This universe has always rejected machines. This was a fact Yu Lian had known in his previous life.

Yes, although on the surface, it was, after all, a world of advanced technology. In this world, people could enjoy conveniences that Yu Lian could not even imagine in his own era. People could travel around the world within one or two hours, eat wontons in the old streets of Jin City at noon, and after a nap, go to the beaches of the Maldives to play in the sand. People could roam the star sea, bathe surrounded by stars and the universe, and go to the other side of the Milky Way to admire scenery absolutely impossible to see on Earth.

However, at its deepest core, this universe was actually very conservative at heart.

A very obvious example is the degree of mechanical automation.

Yes, if only compared horizontally, the level of automated machinery in the current Milky Way is, of course, far beyond that of his hometown in the parallel universe, which had not even broken free from the shackles of its home planet. After all, on that Earth, there would not be shuttle-like mechanical police floating in the streets, nor would there be so many fish-shaped billboards suspended in the sky.

But so what?

This universe, after all, does not allow machines to achieve full-cycle automated work independently of human intervention.

Information centers with astonishing performance can simulate tens of millions of square kilometers of colorful, varied terrain, dream-like game worlds in the virtual Nebula Network, and maintain hundreds of millions of NPCs. However, in those colorful virtual worlds, the NPCs still made Yu Lian feel a noticeable stiffness.

No matter how meticulously their models were made, even to the point of being indistinguishable from reality, they would give people this distinct feeling. In all aspects, they were no more agile than those pre-programmed ones in his previous life's parallel world.

From an algorithmic perspective, they had already locked down the concept of artificial intelligence! The reason why current data centers can handle universe-level data processing is entirely due to unscientific hardware levels being stacked up.

Yes, it is “unscientific” hardware. As Yu Lian knew, some high-performance chips must use “active metals” from Zero Element.

Since the concept of artificial intelligence has been locked down, the technical upper limit of robots is, of course, clear at a glance. At the same time, whether humans who have replaced a large number of mechanical bionic prostheses in their bodies are still human has always been an enduring topic of debate in all sectors of society.

This controversial topic was settled over 150 years ago. The Galactic Civilization Council passed a resolution declaring human body modification through prosthetics illegal.

In all fairness, this resolution appeared somewhat suddenly. But at that time, the Empire and the Alliance, already hostile to each other, both unanimously approved this resolution, which always makes one wonder!

However, genetic therapy technology was already mature then; whether blind or disabled, one could always grow a perfect organ by soaking in a culture dish. So, overall, there was not much opposition from the general public, and they quickly accepted this fact.

Of course, a resolution is a resolution, and reality is reality. In reality, many people still add power reactors to their stomachs, convert their arms into Swiss army knives, or secretly install gun racks on their thighs to gain more physical strength, especially popular in the underworld.

The military, of course, also has them… but mainly in some small countries that the Civilization Council bothers to ignore.

However, the extent of modification like Old Man Terrend’s entire body is no longer considered illegal by the public; it’s outright an evil demonic path of abandoning the “spiritual flesh given to us by the universe spirit.” This is absolutely the most hated existence by idealist fools.

Behind hatred is often fear! But Yu Lian truly didn't understand what the big figures of the Empire, the Alliance, and the Void Spirit Temple were so afraid of? He truly hadn't figured it out in his previous life either.

In any case, a semi-prosthetic person like Old Man Terrend, whose respiratory system, arms, heart, and other parts have all been mechanized. If discovered, he would most likely be humanely destroyed, right?

After he appeared, he did not deliberately use the bionic machinery in his body to simulate heartbeats and breathing, indicating that he had no intention of concealing his identity. This was tantamount to handing a gun to Yu Lian, showing a considerable degree of sincerity.

More importantly, when Yu Lian saw the gear tattoo on the back of the other party's hand, he was completely relieved.

In fact, existences like Old Man Terrend, who are semi-bionic prosthetics, are not a minority. The mutual aid organization they formed is the Mechanical Brotherhood, which is quite famous in the “underworld” of later generations.

The people there are very capable, speak nicely, and everyone is an optimistic, low-materialistic engineering tech geek. Yu Lian absolutely loves it there. If that organization didn't only recruit such semi-bionic prosthetics, Yu Lian might have even joined.

As he thought of this, his eyes immediately sparkled, full of friendliness and warmth.

Old Man Terrend, however, had no idea that his identity had been exposed, and he laughed, “I underwent this prosthetic modification before the ‘Prohibition of Prosthetic Modification Act’ was promulgated. Although one cannot use the sword of a former dynasty to cut down an official of the current dynasty, being discovered would always lead to a lot of trouble.”

