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

Chapter 545 Mechanical Emperor Core
From the visions in Valentine's mental world, Wu Chang saw that Loki and others had put zombie serum into the water tank of the disaster shelter, and sprayed the diluted serum onto the zombies through the fire sprinklers on the top of the shelter to reverse their behavior.

It's clear that the zombie serum Loki developed is highly effective; it doesn't require injection, just ingestion or contact to take effect.

He didn't know the layout of the disaster shelter, but this kind of simple problem could be solved by asking the magical raven.

Guided by the raven, he found the place where Loki and the others had added the zombie serum, and sure enough, there were still liquid residues mixed with zombie serum in the water tank.

These diluted medicines were not enough to reverse the effects of all the zombies in the private space, but they were sufficient as a sample.

He took the diluted zombie serum back to the virus laboratory at the epidemic prevention center and copied all the research records there.

Just as he was about to leave, he turned back, had Raven make a list, packed up the equipment needed to make the zombie serum and put it into his personal space, and then teleported back to the Everlight Research Institute.

He had just returned to the Yongguang Research Institute when he ran into He Yun walking out of the studio, heading to the mecha repair center.

Ever since Wu Chang gave her Shi Ning's occult notes, she has been locking herself in her studio. This is the first time he has seen her leave the studio since then, which means she has made some progress in her occult research.

Wu Chang stepped forward and gave He Yun a hug, then asked:

"How's the deciphering of the occult notes going lately? If there's anything you don't understand about the supernatural, you can ask Raven. She might not be a good teacher, but with your talent, she only needs to give you one answer, and you'll be able to find the right path on your own."

Speaking of the occult notes, He Yun's eyes lit up with excitement, and he said:
"I learned about mysticism very smoothly. The person who wrote this notebook should also be a research scholar. He analyzed mysticism as a science, which made it very easy to study."

"Inspired by him, I have not only deepened my understanding of mysticism, but also continuously improved my previous knowledge. I have basically mastered the contents of the notes, and the only way to go further is through a lot of practice."

Wu Chang recalled that Shi Ning had once said that the contents of that occult notebook were enough to allow researchers to reach the level of intermediate gods.

He Yun never makes empty promises. If she says she has basically mastered it, then she has at least thoroughly understood 80% of the content in the book. 80% of the content at the level of a mid-level god is at least at the level of a lower-level god.

By this calculation, He Yun has already surpassed him in the field of occultism.

Although Wu Chang had known about He Yun's talent for a long time, he still couldn't help but marvel at how someone was cheating whenever he saw He Yun's learning ability.

He put his arm around He Yun's waist and asked:
"Miss He Yun, does that mean your extraordinary power has already reached the god level?"

He Yun smiled, stretched out her hand, and turned her palm over. A mechanical heart, composed of countless tiny mechanical parts, emerged from her palm.

The core slowly rotated, emanating a divine aura.

Previously, He Yun and Wu Chang entered the Holy Land of Stellan together to receive blessings. Although she did not receive the commission from the Fairy of the Lake to directly break through the Holy Land like Wu Chang, she took the Dragon-Slaying Pill and underwent the baptism of dragon blood, and also gained a lot of benefits from the blessings.

The most obvious change is that the dual blessing of comprehension and blessing has further integrated her mechanical heart talent with the mechanical emperor talent she comprehended from the mechanical crown, forming a completely new talent.

"Mechanical Emperor Core".

The core she summoned at this moment was the embodiment of her talent.

As He Yun explained, Wu Chang began to understand the abilities of her new talent.

The "Mechanical Emperor Core" not only retains He Yun's mechanical heart ability, allowing her to merge with machines and make them an extension of her body and consciousness, but also greatly enhances the upper limit of this ability.

Originally, her mechanical heart was only enough for her to attach her consciousness to the machines within the range of one building. Beyond that range, the number of machines she could control would rapidly decrease as the distance changed.

After evolving into the "Mechanical Emperor Core", He Yun's range of abilities expanded to an entire city.

Taking Wanghai City as an example, if she wanted to, she could instantly control all the machinery within the city and make them all become part of her body.

In a technologically advanced modern city like Blue Star, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she directly controls the entire city and has become the will of Wanghai City.

In addition to its original functionality, this control over machinery also has practical applications in combat.

