Jiang Baimian continued forward, but didn't dare to walk too fast, lest she couldn't retreat in time.
This gave her ample time to think and discern, so she wouldn't end up somewhere else where there weren't any forks in the road.
One step, two steps, three steps, Jiang Baimian passed through the half-open door and went all the way to the end of the corridor.
The front suddenly opened up, revealing a large hall.
The hall was full of machines, with lights of various colors flashing in all directions, making Jiang Baimian a little dizzy.
She composed herself and carefully looked at the situation here through the visor of her military exoskeleton:
In the middle of the hall were several space capsule-like metal objects, surrounding a huge object that took up a third of the space and appeared to be a supercomputer.
The machine's outer shell was silver-black, and several indicator lights flickered with red, yellow, or blue light on its surface.
Thick cables connected this giant machine to cabinets placed against the walls around it. The cabinets had no baffles on all sides, making them very ventilated.
This allowed Jiang Baimian to see at a glance that the inside of the cabinets contained sealed boxes of electronic products, each with an indicator light flashing.
There were countless similar electronic products, arranged in rows upon rows, densely packed like a honeycomb.
This reminded Jiang Baimian of Pangu Biology's computer room, but both the layout and the machines here were much more complex and larger.
Around an open "space capsule," several skeletons were lying on the ground. There was also a skeleton inside the "space capsule."
"Those researchers?" Jiang Baimian looked from the corpses nearby to the dead near the "host" and muttered to herself silently, "I wonder how many of them eventually became a Ruling God here..."
At this moment, she was completely certain of one thing.
That is, the Eighth Research Institute kept sending people in to maintain the nuclear power plant, mainly to provide power to these machines here!
Jiang Baimian didn't rush to approach the giant machine that looked like the core thing at a glance. Instead, she checked the sealed electronic products in the cabinets nearby.
She carefully took out a box. Based on the markings on it and her own knowledge reserves, she determined that it was a microcomputer with a processor and memory, but no display device. The input and output devices seemed to depend on the "host."
Compared to the latest microcomputers from the Old World that Jiang Baimian had seen, there was a big difference: they used biochips, also known as biomimetic chips.
With the Mechanical Monks having set the precedent, Jiang Baimian shouldn't have been surprised to find a large application of biochips here. But precisely because she had come into contact with the Mechanical Monks, a thought suddenly popped into her mind:
"One of the main characteristics of biochips is that they can simulate the functions of the brain..."
Combining her previous discoveries and guesses, Jiang Baimian had a new understanding of the essence of certain things:
"If the biochips were designed to simulate not the brains of normal humans, but special brains that had been stimulated and developed, then it would be perfectly explainable that the Mechanical Monks also have awakening abilities...
"What I can't figure out now is why some monks can awaken after becoming 'Eternal Citizens.' Can biochips also be stimulated to change the solidified layout, structure, and materials? Or, is the so-called awakening of the Mechanical Monks actually the monks themselves being knocked 'unconscious' and sent back to the factory for repairs?
"Also, why do they still retain the price after becoming Mechanical Monks? Brain mutations with special functions must be accompanied by corresponding damage or alteration to the area. When designing biochips, before thoroughly understanding the corresponding principles, they can only completely copy them to avoid the 'Eternal Citizens' neither gaining abilities nor suffering from brain damage?"
Jiang Baimian used to be a researcher, so she was quite interested in similar things.
What she regrets now is that although Pangu Biology has the word "biology" in its name, it doesn't have any decent achievements in biochips, so she only knows the basic knowledge and has to rely mainly on guesswork now.
If she had known this, she would have taken Shang Jianyao with her to listen to lectures—no, to listen to the Buddhist Dharma—in the Mechanical Monks' "Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli."
With time pressing, Jiang Baimian only turned the thought over a few times before walking towards the host, the "space capsules," and the corpses.
As she was about to reach her destination, she suddenly "uh"ed.
The previous discovery made her think of some illogical things:
Since the Mechanical Monks no longer have physical bodies, they can still hop around and don't need to absorb human consciousness to replenish themselves, as long as they have enough electricity. Then, why do the Ruling Gods still have to prepare compatible bodies instead of directly using the corresponding biochips?
