Quadruple split.

Chapter 2629 Prehistoric
"A manned type?"

Mo Tan looked at the enormous thing with some surprise, his gaze instantly turning serious. He asked Ji Xiaoge in a deep voice, "Are you sure?"

"I can't be 100% sure, but I'm at least 70% confident."

Ji Xiaoge, whose expression was equally solemn, nodded slightly and said softly, "Mo, you should also know the reason why the mentor abandoned the Rune Body and Artificial Soul projects."

Mo Tan nodded silently, indicating that he knew and remembered.

In short, the so-called 'Rune Body and Artificial Soul' project is the fundamental reason and prerequisite for the birth of 'Cordova'. That is, the will of player Cui Xiaoyu in the game named 'Cordova' is, in a sense, a product of this project, and also its only successful product.

However, for Lu Wei, this was not a success at all, because even with his abilities, he could not create an artificial soul that could truly fit the rune body. In the words of this great engineer himself, although he could turn 1 into 100 or 999, he still could not complete the breakthrough from 0 to 1, from nothing to something.

Whether it's the ultra-low-end version of AlphaGo, which is a complete weakling once it leaves Tianzhu Mountain, or the Rune Body that Cordova is currently using, which possesses epic-level combat capabilities, their manufacturing difficulty is actually the same in Ruvi Fitzban's eyes. If Cordova's will hadn't been unable to control the more powerful Rune Body, Master Ruvi could have even directly built a legendary-level machine for him to use.

What would seem like a pipe dream to an ordinary engineer was actually not difficult for Lu Wei; whether or not he did it depended entirely on his mood.

The problem is that a rune body without a soul is basically just a lump of scrap metal. If a more formulaic bionic thought process is used, it will result in 80% of the body's potential not being realized.

So here's the question: if rune bodies are easy to obtain, are souls easy to obtain?
Lu Wei's answer was—easy to handle.

In his own words, all he needed to do was find someone strong enough and with a strong enough will, then find a way to kill him and extract his consciousness through some not-so-complicated means (at least not for Ruwei), and he would be all set.

After that, all that's needed is to upload that consciousness into the rune body using some kind of device, and the job will be done.

To be fair, if Luvi's methods were to appear in the public eye, countless people would probably want to get rid of their aging, sick, weak, or simply not good-looking bodies, crying and begging Luvi to extract their souls and stuff them into those rune bodies that never age, can function normally as long as they are maintained on time, and have a theoretical lifespan exceeding that of pure-blooded elves.

But Ruvi never had such a thought, not even for a moment, and never intended to recruit even a single volunteer who would be so grateful as to worship him.

The reason is nothing more than his high self-esteem and extreme arrogance. Ruvi Fitzgerald, who certainly had the right to be arrogant, once frankly admitted that if someone as outstanding as him crossed a certain line, then even if the first step was devoid of any bloodshed or lamentation, and could even be cloaked in the guise of 'sublimity,' he would inevitably end up treading a dead end that would push the entire world into purgatory.

Therefore, even if this dead end were called 'Truth', Ruvi would not hesitate for even two moments for such an idea.

As for the first moment...

"My mentor said there was nothing that could be done, because the pursuit of the unknown is the most fundamental ambition of all researchers."

Ji Xiaoge subconsciously flapped the wings on her back and said softly, "But if you can't adjust your mindset after the first moment of hesitation, and stop in the face of those dangerous thoughts that you absolutely cannot compromise on... then the person who crosses that line will no longer be qualified to be called a human being."

Mo Tan nodded with great admiration and echoed with heartfelt agreement, "Master Lu Wei's mindset and principles are truly admirable."

"Yes, that's why the mentor stopped the project. If Cordova hadn't been reborn into the last spare body that was to be destroyed at the critical moment, there probably wouldn't have been a single one of those rune bodies left."

Ji Xiaoge nodded, staring intently at the massive piece of equipment in front of her. She focused her gaze on a recess about three meters above the ground, its interior filled with numerous interfaces, cables, and grooves, resembling the shape of a chair. She said softly, "And this equipment... although it is completely different from the sketches my mentor drew when he was 'hesitating,' as I just said, I can see the 'tendency' of the designer's thinking."