The Mechanical Emperor's abilities originate from the extraordinary steam engine in the Steam Phantom dimension. Wu Chang's Mechanical Crown only grants him a superficial understanding of how to upgrade and mutate all mechanical abilities. However, He Yun, through studying the Mechanical Crown, has learned the essence of extraordinary industrialization.

The machines under her control undergo partial mutations under the Mechanical Emperor's power, unleashing corresponding extraordinary abilities based on their own capabilities.

For example, the trucks she controls will gain extraordinary properties such as small-scale gravity control and indestructibility; the air conditioners she controls will gain the power to control extreme cold and extreme heat.

Even the electric lights under her control can gain the power to dispel darkness, focus the mind, and purify.

After hearing He Yun's description, Wu Chang couldn't help but gasp.

He Yun can already imbue ordinary machines with extraordinary abilities. If this continues, he suspects that one day she will be able to transform into a true mechanical emperor, giving life to the machines under her control and turning them into extraordinary soldiers to fight directly.

After introducing the capabilities of the "Mechanical Emperor Core," He Yun pointed to the intricate patterns on the mechanical heart and said:

"Modifying virtual abilities is more difficult than modifying physical machinery. Thanks to the occult notebook you gave me, I can inscribe runes on my abilities through occultism."

“I regard the Mechanical Emperor Core as a machine, and apply the divine circuit set for the mecha to it, directly endowing it with divinity.”

He Yun's voice was calm, but his tone couldn't hide his joy at the successful operation.

She was not simply happy about gaining power for herself; her joy stemmed from the fact that she had finally caught up with Wu Chang.

She wasn't a player of the Abyss game, nor could she follow Wu Chang into other planes like Eileen to level up quickly together.

With each new dungeon run, Wu Chang and Eileen's strength almost always experienced a qualitative leap. The rapid changes made her worry that one day they would fall behind.

Especially as Wu Chang ascends to the Realm of Reason and is about to enter a more powerful and mysterious world, this sense of crisis becomes even clearer.

But things are different now. She has found her own right path, and as long as there is a path, she is confident that she can keep up with Wu Chang.

Wu Chang looked at the "Mechanical Emperor Core". The divinity it emitted was stable and profound, far surpassing that of Triton and Lingyu, and it had clearly entered the level of a lower god.

He couldn't help but ask:

"What level of divinity have you reached now?"

He Yun said:

"I'm new to the occult and my skills are still developing, so this is all I can do for now."

As she spoke, she activated the power of the Mechanical Emperor Core, unleashing a force of Angel-level power that made Wu Chang's eyes widen in disbelief.

No, isn't that a bit like cheating?

Although Wu Chang was misunderstood as having cheated, no matter what, every ability he possessed was earned through combat and completing missions, punch by punch.

The rewards may be slightly greater than those of the average player, but there are still costs involved.

Ke Heyun used the divine circuits that created the mecha to modify himself. Without any cultivation, he not only directly gained divinity but also became a power-level god. What's the difference between that and using a cheat code?
Compared to He Yun's approach, his approach was practically conventional.

Fortunately, He Yun wasn't a player of the Abyss Game; otherwise, he would definitely have received special treatment from the Abyss Game administrator.

Wu Chang looked at He Yun's "Mechanical Emperor Core" and asked:

"Can the method of inscribing divine circuits also be used on other people?"

He Yun shook his head and said:
"Not yet, unless the other party is similar to me, possesses a source power related to machinery, and can condense their own abilities into a core, or the other party is a purely mechanical life form, otherwise the divine circuit cannot take effect."

Wu Chang looked regretful upon hearing this, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that there are many limitations to the divine nature bestowed upon He Yun. Those who acquire divinity or their abilities must be related to machinery in order to activate the effects of the divine circuit.

If one day He Yun can break through this limitation and mass-produce gods, the entire Abyss will go crazy for them, and they will be fought over by all sides.

Even he would likely be under immense pressure at that time.

"So, you can now be considered a god?"

He Yun nodded first, then shook his head and said:

"Theoretically, I am not yet. This divinity was not condensed by me; I only temporarily possess it through the divine circuit."

“This artificially condensed divinity lacks a soul. I cannot strengthen divinity through cultivation or other means, nor can I absorb people’s faith through divinity. Therefore, by a specific definition, I am not yet a god.”

