The copy has 0 error tolerance, and the last words on the ground are all wrong for me.

Chapter 399 Peace Envoy

Julie is not a player, and she did not understand the solution proposed by Olivia at first, but her intuition told her that the "perfect world" that Olivia understood was not the same as what she thought.

She asked in confusion: "What does it mean to reduce people's excess self-awareness and implant the established collective consciousness?"

Olivia explained:
“All conflicts, oppression, exploitation, discrimination, and even fighting between people have only one cause: the self.”

"With a self, people are no longer pure. They will have desires, be selfish, and consider individual gains and losses."

"So I will use steam rules to connect everyone, use the rules to bind them, and replace the concept of 'I' in their hearts with the concept of the collective."

Julie frowned. She couldn't imagine the world Olivia described, so she asked:
“What will the world be like then?”

Olivia showed a confident expression and said:

"It's actually very easy to understand. People at that time would regard the collective as themselves. Working for the collective was working for themselves. Since everything was working for themselves, they would not feel pain for it, nor would they feel oppressed and exploited."

"Because the collective replaces the individual, people will not hurt each other, just like you won't use your right hand to attack your left hand."

"At that time, there will be no need for laws. All that is needed is a set of behavioral norms that tell people what to do to benefit the collective, and they will abide by it voluntarily."

“When the collective is at the center, individual gains and losses will be meaningless. Then everyone in the world will move towards the same goal, making the collective they belong to stronger.”

The scene Olivia described was positive and harmonious, but Julie felt uneasy after hearing it.

She felt that there was a problem but couldn't find it at the moment, so she could only look to Wu Chang for help, hoping that Wu Chang could tell her the answer.

Wu Chang sighed helplessly and helped Julie point out the discordant parts in Olivia's description.

"Your Majesty Olivia, if the world really runs according to your vision, will the people at that time still be human?"

Olivia's expression became a little unnatural, and she replied:
"Why not?"

Wu Chang walked towards the difference machine with his cane, saying:

"When I say people, I don't mean people who look like people, nor do I mean the human species, but people in our cognition."

"The reason why we are called human beings is that we can recognize ourselves. Your Majesty, you are right. The self makes people have desires and makes people selfish, which leads to conflicts."

"But virtue and ugliness, selflessness and selfishness, are two sides of the same coin. If you leave any one of them out, the person will become unreal."

Wu Chang turned to look at Julie and said:
"Julie, as a descendant of the Mystic Knight, you should know that the path of the Mystic Knight is full of dangers. In order to resist the contamination of the occult, if we want to become Mystic Knights, the first step we must take is to determine an anchor point in the real world."

Julie looked enlightened, as if she understood what Wu Chang meant, and nodded.

"Yes, in order to train me to become a mystical knight, my father made me experience many unforgettable and important moments, including joy, sadness, anger, and fear..."

"Everything is to make me aware of my existence and shape my perception of myself and the world."

"It was the experience of establishing the reality anchor that made me discover what kind of world this is and determined to correct the mistakes of the world. It was also because of them that I successfully passed the trial of the arcane knight and kept myself from being assimilated by the environment during the five years in the Moonlight Sanatorium."

Wu Chang pointed to the huge exposed gear on the difference engine and said:

"Even if the arcane knight loses his anchor in reality, he will be lost in the pollution of occultism, lose himself, and become a hollow shell."

"What Her Majesty Olivia is going to do is equivalent to using the steam rule to erase the reality anchor of ordinary people."

“People regard the collective as their self, which is equivalent to their individual will. Lost in the collective, they will lose their human selves and become mechanical parts with flesh and blood. It’s not that they will not feel pain for reality, but that they are deprived of the ability to feel pain.”

Olivia interrupted Wu Chang and said:
"No, I won't completely erase people's selves, but I will leave them with a part of themselves so that they can continue their lives outside of the collective."

Wu Chang shook his head and said:

"Your Majesty Olivia, I'm afraid that your actions will make them even more miserable."

"Thinking back to your youth, you felt pain simply because of the restrictions on etiquette and the difficulty of using your own name as the title of queen. If a person's entire life is restricted, but he retains a certain self, and can only watch everything but be powerless to change it, you should be able to imagine the torment that would cause."

Olivia clenched her drooping hands slightly, and she insisted:
"This plan was carefully calculated by the Difference Engine. There must be no problem. There must be a perfect critical point between the self and the group."

Wu Chang tried to persuade:
"The Difference Engine is not as omnipotent as you think. The world will it connects to is similar to the collective will you want to create. Not only are they not omniscient, they are not even smart enough and can only act according to certain rules."

"That's enough." Olivia interrupted Wu Chang's next words.

She knew that Wu Chang was right, and she also knew the risks that might come with collectivizing consciousness, but she had to take a gamble.

Because the Difference Engine told her that this was the only way to fulfill the agreement between her and Julie.

And at this point, the collectivization of consciousness is no longer just an agreement between her and Julie. Too many people have joined this plan and paid too much for it.

