167: Chapter 167 The Deduction of Silicon-Based Life

The 13th Underground Level, the final core area of Shelter No. 7.

Boiling blue high-energy nuclear waste liquid formed an artificial ocean, its surface constantly churning, releasing ultra-high-frequency radiation sufficient to cause immediate genetic collapse in ordinary organisms.

In the center of the ocean stood a scarred nuclear reactor with large areas of its outer shell peeling away.

Directly above the reactor hung a massive cylindrical polymer glass nutrient tank.

Thousands of black fiber-optic cables and neural interface lines hung down from the dome, densely piercing into the interior of the nutrient tank.

Soaking in the murky, pale yellow preservative fluid was a giant human brain, its volume expanded dozens of times, its surface covered in distorted sarcomas and mechanical electrodes.

This was the hub of Shelter No. 7 and the remains of Chief Engineer Li Wenxing, who once led the "Ascension Project."

After long years of radiation erosion and solitary computation, the necrosis of biological brain tissue and the assimilation of silicon-based chips had long since caused this brain to lose its human emotions.

It had transformed into a cold machine that followed only underlying defensive protocols and operated based on absolute logic.

But at this moment, the logical core of this machine was encountering an unprecedented storm.

In the circular holographic projection matrix surrounding the nutrient tank, surveillance footage from the 6th Underground Level to the Eleventh Floor was being played in synchronization.

Countless green data streams scrolled frantically like waterfalls, and accompanied by piercing alarm sounds, large swaths of red error codes dominated the screens.

The Mainframe was performing high-frequency retrospective deduction.

The upper left of the screen was frozen on the footage of the high-voltage substation on the Eighth Floor.

In the footage, the black metal Puppet numbered "No. 3" took a high-voltage electric grid, capable of melting special armor, head-on.

"Computation sequence 041 initiated. Material analysis comparison: titanium-tungsten alloy. Conductivity estimate: extremely high. Damage assessment model deduction in progress..."

"Warning. Unknown porous bone structure detected inside the target's armor. This structure possesses charge absorption characteristics that violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The high-voltage thunder-magnetic energy was captured 100% upon contact, without producing any Joule heat loss."

"Physical Law assessment: failed. Variable cannot be parsed."

The Mainframe's neural synapses erupted with intense electrical current, and a series of murky bubbles surged up in the preservative fluid within the nutrient tank.

The footage switched, and the image of the biochemical arsenal on the Tenth Floor appeared in the center of the screen.

Hundreds of high-order synthetic beasts equipped with biochemical alloy armor were instantly plunged into tactical paralysis under the influence of four yellow papers attached to the dome.

"Computation sequence 089 initiated. Environmental medium analysis. No high-intensity electromagnetic interference waves detected in the air; no nerve gas release detected."

"Spatial refractive index and basic magnetic field distorted inexplicably the moment the yellow papers were attached. The synthetic beasts' pheromone communication chain was physically severed by unknown dimensional energy. Optical sensors received falsified spectral signals."

"Tactical network collapse cause assessment: unknown interference force field (suspected reality distortion). Variable cannot be parsed."

The speed of the data stream operation grew faster and faster, and the heat emitted by The Mainframe caused the surrounding coolant to begin boiling. The electrodes embedded in the cerebral cortex made faint crackling sounds due to overload computation.

Finally, the footage on the holographic screen froze on the Eleventh Floor.

In front of that massive mountain of civilian corpses, the intruder formed a hand Seal. An illusory giant tripod appeared out of thin air, pouring out pale flames that completely swallowed the radiation dust rolling across the sky.

"Computation sequence 105 initiated... Alarm! Alarm!"

"Law of Conservation of Mass assessment: failed."

"Law of Conservation of Energy assessment: failed."

"Detected forced zeroing of radioactive isotope half-life. Detected undefined high-dimensional energy aggregation phenomenon. The flame produced no infrared thermal radiation, yet it completely erased biochemical toxins and nuclear radioactive substances at the molecular level."

"Deduction result: the target individual possesses underlying Law modification authority that surpasses the known physics, chemistry, and biology of this Universe."

Logical deadlock.

The Mainframe fell into an absolute silence lasting three seconds. For a supercomputer performing billions of operations per second, a three-second stagnation meant the total collapse of its core logical architecture.

Inside the nutrient tank, that giant brain tissue covered in distorted sarcomas began to convulse violently.

Amidst the endless error codes and desperate deductions, a trace of subconsciousness belonging to the human "Chief Engineer Li Wenxing," which had been suppressed by silicon-based logic for hundreds of years, flickered for an instant like a candle in the wind.

"That Physical Body... without any traces of mechanical modification, yet able to stroll leisurely in a heavily irradiated zone."

"He controls energy that ignores the Laws of physics, and his Puppet has fused with unknown, tough bones..."

"A perfect individual. Surpassing the frailty of flesh and blood, surpassing the rigidity of machinery. This is... this is the true meaning of 'Ascension'!"

This fleeting trace of human emotion vanished in an instant, and The Mainframe was once again fully taken over by cold, cruel defensive protocols.

The Laws of physics cannot parse the target, and conventional biochemical weapons cannot stop the target.

The data model provided the final survival probability: 0.0001%.

The Mainframe stopped all useless computations targeting the Sixth Level through the Eleventh Floor. It made the most extreme defensive adjustments before the self-destruct countdown.

"Cut off the remaining power supply to all life support Systems from the First to the Eleventh Floor."

"Cut off the energy allocation to the data center cooling System."

"Reactor output power raised to dangerous critical levels. All intercepted energy is to be injected entirely into the 12th Underground Level area."

"Command issued: lift the physical Seal on isolation chambers No. 12 to No. 24 of the 'Radiation Buffer Zone'."

"Awaken... the Ascension pioneers."

Accompanied by The Mainframe's final command,

a violent change occurred in the corridor on the 12th Underground Level, located between the Eleventh Floor and the Thirteenth Floor.

This tunnel, several miles long and cast entirely from special lead-steel and explosion-proof concrete several meters thick, awakened from its original silence.

At this moment, the thirteen heavy lead-steel coffins embedded deep in the walls on both sides of the tunnel emitted muffled mechanical exhaust sounds under the infusion of massive energy.

The coffin lids slowly pushed open.

Thirteen corpses, having long lost their moisture and with flesh withered like dead wood, sat cross-legged within the coffins.

The isolation suits on their bodies had long since weathered away. They were the first batch of martyrs in Shelter No. 7 who voluntarily accepted the highest concentration of radiation modification.

Over the long years, extreme radiation had completely destroyed their Soul and consciousness, but it had tempered their Physical Body into a terrifying substance that surpassed conventional biological Materials.

Massive nuclear energy flowed along the energy pipelines into their spines.

The thirteen immortal corpses opened their eyes simultaneously. There were no eyeballs in their eye sockets, only a cluster of eerie green high-frequency radiation flames flickering.

A terrifying and ferocious aura exploded in the 12th Underground Level corridor.

They had no Soul, driven entirely by the massive energy bestowed by The Mainframe, as well as the obsession from their lives to "block all foreign enemies from invading the core."

At the end of the corridor, the heavy footsteps of the lead-steel door on the Eleventh Floor being violently broken open were steadily approaching, accompanied by eerie blue electric light.