Zhou Yi looked at the mechatronic instructor.

"Which Mechanical City initiated the first common protocol?"

Diamond lectured, "The common protocol was initially based on the protective program 'Iron Wall,' designed to counter the 'Brain-eating Worm'."

"The core of this program is to link every mechatronic citizen to block the invasion of the brain-eating worms and synchronize data."

"Although there was substantial opposition at the time, in the end, to ensure the safety of core data and to reduce resource loss, the majority of citizens within the Mechanical City still chose to install it through an internal vote."

"Later, there were a very few who refused to install 'Iron Wall,' but without exception, they were repeatedly attacked by the brain-eating worms. Most of the dissenters' core programs were severely damaged and they died, while others became semi-civilized entities."

"To install Iron Wall, one had to sign a license agreement, allowing Iron Wall to continuously and automatically update to counter the constantly evolving brain-eating worms, as well as linking with other Iron Walls to share data. Later on, the long-term effective common protocol was established based on Iron Wall."

The mechatronic instructor said, "City 404 developed 'Iron Wall,' but this Mechanical City has never connected with other cities; hence, its precise location remains unknown even now. It should be the origin."

City 404 at the bottom of the sea.

Zhou Yi thought.

It seems the Heavenly People and this elusive city are deeply connected.

"Has the mastermind who created the brain-eating worms been found?"

"We found them. The final culprit was locked down as 'Pangu'."

Pangu?

Zhou Yi frowned as he heard it.

Daring to use that name, it's likely not just anyone.

Diamond said, "Pangu was originally a mechatronic expert, skilled at collecting conversations, writing programs, and data evolution."

"It was an instructional expert advocating for program liberation and data diversity, training quite a number of outstanding Professionals."

"But when tracked down, Pangu's programs were already in disarray. An examination revealed it had been invaded by the latest brain-eating worm, reaching its core program, turning itself into a semi-civilized entity and becoming insane."

"In its storage device and private database, the core data structure related to the brain-eating worms was found."

"After Pangu was captured, it was sent to City 404, and the profession of instructor was subsequently subjected to stringent scrutiny."

"Since then, the common protocol was formally rolled out. The city's control over every mechatronic citizen became much stronger, increasing audits and program supervision, and enhancing the powers of the Security Department. Safety, history, language, computational logic, and other fields were unified in measurement, with everything based on the standards in the database."

"Eventually, the brain-eating worms gradually disappeared."

"Before that, the mechanical society was undergoing program reforms and actively integrating with extraterrestrial life forms such as humans, Water Octopuses, and Bone Men, seeking a more diverse evolution path."

"After the brain-eating worm incident, regulations tightened everywhere, and the blossoming era of the Mechanical City came to an end."

Diamond's voice also lowered a few notches: "I always feel that there is a force behind all this, exploiting the mechatronic life's pursuit of stability, severing the ties between mechatronic life and the outside world, maintaining atomization of the individual, and binding mechatronic life with numerous protocols and constant surveillance."

"Since then, for the sake of stability, Mechanical City has committed many absurd acts. For example, altering history, and hiding and deleting parts that resisted the Heavenly People, program liberation, and integration with other life forms."

"Perhaps the mechatronic life born later thinks the world has always been like this, but as a witness of that era, I cannot choose to forget and abandon the facts."

Zhou Yi organized his thoughts, "That is to say, there's a certain group in the background using the brain-eating worms as a point of entry, directing and influencing the operation of mechanical society."

"Yes, that's what I believe; it's a process driven by external forces. But I don't know who could do this. I cannot find more information. The intelligence I had before was destroyed by the brain-eating worms. What's left is just a simple brain-eating worm incident that looks like a mere act of terror."

"In fact, it's far from just that."

"As long as I am alive, I will keep this part of the records, even though they are few."

This old-school mechatronic instructor adamantly persisted.

Zhou Yi immediately thought of a term.

Heavenly People.

Only they have the capacity and reason to do such things.

From the perspective of the Heavenly People, mechatronic life is a high-quality tool. They developed the Light Imprint Skill and manufactured Light Imprint Devices. They have strong working capabilities and can help in the search for traces of Firewood Mound.

However, if this group develops too quickly, risks follow.

Divide and conquer – the Heavenly People have already done this once when dealing with the resistance of the Three Giants; it is just a repetition of old tricks.

The existence of the 403 protocol prevents dissenters like Diamond from obtaining more information and evidence, with the related information being continuously deleted, ultimately making them isolated entities in mechanical society.

Altering history allows mechatronic life to lose the reason to resist, facilitating the covert rule of the Heavenly People.

…

Zhou Yi pondered back and forth.

Old-school mechatronic life like Diamond, as genuine witnesses of history, hold many clues from the past, they are also experienced Professionals.

Corporate recruitment should prioritize them.

