Chapter 6214 - 5224: Soul Machine Utopia (81)

"To be honest, we’ve already made contact with aliens," Professor Dale decided to lay it all out, "I hope you won’t fight, but instead join us to explore the mountains. Perhaps we can find a way to solve the problem."

Reck was dumbfounded. First, he was shocked that the human race had already contacted the Ancient Ones, then shocked at Professor Dale’s matter-of-factness. He opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Leaving aside whether I’m willing to coexist peacefully with them, are they willing to coexist peacefully with me?"

"If you don’t say you’re the monster that exterminated them, how would they know?" Professor Dale scrutinized Reck and then said, "If you’re daring enough to teach at a university, it shows you aren’t afraid of those terrifying beings, your disguise ability must be strong. As long as you don’t say, no one will know."

Reck stared at Professor Dale, as if he was a stranger. But he still said, "But they’re very dangerous, they carry a curse..."

"But I’m wearing that badge." Professor Dale pointed to the old seal, "You said that thing can guard against those terrifying beings."

"I’m not sure it can work against a curse." Reck said.

"If it can’t, I might already be infected, but that doesn’t matter. If it wants to devolve me to a monkey, then I can just lay in your specimen jar." Professor Dale was clearly still unhappy about Reck’s illegal dissection, "In fact, if I knew how to summon it, I’d very much like to meet it."

"You’re simply crazy." Reck said, "The moment you face a terrifying being, you’ll go completely insane, your mind will explode, you’ll turn into one of those monsters covered in boils and tentacles."

"I doubt it." Professor Dale said, "If it has the wisdom to communicate, then it will know that killing me now isn’t a good choice. And if it’s stupid enough to kill me immediately, then the human race need not fear it at all."

Professor Dale crossed his arms and looked at Reck, "The struggle between you monsters had nothing to do with the human race, but since you dragged us into it, it means we have value, which is our bargaining chip."

"I don’t care what you’re thinking, nor what demands Nya or the aliens have. Since you dragged the human race into this, you’ll have to listen to us. Otherwise, the outcome won’t be as good as you think. The human race may not accomplish much, but they’re always good at screwing things up."

Reck was speechless, but had to admit that Professor Dale hit the key point. This three-way game had nothing to do with the human race at all. The human race didn’t want the eternal white hole, didn’t want a new home in the cosmos, nor wanted to stop anyone’s conspiracy, but still got dragged into it, which must have a reason.

If there’s something that must be done by this ridiculously weak race, then it must be very important. If it wasn’t essential for the human race, Nya would rather find a dog than humans. Doesn’t he know how unreliable humans are?

Since it must involve humans, then naturally they have to listen to humans. If humans died here, then perhaps nothing later could be done, which is not something anyone wants to see.

Reck sighed deeply, this truly is ’I’m weak, therefore I’m right,’ but now that’s just how it is, and he has no choice but to compromise.

"They really can’t spot me." Reck said, "But I also don’t think you’ll find a solution in the mountains. The cities over there were built by aliens, at that time they’d already degenerated significantly, likely leaving behind no useful information."

"We have to at least take a look first." Professor Dale insisted, "You need to ensure the monsters in the mountains don’t attack us, and the aliens will guide our way."

"Alright." Reck eventually decided to compromise, he said, "I can make sure nothing in the mountains moves, you all can take a look around, might as well grab some alien relics, though I don’t think it’ll be of any use."

Professor Dale didn’t pay attention to his negative outlook, instead turned to Shiller and said, "Gather the aliens, let’s go."

Shiller nodded, then got back in the car. They returned to the coast, where the Ancient Ones were already prepared. They had come ashore, and their armor provided some warmth, but apparently not enough, they were huddled together shivering.

Shiller and Bat Cat quickly drove over. The leading Ancient One got in, another tried to, but there simply wasn’t enough room. This car was designed for smaller Ancient O’s body types. Even one just barely fits, let alone two.

Although if they just lifted their legs up, the trunk below could fit another one. They tried it out, but found that with two people, it couldn’t jump anymore, only walk slowly on the ground, so they got off.

Bat Cat took out several thermal shields again, but the same issue arose, the coverage area was too small, only able to protect their heads. So even with the car, the group moved slowly, the ground was too cold to walk on, the Ancient Ones didn’t dare extend their tentacles too far, only inching forward, looking a bit like penguins from afar, somewhat comical.

After much effort, they finally reached the camp, Reck was first shocked, not unlike seeing several ancient apes in human society. How are there still soldiers from billions of years ago?

This stirred up bad memories for Reck, it was these Ancient Ones that beat him up and locked him up long ago. Back then, he was young, no ability to resist, and sat in prison for a long time, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

But since he promised Professor Dale earlier, he couldn’t go back on his word, so he just sat there sulking. When Shiller saw his displeasure, he wanted to go over to cheer him up. As soon as he started walking over, Reck jumped up.

