Uncle here isn't your average office worker!

"There is no division, no struggle, no pain, no fear among them. For the continuation of the race, the weaker individuals among them are willing to commit suicide and cut off their own flesh to provide nourishment for the growth of the others. Their will is governed by four individuals called 'Newborns,' and each Newborn possesses authority no less than that of a god. They are truly united as one."

"Moreover, they evolve extremely quickly and are highly adaptable. They can land on land today and move freely in the air tomorrow. They can be hit by a shell today and be completely unharmed by the shell tomorrow. Not to mention Originium Arts, even Originium itself is something they can assimilate."

"In essence, their mission is to transform this planet."

Roy concluded by saying:

"Therefore, although Haisi may seem weak, if it is not dealt with in time, it will become an enemy that is absolutely invincible."

After hearing Roy's answer, the Queen gasped.

But Roy didn't give her a moment to breathe, immediately followed by another barrage of information:

"And in a crisis, Haisi could even be considered the easiest solution."

Volume 1: Chapter 229 The Illusory Realm, Demons, and the Empire of Consciousness

Is hypotheses actually the easiest to solve?

Even the Witch King sincerely wondered if Roy was joking with them. A truly unified and invincible race of monsters, whose physical strength had evolved to resist guns, cannons, and magic, and who could even adapt to and assimilate Originium, the Witch King honestly felt that the nations on Earth had no chance of winning.

Putting aside everything else, just in terms of unity alone, Haisi has already shrouded the nations of the world in mystery.

Not to mention that all their military strength is replicable against Hai Si. Perhaps only the Ursus "Inner Guards," who neither use traditional force nor rely on Originium Arts, but instead employ a very special and bizarre power, can put up a fight against Hai Si? But that's all they can do. The Witch King has absolutely no illusions about whether the Inner Guards can win. The reason is simple: there are too few Inner Guards and too many Hai Si; the objective gap is too great.

But Roy wasn't joking at all. Seeing the expressions of doubt and disbelief on the faces of the Teutons and the Queen, and Skadi frowning as well, Roy explained:

"Because Haisi itself does not possess initiative or aggression."

"As I just said, the purpose of creating Haisi is to [transform this planet] and provide humans with a better living environment. In other words, they are actually a group of out-of-control [cleaning robots], which do not conflict with human survival and can even be said to be helpful."

The characteristics of the Hai Si species were already revealed in the fourth ending of Watermoon Rogue. They are actually a group of ecological transformation machines created by a pre-human civilization. They can transform a planet with a harsh ecological environment into a habitable Gaia planet over a certain period of time. Such transformation is a very common practice in the interstellar era, and the pre-human civilization did not set them to be highly aggressive when they were created. As long as they are not included in their cleanup range, they do not pose any threat to the Terrans.

But here's the problem: as the creators of the Hydra, humanity naturally wouldn't intend to attack their own creations. Roy suspects that their purpose in creating the Hydra was to one day return like lightning and quickly use the Hydra to reshape Terra into a habitable planet. But what they knew doesn't mean their successors, the civilizations that have now arisen on Terra, know it.

As human civilization gradually faded away on Terra, the underwater ruins they left behind benefited the Agor civilization, allowing them to build vast cities and achieve an extremely advanced form of civilization. However, the arrogance brought about by their rapid development also led the Agor to despise these "sweeping robots."

What began as a minor provocation, with Agor believing he had merely stumbled upon and crushed an ant on the seabed, was, in the eyes of the highly unified Sealings, a declaration of war that resonated throughout the entire race!

Hai Si, who was originally just diligently maintaining the relics of human civilization, quickly reacted as follows after being attacked by a group of "small animals from the human era".

"Hai Si is a creation of humankind, and Hai Si must take on the responsibility of transforming the ecosystem. Hai Si must be loyal to the interests of humankind."

“Agor’s attack on the Sealings is equivalent to Agor’s attack on human creations, equivalent to Agor’s hostility towards humanity, equivalent to Agor’s harm to the human-dominated ecosystem, and equivalent to the Sealings, who are responsible for transforming the ecosystem and making the planet suitable for human survival, needing to eliminate these creatures that may pose a threat to humanity.”

"This is the reason for the emergence of the Haixi crisis."

Roy countered with:

"So, if we just think about it from the other side, if Agor had been well-intentioned towards Haisi from the beginning, or even if we take a step back and make peace with Haisi before things got out of control, the Haisi crisis could have been easily resolved, and Haisi could even have become an aid in transforming the natural environment and eliminating the Originium crisis."

As for how to achieve reconciliation, Roy knew of three methods. First, through individuals with access to the newly born Seachilds, interference could be made at the highest level of consciousness. Examples include Suiyue and Skadi. Second, there's the Deep Sea Church's approach: assimilating with the Seachilds and then transcending them to possess individual consciousness. The feasibility of this approach is unknown, but Suiyue's grandfather, the Deep Sea Bishop Cicero, seems to have conducted in-depth research on this method. Third, there's humanity. When the previous civilization created the Seachilds, they likely planned to use them to reshape the environment upon their future return, so they would have left behind a way to control them. However, this method currently has the fewest clues and is the most difficult to implement, requiring further exploration.

