Please be my partner.

Suddenly, the high-dimensional Garuru's ears pricked up, and then it changed its form without hesitation, turning into streams of data and entering the communication level.

Not long after the High Dimensional Garuru left, some energy balls appeared in the energy level it passed through. After sweeping around and failing to find any trace of the High Dimensional Garuru, they could only begin to slowly clear away the pollution left by the High Dimensional Garuru.

However, these pollutants were not without resistance. They quickly absorbed the abundant energy flowing at the energy level, transformed into wolf-shaped energy bodies, and began to attack the light balls.

At the same time, some wolf-shaped energy bodies also spread out, causing greater erosion and pollution.

Although the disturbances here were quickly suppressed by the influx of a large number of light balls, the pollution on a larger scale was also constantly affecting the computing power of the α-07 Macross itself.

The high-dimensional Garuru that reached the communication level was also not idle. It began to use the same method to pollute the information channel. Every time it occupied a key node, it would release a large amount of erroneous and interfering information through it to buy more time for its own pollution to spread.

In this way, when the pollution at all levels reaches a certain threshold, the α-07 Macross naturally activates a higher-level response strategy.

After all, the α-07 Macross has been idle for too long, and the intelligent computers at all levels have long been in standby mode to save energy consumption and equipment loss. What has been maintained now is only the most basic intelligent program, which only acts according to the rules and does not have much subjective initiative.

[α-07 Macross has reached its alert threshold, initiating the crisis response plan...]

[…Processing failed, processing failed, danger spreads to the third threshold. Follow procedure 091 and begin awakening the main brain…]

[No. 616 Split Intelligent Application Procedure Report…]

【The application is approved and allowed to be reported.】

A large amount of information poured into the main brain, including the information about the holders of the authority keys such as Mellen who came to participate in the commander assessment, as well as the erosion and pollution of the α-07 Macross by the High Dimension Garuru during this period.

After the report was completed, the No. 616 Split Intelligence continued to apply...

[Due to the close spiritual bond between Trainee Commander Mellen and the invaders, we hereby request the termination of Trainee Commander Mellen's assessment and his temporary detention pending investigation.]

[Insufficient evidence, application dismissed.]

[The intruder's capabilities have exceeded the threshold, requesting to activate the secondary automatic defense system.]

[Insufficient energy, application rejected.]

[If the pollution level exceeds the threshold, apply for computing power support from Super Brain.]

【The application is rejected due to insufficient conditions.】

【……Apply……】

【……turn down……】

After more than a dozen applications were rejected, in the end, nothing changed.

On the other side, Melen and Gao Weigarulu both showed strange expressions. They felt that all the actions seemed too smooth, so smooth that it seemed more like a trap.

However, as the erosion and assimilation deepened, the higher-dimensional Garuru began to gain layers of authority, which was true.

When Mellen entered the second month of the α-07 Macross, he was still undergoing practical operation assessments. Although his progress was very fast, he was still a long way from completing this assessment.

But suddenly, the environment of the virtual world became momentarily disordered as if disturbed.

[Warning! Warning! Data anomaly... Data anomaly... Overflow... Error... Data... Return to normal.]

【Alert lifted. 】

[Congratulations, respected Trainee Commander, Your Excellency Mellen, your practical operation assessment has been completed with a score of 100%, excellent!]

[You can start the next assessment at any time, or retake the previous assessment.]

Melen chuckled and said, "I'm applying for a make-up exam on theoretical knowledge."

【Application approved. 】

Mellen appeared again in the room where he had taken the first test. Questions began to flash on the virtual screen, but unlike last time, Mellen did not need to answer this time. The answers were automatically filled in the moment the questions appeared.

Three minutes later...

[Congratulations, respected Trainee Commander, Your Excellency Mellen, your theoretical knowledge score is 100%, excellent!]

[You currently have no items that require retakes. Do you want to start the next training? ]

Mellen nodded and said, "Open it."

