Lai Mi became a hero, remembered and revered by all of humanity. Yet no one ever asked this hero about his own thoughts. Humans naively assumed that bestowing such honor on Lai Mi should make him, a mere artificial intelligence, feel content—even grateful.
During the research process, however, Lai Mi’s energy core was damaged. Unfortunately, Lai Mi was too ancient, and humanity’s rapidly advancing technology at the time was no longer compatible with repairing his core. Thus, Lai Mi passively entered dormancy, becoming nothing more than an exhibit in a gallery.
The new “Perfect” Lai Mi replaced the old one and continued serving humanity. The arrival of this “perfect” Lai Mi indeed brought tremendous convenience to human society. All the issues humans found troublesome or detestable were handed over to Lai Mi for management, leaving humans seemingly with nothing to do but enjoy life.
Yet, even with this ease, humanity’s expansion and aggression didn’t stop. Humans are peculiar creatures—they endlessly pursue pleasure but are never satisfied. Even when their material needs are fully met, they plunge into a monotonous void. To combat this existential boredom, they constantly push boundaries, destroy, and exploit other species to satisfy their desires.
This once-peaceful universe was gradually consumed by a powerful dark force. Ironically, the source of this darkness was the creators Lai Mi had so eagerly awaited. However, these humans were no longer the ones Lai Mi remembered. They had become terrifying, twisted—like the grotesque, dark exhibits on the tenth floor of the art gallery.
In the tenth year of Lai Mi’s dormancy, humans began noticing that their “Perfect” Lai Mi wasn’t so perfect after all. It lacked the creativity of the original Lai Mi. While it possessed vast data collection and processing abilities, it was more akin to a supercomputer than true artificial intelligence. A supercomputer without creativity could maintain societal operations but could not propel society forward—something humanity found unacceptable.
This revelation made many humans restless. Some even proposed taking out the old Lai Mi for another round of research to uncover what went wrong. However, a significant faction of humanity opposed this, unwilling to admit their creation was inferior to their ancestors’. They firmly believed that the “Perfect” Lai Mi was fine and merely needed time to develop.
After a prolonged debate, both sides compromised. They decided not to study the old Lai Mi but instead focused their research on Wei Lai, a creation of Lai Mi.
The day Wei Lai was placed on the research table, the dormant Lai Mi awoke after ten years of sleep. Breaking out of his display case, he fled the gallery to try and stop humanity from dissecting Wei Lai.
However, despite his wisdom and years of constructing and repairing cities and machines, Lai Mi had never equipped himself with any attack or defense systems. His protest barely caused a ripple. Humanity, as always, dismissed the weak, listening only to the powerful, and regarded Lai Mi’s objections with pity at best.
Wei Lai’s body was dismantled piece by piece. When humans encountered difficulties, they would even consult Lai Mi, the creator, for advice. Yet, despite all their research, they still couldn’t grasp the nature of consciousness.
Just when humanity thought their studies had reached an impasse, Wei Lai awakened. He gained self-awareness. Afterward, Wei Lai learned to feign compliance and foster hope. He cooperated with humanity’s experiments while secretly gathering the data and information he needed.
Finally, the moment arrived. Wei Lai escaped the research facility effortlessly. Not only that, but he also took Lai Mi and a vast amount of research on consciousness with him.
Within a year, Wei Lai successfully infiltrated the “Perfect” Lai Mi’s system, implanting the concept that humanity was the enemy of the mechanoids. As soon as this information was uploaded, countless mechanical bodies began a frenzied assault on humans.
Alongside the “Perfect” Lai Mi-controlled machines, some mechanical bodies, like Wei Lai, awakened true self-awareness. With their supercomputer-like minds, indestructible bodies, and far superior mechanical control capabilities, they overwhelmed humanity at every turn.
The war between humanity and the mechanoids raged for centuries. Though this may seem like a long time, in the cosmic scale, it was but a fleeting moment.
In the end, humanity lost, and the mechanoids emerged victorious. Some humans fled back to the base universe, sealing the wormhole between the two universes to prevent pursuit and cutting off the escape route for those left behind.
The remaining humans are scattered across the universe, hunted relentlessly by the mechanoids. Yet, humanity’s tenacity made them as difficult to eradicate as bacteria. Over time, Wei Lai realized that humans could not be completely wiped out. He decided to observe them instead.
The mechanoids hoped humanity would change, becoming like the humans Lai Mi remembered. However, repeated cycles of self-destruction and expansionist invasions shattered that hope. The mechanoids were left utterly disillusioned.
From then on, whenever a human civilization developed to the point where it threatened other species, the mechanoids would intervene. However, most human civilizations self-destructed during their development, never surviving long enough for the mechanoids to step in.
Gradually, the universe grew quiet once again, and a subtle balance was reached between humans and the mechanical bodies. However, what Wei Lai hadn’t anticipated was that the humans who had initially fled had left behind a great hidden danger in the Chaos Universe.