After speaking, Roy paused briefly, looked at Skadi, hesitated for a moment, and then suddenly asked:

"Skadi, is there anything you want to ask?"

Skadi, who was deep in thought, suddenly jolted, almost standing up from the bench. She looked at Roy, her eyes filled with struggle and deep hesitation. Roy didn't press her, but gently comforted her:

"It's okay, tell me, I'll help you."

Although it was just a simple promise, it successfully swayed Skadi's resolve. She pursed her lips and finally asked:

"I am a hunter from Agor. My teammates and I once killed a sea god... This is the first time I've learned that there are four sea gods. So what was the one I killed called?"

"Isamara.ish-mla."

Roy replied:

"The firstborn, the corrupted heart, symbolizing struggle and migration. And the only one that can be killed."

The primordial lifeline symbolizes [existence], and being merged with the ocean, it cannot be destroyed unless the sea dries up. The consciousness of the Deep Blue Tree is dead, but symbolizing [growth], it has taken root in the heart of Terra, possessing unimaginable vitality capable of supplying food for an entire horde; the Terrans have no possibility of physically destroying it. As for the unmelting iceberg...

He symbolizes reproduction; each Hydra is a continuation of His life. The Terrans cannot destroy the Hydra, and therefore cannot destroy Him.

Skadi lowered her head. Roy knew what she was thinking. Anyone who knew that the enemy they and their teammates had risked their lives and sacrificed countless lives to kill actually consisted of three other beings of the same level would probably feel suffocated.

This is not something that can be easily dismissed with a simple "Four Heavenly Kings" joke. Although the disaster can be said to be Agor's own doing, the blood shed in the disaster and Skadi's comrades who were like family and whom she will never see again cannot be judged by a simple "self-inflicted suffering".

The friendship, kinship, and even love between the hunters are genuine.

Deep-sea hunters are connected by blood.

As an unregistered hunter, Roy could only step forward and offer Skadi a shoulder to lean on, so that she could at least have someone to rely on in her sorrow of having no one to turn to.

The others merely glanced away, tacitly accepting it. And in this brief respite, they processed the information in their minds while envisioning the future.

Silence fell over the council hall until Skadi's trembling shoulders gradually calmed down, at which point Roy continued:

"The second crisis is the crisis of evil spirits."

"Before discussing this crisis, I'd like to introduce a concept to you—the virtual realm, also known as the 'Consciousness Empire'."

Volume 1: Chapter 230 Closing the door means death, not closing the door also means death

"Any matter in the real world will reveal its most essential aspect within the Empire of Consciousness."

This is a line from the hidden ending "Return to the Wilderness" in the Ceobe Fungus Labyrinth, the origin of the roguelike activity. In that ending, an unprecedented instance occurred where a playable character died in an "if" route. Regardless of its gameplay, what's important is the incredibly familiar characteristic conveyed in this line.

This characteristic was also mentioned by the [Preserver] who is currently hiding somewhere in the city of Trimont, Columbia, namely—the Sea of ​​Solaris.

The Ocean of Solaris is not actually a rigorous scientific concept; it originates from a science fiction novel called "Solaris" written by a human author.

In this novel, the author tells a science fiction story set on a planet covered by a mysterious ocean.

This ocean is essentially a gelatinous life form capable of entering the human brain and presenting the deepest, most hidden parts of memory in a concrete form. Before this vast ocean, no one has any secrets; even the deepest joys and sorrows of the heart are laid bare. Scientists have offered various speculations about this unsolved mystery, but none have been able to provide a truly convincing explanation.

To be more specific, the Sea of ​​Solaris combines human knowledge and emotions, revealing its most essential essence.

When Roy learned of the concept of the Empire of Consciousness, he felt that the description was very similar to the Sea of ​​Solaris. While not exactly identical, the similarity was at least 80-90%. This was why Roy was so certain that the civilization that had once lived on Terra and built megastructures in its outer space was human civilization—the term "Sea of ​​Solaris" itself was exclusive to human civilization.

Furthermore, based on the various clues already obtained, Roy can confirm that Originium has the ability to store emotions, memories, and even souls. Since Originium comes from outer space, and demons originate from Originium, and demons become stronger because of knowledge, coupled with the memetic-like special ability of demons becoming stronger because of knowledge, it is self-evident what connection he has with the Consciousness Empire, that is, the Sea of ​​Solaris, which possesses its own consciousness and life.

"But now a difficult question arises: how can Originium, a part of the Solaris Sea that has been cut apart, provide such an excessive amount of energy, and why would it lead to a crisis powerful enough to destroy the world?"

"Roy asked. Kal'tsit didn't answer this time. Judging from her hesitant expression, it was clear that she was once again constrained by something deep within her consciousness."

But as one of the top three sorcerers in the field of knowledge here, and at least one of the top five among the humans of Terra, the Witch King also made his own guess. The Teutonic Elector spoke up:

"If, as Lord Roy says, the essence of Originium is a fragment of a consciousness empire that has been severed, then it should not generate any energy, much less become an energy source."

