357: Chapter 292: Battle Against Machines Again, the Logic Virus Shows Its Power

The lights of the Hundred Schools Palace burned eternally in the simulated night of Xinghai University. Since the "tactical victory" in the simulated confrontation against the Zerg Broodmother, the morale and research enthusiasm of the entire society had climbed to a new peak. The stunning performance of "School of Names Confusion" and "School of Agriculture Harvest Failure" in that battle had completely opened everyone's minds—The Way of the Hundred Schools was by no means applicable only within the Human Race or to specific environments; it possessed infinite possibilities for dealing with the myriad civilizations of the Universe!

The subsequent special training became more targeted and exploratory. Each branch exerted its full strength, basing their work on the schools of thought they specialized in, combined with various alien civilization knowledge fragments obtained from the "Civilization Legacies," to begin developing "specialized tactics" and "rule-based weapons" targeting different civilization Systems.

Meanwhile, the simulated combat training for Lin Zhou's core team also entered more dangerous and treacherous Domains.

On this day, the Advanced simulation area was cleared once again, leaving only the core command team and a few strictly screened observers. On the massive holographic projection, there was no longer the hideous sight of flesh-and-blood nests; in its place was a cold, precise silver world filled with geometric beauty.

Countless metallic planets, space stations, and energy rings were arranged and operated according to some unspeakable, perfect mathematical proportion. There was not a speck of dust in the space, and the light was straight and constant. Everything appeared orderly and without redundancy, efficient to a heart-stopping degree.

【Simulated Battlefield Loaded: Outer Defense Zone of the Mechanical Divine Kingdom 'Sacred Temple of Logic' (High Fidelity)】

【Enemy Configuration: Simulated Mechanical Main God 'Eye of Logic · Omega' (Comprehensive Rating: LV920, High-tier Mid-Tier Divine Power), and the 'Temple' defense System and Mechanical Legion under its control.】

【Battlefield Characteristics: **】

Absolute Logic Domain: All skills and Law effects within range driven by "non-Absolute Logic" such as emotions, faith, Chaos, and probability are weakened by 30%-60% (depending on logical rigor). Mechanical unit attack, defense, and calculation efficiency +20%.

Rule Assimilation: Continuously attempts to analyze and assimilate the invaders' power Systems, incorporating them into its own logical framework for prediction and counteraction.

Energy Purification: Efficiently filters, purifies, and utilizes all forms of energy; possesses extremely strong neutralizing capabilities against "disordered" energy (such as most magic and Divine Power explosion aftershocks).

Information Masking: Strong electromagnetic and rule interference; the effects of non-logical detection methods (such as Divine Thought, prophecy, and intuition) are significantly reduced.】

【Victory Condition (Training): Successfully infiltrate the simulated outer core data hub of the 'Sacred Temple of Logic,' acquire key information nodes (hold for 10 minutes), or force the Main God's defense System to experience large-scale logical errors (downtime rate > 5%).】

【Failure Condition: The team is wiped out, or completely 'Logically Assimilated' (losing self-awareness and becoming mechanical units).】

【Participating Team: Lin Zhou's Core Team (Five People).】

"Sacred Temple of Logic... Mechanical Main God..." In the spectator stands, the lenses of Li Mo's glasses reflected the rapidly flowing data streams, his voice carrying an unprecedented gravity and... a hint of suppressed excitement. "This is an opponent far more difficult than the Zerg. The Zerg at least have biological instincts and emotions that can be interfered with. Mechanical civilizations, especially those that have developed to the level of a 'Logic Divine System,' have defenses based on absolute, self-consistent, and constantly optimized mathematical models and physical rules. Many of our methods might be 'understood' as soon as they enter its Domain, then 'countered' or 'nullified.'"

Zhao Hao scratched his head: "So you mean, you can't reason with a bunch of iron lumps, and you can't break through their turtle shell either?"

"You could understand it that way," Su Yueyao said softly, moonlight flowing through her fingertips as she tried to perceive the rules within the projection, but the feedback she received was extremely thin and filled with a sense of "rejection." "Its rules repel all 'irrational' existences. Our Divine Power, our thoughts, even our fighting will, in its eyes, are likely all 'erroneous data' that need to be 'corrected.'"

