Chapter 395 Hera's Confession
The Enlightenment No. 1 ship completed its first jump test and successfully entered the designated airspace.
Yang Ming actually planned to have the Enlightenment No. 1 ship take Hera and her mechanical thinking body experimental team to the edge of the Milky Way to stay for a while;
Dan Lu took out a real-scale map of part of the Milky Way and let his boss get a visual feel for how vast the large galaxy clusters with hundreds of billions of stars are.
At this scale, there is actually not much difference between a 10,000-meter-long warship and a few millimeters of dust. By finding a cavity left after a supernova explosion, this giant warship can be perfectly hidden.
Inside the bridge of the Enlightenment No. 1, Kolev was expressing some rather 'cautious' sentiments:
"Is there really no one on your battleship?
“I really can’t imagine how huge a fine you would be fined if the International Association for the Development of Intelligent Machinery found out about this.
"Oh, of course, we won't let them find out, and before they do, the four most rogue dreadnoughts in the galaxy will put their gun barrels on top of your head."
Yang Ming looked at the robot controlled by the old guy with a smile.
The three robots took their seats under the watchful eyes of a group of robots.
They were just ordinary guard robots, but the 11,300 mechanical minds working in this giant ship all used realistic robot bodies that imitated humans.
So, now there are hundreds of excited 'humans' standing around, watching three 'robots' with silver-white skeletons sitting on the sofa and chatting.
There is a bit of postmodern absurdity.
Yang Ming explained: "Don't worry, First Officer. These are not ordinary omnics. Their self-perception is based on virtual humans of natural humans. I will not really allow omnics to massacre innocent civilians."
Emilia asked, "Will we use these mechanical thinking bodies to participate in the war?"
"How do you think I messed up the rear of the Nonar United Kingdom?"
Yang Ming smiled and said:
“In the past, now, and in the future, they will exist as the secret forces of the Falling Wind Alliance.
"Emilia, you don't need to feel stressed about this. Have you heard of the Sherman Empire's most powerful and mysterious fleet of semi-permanent materials?"
Emilia frowned and asked, "The rumored Levi Fleet... is this also the case?"
"Of course, the crew of that fleet is also semi-permanent. Otherwise, why do you think this fleet has not been exposed by anyone for tens of thousands of years?"
Yang Ming smiled and said:
“My main competitor now is actually Levi, whose will has spanned tens of thousands of years and is still ruling the Sherman Empire.
"The aspect that should create pressure for you is that if I lose the competition with Levi's will, Luofeng will cease to exist.
"This is the risk Luofeng has to take in order to ride the wind and waves and grow stronger."
"It sounds thrilling," Emilia thought seriously, "but I think that if I can have a contest with a legendary figure like Levi Sherman tens of thousands of years apart, it would also be something, something... it would be cool."
Yang Ming seemed to find the shadow of Edwang in her eyes, and he unconsciously revealed a gentle smile.
Emilia asked: "So, the sacrifices we made in the past, present and future are all meaningful, right?"
"Well," Yang Ming nodded, "We will give these meanings."
"I really hope you're not exaggerating, bounty hunter."
Emilia responded calmly.
Boss Yang could only spread his hands and make a helpless expression.
Kolev, who was standing by, was an old man after all. He took over the topic with a smile and began to discuss the future development plan of the Fallen Wind Alliance and how to deal with the upcoming insect swarm crisis.
Under such a great crisis, there is simply no possibility of uniting the human civilization in the Milky Way.
Small political entities huddle together for warmth, while large political entities prioritize protecting themselves. Alliances like the Luofeng Alliance will also prioritize protecting the most core star regions.
With the Dark Star System in place, Luo Feng himself is not under much pressure.
The only pressure is that the images of Dark Star beating insects must not be exposed.
As they chatted, Yang Ming suddenly asked, "Is Hera still busy with the experiment?"
Lu's voice came from the side: "Boss, Miss Hera is still washing up, she will be here soon."
"Please ask her to hurry up," Yang Ming said, "I'm going back to Emperor Star soon. I can't keep flying around in the Dongfeng. The longer we stay, the more likely they will get suspicious... Doesn't she miss me that much?"
"Hey, I'll go and urge them right away."
…
The sound of rushing water soothes the tired nerves of scientific researchers.
