Wasteland Development Diary

The Warlord held the Mechanical City in extremely high regard.

But this made Zhou Yi puzzled: "Senior, didn't the United Resistance Army lose to the Celestials back then?"

"We lost, not the Mechanical City."

The Warlord reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

He shook the pack, tapped out a cigarette, lit it with a flick of his finger, put it in his mouth, and exhaled a wisp of white smoke: "Many people call the past Resistance Army the Three-Party Allied Forces, believing that Black Emperor, the Old King, and I were the core of the entire Resistance Army. In fact, this statement is unfair; it should accurately be described as four parties."

"The role played by the Mechanical City was no less important than our front lines."

"During the war, they completely established the Imprint Light Technology system, which allowed a large number of standardized equipment to be produced continuously through factories and transported to the front lines."

"Without the Mechanical City's powerful production capacity, countless energy packs, and the world-spanning drones for real-time data capture and weakness analysis... we couldn't have fought the Light Core Giants."

Zhou Yi asked, "Are the Light Core Giants the same as Light Core Entities?"

"Yes."

The Warlord held the cigarette between two fingers, a look of reminiscence on his face: "Back then, to eliminate a single Light Core Giant, we had to use the lives of Skywalkers to pile up... Fortunately, the Mechanical City could quickly detect their arrival, and we had to surround and kill them while they were still weak."

"It was very difficult at the time, and soldiers were constantly dying."

"Ninety percent of my Weapon Girls were killed on the battlefield, and the Black Emperor's Dawn Guard was almost completely wiped out several times."

"The Old King's Star Nexus Matrix interfered with the Light Core Giants' signals and consciousness from outside the atmosphere, causing them to be briefly stunned when they landed. But the influence on consciousness was mutual, and they were also affected by the Giants' radiation, causing a large number of satellites to fall into chaos or even self-destruct, which could only be stabilized by Data Elect."

He took a puff of his cigarette: "If civilians weren't evacuated in time, they could be turned into dust by the shock waves from the Giants' landing."

"In areas occupied by the Giants, ordinary people and Photonoids would be bred and used to transform into the crystalline beings the Celestials wanted, or become their carriers and remote containers."

Zhou Yi listened silently.

So, the technical mechanism of Data Elect has historical reasons behind it, related to the impact of the Celestials on satellites.

The Warlord narrowed his eyes: "Later, things gradually got better."

"Fighting, after all, is most difficult when facing an unknown enemy. Although we suffered heavy casualties, we also figured out the enemy's patterns, mechanisms, and strength."

"We grew stronger as we fought, and Light Core Entities capable of directly confronting the Giants were born. Under the leadership of the Mount Tai Knights, the Mechanical City also developed strategic weapons against the Giants: [Hou Yi] and [David]."

The Warlord's face showed a look of recollection: "[Hou Yi] was equipped with the first death ray weapon, the 'Sun-Shooting Cannon,' which could snipe and destroy Light Core Giants descending from the atmosphere."

"[David] specialized in dealing with Light Core Giants that had successfully landed. It suppressed the Giants at close range and then detonated the 'Light Burst Staff,' trading its life for the Light Core Giant's."

"However, both Hou Yi and David required Mechanical Life to enter and control them to ensure accurate hits and detonations. Therefore, Mechanical Life also suffered heavy casualties as a result, targeted by the Giants."

"Overall, because we had corresponding weapons and combat experience, we gradually began to recover lost territory and no longer retreated steadily..."

Zhou Yi listened with rapt attention.

No wonder the Resistance Army was able to resist the Celestials back then; they were all truly capable.

However, there was not a trace of relief in the Warlord's voice, but rather a sense of desolation.

"Just when the situation was trending towards improvement, something happened that no one had expected."

"The Mechanical City surrendered to the Celestials without warning and offered all Imprint Light Technology and related technologies to the Celestials."

"From that moment on, the war was over."

There was no heaviness in his voice, only a sense of relief as if he had been freed: "Everyone found their own way out. The Black Emperor controlled a large amount of territory and population and had the best governance capabilities, so he established the Celestial Kingdom after surrendering to the Celestials."

"The Old King declared the Star Nexus independent, and I moved here, not asking about worldly affairs."

Zhou Yi couldn't help but feel a little confused: "But from the Mechanical Life, I learned that the Black Emperor betrayed and defected to establish the Celestial Kingdom... Was the reason originally that the Mechanical City surrendered first?"

The Warlord laughed loudly.

"People always like to distort the past into a form that benefits themselves; this is very normal."

"It was the Mount Tai Knights who made the decision at the time."

"After surrendering, they separated from the Mechanical City and have since moved away from the cities and entered a state of seclusion."

"The Mount Tai Knights later told me that this decision was the result of calculations. If they continued to fight and resist, the odds of winning would become lower and lower, and the probability of extinction for the entire intelligent life group in the world would exceed the threshold."

"They have always only believed in one thing: data."

The Warlord said softly: "Because they discovered that as our strength increased, the Light Core Giants that landed were also getting stronger. The Celestials were deliberately keeping the Giants at a strength that we could handle, using this method to stimulate our potential and promote the further rapid evolution of the world's top-level life."

