Chapter 378: Wits and Courage Contest

Another seed has been planted, and I hope it will blossom into a brilliant flower in the future.

Xu Zhi walked around the streets. “Caroline deeply admires Levius and follows his path. She is also a scientist who has dedicated her life to science. Her philosophy is similar yet different... because I once explained to her the distinction between transcendent civilizations and technological civilizations. As a result, she wants to research the fusion of both, using technological means to develop transcendence, study life science, and transform humans into gods using their own bodies.”

Her ambition is vast, even to the point of being fantastical!

She’s a madwoman who wants every Ishdarian to become a god! To become a god race founded on technology!

“A god race…” Xu Zhi smiled.

At the time, I wondered if she could be the catalyst for an era. So, I talked with her for a long time and became her friend. I didn't expect it to actually succeed.

The streets of Ishdar had completely transformed into a futuristic, sci-fi landscape. In the surrounding shops, transparent glass displays showcased various models of miniature, exquisite mechanical mechs and motorcycles. Made of dark metal with sleek, refined aesthetics, these models slowly rotated on circular platforms, their mechanical designations written below.

Several middle school students, dressed in different outfits, were pressed against the glass displays.

“Wow! The BQ194 is so cool!”

“It’s Master Lin Ze’s latest model this year, with a quad-core linked processor!”

“Holy cow! This is awesome! I can’t afford it in real life. I wonder when 'Mechanical Revolution' will be available in the store; even just playing it would be great!”

“You’re dreaming! We can’t afford them even in 'Mechanical Revolution'! Some high-end models, even my dad can’t afford them! My dad is a senior engineer at a company, earning seven thousand a month!”

It was the kind of sight that would make any man’s heart pound, and women couldn't resist it either, much like their shared admiration for incredibly cool supercars.

The profession of Mech Pilot was born, becoming the most popular occupation, replacing “soldier.” Countless individuals wished to enlist in the military to defend the nation and own a mechanical battlesuit.

Meanwhile, some civilian mechanical organizations also entered the ancient lava lands to hunt.

At this point, the game 'Mechanical Revolution' had endowed many ordinary people with formidable, high-level mech proficiency. With just a little training to overcome the dizziness and gravity challenges of actual operation, they could be directly sent to the battlefield and become excellent pilot-soldiers.

“'Mechanical Revolution' has pushed the people of this world towards an era where virtually everyone is a soldier.”

Xu Zhi strolled through the streets, observed his surroundings, and then sat on the edge of a bench in a fountain square. He felt comfortable and at ease, bending down to feed pigeons. “This is scientific civilization… They are very different from transcendent civilizations. While they possess extraordinarily formidable power, they are also almost entirely egalitarian.

They certainly have class hierarchies, societal elites, and powerful warriors, with the top individuals owning the most advanced, specialized mechs. But ultimately, it won’t escalate to a qualitative change where one person can dominate the entire civilization. Their tyrants would be overthrown, and commoners who wish to rise could join the military or attend prestigious universities—all paths to success.”

Equality is relative.

Compared to the common transcendent civilizations, where individual Heavenly Emperors rule the world, technological civilizations offer a world with much greater human rights equality, and ordinary citizens live quite comfortably.

For Xu Zhi, occasionally exploring an alternative path of civilization is beneficial. Developing transcendent power in the form of a technological civilization is excellent; mechanical magic-energy mechs study the transcendent through scientific means.

He had already presented the transcendent lava land and transcendent power before them. He wondered what results they would achieve by researching theology scientifically, in a different way.

Xu Zhi logged into his 'Mechanical Revolution' account and immediately started a fighting game. After all, mechs were his kind of romance. Compared to the monotony of transcendent civilizations, scientific civilizations offered far too much entertainment, with games and diversions widely available to the public, often drawing him in for relaxation.

However, he couldn't even beat elementary school students...

After all, even elementary school students in Ishdar were now mech masters.

The beginner’s gaming experience was extremely poor.

Xu Zhi didn’t mind; it was natural to be beaten now, as he had no skill. Perhaps he would ask Hermes to teach him some mechanical techniques later, and he'd get his revenge eventually.

“Let’s wait a few more years for development.”