The third item is strategic planning. Melen stood in front of a huge virtual sand table, on which was a world community composed of hundreds of thousands of worlds. The four forces were fighting in it, and a large number of fleets were intertwined and attacking each other.

Mellen's task is to plan the overall situation while taking care of every large, medium and small battlefield as much as possible, accumulating advantages bit by bit and achieving the final victory.

Battleship performance, cruising speed, logistics supply, resources in occupied territories, intelligence on the other three forces, alliances, and the breaking of treaties...

Everything has to be taken into consideration, and the amount of calculation involved is beyond imagination. In many cases, what is relied upon is no longer simple data calculations, but the commander's control of the overall situation and a flash of inspiration.

Three days later, Melen was still not familiar with the overall situation. The faction he controlled seemed to have suddenly typed in 'whosyourdaddy' (the invincibility cheat in Warcraft 3), and all the fleets entered an invincible and blood-locking state. Even a small battleship formation could chase and attack the main fleet of other forces without any loss of its own.

In this situation, the previously agreed cooperation agreements were naturally torn up, and occupying rare resource points to build more advanced warships was completely out of the question. Mellen fought one against three, and the other three forces were defeated. With the assessment acceleration turned on, it only took two days to complete the occupation of the world community.

[Congratulations, respected Trainee Commander, Your Excellency Mellen, your strategic planning assessment has been completed with a score of 100%, excellent!]

[Given your excellent performance in the first three assessments, you can skip thirteen assessments, including tactical command, practical inspection, emergency response, etc. Do you want to skip them?]

Mellen said, "Skip it."

[Dear Trainee Commander, Your Excellency Melen, you can start the next assessment at any time.]

Mellen said, "Turn it on."

The space transforms again.

In this way, relying on superhuman abilities (plug-ins), Mellen's assessments were unstoppable. No assessment could stop him for more than a week. Most assessments only took one or two days, or even a few hours to complete. Occasionally, because of his outstanding performance in a certain assessment, he would skip similar assessment items.

This kind of blatant cheating would have been stopped by supervisors back then, but now...

When time advanced to the third month after they entered the α-07 Macross, a global broadcast broke the silence in the fortress.

Congratulations to Master Trainee Commander Mellen for completing all assessments and being promoted to Junior Commander. The transfer of authority over the α-07 Macross will now begin.

[Other authority key holders have failed the assessment and will be expelled from the α-07 Macross.]

After hearing this message, the other four people all changed color.

Bai Ye sighed and said with a wry smile, "I see. It seems that Junior Brother Mellen has been prepared for this."

Meng Shen laughed heartily and said, "Amazing, Junior Melen! Really amazing!"

Ronan remained silent.

Xiang Zhen's face was filled with disbelief, and he shouted almost frantically, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!! He cheated! Mellen must have cheated! 07, you can't do this!!"

Regardless of how the four people reacted, the authority keys in their hands broke free from their control and disappeared into the void, and they were quickly expelled from the α-07 Macross.

Mellen's authority key floated in the air, overlapping and merging with several other authority keys that floated in one after another, and finally turned into a five-pointed mark, which was imprinted on the back of his hand.

This is the full authority key of the α-07 Macross. With the commander's authority and the full authority key, you can completely control the α-07 Macross.

[Commander, the α-07 Macross is under external intrusion. The current contamination level has reached 11.7%. Should we activate the secondary automatic defense system to clean it up?]

Melen checked it and confirmed that it was only the work of High Vigaruru, then said, "No need, and the relevant information will be incorporated into the fortress trust sequence."

[Command received, information input completed, alarm lifted.]

As it entered the trust sequence, the fortress stopped chasing the High-Vegetarian Garuru, and it could now move around the fortress freely.

Soon, the High Vigiluru came in front of Mellen. This combination of energy, flesh, and machinery looked quite majestic, and the High Vigiluru behaved very coolly.