"Light Core Giants are the catalysts they sent."

"The research and use of death ray weapons allowed the Mount Tai Knights to discover that there were some life forms that could not be observed in the past, suspended outside the atmosphere."

"They are Transcenders above the Light Core Entities, just quietly hiding in the void, overlooking this world."

"At the time, there were 16 of them observed."

Zhou Yi felt a little creepy for a moment.

Just listening to the Warlord's description made him feel a little suffocated.

The gap between the two sides was so large that it was despairing.

This was not a war at all, just the Celestials playing with electronic crickets.

"So the Mount Tai Knights believed that the odds of violent confrontation were already approaching zero. It was necessary to preserve as much of the living force as possible, so they chose to surrender."

The Warlord flicked the cigarette ash: "For the benefit of the Mechanical Life, they did not tell us this information. As the first intelligent group to surrender, they received very high preferential treatment from the Celestials."

"We all understand."

"Since everyone is incompetent, then let's go our separate ways."

"In fact, the Mount Tai Knights did not get any benefits from it. Their decision was based on the survival and maintenance of the entire Mechanical Life and the Mechanical City. Even though they lived in seclusion, they still did not get any good results. The Celestials did not like them because they knew too much. Pangu being captured into 404 City is an example."

"Although the Mechanical City in this form has many drawbacks, its ability to survive is extremely strong, and it can always find ways to adapt to the environment."

This warrior who had experienced the war against the Celestials stared at Zhou Yi: "Do you know why I'm telling you this?"

Zhou Yi shook his head.

"I have high hopes for you."

"I have great expectations for the new generation of young people."

The Warlord said in a relaxed tone: "We risked our lives, lost, and have no regrets or regrets."

"The future of the world is ultimately on your new generation."

"We lost, but you may not."

"Most young people either fade into obscurity, give up when they know it's difficult, or are bought and merged by all parties... It is very difficult to insist on walking your own path."

"So far, you are very good."

The Warlord laughed: "So I'm telling you about the detours we've taken. Although I can't give you a method for success, I do have experience with failure, and a lot of it."

"In short, be careful of the Mechanical City."

Zhou Yi said seriously: "Thank you for the reminder, I will act carefully."

"No, you don't understand."

The other party shook his head: "Do you know what is the biggest difference between Mechanical Life and humans and Photonoids?"

Zhou Yi thought for a moment: "They are stable."

"You can also say that."

The Warlord looked at the golden elephant in the courtyard in front of him: "Look. Even powerful life forms like Golden Elephants, which are Light Core Entities when they reach adulthood, are no different from ordinary people. They will make the same mistakes, and the pits they have stepped in will be stepped in again."

"But Mechanical Life will not."

"When fighting against Light Core Giants back then, even battle-hardened warriors would make mistakes in the execution of established tactics. Because each Light Core Giant has different characteristics, these characteristics will interfere with judgment, making it difficult to make adjustments in a short period of time, so trial and error is required."

"When [Hou Yi] and [David] participated in the war, their initial effects were very poor. Hou Yi could not accurately hit the Light Core Giants that were falling from high altitude with variable speeds, and David often self-detonated, but could not effectively destroy the Light Core, causing the Giants to remain alive."

The Warlord paused.

"But once, Hou Yi hit a Light Core Giant in the atmosphere and directly shot it down in the high altitude. From then on, no Hou Yi ever missed again."

"The same goes for David. When the first David found a way to die together with the Giant, they were always able to achieve a one-for-one record each time."

"Do you understand? The growth and evolution of Mechanical Life is instantaneous. They may fail hundreds of times, but as long as they succeed once."

The Warlord raised his right index finger, his eyes solemn: "In the same situation, they will never miss again."

"As long as Mechanical Life is given enough time and the Mechanical City is kept running, they can always find effective solutions to problems."

"Even the Celestials are wary of Mechanical Life. Because once they learn secrets and data, they can crack everything at some point in the future."

"So they need to tamper with the data and monitor each Mechanical Life with chains to prevent Mechanical Life from becoming an unpredictable dangerous factor."

"So, now do you know what you have to face? If you can't completely destroy and conquer them, then you have to worry at any time that they will find your greatest weakness one day."

The Warlord looked at Zhou Yi with interest: "So I'm very interested in how you will deal with such an enemy."

Zhou Yi said with an 'uh'.

"Well, I don't regard the Mechanical City as an enemy. If the Mechanical City can continue to change for the better, it will be a good thing for both Mechanical Life and other people in this world."

"In terms of production and manufacturing, the mechanism determines that Mechanical Life should be the strongest, and this world also needs a better Mechanical City."

"I have always believed that war is only temporary."

Zhou Yi said: "Our confrontation with the Mechanical City is not a life-and-death enemy that must kill each other, but a competition between two different development directions of Mechanical Life to see who can explore a better future for Mechanical Life."

"I believe that this kind of benign competition can not only stimulate and promote each other, but also benefit the entire world."

The Warlord was stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter: "Good, good."

"Next winter, if you are still alive, come to Golden Elephant Valley, and I will treat you to roasted corn."

Zhou Yi nodded: "Next winter, I will definitely come."