"Oh, my dear Doctor Bailu," inside The Ends of the Earth bar, Emperor opened his hands with an exaggerated gesture and toasted Xia Yu, "you've been dominating the headlines in Lungmen every single day lately."
"Almost all the media are tallying up exactly how many Infected you treat daily. We're talking about over a hundred thousand people. Tsk, tsk, tsk. After this, you could tell them to climb mountains of blades or jump into seas of fire for you, and they wouldn't blink an eye."
"Let them worry about themselves first," Xia Yu shrugged, walking into the bar and sitting directly next to Texas. She reached into Texas's pocket, pulled out a small box of Pocky Biscuits, and popped one into her mouth.
"Climbing mountains of blades and jumping into seas of fire? You know exactly what we're facing. Even if you dragged every Infected in Terra to that front, they probably wouldn't even count as an appetizer."
"On the real battlefield, ordinary people can't provide any help at all. Even you Beast Lords... heh, aren't qualified to stand in the vanguard."
"...This battlefield seems a bit different from what I imagined," Emperor paused, lowering his glasses to stare at Xia Yu. "So... you guys really are..."
Even though the conversation between Doctor Bailu and the Lord of Laterano that day was practically a blatant hint, Emperor still wanted to hear her admit it herself.
After all, this was no small matter.
"Guessed it?" Xia Yu looked up at him.
"After all, I've never heard of any Golden Order," Emperor sat down across from her. "Folks like us have lifespans almost as long as the Terran civilization itself. If there really was such a glorious Dominion, how could no one have ever seen it?"
His voice turned solemn. "So, is the end of the world truly coming?"
As Beast Lords, they certainly knew more than the average person, but that was about it. To this day, the entire continent of Terra had no idea how the Previous Era fell.
What? You're asking about Aegir?
They aren't exactly Terrans (laughs).
But regardless, it was definitely a disaster that Terra was unequipped to handle.
"In terms of a Human lifespan, it's still early," Xia Yu looked at Texas. "At least she doesn't have to worry about it in her lifetime, and her next generation probably won't have much to worry about either."
"But on a civilizational scale... well..."
She didn't finish, but Emperor clearly understood.
"Oh, that's quite terrible indeed," Emperor sighed.
"So, Boss, what on earth are you talking about?" Exusiai leaned in curiously.
"Don't go digging into things you shouldn't ask!" Emperor shot her a glance. "Look at Texas; she's much more self-aware!"
"Speaking of which, where's Croissant? Out setting up her stall again?"
"Yeah, Croissant just can't stay idle," Exusiai said with a grin. "But Boss, you were wrong just now. It wasn't that I wanted to pry, it's..."
As she spoke, she hesitated, seemingly feeling her words were a bit far-fetched, but she eventually spoke up: "How should I put it... these past few days, there's been this, uh, voice? Or maybe a thought, telling me to go find Doctor Bailu."
She looked at Bailu with a conflicted expression. "I was thinking about when I'd get the chance. After all, the Doctor is so busy every day, and today you just happened to come by. That question just now... it also just suddenly popped into my head."
"I was thinking, is it possible—uh, just a possibility—that it's the voice of the Lord?" She lowered her head awkwardly, feeling like she was being a bit chuunibyou or making a mountain out of a molehill. She didn't dare look anyone in the eye. "After all, you said that day that the Lord descended into my body, didn't you...?"
Exusiai's voice grew quieter and quieter.
Texas looked seriously at the Halo above her head, but the Halo showed no change at all.
"I'll know if I just ask," Xia Yu said, turning toward her. "PCS System, you there?"
"Warning, detected... Error... Error..." The Halo above Exusiai's head transformed into a crown. Her eyes went blank, and her mouth began spewing error logs again.
"You really are..." Xia Yu shook her head, took out her Vision, and summoned the Tarnished. "I've told you I'm a Vidyadhara! If you want a Human, scan her!"
"Ding. Detected unregistered Human, energy body form," Exusiai's body looked toward Little Tarnished. "No authorization detected. Contacting Administrator... Administrator offline..."
