighting, and their existence shattered Lu Yin’s understanding of life.

"Have you still not found a route?" Lu Yin asked. He was getting a bit anxious, as they were getting closer and closer to First Edition City. If they were not able to find the battlefield and a route to it soon, they would be forced to return to the Human Domain, as First Edition City was too dangerous to approach, and even the First Protector was scared of that place.

Emperor Luo shook his head. "The battlefield’s moved. We tried to take the old route that I knew, but it’s no longer useable since the battlefield changed. Half of the old battlefield was taken over by Sky Creation Academy, and the other half by First Edition City. They have a new battlefield now, but from my guesses, it isn’t anywhere near the Human Domain. In fact, it might even be in the deepest regions of the Technocracy.”

Emperor Luo’s voice fell lower as he spoke.

Lu Yin stared off into the distance, as he was rather unwilling to give up.

The First Protector shrugged. "If that’s really the case, then all we can do is return the way that we came and leave the Technocracy."

They heard a boom; some distance away, two planet-sized machines were fighting, and their battle was scattering countless bits of debris into space.

"That’s a very common mechanical beast here in the Technocracy. After two of them fight, the winner will absorb material from the loser," Emperor Luo explained.

They had seen many similar sights in recent days. The Technocracy was not a place that was dominated by androids or any particular creature, but rather by the Master Brain. The Master Brain was the ruler of the Technocracy, and the variety of lifeforms that were found here was endless.

This was also true of the mechanical creatures. Humans referred to minds as brains, but this was not always true in the Technocracy. Instead, they typically referred to the mind that controlled a body as the dominant consciousness.

Near to the two fighting mechanical creatures, there was a densely packed group of strange, eight-limbed machines. They were the scavengers that Hui Kong had mentioned to Lu Yin. These machines worked to collect the trash from various battles.

The Technocracy operated through its own system. It was said that the Technocracy was devoid of life, but the creatures there were sapient, just not organic. The various mechanical creatures, including the scavengers and the androids, had no traditional signs of life.

Hui Kong had remained in the Technocracy for so long because he had been investigating why Progenitor Hui had established the Technocracy, and Lu Yin found himself holding the same curiosity.

"You can stop searching. We’ll just go back the way we came," the First Protector commented.

The Cloud Valley Master’s disciple’s face twisted. "I can't go back."

The First Protector's expression turned grim. "What did you just say?"

The Sixth Mainland Envoy raised a hand and shared a message that he had received: Your location has been locked onto. Please proceed to First Edition City by following the suggested route. Thank you for your cooperation.

"I received this letter from the deputy master of First Edition City. The city’s moved, and it’s very close to our location now," the man explained.

The First Protector was scared by this change. "I can't go there."

"They’ve locked onto our location, so if we try to leave, we’ll end up in trouble. First Edition City’s already too close to us, and if they really do have a strength that even Arch-Elder Zen is wary of, then our current distance from the city is actually meaningless. We’re already here, and if Senior tries to force your way out, we’ll definitely struggle to survive,” Lu Yin explained. He had not expected First Edition City to suddenly move over, and this was not something that Emperor Luo could have known about either.

The Envoy from the Sixth Mainland had also only learned of this development after they entered the Technocracy.

The First Protector was upset by this change. "If we enter that place, I can’t promise that I’ll be able to get any of us out of there safely."

"That’s assuming that we get caught, but we still have yet to be discovered," Lu Yin retorted. If he did not carry out his plan, the Perennial World’s attack would become an unpredictable inevitability. It would have been better for Lu Yin to travel to First Edition City with Hui Kong. That old man had stayed in the Technocracy for a very long time, and he had definitely been to both Sky Creation Academy and First Edition City. Getting into trouble in the Technocracy would only happen if they were discovered.

Lu Yin did not think that anyone would be dumb enough to be fooled by him, so his departure was classified as an adventure and not a mission.

The path of cultivation was far from smooth. Lu Yin had actually died on several different occasions, but he still had the courage to take risks when necessary.

"Senior, we don’t have a path out any longer. The longer we hesitate here, the more suspicious we’re going to look," Lu Yin urged.

The First Protector felt cornered. "I have a feeling that you’ll end up being the death of me…"

He then looked over at the first disciple of the Cloud Valley Master. "Lead the way."

…

The universe was infinite and vast, and it was full of surprising sights. Still, Lu Yin had never thought that he would one day behold the current sight before him.

First Edition City was extremely technologically advanced, and it was incomparably massive. It floated through outer space along various air currents, and there was no soil or sky to be seen. Rather, when one looked up, they would see a glowing brain flickering with light. Down below, there was something gaseous flowing by. Upon closer inspection, the mysterious gas was actually some sort of cloud made out of light that propped up the entire city.

From a distance, First Edition City did not look like a city at all, but instead a human brain.

The city was illuminated by the brain, and this was the Master Brain that controlled the entire Technocracy. It was the ultimate authority in this place.

These details were not what surprised Lu Yin. Instead, what shocked him was the fact that First Edition City felt completely lifeless yet also full of activity.

Dead silent, but also brimming with life. These two conflicting concepts were vividly juxtapositioned in First Edition City.

There were androids everywhere in the city. Each and every one was neatly arranged and stored in a specific location in the city. What’s more, there were pipes filled with air that connected the various regions of First Edition City, and they transported supercomputers from one place to another. Some of the supercomputers would exit in different places and merge with an android, which would activate, move around, and carry out various activities. Some of the supercomputers just continued drifting through the pipes. It was much like how an ordinary human might go sightseeing in a car and enjoy the scenery of a city. However, these supercomputers were able to integrate with any of the various androids, which meant that the androids were essentially communal property.

Emperor Luo was very familiar with this sight, but Lu Yin had not been prepared for it. Hui Kong had told Lu Yin a great deal about the Technocracy, but he had never mentioned anything about what Lu Yin was staring at. It was possible that Hui Kong simply had not known how to describe this scene, but he had told Lu Yin that there were truly bizarre sights to be seen in the Technocracy.

The individuals in this place were the supercomputers while the android bodies were nothing more than tools.

This was a city in the Technocracy. The supercomputers were full of life, and they wandered all about the city. They could enjoy the entire city in whichever body they chose, but there was no hint of organic life to be seen at all.

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