The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

The Forge Temple.

Arcturus sat cross-legged beneath the massive "warp engine core" with his eyes closed, his psychic powers already synchronized with Hephaestus's "logic probe" via a special connector.

When he sensed that the probe was in place, a glint of greed flashed in his cloudy old eyes.

“Let me see… the secret of ‘God’s creation’… let me see… how far you so-called ‘pioneers’ have taken the fusion of flesh and machine…” Clearly, he regarded Shen Ge as one of the “pioneers”.

Arcturus followed the "logic probe" to connect to the hull of "Ark One," but what awaited him was not the complex energy circuit or gene sequence map he had imagined.

Instead, it was a pure, cold, and informationless... "a black hole of strange energy." And a cold, mocking sentence that exploded directly in the core of his consciousness.

"We've been waiting for a long time, Your Excellency."

Arcturus was startled and instinctively wanted to sever the eerie energy link device!
But it was too late. Shen Ge's already laid trap of supernatural energy was like a tightening noose, instantly trapping his invading supernatural energy.

"Come and go as you please? Do you think this is a hotel?" Shen Ge's weird energy transformed into sharp blades, which began to devour the part of the weird energy that was trapped in the "weird energy black hole" in the most frenzied way!
"what--!!!"

Inside the Forge Temple, Arcturus let out a agonizing scream. He clutched his head and tumbled off the platform, crimson blood flowing from his seven orifices.

His spirit was severely damaged after just one confrontation.

"Activate...activate the 'Final Purification' protocol!!" he roared, issuing orders to his remaining guard: "Get me the dock...get that ship...completely...format it!"

He no longer cared about secrets; all he wanted now was to destroy the "messenger" who dared to offend him!
However, his loyal archbishop's guard captain stood motionless, like a statue.

“Are you…deaf?!” Arcturus roared.

The captain of the guard slowly turned his head, and an unseen large hand gripped his face on his sturdy, gleaming brass-colored visor.

"No, Your Excellency."

The captain of the guard's voice became the same as Shen Ge's: "I just received an order... with higher authority."

To Akturus's horrified gaze, the captain of the guard, along with all the remaining guards in the temple, raised their steam rifles in unison, like puppets being manipulated, and pointed the dark muzzles at their former master.

[Meme contamination]!
The moment Shen Ge and Hephaestus joined forces to eliminate him, Hephaestus had already secretly used special methods to contaminate his guards with memes.

These marks are not usually triggered, but as long as Shen Ge gives the order, they can instantly "overwrite" their original loyalty commands!
This was Hephaestus's pledge of allegiance to Shen Ge; in other words, Arcturus had been all alone from the very beginning.

“What...what exactly are you?” Arcturus was utterly terrified.

The "messenger" before him was far beyond his comprehension, both in terms of the level of power and the scheming of his mind. He was like a chess player manipulating pieces, while he himself had been nothing more than a... self-righteous piece from beginning to end.

Shen Ge did not answer him.

Inside the room in the tower, he slowly stood up and took a step out.

His figure vanished from the room in an instant.

The next second, Shen Ge appeared like a ghost atop the massive "Warspace Engine Core" of the Furnace Temple, looking down at the bishop below who looked like a stray dog.

“You have taken the wrong path of evolution, Arcturus.”

Shen Ge's voice echoed throughout the entire temple: "True power does not come from cold machines, nor from the survival of those who abandon their humanity."

"Instead...like me."

As he spoke, he extended his right hand.

The seventh-tier Ghost King power that had been dormant within him, along with the unparalleled devouring instinct of the Primordial Ghost Cells, erupted for the first time in the heart of the city!
An invisible hand, composed entirely of bizarre energy and larger than the temple dome, materialized and took shape!

That giant hand, with an almost unreasonable attitude, forcefully pulled the enormous warp engine core, which Arcturus revered as the "heart of God," along with countless pipes and supports around it, from its base...

The entire "Rusty Heart" began to shake violently as it lost its power source, countless lights went out instantly, and the city fell into apocalyptic chaos and darkness.

"No! My 'Heart of God'!" Arcturus cried out in despair.

He's completely crazy.

He knew he had lost, but he was unwilling to accept it!
He suddenly ripped open the robe on his chest, revealing the "psychic processor" underneath, which was flashing with blue arcs of electricity.

"Even if I die... I want to drag you down with me to witness... the true 'Omnissiah'!!"

He roared, pouring all his last bit of life force into that core, trying to detonate it and perish together with Shen Ge!
However, Shen Ge was even faster than him!
The transparent hand that was holding the "Heart of God" suddenly clenched its five fingers together!
"Swallow!"

Click!

The indestructible subspace engine core, powerful enough to power a Titan-class warship, was instantly crushed like a fragile glass ball under the terrifying grip of that invisible hand!

The endless, violent energy, like a wild horse, was about to blow the entire city into the sky in an instant, but before it could spread, it was absorbed by Shen Ge's system.

The entire temple fell into...dead silence in an instant.

Below the dock.

“Teacher…he.” Hephaestus sensed the brief yet terrifying energy burst through the device he had created.

He was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, his whole body ice-cold.

Just then, the thing that had been covered by a black cloth beside him was suddenly lifted.

"Stop daydreaming, kid!"

A flexible "biomechanical arm," a perfect blend of flesh and machine designed and manufactured by him, came to life on its own and pulled him up from the ground! At the top of the mechanical arm, an "eyeball" made of fragments of a monstrous heart and a microchip was flashing red, and coming from inside was... Alai's voice!

