They won the Holy Grail War, but this turned out to be the Virtual Tree Universe.

Chapter 265 Clara, Born with a Mechanical Affinity

When Hanabi heard Danlei's reminder, she looked around and, sure enough, everyone was looking at her with eager anticipation.

Then Hanabi pulled two round balls from her waist and shouted...

"Behold my Sambo smoke grenade, with a 100% escape guarantee!!"

Then, a cloud of smoke instantly enveloped the square.

Danlei's barrier to entry and exit set up in the square was lifted when the game started, so by the time everyone used their skills to dispel the smoke, Huahuo was nowhere to be seen.

However, even without fireworks, there was still "Aha," which many people, including Danlei, saw.

【Aha】's initial simulated memory spirit is a mask, and there seems to be a black soul creation behind it, which doesn't look very strong.

But Danlei knew that the initial simulated memory spirit of [Aha] was the Crying Mask, with a total growth value of 303.

Its skill coverage is quite comprehensive (skill learning is similar to Arceus; once it reaches a certain level, it automatically learns all the skills it can learn; the original moveset can be learned through training), and the Cry Mask is considered strong for a 1-star character.

Unfortunately, the random power granted by [Aha] seems to have some hidden agenda. Judging from the initial simulated memory spirits of everyone present, it was clearly targeted.

Therefore, the Crying Mask is not the strongest weapon here.

For example, Clara's simulated memory spirit is also 2 stars.

It is one of the few artificial spirits that Dan Lei specially enhanced. Its prototype is the "Guardian Star God" automatic machine beetle, now called the Signal Light Beetle.

Its force field shield was directly modified by Dan Lei into the skill [Invincible Shield]. As the name suggests, once the shield is activated, it can withstand any attack.

If it weren't for the full minute of cooling time, it would be truly invincible.

Even if a 10-star max-level simulated memory spirit comes over, as long as it activates its shield, it will take two hits to defeat it.

Of course, its absolute defensive range is limited to its own force field, and its cross-section is only a circle with a diameter of a little over one meter. Attacks with a slightly larger attack range can affect teammates behind it.

Also, Screw Gum randomly generated a 2-star Mini Doraemon, although its weakened 4D Pocket was empty and it had almost no attack power.

However, the little guy is one of the few units that can convert real-world props into simulated spirit weapons.

Although the weapon's effectiveness will be greatly weakened (all of Doraemon's gadgets taken out of its hands are weakened versions), if it's in Screw's hands, its four-dimensional magic pocket will probably become a genuine magic pocket in a few days.

For example, Danlei watched as Screw Gum gave it a small pistol of unknown power.

However, no matter how much the weapons that can be obtained from Screw Gum are weakened, they can probably kill most of the currently 1-star Spectral Memory Spirits with one shot.

Fortunately, [Aha] was well aware that if he stayed here any longer, he would easily become the target of everyone else's attacks.

Although he doesn't mind losing a few games, he's clearly not interested in being harassed before he's even fully developed.

So he ran away while the fireworks were running away, leaving behind only a phantom that was so realistic it was hard to believe.

When others tried to force him into a duel, they discovered he had already run away.

At the same time, tranquility also disappeared.

However, Aha's departure did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd.

Feixiao, along with her kung fu weasel, went straight to cause trouble for Hulei.

Hu Lei randomly selected a wolfhound.

At level 5, although the Kung Fu Weasel does not have any fighting-type skills, its basic attributes and number of skills are stronger than those of the Pomeranian.

If Hu Lei were to engage in an additional duel with Fei Xiao, he would definitely suffer a loss.

Moreover, Fei Xiao was accompanied by Yun Li. Although she didn't know why Yun Li was chosen, if anything happened while she was with Fei Xiao, she would immediately notify her.

Of course, Fei Xiao wasn't the only one who actively sought out one-on-one challenges.

Silver Wolf was even more decisive, leading her young Sulley to directly force a duel against Screwgum.

Screw Gum is unable to express emotions through facial expressions, otherwise he would definitely look helpless right now.

Also, Silver Branch led his randomly acquired Riolu to start explaining Pure Beauty to others, and then the explanations started with a duel.

Dan Lei was slightly surprised that Sand Gold and Oswaldo didn't fight.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Those who can rise to the top in Interstellar Peace Corporation are not absolute brutes.

The initial simulated spirit of Sand Gold was Togepi, and Oswaldo was a money-gathering spirit. The two seemed to be of similar size, so they wouldn't attack randomly.

Finally, the two smiled at each other and went their separate ways.

Dan Lei believed that the other two would definitely come looking for him, because for them, playing the game was important, but conquering the market on this planet was also crucial.