Mo Tan tightened his grip on the ruthless sword and asked, "So you mean, this device can..."

"Although it's not clear whether it has an upload function, if my judgment is correct, the one that can accommodate a person of normal build and has several nerve cord indentations in the back probably has the function of 'downloading' consciousness into the machine."

With a pale face, Ji Xiaoge took a deep breath and clenched her fists tightly: "Although I can't understand this crazy behavior at all, I'm afraid the designer here has finally taken the second step that my teacher taught me to never take."

Mo Tan was immediately taken aback and subconsciously asked, "The second step? What is the first step that you absolutely cannot take?"

"Uh……"

The winged beauty blushed and hesitated, saying, "It's not allowed to use the precision machining tools in the workshop to make dumplings."

Mo Tan: "..."

To be honest, although the oppressive atmosphere had been eased a little, considering that this method of easing tension was too 'hardcore,' Mo Tan found it hard to judge the value of Ji Xiaoge's words.

"Let me check it briefly."

After a while, Ji Xiaoge sighed silently, then took out her goggles from her bag, quickly adjusted them, and then silently concentrated until she let out a long sigh two minutes later.

"How about it?"

Although she had already seen the conclusion from the girl's increasingly pale face, Mo Tan still asked a question to help pull the girl out of her negative emotions, who was immersed in some kind of pain.

"I...I'm trying to use these goggles to analyze the composition of this 'container' in front of me."

With slightly trembling hands, Ji Xiaoge removed her goggles and said in her still pleasant but somewhat hoarse voice, "The result is that there are about three percent... impurities in the solutions that have lost their effectiveness but can ensure the stability and power supply of the equipment for a long time."

"...So that's what it is?"

"Although the accuracy is not high without sampling, based on feedback from various sources, the predecessor of those 'impurities'... may have been a humanoid creature that was 173 cm tall and weighed about 54 kg."

"..."

"..."

What followed was a long silence.

"Silence." After a moment, Ji Xiaoge pursed her lips and whispered, "Do you think... I should continue with this mission?"

I respect whatever decision you make.

Mo Tan smiled gently and said softly, "But there is one thing I want to emphasize. Although I don't know the designer of this [Ascension Fortress], in my eyes you will always be a trustworthy engineer."

"With the chef?"

"engineer."

"With the chef?"

"engineer."

"Hey!"

"Ying is also an engineer."

Mo Tan bent his index finger and gently flicked the tip of the girl's nose, whose mood had warmed up, and smiled, "So you can do whatever you want, I will support you."

"Then I want to become stronger!"

Ji Xiaoge clenched her fists and said fiercely, "I'm too weak right now. I can't solve many things that I don't like, and I often drag everyone down. So I must become stronger, whether it's to keep up with you guys or to have the ability to stop those annoying things. I have to become stronger."

"You're already very strong."

Slightly shifting her gaze away from her online boyfriend, who had put away his goggles again and was no longer maintaining his aloof demeanor, Mo Tan touched the tip of her nose and quietly emphasized a heartfelt truth: "Really, he's already very strong."

hum-

The next moment, as the shuttlecock, which had been unusually quiet for a while, rose again, the metal casings also rose again, once again concealing the device that evoked such mixed feelings.

"Thanks, little guy."

Ji Xiaoge gently poked the shuttlecock that fluttered its wings and flew to her, and said with a smile, "Although I don't know what your function and mission are, we were able to escape this disaster thanks to you. How about it, do you want to go back with your sister?"

hum-

The shuttlecock made a buzzing sound, tilted slightly to the side, and looked somewhat confused.

"It probably doesn't understand such complicated language."

Mo Tan smiled, looking at the badminton shuttlecock jumping around in front of the two of them, and said softly, "However, as the core of this critical mission, its origin must be extraordinary. It would be best if we could build a good relationship with it."

