The Warlord holds Mechanical City in high regard.

But this made Zhou Yi puzzled: "Senior, didn't the United Resistance Army lose to the Heavenly People in the war?"

"We were defeated, not Mechanical City."

The Warlord reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

He shook the pack, slid out a cigarette, snapped his fingers to light it, and put it to his lips, exhaling a puff of white vapor: "Many people refer to the past resistance as the Tripartite Alliance Army, thinking that Black Emperor, the Old King, and I were the core of the entire resistance. Actually, this statement is unfair, it should be said there were four parties."

"The role played by Mechanical City is in no way inferior to that of our frontline."

"During the war, they completely established the Light Imprint Skill technology system, enabling a steady stream of standard equipment to be produced in factories and delivered to the frontline."

"Without the strong production capabilities of Mechanical City, the countless Energy Packs, and the drones that covered the world, real-time data capture and weakness analysis... we couldn't fight the Light Core Giants."

Zhou Yi asked, "Are Light Core Giants the same as Light Core Bodies?"

"Mhm."

The Warlord held the cigarette between two fingers, his face showing a wistful expression: "Back then, to eliminate a Light Core Giant, it required stacking up the lives of Skywalkers... Fortunately, Mechanical City could quickly detect their arrival, and we had to hunt them while they were still weak."

"It was very difficult at that time, warriors were constantly dying."

"Ninety percent of my Weapon Princesses fell on the battlefield, and Black Emperor's Dawn Guard was almost annihilated several times."

"The Old King's Star Core Matrix would interfere with the signals of the Light Core Giants outside the atmosphere and impact their consciousness, causing them to stiffen for a short time when they landed. But the influence on the consciousness was mutual, the satellites too were affected by the giants' radiation, leading to widespread confusion and even self-destructive tendencies. It was only with the help of Data Voters that stability could be maintained."

He took another puff of his cigarette: "If civilian evacuation was not timely, they could be turned to dust by the shockwave caused by the giants' landings."

"In areas occupied by giants, normal people and the Guangna Species would be domesticated, transformed into the Crystal People that the Heavenly People wanted, or used as their carriers and remote containers."

Zhou Yi listened silently.

So the technical mechanism of the Data Voters had a historical reason tied to the influence from the Heavenly People.

The Warlord narrowed his eyes: "The situation gradually got better over time."

"Fighting against an unknown enemy is the hardest. Although we suffered heavy casualties, we managed to fathom the patterns, mechanisms, and strengths of the enemies."

"We grew stronger as we fought, and Light Core Bodies capable of confronting giants face-to-face were developed. Under the leadership of the Taishan Knight Order, Mechanical City also developed strategic weapons against giants, 'Hou Yi' and 'David'."

A nostalgic look crossed the Warlord's face: "'Hou Yi' was equipped with the first Death Light Weapon 'Sun-shooting Cannon', which could snipe and destroy Light Core Giants descending from the atmosphere."

"'David' was designed specifically for Light Core Giants that had landed successfully, suppressing the giants at close range before detonating the 'Light Explosion Stick' to trade lives with them."

"However, whether it was Hou Yi or David, they required mechanized life to operate for precise targeting and detonation. Thus, a large number of mechanized lives were also lost, targeted by the giants."

"Overall, with the appropriate weapons and combat experience, we gradually began to regain lost ground, no longer retreating step by step..."

Zhou Yi was enraptured by the story.

No wonder the resistance could fight against the Heavenly People back in the day; they indeed had remarkable abilities.

The Warlord's voice, however, did not carry a trace of relief, but instead a forlorn sorrow.

"Just when the situation was looking up, something happened that no one had anticipated."

"Without any warning, Mechanical City formally surrendered to the Heavenly People, and offered all Light Imprint Skill technologies and related techniques to them."

"The war ended at that moment."

There was no heaviness in his voice, only a relief-like lightness: "Everyone went their separate ways. Black Emperor gained control of a vast region and population, having the best governance capacities, so he established Heavenly Kingdom after pledging to the Heavenly People."

"The Old King declared the independence of the Star Core Matrix, while I moved here, staying out of world affairs."

Zhou Yi was somewhat puzzled: "But from what I understand from the mechanized life, wasn't it that after Black Emperor's betrayal and the establishment of Heavenly Kingdom... it was actually initiated by the surrender of Mechanical City?"

The Warlord laughed heartily.

"People always like to twist the past into a shape that benefits them, which is normal."

"It was the Taishan Knight Order's decision at the time."

"After the surrender, they left Mechanical City and went into seclusion, staying far away from the cities."

"The Taishan Knight Order later told me that the decision was based on calculations. If we had continued to fight, the chances of victory would become increasingly low, and the probability of entire intelligent life-forms on the world being annihilated would surpass a threshold."

"They have always believed in only one thing, data."

He said softly, "Because they discovered that as our strength increased, the descending Light Core Giants were also becoming stronger. The Heavenly People were deliberately maintaining the giants' strength at a level we could handle, stimulating our potential through this method, and pushing for rapid evolution of the top life-forms in this world."

"The Light Core Giants were the catalysts they sent out."