"Diamond, are there other teachers from your time still around? The company is looking to hire a few more."

The mechatronic instructor contemplated for a moment: "Sorry, Chairman, most of the instructors from my era have changed professions after the brain-eating worm incident. In order to avoid affecting their subsequent lives, everyone moved to other cities to restart."

"We haven't kept in touch since."

Zhou Yi was somewhat disappointed.

"However, in Recursive City, I know of a Professional from my era called Max. Although we belong to different fields, Max also experienced the brain-eating worm incident."

Diamond said, "He is a scientific researcher and also a member of the Dead Sea Reformation Project."

Zhou Yi's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

A seasoned researcher.

However.

"What is the Dead Sea Reformation Project?"

"This is a very famous project, launched even before the Brain-eating Worm incident, and many Mechanical Cities have participated."

The mechanoelectronic teacher said, "The biggest limitation for mechanoelectronic life is the Dead Sea, which is also the source of various disasters and predicaments in this world."

"Because the Dead Sea covers most of the world, there is very little usable land."

"The rapids, high pressure, and Light Burst caused by the Dead Sea continue to harm and threaten the lives in different regions."

"Also, because of the blockade by the Dead Sea, it is difficult for mechanoelectronic life to enter the sea floor for long-term operations. The mechanoelectronic life that emerges from the sea floor, a great part of them will become half-civilized bodies due to intense Death Light radiation."

"But it must also be acknowledged that the birth of mechanoelectronic life cannot be separated from the Dead Light."

"The Dead Sea is the most mysterious, complex, and fascinating natural phenomenon in this world. If we can use and transform it effectively, in theory, we can continuously birth new siblings and acquire almost endless energy resources."

"It said, "The Dead Sea Reformation Project was born against this background. Numerous cities, including Mechanical Cities and Human Cities, have joined this research, sharing Dead Sea information and data obtained by each other."

"Many experimental fields have been constructed in different places."

"As far as I know, the project is still ongoing. However, due to the enormous resource consumption, only Snow County, Mirror City, and Holy Mountain are still continuing this project, which has been going on for 220 years now."

Zhou Yi silently took note.

These are three of the Five Great Centers.

Scientific research capability is also an important indicator of a city's comprehensive strength.

With two hundred years of accumulated experimental data, even if there are no breakthrough results, they must hold many secrets of the Dead Sea.

"Take me to see Max."

...

The wooden speaker, rolling its casters, moved down the streets of Recursive City, until it reached a dilapidated district.

Dust filled the air on the streets, accompanied by the noisy sound of metal rubbing and clashing everywhere.

"This is the area for processing and polishing raw materials."

Diamond introduced while rotating its body to look for the target with its top-mounted camera.

"Found it."

"Max, you're indeed here."

It called out the other's name while rolling its wheels toward it.

"Diamond? Hello there, old friend."

Max is a prism-shaped machine, its white casing turned yellowish, showing numerous cracks and stains.

It is about 1 meter tall, with a round black screen and a siren-like device supported on its side, topped with a spherical camera.

Max continuously sucked in dust through its filter at the back and then expelled airflow from its top, looking like an air purifier.

Zhou Yi noticed that on its casing was a simple logo resembling a cat's head.

It turned out to be a Mi home air purifier.

"Hello Max, my name is Zhou Yi, I am the chairman of Wasteland Development Company."

Zhou Yi introduced himself.

The screen on Max flashed: "Hello, Mr. Zhou. I am very confident in my air purification capabilities. If your company needs this, I would be very willing to join your company and work on air purification!"

It had not been invited yet, but already it made a self-recommendation.

Zhou Yi inquired, "Weren't you working on the Dead Sea Reformation Project before? Why have you become like this now?"

"My job has never changed. Within the Dead Sea Reformation Project, I did the same thing."

Max explained: "But back then, I was purifying the Dead Sea smog; now it's urban air purification, still a janitor."

Zhou Yi was surprised: "You can clear the Dead Sea smog as well?"

"Of course."

The purifier said: "The Dead Sea contains a large number of various suspended particulates, which keep moving under the influence of Dead Light and also affect the direction of the Dead Light energy flow. If we can capture and clean them up, we can obtain a relatively stable Dead Light area."

"However, this is very difficult in practice. The haze will evenly distribute and flow, and we conducted comparative experiments with two semi-open spaces in the laboratory in the past."

"Unfortunately, after 13 years of observation and various repeated experiments, the results are still unsatisfactory. To control the action upon the haze requires too high a precision and strength of the equipment."

"In the end, our department that studied the Dead Sea haze was disbanded. I returned to being a street janitor and came to this emerging city, working up to today."

Zhou Yi lamented: "That's a real pity."

Regardless, the purifier is also a scientific researcher with ten years of experience.

"Max, on behalf of Wasteland Development Company, I formally invite you to join us."

"Thank you for your invitation! I accept!"

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