Ji Xiaoge nodded vigorously and said happily, "I don't know why, but I always feel a special affection for this little guy when I look at him. Hmm, I really want to raise him!"

"There's already a turtle in the house..."

Mo Tan gave a wry smile, then changed the subject, looking thoughtfully at the badminton shuttlecock as she said softly, "But this little thing is indeed very intelligent, and its personality doesn't seem as bad as Wang Badan's. If it doesn't mind, it would be good if it could leave this lifeless place with us."

hum-

Perhaps noticing the two men's gazes directed at him simultaneously, the extremely perceptive badminton shuttlecock shuddered on the spot, then darted back into its iron cage with a whoosh, secretly observing the two seemingly ill-intentioned fellows.

After that, having completed their mission, Mo Tan and Ji Xiaoge began to investigate the [building complex]. Considering that Ji Xiaoge's main mission also involved dealing with this [Ascension Fortress], the two, who had no worries about the future and could soon use the keystone at any time, saw this as a good opportunity to explore the area.

After all, they had a badminton scout who was very good at avoiding risks and was the most ideal person they could be (Ji Xiaoge insisted that the little guy was a girl). Considering that it was not only timid but also the 'local' of this fortress ruins, the two had good reason to believe that it could lead the two 'guests' who had already established a great deal of trust to avoid any possible risks.

And so, over the next few hours, the two of them and the ball began an 'adventure' that was much more relaxed than before.

Unfortunately, the upper level of the fortress was almost completely paralyzed, so that although the danger level was infinitely close to zero, Mo Tan and Ji Xiaoge's gains were also infinitely close to zero.

During their exploration, the two became increasingly convinced that this place not only did not belong to any part of the main plane of the [Innocent Realm], but it had also never left any trace in history. In other words, its history was at least seven thousand years old, and it might even be a creation from before the birth of the 'Holy Calendar', that is, a legendary prehistoric civilization.

This is a shocking fact. Although the Realm of Innocence does not have the kind of rapid technological advancement that allows the world's average technological level to advance dozens of generations in just one or two hundred years, the principle that "the further forward you go, the more backward you become, and the further back you go, the more advanced you become" is a general objective law of development regardless of the worldview.

Indeed, in Mo Tan's view, compared to the thousands of years ago when the concept of 'slave' was still very popular and various races were hostile to each other, the current era, which has almost eliminated discrimination and can be called a great unity of the people of the world, can definitely be called 'advanced'.

In addition, Ji Xiaoge also clearly stated that the engineering system and its upper limit in the Holy Calendar 9571 were definitely stronger than the level in the first year of the Holy Calendar in history. As for earlier times, she did not know.

In conclusion, Valhalla, the "Ascension Fortress," is eerily strange in every aspect. From the numerous devices with technological capabilities far exceeding the average level of modern engineering to the badminton shuttlecocks that possess a considerable degree of intelligence but whose principles, materials, and meanings are all unclear, it is all completely baffling.

However, unlike the completely bewildered Ji Xiaoge, Mo Tan did have a somewhat vague idea: Tianzhu Mountain.

In fact, as the most mysterious force on the entire continent, without exception, the history and origin of Tianzhu Mountain are also a mystery. In other words, no one knows when, where, or why that mountain and those people appeared there. But what is certain is that Tianzhu Mountain has existed for no less than the 'Sacred Calendar'.

In other words, if this [Ascension Fortress] is suspected to be a prehistoric civilization, then [Tianzhu Mountain] is definitely a prehistoric civilization!
However, because of the lively and down-to-earth First Outer Mountain, and Tianzhu Mountain's seemingly uncontested style, most people have overlooked this fact and believe that the mountain is no different from places like the City of Miracles, both being transcendent and unique existences.

Only at this moment did Mo Tan suddenly realize that even among the many 'special' existences, Tianzhu Mountain could be considered the most, most, most, most special one!
He also had a premonition that this [Ascension Fortress] Valhalla might become an opportunity for them to further understand Tianzhu Mountain... or to further understand Ruvi Fitzwarban.

Chapter 2620: The End