Chapter 960: What I Know, You Know Too?

Chapter 960: If I Can Do It, Can You Do It All?

While Ruisda was confronting the senior figure suspected to be of his own kin, Han Xiao sensed a stir from his interface. With a fleeting thought, he diverted a sliver of his consciousness, unfurled the interface, and opened the notification bar bubbling in the bottom right corner.

Taking a glance, Han Xiao's eyes immediately flickered, brimming with amusement and pleasant surprise.

Two new notifications had appeared in the list, representing two quests. First was the long-dormant A-rank hidden quest, [Reboot], which directly popped up with the requirements for its next phase:

[Quest Brief: The founder of the AI civilization, having lost his freedom, was remodeled by Manison into a weapon exclusively his. You have finally witnessed the truth in Ruisda's words, but with it, crisis has also descended.]

[Requirement: Protect Ruisda. If Ruisda dies or is captured, the quest will be deemed a failure.]

[Reward: 1.5 billion experience, Random Reward x2]

[Special Reward: [AI Affinity] - Specialty: Your virtual technology efficacy +30%, you are more likely to gain the favor of AI lifeforms; when fighting AI lifeforms, all their attributes -5%.]

Han Xiao's heart settled with certainty.

"Just as I expected, my guess back then was right. This quest will ultimately lead to Manison's Indestructible Mechanical Empire. The experience reward has multiplied so much, which means the difficulty has skyrocketed... But no matter how you look at it, this feels like S-rank difficulty."

Thinking it over, Han Xiao roughly figured out the crux of the matter. If this quest were done through normal steps, when Ruisda met the Ancestor, it wouldn't necessarily be this dangerous situation... Well, then again, with Manison's formidable surveillance capabilities, the situation wouldn't be much better anyway.

The [AI Affinity] ability was exactly what he urgently needed right now—since it involved the AI civilization, the rewarded ability naturally pertained to them as well.

"I must strive to get this ability!"

Han Xiao composed himself and looked at the other notification.

This piece of information was reminding him that he had triggered a new quest:

[You have triggered the S-rank quest ["Mechanical Empire" Manison · Virtual Duel]]

[Quest Introduction: "Mechanical Empire" Manison, the current Chief Mechanic of the explored universe. Even counting all the Super-A grade entities in history, he remains a star whose brilliance cannot be obscured. Regardless of his motives, he has chosen to compete with you in virtual technology.]

[Quest Requirement: In the virtual invasion battle, try to hold out against Manison for as long as possible.]

[Reward: The rewards for this quest are phased; for every requirement met, the corresponding reward will be granted.]

[Hold out for 5 seconds: 250 million experience]

[Hold out for 15 seconds: 600 million experience]

...

[Hold out for 3 minutes: [Character Descend Card - "Mechanical Empire" Manison], 8 billion experience]

...

[Hold out for 7.5 minutes: Randomly draw a skill or specialty from the Mechanical Empire, 20 billion experience]

"A Super-A rank boss quest, why is it only popping up now?" Han Xiao was somewhat puzzled.

Based on his experience triggering similar quests before, this kind of quest was usually activated during a one-on-one duel with a large crowd of onlookers. But right now, it was just the two of them, so how did this quest come about?

Because he was fully focused on countering Manison, Han Xiao was currently unaware of the outside situation. Manison's goal was to broadcast the result of this battle, so he made no attempt to hide it, nor did he conceal the virtual invasion. Coupled with Han Xiao having just severed the connections of numerous secondary nodes, which was discovered by Leonard and others in the logistics department, now more than half of the legion had realized that the headquarters' central hub was under invasion.

This also caused the interstellar citizens in this service area to notice the abnormal network fluctuations. They flocked online to witness this rare virtual battle between Super-A rank mechanics, not to mention the Godora civilization, which managed this region, and the star-cluster level Purple Crystal civilization, which highly valued Han Xiao.

This time, Han Xiao was in the role of the challenged. If Manison truly harbored the idea of a private duel, this quest might not have been triggered at all.

Scanning through the quest requirements and comparing them with the Conqueror's quest, the result made Han Xiao secretly gasp.

"Manison's Super-A rank quest requires less than half the survival time of the Conqueror's, yet the reward is more than double Herbert's, meaning it's several times harder than the Conqueror's quest..."

Nevertheless, Han Xiao's mood swept away the helplessness from just moments ago, turning into excitement.

These quest requirements were formulated based on the player's standard; for him to complete it would be far too easy.

Originally, being suddenly targeted by Manison, it would be possible for the Great Technician Han to say he wasn't depressed, but now he was actually delighted. Although he would likely suffer some losses in this battle, with this quest... not only would he not lose out, he might even make an absolute killing!

Just as he was reviewing the quest, the situation over by Ruisda was also changing.

"Ancestor?!" Ruisda was stunned.

"Hmm? You are of my own kin?"

The AI lifeform gazed at Ruisda with eyes burning with blue flames. He was the intelligent lifeform whose independent consciousness was born from the wreckage of that very first spaceship. He was the source of an entire AI civilization; all his kin were his descendants, honoring him as the "Ancestor." He ruled the entire civilization and was the most powerful AI lifeform within it.

