Wasteland Development Diary.

Chapter 694 Investigating the Evil God
Moon.

Emerald City Building No. 5 stands in the eastern part of the city, near the Moon Palace.

Inside the high-rise building, the meeting of the Divine Administration Bureau was drawing to a close.

"Everyone must remain vigilant and alert, as we are currently facing the most severe challenge since the establishment of this agency."

"Our job is to maintain the divine order within the new world and establish a healthy relationship between gods and humans. All rules and regulations are based on this. This is also the Chairman's original intention in establishing this headquarters. Please remember this."

"Therefore, the investigation and pursuit of the evil god 'God of Ten Thousand Machines' will continue, and we will intensify our efforts; it will not cease because of its concealment!"

"The investigation team sent from the company headquarters will work with us to thoroughly investigate the God of Myriad Machines. We must share information and cooperate, with the ultimate goal of arresting this illegal deity as soon as possible."

After the meeting.

Lin Long was specifically asked by the bureau chief to stay behind.

Standing in front of the gem screen, Lin Long was slightly nervous.

He always felt a little uneasy when facing the bureau chief.

It's not that there are any oversights or problems at work, but rather due to historical issues.

At that time, Lin Long was an enforcement officer in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, on duty at the western airport of Shagang. He encountered a child on a skateboard, so he caught the child and asked him where his parents were. He did not let the child go alone, but took him all the way to Beta, one of the three outstanding men in the company.

Along the way, Lin Long continued to give earnest advice, saying that children shouldn't run around like that because it's dangerous outside. He criticized the other person and taught them about airport regulations and some life lessons.

This child is now the bureau chief, Jue Mingzi.

At that time, Lin Long had no idea that the other party was actually an electromechanical life form, because judging from his appearance, Jue Mingzi was just a human boy.

Although he found out about it afterward, he didn't pay much attention to it.

Human destiny is unpredictable.

He ranked third in the company's internal selection exam at the beginning of the year with excellent results. Lin Longyuan originally wanted to go to the Mars Affairs Department because it was developing rapidly, the salary was twice that on Earth, and they also needed law enforcement officers.

But when it came time to fill out the preference form, Biting Cat, who was in charge of the selection process, told him, "Your grades are excellent, and your law enforcement experience is also suitable, so there is an additional option."

"The company plans to establish a new department specifically to handle special affairs in the new world, and is in need of law enforcement officers. The pay there is higher than on Mars, but it requires long-term residence on the moon, and there are very few positions available. They are looking for experienced elite employees from the company."

that's it.

Lin Long passed the exam and was admitted to the Divine Spirit Administration Bureau, becoming a law enforcement officer in the new world.

Although Director Jue Mingzi probably didn't care much about this matter, Lin Long always thought of that scene from the past.

"Lin Long".

The bureau chief's mechanical voice pulled him back to reality.

"Yes, Director."

"Now I'll introduce you to an investigator from the company's investigation team."

A seaman stepped out from the side.

It wore a dark blue uniform and was somewhat thin before transforming, but its eyes were bright and its demeanor was calm.

"This is Haiwei from the Security Department. He participated in solving major cases such as the Dead Sea demolition fraud case and the black card fraud in the Dead Sea Park. He has rich investigative experience and is a capable assistant sent by Minister Haiwei."

"Haiwei, let me introduce you too."

The director continued, "Lin Long is an outstanding law enforcement officer in our bureau. He has five years of experience as a law enforcement officer in Shagang and has demonstrated excellent insight and information gathering capabilities in the New World. He was the first to discover and report the evil god 'God of Ten Thousand Machines.' To date, our most important firsthand information has all been collected by Lin Long's team."

"Unfortunately, the God of All Machines was alert and cunningly went into hiding, causing many clues to break down. We will need your cooperation to uncover its identity as soon as possible, arrest it, and prevent it from continuing to disrupt the normal order of the new world."

"You can coordinate the specifics properly. If you need anything, you can contact me."

The director's screen then went out.

They've obviously gone off to do other work.

Haiwei immediately said, "Please take me to see the crime scene first."

Lin Longxian led it all the way into the enforcement department of the Administration Bureau.

There is a row of special evil brain motors here. They are spherical gemstone structures, like large crystal eggs. The evil brain motors are fixed inside, and gemstone fibers connect to Building No. 5 from the back.

Haiwei looked curious: "Is this the Bureau's [Enforcement Officer] Evil Brain Motor?"

