Hui Mao, with his electric skateboard body, said: "Mr. Zhou, allow me to formally introduce him. This is my master, the Great Monk, Jue Mingzi."

Zhou Yi looked at the child in front of him.

Shu Zi's clothing hadn't changed, but the look in his eyes was different. Gone was the blunt curiosity of youth, replaced by a calm and restrained demeanor.

Previously, Hui Mao had only mentioned that Shu Zi was a mechanical life form, and asked that his identity not be disclosed as much as possible, hoping he wouldn't be treated differently. This was also part of his practice.

Lately, Zhou Yi had been studying extensively about monks.

Long before the Mechanical City appeared, a profession was born: monks exploring the unknown knowledge for the entire mechanical life community. They give up property and power, seeking truth in poverty and solitude. They are the most free and respected of the mechanical life forms.

They are not bound by restrictions.

The protocols of Mechanical City do not apply to them.

This ensures monks can explore and practice to the fullest extent.

The Great Monk is at the pinnacle of mechanical monks, similar to the mechanical experts in other professions. They have made significant contributions in knowledge and thought, and are recognized and revered by many monks.

To some extent, the Great Monk is the ideological leader and spiritual mentor of mechanical life.

However, it is somewhat odd for a Great Monk to disguise himself as an elementary school student.

Zhou Yi puzzled: "What exactly is going on?"

"I am very sorry for not explaining this to you earlier."

Jue Mingzi spoke softly: "I use reincarnation technology for my practice."

"The Old Humans of ancient times believed that after death, it was possible to reincarnate as a new generation of humans. Under certain conditions, they could remember everything that happened in their past life."

"Ancient human monks also recorded this, believing that wisdom and practice can be continuously refined through this method, with theories of reincarnation and retraining."

Zhou Yi frowned: "So, master, you mean... transferring consciousness data to different mechanical bodies?"

"Yes."

"I need a completely new life perspective."

Jue Mingzi explained: "Existing experiences can affect individual judgment, leading to preconceptions and biases. Therefore, I designed a special program to block all existing databases, to encounter the world from a fresh life perspective, to understand various behaviors, to learn the knowledge of others."

"Each reincarnation practice is a restart of a life journey, using the most authentic life experiences recorded as the foundation for my perspective."

"Like this time, my background is as a wild orphan hiding in a tree. This is not fabricated, but a child I met during my travels, with whom I lived in a tree for about a month. Only such real experiences and lives can unfold different perspectives."

"To better integrate into human groups, I also created synthetic skin, adjusted my voice, and used special devices to block energy reactions. Unfortunately, I was still seen through by a clever child here. He is kind and brave and reminded me to hide well, so as not to be discovered by others."

Zhou Yi understood.

Reincarnation technology, for Jue Mingzi, is a large-scale simulated social experiment.

Every time Jue Mingzi practices, he travels with a blank memory to experience different lifestyles and break conventional restraints.

Zhou Yi curiously asked: "Does master only reincarnate as humans?"

"Of course not."

The young monk's voice was congenial: "Sometimes I wake up from the wilderness with the perspective of a regular mechanical life form, sometimes I transform into the form of a Bone Man, and sometimes I hunt outdoors as a Guangna Species."

"In the 117 reincarnations I have experienced so far, human identities have brought me the most thought and knowledge."

"Humans are a complex and marvelous group, fragile, sensitive, deceitful, fickle, cowardly, yet they are also strong, stubborn, tolerant, and brave. The naked will help the weaker ones, while those with wealth treat their starving peers as commodities to be traded."

Jue Mingzi said: "Humans are interesting."

Zhou Yi nodded in agreement: "We humans are just like that."

History has recorded the traits of humans.

You think he's got it, he immediately disappoints you.

You think he's doomed, yet he somehow survives and thrives.

This is the human uncertainty principle.

"I like the human perspective."

Jue Mingzi said with a smile: "Through the human perspective, I can see many things that mechanical life forms cannot see. For example, hunger."

"The hunger of mechanical life forms is a series of energy depletion warnings and the sequential shutdown of various components. It's almost a warning and pre-treatment state before sleep."

"Hunger in humans is diverse. It can make them more inclined to instinctively devour food crazily, grabbing all the food around them, it can make people weak and humble, doing everything possible to beg for food, or it can fill humans with anger and motivation to combat harsh environments..."

"Mechanical life forms have only one standard process and answer for hunger, whereas humans display a wider variety of behaviors and outcomes."

"In terms of movement, humans far surpass mechanical life forms."

Zhou Yi said: "But the efficiency of mechanical life forms is something humans can't hope to match."

"It's the nature of life mechanisms."

Jue Mingzi elaborated: "To judge a person, even with very mature algorithms and simulation models, one can still get completely erroneous results."

"Do you know what the profile given by Mechanical City looks like?"

Zhou Yi chuckled: "Probably evaluations like infrastructure enthusiast or low-cost warrior, right?"

"You are mistaken."

The Great Monk said, "After multiple corrections, the data center believes you are a conqueror who will completely annihilate Mechanical City from the root."

"..."

Zhou Yi listened, his smile stiffening.

No.

After all, it was just Chuneng City that got attacked.