That is to say, this old man is probably already 200 years old. However, it is perfectly normal for the elders of the Mechanical Brotherhood to be this old. After all, they are a bunch of “flesh is weak”!

...However, thinking of this, Yu Lian couldn't help but glance at Nair, who had just entered carrying a cup of coffee and a cup of fire rock wine.

“I am a living, lovely 15-year-old girl!” Nair said loudly and irritably, “Don’t look at me like this now, I’m also a Sensitive. If I were to undergo modification, I wouldn’t be able to awaken later, would I?”

Indeed, spiritual energy users can only be born from naturally occurring living beings. This seems to be an iron rule of this kind of foolish idealist power.

“Nair is indeed my granddaughter. However, her mother was an orphan I adopted. During my long years of waiting, she gave me the greatest comfort.” Speaking of this, Old Man Terrend sighed, “She left, but at least she left Nair, such a talented child.”

“It’s really good to be talented! If I had such talent back then, I wouldn’t have had to suffer like this… But to extend one’s life beyond 200 years, one must at least break through Seven Rings, right? Thinking about it, prosthetic modification is indeed more convenient! No choice, I promised my lord, I really need time,” Old Man Terrend laughed.

With genetic therapy technology, humans can theoretically live to the limit of their medical lifespan, which is over 120 years. But having said that, even now, the average medical lifespan in the Alliance is only 90 years.

“Isn’t this a good thing? My parents were gone just like that. But with you, I don’t have to worry about you suddenly being gone! This way you can stay with me until the end,” Nair said with a giggle.

Old Man Terrend probably wanted to lecture her with a stern face, but before that, the little girl had already bounced out the door, leaving the space for their secret conversation to the two of them again.

“So, you are not a descendant of Count Salwen’s vassal, but he himself. Is that right?”

Terrence smiled and nodded, “I owe the Count a great debt, and I am his most trusted person. It is precisely because of this that I must uphold my promise to him!”

Yu Lian wasn't quite sure how to describe this feudal-style blind loyalty and filial piety. It was indeed a virtue, but it seemed to have no constructive meaning, so he could only skip it and get straight to the point: “So, what exactly is the promise you made? It’s not just waiting for my arrival, is it?”

If that were truly the case, then Count Salwen could no longer be described as a Nine Rings bigshot; he would clearly be a true god whose words became law! Could it be the will of the legendary Enlightener! Or even the embodiment of the universe spirit?

Yu Lian felt that if that were truly the case, he would immediately commit suicide. Let's see if the other party had calculated this point.

“My mission is to hand over the clues left by the Count to a fated person at the appropriate time,” the old man said.

He pointed to his forehead and laughed, “The chip here contains the Count’s signal. Once activated, it means his so-called fated person is about to appear. Whoever appears with the Count’s token, I will hand over the clues he left to him; that is my mission.”

Yu Lian pondered for a moment, then said, “So, your previous deception by someone in the financial circle, almost costing you your shop, was actually a bait, wasn’t it?”

The old man nodded, “You are indeed very clever, Mr. Yu Lian.”

Yu Lian was not at all surprised that the other party could guess his identity. Since this guy was a semi-bionic person, he probably had a terminal connected to the Nebula Network installed in his head, and there must be a camera behind his eyes, so he just needed to compare his appearance online.

He was a celebrity, after all, even though his popularity had waned after a month, it still had to have some effect.

“So, this is your so-called fated person, right?” Yu Lian opened his terminal, revealing the image of Little Queen and the image of her entering the shop.

Terrence nodded and laughed, “She looks very much like the Countess when she was young, and she also has the token left by the Countess.”

...This plot suddenly became a bit melodramatic! Yu Lian sighed.

At this point, the old man stood up, walked into the general store behind him, rummaged around, and finally pulled out a scroll, handing it to Yu Lian: “This is that old man.”

“She didn’t take it?”

“The Count’s order was for her to see it, not to take it!”

“Then what am I?”

“That young lady has appeared, so I have also completed the Count’s last command. After this, everything he left behind is mine, and I can give it to whomever I want,” Old Man Terrend laughed.

“Honestly, I didn’t want that young lady, even though she looked so pitiful and exhausted, as if all the cruelty in the world was weighing on her shoulders. And so, her eyes seemed to be filled with all the cruelty and bloodlust of the world! At that moment, I told myself, whoever is the first to track her down and come knocking, I will give this thing to them!”

These words were utterly unconvincing; a more suspicious person might have drawn a knife. However, Old Man Terrend’s words were full of a sense of course.

“So, Mr. Yu Lian, do you dare to accept?” His voice suddenly deepened, and his eyes once again flickered with an artificial red glow.

1300, okay.

I thought I wouldn't delete comments, but it seems I still can't.