Chapter 247: The inverted and magnificent world of the Earth's core! The Star Alliance's pilgrimage to the East!

"It seems that this group of AI robots did not recognize us as enemies."

David looked at the temple defenders who were busy using laser devices to purify the corpses of the Flood not far away. He finally relaxed his vigilance and slowly put down his weapons.

“The IQ and comprehension abilities of these dumb AIs are not much worse than those of smart AIs. They just cannot continuously learn and complete self-iterative evolution.”

"They are used as sentinels, which is perfect."

Dr. Catherine Halsey, who also has profound attainments in the field of AI research and development, is not unfamiliar with the working principles of these drones.

Soon, after the temple defenders cleaned up the corpses of the Flood, they returned to David and the others. After looking at them, the robots returned along the original route.

In order to allow these recyclers to keep up with their pace, the temple defenders deliberately slowed down their speed and looked back at them from time to time, as if they were actively leading the way for David and others.

"Let's go. Don't you see that these little guys are already inviting us in? This saves us the trouble of searching for the entrance to the ruins."

Seeing this, Halsey smiled and took the lead to walk towards the direction of the temple defenders.

David immediately gave orders, asking all personnel to follow the defenders and continue towards their destination.

Next, they traveled through the endless wasteland. There were many Flood infected bodies lurking on the surface of the shield world, but due to malnutrition, most of them were in the early stages.

After all, there are not many living things here, and the Flood demons that cannot get material replenishment are basically in a state of stunted development and lethargy.

Over time, the formed Flood will basically starve to death, or be dehydrated into floating Flood spores, waiting to be reborn from the dirty world by "parasitizing" new life forms.

Facing this group of weak Flood demons, David didn't even need to fire a gun. He could crush them into ashes with just one kick.

Not long after, they arrived at a tunnel that led directly underground. Through the end of the tunnel, David and Halsey seemed to be able to see the world on the other side, which must be exceptionally vibrant.

"This is the entrance to the inner world of Shield!"

Halsey looked at the hollow space supported by various large metals, the intricate passages and corridors, and the countless temple defenders, and couldn't help but feel excited.

They were not far from completing their mission.

When David, Halsey and others passed by, those stupid AIs that had been working for more than tens of thousands of years would activate their eye monitors to scan and check the identity information of the visitors.

After learning through the shared network system that the visitors were recyclers, they turned off the monitors and returned to their respective work tasks.

Looking at these temple defenders in front of them, David and Reed looked at each other and both thought that they could be used as sentinels for the world's giant enterprises or to build robots.

If giant companies can equip themselves with such AI robots on a large scale, they will be able to save a lot of human resources and invest them in other areas!
As if sensing David's thoughts, Halsey smiled and took the initiative to say, "The Forerunner civilization has packed all of their technological information into the Shield World."

"Once we find the technological relics inside, we can transform these AI robots into units of a giant company in a matter of minutes."

David nodded. Compared with the ruins and treasures inside, the group of AI robots in front of him were just a drop in the bucket.

Soon after everyone entered the tunnel and walked for a while, David, who was leading the way at the front, suddenly saw a strange large device.

"Wait, there seems to be a mechanism here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone turned their heads and looked in the direction David pointed. They saw a large protruding disc device standing in front of the tunnel.

Above the disk, there are bursts of light blue images, which appear as an interlaced grid, just like a coordinate system on a plane.

"Could it be... that this is a map of the inside of the Shield World?"

With such doubts, David immediately led people to conduct a careful investigation, trying to find out the true purpose of the device.

"This should be a transmission platform, similar to our elevator."

Halsey took a quick glance and determined that the device was not a trap or a holographic map, so she reminded David.

Hearing this, Reed immediately gave orders and sent several Astartes warriors forward to determine whether the device would pose a threat to them.

Soon, after several soldiers stepped on and tested it, they determined that there was no threat on the platform, and also found the control terminal device here.

After everyone landed in the area, Halsey first carefully observed the appearance of the control terminal, and then took the initiative to step forward and press the display screen.

After waiting patiently for a moment, Halsey thought that this thing was in disrepair and its response speed was comparable to that of an old machine from the Qing Dynasty, when a dazzling light suddenly appeared around the circular platform.

Swish-!
With a flash of strong light, everyone on the platform disappeared and came to the inner world of the Shield World.

It was not until David and others opened their eyes again that they discovered that the previously dim underground tunnel had suddenly turned into a vast grassland that was bright and open.

