Chapter 43 Method I’m hungry, Bai, I’m so hungry~…
Although Bai is not very good at cooking, he can still heat up a simple meal.
Bai quickly heated up the food and touched the little black cat's head with his fingers.
After receiving an intimate rub from the little black cat, Bai's mouth curled up slightly, and his mood finally improved a lot.
In the front hall, Nan Qi, who was sitting and recalling his insights of the past two days, raised his hand to touch his forehead and chuckled softly.
Bai walked out of the kitchen and saw Nan Qi, who was smiling at him beautifully with one hand supporting her chin. He paused for a moment and said, "Wait a moment, it will be ready soon."
"Well," Nan Qi waved, "Come and sit down. I have something to tell you."
"What's going on? What's going on?" Bai walked over and sat next to Nan Qi, looking sideways at him. "If it's not important, let's talk about it after you finish your meal."
Nan Qi leaned close to Bai's ear mysteriously and said, "It's up to you whether it's important or not."
"Me?" Bai blinked, a little confused. "How come I still have the final say?"
"Never mind that. It's not important." Nan Qi raised his hand, his voice lowering. "Is this place safe? Will our conversation be monitored?"
"That's not the case. Warships, mechas, and communication terminals are all military supplies. They are a separate subsystem of the main brain that provides intelligent support, so as to prevent easy invasion by other countries."
"With the Mastermind in place, to know everything that happens under intelligent surveillance, four secret keys are required. One is in the hands of the Insect Emperor, one is in the hands of the Chief Marshal, one is in the hands of the Aristocratic Family, and one is in the Mastermind system. Even the Mastermind's main system cannot obtain this secret key."
Bai explained, "These secret keys are not immutable. They change every minute, and all four keys must be entered simultaneously before everything under the intelligent monitoring of the main brain system can be retrieved."
"Oh, that sounds very advanced." Nan Qi knew that intelligence was very mature in this era, but he did not expect that the intelligent system had become so powerful that it could participate in the internal decision-making of the Zerg.
As if sensing Nan Qi's confusion, Bai sighed, "You must be confused. The development of military and civilian intelligence was originally intended to make life more convenient for insects. It was only later that something unexpected happened, leading to the current situation."
"An accident?" Nan Qi acted as if he had heard something before. The little black cat on the white shoulder jumped onto the table, sat down on it obediently, and also made a listening expression.
Bai couldn't help but reach out and touch the little black cat's head before continuing, "About 20,000 years ago, both male and female Zerg were equally brave and skilled in war. Before the Empire even migrated to the Tro system, they encountered a war that nearly wiped out their entire race."
"Back then, the Star Beasts and the Zerg lived together on two continents on the same planet. They clashed year after year, fighting each other constantly, but each had its share of victories and defeats. It wasn't until a peerless genius emerged from the Star Beasts that our empire was pushed to the brink of despair."
"During that battle, the empire became a purgatory, and its citizens were raised by the Star Beasts as food reserves. High-level female and male Zerg fought desperately to break through the Star Beast blockade and search for reinforcements. The main brain system was brought back by our ancestors from the ruins of an ancient abandoned planet."
"Isn't it developed by the empire itself? Why is there no record of this in history?" Nan Qi was shocked. The main brain that played an important role in the empire was actually a foreign product.
Nan Qi poured Bai a glass of water: "Drink some water first."
"Well, it wasn't developed by the Empire. The Empire simply filled it with stuff based on the original mainframe skeleton."
Bai took a sip of water and continued, "There's no historical record of this because the Overmind suddenly appeared, prompting many Zerg skeptics. To convince everyone that the Overmind could help the Empire turn the tide of the war, the Zerg Emperor declared it the Empire's long-awaited masterpiece."
"The Mastermind's immense computing power and its technology, which was not of its time, did help the Empire turn the tide of the war and also helped it find a new home in the Tro Galaxy."
"The entire empire relocated, and the Mastermind became one of its most valuable assets. To express gratitude for the Mastermind's contributions, this history was buried in the minds of the empire's high-ranking officials and passed down orally."
"Ah? To express gratitude to the main brain for its contribution, so it is passed on by word of mouth?" It was the first time that Nan Qi heard such a thank you.
Bai nodded. "At that time, it was announced that the mastermind was developed by the Empire. However, the Empire had just relocated, and the people were unstable. It wasn't a good time to announce the source of the mastermind. Later, they didn't think about it anymore."
"Later, the Empire abandoned its previous research into intelligence, and now all forms of intelligence are derived from the Mastermind. Some countries even purchase intelligence powered by the Mastermind's system technology. The Empire earns a fortune annually just from maintaining the systems for these countries."
Nan Qi understood that with the main brain, the Zerg were like a fish in water, the royal family's reputation was higher, and they also had prestige in the interstellar space, so he was reluctant to announce the news.
Why was this history not completely erased, but passed down orally? It was probably because the Zerg leaders at the time did not trust the Mastermind.
An intelligence with technology that does not belong to its own era. They have seen the power of this intelligence and are unwilling to destroy it, so they have to find a way to guard against it.
One way is to fill the main brain skeleton with your own things, and another way is to let the worm remember the origin of the main brain, so that you won’t feel so sad when it is destroyed.