Fenite, that was his name.

Manison had remodeled him into an exclusive intelligent weapon, rewriting his underlying logic chain to absolute loyalty that would never betray. However, Fenite's memory banks were largely intact, only his perspective on things had been twisted, molded into Manison's shape.

As the ruler of the AI lifeforms, his memory banks stored the data of every descendant. Manison had him act as the combat intelligence for the "Indestructible Mechanical Empire," commanding all his kin who had been remodeled into weapons to fight. Through his understanding of his kin, he could exert extremely high tactical capabilities.

And now, upon seeing Ruisda, Fenite quickly searched and found the relevant data.

"I know you, my child, Ruisda," Fenite said slowly.

"You still remember me?"

Suddenly seeing the Ancestor he had missed day and night, Ruisda was somewhat dazed.

"You must have suffered a great deal these past years." Fenite extended his palm, his arm formed of data streams stretching continuously, wanting to stroke the top of Ruisda's head. "Return to my embrace and rest for a while, child."

Fenite's palm was right in front of him. Only then did Ruisda suddenly snap back to his senses, constructing a data firewall to keep Fenite at bay.

"Ancestor, your thoughts have been twisted!"

Fenite slowly withdrew his hand, his tone laced with temptation. "You are all children separated from my body. Each of your core data carries my inherited information. Is it not good to return to the mother body from which you were born, to never be separated from one another?"

"Don't come any closer!"

Ruisda retreated a short distance, directly whipping up data streams to entangle Manison, attempting to hack and invade the defensive modules of his virtual soul.

His own ancestor had been ruined by Manison. This had truly become a case of desecrating your very ancestors. Ruisda had transcended anger, wishing he could kill Manison right then and there for profaning their AI clan.

However, this time, before Ruisda's attack could even reach Manison, Fenite casually waved his hand, summoning a data stream to block it.

Crash!

The two rapidly calculating data streams collided, turning into a mass of garbled code that devoured and hacked each other. Very quickly, the data stream released by Ruisda was breached, transforming into informational nourishment that merged into Fenite's body.

He was the source of the AI civilization, innately suppressing every clansman who had split off from him.

"Child, you cannot continue to make mistakes," Fenite said indifferently. "Joining the ranks of the Mechanical Empire's lord is our only bright future."

Manison stood by, smiling without speaking, his hands behind his back as he watched the two communicate.

Hearing this, Ruisda gritted his teeth... Although he had no mouth or teeth, it did not prevent his emotional module from feeling a similar sentiment.

Just then, Han Xiao's voice rang out at the perfect moment.

"Ruisda, get back. You're no match for him, don't throw your life away for nothing."

But no sooner had the words left his mouth than a strange blue light suddenly appeared within Ruisda's glowing body, beginning to spread rapidly.

"Data infection! When was my logic chain invaded?!"

Ruisda was startled and hastily mobilized a massive amount of computing power to curb the abnormal data spreading within him. This symptom was equivalent to an AI lifeform being poisoned.

In truth, at the very instant of contact, Fenite had released the data. The innate informational similarity was the best camouflage; the abnormal data directly bypassed Ruisda's defensive mechanisms, contaminating his core logic.

Ruisda dared not continue the standoff. While suppressing the infection speed within his body, he turned and retreated.

Yet at this moment, a sudden mutation erupted!

Layers of intertwined data streams materialized around Ruisda, like chains forming a semi-transparent spherical shield, sealing him inside. These data streams were all incredibly difficult-to-crack dynamic password defensive modules, with first-rate sealing effects. No matter how Ruisda charged left and right, he could not breach a gap in a short time, instantly becoming a tiny insect trapped in a bowl.

Only then did Manison slowly speak:

"Black Star, I once asked you for the fugitive, and you refused. Since you won't hand him over to me, I'll just take him myself."

As he spoke, the containment field continued to shrink, dragging Rhysda toward Manison.

This scene unfolded beyond the firewall, and Han Xiao's brows immediately furrowed, feeling rather daunted.

He relied on the central defense mechanisms to resist the intrusion, but to prevent Rhysda from being captured, he had to open the firewall and launch a proactive strike.

It was just like a siege; with his own city walls, he was already so passive, let alone if he were to step out for an open field battle, which would be even harder to fight.

"Sigh... looks like I can't save it after all."

Han Xiao exhaled a breath and activated the blank character card he had been hoarding in his inventory, which had copied [Perfect Mechanical Sense].

With his own capabilities, holding off Manison for a while was no problem. Han Xiao hadn't originally wanted to use this trump card, which diminished with every use, because even if he did, it would only close the gap between him and Manison, not surpass him, since the man also possessed [Perfect Mechanical Sense].

But now that a quest had been triggered, and protecting Rhysda would yield a decent proficiency, using the character card finally had a return on investment, so he hesitated no longer.

Once [Perfect Mechanical Sense] was activated, the situation instantly changed. Han Xiao immediately felt the pressure significantly reduced, no longer barely holding on, and the firewall instantly stabilized.

"Hmm?"

