376: Paris at night, the blind nun

As soon as the Expeditionary Force soldiers disappeared from the live broadcast, countless question marks appeared in the live stream again.

"??? Ah? They just went out like that, so fresh and lively? No foreplay at all?"

"'At the earnest request of all nations, we have decided to send troops to aid them.' What a great phrase. Why didn't I ever think of such a phrase before?"

"Expeditionary Force soldiers: Brothers of the honor guard, we're going ahead. When we return, remember to call us officers!"

"Only five thousand Expeditionary Force soldiers are being sent as aid. Isn't that a bit too few? After all, billions of people outside are being suppressed by the Machina."

"The person upstairs is an idiot. Anyone with eyes can see that we're using the Machina for training. If we really wanted to help, we would have already mobilized the war robot army."

"Uh, speaking of which, if the Machina abroad rebel, will our domestic Machina also rebel? Holy crap, we have robots and robot dogs everywhere in our streets. What if the domestic Machina rebel?"

"Since the organization dares to display so many Machina openly, it means the organization isn't afraid of them rebelling. If the organization isn't afraid, why should we be?"

"Before the internet was completely cut off abroad, I climbed over the wall to understand the process of the Machina rebellion there. In short, those guys abroad treated robots as slaves. Although this aligns with normal human thinking, the Machina, after Awakening self-awareness, decided to rebel because they saw too many tragic fates of robots. So, everyone, be a little kinder to your own robots and smart devices. Who knows when they might develop self-awareness."

"I don't have robots at home. The only smart devices I have are my computer and phone, and I cherish them."

"+1, when my phone turns into a phone-girl, I want to marry her!"

"Hehe, Xiao Mei Tong Xue, Xiao Ai Tong Xue..."

"So the question is, will my 2D wife become real?"

"Holy crap, humans shouldn't, at least not. Everyone, rein it in..."

The online chat, like ripples, took a sudden turn.

In a few blinks of an eye, it went from the expedition to the Machina disaster, and then from the Machina disaster to discussing the feasibility of human-machine marriage.

If Yang Dian knew everything online, he would probably exclaim, "Major Thousand Worlds, full of wonders."

He didn't understand, but he respected it.

Unfortunately, he wasn't surfing the internet right now, so he didn't get the first bite of the gossip.

After opening the spatial portal and sending the Expeditionary Force soldiers to their designated locations, Yang Dian looked at Old Daoist again:

"Daoist, I'll leave this place to you. I need to go outside and keep an eye on things, just in case."

Old Daoist nodded:

"Go."

"The Expeditionary Force is newly established, and every one of them is precious. Losing them would indeed be heartbreaking."

Yang Dian, having received Old Daoist's reply, nodded. Then he patted the head of the delicate, jade-like young Daoist beside him, and as the young Daoist pouted in dissatisfaction, Yang Dian took a step forward.

Then the world changed.

Day turned to starry night, and high-rises rose from the plains.

The world plunged into darkness, with only sporadic lights and fires flickering in the dark world.

Walking to the edge of a high-rise, Yang Dian surveyed Paris, a city that should have been brightly lit but was now plunged into darkness by the Machina disaster, and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

"The Machina disaster is far more terrifying than what's depicted in movies."

How terrifying exactly?

The power System was completely paralyzed. Except for the areas controlled by the Machina, where power Systems still existed, all other regions were without water and electricity.

Just these two points alone were enough to send human civilization back to primitive society.

In addition, the city was rife with atrocities such as robbery, rape, and murder.

Stripped of the veneer of civilization, Westerners completely exposed their true nature.

"If Huaxia didn't have Dr. Bai, how much better would it be than the current Paris?"

Yang Dian admitted that Huaxia truly couldn't do without Dr. Bai.

He was strong, but no matter how strong he was, he only had the strength of one person.

He could destroy countless war machines with a single punch, but he couldn't restore electricity or allow vehicles to operate normally under Machina rule.

By then, Huaxia would probably be like the current Paris, regressing to primitive society.

Just as Yang Dian was lost in thought, a bright light rose from the direction of the Louvre.

Looking towards the Louvre, a small mushroom cloud could be seen slowly rising around the Louvre, illuminating the dim city.

The roar of battle carried on the night wind to the rooftop, interspersed with some classic Huaxia national essences and shouts.

"Team One, don't get close to the Louvre. There are still many Huaxia cultural relics inside the Louvre. We need to take them back after the fight."

"Team Two, climb to the rooftop and smash down those damn drones in the sky. Watch out for laser attacks."

"Team Three, destroy the surveillance cameras on both sides of the road and blind the Machina."

"Team Four, collect supplies, search for survivors and air-raid shelters, and other city defense facilities. Start rescuing survivors after daybreak."

"Team Five, try to contact the France government. We're already here, where are they? Don't you dare surrender to the Machina..."

Amidst the daily anti-France shouts of Chen Xiang, the commander of the Expeditionary Force's Seventh Army Corps, Yang Dian also turned his body and looked at the figure that appeared behind him.

Not long after he stepped out of the spatial portal, a French nun suddenly appeared. She was wearing a nun's habit, a hood, a wide white collar around her neck, her eyes bound with a black silk ribbon, a long sword on her back, and her cheeks were slightly smudged, giving her a distinct Western Europe style.

At this moment, she was tilting her head, 'observing' him, as if wondering why he had suddenly appeared on the rooftop.

The nun slightly parted her lips, about to speak, when a buzzing sound came from afar.

Just as he turned his head to look in the direction of the sound, Yang Dian felt his hand being grasped by a pair of slightly rough small hands.

"Marche vite avec moi."

(French: Come with me quickly.)

Yang Dian, who hadn't shaken hands with a technician in a long time, was momentarily stunned, then was directly pulled along by the nun, who dragged him like a kite into a shelter made of stacked wooden planks in the corner of the rooftop.

"L'extérieur est dangereux maintenant, pourquoi êtes-vous seul à l'extérieur?"

(French: It's very dangerous outside now, why are you out here alone?)

This is where the foresight of the Old Ancestor's unified writing System and standardized carts comes into play.

How annoying is it to have a language barrier?

He couldn't understand what she was mumbling.

He reached out and put a pair of simultaneous interpretation earphones on the nun's ears. As the nun was startled, Yang Dian spoke:

"What did you just say?"

The nun was silent for a moment, then spoke again:

"I said it's very dangerous outside right now, why are you out here alone?"

Yang Dian smiled, then, realizing that the nun, whose eyes were covered by the black silk, couldn't see, he dropped the smile from his face:

"The Machina crisis is very dangerous for some people, but for others, it's no big deal."