Yang Ming: What comes to my mind is your ancestor's little companion, the Mechanical Thought Body born from the Intelligent Mechanic Dusk.

He nodded, puzzled, and asked, "Isn't the use of humans to replace intelligent machines and the semi-automation of machinery across the Emperor Star meant to avoid an Intelligent Mechanical Crisis?"

"Are you referring to the area around the Imperial Palace?"

Eno shook his head with a smile,

"First, that's merely self-deception, a bit of psychological comfort for the Emperor residing in the palace.

"Second, to synchronously control these weapons and harness this level of energy, ordinary supercomputers might barely manage, but the human process of issuing commands step-by-step results in incredibly low system efficiency.

"You should have encountered it, the Imperial Defense System; this is its domain."

Yang Ming said with a smile, "The Imperial Defense System... Oh, so this is the Dimension Ascension Laboratory?"

The train had already passed through the side of the high wall, entering the interior of the kilometer-high giant "structure."

A gentle light streamed in from the window.

A small city, like something out of a fantasy film, appeared before Yang Ming.

Gigantic silver-white spheres floated in mid-air, moving according to some set rule. Hemispherical buildings stood on the mercury-colored ground, and crisscrossing rainbow bridges in mid-air seemed to be light-tract vehicles that humans could stand on to float forward.

"Welcome to our research institute," Director Eno said with a squinting smile, "You are a rare guest; come with me."

The train came to a halt, and Yang Ming followed behind Director Eno, stepping onto one of the rainbow bridges.

He didn't step onto anything solid, yet he could float steadily, with a gentle force surrounding him from all directions, stabilizing his body.

A few researchers followed behind them.

Director Eno also grew more talkative, beginning to introduce the layout here to Yang Ming as well as the experimental projects being conducted inside those buildings.

Yang Ming's curiosity and thirst for knowledge began to blaze brightly. While some questions made Director Eno chuckle, given that Yang Ming was a warrior of the Empire—a handsome fighter—no one cared about his lack of scientific literacy.

They entered the largest hemispherical building, with an incredibly complex interior where rows upon rows of precision instruments were tightly arranged.

"Perhaps we should proceed to today's main topic," Director Eno remarked, "Come this way, we're heading to Observation Deck No. 1 to demonstrate the dimension ascension experiment for you. We've adjusted the timing of this experiment specifically."

Dimension ascension experiment...

Yang Ming nodded with a smile, though a few question marks popped up in his mind.

Was Director Eno being overly kind to him?

He followed behind Director Eno, navigating through the jungle of various instruments until they reached Observation Deck No. 1.

Hundreds of lab coat-clad researchers were busy at various stations, not paying attention to the arrival of Director Eno and Yang Ming.

Yang Ming was brought to a narrow window. Looking through it, he saw a large cavity, with a human figure suspended in the center, stretched into a "big" shape by pulling light beams.

This was a Supermodified person, one who blocked Yang Ming's way the day the Great Elder forced an imperial transition, leaving quite an impression on Yang Ming.

"Begin," Director Eno said softly.

All around came the rumble as giant machinery moved; several rifts seemed to appear atop the cavity, casting a gentle light upon the human figure.

Director Eno commented, "This test subject is consumable. His innate strength is far from absolute, so today's experiment aims to collect data and explore the critical point."

"Mm," Yang Ming nodded. He hadn't yet had a chance to express his views when a beam of energy descended from directly overhead, enveloping the Supermodified person.

Nearby, a researcher calmly reported:

"Commence energy infusion.

"Energy level 443, 446, 449... Test subject is experiencing dissolution... Energy level 450..."

"This isn't yielding valuable information," Director Eno lamented, "Our previously most successful test subject could endure an energy infusion of 3420... Adjust the energy level to one thousand two; let's not waste time."

Several researchers immediately set to work.

Yang Ming's eyelid twitched slightly as a purple lightning bolt lit up the cavity and struck the head of the Supermodified person.

A purple shockwave suddenly erupted, the Supermodified person tilted his head back in a silent scream, and his body burst into billows of purple smoke.

"Tsk."

Director Eno shook his head lightly: "Inferior sample."

Yang Ming: ...

"Alright, let's get to the main subject and fulfill the task entrusted by His Majesty."

Eno turned, looking at Yang Ming, a gentle smile on his face, a brighter gleam in his eyes.

"Did you see that, young man, the test subject just now?"

Yang Ming nodded: "This is quite cruel."

"Yes, very cruel, but to push humanity's research boundaries, we must abandon such sentiments," Eno stated calmly, "The Empire is wicked, from the perspective of most human beings."

Yang Ming found himself at a loss for words.

Director Eno smiled:

"The purpose of your visit is to convey this simple truth to you.

"The individual is powerless, whether Supermodified, Ancient God Transformation, or anything else; when facing a powerful regime, they are merely ants.

"If you want to progress further into the Empire's center of power, establish your family, and leave your name in the Empire's history, you must discard previous thoughts, seeing yourself as a commander rather than a soldier.

"You are already standing on the opposite side of the Imperial Nobles class; you have considerable fame, excellent character, sufficient ambition, and the embellishment of personal martial prowess.

"The Sherman family has decided to groom you, to cultivate you as the Guardian of the Empire for the next century.

"The cells you want have been stored with me. Now, you have two paths before you: to take the cells or to refuse the cells.

"Once you make your choice, I will take you to one of two directions: one direction leads to being a super warrior of the Empire, allowing you to continue your glory, but in ten years or twenty years, when you've fulfilled your mission, you will end up here.

"The other direction is towards the Empire's power; the Emperor's most beloved daughter, and my favorite grandniece, has been waiting ahead for quite some time.

"Honor is the most laughable, most illusory thing, yet perhaps you very much need this thing.

"One who bears the fate of the Mother Star, continuously struggling within the Empire's camp, the Number One Pioneer."

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