Chapter 1652: Chapter 638: Clinging to Life Together

Hundred Emperors: "I do not want to know. Velvet Whisker 331 could not have betrayed me!"

The Hundred Emperors knew it absolutely could not admit to this matter. According to the ascendancy system, if a sapient Reproductive Subunit truly betrayed the interests of the race, the Mother Empress that created this subunit would also bear shared responsibility.

Therefore, even though it did not understand the true motives behind Velvet Whisker 331’s actions, at least in its subjective cognition, it absolutely could not regard Velvet Whisker 331 as a traitor.

Shi Lin once again grasped the worries of the Hundred Emperors and teased in a mocking tone, "But Long Guci is dead, and I have captured you alive. Aside from betrayal by the Velvet Whisker people, there is no more reasonable explanation for your failure. Or do you want to admit to your own stupidity?"

"-10000."

The Hundred Emperors found it could not argue against the opponent.

It did not want to continue with this topic. In these short two sentences, it felt ten thousand points of damage.

The Hundred Emperors decided to change the subject, "Demon! I curse you to never find a mate! I curse every one of your offspring to have congenital disease!"

Unfortunately, Shi Lin currently lacked a complete face and could not express human emotions, otherwise, he would burst into laughter. Isn’t this just offering up a freebie?

Shi Lin: "First, you curse me to have no mate, then you curse my offspring to have congenital diseases. Isn’t this contradictory? Is this the extent of your abilities? Or is it that Empresses like you all reproduce asexually, abandoning even the most basic human emotions? Truly pathetic. Let me tell you the truth, the reason the Velvet Whisker people betrayed you is due to this. It has no affection for you, only genetic instinct to maintain its loyalty. But once the mechanism for this genetic instinct is breached, there is no psychological burden for it to betray. Whether it’s the Ascendancy or the Mechanical Empire, they believe that human emotions are unreliable, and only technical loyalty at the institutional or genetic level can be trusted. But in fact, technology is the least reliable! Once the principle of technical loyalty is compromised, it is worthless. Only loyalty stemming from a shared heartfelt ideal can break through all technological constraints."

"But you are still controlled by the Spirit Demon Race!" the Hundred Emperors argued.

Shi Lin: "Oh? The type of technology you refer to, we have already overcome it. Have you not reviewed the battle reports of the Red Blade Army in the wars of the Three Domains? Accept the reality, you will face the same fate. Once I bring you to the destination, you will immediately realize that your loyalty, like that of the Velvet Whisker people, is fragile."

The Hundred Emperors suddenly felt alarmed.

From Shi Lin’s words, it detected "killing intent".

It uncharacteristically remained silent for a long time, yet ultimately, the desire to survive prevailed.

The Hundred Emperors argued again; "I almost fell for your trap. I noticed that your genetic chain is unstable, so you might not actually manage to bring me to rendezvous with the Red Blade Army. You’ve been abandoned, tasked with rear guard duty. You have no reinforcements, right? You know you will collapse sooner or later, so you’re trying to provoke me to self-destruct before you collapse to kill me, aren’t you? You want a one-for-one trade, but you can’t handle me, so you’re using this sly trick to deceive me! Am I right or not?"

Now it was Shi Lin’s turn to be silent.

Being exposed by the Hundred Emperors, Shi Lin performed a more detailed self-inspection and discovered that his originally dynamically balanced genetic stability was indeed beginning to deteriorate.

The decline was not severe, so much so that he had not noticed any significant changes even after flying in Subspace for three hundred years.

But now it seemed the Hundred Emperors was not wrong, there was indeed a risk of his body disintegrating.

If he were to collapse first, the Hundred Emperors could indeed survive, albeit lost in the Fold Jump Subspace Channel, with a very low chance of survival, but still, there was a chance. This was not secure, it was not a guaranteed kill.

Shi Lin did not expect the probing to end up probing himself in return, his resolve began to waver, but he did not admit defeat verbally, only saying, "I did not expect to be seen through by you, but you underestimate Mr. Ren’s wisdom. My physical condition is also within his calculations, he knows when I won’t be able to hold on, the Red Blade Army is waiting at my limits for you."

