MTLNOVEL Chapter 363: Sudden! Micro Robots!
The Little Mirage Dragon suddenly had a moment of clarity, and its round eyes showed a look of terror...
These mermen were like NPCs in a computer game, with an invisible hand manipulating them from behind!
The so-called "pleasant conversations" with humans were all an act!
Even more terrifying was that the mermen seemed, perhaps, likely... to be preparing weapons?!
As dusk deepened, millions of mermen were still bustling about, many soldiers donning various equipment and boarding several submarines.
Were they going to attack humans?!
The Little Mirage Dragon finally snapped out of it and began to flee in a puff of smoke!
It wanted to sound the alarm!
...
On this dark and windy night, as human scholars gradually left, a chip on the newly purchased "Biochemical Reactor" snapped off, transforming into a mechanical construct resembling an ant!
Its diameter was only one millimeter, and if you didn't look closely, it seemed like a tiny speck of dust. Naturally, with the current human vision, it could still be easily identified, thus it cleverly hid itself in the crevices of the machinery.
"Beep!" A nearby instrument measuring "Hume Indices" sounded an alert, and a few soldiers on duty approached.
Such an important machine, especially one purchased from an alien civilization, was naturally monitored 24 hours a day.
"What's the problem?"
"We detected a very faint ideal signal, but it was fleeting; not sure if it's just a detector error."
While these soldiers conducted their search, the tiny ant chip had already jumped into a computer made by humans.
The soldiers were suspicious, feeling as if something had happened.
At first, they didn't take it seriously, as ideal rules are everywhere in the world, and the instrument measuring Hume Indices was a recent development, so a slight error was considered normal.
But then it struck them - they were in a room made of Black Iron Alloy, a dust-free room that could block most superpowers.
Moreover, this machine was brand new and in the process of manufacturing drugs!
Should any problem arise, getting the merman scientists to make another trip would cost extra funds. And that money came from all of humanity!
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So, the soldiers reported the error signal.
At three in the morning, some experts were called away from their sleep, groggy as they returned to the drug manufacturing room, and after a lengthy check, they found that the machine was operating normally.
"It's working fine; at this power, it can produce 11,000 pills a day. We'll fully understand it first, then clone several more units."
"Haha, no need for such a fuss... it's indeed purely a physical instrument."
"Those mermen... sigh, I also find it strange, there's something indescribable, their smiles seem a bit fake..."
"We'd better stick to our respective paths. Hmm, I guess it'll be over in another year."
People were quite vigilant, but it never crossed their minds that the other party could possess technology of an interstellar civilization level!
And they couldn't possibly imagine that the South Island Civilization had already been conquered by a terrifying disaster.
At this moment, this disaster was also extending its claws toward humanity... The tiny ant chip had crawled out of the computer, took advantage of the hustle and bustle of the crowd, with a light hop got lodged into the seam of someone's shoe.
Even with safety inspection instruments outside, it was too small to be detected, and since it was purely a product of material technology, ideal instruments couldn't detect it.
It seemed to have a specific purpose as it once again jumped onto a computer.
And this computer... was connected to Green City's internet!
The human internet system had three layers.
The first was the Opium poppy internet, also known as "Green Grass Paradise." This was developed by the Green Grass Civilization based on "Dream abilities," powerful and mature in technology. The only trouble was it required the consumption of precious "Ideal Energy."
The current Green Grass Paradise was mainly serving child development, and the computing power allocated to researchers and regular citizens wasn't much.
The second layer of the internet was Source Fire Technology, which meant controlling "Human-shaped Puppets" with mind control.
In theory, people could also interact remotely using Source Fire Technology, but for current humans, it wasn't mature yet.
So, this internet was still in development...
The third layer of the internet was the traditional network, connecting through fiber optics and cables, relatively low-cost, requiring no idealist material, technically mature, and greatly improving civilian entertainment.
Especially as many industries depended on industrial internet-of-things support.
As the "Ant Chip" burrowed in, many automatically operating machines started experiencing minor changes.
"Huh? What's going on?"
"Did I see that wrong?"
During the still of night, only a few duty personnel were present, with most people sleeping.
These strange signals captured the attention of a few, but were fleeting and disappeared before anyone could realize what was happening. They began to groggily organize clues, but the overpowering technology from the higher material civilization was not something the current Human 18th Civilization could detect.
Thus, it came to pass that, through the industrial internet, more and more automated factories had been covertly conquered...