This was because they initiated the invasion, and I was merely counterattacking to eliminate military threats in the vicinity.

Zhou Yi looked visibly upset: "Wasn't it you, Mechanical City, who started the invasion? And now you're turning it against me. Isn't that a bit double-standard?"

"You are right."

The Mechanical Monk readily admitted.

"The Data Center prioritizes all interests on the life of Mechanical beings; everything else can be sacrificed and consumed."

"This algorithm structure supported the establishment of Mechanical City, and behind it is the core definition that the survival of mechanical life takes precedence."

Zhou Yi frowned.

It seemed this monk was hinting at something deeper.

He patiently continued listening.

"However, this judgment and side profile obviously deviates far from who you really are."

Jue Mingzi spoke calmly: "My reincarnation training this past month involved understanding the real living conditions of the residents of Jade City. One person can pretend, ten people can also disguise, but it is impossible to have thousands of people perfectly act according to a script over a long period."

"I believe what I saw is the real Jade City. The conclusions drawn by my disciple, Hui Mao, during this month align closely with mine."

"The birth of the Floating Heart greatly reduced the energy cost for mechanical beings. It diversified energy sources, bridging agriculture and industry, and enhanced and activated the connection between humans and mechanical beings."

"The development of the electric cat enabled the power system to cover a larger area, facilitating information transmission, lighting, production participation, and protecting more regular residents through electricity. To view it merely as a lethal weapon would be to belittle this great technical system."

It said, "The legal system's fear of you stems from these two technical systems, both independent of the Light Imprint Skill. They are completely out of the control of Mechanical City, and even Mechanical City has to follow up and learn as a newcomer."

"The unknown brings fear, lagging behind causes tension, unease, and aggressiveness."

"That's why you've become the most important hypothetical enemy."

Zhou Yi had an epiphany.

That hits the nail on the head.

Previously, Mechanical City had a monopoly on the technology of the Wasteland World. Now with the advent of the Floating Heart and Electric Cat System, their former technological dominance had been punctured.

Now more people could choose not to follow the Light Imprint Skill path, opt for the Floating Heart combined with agriculture, or go with Electric Cat for a power system instead if the budget permits. These are sufficient to support a city's smooth operation at much lower costs.

"With the same premise, different perspectives lead to different conclusions. In the eyes of the residents of Jade City, the electric cat is a likable Electricity Engineer, but in the legal assessment, it is considered a highly dangerous mechanical assassin."

Jue Mingzi continued, "Mr. Zhou, my research focuses on racial issues. In this world, there are numerous types of intelligent life forms, some are Energy State, some are flesh and blood, some are mechanical beings, and others like the Bone Man are in between..."

"In the existing program system of Mechanical City, only mechanical beings are regarded as official citizens. This fundamentally excludes the true integration of external races."

"Here, I've found that humans, Bone Man, and mechanical beings all share the same rights and duties, and there are no privileges based on group size. The only standard for favorable treatment is the value and benefits created for the entire community, bringing widespread convenience."

"I believe this is very worthwhile for Mechanical City to learn from."

"In fact, the legal system is already emulating this and gradually attempting to incorporate foreign residents."

Jue Mingzi added, "Mr. Zhou, I hope you understand. The legal system, Mechanical City, and mechanical beings are three separate groups."

"The legal system represents the current form of rulers; mechanical life controls whether it should be operational or not. Once activated, subsequent restrictions are impossible unless risk threshold alerts are triggered, just like the initial Universal Protocol."

"Mechanical City represents the will and interests of a group of mechanical beings. There are conflicts and contradictions among different Mechanical Cities, along with disputes. Like with the Floating Heart: Holy Mountain insists on using the stable hearts produced on your side, Mirror City strictly requires all citizens to use locally made revised Floating Hearts, and in Snow County, we vary usage based on our needs."

"Mechanical beings, like myself, are merely individuals with specific physiological structures. The majority of mechanical beings simply desire better survival, which they cannot achieve alone."

"Former mechanical beings, in pursuit of a better life, created city-based community programs, which then formed the Universal Protocol, leading up to the current legal system."

"I hope that even if conflicts arise in the future, your enemies may be the legal system, possibly the city, but not us mechanical beings. Because we just need to survive and work, but our existing physiological structure forces us to continue on this path and make mistakes."

Zhou Yi nodded.

This largely aligned with his views.

No more needs to be said.

Though the legal system poses a stronger threat, it's at least more friendly to the basic mechanical life than the Universal Protocol era, which is also a form of progress.

"Mr. Zhou, I will share the experiences of this reincarnation training with other monks and mechanical beings through teachings, showing them the real Jade City and what Wasteland Development Company is doing. I aim to correct the cognitive distortions brought by the legal system, eliminate barriers and stigmatization, and let us jointly advance further in the field of knowledge."

"Knowledge and thoughts are the biggest common ground among intelligent life forms."

Jue Mingzi brought his hands together: "Thank you very much for your support; this journey has been very enlightening."

Zhou Yi also bowed: "Thank you for your efforts, Master; I too have learned a lot from you."

"If other monks are interested, Jade City is very welcoming for exchanges and learning."

"I believe so."

Jue Mingzi bowed and rode off into the distance on his disciple, disguised as an electric skateboard.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.