The Smart Insects lowered themselves respectfully.
"The kindness you have shown us can never truly be repaid. Whatever compensation you ask of us, so long as we are capable of it, we will repay you."
To be honest, these Smart Insects were astonishingly inexperienced when it came to dealing with the outside world.
There was even a certain childlike sincerity to them.
Silkall looked at them calmly.
"I want your species divided into two groups."
"From this moment on, you will no longer be the same race. There will be no connection between you."
"One group will be free."
"Whether you devote yourselves to Harmony or become a new disaster has nothing to do with me. Your debt to me will be considered repaid."
"The other group will belong to me forever. They will not be free."
"Choose."
"I will give you half a system hour."
"Use that time to decide whether you accept these terms."
"If you do, divide your population before the time is up."
When she finished speaking, her body dissolved into streams of information.
A ripple of quantum light flashed beside her—
and she vanished.
Exactly half a system hour later, she returned.
The Smart Insects had accepted her conditions.
Their species was split in two.
From that moment onward, the two hive minds were completely severed from one another.
Silkall raised a hand.
"Since you agreed… extend your thoughts and join my Quantum Star Chain."
Data and information flowed through her fingers, weaving themselves into a square frame.
Within it floated a many-faced cube.
The construct solidified into reality.
Like a Rubik's Cube, it rotated and shifted endlessly.
From the spinning cube, chains of holographic light extended one after another, each reaching toward an insect that had chosen Silkall's side.
"If you intend to repay me, touch the chain."
"Join the linked matrix."
"Become part of my logic of dominion."
The insects offered no resistance.
They stepped forward willingly and touched the chains.
Silkall gave a satisfied nod, then turned her gaze to the remaining swarm.
"As promised, you owe me nothing now."
"This will be our last meeting."
"I am leaving."
She paused.
After seeing the path of their development, she could not help herself.
They were making mistakes so obvious it irritated her.
Had they forgotten everything she taught them?
They were exactly like the civilization she had mentored when she first became a Genius.
Impossible students.
Silkall began lecturing them again.
"Your evolutionary branches are too scattered."
"Simplify them."
"Concentrate all resources into a single breakthrough direction."
"Divide the swarm into specialized castes."
"Each insect should excel at one function only."
"Average development is inferior to specialization."
She continued without pause.
"Acid evolution is useless. Its upper limit is too low."
"Study the Antimatter Legion."
"Condense antimatter cores, then imitate the Star-Devouring King Insect."
"Use those cores to create disintegration death beams."
"It fills the same ranged role as acid."
"But the ceiling is far higher."
She dismissed another branch just as quickly.
"Neurotoxins are inefficient."
"They are useless against mechanical lifeforms."
"Instead, optimize mitochondrial efficiency."
"Accelerate biochemical reactions."
"Pursue the bioelectric route."
"Electric shock is more versatile than poison."
"It also works on machines."
At last, she gave them a final warning.
"Strengthen the security of your thought-network."
"Regularly analyze, filter, and verify incoming information."
"Otherwise, one day your greatest racial gift will become the rope that strangles you."
"This is the last guidance I will ever give you."
The insects lowered themselves in a gesture they had learned from humans.
"Thank you for everything."
"We will never finish repaying your kindness."
Silkall ignored the sentiment.
"Come."
"Return with me to the Metaverse."
The moment she spoke, the insects connected to her chains suddenly understood what the Metaverse was.
It was Silkall's creation.
A perfect virtual reflection of the real universe, existing within imaginary fluctuations and quantum ripples.
Once, Silkall had briefly opened the Metaverse to the public.
For a few short days, countless people proclaimed it the greatest opportunity in dozens of Amber Eras.
A chance to overturn the economic order built by the Interastral Peace Corporation.
People dreamed of starting new lives there.
A second universe.
A second existence.
Then, in less than ten days—
Silkall shut it down.
Markets soared.
Then collapsed.
Investors nearly went insane.
The Interastral Peace Corporation, however, remained perfectly calm.
They did nothing reckless.
Instead, they quietly harvested enormous profits.
Their reasoning was simple:
Maybe they did not understand the Metaverse.
But they understood Geniuses.
And they were right.
Silkall had only opened it to collect data.
Once the data was gathered, public access was permanently revoked.
Silkall's body dissolved into information again.
Quantum light rippled.
She vanished.
The insects linked to her chains began transforming as well.
Their biological bodies slowly converted into beings of pure data.
The form resembled the memetic bodies used by the Memokeepers of the Garden of Recollection.
Where such technology came from—
no one knew.
Back in Shenxiao Space City, Lin Yi had just finished speaking with Stephen Lloyd.
They had discussed how to lure out the possibly still-living Silkall.
Unfortunately, planning with Stephen rarely produced immediate results, so the call ended there.
Lin Yi had at least recovered the Phase Walker.
Stephen had studied it during that time and suggested several improvements.
Now Lin Yi was in the middle of repairing it.
He had just begun extracting its core component—
the Phase Spirit Flame.
Then suddenly—
Shenxiao Space City suffered a massive network intrusion.
Lin Yi smiled.
Interesting.
Very few people possessed both the nerve and the ability to hack the headquarters of a Genius.
"So…"
"Shall we have a cyber battle?"
He immediately guessed the culprit.
Silver Wolf.
She was probably here for the Curio: Game Life.
No one else would dare attempt something like this.
Lin Yi leaned back and began preparing his counterattack.
His own hacking skills were nothing extraordinary.
But with Laplace's Demon on his side, Silver Wolf was about to learn the beauty of overwhelming computational power.
His plan was simple.
Stall Silver Wolf.
Call the Interastral Peace Corporation.
Freeze her game account.
Then sit back and watch her rage.
Maybe he would even turn the moment into a Light Cone and send it to her as a gift.
He had not learned many techniques from Screwllum.
But what he had learned—
would be enough.
It was time for Silver Wolf to experience the cruelty of the real world.
Sure, she could fight.
But what good was that?
Could she handle off-field tactics?
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