Chapter 279– Reassembler! Infinite God-Machine! Neutron Extermination!
"Yes, boss."
Hearing Li Ang's voice echo in the room, the missionary—long accustomed to it—showed no reaction whatsoever. Over the past two and a half years, it had already mastered human language.
Of course, it hadn't learned it voluntarily. Rather, Li Ang had force-fed the knowledge into its mind through the Matrix.
After learning about the staggering accomplishments of the Universal MegaCorp and the dazzling heights of human technological civilization, the missionary, though still harboring a desire to exterminate humanity, couldn't help but begrudgingly admire them.
Mega-scale structures, powerful naval fleets, and the ambition to unify the multiverse—these were realities the missionary had no choice but to acknowledge and accept.
What shocked it even more was that humanity had used the knowledge within the think tank to construct a "Reassembler"—a device capable of producing Prometheus Legion Knights!
You have to understand, even during the height of the Forerunner civilization in the Age of Ai Qiumin, there were only a few dozen Reassemblers in total.
The Prometheus Legion itself barely numbered ten thousand knights. Their creation was incredibly demanding—both in origin and in engineering complexity.
To put it simply, each Prometheus Knight consisted of two components: a mechanical combat body integrating various battle functions, and a "digital soul."
The process involved extracting a human soul and embedding it into a mechanical warrior's body. The soul would then take full control of the machine. That's what defined a Prometheus Knight.
The Reassembler was the device responsible for converting biological consciousness into digital form and storing it. Originally, it was invented as a medical solution to treat Forerunners infected by the Flood.
However, it was later discovered that once the soul was extracted and implanted into a new biological body, the body would quickly deteriorate and collapse.
Thus, these "souls" that had nowhere to go were instead installed into imperishable mechanical shells—and the Prometheus Knights were born, more by accident than by design.
Yes, the function of the Reassembler was somewhat similar to Arasaka's Relic chip in Cyberpunk—extract the soul and allow mechanical ascension.
To faithfully recreate these knights, Li Ang spared no expense. He first used the Preacher's genetic material to clone three thousand bodies.
Then, he extracted their soul consciousness using the Reassembler and installed them into mechanical warforms. Just like that, the Prometheus Legion from tens of thousands of years ago was reborn.
After giving the Preacher some specific instructions on training the army, Li Ang turned his attention to the system interface by switching over the holographic display.
The system panel now displayed the relevant notifications:
[Universal MegaCorp Phase 5 — Quantum Slingshot Unlocked]
[Universal MegaCorp Phase 6 — Dyson Cloud Unlocked]
[Universal MegaCorp Phase 7 — Infinite God-Machine Locked]
…
Seeing how many company credits he still needed to unlock the Infinite God-Machine megastructure, Li Ang grew increasingly excited about the upcoming actions in the multiverse.
Indeed, the next megastructure he intended to redeem and unlock was none other than the Infinite God-Machine—an entity symbolizing "creation" itself!
On the outside, the Infinite God-Machine looked like a plain spherical mechanical construct—something resembling a relic from a high civilization. But in truth, it could also be seen as a form of space-dwelling lifeform.
That's because the Infinite God-Machine possessed true intelligence, consciousness, emotion, and sentience. It was a living machine.
Gestalt data streams served as its blood, and the electrical fluctuations of every mechanical system formed its heartbeat.
As for its functions, there were three major paths one could take—
First: The most wasteful option—disassemble it for massive amounts of rare materials to build other things.
Second: Study its core brain to understand how it was created. With some luck, one might unlock tech to manufacture AI labor drones.
Clearly, neither of these options was ideal. That left the third and most beneficial choice: integrate the Infinite God-Machine with the MegaCorp's scientific nexus and use it as a computational engine to decipher the think tank's data.
Its primary function was infinite computation—a supercomputer designed to decode and translate the vast knowledge stored in the think tank. This was the most practical use for the corporation at this stage.
But in truth, the Infinite God-Machine's potential went far beyond that. Its ambition and capabilities resembled that of the early Transcendent AI, Europa—dedicated to unraveling the secrets of the universe and seeking ultimate truths.