One of these factories began to produce a colorless and odorless gas, which, once inhaled by humans, would paralyze their nerves and render them incapacitated. Despite the presence of the Extraordinary Spark, which could suppress many toxins, this particular poison seemed to bypass many mechanisms.
People who are asleep have no active defenses. A mere whiff of this paralyzing toxin could knock someone out for tens of hours.
...
...
At four o'clock in the early morning, Lu Yuan, who was sound asleep, was woken up by a drenched Miss Conch.
"What now, let me sleep for another half hour..."
"I have a very intense palpitation, as if something terrible is about to happen!" Miss Conch looked worried, as she was simulating the ability of "Foreknowledge."
But because this ability was so weak, she had no clue about what was going to happen in the future... All she had was a vague feeling that disaster was looming.
"Could it be... your soul is about to solidify?" Lu Yuan joked, "Is our journey of suffering about to end?"
"No, it's not that... It seems like humanity is about to be wiped out." Miss Conch said seriously, "This premonition is very strong, my head is buzzing."
"What? What did you say?" Lu Yuan immediately jumped out of bed, eyes wide open, grabbing her arm, "What is going to happen in the future?"
"I don't know! Just let go of me first!"
...
At five o'clock in the early morning, Lu Yuan urgently assembled a large group of soldiers and began to investigate any possible dangers that had occurred in the city.
Much to their shock upon inspection, they discovered that a pharmaceutical factory was actually automatically producing paralytic gas!
Some industrial robots were carrying gas cylinders, pumping gas into residential areas through ventilation ducts, and already a small half of the city's citizens lay unconscious, paralyzed and in a deep slumber!
Lu Yuan was furious and raised his voice involuntarily, while sending people to transport these residents to the sanctuary, he demanded, "What's going on? Is it a safety accident or is it deliberate??"
The responsible parties were just as confused: "We... shouldn't be making these kinds of mistakes... Could it be the work of some antisocial element? We've checked these robots... no errors were detected."
"What about surveillance? Any information?"
"The surveillance data has been erased!"
Those two machines that had been purchased from the South Island Civilization were naturally the targets of close scrutiny.
But no matter how they investigated, these machines were just obediently producing pharmaceuticals.
Just then, two soldiers reported what had happened previously.
Lu Yuan was taken aback: "You mean, there was a slight supernatural fluctuation here before?"
"Yes, but it is impossible to predict if it's an instrument error."
Lu Yuan furrowed his brows, as if an invisible enemy had come knocking, but no one could find a reason, or even identify who this enemy was.
"If there really is an extinction crisis, I can only think of three possibilities."
"The first is some kind of extraordinary natural disaster, such as a level 20 or above super typhoon."
Such an extreme windstorm indeed could topple the 200 million-ton Sky City... after all, this is the Pangu Continent, not Earth, and some natural disasters are beyond prediction.
However, among the human group, there is a Divine Skill called "Weather Forecaster," a legacy from the first generation of The Sha Li Clan, who can accurately predict weather phenomena, with a very low chance of error.
Especially these level 20 or higher storms, usually there are many signs, it's highly unlikely that they would occur out of nowhere.
"The second possibility is... some kind of Catastrophe Level Anomaly is approaching... This anomaly has the power to destroy all humanity... and this anomaly is also clever, capable of concocting something like poisonous gas. If that's the case, it's likely a [Demon] capable of manipulating electromagnetic waves."
"If that truly is the case, we will need to band together with the South Island Civilization for warmth..."
A [Demon]?
Lu Yuan's heart tightened, damn it, why do we keep encountering these [Demons]?
"The third possibility is that the South Island Civilization is preparing for war... All of this is done by the South Island Civilization!!"
The latter two possibilities seemed contradictory.
If it's an anomaly... indeed, banding together is necessary.
But if South Island Civilization truly harbors hostility, won't humans walking straight into their arms be tantamount to catching themselves in a trap?
"Aren't the negotiations going smoothly now? Could they really think that they've got us cornered?" many negotiation experts expressed their dissenting views, "A failed war could mean annihilation!"
As long as the other party is a logical and intelligent being, starting a war after losing a gamble would be suicidal.
Lu Yuan himself was puzzled: "Could it really be the second possibility?
"Anomalies, huh... It's been a long time since we've encountered one. No need to panic, everyone. As long as we don't encounter a [Ghost], there's nothing to fear."
"Let's evacuate urgently first... let everyone hide in the Central Shelter."