magician in town

Chapter 669 Ancestral Gift (59)

Clownfish followed closely behind, and Du Zhengyi didn't seem to care as he stayed right next to him, clearly determined to observe his actions.

The central sphere has a diameter exceeding forty meters, but only half of the central control console is actually usable. One half of the sphere is solid, while the other half is an area where people can move around, with a table-like control console extending from the wall. The base of the control console has seven recesses arranged in the order of the Big Dipper. These are the most normal-looking parts of the space.

The solid half of the sphere made the clownfish reflexively take a half-step back. That part of the sphere was actually translucent, revealing numerous gelatinous vesicles inside, resembling part of a biological brain structure. These vesicles pulsated, as if mimicking the pulsation of the brain, constantly exchanging and reorganizing information.

"What is this?" the clownfish said with disgust, unusually tense. "Whose brain was left here? Is the Primordial Mage's brain this big? Such a big head?"

Du Zheng glanced at the things in the wall briefly, then looked down at the three grooves on the base. After thinking for a moment, he pressed his palm into the groove representing the Tian Shu star.

The clownfish moved closer, examining Du Zhengyi's hand closely. Blood was flowing from his hand and seeping into the groove.

"A trick, piercing your skin to take blood for genetic testing, right? It can only fool mages, since they're all illiterate. Only a few thousand years have passed, and human civilization has advanced to the point where they can see through these tricks," the clownfish said softly, still somewhat puzzled. "Actually, this place was activated for you as soon as you entered, meaning their genetic identification capabilities are quite advanced. So why are they taking your blood for analysis here?"

"A religious reason?" the clownfish asked tentatively. Du Zheng didn't respond, so he muttered to himself, lost in thought. "Who are they showing it to? Those fools from the Lotus Burners..."

A semi-transparent plant grew out from under the control panel, coiling around Du Zhengyi's hand like a snake. The semi-transparent, vine-like thing pierced Du Zhengyi's wrist, as if it wanted to become one with him.

"Ugh, that's disgusting," the clownfish said immediately. "Will you get eaten? One member of the Du family sacrificed for each sealing?"

Du Zhengyi was highly focused and completely ignored him, failing to notice that the clownfish seemed to be listening intently.

After a moment, the clownfish chuckled. "I sensed your brain responding to something else; you're interacting. Are you talking to this giant brain? But this interaction isn't a telepathic connection; it's more rudimentary than telepathic communication. Because you can't communicate telepathically, it means this giant brain isn't real. The Primordial Mages were clearly biologists; they naturally needed computers to perform so-called 'magic,' so this giant brain must be a computer. A biotechnology-based computer, which is why they used genetic locks to encrypt this machine in a more complex way. The computer connects to you through neurons? I guess it also records your brainwaves, confirming your genes and your brain in some special way. Do you have some ancient memories? Or do your inherited genes cause your brainwaves to have certain characteristics that can be recognized by the biological computer to identify its system administrator?"

The clownfish slowly walked to the wall, one hand on the empty groove, the other on the wall, as if touching the brain. "There must be. They use so many layers of encryption to prevent outside interference, enough to keep us all out. No wonder you could operate it right in front of me without worrying that I had ulterior motives."

Where Du Zhengyi couldn't see, he wore an antique ring on his right index finger. As his thumb traced the ring, a needle rose from the ring's base. With a slight twitch of his finger, the needle pierced the sphere's gelatinous texture.

"This looks like an ancient altar, but it's actually a computer room. Humans haven't figured out the design principles of biological computers yet. They think the computing performance can't be too good, so they've basically given up on this direction. But who knows? Maybe when human biotechnology evolves to the point where we can use our own bodies as parts, they'll discover new computer principles." The clownfish seemed to be chatting casually. After a pause, he continued, "But I hope they don't go down that path. The combination of biology and technology is really disgusting." A low humming sound filled the air, unlike mechanical noise. Subtle halos flowed on the tree-like branches, like ripples at the beginning of life. The vines that entwined Du Zhengyi were like extending neurons, and the humming sound was like the whispers of life.

After listening for a while, the clownfish couldn't help but speak up again, "In any case, biotechnology is indeed easy to combine with mysticism and is also very suitable for developing religion. If you had such technology, would you want to find a group of primitive people to worship you? Definitely not, you're too reclusive and don't enjoy that. So a god must be someone with a major personality defect."

Du Zhengyi finally sighed.

"What's wrong?" The clownfish turned to him. "Do you need to rest for a while? Being connected to the brain must be tiring."

"I don't know why, but there's no way to shut down the remaining sealed beasts' lives," Du Zhengyi said.

"Has this never happened before?" the clownfish asked.

“It’s not in the records either,” Du Zhengyi replied, silently reciting the password that should have worked once again. The latest attempt still yielded no results.

After thinking for a moment, the clownfish said, "Is it possible that the remaining creatures here are not entirely the sealed beasts created by the Primordial Mage?"

This was a rather convoluted explanation, so he rephrased it: "Judging from the types of organisms that have appeared, some can be verified by humans to have definitely lived or are living on Earth, but they have clearly been genetically modified by the Primordial Mage. These genetic modifications include brain control, erasing the organism's self-awareness to facilitate control of will. But some organisms clearly have their own will, such as those blue-eyed humanoid beings. They are stronger and react faster than modern humans, more like different versions that have appeared in the evolutionary process of humans on Earth. They are stronger than humans, but have smaller brains."

“However, I’m not saying that the blue-eyed creatures have their own will. There are clearly other wills controlling them from behind. Whatever that will is, it’s a complete biological entity. Perhaps, as a bug, this type of biological entity is stuck in the system, making the erasure program you triggered ineffective. I suspect that for security reasons, the erasure program can only eliminate laboratory products lacking independent consciousness; the program needs to identify a certain marker in them to execute.” The clownfish added.

Du Zheng turned to look at the clownfish. His way of thinking was remarkably similar to Luo Qi's, only more rigid and stable. Luo Qi would tentatively ask for his thoughts, sometimes even slyly observing his expression before speaking. But the clownfish was a person who had long since reached adulthood, and whose soul had begun to cool.

The clownfish's shadow turned as if scrutinizing Du Zhengyi. "The original purpose of these sealed beasts preserved by the Primordial Mage might not have been for war. Given their highly developed civilization, their warfare wouldn't rely on hand-to-hand combat; they might have just been conducting experiments. Blue-eyed creatures are stronger and more beautiful, possessing at least some valuable genes. Perhaps the Primordial Mage, after extensively gathering materials on Earth, artificially synthesized these so-called mages. They conform to the average human aesthetic; we all possess the physical advantages of several Earth races, and most of us are stronger and more agile than humans, but not necessarily more intelligent."

Du Zhengyi suddenly realized that this passage was more like Luo Qi, or rather, more like the young Luo Qi. His erratic thinking jumped around endlessly, easily drifting off into his own thoughts, and his problem-solving couldn't be straightforward and direct—but this shouldn't be the way a clownfish behaves. He didn't need to tell himself these things—unless he was stalling for time.