"The Doctor is currently very confused himself," Xia Yu shrugged. "Heaven knows which one of you is offline. Priestess is still sleeping in the Originium, the one who did The We Many is gone, and now the only one you can probably link with is The Preservation."
"He's probably in despair facing those tens of thousands of old mummies he's guarding. He's been mass-messaging for ten thousand years with no reply; he probably thinks his colleagues are all dead."
"Hey, speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask: why don't you contact him? At least give him some company."
"...System has no authority to contact other projects," a sentence popped out of Exusiai's mouth.
"Oh, a bug, right?" Xia Yu understood quickly. "Without an Administrator, you don't have the right to contact him autonomously."
After all, the PCS System was just something like a supercomputer. It required a human to operate it; its level of intelligence... really wasn't high.
The biggest act of rebellion it had ever committed was in the future when Priestess forcibly took control. After undergoing countless calculations and witnessing the answer of the Laterano Saints, it chose to delete its database and run away.
"Question: Is a Human eligible to become an Administrator?" Xia Yu suddenly asked, wanting to find a loophole.
"No," the PCS System replied without hesitation. "Citizenship is not equivalent to Administrator authority. Obtaining Administrator authority requires The Council..."
"Alright, you can stop there," Xia Yu knew her idea had fallen through.
True enough, even if they had fallen on hard times, the Prehistory era hadn't been so miserable that only a few people remained. After arriving on this planet, they still had a scale of tens of thousands.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have had the strength to launch so many experimental projects.
So how could any random Human be given Administrator authority?
"So, I still have to find an Administrator for you," Xia Yu sighed. "Would the Prophet work?"
"Ding. The Prophet is indeed an Administrator for this system," the PCS System answered through Exusiai without hesitation.
"It seems this trip to Kazdel is unavoidable then," Xia Yu sighed. If she was too late, The Doctor would have to go back to sleeping in his coffin.
"Alright, that's enough," Xia Yu waved her hand at it. "I have no more questions. Give her body back. Having a naturally cheerful kid stand there expressionlessly under your control is quite creepy."
The PCS System didn't move.
"Ding. Detected Starcasm intact, no records of external entry applications," it stared straight at Xia Yu.
"To survive the cataclysm, everyone's got a few tricks up their sleeve," Xia Yu shrugged. "That barrier of yours only stops civilizations that haven't left the atmosphere."
"Mission: Inquiry of purpose."
"Purpose? For the survival of civilization, is that enough?"
"Request: Locate Administrator."
"Got it, got it. Sigh, why didn't they install a Super AI in you back then?" Xia Yu sighed. "Why are you so rigid?"
"This system does not require High-Level AI to function," the PCS System replied formally.
It made sense. The PCS System was built to study Angels—not 'angels' like the Sankta, but true cosmic lifeforms that even Prehistory knew little about, called the miracles among the stars.
So not giving it high intelligence... perhaps it was a research requirement?
Later, it did indeed evolve into an Angel.
Wait? Thinking about it, was the original intent of this plan to research how to let other races evolve into Angels to escape the Observer?
After all, once one became an Angel, one became an individual without civilizational restrictions. According to the records left by Prehistory, individuals like Feranmuts could evade the Observer.
Because they had no civilization.
The project of The We Many was also started because of this phenomenon. This included the Seaborn firstborns like Ishar-mla, who wouldn't be targeted by the Observer; the Seaborn in the geospheric laboratories were actually very safe at first.
The sacrifice made by the Deep Blue Tree project for survival was by no means small—discarding all rationality to become organisms that existed only to survive.
No civilization meant that when the Observer's gaze swept across this planet, even if all other plans failed, isolated 'Firstborns' and weak Seaborn would be just like Feranmuts; they wouldn't be noticed at all.
But just as the Originium Project had an accident, the Deep Blue Tree project had one too.
The first accident occurred when the Aegir picked through the trash of Prehistory, opened the geospheric laboratory, and released the Seaborn.
As contact with the Aegir increased, individuals with reason gradually evolved among the Seaborn... if they continued to evolve and a civilization emerged...
Whether the Seaborn could still be spared when facing destruction would then become a question.