Lin Long nodded: "It connects with the director and then uses the bottle-in-the-bottle technology to completely project the consciousness into the new world. It is unaffected by any life level. However, since there are currently only two light core-level electromechanical life forms, and only they can support it, it is temporarily limited to our internal work."

"The operation is basically the same as that of a regular evil brain."

They entered the control room and turned on the projector.

soon.

The two met on the streets of Chongqing in the New World.

Lin Long is very familiar with this place, because Chongqing is the jurisdiction he and another law enforcement officer are in.

His gaze swept across the city's pedestrians, shop owners, employees, and customers—it had become a professional habit.

To law enforcement officers, these people's identities are readily apparent, making them easy to identify.

"right here."

Lin Long stopped in front of an inconspicuous little shop.

The shop, named "Jiyou Pharmacy," is located above a green sign with white lettering. However, the shutter door was already down, and a white seal bearing the words "Divine Spirit Management Bureau" was affixed to the outside.

Lin Long pulled off the seal, opened the roller shutter, and led the way inside.

He snapped his fingers, and the previously dark room became bright.

Hayway immediately noticed the key point inside.

It walked to the glass display case. There was a small sculpture about the size of a palm, with a monitor as its head and a body made of cables, circuit boards, gears, and a plastic shell, like a figurine made from scrap electronic waste.

The two got close.

The small display on the sculpture suddenly lit up, emitting creaking sounds.

【God of All Machines, activate.】

Praise my name, hear my gospel, become my believers and followers, and I will lead you to eternal heaven.

There is no poverty, no work, no old age, no death; everyone is the master of the world.

Everyone will have their own kingdom.

Simply hold the idol and chant 'Praise the God of all agencies,' and he will be with me.

Bless! Shout! All things will ultimately belong to the god of machines.

That concludes the broadcast.

The small screen of the electronic figurine also went black.

Haiwei looked at it from left to right: "The God of All Machines spreads and expands his followers through idols, so this idol is its symbol?"

“Yes.” Lin Long said, “But this kind of idol symbol is special. It can switch between the new currency and the idol, like this.”

He reached out and grabbed the sculpture, clenching his fingers tightly. Instantly, the statue shrank and flattened as if made of paper, turning into a gleaming gold coin.

Its front features an old-fashioned monitor. The back bears the inscription "God of All Machines" and the number 2.

Haiwei seemed thoughtful: "Issuing illegal new currency?"

“Under normal circumstances, every new coin can be traced back to its origin because they are the result of the folding and shrinking of conceptual life markers. Once a new coin is found, its issuer can be found.”

Lin Long held the illegal gold coins in his hand: "But this won't work. The new coins issued by the God of Myriad Machines require a prayer to trigger the God of Myriad Machines. Once triggered, the person praying will be taken away by the God of Myriad Machines and disappear without a trace, directly logging off in the new world."

"My partner, A-Zhe—he was the first human to successfully operate a wasteland armored vehicle on the moon. He disappeared after attempting to infiltrate and investigate the true form of the God of All Machines, holding this statue and reciting prayers..."

Lin Long's face darkened when the matter was brought up.

"Can't the Chongqing woman be found either?"

Haiwei was puzzled.

Lin Long shook his head: "As the world administrator, Ms. Chongqing can indeed locate every consciousness. However, each investigation reveals that the God of Myriad Machines comes from a different source and is a different consciousness."

This is the second tricky part of the matter.

The consciousness entities that the God of Myriad Machines entered into the new world were all bizarre, consumable forms. The Chongqing woman captured more than a dozen, but these consciousness entities were all pieced together from fragments of consciousness, like some kind of consciousness puppet.

They are all merely instrumental life forms, with a lifespan ranging from a few hours to tens of hours, after which they will naturally collapse, and they contain no valuable memories.

Contacting the Nightmare Clan for verification yielded the same result. Just as this God of Myriad Machines is not an Earthly being at all, the Great Holy Spirit contains no records or information about it.

We have no idea how this evil god entered the new world, nor do we know where its true form is.

This is the first time the company has encountered such a difficult problem.

The sea-human investigator pondered for a moment: "Lin, are those consciousness puppets primarily tasked with recruiting new members and spreading the God of Myriad Machines?"

"Yes."

