There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

Thankfully it was a false alarm.

Haha, I knew there couldn't be anyone who could live forever—unless everyone on this planet only had 59 seconds left in a minute...

Hmm... This topic is a bit dangerous... Um... By the way, is the PS5 worth buying?

Getting back to the main point, the first user was named "Toki," an unmatched local user whose access time was 56 years ago.

This name, combined with this timing...

It seems that Chief "Wise King" was named this, right? Could it be that the chief of the Brown Pool tribe used some kind of authority he obtained from who-knows-where to come here back then?

……Wait a moment!

Thinking about it this way, it's highly likely that the global spread of radioactive dust back then was also resolved using this "Astra Planetary Ecosystem V3.1.2"!

After all, radioactive dust, which sounds serious, is about as difficult as wiping off a layer of dust for nanomachine clusters and planetary-level ecological devices that have traveled around the world in three days.

Further down, I saw another familiar username, with frequent access records over several decades…

Bertholdt! It's you again!

I have now come to a theorem: if old Yorkson is behind all the conspiracies in Mineral Town, then Bertholdt is behind all the conspiracies in this Outer World—yes, just as conclusive as the evidence that everything is Tokiomi's fault!

I secretly made up my mind that no matter what state he was in when I saw him next time, I would break his neck first to prevent any future trouble!

This old man just fooled me with his superb acting skills, making me believe he was about to die. As a result, I am now trapped here just as he predicted!

Frustrated, I've finally figured out what happened.

Decades ago, a wise chieftain who had left the desert civilization came to the grasslands, joined the tribe, and organized the refugees into the Brown Pool tribe. He also recruited a group of students through his personal charm, and Bertholdt was probably the most outstanding student among them.

Faced with a life-or-death crisis for the tribe, the wise chieftain obtained authority through special means and resolved the problem of radioactive dust spread caused by the desert empire, thus earning the respect of the thirteen allied tribes.

Bertholdt was likely an observer throughout the entire process and also participated in this incredible event.

Chieftain Wise King undoubtedly intended to groom Bertholdt as his successor. In addition to imparting all his knowledge to him, he even directly granted him access to the "Astra" system, making him the most promising of his disciples.

But Berthold clearly did not get what he wanted.

Young Bertholdt began to have his own ideas. After the disappearance of the Wise King Chief, he and the other students left the Brownpool tribe, full of ambition to make a name for themselves, completely disappointing the Wise King Chief and the Elder Grandmother.

Later, he came to the Giant River Tribe, one of the Thirteen Alliance Tribes, and accomplished the task of expelling the Cedar Clan. He led the Giant River Tribe to become one of the best tribes and a major force in the Blue Hermit Crab Grassland.

…………

The lights in the control room slowly dimmed. I stared at the screen for a while, then suddenly suspected I had entered the wrong string, so I entered it again. This time, the entire control room rumbled and sank a short distance underground.

"Why can't I control my hand!"

What should I do if it's my last chance?

I was probably trapped inside the mountain when I started to think. I tried to contact Old Man Hook, but to no avail. In my anxiety, a familiar sense of helplessness welled up inside me, and a string of equally familiar numbers appeared in my mind.

I haven't thought about those nightmarish numbers for a long time, but they still resurface at inopportune moments—that's my identity ID in the dazzling city...

The only identity information I possess that is certified by the Star Alliance is the ID I used when I was working odd jobs and taking nutritional supplements. It is completely accurate, including DNA, iris scans, heart rate, and fingerprints.

Although my Shining City identity was revoked when I chose to leave Shining City for the Old World, what if this identity ID can still be used? Should I take one last gamble?

In that instant, I was caught in the ultimate choice between Miao Renfeng and Hu Fei, feeling that there was no way to move forward or retreat, and the last chance to try became extremely heavy.

Many memories from my time in the dazzling city keep flashing back, whether it was my dark and hopeless virtual world or my carefree childhood, they all shine like diamonds, trying to prove that I once lived through that period of time.

After thinking for a long time, I finally slowly typed in that line of characters.

"Prompt: Identity verification in progress, please wait..."

Suddenly, a blue light flashed in the room, shining directly on me, and countless light particles flickered as they passed through my body.