For example, Ron firmly believed in the answer obtained by the Difference Engine, and was even willing to sacrifice his life for the perfect ordered world in his mind.

If she gave up her plan now because of Wu Chang's few words, wouldn't all their previous efforts, including Ron's sacrifice, be completely meaningless?
She raised her hand, adjusted the queen's crown on her head, looked at Wu Chang and said:
"The Difference Engine's omniscience has been verified many times by us."

"The completion of the Difference Engine and the convening of the World Industrial Exposition were all within its calculations, which is enough to prove its effectiveness."

"Sir Sean, now you just need to answer me what your choice is."

"Help me build a perfect mechanical world, or become Stylan's enemy."

Wu Chang shrugged and said:
"You shouldn't ask me about this, but Julie next to you."

He said to Julie:

"Julie, I once asked you if you had found a solution to your current predicament. At that time, you were afraid of failure and worried that you would not be able to find a correct, perfect answer, so you did not dare to take any action."

"But there is no perfect answer or solution in the world, because if you want to gain something, you have to pay something."

"Now, the power of choice is given to you. Do you choose to let people lose themselves and become paralyzed shells? Or do you choose to give up the perfect answer you want and look for an answer that is not so perfect, but better than the current situation, and constantly improves."

Julie's expression was a little shaken. She looked at Olivia. Olivia took a step closer to her and said, "Julie, what are you hesitating about? This is the era I created for you."

Julie looked at Wu Chang, who looked calm and said:

"You need to choose your own path. No one can decide for you."

Julie turned around and looked at the audience in the distance who were standing around the stage, clapping in silence.

When she turned back, the confusion in her eyes had disappeared and she looked determined.

She said to Olivia:

"Olivia, I think your method is wrong. Stop it. This time, let me and you work together to find a less perfect but correct path."

Olivia sighed, took two steps back, and said:
"Julie, is this your answer? You really make me sad."

snort~
A huge jet sound gushed out from the differential machine, and the roar inside the differential machine weakened. A huge lion-shaped mechanical beast with a length of nearly fifteen meters, manufactured by Extraordinary Industries, walked out of it.

The extraordinary steam engine core that was previously sucked into the Differential Machine is now embedded in different parts of the lion-shaped mechanical beast, providing it with different abilities.

Steam rules gathered at Olivia's feet, lifted her from the ground, and brought her to the head of the mechanical beast.

She drew the King's Sword of Victory from her waist, grasped the hilt with both hands, turned the blade, and thrust it down into the groove on the lion-shaped mechanical beast's head.

As steam gushed out, the lion-shaped mechanical beast seemed to come alive, and its movements became much more agile. "Julie, I know you were just confused for a moment, so you chose the wrong path."

"It's okay. I will prove to you that I am right. If you want to stop me, I can only control you temporarily and let you be a quiet spectator."

Wu Chang sighed, thinking that the boss of the Abyss Game was indeed not as simple as in the comics, where he could be persuaded by words, love and justice. In the end, he still had to be touched.

He came to Julie and asked, “Julie, do you want to stop Her Majesty Olivia?”

Julie said in embarrassment: "The mist gushing out of the extraordinary steam engine can suppress the abilities of extraordinary people. I can't use my abilities, so I'm afraid I can't stop her."

"Sean, do you have any idea?"

Wu Chang said: "I don't have a solution, but someone does."

As he said that, he snapped his fingers, and my true self wearing a white ghost ran out of the mist.

Wu Changben introduced to Julie:

"Heping came to Grimland this time. In addition to helping me, he actually promised a great being to help you solve the trouble you are encountering."

Julie observed Heping. They were just acquaintances at most, and they didn't have much in common. It was hard for her to imagine that Heping came to Grimland just to help her.

"Help me? Why?"

Wu Changzhen I continued, "Because Revelation, or what Grimland calls the Holy Revelation Church, actually has branches in many places. One of the leaders of the sect came to me and said that I was in trouble and needed help. I owed that guy a favor, so I came here."

He allowed Olivia to build the Difference Engine, but when there was no conflict between the two, he exposed the loopholes in Olivia's plan. All this was to help Julie make a choice and get rid of confusion.

Although judging from the difficulty of the dungeon, the Abyss Game Administrator would let him enter the steam dungeon even without the help of any props, but the original reason he entered the dungeon was to repay Christine and save the Son of Revelation.

Before the operation, Christine mentioned that the biggest crisis facing the people he wanted to save was confusion and inability to see the future.

What he needs to do is to give her inspiration while saving her and let her choose her own path.

As a fun-loving person, in order to make the event less boring, Christine did not reveal the information about the person he wanted to save. He learned the other party's identity, the Son of God, from Yuna.

In the Holy Revelation of Grimland, the actual controller of the religion is Julie, but the official spiritual symbol is Queen Olivia.

Although Julie often had confusion in her eyes, Olivia, as a queen who was sidelined, was in a more difficult situation than Julie because she had barely regained some power by discovering the extraordinary steam engine.