As for Jimi, he randomly got a Gugu, but it was a shiny golden Gugu.

But given that Jimi was able to come, Danlei strongly suspects that [Aha]'s original intention was simply to bring in a host to facilitate the broadcast of the competition.

So, as a player, he's most likely just there for show, and his main purpose is probably to work overtime.

To prevent their personal information from being leaked, the people who were going to duel left the square and found a secluded spot to fight.

The rest also left with various purposes, preparing to explore this planet.

In the end, only Clara, Hook, Sambo, and Zhige remained in the square.

The reason why Zhige doesn't leave is that it can't leave. Its randomly created imaginary spirits are like gears, and no one is interested in them. So there's no question of asking others to help it regain its mobility.

Clara, Hook, and Sambo didn't leave simply because Clara couldn't bear to see the pitiful Sambo left there.

The girl had an unusual kindness toward machines, so she wanted to help it.

Clara wanted to help the mechanical head, and Hook, as a good friend, was naturally willing to help.

Since the two children weren't leaving, Sambo naturally wouldn't leave alone.

Old Sambo is absolutely reliable at taking care of kids, if nothing else.

Clara was very brave. Seeing that everyone else had run away, Danlei stayed behind and instead observed their actions.

Remembering that Dan Lei had said he wouldn't help Zhi Ge regain his mobility, he mustered his courage, walked up to Dan Lei, and asked...

"Mr. One God, hello. My name is Clara. May I ask you a question?"

Dan Lei naturally wouldn't be cold to this kind little girl, and said kindly...

"Of course you can. Also, you and little Hook, who's eavesdropping over there, can both call me Brother Danlei."

Sangbo internally cursed Danlei's words.

Clara and Hook don't know, but don't you know yourself? You, Danlei, are a Vidyadhara, and you must be at least two hundred years old.

You're so old, how can you let two underage kids call you "brother"?

Danlei was unaware of Sangbo's thoughts, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.

Clara, however, asked with a puzzled expression.
"Lord Danlei, is it really appropriate for me to call you brother?"

Based on Mr. Jimi's previous introduction, you must be a very important person, right?

To this question, Dan Lei simply smiled.

"Whether I'm a big shot or not doesn't really matter. To you two kids, just treat me as a big, powerful older brother."

Clara, ask me anything. As long as it's not confidential, I'll answer you.

After Danlei said that, Clara didn't hesitate and asked directly.

"Clara would like to ask Mr. Danlei, may I go and help Mr. Zhige?" Danlei certainly couldn't explain the specifics to Clara in detail, so he went straight to the point.

"If you knew what it had done, you probably wouldn't want to help it."

To put it simply, this Mr. Zhige once commanded a mechanical army that killed over a hundred billion people.

Dan Lei's figure is not fabricated. Back then, before Zhi Ge led the Jin people in rebellion, Yuan Qiao, who was in the midst of the war between the He Fu and the Qi Su, had a total of 130 billion Xian Zhou people when he fell into the red giant star.

At that time, other immortal ships should have been at a similar level. (During the war)

The subsequent ceasefire sparked chaos among the Jin people, transforming the various immortal ships from a state of overpopulation and resource allocation conflicts bordering on civil war to a post-war period of abundant resources per capita.

Although the battle between Hefu and Qisu had just ended before this battle, the death toll of over a hundred billion people in the Jin rebellion, including the six immortal ships, is definitely not an underestimate.

Consider the current population ratios of the various immortal ships.

Neither Fanghu nor Yaoqing Immortal Boat is predominantly inhabited by Immortal Boat people. The former is almost entirely inhabited by Ming people, while the latter is predominantly inhabited by fox people.

Of the other immortal ships, Xuling, as the headquarters of the Ten Kings Division, likely has the fewest inhabitants of all.

The remaining cities are Luofu, Zhuming, and Yuque.

I haven't been to Yuque Danlei, so I don't know.

At least the Luofu and Zhuming Immortal Boat people were the majority, but not so many that other races could hardly be seen.

It should be noted that, for Luofu and Zhu Ming, residential land was not scarce, and there were even a large number of houses rented to outsiders and tourists.

Although Dan Lei didn't know the exact number of people in the Immortal Ship Alliance, he estimated that if all the current Immortal Ship people were gathered together, they could probably fit them all into three Immortal Ships.

The fact that there are so few people in Xianzhou now is definitely due to the low birth rate policy and the constant warfare.

However, the three tribulations of birth, fire, and emptiness directly reduced the population of the immortal ship by more than half, which was also an important reason.

The Jurchen rebellion that brought peace was the most devastating battle of the war.