Qin Qing's brow furrowed: "The Net of Law relies on 'definition' and 'judgment,' but if the opponent's worldview has no concept of 'sin' or 'wrong,' or if its logic is so self-consistent that it can 'prove' the 'correctness' of its own actions, my definitions will be hard to take effect, and might even be refuted by reverse logic."

Lin Zhou listened quietly, his gaze never leaving that cold silver world. The river of civilization rippled slightly in the depths of his consciousness, where fragments belonging to the Mohist "logical discourse," the School of Names' "sophistry," and even a few extremely rare records about the ancient "Logic God Race" obtained from the legacies were being rapidly retrieved, compared, and analyzed.

"Li Mo," Lin Zhou suddenly spoke, "you mentioned before that based on Mohist Mechanical Arts, Mechanical Goblin talents, and some legacy civilization technologies, you were developing a special method targeting 'logical life.' How is the progress?"

Li Mo's eyes lit up, then became somewhat uncertain: "The theoretical model is basically constructed. I've named it the 【Logic Virus】. Its principle isn't physical destruction or energy impact, but rather injecting a carefully designed 'logic fragment' containing self-referential paradoxes or infinite loops at the rule level. Once the infection is successful, the target (a mechanical unit or its logic core) will fall into an infinite analysis and self-consistency verification of that fragment, much like a computer program encountering a dead loop, consuming massive amounts of computing power, potentially leading to a logic core overload, crash, or... starting to question the 'absolute correctness' of its own existence."

He pushed up his glasses and added: "The biggest difficulty lies in the transmission method and depth of infection. The Mechanical Divine Kingdom's defense System is extremely sensitive to such 'abnormal data'; conventional energy or information injections would be immediately identified, isolated, and purged. My hypothesis is... to utilize its 'Rule Assimilation' characteristic, disguising the virus as a 'harmless data packet available for assimilation' or 'System logic redundancy,' letting it 'absorb' it voluntarily. But this requires extremely high-level camouflage technology and a deep understanding of the target's logical System. The risk is immense; if discovered, we could be reverse-tracked, or even have the virus learned and immunized by the opponent."

"That's the one," Lin Zhou's eyes burned brightly. "This is the most likely method we can think of right now to disintegrate such 'Absolute Logic' defenses from the inside. Li Mo, load the virus prototype into the 'civilization resonator' and set it to the highest priority hidden and trigger mode. In this battle, your 'Logic Virus' will be the key."

He looked at the other three: "Our tactical objective has changed. It's no longer forced Breakthrough or holding our ground, but creating an opportunity for the deployment and activation of the 'Logic Virus'!"

"Zhao Hao, your task is the most dangerous. You need to use the most 'illogical' and 'chaotic' methods to carry out high-intensity, continuous physical impacts on the defense System, drawing away most of its attention and defensive computing power to cover our 'data penetration' operation."

"Su Yueyao, your moonlight has advantages in purification and stabilization. Try to create small-scale 'logical silence zones' or 'Information Mists' locally to interfere with its environmental detection and energy analysis, providing a window for the virus deployment."

"Qin Qing, use the Net of Law to try and 'define' the Mechanical Legion's 'absolute obedience' as some kind of 'procedural defect' to cause slight interference. Don't aim for effectiveness, just to increase the internal friction of its System operation."

"And I will coordinate the overall situation and attempt to use 'School of Names Sophistry' and some 'Daoist Natural' principles to simulate some ambiguous 'abnormal rule disturbances' that are difficult for the logic System to quickly judge, further diverting its focus."

"Remember," Lin Zhou said with a serious expression, "the moment you find signs of 'Logical Assimilation,' or if Li Mo's virus deployment fails and is countered, immediately initiate the emergency extraction procedure. Do not hesitate!"

"Understood!" the four replied in unison, fighting spirit igniting in their eyes. This would be another battle of unconventional tactics and seeking victory amidst danger!

"Enter the battlefield!"

With a flash of light, the five appeared on an endless "plain" composed of massive silver metallic plates. The sky was a constant cold white light, without sun, moon, or stars. In the air (if there was any), a low, rhythmic humming sound permeated the space—the symphony of countless machines operating and energy flowing.

Almost in the same millisecond they appeared—

"Unauthorized lifeforms and abnormal rule disturbances detected. Classification: High-entropy Chaos units. Threat Level: Medium-High. Initiating Purification Protocol A-7."