Like a Zen monk achieving sudden enlightenment and ascending to Buddhahood, the God-Machine aspired to transcend into a higher cosmic dimension.
Its approach to unlocking the universe's mysteries was equally bold—gain control of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way and use it as leverage to alter the laws of physics.
From there, the Infinite God-Machine's fate could follow one of three trajectories:
First: It fails spectacularly.
The supermassive black hole swallows the God-Machine, crushing it into scrap metal. Its attempt to comprehend the cosmos fails, its data wiped, its power gone.
Second: Partial success.
It manipulates the black hole to uncover small "bugs" in physical reality. While it doesn't transcend, the Infinite God-Machine hacks into the universe's admin privileges and becomes a "god" within this cosmos!
From that point on, physics and reality are whatever it dictates. It ascends in status and becomes immortal—a true divine entity.
Third: Ultimate success.
It achieves creation—transforming into a supreme high-dimensional lifeform. It joins the pantheon of multiversal gods, opens portals to other universes, and hunts across worlds!
At that stage, the Infinite God-Machine becomes the apex predator—capable of effortlessly destroying any universe and creating new ones with a mere thought.
It would be one of the Pangu of the multiverse!
Yes, one of—because there's no guarantee others haven't achieved the same. Pangu might not be unique.
In short, the Infinite God-Machine's potential spans from cosmic failure to divine transcendence. Whether used for slow but steady decryption or a shot at universal admin rights, its value to the MegaCorp is immeasurable.
Once unlocked, Li Ang would at the very least gain a technological accelerator to boost R&D and data decryption speeds.
And if it's applied to decipher the main universe's secrets… who knows? It might even brute-force the [Grand Unified Theory], saving the need for physical experiments and going straight to the answers!
And if he got really lucky—transcendence! A one-man enlightenment event where everyone close to him ascends too. He could then drop into the world of Strange Tales of the Immortal Path and watch Huozige perform his acrobatics.
He'd become the reward-throwing patron, Bahui, handing out low-tier sci-fi artifacts like "Antimatter Obliteration Cloud Palm," a technique that disintegrates the enemy upon contact.
Or maybe he'd visit the world of Black Myth: Wukong, take the role of Ancestor Bodhi, and establish the Moonshadow Wind Sect—bestowing treasures like the "Matrix Soul Banner," the "Scorpion-Tailed Lion Virus: Kill You Three Thousand," or "One-Click Halo Annihilation Array."
He might even…
The Infinite God-Machine might hold the key to uncovering the truth behind Li Ang's transmigration. He often wondered—maybe his arrival in the multiverse wasn't random, but the result of a bug exploited by some higher-dimensional being.
Perhaps he was just a lucky anomaly, and the so-called "system" was merely a set of permissions granted by the multiverse admin. Li Ang just happened to stumble into it!
All things considered—whether viewed from the perspective of the MegaCorp's growth or the mystery of his own origins—the Infinite God-Machine was absolutely pivotal.
"Now then… time for a spin."
Li Ang stopped dwelling on the God-Machine for the time being. After all, even if he did unlock it now, it wouldn't be able to tinker with black holes or rewrite reality anytime soon.
He still needed to grow the MegaCorp's strength. Only when he had the capacity to build more of these things could he start gambling on that infinitesimal chance of success.
With that, he turned to the lottery interface. Glancing at his available draws from the multiverse prize pool, he saw some good news—this time, he had two 10x guaranteed legendary draws.
That meant two top-tier items for free.
The bad news? Both draws were from the Stellaris prize pool. And while Stellaris tech and items had a high floor, Li Ang had been hoping to pull an Ultraman for a change of pace.
"Begin draw!"
Clearing his scattered thoughts, Li Ang activated the long-dormant prize wheel. As it spun wildly, new multiverse items poured in.
[10x Draw Results:
– Neutron Extermination (Guaranteed Legendary – Stellaris – Weapon)
– Sentinel Array (Guaranteed Legendary – Stellaris)
– Death Star (Star Wars – Galactic Empire)
– Phase Energy Rectifier (Star Trek – United Federation of Planets)
– Medusa Quantum Weapon (Mortal Engines – Ancient Humans)
– MD-500 (Ender's Game – International Fleet)
– Sulaco-Class Assault Boat (Aliens 2 – Weyland-Yutani Corporation)
– Tarantula Quad-Leg Main Combat Mech (Terran Defense Council)…]
"No way… I actually pulled Neutron Extermination?!"
