People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Mudstone curiously stepped forward, looking at Nian expectantly.

During this time, she often felt that she was not capable enough, and she was naturally curious about the appearance of a real big shot like Nian.

As for whether he feels replaced or not, that's not something Mudrock is currently considering.

After all, she is a Sarkaz. As long as she has food to eat and a stable life, what's wrong with her working as Nian's assistant? Not to mention, she might even be able to learn something from Nian.

You won't find this kind of opportunity anywhere else!

But Nian shook her head. It wasn't that she didn't want to teach, but rather that she simply couldn't.

"This is [power]."

"【Power】?" Mud Rock was puzzled; she had never heard of this term before.

Nian explained, "If I had to say, it's an innate talent. I've been good at this since birth. For me, there's nothing I can't make, from national heavy equipment and high-speed warships to food, clothing, daily necessities, and even hoes for farming."

"Those complex machines too?" Mudrock exclaimed in shock.

Nian nodded: "Of course."

She wasn't exaggerating. In fact, in her plan to save her brothers and sisters, she was prepared to create a "mechanical behemoth" to replace Sui and suck them all in to "regenerate" them all.

The theory behind this method is similar to exploiting a bug: cut and paste files from one computer to another external hard drive, then disconnect the connection, causing the original computer to be unable to find the files after restarting.

It sounds simple, but the complexity is unbelievable. After all, the behemoth isn't a computer; severing the consciousness link between them and the older creature isn't easy. So, whether she can succeed or not, she has no clue.

Besides, she hadn't even had a chance to do it yet when her sister caught her.

Nian's level was indeed terrifyingly high, but she couldn't teach Mudrock. This was because the behemoth's [power] limit was extremely high, and Mudrock, unfortunately, although she was the Child of Earth and Wood, was a hybrid, a being like the Blood Demon army—something even a search would subconsciously ignore.

Her connection with her bloodline was so limited that, as a Stonewing Demon, when she used her abilities to evoke the earth's response, she would even damage herself, developing Oripathy, which made it difficult to sustain.

"It's alright, Mudstone. Knowledge changes destiny."

Seemingly noticing Mudrock's slight disappointment, Nasti gently patted her shoulder and comforted her.

"Since I became the head of the engineering department at Rhine Labs, I have never relied on my own banshee spells. For every project, I personally drew the blueprints, directed the work, inspected and accepted the projects, and that's how we reached this level."

Just as Nasti said, those who lack bloodline can make up for it by learning knowledge, and even surpass it.

Otherwise, with the power of the gods weakened to this day, the Sarkaz, who still retain the power of the royal court, would have made a comeback long ago, and the kingdoms of Terra would have been razed to the ground long ago. Where would the flourishing Terran civilization of today come from?

The army of carrion eaters could not directly annihilate a fleet of high-speed warships, nor could the sorcery of the Sarkaz completely extinguish the brilliance of Originium Arts. On the contrary, the bureaucratic system of the modern Terran nation far outperformed the ancient Sarkaz royal court in efficiency. This is the brilliance emanating from the development of civilization.

From this perspective, Mudrock's starting point was even higher than Nasti's. After all, she was a child of earth and stone, and her innate affinity helped her easily overcome many hurdles that Nasti had previously struggled with.

As for whether Nasti will neglect mudstone because of the years.

That's overthinking it.

If Nasty is simply looking for a handy tool, then she might have that idea.

But she never saw mudstone as a tool—if a tool doesn't work well, it should be replaced, not taught, helped, or made to work well.

Nasti did this because she was grooming Mudrock as her "successor".

As for this successor, whether it will take over her position as head of the engineering department at Rhine Life Sciences, or from a high-level position at Kazdelnia, or both, remains unknown.

Mudstone nodded slightly, not too discouraged. She simply stepped back a little, her resolve strengthened.

Read more books and newspapers, eat fewer snacks and sleep more, study, study and study some more, don't let yourself down!

Nasti looked at Nian, her eyes flashing with shock.

Mudrock is inexperienced and doesn't know what "power" means, which is normal. But Nasti is no naive banshee.

The term "power" is usually used to describe the capabilities of a group.

"You...you are a giant beast?"

Nian glanced at Ernst, who nodded, and she nodded in return.

"I think I am."

This answer is actually somewhat ambiguous, since her official record in Yan Kingdom is that of the "Agent of the Year Beast".

