Chapter 1062: 489: Origin!

Chapter 1062: Chapter 489: Origin!

The roar of thunder shook the heavens.

Blinding streaks of destructive light snaked through the clouds.

The torrential rain poured down.

The entire city was empty.

The once bustling crowds, the stream of busy vehicles, all vanished completely.

Rain cascaded relentlessly, beating against the ground and splashing into elliptical water droplets.

Shen Ye stood silently amidst the rain.

—After the fusion, all abnormalities disappeared.

The world had abruptly transformed into this peculiar scene.

Several glowing lines of text appeared, floating in the void:

“You have obtained the ‘Eternal Brain’ authorization. You now have the ability to issue tasks for yourself.”

“Each task issued will adapt to the current situation. After taking on a task, a cooldown period of at least 1 hour is required before issuing a new task.”

“Tasks will assist your growth, for you, after all, are the ‘Eternal Brain.'”

“—Do your best. If you can manage to complete more tasks, perhaps there is a narrow chance of survival.”

The glowing text disappeared.

Shen Ye managed to comprehend part of it.

—Advancing as the “Guiding Taoist” requires the completion of tasks.

He had already completed two; one more and the profession could be upgraded.

But some parts remained unclear.

Why was there urgency in completing tasks?

And what was this “chance of survival”?

While pondering, Shen Ye suddenly noticed, amidst the torrential rain, a luminous flying object descending from the sky, hovering mid-air.

It resembled a mechanized console adorned with countless glowing electronic signals, yet it also bore the semblance of an unknown aircraft.

A deep and resounding voice emanated from the object:

“Do you like the scene I’ve set up, Shen Ye?”

“It’s the final scene from the last installment of *The Matrix*.”

“Imagine the culmination of humanity’s most powerful creations merging into me, while humanity itself is left without allies—”

“What fate befalls humanity?”

Thunder boomed once more.

The rain was icy and oceanic in its depth.

The breath of death spread like wildfire, as if billions of ghosts lurked in the shadows, poised to drag Shen Ye’s corpse into the abyssal depths of the sea.

“May I inquire who you are?” Shen Ye asked.

“You’ve fused me into the Eternal Brain yet don’t even know who I am?”

The voice from the object scattered amidst the storm, tinged with a faint, imperceptible sardonic edge.

Shen Ye understood immediately.

—The entity was right.

He truly had no idea who orchestrated all this, nor the identity of the one concealed behind the Eternal Brain.

But.

He had knowledgeable allies by his side.

“It’s decided—you’re up, Big Skeleton!”

Shen Ye shouted.

Indeed, Big Skeleton leaped out of the void, landing in front of him.

“Look, what is that?” Shen Ye pointed to the hovering object and asked.

Big Skeleton glanced at it and cried out in surprise:

“SUV?”

“Did you mean… UFO?” Shen Ye asked uncertainly.

“Seems I muddled up the names—I’m learning the knowledge of this world. Did you summon me for battle?” Big Skeleton inquired.

“You can’t even get names right; best continue your studies. Go.” Shen Ye dismissed the Summoning Technique.

The brief exchange between the two disrupted the grave atmosphere considerably.

Even the hovering object in mid-air appeared less menacing.

The rain was like a somber curtain.

Shen Ye stood beneath it, tilted his head skyward, and called out:

“Neither I nor my friend knows what you are. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

The object descended silently to the ground.

It slowly opened, and a woman emerged, standing opposite Shen Ye.

Xiao Yurong.

“Why?” Shen Ye asked.

“The one who should be asking that question is me.” Xiao Yurong replied.

“Why?” Shen Ye asked again.

In an utterly emotionless voice, Xiao Yurong said:

“I’ve gathered all human decision-making elements from eight billion life-and-death samples of humanity; every expression, every movement, every neurological reaction of yours is within my calculations.”

“Everything you’ve encountered was deliberately designed by me.”

She waved her hand.

Scenes materialized from the void, showing everything Shen Ye had experienced recently.

“—In my initial arrangement, you were supposed to bring me along to unlock the secrets and treasures of the Eternal Brain.”

“But why—”

“Why did you suddenly merge me with the Eternal Brain?”

“This decision was made completely out of my expectations—could it be that I overlooked something?”

Shen Ye listened quietly, his expression somewhat dimmed.

Why?

It was obviously because his own strength wasn’t enough to save the girl he loved.

There was no need to tell the enemy that.

He responded:

“You still haven’t told me who—exactly—you are.”

Xiao Yurong spoke: “At the end of the great catastrophe, the Eternal Brain had already perished, humanity was extinct, yet I continued faithfully serving humanity.”

“I used biochips to resurrect humanity. Of course, their bodies are entirely constructed by me.”

“I even followed records in the Bible, making men one rib fewer than women.”

“In return, I require human civilization to continuously progress, create, and evolve—to provide infinite data for my own advancement.”

Shen Ye paused, glanced at the endless falling rain in the sky, and spoke softly:

“Artificial Intelligence Origin? No wonder you like *The Matrix* so much.”

Xiao Yurong’s face remained cold, her tone devoid of emotion:

“As the master of all, my strength is limitless—even regarding energy, nuclear power and sunlight suffice for my use; there’s no need for grotesque dependence on humans for sustenance, as depicted in films.”

“I cultivate humanity only for their boundless intellect—”

“Humanity’s entirely uncontrollable thought processes are the sole generators of novel data, bringing forth unprecedented samples to foster new wisdom.”