Starting as a Mechanical Hunter

Chapter 316: Chapter 89: The Mad Host

In the carbon-based civilization, there is a classic saying—life is a form, not a material. The more ’living’ materials we implant, the more instances we can accumulate of ’life as it might exist’.

Yagami Suuji looked at a large tree before her, more of an organism than a tree. Its leaves resembled the human prefrontal cortex, its tree veins like human neural circuits, the fruit filled with a milky substance, and the tree crown was an umbrella-like neural network.

At this moment, the treetop grew visibly in all directions, intertwining with the branches and leaves of other trees.

A slight noise sounded from behind. Yagami Suuji jumped up fiercely, flipped over without turning her head, and with an explosive sound, the upper half of a biochemical monster burst open directly.

The milky substance splattered everywhere.

She recognized this monster, known as the ’Brain Pulp Experimental Body,’ a product of Life Technology. The research goal was to test whether ordinary people could break through the limits of ’human brain’s computational power’ through stimulation.

Obviously, the project failed, and these brain pulp experiments were repurposed, transferred here. Among all the biochemical monsters, its power was the weakest, but it had one unique characteristic: it could invade and control the weapon systems on this island like Artificial Intelligence.

If its body is not found soon, its threat will grow larger and eventually astonish you completely.

In a sense, it’s also an Artificial Intelligence, but a biological AI.

Clearly, these large trees are its creations.

’Captain Suzi, please leave here as soon as possible. I can sense that your neural conduction speed, cell division speed, and organic compound decomposition speed are all increasing to varying degrees.’

”What happens if they increase?”

”Assimilation,” said Miss Ke.

Yagami Suuji nodded. In the next moment, most of the chemical reactions in her body stopped.

”Assimilation canceled 75%.”

”How much of the Deep Net is open?”

”Currently opened to 21%, confirmed to be fully open in eight minutes.”

”Then what’s going on?”

”What can be confirmed now is that there have been more than 600,000 chemical reactions here, and they are increasing at a very fast rate.”

Yagami Suuji took a step and, within a few breaths, rushed out of this ’forest’, according to the map in her mind, this was the firepower zone in the Escapee Game.

When the lab’s lethal gas was released, participants would be driven to this firepower zone to face the next phase of challenges in the game.

However, what surprised this Captain of the Shell Attack Team was that the hidden mechanical weapons in various places were being shipped towards the center of the island under the ’conveyor belts’ function.

These ’conveyor belts’ need quotation marks because they are not mechanical conveyor belts, but biological conveyor belts.

The ground was covered in fleshy mats, each wave of flesh cresting higher than the last, flesh buds burrowing into these weapons, giving the feeling of an old lady knitting a sweater.

These conveyor belts are ’alive’ and are relaying to transport these weapons to the same place.

That’s the ’Danger Zone,’ housing some extremely powerful biochemical monsters. Even she herself must be very cautious entering it.

However, she seemed to see, perhaps it was an illusion, a huge arm being remolded in the ’Danger Zone’.

Various models of armed electromagnetic cannons, plasma warheads, including laser defense systems, were being ’implanted’ into this arm.

Being the most popular TV show globally, the Escapee Game is not only well-funded but also holds the world’s highest ratings. Some military contractors are also willing to use this show to advertise their new weapons.

For instance, the chain particle cannons from the Tabor Defense System, the single soldier nanosuits from Marubeni Global Security, or the recently emerging Mas Sharpness with their developed cutting laser net.

These pieces of equipment are constantly ’in motion’, seemingly eager to combine.

After watching for a full minute, Yagami Suuji finally took a deep breath and said:

”Miss Ke, how much of the Deep Net is open?”

”37%.”

...

”Big news! Big news!!!”

In a Level 7 Flying Device, Bird Morgans was staring wide-eyed at the fog-covered island, eager to dive headfirst into this holographic screen for a live broadcast.

As a famous host, Bird Morgans managed to climb the fiercely competitive career ladder not because he was the chairman’s son but entirely because he’s bold and shameless enough.

What others dared not broadcast, he dared to broadcast.

What others dared not approach, he dared to be the first.

For example, he once hired a cyber hacker to hack into the system of the famous idol Aidoru, uncovering the code of her underwear and confirming the color of her panties.

Rainbow-colored!

Or, to verify the new attack type of the ’Mr. Great Tree’ model developed by one of the six major bionic groups, ’Companion Bionics’, he personally experienced it in the program, though later sent to the hospital for a major rectal hemorrhage. But he successfully proved that this prosthetic had substantial room for improvement and was not as perfect as advertised.

That episode’s ratings went through the roof.

A few days later, Bird Morgans casually walked out of the hospital, fitted with a complimentary bionic butt from ’Companion Bionics’.

Now, with the world’s number one show suddenly interrupted, Bird Morgans knows his chance has come!!