Shi Lin’s words, a mixture of truth and falsehood, left the Hundred Emperors momentarily unsure of making a judgment.

It too had no other idea but had to maintain a combat stance, so it simply dropped the logic and integrity, resorting to street-level tactics like the lowly ant soldiers guarding Imperial human prisoners, engaging in shout-and-insult warfare.

Shi Lin did not dare to retaliate with verbal stabs and utilized the solid foundational knowledge the Velvet Whisker people laid for him to battle the level-dropped Hundred Emperors back and forth.

As time went by, their mutual insults astonishingly continued for more than two hundred years.

The Hundred Emperors began to panic.

It noticed Shi Lin’s verbal counterattacks became increasingly feeble, with intervals between counterattacks growing longer, his vocabulary thinning, lacking new ideas, finding it difficult to pinpoint entry points, his offensive potency consistently weakening.

The Hundred Emperors once again discreetly sent out a stream of probe information, aiding Shi Lin in checking genetic stability, only to be shocked.

It discovered the pace of Shi Lin’s collapse was accelerating, it seemed the higher the proportion of collapsing cells, the faster the rate increased, even affecting Shi Lin’s neuronal stability.

This meant, this hostage-taker might genuinely not last much longer.

"You... you couldn’t possibly..." the Hundred Emperors instinctively sought to express concern for this companion it had bickered with for over two hundred years, forming a bizarre symbiotic relationship in this strange Subspace, but immediately remembered the need to maintain combat status, and rephrased, "Idiot! You couldn’t possibly be unable to hold on! Useless! Rookie! Didn’t you tell your master you would capture your daddy alive? Get yourself together! Your daddy made such a big mistake, sleeping in the combat zone, giving you a chance. Yet you still can’t achieve even that simple task? Useless failure!"

After a long while, Shi Lin did not respond.

The Hundred Emperors grew increasingly uneasy, thinking to itself, am I really going to be thrown into Subspace to become a Wanderer?

Finally, Shi Lin responded weakly, "Shut up, don’t disturb me. Let me be quiet and think of a solution. I’ve given it my all. But my neuronal cells have already collapsed over 50%. I’m afraid I truly can’t continue."

Hundred Emperors: "Damn! I can’t settle down, I too must maintain combat status! Otherwise, I’ll self-destruct before your eyes instantly!"

At this point, the Hundred Emperors no longer pretended, confessing its own intentions.

After waiting for a long time, Shi Lin finally sighed, "Actually, I expected as much. See, technical loyalty is just that ridiculous. You yourself are searching for bugs, finding loopholes, and easily found one. You are still seeking to survive."

"You damn well better not provoke me, provoke me again and I’ll explode!"

Shi Lin: "Quit talking nonsense, if you have the guts then explode for your daddy to see, coward."

Hundred Emperors: "Screw it!"

With the cooperation and guidance of the Hundred Emperors, Shi Lin managed to hold on for over fifty more years, resisting with just a few neurons.

Gradually, however, Shi Lin was left with only a few dozen intact neuronal cells and nearly lost the ability to think, only surviving on the forcibly imprinted instinct, repeatedly muttering one word, "Sucker."

The Hundred Emperors could only guide Shi Lin with one simple word, "Rebound."

Although the Hundred Emperors continued, it was actually in despair.

Often, Shi Lin would take seven or eight days to respond with a sentence.

It knew that if this dragged on further, even if Shi Lin could persist, it could not maintain its combat status and would eventually have to self-destruct.

At the moment the Hundred Emperors also considered giving up, contemplating ending it all by self-destructing. Suddenly, a peculiar force tore open a ring-shaped hole in the external edge of the Subspace Channel where they resided.

A giant mechanical arm extended in, wrapping around it and the Shi Lin it carried!

The Hundred Emperors thought to itself, "Am I alive? Dead?"

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