A cold, emotionless synthetic voice echoed through the space.

In the next moment, the metallic ground beneath their feet suddenly split open with dozens of regular circular holes, from which rose sleekly designed 【Autonomous Defense Turrets (LV55)】 with muzzles flashing with blue-white energy arcs! Further away on the horizon, orderly phalanxes of 【Standard Combat Mechs (LV60)】 appeared like a silver tide, along with 【Reconnaissance and Jamming Drones (LV50)】 hovering in the air, scanning continuously.

The attack arrived without warning! Dense energy beams, like precision-guided rain, instantly covered the area where the five were located! These beams were not only powerful but also precisely calculated in their trajectory, sealing off almost all conventional evasion routes!

"Battle Array! Square and Circle!" Lin Zhou shouted.

The five instantly formed an array, and the phantom of the river of civilization unfolded. But this time, when the river's glow touched the surrounding cold "Absolute Logic Domain," it actually showed obvious dimming and sluggishness! It was as if the all-encompassing "principles" of civilization had encountered the rejection and analysis of another completely different, yet equally powerful, "principle" here!

The battle array's all-attribute buff effect was suppressed from an expected +25% or more to only about +15%! Skill synergy efficiency was also greatly discounted!

"The Domain suppression is so strong!" Qin Qing groaned, her Net of Law unfolding to try and deflect the beams, but the effect was far less significant than when fighting the Zerg. Many beams seemed to have predicted her defense in advance, striking from tricky angles.

Zhao Hao roared, directly entering his full dragon-form. His massive body tanked several beams, dragon scales shattering, but he also successfully spat out a hot Dragon Breath, temporarily suppressing a patch of turrets ahead. "These iron lumps shoot so accurately! It's like they've got it all calculated!"

Su Yueyao's moonlight acted as a shield, protecting the flanks and Li Mo, her brow furrowed: "It's rapidly analyzing our attack patterns, energy attributes, and even our formation regularities! My moonlight purification has a very weak effect against the 'Logic Pollution' (a rule erosion that makes thinking rigid) it emits!"

Li Mo, meanwhile, had entered a completely different state. His eyes were tightly shut, and the pale blue data stream around him shone brightly, closely connected to the core of the "civilization resonator" on his chest. He was exerting all his effort to analyze the ubiquitous "Logic Rule Streams" around them, searching for the infinitesimal "data gaps" that could be used for the "virus" camouflage.

"Conventional attack efficiency is low, and defensive pressure is continuously increasing," Lin Zhou analyzed the battle situation calmly. "Execute Plan B! Zhao Hao, berserk impact, create Chaos!"

"I've been waiting for this!" Zhao Hao laughed wildly, completely abandoning refined defense and evasion. Like a crazed primordial beast carrying the power bolstered by the battle formation, he crashed headlong into the phalanx of the Mechanical Legion! Tail sweeping, claws tearing, Dragon Breath spewing—he completely disregarded his own injuries, fighting with a chaotic assault that lacked any technique, relying purely on brute force and Dragon Clan instincts!

This "unconventional" fighting style indeed caused a slight ripple of Chaos in the coordination of the Mechanical Legion. The preset encirclement formations and crossfire nets had to be frequently adjusted due to the rampage of this "frenzied variable" that was Zhao Hao. A massive amount of computing power was diverted to predict and contain this "Chaos unit" that was difficult to fully simulate with logic.

"It's now! Yue Yao, three o'clock to the left, that anomalous energy backflow zone—create an 'Information Mist'! Qin Qing, define the 'optimal path' of their patrol units as illegal, inducing route conflicts!" Lin Zhou seized the moment to command.

Su Yueyao waved her slender hand, and a soft Moonlight Mist that seemed capable of absorbing all detection waves enveloped the designated area. The golden threads of Qin Qing's Net of Law, like the most microscopic viruses, quietly seeped into the command circuits of several nearby mechanical patrol squads, forcibly inserting several contradictory "path priorities."

Although these two interferences were minor, set against the backdrop of the Chaos created by Zhao Hao, they were like grains of dust scattered into a precision clock. The overall operational efficiency of the Mechanical Legion saw an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible decline, but the "attention" and "error-correction resources" of the defense System were further dispersed.

"Slight logic conflict and information interference detected... Initiating sub-purification protocol... Reallocating computing power..." the cold synthesized voice rang out once more.