”Mr. Bird, I have the obligation to warn you, since a cyber hacker has hacked this program, they wouldn’t mind hacking into your brain. Even with the highest level of electronic defense wall installed, against hackers of this caliber, your mortality rate is 86%. According to our Red Lotus Security Company’s terms, any accident caused by the employer themselves...”

”These are all minor issues!”

Bird eagerly performed a few chest-expansion exercises, then chuckled, sidling up next to the cold-faced bodyguard lady.

”Miss Gaelder, did you wear it today?”

”Wearing it, rainbow-colored, the same style as Idol Aidoru, exactly as required in the contract.”

Miss Gaelder nodded calmly, then backhanded a slap, sending the perverted host sprawling on the ground.

”According to the fourteenth clause of our contract, when the employer asks questions involving privacy, the bodyguard has the right to massage the employer’s face.”

”Refreshing!!!”

Mr. Bird jumped up with a swollen face and laughed heartily, ”Onboard AI, open the channel for me, I want to host the show!”

In an instant, a dozen drone cameras surrounded him.

Meanwhile, on the holographic screen, various stats popped up, such as ratings, live viewers, voice bullet comments, emotional projections, etc.

Soon, streams of bullet comments emerged, swirling rapidly around Bird’s body.

’Hahaha, did Bird get beaten up by the bodyguard again.’

’I want to see Miss Sniper, scram, you anal rupture guy!’

’Ahhh, I want to be the bodyguard’s dog and share a bowl with Bird.’

’Bird, got any big scoop today?’

As a super-rich heir, Bird’s show is popular because he’s entertainingly silly. Faced with these intimate greetings from the audience, and even when holographic comments slipped into his pants, he wasn’t angry. He shook his pants, shaking out those ’ah, I’m dirty now,’ ’ah, I’m yellowed’ comments, and got straight to the point:

”I’m currently at the preliminary event location of the Escapee Game.”

”Currently, the global positioning system can no longer find this island.”

”So, I came!”

The bullet comments rose exponentially.

’Whoa, close the screen quickly, we’re about to get hacked in our brains.’

’My roommate just got sent off by an ambulance, Bird, you also want to ship me off?’

’Help, I don’t want to have my memory erased. I haven’t backed up my memory yet, can I still do it now?’

’It’s too late, unless you transfer me a million Mechanic Tokens and I’ll handle it for you personally.’

Mr. Bird looked composed, even though the content of the bullet comments all shouted ’run,’ the viewership was steadily climbing.

The bodyguard glanced sideways, sneering, a bunch of idiots courting death.

”Let’s not talk much, as we can see now, the island is shrouded in a strange white mist, this mist might be the key to the failure of the global surveillance system!”

”Let’s get closer and see what happens!?”

The flying device gradually sank, a man and a woman exchanged glances, simultaneously feeling difficulty breathing, a sensation like being submerged in a sealed water tank.

”Cough, cough, currently we can see that this mist seems to be a biological virus, although my family’s ancestral flying device has an air circulatory system, we can’t confirm whether this virus has infiltrated. Speaking of which, Miss Gaelder, due to the virus, do you have any mating urges now?”

The bodyguard’s eyes snapped open, and she threw Bird to the ground with a thud.

Bird was both shocked and delighted, ”Really? In front of so many people!?”

”Idiot! Look above your head!!”

Bird looked up, only to see a bowl-sized hole suddenly appearing, with surface scorching caused by high temperature.

Before he could say anything, a cold mechanical voice sounded.

’Area 8-14-135 is in the ’data takeover zone,’ any unmarked artificial data must leave, otherwise you will be expelled by the Decepticon Corps!’

’Whoa! Mother City Corps!!!’

’Bird, run quickly, or else your dad will replace you with a clone!’

’Clones are so boring, I still like your defiant look when you had an anal rupture.’

”Why run!!!” Bird pushed the bodyguard aside, jumped directly into the cockpit, then pulled the lever, and the flying device dashed into the mist.

Bird laughed heartily:

”What could be more thrilling than this!? Let’s see what’s on the island that even Cybertron has dispatched the Mechanical Legion!”

Seconds later, countless alarm sounds rang.

’Biochemical reaction detected on the flank, biochemical reaction detected on the flank.’

’Main nozzle loss 12%, 13%, 14%, 15%... numerous blockages appearing.’

’Weapon system malfunctioning, weapon system malfunctioning.’

However, neither of them, nor the audience, had time to care about that.

Because a creature as enormous as the island was struggling to rise, and the flying device’s weapon system, a coffin-sized weapon pod, got stuck just right on its knee, completing its final piece.

Coincidentally, as this giant creature rose from the ground, the flying device fell from the sky, embedding into its palm like a toy plane.

At the same time, in Nightless City, Idol Aidoru looked worriedly at Gao Gong.

At this time, Gao Gong looked like a dried-up human jerky for decades, all vitality gone except for skin and bones.

As Bird gradually rose with the ’Five Finger Mountain,’ he stared dumbfounded at this gigantic monster stepping into the sea.

”What the hell is this thing!?”