Whether the twelve siblings of the Sui family can be considered as complete behemoths has been a subject of debate within the Yan Kingdom. The records of the Si Sui Tai habitually begin with "having the color of a beast...", but some officials from the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Rites, and even the Grand Tutor directly refer to them by their code names, names, or even nicknames, such as referring to the second brother as "that sinner".

There is a difference between a sinner and a beast. In the Great Yan Dynasty, which places great importance on the art of language and where every word can contain profound meaning and subtle nuances, it is unlikely that someone of the Grand Tutor's stature would make a mistake in such a title; this is also a statement of principle.

But Nasti had no idea about the intricacies involved.

She can be sure of only one thing.

Before them lay a colossal beast.

A colossal beast skilled in creation.

Her power of creation is not limited by the level of knowledge of the Child of Earth and Stone; she can create anything!

This giant beast was a "helper" that Ernst brought to her.

Who on earth would send someone a behemoth as a helper?! This is a behemoth! Forget about finding someone to be a helper, this is the first time in Nastya's life that she has ever been so close to a behemoth and spoken to it!

Undoubtedly, with her help, Nastya's project would be greatly improved, and might even save a significant amount of material processing costs, but... but...

How can I repay what I owe you?

Nast looked at Ernst, her expression indescribably complicated.

It was an expression like a palette of colors, a mixture of joy, relief, distress, helplessness, and ambiguity.

Even Ramalen has been summoned; she really has nothing left to offer. If this continues, is she really going to promise to stay in Kjerag as a tireless mortar maker for a hundred years?

What excuse will you use when you borrow money from Ernst again to extend the time limit?

lifetime?

Chapter 476 Levi: Originium Information Field and Consciousness Empire

Columbia, Trimont, Rhine Lab, Originium Life Sciences, Laboratory.

Levi had received Ernst's letter, but this time, he did not set off immediately.

There are still many things to deal with in Tremont. Nasti has also sent him a letter. He is aware that Rhine Lab is going to build a branch in Kjerag. Although he has never experienced the so-called Rhine Lab Directors' Joint Meeting, he asked Palvis and got a fairly detailed explanation of the process.

In short, it's just about getting together to vote, with fewer people obeying more people. He was quite surprised that such a large capital enterprise could have such a system.

But that's about it. Palvis also mentioned that if Christensen were there, the matter would probably have been settled on the spot.

Putting aside the voting, his experiment has entered a crucial stage.

Levi's discipline is called Originium Life Science, but he has never studied any Originium life theory. The products that those in power value so much, such as "resurrection," "life extension," and "Originium biological weapons," are merely byproducts of his experiments.

There was only one thing he studied: Originium itself.

Holding a pure Originium in his hand, Levi admired its smooth surface and the amber-golden core hidden deep within its black shell, somewhat mesmerized.

The notebook open beside him was filled with all sorts of questions and answers.

Q: Compared to oil and electricity, which are Earth's primary energy sources, the energy stored in Originium is incredibly high. Why is that?

[Answer: Blank. This question has no answer yet (crossed out)]

[Question: Ordinary Originium ore is black, while purified Rembitop high-purity Originium ore is black on the outside and gold on the inside, and its surface has faintly visible diamond shapes. Why is that?]

[Answer: This item should be grouped with the next item.]

Q: Does the diamond shape symbolize anything?

[Answer: I have consulted all the books on semiotics and symbolic imagery currently held by Columbia Library. While the rhombus does indeed have many symbolic meanings, these generally have corresponding counterparts in nature. However, the rhombus on the Originium has no direct equivalent.]

[Hypothesis 1: According to current research, Originium has the ability to preserve and "freeze" consciousness, and it can be activated through scientific methods. The consciousness empire recorded by the Terran humans in ancient texts is very likely an information field formed by the simultaneous activation of many Originium stones under some special circumstances, releasing some kind of internal information outward.]

[If we take this as an assumption, did the Originium come first, and then certain information was sealed within it, forming a consciousness empire, or did the consciousness empire come first, and then manifest its existence in the material world in the form of the Originium?]

This seems like a "chicken or the egg" question, but Levi vaguely felt that it might be the key to understanding Originium research. If he could understand this, he might truly understand Originium.

Returning to the original question, why is there a neat rhombus shape on the Originium?

Nature does indeed endow many of its creations with unique forms. For example, the very famous jadeite comes in different varieties, commonly known as glass type, ice type, and glutinous type. Similarly, marble has its own water-like patterns, while granite also has different patterns such as coarse-grained and blocky.