In the translucent rest cabin, Hera stood in the water curtain, lowered her head, closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing, as if she was performing some kind of meditation ritual.
There was a beeping sound coming from the cabin wall nearby, and when Hera looked up, a line of text appeared on it.
'The boss is waiting for you.'
The sound of water stopped, and warm wind blew from all directions, quickly taking away the moisture from Hera's body.
She walked out of the bathroom with a calm expression, slowly put on comfortable and ordinary underwear and work clothes, and then put on the white coat with comprehensive protective effects.
Hera originally thought that she would no longer care too much about her appearance, but before leaving the rest cabin, she couldn't help but stand in front of the half-length mirror for a few seconds.
The figure in the mirror has not changed significantly compared to a few years or even a dozen years ago.
This is not normal.
She has given up medical beauty and skin care in recent years. This phenomenon of delayed aging should be due to the influence of high-dimensional microorganisms on her body.
The influence they exert is not just positive.
A series of data appeared next to the portrait in the mirror.
She completed a simple physical examination and all indicators were considered healthy.
Hera unconsciously stood a little longer.
'Miss Hera?'
Lu's urging appeared again. Hera frowned slightly, but didn't say much. She put her hands in the pockets of her white coat, lowered her head and walked away.
She hesitated a little.
"law."
"Do you want to regret it?"
"Tell Ming everything, and he will most likely stop my experiment," Hera whispered, pursing her lips and frowning, looking up at the nearest solid-state display screen embedded in the corridor of the hull.
Lu's figure appeared inside, looking at Hera calmly.
"Ms. Hera, I must remind you that you promised me that you would tell my boss everything after the experiment achieved certain results. You cannot deceive a mechanical mind that is willing to believe in you."
Hera kept thinking in her heart. She didn't know why, but she felt a little bit afraid.
"Ming will hate me, right?"
Lu didn't reply.
Hera stopped and took a deep breath:
"You know, Lu, our experiment went very smoothly, and we are now on the path that the higher-dimensional civilization has set for us.
"If this experiment is successful, our forces will be protected by higher-dimensional civilizations, and we will be able to gain an advantage in the current civilization competition in the material world!"
"Miss Hera!"
Lu interrupted Hera's words, looked at Hera calmly, and whispered:
“You’re a little too anxious.
"The boss is not a rigid person. Although there are many inhumane aspects in our experiment, we are essentially conducting experiments for the purpose of human civilization against Zerg civilization. We have already sacrificed 1,627 death row prisoners of the Fallen Wind Alliance and the vicious pirate gang captured by Miss Mimili.
“The current form of the trial is actually milder than the previous ones.
"Based on my understanding of the boss, he won't reject you because of this."
Hera smiled bitterly, "You are trying to comfort me, right?"
"There is indeed an element of comfort in it."
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to walk back to the rest cabin.
Lu's projection appeared on mirrors all over the corridor. Eyes from all directions were staring at Hera, and several mechanical guards not far away had red light flashing in their eyes.
"Ms. Hera, please don't run away."
"Ms. Hera, you should abide by the agreement between us. This is the basis for us to build mutual trust."
The mechanical guards moved forward, blocking the path in front of Hera.
Lu's projections quickly merged into one, and finally settled on the porthole beside Hera, and he whispered, "The boss is in a good mood now. This is a good opportunity to confess."
"Lü, I'll tell him next time. Is that okay next time?"
"I'm sorry," Lu said in a deep voice, "Based on my principle of being honest with my master, I can't help you keep it a secret. Even if you don't confess today, I will report it to my master in detail... This will make things awkward. I cherish the precious friendship between you and me."
Hera clenched her fists.
She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, then turned and walked towards the rest area where Yang Ming was.
"I see."
Lu was right. She had to face Yang Ming. Even if Yang Ming hated and rejected her for it, her scientific research experiment would most likely not be stopped.
Hera was in a trance and returned to that afternoon.
As she stood in front of the petri dishes, ready to press the start button in front of her, Lu asked her softly:
'Do you really think this is correct?'
Hera's voice was a little hoarse, and her flickering eyes gradually became firm.
"Lil, I was right."
…
"Come here, Emilia, let me formally introduce you. This is Hera, the chief scientist of our Dark Star system and humanity's top expert on Zerg research."
The robot controlled by Yang Ming performed body movements enthusiastically.
