"Big Sister...are you recovered?" Yanqing asked, somewhat wary.
"Little Brother, you'd best forget about this matter." Jingliu's tone was calm, but it made Yanqing shiver.
And just at this moment, the live stream reopened.
However, this time there was no ruckus from Elio, only the system's built-in notification sound.
"HuoHuo: Huh? Why is that black cat gentleman so quiet today?"
"March 7th: @Elio, are you asleep?"
"Bronya: Esteemed members of the Astral Express, I would like to invite you to participate in our Solwarm Festival..."
"March 7th: Alright, alright, we'll be there soon."
"Dan Heng: I won't be going..."
"Himeko: Remember to come back early..."
"Kafka: Indeed, @Elio, he's a bit too quiet today..."
"Silver Wolf: @Kafka, did you secretly cure him?"
"A Certain Fictional Historian: I know, I know, I witnessed it firsthand that day... Kafka took him to the pet hospital for a neuter..."
"Sampo: 666, this is history..."
While everyone was chatting animatedly, the scene changed.
The first thing that came into view was a vast snowfield.
Looking down from high above, besides the boundless white snow, there were only statues like tiny black dots...
The perspective quickly descended, finally stopping on a huge platform.
Surrounding it were ruins covered in wind and snow.
There were also many frozen Antimatter Legion...
However, the most striking thing was an extremely massive machine...
"Sampo: Isn't that the creation engine?"
"March 7th: Is something about to happen? I haven't even changed my clothes yet..."
"March 7th: @March 7th, I'm coming to help you..."
"March 7th: Get lost! Dan Heng, quickly stop her, don't let her in."
"Dan Heng: ..."
"Topaz: Is this something from Jarilo-VI? Why is there no record of it in the intel?"
And on this platform, a figure slowly approached the mountain-like creation engine; it was Jiang Lin.
After approaching a certain distance, he looked up at the creation engine, seemingly evaluating whether it met certain standards...
Subsequently, he nodded slightly and, from an unknown source, produced many energy orbs shimmering with different colored glows.
After some selection, he kept a blue energy orb and put the rest away.
Then he removed the seal on it, and instantly, a brilliant blue light erupted.
Residents far away in Belobog could seemingly look up and see specks of blue light.
He lightly tossed it, and this energy orb flew straight towards the chest of the creation engine...
And quickly merged with it.
Afterward, the creation engine's damage and oxidation were instantly repaired.
Before everyone's incredulous gaze, it... moved.
And then something even more astonishing happened.
"Who... am I?" A deep voice emanated from the creation engine.
This scene undoubtedly shattered everyone's worldview.
The scene abruptly ended.
"Bronya: The creation engine... came to life?!!!"
"Clara: Is it like Mr. Svarog?"
"Svarog: According to calculations, the creation engine has broken free from the constraints of its underlying code."
"Herta: Did it instantly transform into a sentient machine? @Screwllum, you explain it."
"Screwllum: Hypothesis: That energy orb possesses the miraculous power to instantly transform ordinary mechanical constructs into sentient machines."
"Ruan Mei: Is this a different kind of... creation of life?"
"Screwllum: I sincerely invite Mr. Jiang Lin for an academic discussion."
"Elio: This thing is called a Spark. I don't know the specifics. @Jiang Lin, he's probably going to make one soon."
"Silver Wolf: You finally spoke. By the way, can this 'Spark' thing vitalize simpler machines?"
"Jing Yuan: Truly not to be underestimated..."
"March 7th: We just saw him not long ago. He didn't seem like much at the time. Is he really such an amazing person?"
"Herta: @March 7th, why don't I have his contact information yet?"
"March 7th: It'll cost extra..."
Back in reality, Jiang Lin was still toiling away.
After obtaining the crimson moon, many of his previous ideas became possible to realize.
For example, Jiang Lin had once pondered:
How does the sentience of life arise?
Before sentience arises, do humans truly possess a soul?
If humans have souls, what about sentient machines?
How do their data-driven thoughts arise?
Why are some robots just machines, while others are sentient machines with thoughts and emotions?
In the transformation between machines and sentient machines, will there be the influence or birth of soul-related matter or energy?
And now,
After obtaining the crimson moon, he had the conditions to conduct experiments.
However, he chose to first fulfill his promise to the Alliance.
Because for him, this might be relatively simple.
He couldn't completely eliminate Mara-Struck, because that was a blessing from Abundance.
It would be more troublesome to deal with.
Therefore, Jiang Lin chose to bypass the physical body and start from where he excelled.
That was—the soul.
Thus,
Jiang Lin's version of the revival pill 2.0 was born.
The Xianzhou people had suffered from Mara-Struck for a long time.
Because those who fell into Mara-Struck lost their sense of time and all human decency!
So, people who fell into Mara-Struck could just die... Of course, this was not a poison, but a choice.
After the Xianzhou people who fell into Mara-Struck took this pill,
they would instantly regain consciousness and escape the torment of Mara-Struck... But!
They would live comfortably for about 200-300 years before peacefully dying.
Just like the "natural death" of short-lived species...
The reason Jiang Lin created such an effect was because he had heard of a terrifying setting on the Xianzhou.
They... had no retirement pensions!
The appearance, physique, and even stamina of the Xianzhou people did not change with time.
This meant they hardly aged.
As a result, the Xianzhou people would not experience problems like declining stamina, inability to keep up with thoughts, or inconvenient limbs due to old age.
So, of course, there was no need to retire, no need for retirement pensions.
Therefore, Xianzhou people generally lived and worked until Mara-Struck manifested!
And once someone took Jiang Lin's pill, it meant one thing:
He was about to "die of old age"... But this was merely an achievement, a promise, and an explanation he gave to the Alliance.
Whether the Alliance was willing to promote it was none of his business.
In his opinion, at least after its promotion, it could allow every Xianzhou person afflicted with Mara-Struck to live a few hundred years longer.
Rather than being directly dealt with by the Ten-Lords Commission... And then... came his most important achievement this time... a "pseudo" Spark, modeled after a certain movie from his previous life!