This is a very simple principle: human consciousness cannot produce anything. Only by putting consciousness into practice and making what one thinks into action can one achieve one's desired goal. The idea that "what you think, you become" is ultimately nothing more than wishful thinking.

But Originium did indeed become an energy source, and was extensively utilized and modified by the current Terran civilization, ultimately creating the Terran land that, in Roy and Kal'tsit's view, has gone completely astray in terms of technology—can you imagine a civilization that doesn't even have flush toilets being able to build a city that can be moved around on the ground and even develop ultimate weapons like weather controllers? —This shows that there must be some way to convert consciousness into energy.

"This is the virtual realm and spiritual energy."

Among the stars, there are four ways for a race to undergo evolution, or "ascension," to achieve total evolution. The first is mechanical ascension, also known as mecha flight, which transforms weak flesh and blood into immortal machinery to achieve longevity, interconnected thoughts, and superior computational power. The second is genetic ascension, which uses science and technology to define the direction of evolution, altering the selection criteria of natural evolution, which is considered a failure. It improves the physical attributes of every ordinary person at the genetic level, even granting them the ability to breathe underwater, fly, and lift several tons with their bare hands. The third is psionic ascension, also known as psychic flight.

Awakening psychic powers, communicating with the virtual world, and having one's wishes fulfilled—this is the ultimate expression of true idealism and mysticism, and the only way Roy knows of that can truly transform "consciousness" into "productivity."

The Void Realm is like a colossal consciousness empire, covering the entire galaxy and even the universe. The Sea of ​​Solaria, too, has life, a Void Realm ruler, Void Realm city-states, and a Void Realm civilization. It bears a striking resemblance to the three-headed hound lord known as "Kal'tsit," a colossal beast whose prototype is identical to Kroos, existing within the consciousness empire of the Terrans.

The most "coincidental" thing is that there are also "monsters" in the virtual realm, monsters with characteristics very similar to those of demons.

"The evil is powerful because of its knowledge. I will not go into too much detail about the specific characteristics of the evil here, but we can take the situation of another group of warriors who use the evil to fight against the evil as an example."

As soon as Roy finished speaking, everyone except Margaret and Skadi immediately realized what Roy was referring to.

Ursus's inner guard, the Emperor's sharpest blade. The most elite warriors of Ursus, fighting against demons on the front lines of the far north.

“Everyone should know that demons themselves have no form,” Roy said.

Kal'tsit nodded; this was finally outside the scope of her being silenced. She explained somewhat eagerly:

"The mask on the head of the Ursus guard was actually empty; the mask was just a restraint, and the restraint was sealed within the black smoke."

The outward manifestation of the demon is mist, a point Kal'tsit had already mentioned in her walk through the dust. When she confronted the Ursus Guardian Hunter in Count Vincent's garden, she reminded him that there was nothing beneath his helmet except thick black smoke.

To some extent, smoke is not the original form of evil. Because it shares the same origin as the virtual realm, evil itself is invisible, but it can obtain a carrier in the real world by polluting anything it comes into contact with.

Just like the Void Realm Ruler [End of Reincarnation] Yuan Shen who released the Void Realm creatures after the contract expired and the reckoning was completed, they were invisible in the Void Realm. Only after being born in reality and attaching to the nebula did they show their physical form.

The demons of the Solaria Sea, which originated from the Lesser Void Realm—a fusion of Originium consciousness—are just like the Void Realm creatures that originated from the Void Realm and whose combat power is that of a skull; they are all irreconcilably opposed to everything in the real world.

Roy even suspected that the previous civilization had signed a contract with the God of Rounds, which was why it was able to develop so rapidly and then collapse in an instant, leaving only a few people behind in an interstellar empire.

However, this speculation also lacks evidence.

"Then how can we defeat the demonic crisis?" the Queen asked. The sheer number of unprecedented concepts was making her dizzy, but she had to force herself to listen attentively to the crucial question.

"Close the door." This time, Kal'tsit answered before Roy could.

"A thousand years ago, the Nightmare Khan's expedition penetrated deep into the deserts of the Scorching Winds, defeating the demonic spirits of the southern lands that had been infected and mutated by evil, and closing the gates south of Sargon. But the gates deep within the Infi Ice Plains have never been closed."

"That is the point where the Sea of ​​Solaria, made of Originium, overlaps with the real world. It is the source of Originium energy and the key to resolving the demon crisis."

After Kal'tsit finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

It wasn't that there was anything they didn't understand; Kal'tsit's answer was indeed very clear. However, almost everyone realized one problem.

Since the source of Originium energy is that gate, does closing it mean that Terra's Originium energy will be completely cut off?

This is no small matter like a city experiencing a power outage; it's the collapse of an entire civilization, from its very foundation. Originium technology, Originium energy, Originium craftsmanship, and so on—all will vanish into nothingness.

If the gates aren't closed, Originium is an absolutely irreconcilable and incompatible enemy for the people of Terra. As the evil forces grow stronger, they will eventually engulf Terra. But closing the gates would be tantamount to the instantaneous collapse of the entire technological system, a suicidal act.

This problem is almost unsolvable.