NOVPUBDespite rushing, Chen Fei still felt a sense of emptiness as he faced the war. In front of war, every life is fragile, even the ferocious Parasitic Species were no exception.
Taking advantage of the fresh memories he had just acquired, he immediately sketched the puzzle by hand with pen and paper, then had the artificial intelligence AI "Adam" "screenshot" it, modifying it repeatedly for several hours and correcting some minor errors, finally extracting the complete puzzle from his memory.
Although the extraction process of the puzzle was time-consuming and laborious, sometimes the clumsy way is the only way.
"Adam" merely managed to connect to the visual nerves and independently achieve AR auxiliary effects. The complexity of the human brain far surpasses any supercomputer, and for AI to touch the level of memory might be too much to hope for in Chen Fei's lifetime.
"Taga" had manipulated its kin to the utmost, and the post-mortem anti-theft feature was incredibly off the charts. Just looking at it could make one feel dizzy. Even if it fell into the hands of others or other Parasitic Species, they would likely be just as confused. If someone could help solve the puzzle, Chen Xiao'er would definitely express his sincere gratitude.
If "Taga's" puzzle were on the level of Fermat's Last Theorem, Chen Fei figured he might spew an ancient bloodline of three hundred years.
Pierre de Fermat passed away, and the mathematical world spent more than three hundred years solving it (1637-1995). Truly, if God had not created great Fermat, the path of mathematics would have been as long as a dark night. There have been few great mathematicians capable of dominating the field for centuries.
"'Adam', can you see what secrets are hidden in this painting?"
Chen Fei gazed at the puzzle transformed into a visual interface, as if talking to himself.
Adam: Starting to build computational model 1, progress 0%
Adam: Starting to build computational model 2, progress 0%
Adam: Starting to build computational model 3, progress 0%
...
Adam: Starting to build computational model 65535, progress 0%
"Stop, stop, cancel all computational models!"
Adam mindlessly occupied a bunch of computing threads, and Chen Fei immediately felt that his nutrition was not keeping up, hastily calling a halt. If it was just electricity it was consuming, that would be one thing, but this thing squandered blood sugar, oxygen, vitamins...
Artificial intelligence AI lacks imagination; solving problems for it meant merely brute-forcing solutions, relying on exhaustive methods with the same odds as expecting a thousand monkeys to randomly type out "Hamlet".
Adam: Force termination of computational models 1-65535 complete.
Even so, Chen Fei's forehead was still dotted with a thin layer of sweat.
The mercenaries of "Yellow Sparrow" squad watched as Chen Fei's face, without any warning, shifted from pale to flushed, finally breaking out in a cold sweat, before slowly returning to normal. They looked at each other, worried that their employer might have eaten something bad or had a sudden emergency.
Seeing the worried expressions on the mercenaries' faces, Chen Fei casually smiled and the printer inside the Mobile Base Vehicle spat out the printouts.
He picked up the stack of freshly printed documents and waved them at the "Yellow Sparrow" squad; they were unaware of "Adam" and the existence of visual AR assistance, and Chen Fei had no intention of casually revealing these secrets to outsiders.
"Come on! Since there's nothing else to do right now, let's play a puzzle-solving game."
Every printout, on an A3 format, not only accurately restored the colors but also the lines were distinct and very clear.
Baron, Lulisa...the people of "Yellow Sparrow" squad stared at Chen Fei with expressions as if they had seen a ghost.
After all the trouble of rushing to Sun Domain City and wandering under the eyes of the Dynasty Army, is there really nothing else to do now but play this child's game?!
"What's with that expression?"
Chen Fei keenly sensed something unusual in their reactions.
Baron looked at his team members, then turned back to Chen Fei and said seriously, "If there's really nothing else, we can end the contract."
They were mercenaries—while they loved money, they had principles. Each person earning 5,000 Star Yuan per day to do this?
Although the money was easy, the "Yellow Sparrow" squad still stuck to their duties and wouldn't just take any job.
"Whoever solves the puzzle will get a reward of 100,000 Star Yuan!"
"Huh?" ×11!
True to being a wealthy big spender who could hire thousands at a time, once he had free time, he found mercenaries to play... a puzzle-solving game.
Clearly, the lovely, adorable beauties in Sun Domain City were about the same price (daily rental), so why bother with these rough folks? It's hard to understand the thought processes of the wealthy.
"Alright! There's really no helping you!"
Despite usually being careless and impulsive, female mercenary Lulisa agreed with her captain Baron and immediately came over to pick up a puzzle.
A reward of 100,000 Star Yuan? Yum...truly enticing!
Most mercenaries, even with frugal living, would find it difficult to save 100,000 Star Yuan in net income in a year. Despite earning a lot, the expenses were similarly substantial: base operations, intelligence costs, equipment purchases, maintenance, supplies, depreciation, treatment for injuries, death pensions, and training. All were mandatory expenses, linked to the capacity to complete missions, and not even a penny could be spared.