"The research and deployment of Death Light Weapons led the Taishan Knights to discover life forms floating beyond the atmosphere that could not be detected before."

"These were Transformers that stood even above the Light Core Bodies, quietly hiding in the void, looking down upon our world."

"At that time, they observed 16 of them."

Zhou Yi felt a chilling sensation.

Just listening to the Warlord's description made him feel somewhat suffocated.

The disparity between the two sides was so great it led to despair.

This was not war; it was Heavenly People battling electronic crickets.

"Therefore, the Taishan Knight Order believes that the chance of winning through violent confrontation is virtually zero. It's imperative to preserve the living force as much as possible, so they chose to surrender."

The Warlord flicked his cigarette butt: "For the benefit of mechanical-electronic life, they did not inform us of this information. As the first intelligent species to defect, they received very favorable treatment from the Heavenly People."

"We all understand."

"Since none of us are capable, then let's each go our own way."

"In fact, the Taishan Knights didn't gain any real benefits from this; their decision was based on the maintenance of the survival of the entire mechanical-electronic life and the Mechanical City. Even when they isolated themselves, they didn't achieve any good results, for the Heavenly People dislike them because they know too much. Pangu being captured into City 404 is one example."

"Though the form of Mechanical City has many drawbacks, its survival ability is extremely strong, and it always finds ways to adapt to the environment."

This warrior, who had experienced the war of resistance against the Heavenly People, gazed at Zhou Yi: "Do you know why I'm telling you all this?"

Zhou Yi shook his head.

"I have high hopes for you."

"For the new generation of young people, I'm quite optimistic."

The Warlord said in a relaxed tone: "We've fought to the death and lost, but there are no regrets or resentments."

"The future of the world ultimately lies in the hands of your new generation."

"We lost, but that doesn't mean you will."

"Most young people, in the end, either become indistinguishable from the masses, give up in the face of difficulty, or get bought and merged by various sides... Sticking to their own path is very hard."

"As it stands, you're doing quite well."

The Warlord laughed: "So, I'm telling you about the detours we've taken. Though I can't give you a method for success, I do have plenty of experiences with failure to share."

"In short, be cautious of the Mechanical City."

Zhou Yi earnestly said: "Thank you for the warning, I will proceed with caution."

"No, you don't understand."

The other party shook his head: "Do you know what the biggest difference is between mechanical-electronic life and humans or the Guangna Species?"

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment: "They are stable."

"That's one way to put it."

The Warlord looked towards the golden elephant in the yard ahead: "Look. Even for life as powerful as a golden elephant, which is a Light Core Body when mature, they're no different from common people; they commit the same mistakes and fall into the same pits over and over."

"But mechanical-electronic life doesn't."

"Back when we were fighting against the Light Core Giants, even the experienced warriors made mistakes in executing established tactics. Every Light Core Giant has different characteristics, which can interfere with judgment, making it difficult to adjust quickly, hence the need for trial and error."

"When Hou Yi and David joined the battle, they were initially very ineffective. Hou Yi couldn't accurately hit the Light Core Giants falling at high speed through the atmosphere, and David often self-detonated without effectively destroying the Light Cores, resulting in the giants still surviving."

The Warlord paused.

"But there was one time, Hou Yi hit a Light Core Giant in the stratosphere, directly destroying it mid-air. From then on, all Hou Yis never missed again."

"The same with David. The first time David found a way to take down a giant at the cost of its own life, they managed to achieve a one-for-one battle record every time."

"Do you understand? The growth and evolution of mechanical-electronic life happen in an instant. They may fail hundreds of times, but as long as they succeed once."

The Warlord raised his right index finger, his gaze solemn: "Under the same circumstances, they will never fail again."

"As long as mechanical-electronic life is given enough time, and the Mechanical City keeps functioning, they always find effective solutions to problems."

"Even the Heavenly People are wary of mechanical-electronic life because once they have knowledge of secrets and data, there will come a time when they can break through everything."

"So, they need to alter data and use chains to monitor every mechanical-electronic life, to avoid them becoming unpredictable dangerous elements."

"So, now do you know what you're up against? If you are not able to completely destroy and conquer them, then you always have to worry that one day they'll find your greatest weakness."

The Warlord looked at Zhou Yi with interest: "So, I'm very curious, how will you deal with such an enemy?"

Zhou Yi made an uncertain noise.

"Um, I don't view the Mechanical City as an enemy. If the Mechanical City can continue to evolve in a positive direction, then it's a good thing both for mechanical-electronic life and the rest of the world."

"In terms of production and manufacturing, due to their design, mechanical-electronic life should be the strongest, and this world does need a better Mechanical City."

"I've always believed that war is only temporary."

Zhou Yi said: "Our struggle with the Mechanical City is not about life-and-death enmity where one must die; it's about competing between two different development directions of mechanical-electronic life, seeing who can explore a better future for it."

"This kind of healthy competition, I think, not only stimulates and promotes growth for each other but is also beneficial to the whole world."

The Warlord was taken aback, then chuckled heartily: "Good, good."

"If you're still alive next winter, come to Golden Elephant Valley, and I'll treat you to roasted corn."

Zhou Yi nodded: "Next winter, I'll definitely come."

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