After an eight-game losing streak, Xu Zhi exited the game directly. “I’ll find an advanced, top-tier mechanical battlesuit company and get a custom-made mech model—one that can withstand vacuum pressure and travel through space.”

In his real life, he was only at the sixth stage, unable to enter space or withstand that terrifying pressure.

Even upon reaching the seventh stage as a Heavenly Emperor, Xu Zhi could only stay in space for a short time. So, the emergence of this civilization perfectly solved this problem. Just imagining piloting a mechanical battlesuit through space felt exhilarating.

Developing a magic-energy civilization, and absorbing their knowledge of machinery and battlesuits—the excitement and shock were hard to imagine, especially since he had created an entirely new world himself.

After briefly exiting the game and leaving the lava world, Xu Zhi had a very normal lunch in his living room, feeling that these two worlds had the least sense of disparity, almost identical, without the huge gap he felt with other worlds. After lunch, he walked out of the living room to the front door, sat on a chair, and observed the strange creatures who were plotting something.

“Holy crap! The God of Creation is here again.”

“Brothers, don’t panic! Keep hiding and developing!”

A group of goblin-like fellows lurked eerily in a corner, seemingly plotting some scheme.

This scene was quite common, yet Xu Zhi began to get serious. “Should I let them in? Or rather, when should I let them in?”

Xu Zhi started to get a headache.

His first reaction was that these rascals would definitely… spiritually corrupt!

The Ishdarians are a passionate, wolf-like race. Look at their internet atmosphere: it’s highly academic, very serious, no silly rage comics or dumb jokes… Now look at our internet, and this bunch of clowns, howling in the forums all day, exuding a strong aura of troublemaking!

Xu Zhi deeply suspected that if they entered, they would instantly corrupt the Ishdarians.

It would be like a husky infiltrating a wolf pack; they’d likely derail the entire network in an instant, creating chaos, dragging intelligence down to their level, and then defeating you with their vast experience in tomfoolery!

Such is the terror of the Clown Emperors!

“Mechanical mechs, modern civilization, a hyper-technological era with the internet… allowing them access to the internet greatly increases the chances of them causing trouble… This is different from the previous transcendent civilizations.” Xu Zhi had a headache; this problem was serious.

Moreover, there was an even more serious problem!

Any human who awakened their pineal gland and unlocked their brain’s potential, thereby awakening the system, would trace back through generations of ancestral human memories and witness the origin of humanity: an ancient deity lifting a baby high:

“Finally got it done. Tonight, I can relax a bit, go out, and play a couple of rounds of Hearthstone with the idiots in the wizard community!”

Although only two people have awakened so far (including Caroline, who is believed to have made modifications), this sentence remains humanity’s most confidential secret. It’s virtually impossible for it to be revealed, but there’s still a slim chance they might discover it.

How to deal with this?

It’s impossible to deal with!

Xu Zhi wasn't worried that leaving this sentence would create a glaring flaw or expose all his secrets.

Rather, he was already thinking about future developments.

The 'Spore Evolution' forum would go wild:

“Holy crap! Chinese again!”

“Oh my god! After Daojun, another deity has appeared—the second Easter egg after someone speaking Chinese!”

“The development team has a conscience! I’m hyped! As expected of a new game dungeon, this ancient deity’s setting feels really cool; they even visited our Earth! Truly the Myriad Worlds!”

These were the screams of the general players. Xu Zhi had done nothing but play a few rounds of Hearthstone, and he was being hyped to no end.

And what about the secret research institutes of various nations and the high-end players?

They would go completely insane, sweating in shock:

“Damn it, it really is the Myriad Worlds! We weren’t wrong! Facts have proven it once again!”

“Not only Daojun, but even in modern human society, there are terrifying super deities hidden among ordinary people on our Earth!”

“This is terrifying!”

“This deity even plays Hearthstone! Quickly send people into the wizard community to investigate those who love playing Hearthstone!”

“How do we investigate?”

“I’ll slap you! A god! Could he be bad at a game?! We must investigate the most skilled players!”

Xu Zhi looked at his three-game losing streak and fell into deep thought.

Ultimately, they still wouldn’t find me…