Lin Long put the idol back in the cabinet: "They are actually one with the idol. They will randomly appear next to some New World residents and tempt them to keep them. The longer they stay with the idol, the easier it is for it to influence their judgment and thinking."

"This thing has the ability to interfere with and pollute consciousness, and it will gradually erode and attract people to it. This is what A Zhe used to infiltrate the headquarters of the God of Myriad Machines. It should have been contained, but we left it here temporarily, hoping for the best."

Looking at the sculpture of the god of all machines, he felt a little heavy-hearted.

A Zhe has been missing for more than 72 hours.

The situation is not good.

"In other words, it's difficult to make a breakthrough from a technical perspective, so we need to change our approach."

Hayway changed his thinking: "Is the owner of this pharmacy the holder of the idol?"

"Correct."

Lin Long said, "The pharmacy owner is named Chen Shen, a native of Tianjin. He was originally a pharmacist, which is why he was qualified to open a pharmacy here. According to the data from the electromechanical operations team, Chen Shen was perfectly normal before. He even used his savings to buy two plague coins. After logging in here four days ago, he has been keeping the pharmacy closed for a long time and also discovered a suspicious idol."

"That's why Ah Zhe and I came all the way here to confirm whether this matter had anything to do with the gods. That's when we discovered the existence of the God of Myriad Machines."

"Based on the entry for the God of All Machines, we retrieved information from various cities in the New World and found that several cities were rumored to have statues of this evil god."

Hayway asked, "Did all the victims disappear after possessing idols?"

"Yes."

"The idol moves on its own?"

Lin Long: "It's impossible to be sure, because if the markings on the statue itself are damaged, we don't know what the consequences will be. The victims who get caught in it might not be able to come back, so we keep the statues in custody."

"wrong."

"what?"

"No, what you said earlier is incorrect."

Hayway's gaze sharpened: "If these idols are entirely controlled by the God of All Machines, then after completing the task of introducing new members, they should disappear and then seek the next target."

“But after you sealed this place off, the statue did not disappear, but remained unchanged and in the same place.”

"Someone is spreading idols."

Lin Long was taken aback: "You mean, there's another group of the God of Myriad Machines' henchmen who are responsible for circulating the statues?"

"Yes."

The marine investigator walked up to the statue and examined it carefully again: "There's something I've always wondered about, which is why the statue can be transformed into a new coin."

“If sculptures are not regulated, but become privately issued new currency, wouldn’t that just be asking for trouble?”

"Don't you think this design is strange?"

Lin Long nodded: "It is very strange. We haven't figured out the reason either."

"it's actually really easy."

Haiwei grabbed the statue of the God of All Machines and kneaded it back into the shape of a gold coin: "This thing is used as a measure of value. It's the currency used by the followers of the God of All Machines to measure the value of their labor. It's the money they use internally, which they can exchange for rewards from the God of All Machines."

"look."

He pointed to the back of the gold coin: "The number 2 here refers to its face value, which represents two people. This includes the pharmacy owner and your partner, A-Zhe. The two of them were sent to the God of Myriad Machines. This is a representation of performance and reward."

"It's just that this place is sealed off, so the original owner didn't dare to come over and wisely chose to stay away."

Lin Long hissed upon hearing this.

The security department is indeed formidable.

The professionals who had participated in solving many cases found clues that they hadn't been able to find for several days in less than two hours.

It seems the bureau's direction was wrong.

This side relies too heavily on Ms. Chongqing and the electromechanical operations team. They used to be practically omniscient, but the "God of All Machines" has been unable to find anything, causing the case to stagnate.

Lin Long immediately perked up: "So what do we need to do now?"

"Find those missionary believers, that is, the group that specifically holds these new coins of the God of All Machines. Once we find them, we can get more clues."

Haiwei's expression remained unchanged.

The marine investigator seemed to be thinking about something, and his expression became even more serious.

It stroked the red fur on its face and said slowly, "But if this continues, these missionaries will be recruiting people everywhere, and we will definitely find out if this continues. So normally, either they will stop in time to avoid too many people, or they will try to make a fortune in one go."

"This method of absorbing a large number of people at once will definitely attract attention... So how can we absorb the most people in a short period of time..."

"No...this is bad!"

Haiwei's expression changed drastically: "Gods! The true target of the God of Myriad Machines is not ordinary individuals, but conceptual life forms. It wants to devour the gods here, and through the gods, devour all the new currency holders of those gods!"

(End of this chapter)