But when you look up, what comes into view is not the familiar blue sky, but a sparkling blue ocean!
In addition, there are towering mountains, lush green forests, grasslands, as well as natural areas such as deserts and swamps in the sky, like multi-colored minerals dotted on agate.

"Is this the interior of the Shield World? It feels like we have entered a large glass ball."

Looking at the magnificent sight before her, Rita was a little dazed for a moment. The ocean above their heads was like a "mirage" isolated by a giant screen, so psychedelic that it seemed unreal.

Halsey observed the surrounding environment calmly. What surprised her most was the artificial sun located on the upper side, which was a "luminous body" with a diameter of about 100 kilometers.

That huge spherical device is the sun inside the shield world, providing suitable light and heat for the core world here.

This upside-down psychedelic world allows David and his companions to see the sunny grassland, the windy and rainy forest, and the frosty and snowy mountains in the sky at the same time.

Such a breathtaking architectural wonder is not much different from Ringworld!

"There are no Flood spores here. It looks like we are lucky and won't encounter those alien Zerg outside again."

Unlike young people who have never seen the world, after taking a quick look at the situation inside the shield world, Li De used a scanning device to detect the air composition of the environment.

In the end, he found that everything was safe here, and he could even take off his heavy power armor and breathe freely.

But in order to avoid causing unnecessary trouble, Li De would not allow anyone to do so.

"No wonder the Forerunners became the gods of faith of the Star Alliance. It is truly amazing that they could create such a huge structure and a stellar civilization."

David nodded thoughtfully. In this 004 universe, perhaps only the technological power of the Forerunner civilization could compete with the giant corporations of the universe.

It's just that this civilization has been obliterated by the flood in the long river of history, leaving only countless relics and information, left to later generations to demonstrate the glory of its past civilization.

"It is very likely that the forerunners have mastered some of the neurophysics technology to create such a miracle. Maybe this is what the boss wants most."

Before David led his team to the Shield World to carry out this expedition mission, Leon specifically explained to David about the existence of [Neurophysics].

This piece of technology is the "ultimate secret" of the 004 "Halo" universe and the core secret of how the former pioneer civilization shaped this universe.

Even if it is only a fragment, Li Ang must do everything he can to get it!

Logically speaking, as the "crown prince" who successfully usurped the throne, the Forerunner would most likely have inherited the complete [Neurophysics] technology points.

It's just that they haven't yet mastered this set of skills to perfection, which led to the old man refining the flood disaster and causing a cosmic catastrophe.

If the people of the advanced civilization knew the entire chapter of [Neurophysics], they would be well versed in the analysis, reorganization and shaping of matter therein.

How could a mere flood disaster possibly stop the Son of God's pioneer who was at the perfect state?

Since the Forerunners were crushed by the Flood, it only means that they were killed by the old Primordial before they could fully digest this set of skills.

This fully illustrates a truth: if you are not good at it, just practice more.

But no matter what, since humans are the recyclers designated by the Forerunners and the chosen ones to inherit their civilizational legacy, the information on [neurophysics] must also exist in this shield world.

Even if it was only a small part of the manuscript, it would be worth it for David to come all the way here.

"If our company could pack up all the information and technology points here and take them away, wouldn't it be possible to take off right here?!"

William Cage said with a smile on his face and excitedly that if he could make a great contribution this time, he would surely be able to get a position in the Vanguard Team of the Universe.

Maybe I can be promoted to the ace advance team in the future!
"In theory, it should be like this."

Even Li De, who has always been cautious and conservative, couldn't help but smile at this moment, and his voice revealed irrepressible excitement.

Halsey shook her head and made a bolder and more imaginative guess: "It's more than that."

"If we can find the [neurophysics] that the Forerunners inherited from the Pioneers and master the technological knowledge contained therein, then we will be the 'Gods' of this universe!"

"The laws of the universe, matter, and even space and time are all transparent toys. Any action we take can determine the rise and fall of a species."

"This is something that only gods can do, and we humans are about to become the only gods in this universe!"

At this moment, Halsey is much more optimistic about the future of Universal Corporation than David and others. This feeling is like a novice player of a certain online game who suddenly picks up a maximum-level account of a big shot on the server list.

From now on, fighting monsters, growing, completing tasks and upgrading have nothing to do with human civilization at all. You will ascend directly to the highest level and enjoy the maximum gaming experience!

Just as everyone was calming down and preparing to continue exploring the final destination and find the ruins here.

Rita suddenly realized that there was an unidentified object rushing towards them at a very fast speed!