"But in practical application, I can continuously modify the Mechanical Emperor Core as the technology advances to acquire new abilities and stronger power." "I cannot directly absorb people's faith through divinity, but I can create a mechanical idol of my own, add a circuit to the idol to collect and store faith power, and directly extract faith through the Mechanical Emperor Core."

"So from the perspective of ability, I am no different from a true god."

After hearing He Yun's description, Wu Chang's surprise deepened.

If what He Yun said is true, then her existence is not only about finding a new path to godhood, but also about exploiting a bug in the world.

It's important to understand that for the vast majority of players, there are only two paths to becoming a god.

One is to absorb the finished divinity left behind by fallen gods, and the other is to cultivate oneself to condense true divinity.

The finished divinity also has its origins, tracing back to the first possessor. They were either born gods, born with heaven and earth, born as gods; or they were true divinity that they condensed themselves.

The conditions for the birth of divinity are harsh. In addition to the extreme difficulty of breaking through from the root level to demigod, it is also because the Primordial Spiritual Pivot is required to condense divinity.

Only the Primordial Spiritual Pivot, which created all things, can condense a divinity that will not completely dissipate even if its vessel perishes.

Ke Heyun's approach bypassed the need to possess divinity, instead relying on temporarily possessing the power that only divinity could unleash.

As He Yun said, she is not a god now, but she can do everything that only a god can do.

More importantly, He Yun's self-transformation can change at any time, and he does not overdraw his own potential to gain combat power.

When the time is right, she can fully integrate the divinity that suits her, or try to awaken true divinity.

A bitter smile appeared on Wu Chang's face. He never expected that he would be the only one in his small group who had not yet mastered divinity.

He Yun put away the Mechanical Emperor Core and asked:
"I remember you just went to the Realm of Reason not long ago, how come you're back so soon? Is there something you need me for?"

Wu Chang recounted what had happened at the source of the plague, took out the diluted zombie serum and experimental records, and asked:

"The source of the plague has now been incorporated into the divine kingdom. We can't let the original inhabitants continue to live as zombies. I need to reverse their zombification. I wonder if you have any expertise in biotechnology?"

He Yun flipped through the experimental records and said:
"When I was at Anthem Corporation, I learned some biological technologies. It would be difficult to develop a zombie serum from scratch. But since there are already finished products and production routes, it wouldn't be difficult to replicate it."

Wu Chang's face lit up with joy. He released the instrument from his personal space. He Yun only glanced at it before understanding how to use it and quickly began to operate it.

It takes 12 hours to produce enough zombie serum, a very long time, enough for Wu Chang and He Yun to attend one class on mysticism and many classes on biology.

The time ratio between the Everlight Research Institute and the outside world is 100 to 1. The time Wu Chang spent in the Everlight Research Institute was less than eight minutes in the Plague Source instance.

When Wu Chang returned to the Plague Source instance, he brought Eileen and Raven with him.

Through the Zombie King's control over the zombies, he gathered all the zombies in Ein City, including Fox, in front of the disaster shelter.

He then followed Loki and the others' example, first diluting the zombie serum in water according to the proportions suggested by He Yun, and then using the water control method of water mines to raise the diluted zombie serum into the air, turning it into a light rain that fell on them.

In the light rain, the zombies' bodies gradually reverted back to human form. The injuries they sustained during their zombification flared up, causing them to collapse to the ground and temporarily lose consciousness.

Wu Chang had already witnessed this scene once in Valentine's mental world, so he was prepared and summoned Eileen to deal with it.

The devastation in Ein City had already driven Eileen to her breaking point. Seeing the zombie serum taking effect, she was unwilling to wait a moment longer and entered her divine form.

Four enormous wings of light unfolded, and with each flap, a burst of light erupted, healing the wounds of all the zombies in the city in just a few breaths.

The physical injuries healed, and the citizens of Ain slowly awoke.

Their memories of what happened during the zombification period are not clear; that time was like a nightmare for them.

They awoke from their daze, and as soon as they opened their eyes, they saw Eileen floating in the air in the distance, spreading healing light to everyone.

The hazy apocalyptic vision in their minds, combined with the miracle before their eyes, made everyone instantly realize that the gods could not bear to see people suffer, so they specially performed miracles to save them.