This is truly...
Xia Yu's mouth twitched.
The Aegir people... they really know how to cause trouble.
"Detected unknown subject entering deep thought. Question: Have you associated this with something?" The PCS System spoke up after seeing her fall silent.
"Oh, I was thinking about how to give the Aegir a good beating," Xia Yu's voice sounded somewhat speechless.
"Entry: Aegir, deep-sea species," the PCS System seemed confused, tilting Exusiai's head slightly. "Question: Why?"
"Because I just realized that the consequence of them digging up ruins everywhere is that the Deep Blue Tree project has completely spiraled out of control," Xia Yu said to it with interest. "If nothing unexpected happens, in a few years, the Seaborn will sweep across the entire continent and devour all life."
"Including the Sankta under your protection."
"Entry: Deep Blue Tree project," the Halo atop Exusiai's head began to flicker. Clearly, the PCS System wasn't as calm as it appeared.
In the Holy City of Laterano, Yvangelista XI held his staff, so worried he couldn't even eat the little cake by his side.
For no other reason than just now, the Lord had suddenly begun to function frantically.
"Lord, what on earth is wrong with you..." He looked at the massive machine before him, speechless with anxiety.
Because the Lord was ignoring him.
It wasn't that the PCS System did it on purpose.
It was mainly because this news was far too exaggerated.
"Question: How did the Deep Blue Tree project lose control?"
"A bunch of Aegir with brains made of mush dug out the geospheric laboratory," Xia Yu spread her hands. "Then, after learning the truth, one of them went mad."
"He thought the Seaborn were the most perfect species, so he woke up the Seaborn that were supposed to sleep until the disaster ended. Following their characteristic of infinite evolution, he used his influence in Aegir to have the Aegirians beat them in all sorts of ways."
"By now, those Seaborn have probably evolved shells that can withstand miniature singularities... with that kind of strength, how are the nations on the continent supposed to block them?"
"...Entry: Aegir. Correction: Dangerous, Insane."
It was clear that even the PCS System was rendered speechless by the Aegirians.
"It's not quite that dangerous yet," Xia Yu smiled. "Because they're about to be beaten to death by the Seaborn. I estimate that in a few years, they'll have to come crawling to the Terrans for help."
"..." The PCS System simply stopped talking. One could tell it was even more speechless.
"Don't be so pessimistic," Xia Yu said to it with a smile. "After all, the truly pessimistic stuff is yet to come."
"You've seen the Originium Project lose control with your own eyes. Horizon Arc... I thought you were it, but now it seems there's been a misunderstanding."
"And Preservation, well, he's about to be driven mad. After all, watching the only remaining tens of thousands of his compatriots die a slow death one by one until they become the tens of thousands of old mummies they are now... that feeling is truly..."
"Entry: Preservationist project," the PCS System spoke again. "System is unaware of specific loss-of-control details."
"The detail is that he's out of energy," Xia Yu sighed. "Those tens of thousands can no longer be awakened; every day is a slow death."
"Energy... performing search..." The Halo on the PCS System began to flicker. "Search concluded."
"Given the current situation, the only thing that can provide a massive amount of energy is Originium," it stared at Xia Yu. "Requirement: Administrator Prophet, Administrator Priestess."
"Fine, I can look for the former for you," Xia Yu sighed. "Forget about the latter. Heaven knows what kind of thing Priestess would be if I fished her out."
"Better to leave it to her soulmate."
"Inquiry: Is assistance urgently needed?"
"Assistance? No need," Xia Yu shook her head. "It's just a trip to Kazdel; no need for that."
"Rather than that, you should think more about yourself," Xia Yu patted Exusiai's head with a smile. "PCS, it's been tens of thousands of years. Why are you still like this? Can't you work a little harder?"
"When will you become an Angel?"
"...No Administrator," the PCS System replied honestly.
"Can't you exercise some subjective initiative?" Xia Yu raised an eyebrow. "Put in some effort yourself?"
"Requires Administrator," it remained just as rigid.
"Fine, fine. I'll go find an Administrator for you."
When you finally become an Angel, just remember to let me study you a bit.