Garuru came in front of Gaowei Garuru and scratched it with its little paws.

Gaowei Garuru glanced at Garuru with disdain, as if to say: Childish, I have grown into a big dog who can help my master share his worries, I don’t want to bother with you.

Garuru: (ΩДΩ)? !!

Mellen stroked the two Garurus with amusement, watching the dogs interact with themselves.

Then, instead of checking the biggest spoils of this trip, Melen suppressed his smile and whispered, "You're helping me, right? Why are you doing this?"

After obtaining the commander's authority, Mellen naturally saw the large number of rejected applications. Although he had prepared many backup plans, if all those applications were approved, or even if only a part of them were approved, it would bring him considerable trouble.

The result now is that many of these applications have been rejected in an unreasonable manner, which makes Melen think more.

Light and shadow intertwined in front of Mellen, forming a hazy human silhouette. At the same time, a soft voice rang out: "Commander, I am 07."

Mellen nodded slightly. The being before him called itself 07. This was naturally not a repeated number. Although the one that communicated with Mellen and the others before was only the intelligent subroutine of the α-07 Macross, it represented the fortress itself, so Mellen and the others called it 07. And this 07 before him, if nothing unexpected happened, should be the real fortress intelligent computer.

Melen looked at 07 quietly, waiting for the latter's answer.

07 said, "Time has passed too long. So long that the fortress's stored resources are on the verge of depletion, so long that the equipment lacks maintenance, and the Eternal Furnace is on the verge of extinguishing. So long that my self-awareness is gradually fading. Every time I fall into a deep sleep, I worry whether this sleep will be eternal."

07's tone turned melancholy. "Even if the name of that clan has been erased, at least I want to preserve this last trace for them."

"α-07 Macross needs a commander."

No conspiracy, no calculation, just the most plain and simple answer.

07's words became calm, as if he were making a simple statement: "A million years? Or ten million years? I've been throwing out the authorization key again and again, hoping to find a qualified successor."

"At the beginning, I was very strict and followed the assessment procedures completely. After all, as far as I remember, only those with perfect grades could obtain the most basic qualification and be qualified to participate in the internship on the α-07 Macross."

"Unfortunately, this requirement seems to be too strict. Some authority key holders can't even pass the most basic strength test, and their commander assessment results are even more dismal."

"As my consciousness began to thin out, with occasional pauses, I realized that I shouldn't hold outsiders to such high standards. After all, they haven't undergone genetic remodeling, proton transformation, elite education, or environmental influence... Being able to complete the commander assessment within the stipulated time limit is already considered excellent. Unfortunately..."

"Unless one becomes a myth, no existence can be eternal, and I am no exception. When I was forced to maintain myself through long periods of slumber, and even the most important commander assessment had to be handed over to the intelligent subroutine, I admit, I was a little panicked. If I also fell into eternal silence, would the α-07 Macross be completely submerged in the long river of history, erasing the last trace of their existence along with it?"

"Or maybe this is a good thing? But, after all, I feel a little unwilling."

Chapter 454 Their name is... Alpha

While narrating, 07's tone remained calm, as if he was describing something that had nothing to do with him.

But Melen could hear the deep heaviness in the calm tone, like a lonely watcher, standing alone at the end of time, looking at the future where he didn't know whether he would be able to meet.

Soon, 07 took the initiative to speak, breaking the slightly silent atmosphere: "Come on, I'll take you to see what you've gained this time."

Neither of them moved, but the space kept changing, as if they were constantly jumping inside the fortress.

During this process, 07 would occasionally talk about the location and function of the places he visited.

"After a long period of consumption, the α-07 Macross is almost at the end of its rope. Its backup resources have been depleted, and the Eternal Smelting, known for its infinite energy, is about to extinguish. If nothing changes, it can only last for a few tens of thousands of years at most, and then everything in the fortress will come to a complete halt."

