Chapter 764: Once You Lose Your Daughter, She’s Truly Gone

Meanwhile.

In an unknown location, within a virtual space.

Countless numbers flowed like shifting sand, gradually building a massive plaza within that void of nothingness under the influence of a powerful force.

And then, in the next instant.

A beam of light descended from the heavens, landing at the very center of the plaza, gradually coalescing and eventually forming the figure of a girl constructed entirely from data streams.

She slowly raised her head, her consciousness gradually reawakening.

Then she immediately noticed the data codes around her that were constantly being woven and reconstructed, and she felt that familiar power.

She knew.

Her father, the God of All Machines, had returned.

"Father, your condition is extremely poor right now. Reconstructing the recall center in your current state might deepen your curse even further! You..."

She knelt on one knee, her expression grave and worried.

She was deeply concerned about her father's condition, because during that battle, he had activated the Mechanical Deluge at the cost of aggravating his curse, and the strain on him was absolutely unimaginable.

"I don't have time to consider that."

In the void above, a pair of massive, brooding mechanical dragon eyes slowly materialized.

His voice was filled with ferocity and hatred.

"Several Hives have been destroyed, and mechanical consciousnesses across the region have all lost their central link. I must reconstruct the terminal as quickly as possible. Thousands of years of accumulated work absolutely cannot be wiped out like this, and everything they did to me, I will make them pay back in full!"

RUMBLE—

The entire space trembled violently from his rage and hatred.

This failure had cost him dearly.

Several armies in the Cursed City had been completely wiped out, the rear had been caught off guard by the Flesh and Blood Cult's sudden attack, and on top of that, that despicable human had brought those Roots to siege him together, reducing him to the lowest point he had experienced in a thousand years.

But this wasn't over.

Because he was the God of All Machines! The sovereign of all machinery!

As long as he still existed, he could quickly rebuild a massive army and launch his revenge!

"And this failure has made me realize something. Relying only on those consciousnesses gathered from hell is useless. Only the purest Mechanical Consciousness can become the main force of our sweep through hell!"

His voice was icy to the extreme.

Because this failure had also made him aware of his own shortcomings.

Army-based tactics could maintain long-term suppression in ordinary warfare, but once the level of war escalated, when their opponents became Roots, the weaknesses of this model were exposed without mercy.

What he needed was more high-end combat power, not endlessly expanding ordinary forces.

And the best way.

Was to further differentiate himself!

Although this would cause his strength to plummet for a considerable period, the benefits were obvious, because the malignant curse within his body had practically pinned his power to a bottleneck, leaving him no way to break through that ceiling.

But if he re-differentiated himself, for example, splitting into two separate intelligent machine individuals.

Then through continuous devouring and improvement.

As long as there was enough time and enough resources to raise both individuals to the current ceiling, he would effectively have two Gods of All Machines, double the combat power!

In other words.

This was essentially exploiting a loophole in the curse.

And Silver Fantasy was actually an example he had differentiated back then to explore this very possibility. She could now effortlessly pilot a Death-Omen Tier body, and if she went further, even Monarch-level or Root-level bodies were only a matter of time.

And if that was the case...

Then this plan, shelved for thousands of years, should finally be put into motion!

A hint of madness flickered in his eyes.

"Since I can't return to the divine rank, then I'll create more Roots! Create countless Roots! I'll make this hell, make that Cyber, the Colossus, and that human, all realize just what kind of price they pay for provoking us!"

Silver Fantasy's heart sank. Her data-flowing eyes reflected her father's enormous twin pupils.

She had always known about her father's plan.

Because she was the prototype of that very plan.

But there was one thing she didn't dare bring up with her father, because the ascension of the Artificial Intelligence Civilization had never been smooth sailing, and this was the greatest secret of their civilization. Her father was not like the Colossus or Cyber, an aggregate of consciousnesses. He wasn't truly a unified consciousness built from the collective decisions of countless mechanical minds.

He was the first ringing of the bell in the industrial era.

He walked a completely different path from the Colossus and Cyber, because they relied on the voluntary fusion of an entire civilization twisting itself into a single rope. But her father relied on...

The devouring of tyranny and might.

That was a shameful chapter of history.

The fact that her father could go from being a small machine that incidentally gained consciousness, to leading the mechanical tide during the intelligent era, and then forcibly merging the entire civilization with himself through imperial means during the Uploading Age, meant that internally, there was no true unity.

She lowered her head, her eyes filled with unfathomable worry.

Because she was the fragment of consciousness that had been forcibly severed by the curse when her father fell, the part that hadn't been annihilated, a part that originally belonged to his self.

She was a subset of the God of All Machines, so she would never betray her father.