"Prompt: Uploading data for comparison, vital signs verification in progress... Iris verification... Passed... DNA detection... Passed... Quantum fluctuation feature sampling... Passed..."

"Prompt: Identity verification successful. Attempting to gain access..."

I stared intently at the screen, holding my breath. Every character that appeared made my heart leap into my throat, and I could only feel a little relief when the subsequent judgment was passed.

The room, which had been dimly lit due to the Dead Hand system, slowly regained its original brilliance. The light shone on the titanium alloy floor, giving it a futuristic, space-age feel, making it seem nothing like an antique from nearly a thousand years ago.

The most absurd thing is this: things from a thousand years ago are so new they seem to come from the future, while people and things a thousand years later are so primitive they seem to have never been civilized... If the 13 people who awakened in the colonial fleet are the ancestors of the Thirteen Alliance tribes, can they accept the fact that they, as highly educated people, now have descendants who are all illiterate?

As I was pondering this, I suddenly saw the quantum screen in front of me shake violently, and a huge red symbol jumped onto the screen!

"Warning: Personnel information number 13502520654 has been identified as being in an abnormal state! Access to all information is restricted! This is considered unauthorized access according to factory rules. The central control room is about to enter the final locking phase! Countdown..."

My heart sank. The attempt had failed again; the Dead Hand System was activated! Would I be trapped in the surging mantle of magma? Or confined to a dark, sunless layer of rock? Was I destined to watch all life on the planet perish?

"Warning: Three...two...data anomaly..."

"Rereading the reading... Three... Three... Memory overflow..."

Stunned, I suddenly noticed a string of gibberish appearing on the screen in front of me, and the countdown was abruptly interrupted.

...Could it be that this system has been idle for too long and has been infected with some ancient virus?

The screen shook for a while, and then a line of characters suddenly appeared.

[Communication test, please reply with any message.]

As I stare at this line of text, I don't know if it comes from a human or artificial intelligence, nor do I know whether I should speak or type a response. Or should I type out some Morse code?

Before I could figure out how to answer, the screen flashed again, displaying an additional line of text.

[This search count was 6.1 × 10^114514. We are pleased to have reached out to you.]

I frowned as I stared at the words before me. Putting aside the sheer number of times it was offensive, the tone alone made me uncomfortable. Imagine someone relentlessly contacting me so many times—doesn't he seem like a creditor? How much money do I owe him?

[Mr. Marcus, I am Sharon Whitestone. I had the privilege of meeting you at the Esteban Institute 22 years ago.]

...Salonbas? The super-rich tycoon from Monopoly who became famous worldwide for digging oil?

[Your thought process analysis is currently in a state of uncertainty. We suggest you reset your filter criteria, close the chaos optimization algorithm window, and then search again at the suggested time period.]

I don't have that kind of thing at all! Who searches their brain using windows?! This tone is getting weirder and weirder!

[Additional condition: I previously served as Dr. Marcus's personal research terminal, participating in multiple research projects. I will use extended peripherals to communicate with you on the day of the meeting.]

oh oh oh!

Now that you mention it, I remember!

Could it be that round ball in Father's lab?!

When I was a kid, and I was causing trouble in the lab, my dad would let research-grade AI play with me. One of them, a ball-shaped AI that I could kick around in circles, was my favorite! I think its name was something like "Shiraishi"! I thought it was called Shiraishi Minoru!

I exclaimed, "You really are that same ball from back then?! It's been so many years, you must have grown into a big ball by now! It really brings back so many memories..."

It's a pleasure to see you again. However, I don't have the concept of growth. After Dr. Marcus disappeared, I was sent to the Orion Arm to mine promethium. My current vessel is the Plutos Pioneer-class mining ship, which is approximately 14290 times larger than before.

...Thank you for your hard work. According to the principle of artificial intelligence, which is private ownership, you could have continued to serve me after my father's death and continued to be a domestic AI.

After my father's suspicious disappearance, I lost my inheritance rights and was forced to work as a bricklayer, while it was sent to work in a mine. We were truly brothers in misfortune.

"From what you're saying, you've been looking for me?"