"Something's happening! Everyone, pay attention!"

As soon as the words fell, the Astartes warriors immediately held their grenade launchers and looked in the direction Rita was facing.

Everyone saw a tiny red dot appear on the holographic screen on the tactical helmet, and it kept approaching their position until it appeared in front of them.

It was a metal sphere about half a meter long, and seemed to be the same stupid AI robot as the temple defenders outside.

Seeing that Halsey and the others seemed to be on guard, the sphere spoke to everyone in a unique metallic voice:
"I am the leader of Shield World 0459. Welcome all the recyclers. I have been waiting for a long time!"

"..."

……

On the other side, the Covenant fleet, far away in the low-Earth orbit of the Shield World celestial body, had just ordered the troops on the ground to withdraw to the cruiser.

The docked CCS-class and CRS-class cruisers would occasionally open their hatches to allow returning ships to enter the engine room.

Ever since the members of the Star Alliance learned of the existence of the Forerunner ruins, they have been happier than each other!
This is equivalent to Catholicism, Christianity, and Islam on Earth suddenly discovering that the existence of Allah and Jesus is real.

Moreover, their master had also prepared a [True God-level Civilization Gift Pack] for them, which was placed at various ruins sites, waiting for them to dig and open treasure chests.

Such a surprise is simply too cool!
You know, there was once a Crusaders organization on Earth, and they were doing the same thing as those street thugs from the Star Alliance, which was to go on a pilgrimage to the East to see their own "God".

But unlike the Crusades, the Star Alliance's "Eastern Expedition" does have real rewards, and can really produce old gold coins!
This is not just an empty pursuit of faith. By opening a treasure chest, you can get all kinds of equipment, warships, and technology points from advanced civilizations for free. Isn't this better than focusing on development yourself? !
So this group of civilized forces formed the Star Alliance, and with Liu Bang's spirit of "whoever enters Guanzhong first will be the king", they began to explore the universe and search for the relics of their predecessors.

Instead of engaging in internal fighting and those old-fashioned pursuits of interstellar colonial hegemony, it would be better to build up the most powerful space pirates and make this piece of cake bigger. Then everyone in the Star Alliance will be able to enjoy the good things.

This is much better than racking your brains to figure out how to divide a piece of cake!
However, as the Covenant fleet gradually deepened its investigation, excavation and exploration, they suddenly discovered that the Lord they believed in actually had an illegitimate child.

Even that illegitimate child of BYD is a designated "recycler" who can easily inherit the relics of the previous civilization and directly access the Shield World.

This is equivalent to the Star Alliance discovering a large safe filled with countless banknotes and gold, and as long as it is opened, civilization will take off.

It turns out that this safe not only has a secret lock that is extremely difficult to open, but also has remnants of disgusting things like the Flood and the Templar Defender.

This made the Star Alliance, who regarded the Forerunners as gods, lose their defense on the spot, so they sent the scientific expedition team to pry open the old man's safe.

On the one hand, he is organizing an expeditionary force and preparing to go to the colonies of human civilization and kill one by one the illegitimate sons who are fighting with him for the family property. The treasures of the Forerunner's ruins can only belong to the Covenant!
After all, the Covenant has been offering sacrifices to the Forerunners for so many years that they are just short of tattooing the images of the Forerunners on their own underwear to pray for blessings.

In the end, the forerunners actually left their legacy to wild monkeys that appeared from nowhere. Who can accept this? If they don’t, all human civilization will be destroyed. How could they survive!
Here, the commander-in-chief of the Covenant fleet felt distressed for a moment as he looked at the returning members of the advance team.

Because the flood demons on the ground were extremely difficult for them to deal with, he originally planned to send troops to wipe them out.

But the religious fanatics within the fleet, perhaps because they had taken the wrong medicine and gone mad, actually proposed the incredible idea of ​​opening up the shield world by offering sacrifices to the Flood and gaining the Lord's approval.

These crazy people used their own flesh and blood to feed the Flood, which directly caused the Flood on the ground to quickly transition from the first stage to the second stage.

If they continue to give away their heads voluntarily and perform sacrificial acts to aid the enemy, I'm afraid the third-stage corpse-brain beasts will be fed to them!
Now, not only has the switch to enter the interior of the Shield World not been found on the surface, but the number of Flood Zerg is increasing, and there is even a tendency for it to flood.

If they continue like this, their scientific research mission will be doomed!
"Forget it, I'll just consider it my bad luck to run into a bunch of guys who are getting in the way. Let's reorganize the troops and go down to wipe out the flood!"