Shiller felt somewhat helpless. If you ignore the tentacles, cats are still quite adorable, aren’t they? Can’t you see the essence beyond the appearance?

Due to the extreme cold and slow marching speed, Professor Dale discussed with the Bat Cat and the Ancient Ones and decided to send an Ancient One to drive to the mountain warehouse to bring back more vehicles, or simply drive the airship out. This way, they could reach their destination faster.

Driving the crab takes half a day from the camp to the mountains. The Ancient Ones drive better, and the round trip didn’t take a whole night; they returned before dawn. They didn’t drive out the largest airship but instead brought back a flying centipede.

No one knows why the Ancient race has an obsession with legs; all their vehicles have numerous legs. This centipede, disassembled, is essentially a crab, but a special structure connects many crabs together, with additional flying facilities installed. Each cabin can seat a Squid, like a train that can fly—rather reminiscent of the Central Universe’s sky train.

Both Squid People and cats got inside. The leading Ancient One started the vehicle; it quickly flew up and headed towards the mountains. This thing flies faster; it reached the destination in just over two hours, and they didn’t even need to get off. Everyone just sat there as they proceeded into the mountain.

Upon reaching the previous banquet hall, the Ancient Ones disembarked and disassembled the vehicle, turning it into single-person vehicles. Two humanoids found driving difficult, so the cat took over. Bat Cat pretended, using mechanical arms to control it, while Shiller openly took out Nya’s tentacles in front of Reck.

"Who exactly are you?" Reck couldn’t help but ask, "If you truly are his friends, why are you involved with Nya..."

"Strength is merely a tool," Shiller said. "Nya’s strength is useful, so we used it. If there’s anything better, we’d naturally not refuse."

"But if you carry this strength, what if Nya exploits a loophole..."

"No doubt, he certainly wants to exploit a loophole, that’s why he gave us strength," Shiller, without hesitation, continued, "But it’s uncertain who will exploit whom. Haven’t you wondered why suddenly the Ancient Ones can’t enter the Great White Space?"

Reck blinked, seemingly in recollection. Shiller observed his expression, suspecting Reck had lived with Stark for a period, and post-awakening, his behavior was indistinguishable from humans, even his gestures and expressions bore some resemblance to Iron Man.

"That was a long time ago," Reck said, "Before they created me, the door built couldn’t be used, but back then, they thought the door was broken, so they kept trying to build a new one. But due to the ongoing war, they couldn’t spare the resources."

"And after having me, they also wanted to connect the Great White Space to return to the cosmos, so they built a new door in the mountains of present-day Asia. But after completion, they realized it wasn’t the door’s malfunction preventing entry; rather, the space was sealed."

"Actually, Tony has occupied the Eternal White Hole; he’s there now, right?"

Reck’s eyes widened slightly. Shiller continued: "If he hadn’t occupied it and sealed the entrance, Nya wouldn’t need to resort to such a convoluted route, leading humans and us on an expedition to the South Pole."

"He wants humans and us to carry his strength inside, believing that doing so will penetrate into the Eternal White Hole. Given my understanding of Iron Man, he certainly wouldn’t be unprepared; he’s likely been ready for a long time, and our journey might fit right into his plans."

"It seems you do indeed know him well," Reck shook his head, saying, "He’s the most intelligent existence I’ve ever encountered. Although I believe he’s prepared, this is my duty. He’s taught me much, so I also bear the obligation to safeguard his safety."

"No one is stopping you from doing so," Shiller continued, "However, concerning the key to this game, perhaps he has other plans."

By this point, their convoy had reached the previously blocked door. At that time, Professor Dale and Shiller couldn’t enter, but the Ancient Ones recognized the door’s material at a glance. They directly took out the Ancient Crystal, shining it towards the door, which slowly began to open.

What was revealed to everyone was a massive laboratory filled with equipment never seen by the human race, even far beyond imagination. The only recognizable items were jars containing various creatures, mostly ancient ones, but enough to excite Professor Dale.

Yet the most striking feature was the pentagon-shaped metallic platform at the lab’s center. Shiller initially found it odd, thinking building an experimental platform like this seemed inconvenient for conducting experiments. After some communication between the Bat Cat and Ancient Ones, it was stated: "It’s a coffin."

"What?" Shiller expressed some surprise. But upon recalling their tombs were also pentagon-shaped, it was understandable.

The Ancient Ones gathered around, buzzing in conversation. Before long, they began using the Ancient Crystal to illuminate different angles of this coffin. Suddenly, the coffin lid moved, followed by mechanical operation sounds as the lid slowly opened.

Inside lay a small-bodied Ancient One. However, unlike the others, he was clothed and adorned with various equipment. He appeared not dead but had fallen into slumber for some reason.

As the coffin was opened, the Ancient One’s body temperature gradually returned. Shortly, he slowly opened his eyes, the pentagon-shaped head’s eyes rotated, locking onto Professor Dale, then a mechanical sound emanated from him, speaking standard English—"You’ve arrived, Human."