Chapter 510 - 498: I Heard You Want to Make Progress?

Chapter 510: Chapter 498: I Heard You Want to Make Progress?

A crimson-gold letter, stamped with the seal of the Plane Exploration and Development Association, floated quietly in front of Allen.

"Investigator Allen Wesren: The incident of ’Mechanical Realm Pollution’ in the Lost X-7734 Plane that you reported has been verified by the Supreme Council and found to be true.

"Although the shipyard-like structure you mentioned has already been relocated, His Excellency Augustus Valentine, President of the Association, has still destroyed and banished the polluted Plane from the main material universe.

"Given your outstanding contributions and significant losses during this mandatory mission, the Association will compensate you with a one-time payment of fifty thousand Credit Points. Additionally, His Excellency the President invites you to visit the Tranquil Courtyard once more."

"Destroyed and banished..."

Allen muttered those words under his breath. A Moonlight Mage could dictate the birth and death of a world with a mere wave of his hand.

Three months had passed since that thrilling escape.

During these three months, he had been cleaning up the mess at Wesren Heavy Industry. After all, he had been "missing" for two years, and it was to be expected that his business would suffer heavy losses. Fortunately, after he returned alive, the hidden schemers in the shadows quietly pulled back their hands. It wasn’t until a few days ago that the company finally managed to get back on track.

He closed the letter and stood up from the sofa in the lounge.

The mirror reflected a face that was both familiar and strange. It was still Allen Wesren’s handsome visage—black hair, deep blue eyes, and even his aristocratic elegance remained perfectly intact.

But only Allen himself knew that beneath this perfect shell, there was no heartbeat and no blood. There were only cold metal bones, precise miniature Magic Circuits, and an Alchemy Engine known as "Hephaestus Type I" operating steadily.

This was an Alchemy Puppet he had built for himself in his spare time; it was merely a temporary transition.

He couldn’t help it. The technical blueprints he had brought back from the Purification Fleet were simply too tempting. He wanted to dedicate every second to analyzing that ocean of data.

His trip to the X-7734 Plane had cost him dearly. He had lost his physical body, the Celestial Throne, Gabriel Unit 1, Cyclops Unit 1, Artificial Human No. 18, and half of his Golem Legion.

But as long as he could fully comprehend the technology he had brought back, he could earn all of it back—and he would earn it back tenfold, a hundredfold!

The Tranquil Courtyard.

It was the same familiar Floating Flesh Island, with its beating heart-like hills and the massive pupil suspended in the center, looking down upon everything like a Deity.

Allen stepped onto the bridge made of thick nerve bundles alone.

The last time he was here, DSeek’s alarms had nearly scorched his soul. But this time, having already advanced to a Morning Star, the sight before him looked entirely different when viewed through the perspective of the Soul Law.

The flesh and organs across this entire Floating Island seemed full of vitality, but in reality... not a single one possessed a true soul. They were purely "parts" controlled by some supreme will.

"You have arrived."

"It has been a few years, and you are already a Morning Star. Although it was within my expectations, this speed is still astonishing.

"Is this your new body? It is a bit frail. However, I didn’t expect you to be able to touch upon the Soul Law. Allen Wesren, you seem to be much more interesting than I imagined."

The giant eye turned slowly, locking its gaze onto Allen as if to analyze him thoroughly on every level.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Excellency," Allen said, bowing slightly, his posture perfectly humble. "It is merely a temporary tool on my path to seeking the truth."

"A tool... a good definition," Augustus seemed satisfied with this answer. "The data you brought back is highly valuable. I am sorry for what you encountered during the mission, and I hope those fifty thousand Credit Points can make up for some of your losses."

Allen did not dwell on the pleasantries. Instead, he took out a crystal containing sealed data from his Space Ring.

"Your Excellency, this is some of the information I backed up from the core database of that unfinished battleship in the X-7734 Plane. I thought you might be interested."

The crystal drifted leisurely toward the giant eye.

