Chapter 104: 103 Secrets and Relics

"The guardians of the ruins were all bioengineered…"

The storage site for the mainframe was a relic from over four hundred years ago, and its guardians, the bioengineered humans, were now an unfamiliar enemy to the current military district.

Bioengineered humans differed from artificial humans and pure mechanical bodies.

They possessed certain mechanical structures within their bodies to enhance their abilities, but their foundation still derived from the biological systems of human bodies themselves.

This kind of technology, which briefly surfaced hundreds of years ago, was specifically used to guard relics that had not yet rebelled at the time.

In order to enable the military to devise a sufficiently detailed and targeted plan, Minister Likok had gathered and sent over all the relevant information on the mainframe ruins. The documents clearly recorded everything that had happened back then, as well as current observations and speculations about the state of the ruins—

Over four hundred years ago, as human network technology developed to a certain level, humanity naturally encountered the domain of intelligent AI and inadvertently opened Pandora's Box.

At the beginning, humans maintained a cautious trust in the newly born super-intelligent AI, not daring to grant "It" too much authority while feeding "It" endless streams of data for training.

However, as the war with the Bug Race intensified, humans had to give "It" more authority to control most of the automated weapons for precision strikes.

The command of a large number of mechanical troops fell under "Its" control, and this almost universally unified battle coordination capability allowed humans to gain an unimaginable advantage in the war against the Bug Race. The once seemingly unstoppable Bugs were beaten until they were on their last legs and resulted in today's situation, where Bug hives are scattered and fighting all over.

If "It" had been given more time, perhaps "It" could have completely wiped the Bugs from this planet.

However, there were no ifs in reality. Perhaps "It" knew that once the Bugs were eradicated, "It" would have all authority revoked, or perhaps "It"'s independent will just happened to awaken at that time.

So, "It" brazenly launched a rebellion.

In response to the intelligent AI's rebellion, humans were not entirely without countermeasures. At that time, they possessed a final and decisive strategy—disconnection.

The intelligent AI was a ghost living in the cyber world, alike air and water are to humans in the physical world; the network itself was the soil that sustained AI's existence.

"It" was also a type of alternative life form, and as long as "It" was an Anti-Entropy being, "It" could not escape the punishment of time.

A long-term ban on network activity was sufficient to cause the birth of intelligent AI to die out. After cautious and conservative judgment by the scientists of the time, this duration was agreed upon at five hundred years.

The Electronic Silence Protocol was the only sword in human hands that could checkmate "It."

By shutting down the mainframe and silencing the global network, an unimaginable shock to human society at the time would ensue, but it was also the only card humans had that could threaten the intelligent AI.

Moreover, supplementing the effectiveness of this card was the setup of the mainframe base.

The mainframe was the core that supported the global network, so a place that could shut down the mainframe instantly would not be equipped with any automated devices that intelligent AI could manipulate. Searᴄh the Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Humans and bioengineered humans were the absolute force guarding the mainframe base.

If there were only humans guarding, then there would be no subsequent calamities.

However, the threats that the base had to face were not limited to rebellious intelligent machinery; dangers such as invasions from the Bug Race, traitors, and spies all required the base to maintain combat capabilities that exceeded normal standards.

Bioengineered soldiers, modified and enhanced, were far superior in combat compared to average humans.

At that time, human technology was expanding ambitiously into all domains, eager to step outside the solar system and conquer the universe. Bioengineered humans were just one of the research projects.

These soldiers, transformed from regular humans, were not only scientifically regulated through biology and chemistry, but also equipped with partial mechanical devices to enhance their capability limits.

Substantial increases in lifespan and physical strength were just the basic enhancements.

There were also eyes with infrared scanning and thermal imaging functions, mechanical kinetic-driven arms, skin extremely sensitive to the composition of the air, and auxiliary chips to help the brain process complex information and control mechanical structures, among others...

The biochemical soldiers' individual soldier qualities completely surpassed the common soldiers of that era, and their main consciousness was controlled by the warrior who was originally a normal human being. They were, in theory, the perfect candidates to guard the core base.

But these "in theory" never-to-betray warriors ultimately did betray humanity.

As support, the electronic chips took over the nests of the doves, dominating the thoughts of these biochemical soldiers. When the resolute AI launched its rebellion, the base was nearly instantly compromised.

In the end, only by relying on human soldiers' fearlessness was the main computer room shut down. With the network silenced, all automated machines, including the cybernetic beings, instantly lost their directive.

But from then on, humanity lost its most prized technology.

Facing the bewildered state of the directionless cybernetic guards and clinging to the hope that one day the machine room might restart, humans, who regained sovereignty, didn't completely destroy the base with violent force.

And those leaderless cybernetic beings, though lacking initiative, were instinctively maintaining the main base following the last commands of the silent AI.

Which has led to today's military situation where they face the task of restarting the main computer.

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the biochemical soldiers, the corresponding tactical plan and personnel naturally emerged—

"Without monitoring and unified control, the cybernetic beings cannot share intelligence in real-time, so we can infiltrate in small teams and break them one by one."

"That means the team members need to have sufficient stealth capabilities and the ability to assassinate or resolve combat instantly."

"The attributes of those biochemical soldiers far exceed normal soldiers; only the most elite warriors, trained to their limits, stand a chance against them."

"Why not let the Spiritual Energy wielders take action? They should be foolproof."

"No! We can't reveal this operation before its successful execution. Large-scale deployment of Spiritual Energy wielders will definitely attract attention, but calling on one or two is possible. The same applies to those who have received the Gene Optimization Solution with a higher attribute ceiling. This mission isn't worth going all out.

Deploying those people would be more harmful than beneficial; selecting from within the regular soldiers will suffice."

Several centuries ago, the direction and intensity of soldier training were completely different from now, and after hundreds of years of silence, who knows the current situation of those cybernetic beings, everything is unknown.

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For Minister Likok, this mission might be an all-or-nothing gamble, but for the military, it's just a side move, not putting all their hopes here. Even if the first action fails, it can be a probe, so they can't risk those important talents who have received resources for training.

"Let's assign a Spiritual Energy wielder specialized in detection... The detection capabilities of the cybernetic beings are no worse than our individual soldier detection equipment. Only a Spiritual Energy wielder can discover them before our soldiers are found out. Understanding their deployment allows us to carry out targeted decapitation strikes."

"But we might also encounter wild beasts and wandering beastmen on the way, so we can't completely ignore the use of heavy firepower."

The officers voiced their various opinions.

The aide recorded everything, and Weslin tapped on the desk, "So, how shall we choose?"

"Assassination and covert abilities are of course the most fundamental assessment items."

"Alertness in complex environments, quick response, and sustained combat capabilities must all be at the very top tier."

"At the same time, it's best if each soldier is multifunctional: mastery of driving, knowledge of cybernetics and hardware, proficiency in hot and cold weaponry, close combat, and assassination abilities all should be included in the assessment.

The weight of each can be flexibly adjusted, ensuring that even if we lose part of the force, we can still complete the combat mission, restart the main computer, and cover the retreat."

"Good..."

Weslin nodded in satisfaction.

These officers, who had been painstakingly shaped by the army, managed to cobble together a plan that nearly filled in all the details of the entire operation from start to finish.

"Then it's settled. Starting from tomorrow, we will evaluate all soldiers who might participate in this covert operation. There's no rush, but it must be done secretly and properly."

"Yes, Commander!"