Is it for enjoyment, or has the mutation of their brains reached a point that biochips can't simulate from the design stage?
Thinking of this, Jiang Baimian frowned:
"I've already discovered the corpses of two Ruling Gods. Their skulls are intact, and their brains inside certainly haven't been taken out. In other words, it's not the case that their brains are secretly hidden in some petri dish to maintain their existence.
"Then, in what form are they living now?
"Pure conscious life that replicates the brain's structure, or..."
Jiang Baimian suddenly turned her body to the side and cast her gaze at the rows of cabinets:
"Or, are they using some biochips here?"
After thinking for a few seconds, Jiang Baimian slowly retracted her gaze and muttered to herself in a low voice:
"Combining the fact that the Eighth Research Institute has been maintaining the electricity supply here, I lean towards the latter possibility. Or, do these machines have a more important purpose?
"If it's the latter case, then the Ruling Gods only need electricity. There's no need for them to absorb human consciousness. Their extraction of human consciousness isn't because of hunger, but for another reason?
"If it's the former case, not to mention whether conscious life exists, just the fact that conscious life feeds on consciousness is logical and makes sense. But then the question comes up again: Why did Zhuang Sheng implant complete thoughts into those 'Heartless' to maintain the nuclear power plant and ensure the electricity supply here?"
Jiang Baimian stood still, staring at the large silver-black machine with a myriad of thoughts in her mind.
Her intuition told her that things were quite different from her previous speculation, and these differences contained the real reason for the destruction of the Old World and the ultimate purpose of some Ruling Gods in launching the turmoil.
…………
Inside the "Maze," Shang Jianyao pushed open the blood-red door.
Occupied by recklessness, he didn't hesitate and walked directly into the room.
His eyes blurred at first, and then he saw a room full of machines.
The machines were of various sizes, the large ones occupying half the space and the small ones being only the size of an adult male's palm.
At this moment, they were distributed in different places and connected to each other in various ways. The corresponding indicator lights all flashed with red, yellow, or blue light, making the entire room look like a bar and dance hall in Wild Wheat City, only lacking in the number of colors.
"Xiao Chong! Xiao Chong!" Shang Jianyao shouted as he saw a man in a black robe standing in the center of the room.
The man was originally standing with his hands behind his back, facing away from Shang Jianyao. After hearing his shout, he slowly turned around.
He was in his forties, with black hair and a mustache around his mouth that gave him a very elegant air.
"Teacher Du Heng!" Shang Jianyao was "shocked."
The man was Du Heng, who had come to the Eighth Research Institute with them but had disappeared with the wind.
Shang Jianyao then clenched his right fist and hit his left palm and said:
"I understand!
"Your surname is Du, Xiao Chong's surname is Du, and Zhuang Sheng's surname is also Du, so you are one of Zhuang Sheng's personalities!"
These words had the essence of a "Reasoning Clown."
But Shang Jianyao didn't doubt his judgment at all and said plausibly:
"No wonder Xiao Chong, as Zhuang Sheng's childhood, was chased around by you. Ruling Gods don't care about face!
"No wonder you're missing a lot of memories, because as a separate personality, you haven't experienced many things at all."
Du Heng smiled:
"I changed this name myself after I became a brain scientist to distinguish myself from myself as a test subject.
"I've had a tendency to have personality splits since I was a child."
"Because you were born an Awakened," Shang Jianyao said with understanding.
"As for the missing memories, it's not because of personality splits, but the aftereffects of that disaster," Du Heng added.
At this moment, Shang Jianyao suddenly became nervous and looked around and said:
"I've already opened the door and come in. 'Truth' and the others haven't launched an attack yet?
"Are they really expecting me to persuade you?"
Du Heng's expression didn't change, and he said with a slightly complicated tone:
"They will start soon.
"The real turmoil is about to come."
"How will they start?" Shang Jianyao asked with both curiosity and doubt.
Du Heng looked at him and sighed and said:
"Every Old Task Force sent out by Pangu Biology should have a Zhuang Sheng domain Awakened with a price of personality splits."