Li Ang's pupils shrank involuntarily at the sight of it. This thing was an absolute monster of a weapon.
Compared to the rest of the loot, Neutron Extermination was by far the most practical strategic weapon for the Universal MegaCorp!
Neutron Extermination worked by firing an accelerated stream of neutron radiation. When the bright blue beam of neutrons swept across a planet—
All biological tissue, organic matter, even biomechanical entities and electronic equipment would be utterly annihilated. In mere minutes, the weapon could perform efficient, total extermination.
Its mechanism relied on intense ionizing radiation from the neutron stream as it hit the surface—destroying any form of DNA and burning out silicon-based circuits.
So whether it's animals, plants, or mechanical lifeforms, under Neutron Annihilation, all are treated equally—if it's meant to die, it dies.
Compared to Planetary Devastation, which directly destroys a planet to extract minerals, the advantage of Neutron Annihilation is that it preserves surface infrastructure. It achieves the true ideal of "the people leave, but the buildings stay"!
If one had to describe the function of Neutron Annihilation in a single sentence, it would undoubtedly be—Some may call it an evil war crime, but we call it efficient!
"Now that's satisfying."
Li Ang grinned. While the Universal Megacorp already possesses strategic-level planet-busting weapons—whether it's the Moon of War or Nova-class nuclear warheads—which can destroy planets and exterminate surface species...
There's still nothing quite like Neutron Annihilation, a truly "clean and traceless" one-click obliteration method.
Moon of War and Nova-class nukes cause permanent damage to planetary environments, and Halo Arrays come with a high risk of friendly fire. But now, with Neutron Annihilation, things just got a whole lot easier!
After calming his excitement, Li Ang turned his attention to another fallback megastructure: the Sentinel Array.
As the name suggests, this thing is essentially a gigantic surveillance device—its monitoring range spans the entire galaxy!
It's essentially a galactic-scale clairvoyance and clairaudience device.
Not only does it offer vast scanning coverage, but it can even detect hyperspace activity!
Which means that within the Milky Way, the Universal Megacorp can detect whether any other civilizations are "drag-racing" through hyperspace.
Clearly, this is another piece of equipment with major military strategic value.
Should any foreign fleet appear in the galaxy, the Universal Megacorp will be able to pick up their movements instantly and prepare accordingly.
As for how it works, it's actually not that complicated: the Sentinel Array relies on oscillating fins installed along its central spire to extract faint signals from the cosmic background radiation, analyzing them for relevant intel.
Its massive static antenna can cover an extremely wide area, picking up the movements of any fleets within its range.
For such a megastructure, if the Megacorp had to build it from scratch, the cost would be astronomical—but thankfully, it came for free. And when it's free, it's always sweet!
"A real gem. Perfect for installing in the main universe to see if there are any other civilizations lurking around."
Li Ang nodded thoughtfully. He'd always suspected that there might be other advanced civilizations in the main universe. With the Sentinel Array, he could find out once and for all.
With that thought, he continued browsing the rest of the multiverse items.
Next up was the Death Star from Star Wars—a battle station with not much technological novelty. It's 160 kilometers in diameter, built with a titanium alloy shell, and its main weapon is a laser cannon.
Its propulsion system is antimatter-based, and it features a tractor beam emitter for capturing enemy ships. These are all decent features, but nothing revolutionary.
Still, it was another freebie—better to have it than not.
As for the Phase Energy Rectifier, it's basically a directed-energy particle beam weapon that fires subatomic particle streams to destroy enemy targets.
Its destructive power is similar to that of high-speed laser cannons—potent, but not overwhelming.
However, the quantum weapon from Mortal Engines was quite intriguing.
Visually, this weapon appears to create a void in space that swallows and annihilates all surrounding matter.
