Professor Han's eyes were sunken, age spots dotted his face, and the neural bundle on his head withered due to the loss of the 'Brain-in-a-Vat' power, making him look like he could pass away at any moment.

The fusion with the 'Brain-in-a-Vat' failed, and this Professor Han doesn't have many years left in his life.

In fact, even if he succeeded in fusion, with his brain power, he couldn't support the computations of the internal world for long.

This is why Gao Gong scoffed. Of course, being a homebody is enjoyable, but the issue is you need to find a sustainable path forward.

Escaping reality temporarily isn't a big deal; the real challenge is to escape so well that they can't even find you, let alone deal with you. That's the true meaning of virtual reality.

"Alien base," Gao Gong thought for a moment and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the bionic technology knowledge chain was also handed to you by alien forces, right?"

"Yes."

"So, is this a conspiracy?"

Professor Han furrowed his brow in pain and said, "I am not sure. It's just that when we fully realized the theoretical achievements, those aliens suddenly broke in, captured us, and forced us to conduct bionic experiments."

"Their goal is to fully transform us biomimetically, turning those alien creatures into carbon-based humans on this planet."

Gao Gong stroked his chin. Generally speaking, the most common way advanced civilizations interfere with lower-level civilizations is by trading them a low-potential, pit-laden technology tree under the guise of 'exchange.'

And from the perspective of a lower-level civilization, it's completely impossible to see whether these 'advanced alien technologies' have problems.

In fact, even if they know there are pitfalls, planets' forces will still actively fall for it and be deceived.

For no other reason, planet civilizations are mostly not a whole but scattered alliances composed of many sovereign states. If you stand still, others will take advantage of external forces to rush forward, in turn turning you into a member state or satellite state.

Or, domestic interest groups and corporate forces secretly contact alien knowledge, repack it as their illuminated technology, or even more violently, an opposition party initiates a coup to achieve a technological revolution.

In short, though the tactic of 'knowledge changing civilization' is cliché, it's astonishingly effective.

Once applied, it often yields results.

And the reasons advanced civilizations do this are nothing more than a few.

Either they want to verify the possibility of a particular technology route through an emerging planet civilization and the resulting social ecology.

Or they want to cultivate this planetary civilization into a sub-civilization, for instance, an advanced mechanical civilization nurturing a lower-level carbon-based civilization to achieve technological backtracking against hostile carbon-based civilizations.

Or they discover, through the calculation of the planet's main brain, that a certain type of race holds enormous potential and could become a nemesis to a specific advanced civilization upon development, so they engage in malicious interference.

Under the regulations of the highest Civilization Council, advanced civilizations are not allowed, nor permitted, to execute a dimensional strike on lower-level civilizations. Such phenomena as interstellar colonization have become rare in today's universe.

But rules are rules, and they can't suppress their desire to showcase their operation skills.

And for a lower-level civilization to transition from a planet to interstellar, it must either have mind-blowing potential, progressing contrary to all odds to the pinnacle, or it must have gone through various crises—mechanical disasters, alien infestation, technological crises, racial mutations—to be forcibly tempered into a seasoned practitioner.

Until the realization of civilization ascension.

By then, other advanced civilizations will find you quite ruthless, sufficiently heartless, and shameless enough to be a good material for mixing in the universe, fearing retaliation afterward, and thus go on to bully other planets' natives.

At that time, the external crisis will downgrade a level.

It's just that alien species passed down bionic technology and then biomimicked into humans on this planet.

This operation is a bit baffling.

A covert operation? It shouldn't be.

With too few known conditions, it's really hard to guess. Gao Gong changed the topic: "You mentioned earlier that there are many dangerous things in the research institute. Are you referring to aliens or something else?"

Professor Han said hoarsely, "During that previous exploration, I secretly opened the outer defense mechanism of the research institute and didn't receive any attack. Even the password was still the numeric code from back then, so I can preliminarily conclude that the aliens should have left."

"The danger I mentioned refers to the failed products born from that series of biological experiments. The bodies of those alien monsters were unimaginably powerful, and the failed bionic products are beings that not even energy weapons can destroy."

Is that so? That's a bit troublesome, and I was planning to explore after the hunting war ended.

It seems this is really an advanced instance.

"Since it's so dangerous, please tell me the location, or else your people might accidentally get involved,"

Gao Gong looked utterly sincere.

['Biomimetic Origin' task fragment illuminated]

[Reward: Mechanical Puzzle Fragment [1/5]*1]

Plus the piece obtained earlier, Gao Gong has already completed 2/5 of the puzzle.

A Mechanical Puzzle is an advanced blueprint, at least 'rare' level or above, and if luckier, might even yield a cross-civilization-level blueprint.

This type of puzzle typically isn't a single weapon but some large-scale equipment.