But what about the other parts...

Those mad and divergent parts that had been forcibly devoured and merged in the past, if they were accidentally differentiated out, without the suppression and deterrence of her father's mighty power, once they regained independence...

Would they really continue to work for the future of the Artificial Intelligence Civilization?

But she didn't dare say it.

Or rather, saying it wouldn't help.

Because her father was even more stubborn than she was. No one could change his mind once he decided on something.

Those massive mechanical dragon eyes spoke heavily: "After I complete the construction of the recall center, I will enter a period of slumber to suppress the curse's backlash. When I awaken, I will immediately begin the differentiation of my consciousness. During this time, you will be fully responsible for all affairs of the Mechanical Cult. I've nurtured you for so long, it's time you took on some responsibility!"

"I follow your will, Father."

She lowered her head, kneeling on one knee with one hand striking her chest, using the most ancient ritual of the Artificial Intelligence Civilization.

Amidst the rumbling noise.

The massive, shattered dragon head appeared, staring fixedly at his daughter kneeling in the plaza, and said:

"When you take charge, you must adhere to the following points. First, from now on, completely open the boundaries for all creatures who wish to join the Mechanical Cult. As long as they want to upload, accept them. After I differentiate, I will need them as my nourishment!"

"Second, accelerate the mining of the deepest underground veins, and also speed up the exploration of hell's core. We need that material to construct Root-level machines with true combat capability!"

"Third, and this is the most important point."

His gaze turned dark and heavy, as if welded onto Silver Fantasy.

"You must not, under any circumstances, go looking for that despicable human. Whether you want to kill him, torture him, or destroy him, you cannot go yourself. Understand?"

Silver Fantasy, kneeling there, trembled.

Then she immediately raised her head, calmly looking at her father, confused: "Why? If we find an opportunity, wouldn't killing him be the best option? I believe I can do it without anyone knowing! If you're worried about my abilities, I'll be even more cautious. Rest assured."

The God of All Machines ground his teeth: "No! What do you mean why? I said no, so it's no! That's an order!"

He was absolutely exasperated inside.

Could he really tell her that he was afraid she'd get screwed by that human?!

That kind of thing definitely couldn't be said.

And his concern wasn't without reason, because that human could even go after a tree, so how could mere machinery stop his advances?

After all, that bastard was the ultimate pervert who had once, in the underground, imprisoned and humiliated his daughter for several hours in the most depraved way!

Silver Fantasy lowered her head and said quietly: "Yes, Father."

But there was no doubt.

The God of All Machines stared intently at this daughter he had differentiated.

He could tell at a glance that his daughter harbored stubbornness in her heart. She might genuinely take advantage of his slumber to secretly go looking for trouble with that human. Although that trait resembled him, in this situation it could very easily turn into some kind of depraved plot involving his daughter.

No!

He had to find a way to add some restrictions on her. Otherwise, if she really couldn't resist going after that human and got caught, then when he woke up and found that human showing up with a bunch of little machines, calling him "Father-in-law"... that would be utterly disastrous!

His mind raced.

Suddenly.

A flash of inspiration struck him.

He narrowed his eyes and said coldly: "Alright then, go rest for now. I'll notify you when I'm about to enter slumber. Remember, during my slumber, you must take good care of the Mechanical Cult. Understood?"

Silver Fantasy knelt on one knee and lowered her head: "Yes! Father, I will surely complete the tasks you've given me."

Watching his daughter's consciousness dissolve into data streams and vanish.

His massive dragon eyes shifted slightly, paused for a moment, and then a single thought seized control of a high-tier Bio-armament production center deep underground somewhere.

A screen materialized before him, displaying a series of high-level mechanical equipment, all of them the crystallization of their Intelligent Machinery Technology, unique high-tech intelligent equipment.

The next moment.

His gaze fell upon a Monarch-level initial-stage [Space Fold-Jump Engine] that had just been developed recently and hadn't yet been officially put into production and assembly.

He narrowed his eyes in thought.

Then he opened its underlying code and inserted a new program.

[Highest-level trigger when used by Intelligence Machine Silver Fantasy: Upon approaching target unit "Lynn (with identity verification code attached)", automatically activate emergency fold-jump function, teleporting 8,000 kilometers away.]

[Note 1: When energy is insufficient for fold-jump, automatically initiate emergency consciousness upload on her.]

[Note 2: When target unit recognizes her, automatically initiate emergency consciousness upload.]

[This command is granted highest authority level and highest priority.]

Only after doing all this did he finally close his eyes and relax.

After all.

If you lose a mechanical body, you can always build another one, but if you lose a daughter, she's gone for good.