However, after tens of thousands of years, the Zerg, having witnessed the convenience and power of the main brain, would probably not be willing to destroy it even if there was a problem with the main brain.
They are also confident that they will not be wiped out because of problems with the main brain.
"Because the Mastermind is so useful, the one we brought back after a narrow escape was a male. So, as the males gradually weakened and became fewer in number, the Empire proposed laws to protect males, and that's why no one opposed it at first. Who would have thought—"
Bai lowered his eyes, never expecting that these protections would eventually become meaningless, and they were unknowingly locked in the "indestructible" tower.
"Okay, as long as no one can eavesdrop on our conversations," Nan Qi felt relieved after learning some information about the main brain that was not known to the outside insects. "During these two days of retreat, in addition to having a better grasp of my mental power, I also vaguely grasped some methods to train and improve my mental power."
"What!" Bai was shocked.
In recent years, the empire has been researching ways to improve the mental power of insects, but there has been no progress. Now Nan Qi told him that a method has been found to improve the mental power. How could Bai not be surprised?
"Don't be impatient, don't be impatient." Nan Qi made a soothing gesture, "We have just touched the threshold, it's not complete yet, maybe we need to explore together."
"That's quite impressive. If we can train and improve our mental strength, we can definitely control it. We female insects will probably no longer have to suffer the pain of our mental sea exploding and dying after our mental strength goes haywire."
"I understand, I understand." Nan Qi comforted Bai again.
He knew the suffering that Bai and the others had endured over the years; he had also suffered that suffering.
It’s just that his original world is not like Bai’s world. In his world, his friends tried their best to help him so that he wouldn’t suffer, but Bai and the others didn’t do that.
Not only that, but because of his weakness in mental violence, he was exploited by his own people and even abandoned as cannon fodder.
So he understood Bai's excitement at the moment, and also felt a little sorry for this female insect who was schemed from head to toe by all the major forces.
Bai took a deep breath, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and said a little embarrassedly: "Sorry, I lost my composure."
"It's okay, it's okay. I understand." Nan Qi's gentle smile was like a soft ray of sunlight, shining deep into Bai's heart.
Bai's hand moved beside him, calming his mind, and reason took over again.
He looked at Nan Qi and said solemnly, "Nan Qi, do you know what impact your guess would have on the current situation in the empire if it were confirmed?"
Nan Qi smiled and said, "I know, you just said it."
"Now that you know, you decided to tell me?"
"Because we are allies."
"Nan Qi!" Bai reached out and pressed Nan Qi's shoulder. "This is not a joke. You are a male insect. Tell me, why would you tell me such an important thing so easily?"
"You are effectively severing the chains that bind the male insects to the females, potentially putting the male insects in the same predicament as the females are now. Nan Qi, tell me, why?"
Nan Qi sighed and put away his playful expression. "Bai, have you ever considered that this method I mentioned will deepen the male insects' control over you female insects? Have you ever considered that I'm using you to plunge the female insects into a deeper abyss?"
Bai was stunned, as if he didn't understand why Nan Qi said that.
Nan Qi waved to the little black cat sitting on the table, and the little black cat jumped into Nan Qi's palm.
Nan Qi placed the little black cat on Bai's palm, then closed Bai's palm, letting the furry little black cat soothe Bai's unstable mood.
"Bai, when did you start to trust me? Was it when you first glimpsed my secret and felt I couldn't betray you? Or when I helped you mine the high-grade black crystal stone? Or when I found the seven-colored stone?"
"Since you trust me, I naturally cannot betray your trust. Your performance today also tells me that you are not a bug like the male bug. If you were you, you would find a balance between male and female bugs and let us live in peace."
Nan Qi looked into Bai's eyes: "Bai, am I right?"
Bai opened his mouth and spoke after a while: "Were you testing me just now?"
Nan Qi didn't explain and said bluntly: "If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize."
"No." Bai lowered his eyes and looked at the little black cat in his palm that looked up at him. He seemed to see a hint of worry in its round green eyes. A faint smile played on the corner of his mouth. "You are like this, which makes me feel that you are more real."
Nan Qi raised his eyebrows: "So we have reached a consensus now?"
"I think we have reached a consensus a long time ago." Bai stroked the kitten's body. The kitten showed a comfortable expression, nestled in Bai's palm and closed its eyes.
Nan Qi looked at his comfortable spiritual body and felt a little uncomfortable. He narrowed his eyes, stretched out his finger and poked it, and only stopped when the little black cat was about to bite him.
"I think you should be able to condense this kind of spiritual body. Then, your mental power will not immediately fall into mental violence due to continuous and frequent use."
"As for completely solving the problem of mental turmoil..." Nan Qi pondered, "I have to wait until you truly condense your spiritual bodies before I can confirm whether my guess is correct. Now..."
"What now?" Bai asked.
Nan Qi slumped down on the table, looking exhausted: "I'm hungry, Bai, I'm so hungry~"
"Oh, sorry, it should be heated up. I'll go check it out." Bai was about to go to the kitchen when Nan Qi grabbed his wrist and said, "Let's go together."
The two bugs went to the kitchen side by side. As soon as they arrived, they smelled a pungent burnt smell.
Nan Qi: “…”
Bai: "...Sorry, I'll make you some porridge. I only know how to cook porridge."
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