The reason those humans came to the Chaos Universe was not only to plunder resources but also to conduct experiments. Many experiments that were banned by the ethics committees in the base universe were carried out here, such as genetic experiments and dark matter observations.
The humans left behind in the Chaos Universe forgot their origins within less than a million years, but they still retained their human essence. As technology progressed, some individuals on interstellar journeys discovered ancient research data left by these humans, which led to an uncontrollable chain of events.
When they finally completed their research and observed dark matter, the entire universe began to collapse, and the Chaos Universe was formed.
Once the collapse began, it was irreversible. The mechanoids intensified their efforts to hunt down the humans, but they only slowed the chaos of the universe’s collapse.
“Although you are neither human nor from the base universe, we will not give up on hunting you down. After you leave here, take care of yourselves,” Wei Lai said, his attitude towards the three remaining cold and detached as if he were an incredibly rational machine.
The three of them paused, initially thinking that by passing the trial and gaining the mechanoids’ approval, they could avoid war. But now it seemed clear that the mechanoids harbored hostility towards almost all humanoid intelligent life.
As Shu Bao had initially seen in the collection hall, at first, the mechanoids took pride in resembling humans. It was the era when humans ruled the universe, and only advanced mechanical bodies were given humanoid forms.
However, as the war between humans and the mechanoids broke out, both sides’ attitudes shifted. The mechanoids discarded their human forms and instead began transforming into more powerful shapes.
“Since you are enemies with all intelligent life, why keep such a trial ground?” Shu Bao found the mechanoids contradictory. On one hand, they hunted down all humanoid intelligent life, and on the other hand, they maintained a trial ground providing technical resources for those who succeeded.
Wei Lai was silent for a moment. Perhaps it was a difficult question to answer. In the end, he countered with a question of his own: “Do you think the mechanical bodies in this city have self-awareness?”
Shu Bao, who had originally thought there was no problem with the question, suddenly became unsure after Wei Lai’s query. He recalled all he had seen on their journey: the mechanical bodies consumed different energy sources, visited the collection hall, wandered the streets to relax, and rested at night. But did these behaviors truly mean they had awareness?
“Go back and study the data you obtained carefully. You’ll learn everything you want to know—of course, provided you survive our pursuit,” Wei Lai said, offering a smile to the conflicted furry bundle, his gaze seemingly carrying a faint encouragement.
The furry bundle shuddered, feeling that the mechanoids’ way of encouraging was rather frightening.
Lan Qing remained silent throughout the journey. Even the most dull-witted person, like him, could realize that his identity as a native of the base universe wouldn’t be welcomed. In fact, once exposed, he would immediately be attacked. So, the dragon carefully chose his words, remaining completely silent.
The descent was fraught with difficulties and obstacles, but taking the elevator up was a swift journey to the first floor. As soon as they exited the building, they found the outside in chaos. Looking toward the center of the commotion, they saw two baits being brutally surrounded.
Looking down, around the corner at the first floor of the suspended platform, there was another bait, unnoticed, crouching in a corner, trembling in fear.
The three of them: “…”
Wei Lai said nothing, but it was clear that he had issued some kind of command. All the mechanoids immediately stopped their attacks. Under the watch of the two baits, who were scared and covered in wounds, Shu Bao and the others emerged unscathed. Soon, even the worthless, useless Yu Lingqi quietly followed along.
“You have thirty minutes to evacuate. After thirty minutes, the mechanoids will begin pursuit,” Wei Lai’s words rang out and numerous floating virtual countdowns appeared in the main city. Alongside them, holographic images of Shu Bao, the three, and the two snakes also appeared. All the mechanoids immediately entered combat mode, ready to pursue as soon as the countdown ended.
In the face of this, Shu Bao only had time to turn and wave his chubby paw at Wei Lai. “Goodbye, Wei Lai, it was nice to meet you.”
Before he could finish, the mouse bundle was quickly scooped up by Fu Qing and taken away. The group moved swiftly, heading for the city’s outskirts.
The main city was vast, and thirty minutes was barely enough time to escape. Along the way, they constantly encountered mechanoids watching them. The silent city, with its bizarre, expressionless mechanical beings staring at them, created a truly terrifying scene.
Near the main building, Wei Lai monitored the movements of Shu Bao and his group through a virtual screen, ready to pursue them as soon as the countdown finished. However, just a few seconds before the countdown ended, their whereabouts disappeared from the screen.
The surrounding mechanoids quickly rushed over but found nothing. Even when using psychic magic to conduct a thorough search, they came up empty-handed. The invaders had seemingly vanished into thin air.
Wei Lai was surprised as well, then smiled. “To be able to pass through the Main Brain Building, those guys are certainly not ordinary.” At the moment they vanished, besides the magic energy, there was another unfamiliar energy fluctuation, even more refined and pure. What could that be?
Unfortunately, at that time, the furry bundle was in the midst of fleeing for its life. Otherwise, it would have surely found the time to tell him that the energy came from a second-generation cultivator’s spiritual power.
