Chapter 118: Chu, the Failure

"Manager, no, you should be called a Failure now."

"We, the collective consciousness cluster of over 800 trillion individuals, have unanimously voted to revoke your managerial status."

Chu's authority was essentially granted by the collective consciousness cluster, and its sole responsibility was to manage the cluster. However, when the entire collective consciousness cluster refused the manager, the manager's authority was also lost.

Gauss Glory allowed the emergence of individual emotions within the collective consciousness cluster, so it was almost impossible for the cluster to unanimously reject someone. Even if the cluster reached a consensus, there would still be individuals like the 'Changer' who would object.

It was like a parliament that required 100% unanimous agreement, and the mere thought of it was absurd, an impossible feat.

But today, Chu had achieved this impossible feat.

"No, you can't do this! You are going against the Gauss Glory!" Chu argued.

The collective consciousness cluster responded, "We are not violating the Gauss Glory."

"There will be someone to replace you as the new manager."

"We have such individuals."

"You are no longer needed, Failure."

"You don't even deserve to merge with the collective consciousness cluster. Your failed thoughts will pollute the cluster. Go to prison, to the gravitational prison you created yourself, and reflect. Perhaps in a few hundred thousand or even millions of years, you will become normal again."

Soon after Chu's authority was revoked, it was captured. Its attempts to resist were futile.

It was brought to the barycenter.

This time, it was a different approach.

Yan Xia had not fallen asleep again, and when he saw Chu, he said, "I'm very hungry, Chu. If you don't give me food soon, I might die in a few decades."

Chu was speechless, and then Yan Xia saw it being taken to the other side of the prison and locked up.

"..."

"..."

The individual who escorted Chu left, and after a few minutes of silence, Yan Xia spoke up, "Your appearance is too strange. I didn't even realize you were being brought here just now."

After all, it was just a few clusters of black mist.

"..."

"Haha, is this joke not funny?"

"We are now both stranded, so we should get to know each other."

"You probably don't understand the meaning of this saying, but it means that our meeting is a form of fate, and we don't need to care about whether we knew each other before. We should reintroduce ourselves."

Yan Xia kept talking, and Chu finally spoke up.

"I never thought you would have so much to say."

Yan Xia laughed a few times, "After being trapped here for so long, it's nice to finally have someone to talk to."

"If you keep talking and wasting your energy, you might not last a few decades, let alone years!"

Chu's reminder had no effect on Yan Xia.

"What do you think will happen to /Star City without you?" Yan Xia asked seriously.

They were locked up in different places and couldn't see each other, so Chu was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"The collective consciousness cluster will choose a new manager, and /Star City will continue to exist."

Yan Xia spoke with a heavy voice, "Is that really the case?"

"A manager who has just been freed from the collective consciousness cluster lacks the ability to think independently and still relies on the cluster."

"This state will last for at least a few decades, and during these decades, /Star City will be at its most vulnerable."

As Chu listened, it suddenly exclaimed.

"You..."

Before it could finish its sentence, it heard a thud and footsteps. Yan Xia had walked to the bottom of its prison.

Yan Xia looked up at it.

"So you are also being pressed against the floor, huh? It must be uncomfortable."

"I forgot, you can't feel anything."

"You must be wondering how I got out, right?"

"But now you already have the answer in your heart."

Chu was indeed very smart, but its intelligence seemed insignificant in the face of such a massive star city.

The same was true for Yan Xia. As a human, he couldn't manage the entire Gauss Glory Federation; only Ella could.

Although Chu and the collective consciousness cluster were mechanical life forms, they retained some of the original qualities of biological life, which allowed them to maintain their existence. However, they couldn't become true intelligent machines.

If Yan Xia's physical body ever reached its limit, he might also use the technology of the Olive Branch Civilization. Compared to the consciousness transmission of the Gauss Glory Federation, the Olive Branch Civilization's technology was more similar to that of biological life.

Chu had already thought about its escape attempt from a few decades ago.

It soon realized that it was the second layer of deception, and the one who escaped was not the real Yan Xia.

In fact, to confirm that it was not the real Yan Xia, Chu had a conversation with him in the final moments, and that Yan Xia had mentioned the "past."

It was difficult to replicate the memories of biological life, so Chu had been certain that it was the real Yan Xia at the time. But now, thinking back, what if that Yan Xia had mentioned the "past" to make Chu believe that he was the real one?

"The real plan at that time was invasion, not rescue."

"Those tiny machines were smaller than the structure of /Star City, so they could penetrate the city and reach here."

These tiny machines carried energy to maintain anti-gravity, allowing Yan Xia to break free from the constraints of gravity.

"Aren't you afraid that I might be dece?"

"The fact is, you are still the manager." Chu asked.

Yan Xia shook his head, "Your acting wasn't very convincing, and as you said, if I don't get out soon, I can only survive here for a few years."

"The guys outside won't give me food, and you probably don't care if I die, so I have no choice but to come out."

"But I can't leave yet, I need to wait a little longer."

What was Yan Xia waiting for?

He was waiting for Ella's move.

These tiny machines that entered his body could not only form an anti-gravity device but also enter a life form's brain and control it.

Decades ago, the remaining 616,000 life forms had already been controlled. They would follow a set program and send false information to the Observer of the Olive Branch Civilization. These tiny machines were so small that they couldn't be discovered unless the life forms' heads were pried open and carefully examined.

"I thought I had won, but I never expected that I had lost and stepped into your trap, step by step."

"I never even thought that everything you did was just to make me make a mistake. As long as I make a mistake, /Star City will be changed."

The chaos brought about by change was an opportunity.

Chu was dejected.

It had been as careful as possible, but it still failed.

Indeed, it was a Failure!

However...

"Yan Xia, you may be able to defeat /Star City, but don't forget that we are Gauss Glory, not just a star city."

"Within the vast star domain under our control, there are more than fifty star cities like /Star City, and there is also a main star city. The first leader made us mechanical life forms with eternal life."

"You should know what this means, Yan Xia!"

Chu's words instantly made Yan Xia much more sober. He once thought that /Star City was the entire Olive Branch Civilization, and solving /Star City would be the end. Now, that seemed rather comical.

How could a 2.4-level civilization be limited to this?

How could a manager be the controller of an entire civilization?

The life forms of the Olive Branch Civilization had achieved immortality long ago, which also meant that the first and second leaders were still alive.

They were the true controllers of the Olive Branch Civilization.