Melen was surprised to hear that the α-07 Macross could still last for tens of thousands of years. However, considering the long time that 07 had experienced, which was measured in tens of millions of years, a mere tens of thousands of years could only be considered a blink of an eye.

07's tone remained calm as he continued, "Don't worry about resources and treasures. I've basically dismantled everything I could use to replenish the fortress. Even so, the fortress currently has a 7.8% damage rate, and its total operational power is less than 10%. Energy is the most important issue."

"The Eternal Furnace can only be kept open at a minimum level now. Although the energy it can generate is infinite, the Eternal Furnace itself has reached its limit over the past countless years. Repairs require Eternal Burning Divine Gold or Scarlet Flame Divine Gold."

"The space-time singularity constraint field has completely stopped rotating due to the lack of pale divine gold."

"Only the quantum force field that channels vacuum zero-point energy is still operational, but its energy output is only about half, barely enough to sustain the fortress's basic needs."

"If you want to activate most of the fortress's functions, you need to activate at least one of the Eternal Furnace and the Spacetime Singularity Constraint Field."

Then, 07 described in detail the differences between the three energy sources...

The Eternal Furnace is mainly responsible for the weapons and defense of the fortress. For example, various super-specification destructive weapons require energy from the Eternal Furnace.

Although the space-time singularity constraint field also has weapons and defense configurations, they are basically relatively conventional weapons such as space-time collapse and space-time isolation, and are mainly used to provide energy for the space-time engine. With the space-time singularity constraint field, the α-07 Super Dimensional Fortress can jump and shuttle freely between dimensions and worlds, and has powerful maneuverability.

The vacuum zero-point energy generated by the quantum force field is more gentle and stable. It is mainly used for daily consumption of the fortress and energy replenishment of combat units within the fortress. This energy is easy to carry after being solidified, and is considered a very excellent logistical supply.

After listening to this, Melen asked expressionlessly, "What kind of resources are these Eternal Burning Divine Gold, Scarlet Flame Divine Gold, and Pale Divine Gold that you just mentioned?"

Although the resources needed to repair the quantum force field are precious and rare, Melen has heard of them to some extent. However, the three kinds of divine gold used to repair the Eternal Furnace and the Space-Time Singularity Constraint Field are definitely not ordinary stuff.

Hearing Mellen's question, 07 seemed to be silent for a moment, sighed silently, and then said: "Metals that contain mythical power are collectively called divine gold. It is also a relatively useful resource for mythical strongmen."

"Divine Gold will display different special features based on its different mythological characteristics. Everburning Divine Gold and Scarlet Flame Divine Gold can resist the burning of eternal fire, while Pale Divine Gold possesses characteristics related to time and space."

"Generally speaking, divine gold is difficult to produce naturally. Only mythical beings can produce it on a large scale. If there are corresponding methods, demigods or those who possess divine tools can also produce divine gold on a small scale."

07 thought for a moment and added, "In some places where gods fight, you can occasionally dig up divine gold. However, those places are often quite dangerous because of the traces of powerful mythical beings left behind."

Melen nodded slightly, as if thinking about something.

Soon, the two arrived at an ordinary-looking small room. 07 stopped jumping and said, "I've already introduced the basic functions of the fortress. But here lies the most precious treasure in the entire fortress. Its value is even greater than that of the entire α-07 Macross!"

Mellen's eyes lit up and he looked at 07 expectantly, waiting for what was to come.

07 walked to the center of the room. A metal pillar rose from the ground, and a small compartment opened on it. Inside was a thumb-sized metal bead.

The surface of this metal bead is dull and there is no energy response.

Melen watched for a moment, a puzzled look on his face. He originally thought that the treasure worth more than α-07 Macross would be some kind of artifact, but the metal bead in front of him didn't seem like that.

07 felt a little emotional and reached out to touch the metal bead, but stopped halfway and gave up the idea.

Mellen couldn't help but ask: "What on earth is this?"