However, very few stones have equilateral rhombuses on them, shapes that are immediately recognizable as not being naturally evolved.

If Levy's deductions about the Empire of Consciousness and the Originium Information Theory are correct, then regardless of whether "Originium came first or the Empire of Consciousness came first," it seems that one thing can be confirmed.

Given the inseparable relationship between these two factors, the rhombus seems to have a very simple explanation:

"Is this a logo? A watermark? A kind of... signature?"

Levy raised an eyebrow.

The rhombus pattern on the pure source stone in his hand remained unchanged, offering no affirmative or negative answer to his guess.

Naturally, this thing wasn't even activated, so what could it possibly say?

Levy even wondered if his research on "activation" had gone astray somewhere.

The Originium plants he sent to the Ecology Department of Muirsey were, according to the feedback from the Ecology Department, able to grow slowly as the Originium spread in the initial stage, but after reaching a certain stage, they all "stopped growing".

Unlike those failed attempts due to improper handling, they did not shatter or continue to exhibit a "life" state. They... were like "amber" sealed by Originium, neither alive nor dead, stagnant and motionless.

Further "activation" would inevitably lead to further activation of the Originium, completely engulfing the plant in its [amber state] state, causing it to shatter, and the experiment would fail.

"It's also possible that it wasn't a failure, but that you saved them into your 'world,' who knows?"

Levi murmured with a smile.

The more mysterious Originium is, the more it arouses his curiosity as a scientist.

He picked up his notebook and added a new question below:

Q: What is the relationship between the Consciousness Empire and the Originium Information Field?

He did not believe that the information field that might exist inside the Originium was directly equivalent to the Consciousness Empire.

The plant's state in its amber form tells him that a plant completely replaced by Originium and undergoing a transformation is stagnant. Furthermore, stories of heroes venturing into the Consciousness Empire and experiencing adventures frequently appear in Terra's various myths and legends. This suggests that the Consciousness Empire is at least interactive.

How can you bypass the resin that seals the amber and interact with the stagnant information inside?

Therefore, conjecture one may be correct. The Consciousness Empire is only a small part of the Originium information, a specific manifestation of the information field released by a large number of Originium under special circumstances, influencing the material world. That's why the heroes in those ancient myths could see their "true selves," their "past glory," and for them, the legendary "kings and warriors" and "indescribable mysteries" within it.

If given the chance, Levi himself would like to try to bypass consciousness authentication by directly activating a large number of Originium at the same time. Instead of trying to pry open the lock of the "spiritual world" that he knows nothing about, he would let that door open in the material world that he knows.

However, the chances of doing so are slim.

After all, experiments have already proven that the more Originium stones activated at the same time, the greater the energy. If Originium stones that are enough to trigger the [Consciousness Empire Information Field] effect are activated at the same time, the energy released will probably be no less than a natural disaster.

His slender arms and legs can't withstand natural disasters.

Although it is said that if one hears the truth in the morning, one can die content in the evening, he has no intention of martyrdom for the time being. There are still many things he wants to study in Terra.

Levi closed the notebook, looked at the small Originium again, and put it into the storage box next to him.

Pure Originium might be a rare commodity elsewhere, but at Rhine Labs, if someone asked for this experimental material, they could have as much as they wanted.

But Levy still maintained his habit of thrift and frugality.

As Levy closed the storage box and turned around, as if by coincidence or as if he had expected it, his office communication bell rang.

"Director Levy, are you there?"

Levi answered: "I'm here."

"Um, Director Muirsay requested Director Seria to convene a joint meeting of directors, which requires your attendance. Do you have time now?"

Levy smiled. "Of course. I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, Levi clicked his tongue in envy.

Similar to his research on Originium, he also had a great deal of enthusiasm for the research on Terran organisms.

Dr. Muirsay, the head of the Ecology Department, is one such example.

How did she manage to transmit consciousness between such distant places as Sherag and Columbia simultaneously? What exactly is the structure of her manifold water clone? And what race is she herself?

The file listed Li Boli, but Levi took it as a joke; anyone who believed it was a fool.

If I had the chance, I'd really like to dissect Director Muirsey and her water clone...

Unfortunately, Ernst would certainly not agree. He was among those who strongly opposed human experimentation.

"Sigh, I have a bit of a headache."

He shook his head; his flexible moral bottom line was being challenged at this moment.