Armor-piercing bullets don't believe in carbon-based monsters

Chapter 372 Full Takeover
In the darkness, Lin Yu opened his eyes.

He looked around in confusion, but the moment the scene before him came into view, he suddenly realized that something seemed amiss.

I am not in that virtual city of Shancheng.

The space I am in
That's reality.

Lin Yu sat up. The real fatigue he felt was similar to that he felt in the virtual city, but after a closer look, he found that there were still some differences.

Where is this place?
This looks like a tent?
Lin Yu opened his eyes wide in confusion, and just then, someone lifted the tent flap and walked in.

"you're awake?"

The man spoke.

The helmet and mask completely covered his face, but Lin Yu still recognized him immediately by his voice.

"Chen Jian, Commander Chen!"

He instinctively stood up, and then looked down to discover his real body.

I have arrived outside the mountain city.

But is this a temporary escape or permanent freedom?

He looked at Chen Jian's face expectantly, and the latter seemed to understand his expression, nodding without hesitation and saying:

Just as you expected, you've already left that virtual city.

“We cleared all the data in the virtual cities—no, it shouldn’t be called clearing, it should be called sealing.”

"That city no longer exists."

"However, we have reserved a relatively small but sufficient computing power space for you to ensure that you can continue to live as a 'human'."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Yu's eyes widened.

He took a deep breath, feeling the air enter his trachea through his nose and then fill his lungs.

He tentatively waved his hand in front of his eyes and asked:
"So... I've become a normal person again?"

"That's not true."

Chen Jian shrugged.

"You should say that you cannot be defined as a true human being."

"Due to algorithmic limitations, Lingxi can never fully simulate all human behaviors."

"The most typical problem is that you have a subconscious mind, but you can't dream."

"Of course, there are even simpler verification methods."

"You will almost never make mistakes, and you will not experience symptoms such as sensory dysfunction."

In short, you are now half-human.

Half-human?

Lin Yu was taken aback for a moment, but then he understood.

At least, it's much better than being trapped in that virtual city forever.

At least, my feelings right now are real.

He nodded, while Chen Jian across from him spoke:
"You'll have to adapt to this body on your own."

"By the way, I had Fuxi inject a signal indicator into your sensory system."

"If the signal weakens, turn back immediately and don't go to places with no signal."

"Otherwise, we'll have to go rescue you—we don't have that many spare bodies for you to use."

"clear."

Lin Yu nodded at first, but then asked with a puzzled look:
"What about those bodies?"

"There must be more than just a few artificial bodies in this mountain city, right?"

"They have already been buried."

Chen Jian replied:
"They shouldn't live like this."

".clear."

Lin Yu nodded again.

At that moment, he felt a sudden sense of relief.

Yes.

Those bodies without consciousness should not live in this way.

He watched Chen Jian walk out of the tent, then got up and walked outside as well.

Only then did he realize that the fog that had enveloped the mountain city had completely disappeared.

The sky was clear, and sunlight streamed down from overhead, making the entire city sparkle as if it had been washed in water.

Lin Yu stared at everything before him, mesmerized. For a moment, he even wondered if he had truly left the virtual city or was still living in the dream woven for him by "Linxi".

Just then, he suddenly felt someone walk up behind him.

"woke up?"

came a familiar voice.

Lin Yu turned around and saw that the person who came was Ji Xing.

"You came?"

His gaze swept over the bandages on Ji Xing's shoulders and neck, and he asked with a hint of doubt:

"You are hurt?"

Ji Xing shook his head and replied:
"No."

"This is a side effect of brain-computer interface."

“I’m using the previous generation of brain-computer interface technology, which requires an open incision along the entire spine.”

"This is a pretty serious injury, and there's a risk of infection."

"So that's how it is."

Ji Xing shrugged and then said:
"But it's pretty good too - according to the leader, it's like giving me two days off."

"Have a holiday?"

Lin Yu had absolutely no concept of this.

Actually, it wasn't just him; this concept didn't exist anywhere in the wasteland.

Living is hard enough. If you don't work for a day, you might starve to death or be killed by monsters. How can you expect to have a holiday?
However, he could roughly understand what Ji Xing meant.

Anyway, it's just a break.

Thinking of this, without waiting for Ji Xing's answer, he continued to ask:
"You're on vacation. What about everyone else?"

What do they need to do?

"a lot of."

Ji Xing pointed to the passage leading underground in the distance and replied calmly:
"This entire underground city is much larger than we expected."

"Whether in terms of scale or function."

“It is not easy to complete the reception in a short period of time – and that is only at the level of physical equipment and facilities.”

"In fact, the biggest difficulty lies in receiving the data."

"Although Fuxi has now taken over the computing power, a lot of key data is still stored independently."

"It will take some time to decipher this data."

"Maybe a few days, maybe a few weeks?"

"Not necessarily."

".Can't understand."

Lin Yu shook his head honestly, then asked:

"So let's get straight to the point—what kind of changes will this mountain city actually bring to humanity?"

"A big change."

Ji Xing let out a long sigh of relief, and then said:

"This city is already an industrial behemoth with a complete industrial system."

"According to the leader's and Fuxi's calculations, under conditions of sufficient resources, this place can produce industrial products that meet the needs of almost everyone in the world."

"After all, our current population is only around one million."

"This place will become the true center of the world."

"And we will all witness its rise."

"understood."

Lin Yu let out a heavy sigh.

He looked out into the distance beyond the city, where a road that appeared to have just been opened was stretching into the distance.

The crowd, like ants, was crawling along that road into the city.

They too will be witnesses. But perhaps, there will be differences between witnesses.
Meanwhile, inside Jinling City.

The archbishop, acting as a saint, sat in the renovated sanctuary, holding a report that had just been delivered by the assistant of the same "acting" leader of the Imperial Guard.