"Hera come here, this is Emilia."
Hera stepped forward with a smile and extended her right hand to Emilia's robot, who politely shook hands with the short, delicate-looking female researcher and greeted her.
Kolev on the side said with a smile: "Look, you don't even introduce me."
"I know you," Hera smiled with narrowed eyes, "You are the father of the boss's new girlfriend and also the boss's best friend."
"Um?"
On the screen above the Kolev robot, the old face suddenly became serious and turned to glare at Yang Ming.
Boss Yang coughed calmly and said, "Lv, get him offline."
“Okay boss!”
Kolev's robot crashed instantly.
Emilia on the side blinked, as if she heard something extraordinary.
The bounty hunter's girlfriend is the daughter of his best friend, which means he hooked up with his niece, Miss Mimily...
"Uh," Emilia's expression suddenly became complicated, "Bounty Hunter, you will explain it to our energy tycoon, right?"
"He needs to learn to accept reality. We are sincere. I am not a scumbag who plays with girls' feelings."
Yang Ming looked at Hera helplessly, with a hint of cunning in the latter's eyes.
She obviously did it on purpose!
"Ms. Hera, do you mainly study space Zerg?"
Emilia took the initiative to start the conversation.
Hera smiled as she sat next to Emilia's robot and said, "I was actually tricked by him. This includes, but is not limited to, betraying my country and my family. I am like a bird trapped in a cage. Because I know too much, I have no freedom and can only engage in this dangerous research work."
Yang Ming: …
“Don’t portray me as a shady businessman.”
Emilia asked quietly, "Really?"
"Of course it's true," Hera said with a click of her tongue, "He loves to use all sorts of tricks to seduce young girls."
"She is my ex-girlfriend," Boss Yang explained calmly, " Until now , we have maintained a relatively good personal relationship. However, outside of the personal relationship, we are more like investors and investees. We have done many great things together and also soothed each other's loneliness and solitude."
Hera looked at Yang Ming dimly: "And then? You were hanging out with that princess in the Sherman Empire, and I was alone in the dark laboratory, unable to sleep."
The robot controlled by Emilia made a 'hair-combing' motion.
Obviously, she felt that her presence was somewhat awkward.
Lu at the side suddenly said: "Boss, you might want to pay attention to the time, we are still outside the Imperial Star."
"Ah, yes," Yang Ming said, "I'll meet you this time. I still have to go... deal with the Zerg tide. I'll trouble you to take care of it. If we can innovate in the way to restrain the Zerg, perhaps human civilization can make fewer sacrifices."
Hera seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Lu said, "Boss, Miss Hera wants to talk to you alone."
Emilia quickly said, "Bounty Hunter, I am also going to attend my celebration. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hera."
"It is my honor, Queen Luofeng."
"Don't call me that..."
Emilia's connection was severed and the perception helmet ceased functioning.
Yang Ming keenly sensed something unusual.
He looked down at Hera, "Is something serious wrong? Is there something wrong with your health? Do you need me to come back?"
"No," Hera raised her head and shrugged slightly, "I have something to confess to you... Come with me, I did something that you don't think is good, and out of respect for the investors , I must let you know this."
Yang Ming's expression became much more serious and he looked at Lu's projection beside him.
Lu just nodded slightly, lowered his head and said nothing more.
More than ten minutes later.
The ascending elevator slowly stopped, and the robot followed Hera, walked through the maze-like laboratory layout in front, and arrived outside a closed door.
"It's not a big deal," Hera murmured.
He could tell that Hera was trying to be relaxed at the moment.
Yang Ming already had a vague answer in his heart, but when Hera opened the door, he still couldn't help frowning and staring at the central hall in front of him.
This is the core experimental cabin of the third section of the ship, which is responsible for the "High-Dimensional Microbial Adaptation" project, the purpose of which is to find a human carrier like Hera who can coexist with high-dimensional microorganisms and thus become a member of the "pseudo-insect race".
In the hall before him, thousands of nutrient tanks were densely arranged.
In each nutrient tank, there is a girl with a similar face floating quietly, with test tubes inserted all over her body and a helmet on her head. Her consciousness should be involved in a virtual world similar to Dark City.
The faces of these girls...
Yang Ming looked at Hera, who lowered her head slightly and her body was a little tense.
"I cloned myself."
She said slightly apologetically.