The mercenaries of the "Yellow Sparrow" squad each with a puzzle in hand, all furrowed their brows and began to think hard.
The phone rang, and after a flurry of activity, everyone's eyes turned to Chen Fei, who was "spacing out".
With a wave of his hand, Chen Fei immediately raised a soundproof partition in the carriage, separating the driver's seat from the rear section.
"Hello, this is Chen Fei!"
The caller ID showed it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Slan Dynasty.
Receiving the call from the other party, Chen Fei was not surprised at all; rather, it was expected.
After all, he had willingly entered the sightline of the Dynasty Army, which had just occupied Sun Domain City. Although the Rebel Army did not obstruct his journey, internal reporting was inevitable.
"I am Lin Zio. What have you been busy with recently?"
In front of the familiar faces of the Chen Family Gate, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not put on any airs, as neither party was in a superior-subordinate or any kind of affiliative relationship but rather close friends through generations.
"Solving riddles!"
What Chen Fei was currently doing was solving a puzzle riddle to uncover the answers he sought, which might alleviate the mutual crisis of Cangqiong Star and Blue Star.
The existence of "Seed Nest" was highly likely the source of the Blue Star Civilization's demise prophesied and, given that Cangqiong Star concealed a substantially higher amount of "Seed Nests," it probably was not faring much better.
"Huh? What riddle are you solving!"
His Royal Highness Lin Zio could not fathom why Chen Fei had suddenly deviated from his usual duties to engage in riddle-solving games.
"It's best not to let too many people know, but a Parasitic Species gave me a puzzle riddle, and if solved, I can obtain the locations of all 'Seed Nests'."
Chen Fei did not conceal this from him, especially since the Silan Royal Family ruled Cangqiong Star, and this Crown Prince would one day become the Emperor of the Slan Dynasty.
Lin Zio immediately took it seriously and said without hesitation, "Send me the riddle, right now, immediately!"
Because of the seriousness and urgency, his tone immediately carried an undeniable imperial command.
"Okay, I'm sending it now! 'Adam', send a copy of the riddle to His Royal Highness Lin Zio."
Chen Fei issued the command simultaneously.
Adam: Sent!
The efficiency of the Artificial Intelligence AI was instant.
"I'll take a look first, and then I'll call you back."
Having once witnessed the "Seed Nest" space firsthand, His Royal Highness was eager to see the riddle tied to the future fate of Cangqiong Star.
Every second of delay might mean that the already matured "Seed Nests" were continually breeding more Parasitic Species, even if only the Troop Breed and General Breed were present, they still posed a significant threat to the numerous creatures of Cangqiong Star.
Once the Parasitic Species formed a sizeable amount, the difficulty of dealing with them would spike enormously, potentially causing a disaster worse than one from a hundred thousand years ago.
Lin Zio, having heard from Chen Fei about the founder of the Louis Industries, Louis Landon, and his "Doomsday Prophecy" of Blue Star Civilization, didn't consider this prophecy a delusion or a joke in light of the current situation and gathered intelligence; it was very likely to actually happen.
"One more person knows now!"
Chen Fei did not mind another person knowing about the riddle; more people meant a greater probability of successfully solving it.
Moreover, it involved the Silan Royal Family, renowned as heroes under heaven.
Once it was successfully solved, every hidden "Seed Nest" within Cangqiong Star and Blue Star would instantly face their doom, no matter where they hid; nearby forces would converge without hesitation to annihilate these threats completely.
After removing the partition between the driver's seat and the carriage, Chen Fei saw that the "Yellow Sparrow" squad's mercenaries were still deep in thought. Given the substantial reward, even the weakest students could suddenly exude a top student's aura for a 100,000 Star Yuan's sake.
Shared joy is a double joy.
The Mobile Base Vehicle left the former Rebel Army camp and soon entered parts of Sun Domain City that had been reduced to ruins, built five hundred years ago; the ancient city walls were mostly destroyed in the battle, with vast breaches everywhere caused by Spells and Firearms. The Dynasty Army had attacked the largest city in the southern continent from multiple directions, leaving traces of brutal continuation unwarranted.
Rebel Army prisoners, a rare sight in the former Rebel Army camp, were now frequently seen within Sun Domain City; some, injured and immobile, lay on the streets, while others were being escorted to designated holding areas.
The Rebel Army's main forces had likely abandoned the large camp at the first sign, moving into the nearby Sun Domain City to hold a defensive position, but ultimately, they could not hold it.
Before the battle started, most of the commoners in Sun Domain City had been evacuated.
Neither the Rebel Army nor the Dynasty Army intercepted them, but instead, they tacitly turned Sun Domain City into a decisive battlefield, each intending to achieve ultimate victory in a single battle.
As the Mobile Base Vehicle entered the city, despite the desolation and widespread ruins, the casualties among innocent civilians were not as dire as they appeared on the surface.
Chen Fei noticed that the building of the "Holy Blood Guild," emmmm, was gone!
It seemed he had saved a shell that he had initially planned to use there.
