Chapter 820: The Ex-Machina Who Wants to Understand the Human Heart! Physiology? I'll Teach You…
[Ren]: "Martial Arts King, if you don't mind, you can change your display name to your real one. Of course, I wouldn't mind changing it for you myself."
[Martial Arts King]: "Hmm? You know of me?"
In her own world, Luo Hao narrowed her striking eyes, a dangerous glint flashing through her dark pupils. She had already skimmed through the so-called 'introduction'provided by this mysterious Doomsday Chat Group. Naturally, she remained highly skeptical of this'Otherworld' nonsense. To the supreme Martial Arts King, the idea of a multiverse was utterly absurd. It was far more likely that this was the elaborate trickery of some newly manifested Heretic God, or perhaps the meddling of a fellow Campione trying to provoke her.
[Ren]: "Tsk, tsk. Are you absolutely sure you want me to drop your name?"
[Martial Arts King]: "Heh. You are welcome to try."
[Ren]: "Luo Cuilian."
[Misaka Mikoto]: "? That name... I'm sorry, I really don't mean to laugh, but 'Luo Cuilian'and a badass title like'Martial Arts King' give off completely different vibes."
[Kiana]: "Yeah, I was thinking the exact same thing."
[Saeko Busujima]: "It does evoke a rather incongruous feeling."
[Martial Arts King]: "..."
Crack.
Spiderweb fissures exploded across the solid stone floor beneath Luo Hao's feet, pulverizing the rock into fine dust. Her delicate jaw locked tight. She hadn't actually expected this insolent stranger to dare utter her true, sacred name so casually in front of a crowd.
[Luo Hao]: "You are exceedingly bold. However, I expect you to address me by my proper title from now on."
[Luo Hao]: "Speak. Who exactly are you, and what is your underlying purpose?"
[Ren]: "Don't overthink it. Everything you need to know is already in the group's introduction. Whether you choose to believe it or not is entirely up to you."
[Luo Hao]: "Tsk. Then I shall humor you and pretend to believe it."
She had no intention of lowering herself to beg others for proof. Belief was irrelevant. There was an old saying: When soldiers come, send generals to stop them; when the flood arrives, use earth to dam it. Let them scheme. She possessed absolute, unshakeable confidence in her peerless martial arts. Whatever trap this was, she would simply crush it with her own two hands.
[Luo Hao]: "Since I am entertaining the existence of this so-called Doomsday Chat Group, perhaps you can explain something to me."
[Luo Hao]: "[Abnormal Doomsday (9 stars), Uncertainty Doomsday (9 stars)] — what exactly does this mean?"
[Tendo Kisara]: "It means your world is currently facing an apocalypse, and it's a terrifying 9-star level threat."
[Luo Hao]: "Doomsday... What an amusing way to phrase it."
The boredom that had previously clouded Luo Hao's exquisite features vanished, replaced by a sharp, predatory spark of genuine interest.
[Luo Hao]: "And what, pray tell, does a 9-star level doomsday look like?"
[Nami]: "Based on all the doomsday scenarios Ren has dragged us through, a 9-star doomsday affects an entire universe at the bare minimum. We're talking absolute, universe-destroying levels of power."
[Luo Hao]: "..."
She felt as though she had just been told the most ridiculous joke in existence, yet the corners of her lips refused to curl upward. Setting aside the dubious authenticity of this strange Chat Group for a moment... if a disaster of that magnitude truly existed, even she, the supreme Martial Arts King, would be powerless to stop it.
But what on earth could possibly trigger such an apocalypse? A Heretic God? Those arrogant deities could be beaten to death by her bare hands and martial arts. The idea of them possessing the power to annihilate an entire universe was laughable. She refused to believe it.
[Machina]: "[Future Doomsday (6 stars), Abnormal Doomsday (7 stars), Uncertainty Doomsday (11 stars)]."
[Machina]: "Query: What do these parameters represent?"
[Erza]: "It seems this newcomer's world is also plagued by disasters."
[Shiroyasha]: "11 stars. Now that is interesting."
[Emma]: "Rather than 'interesting,' I'd say it sounds incredibly dangerous."