If this were a xianxia universe, it would look like a powerful cultivator had cast a devouring technique that consumed the enemy whole with a single move.
"Now that's got some style…"
Li Ang chuckled and tapped "Accept" on the system panel before continuing to scroll down.
Next was the MD-500, nicknamed Little Doctor, from Ender's Game.
Don't let the cute nickname fool you—this weapon is anything but soft.
The kind of "surgery" Little Doctor performs puts most other weapons to shame.
The MD-500 works by accelerating particle streams through two conduits to critical velocity before ejecting them. Once the particles enter a planet's atmosphere, they can completely destroy the planet in a single strike!
Yes, it literally blows up planets—comparable to the Moon of War's planetary lance. But the MD-500 requires far fewer energy resources, making it one of the most efficient planet-busting methods available.
Its underlying principle involves the structure of basic matter and energy release.
By forcibly breaking molecular bonds, it triggers a chain reaction that grows exponentially, resulting in catastrophic annihilation within the affected area.
It's like knocking over a row of dominoes—except the result is planetary-scale devastation. The range, however, is limited; it won't annihilate infinitely. Its area of effect roughly matches that of a typical planet.
Perfect for planet-busting needs.
This is what it means to affect the macroscopic world from the microscopic level—the classic idea that "a world lies within a grain of sand." The two are tightly linked.
"Looks like this draw's theme is all about blowing up planets... I'm really turning into some kind of interstellar tyrant."
Li Ang shook his head with a smile. First Neutron Annihilation, now Little Doctor—the number of planet-destroying weapons under the Megacorp's control was piling up.
To the point of redundancy.
But that's fine too. With multiple ways to destroy planets, he could adapt to different combat scenarios.
And the Megacorp's resource extraction speed and efficiency would skyrocket.
Next, Li Ang quickly skimmed past the Surak-class assault shuttle and the Tarantula combat mechs.
The Surak-class is a 731.6-meter long, 100-meter wide, and 182.9-meter tall assault shuttle, powered by an FTL drive and capable of carrying over 2,000 personnel.
Decent enough for a transport vessel.
As for the Tarantula mechs, they're fairly run-of-the-mill ground units, comparable to the Chimera tanks—clearly filler content in terms of tech level.
After accepting all the multiverse items, Li Ang realized that this round of weaponry and tech gear wasn't particularly impressive.
Only Neutron Annihilation and MD-500 stood out. The former being the most efficient planet-buster, and the latter at least operating on a fundamental physical-law level.
So, after completing the draw, Li Ang refocused all his attention on the next target: the [Infinite Divine Engine].
Getting that was now his top priority. But to unlock it, he'd need to assemble a team and clear a dungeon.
Trying to earn corporate currency (CorpCoins) solely through resource zones in other universes was far too slow. Each new megastructure unlocked required exponentially more CorpCoins.
With that, Li Ang turned his gaze to the Stargate interface on the system.
In fact, he could've opened a new multiverse world six months ago.
But to play it safe, he chose to first eliminate all hidden dangers and potential threats in the other universes before launching a new expedition today.
"Let's just hope the difficulty isn't too insane—something challenging but manageable would be ideal."
Li Ang silently prayed. If it was too easy, the rewards would be minimal. If it was too hard and he couldn't beat it, that'd be embarrassing.
Like the last Halo universe run, where a lot of it came down to clever tricks and circumstantial advantages—not pure combat strength.
If it weren't for the already-extinct Forerunners and the Sangheili from the Covenant both "lighting the way" with surprise assists, the Megacorp might not have been able to conquer that instance in three years.
And yet, despite barely putting in effort—and suffering fewer losses than in the Edge of Tomorrow universe against the Mimics and Reapers—this universe still yielded a massive technological leap.
Megastructures like the Ark, Halos, and Vanguard dreadnoughts, not to mention a bunch of high-tech equipment, had doubled the Megacorp's productivity and combat power.
Which just goes to show: luck and timing often matter more than sheer effort. Li Ang wasn't expecting another lucky streak, but he just hoped this one didn't turn out to be a hell-level meat grinder.
Taking a deep breath, Li Ang tapped the prompt to view the next dungeon mission.
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