Chapter 389 - 356: Nanomites Swarm (2)

Chapter 389: Chapter 356: Nanomites Swarm (2)

"The rule has ended. There shouldn’t be any more risks, right?" Shangyuan Zi said.

"Not necessarily," Guan Tong said. "Don’t forget the Mist from before, and the Spore Parasites. Those are all things that remained on this planet even after their rules ended."

Shangyuan Zi nodded.

Just then, Guan Tong suddenly froze for a moment. "This..."

"What is it?"

Guan Tong’s expression was uncertain. "I just received a notification from the Fire Thief’s voice... That book page, it seems to have become an item."

Shangyuan Zi’s curiosity was piqued upon hearing this.

Guan Tong then directed his Shadow to come over, and he took the book page himself.

Other things could be faked, but a notification from the Fire Thief was never wrong.

Guan Tong had clearly heard the notification:

[You have obtained: Nanomites Swarm]

’Nanomites... Swarm?’

After he took the page, the relevant information immediately appeared.

[Nanomites Swarm]: A part of a special nanobiological organism. When aggregated in sufficient numbers, this organism can produce a hive intelligence. Insufficient numbers only possess basic shaping and decomposition abilities. This portion of the Nanomites Swarm produced a fusion effect while decomposing a certain special energy and can be controlled by the holder of that energy.

’So that’s how it is!’

Guan Tong understood many things at once.

He looked at the curious Shangyuan Zi, formed a party with her, and shared the item’s information.

After reading it, she had a realization. "That Alien Intelligence was a swarm made of many nanomites?"

"It seems so." Guan Tong speculated based on the information. "A single nanomite or a small number won’t work. Only when an extremely large number of nanomites aggregate to form a massive swarm does intelligence emerge... The part I’m holding now is obviously not numerous enough to generate intelligence."

Shangyuan Zi added, "The information says this Nanomites Swarm has shaping and decomposition abilities, just like how we saw the Alien Intelligence change its form and devour food—that was actually decomposition."

Guan Tong nodded.

"So the reason part of its body became an item is that it fused with some kind of special energy. And that energy came from you."

"...You could say that."

Guan Tong knew that the special energy mentioned in the information referred to the [Wordless Book].

It was probably because he owned the [Wordless Book] that this special product, created from the fusion of the Nanomites Swarm and the book page, became his item after the rule ended, preserved in this way.

"Congratulations," Shangyuan Zi said. "This item seems very powerful, and you can use it without consuming Psychic Power."

"Yeah, I guess all the effort I put into this rule wasn’t for nothing. But this thing..."

Guan Tong looked at the book page in his hand, feeling its connection to him, and tried to make it transform.

The next moment, it rapidly transformed into an apple—a pure black apple.

Guan Tong tried to change its color or make it larger, but he couldn’t.

"Because the number of nanomites is limited, there’s a limit to the maximum volume it can transform into, and it seems the color is stuck on black."

"What about its decomposition ability?"

"I’ll try."

Guan Tong summoned a few Living Dead and, imagining he was controlling his Shadow, tried to send the Nanomites Swarm over to decompose them, but it didn’t move.

"It seems this thing can’t act separately from me. Without intelligence, it can’t be controlled at will like a Summoned Creature."

Guan Tong thought for a moment and came up with a way to use it.

The black apple transformed into a glove the next moment.

Guan Tong put it on his left hand and then pressed that hand onto a Living Dead’s head.

As he gave the "decompose" command, the part of the Living Dead’s head in contact with his palm instantly vanished.

Shangyuan Zi’s pupils contracted as she witnessed this. Such a powerful destructive ability, capable of instantly decomposing objects without consuming Psychic Power, was truly terrifying.

However, the drawback was also obvious: it couldn’t be used independently. Guan Tong had to hold it and use it at close range.

’I’ll just use it like this for now.’