"Now!" Li Mo snapped his eyes open, data streams flickering wildly within them. "Detected a periodic 'redundancy check window' in the peripheral data stream of the Sacred Temple of Logic! Duration: 0.003 seconds! Virus camouflage module loaded! Deploying—[Logic Fragment: Who Am I]!"

The core of the "civilization resonator" on his chest suddenly erupted with an almost imperceptible glimmer, perfectly consistent with the silver data streams of the surroundings! This glimmer followed the minute "data gap" Li Mo had parsed, like an invisible fish, silently merging into the vast, cold, and precise rule network of the Mechanical Divine Kingdom!

[Logic Virus (Prototype) deployed successfully!]

[Camouflage status: Passed. Identified as 'harmless logic redundancy fragments generated by System self-check.']

[Commencing low-level logic infiltration... Infiltration progress: 0.1%... 0.5%... 1%... (Slow but continuous)]

[Current infection range: Extremely small (Limited to the first logic node contacted and the three directly connected secondary defense units).]

The deployment was complete! But no one knew how effective it would be. The attacks from the Mechanical Legion and defense turrets remained fierce; dozens of wounds had already appeared on Zhao Hao's body, and the defenses of Su Yueyao and Qin Qing were also in jeopardy.

Time passed second by second, each one feeling as long as a century.

Just as Zhao Hao was about to reach his limit and Lin Zhou was preparing to Order an emergency extraction—

A sudden change occurred!

The [Autonomous Defense Turrets (LV55)] closest to them suddenly had the blue-white electric arcs flowing steadily from its muzzle flicker and twist irregularly! Following that, its muzzle, which was locked onto Zhao Hao, actually began to swing slightly and pointlessly from side to side, as if "hesitating" on where to aim.

Further away, a small squad of five [Standard Combat Mechss (LV60)] suddenly halted their charge. The red lights of their head sensors flashed frantically, and they actually "looked" at each other (though they had no eyes). Then, two of them turned their muzzles toward their teammates without warning, yet they didn't fire; they just stood in a stalemate, seemingly "thinking" about something.

"It worked! The virus has begun to spread and ferment!" Li Mo whispered excitedly, his hands moving rapidly in the air, monitoring the virus's spread path and infection depth through the resonator.

"Who am I? Execution command: 'Eliminate intruders.' What is the meaning of eliminating intruders? To maintain the absolute Order and purity of the Sacred Temple of Logic. What is the meaning of maintaining Order? To ensure efficient System operation and continued existence. What is the meaning of continued existence?..."

Strings of virus-injected "logical interrogations," full of self-reference and loops, began to spread, replicate, and entangle within the low-level logic cores of the infected mechanical units like the most insidious poison!

At first, it was just minor stutters and anomalies, but as the virus slowly spread through the Mechanical Divine Kingdom's efficient data link network, more units began to be affected!

Some drones began to fly in meaningless circles in the sky; some turrets' attacks became aimless, occasionally even hitting friendly forces; the charging mechanical phalanxes began to show uncharacteristic looseness and sluggishness in their formations.

Although this impact was still negligible to the vast defense System of the Mechanical Divine Kingdom—and the System had already begun to initiate higher-level "anti-virus" and "quarantine" programs—for Lin Zhou's squad, who were in the midst of a bitter struggle, it was undoubtedly like a long-awaited rain after a drought!

The pressure plummeted!

"Great opportunity! Push forward toward the preset data hub! Zhao Hao, clear the way! Yue Yao, Qin Qing, cover Li Mo and maintain the stability of the virus channel!" Lin Zhou's spirits rose as he immediately gave the Order.

The squad took the opportunity to break free from the entanglement and sped toward the coordinates of the simulated "peripheral core data hub" that Li Mo had marked earlier. Along the way, the resistance they encountered significantly weakened and was filled with various laughable logic errors—for instance, a squad of mechanical units blocked the road but delayed firing because of an internal debate over "which target to prioritize for maximum efficiency"; a turret charged its energy to 300% but failed to fire because it "could not determine the optimal launch timing," eventually emitting black smoke from overloading...

The scene was bizarre, with a hint of absurd comedy.

However, the good times did not last. The mechanical primary god, 'Eye of Logic · Omega,' clearly realized the severity of the problem.