His brows were furrowed, but when he saw the last line of the report, a sense of relief and relaxation appeared on his face.

"The Huaxia army has completely captured the mountain city, and the holy city no longer exists."

These words were like a heavy hammer blow, but also like a bucket of cold water, poured directly over his head.

The holy city that existed for three hundred years has been destroyed just like that?
All of this happened so fast, so fast that he had no idea how to deal with it.

"How did they do it?"

The archbishop asked.

The assistant on the other end hesitated for a moment before replying:
"According to existing reports, they first destroyed the above-ground parts of the Holy City and killed the level one monsters around the Holy City."

"Subsequently, they used some special methods to destroy the Holy City's machine spirit."

"They used their machine souls to take over the Holy City's massive machinery and became the Holy City's new masters."

"The new owner?"

An expression of disbelief crossed the archbishop's face.

He stared intently at his assistant, seemingly shocked that he would use such a statement.

new owner
This seems to be an implicit acceptance of the Chinese army's control over the Holy City.

And this is, without a doubt, a serious act of blasphemy.

A year ago, no one would have been foolish enough to say such a thing.

Even if someone were to take over, they could at most be seen as an "actor" of the Holy Trinity's grace.

But now, his assistant unconsciously and without any burden uttered the word "master".

What utter disrespect!

For a moment, the archbishop even wondered if he was being too sensitive.

But he soon realized that when the word "too sensitive" came to mind, it meant that many things had indeed changed.

Thinking of this, he let out a long sigh.

The assistant on the other end wanted to say something more, but he waved his hand weakly and said:
"It's ok."

"It doesn't matter anymore."

The archbishop rose and walked out of the sanctuary.

As he stood on the square that had been destroyed and now restored, looking down, he saw a scene that was no different from the past, or even more prosperous.

Merchants travel along the waterways, while residents work in fields and waterways far from the main city, or do their jobs in workshops and markets.

Vitality lies dormant in the veins of this historic city and is gradually growing stronger.

But not long ago, this city was under the shadow of monsters and faced the crisis of being destroyed at any time.

Yes.

The one who truly resolved this crisis was the Chinese army.

They quelled the beast tide, fighting alongside all the valiant Imperial Guard, the Holy Guard, and the Guardians of the Faith.

On this point, the archbishop never had any doubt or disrespect for them.

He just felt that the other party might be too radical.

Or perhaps, he was too "arrogant"?
The faith of the Mechanicus was insignificant to them, as if it were something that could be crushed at will.

This is, after all, all that the Mechanicus has left.

The archbishop couldn't help but sigh again.

Then, he turned to his assistant and asked:
"Have you managed to contact Guo Xu and the others?"

"We've made contact."

The assistant nodded and replied:
"But they are unlikely to return to Nanjing in the near future."

"They have taken over the Christian Guard from nearby towns who were heading to the mountain city, and are cooperating with the Chinese army to clear out the monsters in the surrounding area."

"The cleanup will not be finished in the short term."

"They should."

"That's not what I asked."

The archbishop interrupted his assistant and continued:

"I mean, what are they thinking?"

"Are they still loyal to the church?"

The assistant paused for a moment, then replied:
"Judging from the current situation, their loyalty remains unwavering."

"Unlike Jin Zhong, they did not completely defect to the Huaxia Army."

"The two sides are merely cooperating, not merging."

“I even had a long talk with Guo Xu, and he believes that there are indeed areas where our church can be improved.”

"However, this does not mean denying our faith in the Holy Trinity."

"They are certain they will return to Nanjing. According to Guo Xu, he will bring a brand new army of protectors back to the Holy Trinity."

"understood."

The archbishop finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then spoke:

"If that's the case, then we only have one problem left."

"That is, the fall of the Holy City."

"The news will soon reach Nanjing—in fact, it has already begun to spread."

"Those merchants brought a lot of information that should not have been circulated, and some daring believers have already followed the caravan, preparing to go to the holy city for pilgrimage."

"But this is by no means a good sign."

“If our believers discover that the holy city is not what they thought it was, the very foundation of our faith may be shaken.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the assistant on the other end frowned.

Yes, this is an extremely realistic question.

The fall of the Holy City is inevitable, but if this news is allowed to spread...
No one can guarantee whether the faith of the Mechanicus can be maintained.

"What do we need to do?"

The assistant asked, slightly nervously:

Should we try to suppress the news as soon as possible?

"Do not."

The archbishop shook his head.

"It's pointless to block the news. Such information will leak sooner or later and reach everyone's ears sooner or later."

"However, we also lack the ability to compete with the Chinese army for the Holy City."

"Therefore, we must correct one point."

"The Holy City has not fallen, but has been recaptured."

As soon as he finished speaking, the assistant froze on the spot.

The archbishop continued:

"For a long time, the Holy City has been controlled by heretics and alienated machine spirits."

"They monopolize the glory of the holy city, so much so that even the most faithful cannot approach it."

"But now, the Chinese army has defeated the heretics and reclaimed the Holy City."

"Although they are not believers in the Holy Trinity, their actions are equally worthy of the Holy Trinity's approval."

"Therefore, we have not lost the Holy City."

"We are simply unable to take it back for the time being."

“We will not stop any believer who wishes to make a pilgrimage to the holy city.”

"But everyone must understand that city is our promised land."

"He belongs to no one except the believers of the Holy Trinity."

".clear!"

The assistant gave a brief answer, then bowed and pushed it down.

The archbishop remained standing in the same spot.

He gazed silently at the city of Jinling below.

By this time, the sun had gradually set in the west.

He vaguely sensed that at the moment the Holy City was "taken back from the heretics," something seemed to slowly sink with the setting sun.
(End of this chapter)