MTLNOVEL Chapter 250:
Chapter 250: The Mysterious Matching Mechanism:
[Simulation Year 220: You are 239 years old, and Ailei has been with you for 217 years.]
[Simulation Year 230: You are 249 years old, and Ailei has been with you for 227 years.]
[Simulation Year 240: You are 259 years old, and Ailei has been with you for 237 years.]
Time passed quickly…
Like an arrow, hitting the fleeting past with precision…
Like a whisper, echoing in the ears yet hard to discern…
Like a bubble, bursting the moment it is touched…
The fourth simulation was becoming longer than ever before—an unprecedented extended simulation.
Yet, oddly enough, Xu Xi didn’t feel much of a difference. Perhaps life aboard the starship had become too monotonous, too repetitive, and too peaceful. Xu Xi’s perception of time had begun to align with Ailei’s—cold, mechanical rationality.
The passage of years and decades had gradually turned into nothing more than a string of lifeless numbers.
“Could this be considered a kind of cosmic psychological disorder?” Xu Xi chuckled to himself.
He then began preparing an evasion plan—more precisely, a plan to counter the Neutron Battle Star.
A new wave of attacks was imminent, and Xu Xi wanted to attempt avoiding them.
He devised multiple plans to test and analyze the attack patterns of the Neutron Battle Star.
First, he would isolate himself on a desolate primitive planet, carrying only the most basic survival equipment and supplies, leaving everything else behind.
Second, the main starship fleet would travel far into deep space.
Third, Ailei would pilot a single starship in a different direction.
Fourth, an unmanned starship stocked with a large quantity of production materials and automated technology would be left behind.
Fifth, another unmanned starship, previously targeted in past attacks, would serve as a standardized main battleship but would lack production capabilities and data backups. Only a quantum signal tower would remain, allowing Ailei’s mechanical consciousness to transfer via quantum link.
Five plans. Five directions.
Additionally, numerous micro-starships equipped for data collection and analysis were scattered across a linear span of ten light-years.
“Master, will this really work?”
“I don’t know… but doing something is better than doing nothing.”
Simulation Year 252.
With Ailei’s assistance, Xu Xi completed all preparations. He hoped to use this seemingly primitive method to test the possibility of evading the Neutron Battle Star. Afterward, he remained alone on the planet, waiting for the final result. The loyal machine servant maneuvered the starship fleet into the farthest reaches of the cosmos, ensuring Xu Xi would not be affected by the impact if the main fleet was targeted.
…
[Based on the century-long attack pattern, a new wave of destruction is approaching.]
[Before the year 255, you implemented multiple plans, exploring different possibilities to avoid the Neutron Battle Star’s attack.]
[For this, you arrived early on a primitive planet.]
[You abandoned all technological products and chose to live quietly, alone.]
[You speculated that the Neutron Battle Star’s attack might be based on factors such as civilization, technology, knowledge, and productivity—none of which were deeply linked to your solitary existence.]
[The more you thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. You hoped this approach would help you evade the impending attack.]
[Years passed quickly, and soon, the expected attack time arrived…]
[However, no attack came—not against you, not against Ailei.]
[You decided to continue waiting…]
[Simulation Year 256.]
[The Neutron Battle Star arrived late. Once again, its signature gravitational waves disrupted the cosmos. The main fleet was the first to be annihilated, followed by the starship piloted by Ailei and the unmanned starship filled with production materials.]
[In an instant…]
[Only Ailei, with her unique life form, and the silent backup starship remained intact.]
[Through a micro-communicator, you received all the updates. Just as you thought you had successfully avoided detection, an anomaly appeared overhead…]
Distortion. Collapse. Destruction.
Vast swathes of space were torn apart, obliterated by overwhelming force.
The Neutron Battle Star did not employ any advanced technology. It simply used its immense mass—smashing into the planet like glass shattering effortlessly.
In that dazzling explosion…
In that fleeting moment before death…
A phrase echoed in Xu Xi’s mind:[The system has matched you with an opponent of equal strength.]
Perfectly reasonable… perfectly fair.
“Dammit—!”
…
[You died. This is your fifth death. The ‘Ten Deaths’ effect is now activating…]
[Congratulations, you have obtained a new life.]
[The vast starry sky stretched endlessly, deep and dark.]
[To evade the Neutron Battle Star, the newly revived you carried only a few technological artifacts, making it difficult to construct a shelter. Fortunately, you had anticipated this scenario long ago. Whether on the planet or in nearby space, you had prepared raw materials in advance.]
[With your mechanical-infused hands, you successfully built a temporary shelter, awaiting Ailei’s assistance.]
[“Master!!”]
[A familiar sprint. A familiar pounce.]
[The moment Ailei discovered your existence using the last remaining backup starship, she rushed towards you, toppling you over and anxiously checking your body for any injuries.]
[The ‘Ten Deaths’ effect restored all wounds.]
Naturally, Ailei found nothing but perfect health.
“Don’t worry, Ailei, I’m fine,” Xu Xi smiled, gently ruffling Ailei’s hair to soothe her anxiety.
“Ailei, can you tell me what happened earlier?”
Recovery, reconstruction, and production.
Just like before, the starship fleet, which had been completely destroyed by the Neutron Battle Star, began reconstruction once more.
During this process, Xu Xi inquired about the specifics of the attack.
“Yes, Master. While you were away, the fleet was destroyed in succession…”
Ailei recounted everything in detail.
Listening to her report and reflecting on his own experience, Xu Xi found it difficult to comprehend.
“The fleet’s destruction was expected. Targets of such massive scale were bound to attract the Neutron Battle Star’s attention.”
“The destruction of Ailei’s starship and the production-equipped vessel suggests the attack isn’t solely focused on civilization but involves an invisible detection mechanism targeting technological development and high-risk threats.”
“The backup starship, lacking production capabilities and being unmanned, was spared from the attack?”
“But—”
“I was alone… and still became a target of the Neutron Battle Star.”
“Could it be that in its detection criteria, a solitary human poses a greater threat than an unmanned starship?”