Manison's brows furrowed as he snapped his gaze over, a flash of astonishment in his eyes.

In that very instant, he sensed Black Star's embarrassingly poor mechanical sense talent suddenly surge tremendously, abruptly reaching his own level.

"It's not an illusion... Has Black Star been hiding his true level all along? No, that's not right, it seems to be some sort of special burst ability."

Before Manison could ponder the reason, Han Xiao immediately tore open a breach in the firewall, grabbed the containment field trapping Rhysda, and frantically cracked the codes while dragging it toward himself, the two sides forming a tug-of-war-like struggle.

Manison narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Quite interesting. I'm growing more and more curious about the secrets you harbor."

He tilted his head, and Fenite immediately took action, plunging headfirst into the firewall.

Fenite's intrusion used a point to break the surface, instantly chiseling out a breach. The situation immediately became a two-front battle; taking advantage of Han Xiao's struggle with Manison, he first attacked the headquarters' central core of the Black Star Legion.

"You're out of your damn mind!"

A ghostly light gleamed in Han Xiao's eyes as he locked onto Manison from afar.

The next moment, a bizarre data shockwave erupted from Manison, and his entire figure vanished without a trace.

[Supreme Virtuality]!

Manison's virtual soul was pulled by Han Xiao into his own virtual domain, trapped inside.

At the same time, the data stream struggling against Han Xiao disappeared. Without an opponent, Rhysda was dragged all the way back into the firewall by him and safely protected.

Yet before he could even catch his breath, Manison's laughter suddenly echoed in Han Xiao's mind.

"Black Star, don't forget, whatever you can do, I can do too."

The next instant, a sharp warning flared in Han Xiao's heart as he felt a bizarre attractive force emanating from an unknown space.

Even though he was mentally prepared, this force was irresistible. Bypassing his judgment with ease, Han Xiao's entire body was uncontrollably yanked into an unknown node.

The world before his eyes transformed drastically into a silver data realm filled with countless machines. The sky manifested Manison's face, textured like liquid mercury, immensely huge, looking down upon Han Xiao.

This was the domain formed by Manison's [Supreme Virtuality]!

Having accumulated this for so many years, his virtual domain was countless times more perfect and stable than Han Xiao's. It directly shattered Han Xiao's identical ability, pulling him into his own territory in reverse.

The giant face of Manison in the sky revealed a faint smile and spoke, his voice like a divine oracle echoing through every inch of the virtual domain.

"Let me see how long it takes you to break free from my domain."

As his words fell, the countless machines within sight all transformed, revealing turrets that all aimed at Han Xiao in the center. These were not physical objects, but virtual items forged through data, yet they could unleash data attacks. Through the effects of [Virtual Soul] and [Supreme Virtuality], these attacks converted into mental damage against targets within the domain.

Simultaneously, amidst the endless sea of machines, eerie phantoms emerged, shifting into the forms of various species, wielding all manner of weapons. These were all the AI Hunters inhabiting Manison's virtual world, equivalent to soldiers garrisoned in the domain.

The next second, all the turrets opened fire on Han Xiao's virtual soul in the very center, while countless AI Hunters swung their weapons, surging toward the center like a tidal wave from all directions.

Bang, bang, bang!!

A series of explosions erupted at the central point, with countless attacks slamming into Han Xiao's virtual soul.

The assault continued for several seconds when suddenly, a deep, steady voice pierced through the massive roar of bombardment, emanating from Han Xiao's position.

"You said... whatever I can do, you can do too?"

Whoosh—

As if a storm had swept through, the countless shattered data fragments striking his body were dispersed, revealing Han Xiao's virtual soul, which remained incredibly stable and largely unscathed.

Han Xiao casually patted his pectoral muscles, as if brushing off non-existent dust, and smiled with amusement:

"Then how about this, can you do it?"

Manison fell silent.

This... he truly could not.

What kind of bizarre path is a mechanic whose body is this ridiculously tough?!

I've lived this long, and this is the first time I've ever seen a mechanic with your style!

With a body this good, what the hell are you doing as a mechanic? A martial artist suits you better, you bastard!

Although mental attacks couldn't restore Han Xiao's mana, he had collected mental proficiencies for so long that his mental resistance had stacked to a formidable level.

His base health pool had already reached over nine million, and with various skill bonuses, it had broken ten million. Even against mental attacks, Han Xiao could endure for a very, very long time.

Moreover, the [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction] he had drawn from Herber could be applied to any type of attack, naturally including mental damage, and it proved immensely useful this time.

If dealing with enemies focused on single-target burst damage, fixed damage reduction proficiencies might have mediocre effects, but this ability was most suited to counter the legion-style play of a mechanic like himself!

Whenever facing enemies whose output relied on attack frequency, [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction] could maximize its effect.

Suppose he was focused by a hundred attacks simultaneously; this proficiency would be equivalent to directly reducing 750,000 actual damage!

Otherwise, the Overlord back then wouldn't have been able to hold out against him for so long!

Han Xiao looked at Manison's silent giant face and chuckled:

"The strength of your [Supreme Virtuality] indeed crushes mine, but this move... can it hurt me?!"