Guan Tong looked at his pure black left hand, now wearing the "nanomite" glove, and felt it formed a pair with the Small Space attack he often used with his right hand.

Looking at it, Guan Tong couldn’t help but recall the Nanomites Swarm’s transformation and answer after his question earlier.

His memory was crystal clear, as if it were happening right before his eyes.

Back then, after he asked his question, the Nanomites Swarm had been desperate to decompose his [Wordless Book]. After he tore off a page and let it decompose it, the swarm had transformed into a creation that looked like a spaceship.

God, starship, out of control, fragment.

These were the four terms the Nanomites Swarm had spoken intermittently. ’Is there a connection between them?’

He had to admit, this answer only left him more confused.

The only thing he could be sure of was that the origin of the [Wordless Book] was even more special than he had imagined. It concealed some great secret, and it was definitely related to his transmigration.

"Commander, where are we going next?"

Shangyuan Zi didn’t ask what the "special energy" was. She knew that Guan Tong sharing the nanomite information with her was a sign of trust, but even with that trust, it didn’t mean she should pry into all his secrets.

"In order to get a chance to enter the Landing Site, I made a deal with Sisiya’s Governor, Yelena," Guan Tong said. "After the rule ends, I’ll stay in Sisiya and provide her with personal protection for a period of time."

"..."

"It shouldn’t be for too long. As long as she secures her position as Governor, the deal will be considered fulfilled. If you don’t have other plans during this time, you can stay with me."

Shangyuan Zi nodded. "Understood."

She naturally had no other plans. To her, it didn’t make much difference where she stayed now. Even though Sakura Prayer was her homeland, after everything she had been through, she couldn’t say she felt any sense of belonging to the country.

Guan Tong said, "Also, I remember the second Ascender Challenge was supposed to start after the fifteenth rule. But the interval this time is only seven days, so it’s not realistic to squeeze a competition in between."

"Are you saying that the sixteenth rule might be related to this competition?"

"Mhm, so we need to prepare well this week."

"How are your injuries?"

"I used a recovery item earlier, so I’m mostly healed. Let’s get ready to go."

After speaking, Guan Tong took the phone used to contact Yelena out of his Storage Ring and saw that she had already sent quite a few inquiring messages.

He replied, "Send an address. We’re on our way."

A few minutes later, Yelena sent an address in the Sisiya Capital, and the two of them set off immediately.

...

「Strategy Research Room, Rule Debriefing.」

All information, data, and research regarding the Alien Intelligence had been compiled into a document and sent to every authorized scholar.

Zhang Minglu spoke at the meeting, "From the results, we humans have gained quite a lot from this rule. The method for identifying Parasites, the knowledge of a special energy substance, the method for converting brainwaves into digital signals, the exploration of nano-intelligence... all of this is valuable information."

"But all these gains are ’indefinitely postponed’ gains, haven’t you noticed, Dr. Zhang?" Han Qiu said. "The Mind Network, special energy substances, converting brainwaves into digital signals, nano-intelligence... can any of these be immediately put into practice right now?"

"...Although none can be used immediately, we can at least confirm that converting brainwaves into digital signals can be implemented within a year. Based on the open-source technology from Soloma, experts in our relevant departments have predicted it can be applied within a year."

"One year..." Han Qiu sighed. "In the era of the Apocalypse Rules, so, so much can happen in a year."

Another scholar asked, "Academician Han, are you so pessimistic because the question you raised didn’t get the answer you wanted?"

"That’s part of the reason. But I’m just naturally inclined to consider the downsides first." Han Qiu looked at Gao Liangwei. "Director, do you believe this rule didn’t create any adverse factors?"

Gao Liangwei was silent for a moment before speaking slowly, "Of course there were adverse factors. Sisiya lost many elite soldiers, there’s a great deal of public opinion against asking questions, and the alliance between the Parasites and the Fire Worship Cult... all of these are very detrimental to humanity as a whole. But we will overcome these disadvantages one by one."