This made Wu Changzai unable to confirm for a long time which of them was the Holy Son that Christine mentioned.

It was not until he saw the resentment between Xavier and Phantom that he realized that Olivia's apparent weakness was all a disguise for others. In fact, she had already determined the plan long ago and was not confused at all.

Excluding Olivia, the Holy Child is naturally Julie.

He agreed to Christine's commission to help Julie, so Christine and Julie were both his clients.

Wu Chang cooperates with others and is a man of integrity. Since he has promised Christine, he must do it.

Compared to whether the Steam Phantom Plane will become a mechanical world, he cares more about helping Julie get rid of confusion, so no matter what choice Julie makes, he will respect it.

Since Julie chose him to stop Olivia, as the second party, he naturally had to take action.

At present, Grimland has been completely filled with steam rules. Today, the steam rules are directly discharged by the differential machine. The differential machine is known as a machine that connects the will of the planes. The effect of the rules ejected by the will of the planes can be imagined.

At this moment in Grimland, even the power of the root cannot produce the desired effect as long as it does not conform to the rules of steam.

There seemed to be only two ways to defeat Olivia.

One is the props. Unfortunately, the power of Wu Changhu's Holy Sword has been used on Xavier. He has no skills to refresh the cooldown of the prop skills. Even if the cooldown of the props is refreshed, it is still unknown whether the knight's sword can be swung at the queen he is to protect.

The second is divinity.

To deal with the power of rules, it seems that only the divinity that is not affected by the power of rules can have the strength to fight.

For example, asking Irene to take action.

But due to the restrictions of the plane rules, Irene's kingdom of God is limited to the Gray Church Slums.

After leaving the slums, Olivia has the blessing of the power of the rules of the entire plane. If she finds that she is unable to defeat the enemy, and drags on with Irene all over the world into a protracted war, it will not be easy for Irene to win in a short period of time without the supply of divine power.

The best way is for Irene to hide in the dark, wait until Olivia retreats in panic, and then suddenly launch a surprise attack to defeat the enemy in one move.

In order to defeat Olivia, we need to use the third method to defeat Olivia, which is also a method that ordinary people cannot do.

Beat Olivia at her rules.

Steam rules do not only allow the use of steam engines to launch power. To be precise, the essence of steam rules is technological rules.

Just like when the steam rules enveloped Grimland before, the abilities of the All-Rounder, Gun God, and Booker could still be used, and when he faced Xavier, the item White Ghost could also function normally.

Speaking of technological rules, Olivia took out a lion-shaped mechanical beast made by an extraordinary steam engine. Nothing was more suitable than this moment for the big baby in his personal space to appear.

Wu Changzhen waved his hand, and a six-meter-tall purple mecha appeared behind him.

The steam rules surrounded the mecha and did not suppress the purple mecha. Just as he guessed, technological skills and props belonged to the category of steam rules.

As a native of the Steam Phantom Plane, Julie had never seen such a scene before. She stared at the huge mecha in disbelief and asked:

"Sean, what is this?"

Wu Chang said: "It is said to be some kind of large robot. When I first saw it, I was also quite scared."

His true self agreed:

"Archbishop Julie, its name is the Peacemaker, and it is a device that will bring peace wherever it passes."

As he spoke, the Peacemaker stretched out his hand to the True Self, and the True Self jumped into the Peacemaker's palm. The Peacemaker moved his palm and sent him to the cockpit on the chest of the mecha.

His true self entered the mecha, and with a nearly seamless perspective switch, his perception merged with that of the Peacemaker.

This was his first time activating the Peacemaker, but he used it as skillfully as if he were using his own body.

He controlled the mecha and came in front of Olivia.

The lion-shaped mechanical beast under Olivia's feet was nearly fifteen meters long, but its height was similar to that of the Peacemaker. Wu Chang's vision at this moment was inherited from the Peacemaker, and the two of them could barely look at each other at eye level.

In terms of size, the lion-shaped mechanical beast is superior, but in terms of workmanship, mechanical texture and technological content, the two are not at the same level at all.

The lion-shaped mechanical beast has a huge gun barrel on its body, and its joints are connected by Franken-class extraordinary machine tools, which is both beautiful and does not affect its movement. Through the gaps on the surface of the mechanical beast's body, you can see the huge gears rotating inside, the piston connecting rods acting as tendons, and the power furnace in the heart.

The lion-shaped mechanical beast is extremely powerful in the Steam Phantom plane, but standing in front of the Peacemaker, it looks crude and primitive in terms of design aesthetics, exterior paint, and body functions.

Combined with the steam constantly gushing out of the steam engine, the contrast between the two is like a well-dressed gentleman and an old, ugly stray dog ​​lying on the ground gasping for breath.

Wu Changzhen amplified his voice through the Peace Messenger and said to Olivia:

"Your Majesty, the Difference Engine you mentioned has omniscience and can predict everything. Did it predict my appearance?"

(End of this chapter)