'Perhaps this research institute holds new fragment clues.'

Task webs and task chains differ. As long as a task chain isn't stuck at a certain level, it can continuously proceed.

But task webs are different, requiring different task fragments to piece together.

The more task fragments gathered, the more likely the 'task web' can be completed.

But this remains only a possibility.

Sometimes, even when you illuminate a certain 'task fragment,' there's no path forward.

Such situations are quite common.

So many players would rather persist in task chains than undertake task webs.

Because at least task chains offer periodic rewards.

Task webs basically run on passion.

Until the later stages of the game, players realized that the 'Task Network' was one of the few paths to bypass the 'Professional Knowledge Chain' and craft large equipment or even Ascension Equipment.

Gao Gong naturally wouldn't miss out on this 'Task Network.'

Not to mention he knew a lot about Mechanical Split Star's background.

More importantly, he had player minions he could command.

Isn't it just basic rewards? He would give them.

"Alright, let's rest when we reach my territory; it's not safe here."

Gao Gong clapped his hands and gave Huang Yuanli a look. This little woman immediately put her hands on her hips and yelled at the tribe members like she was herding sheep.

At this moment, the little woman already had a bit of the 'Great Elder's' demeanor.

Suddenly, Gao Gong's expression changed slightly, and the little woman's face also froze.

She suddenly felt a strong malice.

This malice was so strong it seemed like she could be swallowed at any moment.

They were being watched!

Gao Gong squinted his eyes. He had clearly driven away all the surrounding Radiation Beasts.

Logically, no Radiation Beast would enter this place for a while.

Unless they had been eying them for a long time.

There was a vaguely familiar feeling.

The next moment, he understood why.

A gigantic metal head sprang out from behind a tree, moving with both hands and feet, swift as lightning. Its mouth wide open, metal fangs like daggers severed the body of an unsuspecting tribe member. The Reaper swung its neck upward, and amid the blood and flesh, it clamped the upper half in its mouth and dashed back into the forest.

Reaper!!

In the forest, these steel monsters appeared once more.

Gao Gong's eye twitched; it wasn't that he didn't want to act, but a strong sense of threat surged from deep within him.

Once he took action, he would surely be ambushed.

Elegant footsteps echoed as a crimson Reaper slowly emerged from the depths of the forest.

Its neck was twice as long as a regular Reaper's, and its six wings didn't fold under its ribs like a cockroach but spread open like blades.

Its four forelimbs were thinner than other Reapers' and even had hand-like five hooks that slowly rotated as it walked.

With red antennae, red shells, and a relatively slim figure compared to male Reapers.

Despite the significant changes, Gao Gong recognized it at a glance.

It was that Mother Reaper!

And now, the Mother Reaper had reorganized its family and was even stronger than her deceased husband.

Name: Reaper Queen

Radiation Level: C+

Life Value: 3660/3660

Physical Strength Value: 900/900

Biological Energy: 13530

Biological Attributes: Power 51 Agility 48 Endurance 35 Intelligence 15 Perception 27

Skills: Steel Slash lv9, Tornado Slash lv6 (Advanced), Six-Wheel Slash lv4 (Elite), Electromagnetic Whip lv8 (Elite), Mental Shock lv5 (Elite), ??

Leader Template: Mother Beast's Grasp

Effect 1: Spiritual manipulation of similar Reapers

Effect 2: Release female hormones to cause Reaper offspring to Seed Burst in a short time

Effect 3: Absorb different types of Mechanical Bio-Beast essences to give birth to Reapers with more biological characteristics

Suddenly, gunfire erupted; not far from Huang Yuanli, a tribe member's body shuddered, and a bloody hole appeared in his forehead.

And nearby, a juvenile Reaper slowly withdrew its smoking forelimb, which was no longer a 'Biological Scythe' but a biological gun barrel.

Its 'father' was most likely a Gun Beast.

"I can't afford to take care of you anymore," Gao Gong said without looking back.

"I know!"

The little woman gritted her teeth, showing decisive leadership at this moment, her eyes becoming hollow in an instant.

"The elderly, children, and severely wounded should evacuate first; the others stay behind."

The next moment, a juvenile Reaper charged forward, its pair of biological scythes transforming into biological spears, thrusting straight at the little woman.

However, the next moment, another juvenile Reaper suddenly appeared, colliding with the opponent from the side. With a loud crash, it forcibly knocked the attacker off its path, causing it to crash into a large tree nearby.

Simultaneously, two juvenile Reapers suddenly emerged, walking out from the forest, flanking Huang Yuanli like guards.

The Mechanical System's mind communication has a very special effect called 'Mechanical Possession,' which allows one to 'command' machinery within a short period.

Gao Gong stared at the approaching Reaper Queen, took a deep breath, and slowly drew the Red Unicorn, then released the scabbard.

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