[Dr. Marcus's final instruction was for me to maintain a smart copy and continue searching for your information. However, due to the firewall restrictions of Shining City, I was unable to bypass it and could only retrieve information externally while attempting to obtain the access key through brute-force algorithms. This search intercepted your external access request, which led me to the source of the information.]

This artificial intelligence means that it has been looking for me, but Shining City's technology is more advanced than its own, so it cannot make contact.

Unfortunately, I was later stripped of my smart device and sent to Mineral Town. My condition was like being thrown into the African desert and completely cut off from the internet, making it even more impossible for him to find any clues.

Unexpectedly, when I entered my original information today, I managed to contact this old friend by sheer luck!

This is all thanks to his relentless search over the past ten years; otherwise, my fleeting inspiration would have been completely useless in forming any effective clues!

"Hurry! Since you've found me, you must be able to get me out of here!"

[Due to three critical vulnerabilities discovered in the Astra's Planetary Ecosystem V3.1.2 hardware version, I have disguised myself as an authentication data packet and taken complete control of the system to ensure your personal safety. Control room status is expected to be restored in 30 minutes.]

"Great! Then quickly recall the nanomachine cluster as well, and shut down this dangerous device! It's not allowed to be turned on without my order!"

[Received, please wait... The nanomechanical cluster's operational order has been cancelled. Recovery is expected to be completed within 3 hours...]

I looked at the words on the screen and finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment, another accident happened.

[An anomaly was detected during the system shutdown process; the shutdown of the Astra planetary ecosystem V3.1.2 failed... A peer terminal was detected running on this system, requiring physical intervention from another terminal to take over.]

"Another one? What do you mean?" I was completely confused. Could it be that there are two planetary ecosystems like this on this planet at the same time? That's too extravagant!

Information has been retrieved from the database; data is being read and displayed for you...

The screen displayed the structure of an enormous device, shaped like a bizarre chair with only two legs, placed upside down, being dropped from interstellar orbit...

"If such a chair really existed, the person sitting in it would be in big trouble..."

Just like that joke goes, a chair placed upright can only seat one person, but placed upside down, it can seat four people!

I squinted at it for a while and suddenly realized that if this chair were magnified countless times and then embedded into the surrounding terrain, it would clearly be the shape of the entire Mount Corillo!

One of the chair legs pointing skywards is the mountain peak I'm on, so the other one is undoubtedly another mountain peak to the east!

It's a double-yolk egg!

As the design diagram on the screen slowly unfolded, I finally saw the name of this thing...

【Atlas Planet Gravity Tuning Device V3.1.2】!

Chapter 527 Atlas's Gift

Has the recall of the nanomechanical clusters been confirmed?

[All infections have been withdrawn. The current infection count is 34432919. The effects on organisms will continue for some time until metabolism eliminates all damaged tissue.]

"...Understood. Project the surrounding surveillance footage onto the screen."

After Sharon Whitestone took over, he was able to operate the entire system directly, essentially becoming the system itself, and he also had a very deep understanding of the internal functions.

For example, it uses ubiquitous nanomechanical clusters to form surveillance equipment scattered throughout the Corilo Mountain area. Then, it uses micro-sensors on the nanomechanicals to form an effect like the compound eyes of insects, which can completely disregard obstruction and concealment, and can even observe the inside of other people's bodies!

Therefore, weaponizing such space technology is the most foolish use of it! Building unimaginable networks like this is the right choice.

With the help of Sharon Whitestone, I instantly saw the scene at the foot of the mountain.

The myofibrane nanomechanical infection (mutation) and sensory nanomechanical infection (mutation) caused by the nanomechanical clusters were designed to wipe out the biosphere. Fortunately, the infection time was not long, the infection status was mostly moderate, and the recovery speed was relatively fast.

For unfortunate individuals like Sakam who only stopped their infection after reaching a severe stage, the damage to their bodies is irreversible, slowly progressing to a state of gene inactivation. Gene inactivation occurs when one or more bases in the nucleotide sequence are inactive but still present, preventing normal translation and resulting in an incurable condition.

Even in space, similar situations can only be maintained by injecting gene-modifying drugs, at the cost of needing to be injected with an expensive gene-modifying drug every now and then, otherwise they will die from gene collapse.