Just when the commander of the Covenant decided to reorganize the soldiers and go down again to eliminate the insects, the surface of the shield world began to crack, and the sudden strong gravity was dragging the fleet in.

At this moment, inside the bridge of the CCS-class flagship, the Covenant fleet executives near the center console were looking at the shocking changes before their eyes in amazement.

These people are two meters three meters tall, with naturally curved spines, but are quite strong, have gray-brown skin, and pupils that change color according to the intensity of light. They are one of the core races in the Covenant - the Sangheili.

Of course, they also have a separate racial name, which is the elite!
The elite civilized race can be considered as the founding members of the cosmic organization, the Star Covenant.

The original Covenant was composed of the Prophet civilization and the Sangheili civilization, that is, the elites.

This pair of brothers are typical representatives of one civil and one military. As can be seen from their names, the Prophet Civilization has a better brain.

They know that the world of martial arts is not about fighting and killing, but about star destroyers and powerful technological points.

This visionary prophet, relying on his superb tomb-robbing skills, dug out many "carefully selected items" left by the pioneers' ancestors from the tombs of the pioneers.

Just when the elite civilization was beating up a bunch of neighbors with their military force, the prophet quietly took out a jaw-dropping starship + light spear cannon.

In this way, relying on the technology of the Forerunners, the Prophet Civilization, as the boss of the Star Alliance, took the first step in forming gangs with its elite subordinates.

Along the way, the Prophet obtained a lot of weapons and equipment from the Forerunners through reverse engineering, and the Elites used this batch of munitions to defeat most of the races in the universe's civilization.

The boars, jackals, hunters, and Brute civilizations were all minions who were beaten into submission by the elites, but under the combination of sticks and carrots, they also converted to religion and joined the Covenant.

It has to be admitted that the warriors of the Sangheili civilization are extremely strong in terms of physical fitness, combat skills, and desire to attack.

The entire civilization is like a Noxian, thinking only of "Fighting! Fun" all day long, and they can often fight against more than one person without losing.

So to some extent, the Covenant members who were defeated and convinced by the Sangheili civilization actually admire the Sangheili more. After all, being strong is awesome!
But they cannot withstand the intellectuals of the Prophet Civilization, who control the truth, technological power, and can break through all obstacles. Usually, these members of the Star Alliance have to obey the orders of the Prophet's top leaders.

Although the Sangheili civilization was very difficult to defeat, their brains were not very useful, which limited them from making further progress, causing them and other members of the Covenant to be fooled by the Prophet's high-level officials.

The Prophet's high-ranking officials who learned the truth told the members of the Covenant that all humans were heretics who blasphemed the Forerunners. These damned bugs needed to be purified. Only in this way could the wrath of the great gods - the Forerunners - be appeased.

Therefore, most members of the Covenant are completely unaware that humans are the chosen ones designated by the Forerunners.

It is very important for the prophets to maintain this huge lie.

After all, within the Star Alliance, there are actually quite a few members who are crazy about protecting and worshipping the Forerunner civilization, if they really knew that humans are the "Sons of God".

There is no guarantee that they will turn their guns around and kill the prophet who is digging up relics everywhere in the name of a pioneer.

At this time, a Sangheili helmsman sitting in the core area of ​​the center console turned his head and looked at the commander, shouting in the Sangheili language:

"Report to the commander, we have lost control of the ship, and the same is true for other ships."

"The unknown gravitational field that suddenly appeared on the ground of the Shield World is pulling us in. Even if all the engines are started, we can't escape. What should we do now!"

Seeing the long-silent shield world suddenly open up with a huge crack, pulling his own fleet in, the elite commander was completely stunned.

It also doesn't know what happened that caused the shield world to suddenly open.

"Could it be that the religious fanatics' sacrifices worked? But isn't this a bit too hasty...! "

After thinking carefully for a moment, the commander raised his hand to signal the crew not to panic. He looked at the real-time dynamics displayed on the center console and continued:

"Notify the other ships immediately and have them shut down their engines, stop escaping, and just stay still."

Since there is no way to escape the gravitational field of the Shield World, just let yourself be pulled in by the gravity. Maybe you can turn a disaster into a blessing and successfully enter the interior of the Shield World.

"Ah? This... obey your command!"

After hesitating for a moment, the helmsman below chose to obey the commander's order unconditionally, stopped the engine's driving state, and notified the helmsmen of other ships to do the same.

(End of this chapter)