"Hurry! Shen Ge said you need to go to the Furnace Temple immediately, the whole city is about to lose its balance and collapse."

Upon hearing this, Hephaestus seemed to snap out of his daze and immediately began to run frantically towards the temple, using both his hands and feet.

When he rushed back into that familiar temple, he was so shocked by what he saw that he was speechless.

In the center of the temple, Shen Ge sat quietly on the original shelf of the "Heart of God". His right eye, the "Strange Eye", was no longer the original dark gold, but had become a... deep blue nebula, like subspace, slowly rotating.

The "Heart of God" beneath his feet, which should have exploded, has now become a docile sphere of light, which, under his control, is once again providing stable energy to the entire city.

The lights came back on.

The tremors in the city gradually subsided.

“Well done, Hephaestus.” Shen Ge slowly landed back on the ground. He looked at the boy and said, “Your ‘bioprocessor’ is a great idea. After things are settled here, I will teach you how to make it… even more perfect.”

"Now……"

Shen Ge turned around and used the temple's amplification system to transmit his voice to every corner of this steel city that had fallen into chaos.

“Actus, who attempted to steal divine power, has been… ‘purified’ by me. From this day forward… I will be your new ‘master’.”

“I will lead you, lead the ‘Rusty Heart’, no, or rather, I will take you aboard the ‘God’s’ Ark, and sail you toward the land of true hope.”

After absorbing the power of the Heart of God, Shen Ge felt the same way he did when he was bound to the "Ark". In other words, he believed that he could use the Heart of God to modify Ark No. 1 and then "pull" the sea city of "Rusty Heart" to the graveyard of "Ark No. 0".

He used to be troubled by his inability to start Ark Zero, but now he has a new trump card—Hephaestus.

He believed that Hephaestus could activate the Ark, then merge Ark Zero and Ark One, and then fuse them with the "Rusty Heart" to create a brand new Ark!

A true mobile city!
Shen Ge's voice echoed through every corner of the "Rusty Heart" via a steam speaker.

With his announcement, the city lights returned to normal, and the chaotic sirens ceased abruptly. The "Heart of God" under his control was revitalizing this crumbling steel behemoth in a more efficient and stable way than when Arcturus had manipulated it.

Power is the best form of "divine right of kings".

The civilians who had been thrown into turmoil by the power outage and earthquake emerged from their hiding places as they felt order being restored.

Meanwhile, the "Gear Guard" and "Archbishop's Guard," controlled by Hephaestus through "meme contamination," became the most loyal executors of Shen Ge's new order. They began patrolling various areas, suppressing riots, and maintaining stability, with greater efficiency than ever before.

After a "change of throne" unknown to outsiders, the city resumed its operation at an incredible speed.

Inside the Forge Temple.

Shen Ge looked down at the gradually calming chaos in the city below, feeling no joy; his eyes remained calm.

Controlling the city was never his goal; it was merely a necessary means to gain a stable "base" on the sea.

His voice, transmitted through the link to Ark One, reached Alai and the others: "Alai, bring Moya directly to the Temple. It's safer here than on the ship. Kyle, Roca, take charge of guard duty and eliminate all 'Gear Guards' who are hostile to the New Order."

"Got it, bro!" came the excited voices of the two brothers.

For them, the feeling of "conquering the land" is far more exciting than drifting aimlessly on the sea.

“Hephaestus.” Shen Ge’s gaze fell on the genius boy beside him, who was still in a state of great shock and had not yet fully recovered.

"Yes...yes! Your...master!" Hephaestus jolted awake, looking at Shen Ge with awe, even changing his form of address.

“From this moment forward, you will have full control over all the technical departments and warehouses of ‘Rusty Heart.’ I need a list. A complete list of all the ‘Pioneer Technologies’ and ‘High-Level Mysterious Materials’ here. I want to see it before dawn.”

"Yes! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" Hephaestus excitedly accepted the order.

This was heaven for him. He could finally legitimately access the highest-level technical secrets that were previously only accessible to bishops.

Everyone took action and performed their respective duties.

Under the guidance of Hephaestus, an "expert," Shen Ge thoroughly investigated all of Arcturus's accumulated wealth over the decades.

The list arrived in front of him precisely the next morning. Even Shen Ge was slightly surprised by its contents.

Besides the "Heart of God" that he controlled and which served as the city's primary energy source, Arcturus also secretly possessed two spare small "warp engine cores," as well as a large number of key components salvaged from the wreckage of the "Titan"-class warships.

Energy shield generator, warp stabilizer, and even... a disassembled, partially damaged "macro cannon"!
These things were merely unusable "collectibles" for Arcturus, who was solely focused on achieving his own "ascension." But for Shen Ge, who possessed a portion of the "Zero Ark's" database, they were a veritable treasure trove.

With these, his next upgrade and renovation of "Ark No. 1" will no longer be a minor repair or patch, but a truly significant... epoch-making leap!
Alai and his companions also found their new place in this steel city.

Alai was in charge of managing the temple's daily operations and used her innate affability to soothe the fearful lower-class people.

Ellie, on the other hand, developed a strong interest in the bizarre and wonderful mechanical modifications and spent all her time following Hephaestus around the laboratory.

Kyle and Roca rightfully became the new captains of the "Gear Guard," leading patrols and sentry duty every day with great enthusiasm.

Even the youngest, Moya, found her own enjoyment in a room in the temple filled with all sorts of soft fabrics.

Everything is moving in a positive direction.

Once Ark One completed its final upgrade and was able to tow the massive "Rusty Heart," Shen Ge decided to lead everyone back to the silent wasteland of Ark Zero! (End of Chapter)