After the battle, the conflict between the old men and the elders lessened considerably, which led to the subsequent "Harmonious Agreement." One can only imagine how many people died in this battle.

Clara's face turned pale when she heard Dan Lei say that.

Hooker went even further and asked bluntly.

"Brother Danlei, so this big robot head is a really bad guy?"

Dan Lei spoke frankly about this issue.
"Back then, it must have been because its system was affected by the anti-organic equation, causing it to indiscriminately slaughter the people of the Immortal Ship."

Now, theoretically, the program has been removed from its system, but no one can guarantee that there are no remnants and that it won't resurface one day.

Therefore, before this game, the core of Zhige was kept strictly confidential.

However, the Pleasure Star God [Aha] always does things as he pleases, and he loves to watch the drama unfold.

He awakened Zhige and brought it here to participate in the game.

Although I am absolutely safe here, Zhi Ge's identity is too sensitive, and I personally don't want him to wander off.

Upon hearing the words "Danlei's anti-organic equation," Sangbo immediately turned to Clara with a serious expression.

"Clara, I think it's better if we just ignore that mechanical head."

If what Mr. Danlei said is true, then it is extremely, extremely dangerous.

Having said all that, Danlei originally thought Clara would give up on stopping the war.

After much deliberation, she resolutely looked up and said...
"Brother Danlei, I still want to communicate with it."

Seeing Clara's determined gaze, what could Danlei say? He could only pat her little head and say...

"What a brave little girl. She knows that Zhige is a ruthless killing machine, yet she still dares to communicate with him."

Alright, your absolute safety can be guaranteed on this planet, so feel free to communicate with Zhige if you want.

However, I need to get insurance first.

After saying that, Dan Lei instantly teleported in front of Zhi Ge and said...

"I'm going to play a game with you that you're bound to lose. I'm going to bind you with an alliance and guarantee that you will never reveal the secrets about the Immortal Ship that are in your head."

This game is basically me betting that you can't get up and walk two steps right now.

Zhi Ge knew that he had to accept this gamble, otherwise his hard-won freedom would vanish in an instant.

After all, if the person in front of him really wanted to eliminate a player, the Star God of Joy wouldn't fall out with him because of him.

Therefore, Zhi Ge answered directly.

“No problem, I swear to the covenant.”

Upon seeing this, Dan Lei immediately swore an oath to the alliance, and then used his power to firmly hold Zhi Ge to the ground, ensuring that he had no risk of overturning.

Of course, Zhige never intended to win. When it was in a daze, it knew that the secrets of the Immortal Ship in its database were absolutely not to be revealed.

Therefore, Danlei won the match very easily.

After getting the insurance, Danlei stopped worrying about Zhige.

Players around the world are probably all out leveling up outside the city now, so it's time for me to go back to town and chat with some guys.

After all, there's plenty of time to level up. For someone like Dan Lei, who holds a high position and great power, there are ways to get his subordinates to level up and then let them go easy on him in battles so that he can catch up with the main group.

Of course, this only applies to upgrading; capturing advanced simulated spirits still requires you to do it yourself.

However, while Dan Lei and the others were at it, with nothing else to do, he directly asked in the group chat he had created before March 7th.
Danlei: "By the way, what starter Pokémon did everyone get? I'm a golden carp, I couldn't be more unlucky."

March 7th "[Photo] I got an Ice Vulpix, isn't it cute?"

"I drew a raccoon holding a baseball bat, named Galaxy Bat Man. Dan Lei, you have to pay me royalties."

Walter: "I drew a humanoid psychic spirit called ZAFT Elite Red-Clad Pilot (Athrun). His special skills are really unique."

Himeko: "I drew a set of armor called Fusion Armor: Crimson Guardian Puppet."

"Walter: '???? Himeko, are you sure the armor is called Fusion Armor: Crimson?'"

Himeko: "Yes, what's wrong?"

March 7th "[Photo] Uncle Yang, this is what the armor looks like?"

Walter: "Danlei, where did you get all this fabricated memory data from?"

Dan Lei "randomly retrieved it directly from the Sea of ​​Memories".

What's wrong? Do you recognize this armor?

Walter recognized it, it was… well, maybe it was fate.

However, what I retrieved from the Sea of ​​Memories... I thought I'd found my way home! Turns out, it's the same situation as the artifact from the Black Tower.

Walter's words caused the atmosphere in the chat group to momentarily freeze.

So on March 7th, the topic was decisively changed.

March 7th "@Danheng, you didn't say what you drew. Are you with Uncle Yang? Why aren't you replying?"

Dan Heng: "...I drew a big bug, called 'Little Follower.' (Ghost Valley Eight Desolations)"

(End of this chapter)