[Exusiai]: "A 6-star doomsday affects a single planet. A 7-star doomsday wipes out a planetary system and various galaxies. As for 11 stars... yeah, I have absolutely no idea."
[Ren]: "An 11-star doomsday is a cataclysm that transcends the multiverse and beyond."
Ren leaned back, tapping his chin in genuine puzzlement. If he was right, this newcomer's world was the universe of No Game No Life. But a threat that transcended the multiverse? Did that world even possess something of that terrifying caliber? Aside from the Star Cup—the absolute conceptual device of omnipotence—there shouldn't be anything else capable of that scale of destruction. This was truly a bizarre development.
[Luo Hao]: "A multiverse... This is the first time I have ever heard of such a concept."
[Aqua]: "Hmph! That's just because you're a frog in a well who hasn't seen enough of the world!"
[Luo Hao]: "..."
She opted to remain noncommittal, her silence heavy with calculation. Regardless of the blue-haired girl's provocations, Luo Hao had to admit one thing: she completely failed to see through the deep mysteries of this Doomsday Chat Group.
[Seitenshi]: "Machina, are you not going to change your display name to your real one like the others?"
[Machina]: "The Ex-Machina possess no individual names."
[Seitenshi]: "Eh?"
[Aqua]: "Ummm, this newcomer has been acting super weird since she got here. Ren, hurry up and check what's going on with her!"
[Ren]: "Simply put, she's a robot."
[Aqua]: "Huh?"
[Tingyun]: "An automaton? But her speech patterns seem to lack the spiritual agility of the automatons I'm familiar with."
[Bronya]: "She seems much more advanced than Belobog's automaton soldiers, however."
[Tokisaki Kurumi]: "My, my. So even machines can be invited into our little Chat Group?"
[Sylvia]: "If she managed to join the group, she must have a distinct personality. I highly doubt she's just some ordinary machine..."
[Machina]: "Personality? The Ex-Machina do not possess a personality."
[Sylvia]: "Ah, well..."
[Stella]: "If you don't have a personality, how exactly are you communicating with us right now?"
[Machina]: "Through analysis."
[Ren]: "Alright, let's calm down. The Ex-Machina race is quite unique, but a 'personality' isn't something that can be defined so casually. The very fact that you're questioning it means you already have one."
He already had a solid guess regarding this particular Ex-Machina's identity. She was likely that special, anomalous unit. Shuvi.
In a desolate, ash-choked wasteland far across the multiverse, the Ex-Machina girl stared blankly at the holographic interface hovering in her optic sensors. Her mechanical eyes flickered, a strange, uncalculated light pulsing deep within her synthetic irises.
He said... I have a personality?
[Machina]: "But I do not understand humans. And... what is a 'heart'?"
[Emilia]: "What is a human? That kind of question... is really hard to answer."
[Tushan Honghong]: "Anyone who isn't a demon is a human, right?"
[White Blood Cell]: "The owner of the body is a human."
[Platelet]: "Yep, that's right!"
[Rory Mercury]: "Those are just the definitions from your respective worlds. Trying to definitively answer 'what a human is' gets a bit too philosophical for my tastes."
[Silver Wolf]: "Heh. If you need philosophical definitions and deep thoughts, I can just run a search and copy-paste a whole database for you."
[Kiana]: "Forget it! That kind of boring knowledge will just make your head spin. Questions like that don't even matter. Isn't it enough to just live happily every day? Why overthink it?"
[Durandal]: "Although Kiana is exceptionally lazy when it comes to her studies, I actually agree with her on this point."
[Durandal]: "Knowing what you want to do, and what you should do, is more than enough. There is no need to get tangled up in rigid, concrete definitions."
[Machina]: "Error. Cannot understand. Cannot analyze."
[Ren]: "You want to understand the human heart? You want to understand emotions? Desires?"
[Machina]: "Affirmative."
[Ren]: "I can teach you. Whether it's the heart, the mind, or human physiology... I'm an expert."
[Ch'en]: "Ren, where exactly are you right now?"
[Ren]: "Just playing around at Rhodes Island."
He wasn't lying. He really was 'playing'—though the exact, highly questionable nature of his 'play' at Rhodes Island was something best left to the imagination.
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