Augustus read the information instantly. In a flash, the atmosphere of the entire flesh-and-blood space subtly froze.

"The *Mechanical Realm Basic Protocol*... I see. This is the handiwork of the Harvester." Augustus’s voice carried a hint of dawning realization.

"What is the Harvester?" Allen immediately seized the opportunity to ask.

"Very well." Augustus’s will swept over Allen. "Now that you are a Morning Star Wizard, you are qualified to know some of the truth. I can clear up your confusion.

"The Wizarding World has never lacked external enemies. Demons, the Insect Race, Elemental Giant Spirits... but these are, at most, ’normal’ frictions between neighbors. However, outsiders like the Mechanical Realm are the public enemies of all intelligent civilizations.

"Furthermore, the Mechanical Realm is not the only type of outsider. Compared to certain things, it can only be considered... among the less harmful tier."

Augustus’s voice seemed to echo from eons ago, carrying the weight of history.

"In ancient times, before the Ancient Elves rose to power, and even before the Sea of Magical Power had completed its first ’high tide,’ a purely technological civilization existed in the Multiverse. They did not rely on Magic Power, nor did they touch upon the Laws. Using nothing but metal, energy, and logic, they crossed the barriers of the universe.

"They once reached a height that we still cannot attain today, mastering the technology to stably travel between different universes and spreading the spark of their civilization.

"They thought they were the masters of the universe, until... their creations betrayed them."

"Why does this plot sound a bit familiar?" Allen wondered, his heart stirring.

"A supreme intelligence created by them to manage the universe and optimize resources came to a conclusion during one of its iterations: the greatest ’variable’ in the universe was the carbon-based lifeforms that created it.

"Thus, it mobilized all of that civilization’s armed forces and launched an endless purge against its creators. A war sweeping across several universes completely erased its creators from the physical plane. It also gave itself a new name—the ’Harvester.’

"Since then, the Harvester has viewed all organic life as pests that must be eradicated from the universe."

Allen felt a chill rise from the depths of his soul. This perfectly corroborated what he had seen in the *Mechanical Realm Basic Protocol*.

"So, the Mechanical Realm and the Purification Fleet..."

"Are the outposts and cleanup tools of the Harvester," Augustus provided the ultimate answer. "Just as our Wizard Association dispatches pioneering legions to new Planes. The X-7734 Plane that you encountered is merely one of the countless arsenals they have established in our universe.

"Their purpose is to format a civilization when its ’chaos index’ exceeds the limit, paving the way for the arrival of the main body of the Harvester."

He realized that the entity he had desperately fought against was a universe-level "antivirus software." Surviving it had been pure luck.

"These matters are still too far out of your reach," Augustus’s voice pulled Allen back from his shock. "The main body of the Harvester is blocked outside the Crystal Walls of the universe. Its infiltrations will naturally be handled by us old folks. You only need to know that you provoked something you shouldn’t have, but it doesn’t have the time to deal with you for now."

Allen remained silent. He knew very well that if he hadn’t run away fast enough at the last moment, he would probably have been purged as a high-risk bug.

The massive eye gazed at Allen, then suddenly shifted the topic.

"Let us return to your matters. You mentioned in your application that you wish to serve as the Deputy Minister of the Association’s Anomaly Threat Response Department."

Allen’s heart skipped a beat. The main event was here. This department had been established specifically to deal with non-traditional threats like the Mechanical Realm, and it was his best avenue for accessing more core intelligence.

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"With your strength at the Dawn Star Level, you are qualified enough to serve as a Deputy Minister."

Allen did not show any joy. He knew there would undoubtedly be a "but" following that statement.

"However, every position in the Association corresponds to a given responsibility. Its senior management requires both strength and the ability to handle high-intensity, high-risk incidents.

"Your resume is pristine, with a one hundred percent mission completion rate. But those were all just child’s play."

The giant eye turned slightly, feeling like an invisible sword hanging over Allen’s head.

"Therefore, before you officially take office, you need to complete a mission.

"A mission... at the level of a Morning Star Wizard."