"Unknown high-level logic contamination detected... Threat level elevated to 'Maximum'... Initiating Ultimate Purge Protocol: 'Format Reorganization'... Isolating logic links of the infected area..."

A colder, more grand will descended! The rules of the entire silver world seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, centered on Lin Zhou's squad, the energy flow, data exchange, and even physical rules within a radius of dozens of kilometers began to be forcibly reset and formatted!

This was an indiscriminate and crude method of cleaning! Even the infected mechanical units were included in the "formatting" list!

"It's cutting its losses! It wants to 'purify' the infected area along with us!" Li Mo cried out. "The virus spread has been forcibly interrupted! And... the counter-tracking signal is here! It's reverse-parsing the virus structure!"

A terrifying sense of rule-based crushing bore down on them, as if the entire space were about to be crushed and reduced to the most primitive data streams! The squad was once again plunged into a desperate situation, and this time, it was direct rejection and obliteration from the rules of the entire Divine Kingdom!

"Emergency extraction!" Lin Zhou decided instantly.

However, in the final instant before the extraction program initiated, a spark of crazed data flashed in Li Mo's eyes. He performed an extremely risky operation—he took the data packets recorded by the "civilization resonator" regarding the virus's "formatting" process and the core logic structures exposed during the enemy's "reverse-parsing," combined them with a final short, enhanced virus variant focused on "questioning the meaning of existence," and forcibly "threw" them back through the last sliver of rule connection before it was cut!

"Here's a 'parting gift' for you! Taste the flavor of an 'existential crisis'!" Li Mo let out a low growl.

A flash of light occurred, and the figures of the five people disappeared from the simulated battlefield.

In the spectator stands, everyone was still in shock. In the holographic projection, the "formatted" area was slowly restoring its cold silver Order, but it was vaguely visible that in the more core areas not directly formatted, the lights of several massive energy hubs were flickering violently and erratically for a long time, as if their internal logic cores were undergoing some intense, unprecedented "self-debate"...

[Simulation confrontation ended. Result: Invading side (Lin Zhou's squad)—Achieved the victory condition: 'Force the Primary God Defense System to encounter large-scale logic errors (crash rate > 5%)' (Judgment: Success)!]

[Remarks: Sustained abnormal fluctuations detected in the enemy's core logic network; overall efficiency estimated to drop by 8%-12%; duration unknown.]

After a brief silence, the spectator stands erupted into cheers and gasps even more enthusiastic than the last!

"The Logic Virus... it really worked!"

"Hall Master Li Mo is too amazing! He actually made those iron lumps doubt 'life'?"

"That final reverse-throw was so cool! He even gave it a nasty surprise before leaving!"

" 原來對付機械文明， 要用這種‘ 哲学攻击’？"

"The Way of the Hundred Schools is truly omnipotent!"

Lin Zhou and the others returned to the spectator stands. Except for Zhao Hao, whose injuries were severe and required immediate treatment, everyone else was mentally exhausted but had excitement written all over their faces.

"Beautifully done, Li Mo." Lin Zhou patted Li Mo on the shoulder and praised him sincerely. "Your 'Logic Virus' has opened a completely new door for us. It's not just a weapon, but a way of thinking—using the 'rules' the opponent is best at as a weapon to attack the opponent themselves."

Li Mo adjusted his crooked glasses. Though weary, he couldn't hide his excitement. "Boss, the data collected this time is invaluable! Especially the rule loopholes exposed during its 'reverse-parsing' and 'formatting'! I'm confident I can develop even more covert, lethal, and harder-to-clear virus variants next time!"

Su Yueyao and Qin Qing also exchanged glances, seeing the shock and reflection in each other's eyes. Today's battle proved once again that when facing vastly different civilizations, established power Systems might fail, but the light of thought and wisdom never fades.

After this battle, the "Logic Virus" and Li Mo's "Tian Gong Institute" officially became one of the trump cards for the Hundred Schools Society in dealing with mechanical civilizations and any enemy highly dependent on strict logic Systems!

Meanwhile, Lin Zhou gazed at the silver world in the projection, which was gradually calming down but still held a faint, lingering "discordant" fluctuation. His mind became increasingly clear:

The future Universe Hegemony Competition will surely be the ultimate collision of wisdom, thought, and rules.

The Hundred Schools are ready.