This scene caused everyone in Ein City to kneel down and pray fervently to Eileen.

The zombie plague outbreak caused the complete death of more than 30% of the population of Ein City, and the remaining 70% who turned into zombies also suffered heavy casualties in battles against the army, Ein City survivors, and Base 44.

Currently, all the survivors in Ain City combined number just over 40,000.

However, the source of the plague is, after all, an erosion instance. Ein City is equivalent to the essence of the 8742nd plane. The faith power provided by these 40,000 people is equivalent to one-tenth of the total faith power of the original plane.

With the abundant power of faith, the Tree of Miracles grew wildly and transformed into a pillar of the divine kingdom in the blink of an eye.

Having converted the zombies into believers, and empowered by their faith, Eileen fixed her gaze on the sun overhead.

Under the influence of the zombie plague and the dungeon rules, the sun in Ain City turned grayish-white, and the buildings were also affected by the zombie plague. The surfaces of the buildings were covered with mutated colonies, turning them black, dark gray, and dark green.

The entire city had a gloomy atmosphere, and even after the citizens returned to human form, it still felt like the end of the world.

Eileen drew from the Eternal Lake, and the lake's shimmering light and sword-like energy shot into the sky, disappearing into the horizon.

The next moment, the sword's edge slashed through the grayish-white sun.

Eileen activated the Sword of Order.

Under the influence of the Sword of Order, cracks appeared on the surface of the sun. To everyone's astonishment, the grayish-white light peeled off like an eggshell, revealing the golden sun within.

The warm sunlight shone on the earth, and the strange colonies of bacteria covering the buildings trembled violently. They struggled to shrink into the darkness, but found that they had nowhere to hide and could only be burned to ashes by the sunlight.

In just a few minutes, Ain City was transformed from a post-apocalyptic wasteland into a city inhabited by ordinary humans.

If the citizens of Ein City's faith was previously born from the awe of Ein's existence, the miracles they witnessed this time directly captivated their hearts.

Not only the citizens of Ein City who had transformed back into humans from zombies, but also survivors like Wendia who came to observe after noticing the anomaly, were all captivated and became its most loyal followers.

With the establishment of the pillars of the divine kingdom and the stabilization of faith within the kingdom, the two influenced each other, completely integrating the source of the plague into one and isolating it from the outside world.

The Gem Man and the others who remained at a distance to observe only felt a flicker on the screen, and the next moment all the instruments they had left in the space lost contact, and they could no longer obtain any information from within the space.

Within the plague's source space, Wu Chang selected the special zombies from the previous zombie horde.

These people have a special physique; even after transforming from zombies back into humans, they still retain the extraordinary power they previously possessed.

Wendia, Fox, and these reversed special zombies form the governing body of New Ein.

Most of them were locals of Ain City and knew the city very well, so Wu Chang arranged for them to lead the remaining survivors in rebuilding their homes.

Having resolved the problems of the citizens of Al Ain, his attention turned back to Valentine's daughter.

He led the raven into the disaster sanctuary and, guided by Valentine's resentment, found the doll he had been protecting.

The raven could tell at a glance that the doll in front of it was not made out of thin air. The reason it was able to deceive Valentine and make him believe that it was really his daughter was because the original owner's aura had been added to the doll.

In other words, although the doll is fake, it was made by Loki based on Valentine's real daughter.

No wonder Loki deliberately threw out a new doll to provoke Valentine before leaving.

Based on the timeline Wu Chang understood, Loki neither had the time nor the ability to take Valentine's daughter away from Ein City. If nothing unexpected happened, Valentine's daughter was somewhere in the city.

Loki hid her too well, and even though Valentine gained the recognition of the spatial will, he was unable to sense his daughter's existence.

For anyone else, finding Valentine's daughter would require a thorough search, not only having to contend with Loki's abilities but also having to be wary of hidden traps like the virus labs Loki had laid, making the operation extremely difficult.

Unfortunately, Loki ran into Raven.

Wu Chang asked the raven where Valentine's daughter was being held. The raven simply stroked the doll, sensed the original owner's presence, and its eyes seemed to pierce through space, staring straight towards the southwest of Ein City.

"found it."

(End of this chapter)