David felt his soul's sensitivity to Warp energy sharpen significantly. The Warp navigation that once felt slightly difficult and obscure was now as natural to him as moving his own limbs. With a single thought, his spiritual form traversed the crimson deserts of the Warp, stepped through the Forest of Bones, and appeared directly in the center of the Earth-Moon orbit, gazing at the celestial body that always kept one face turned toward Earth.
"Still a bit difficult. It seems I'll need to reach Psionic Level 4 to fully undertake a lunar expedition on my own strength, without relying on the system's power," David thought.
Looking at his system interface with only 11 points remaining, David shook his head and decided not to consume points to reach the moon. Instead, he returned to his physical body.
"Consume ten points to perform a targeted salvage."
David stared at the words [Abominable Intelligence (Partially Unstable)] in his equipment slot.
[Please enter keyword]
Looking at the input box on the small black boat, David pondered for a moment.
[Anti-Artificial Intelligence]
Ten points only allowed for one keyword. After several attempts, David gave up trying to cram too much conflicting information into a single input box.
Having received a precise command, the small boat—once sluggish—set sail with incredible speed. The moment the gilded boat, now mostly patched of its leaks, cast its net...
"Holy crap!"
David let out a rare exclamation. He watched as a sea of blue fish, mixed with a large amount of purple and even a few streaks of gold, swarmed toward the net. When the net was hauled back, David looked with satisfaction at the three struggling fish: two purple and one blue.
[Warp Energy (10/30)]
[Nanoviral Cells]
[Digital Demon (Scrapcode)]
Aside from the Warp energy, the other two items were purple-quality technical and magical creations.
First was the Digital Demon. As a "Lore-Marine," David only vaguely recalled this being from some ancient, scrapped lore. The Digital Demon first appeared during the Martian Schism when fallen Tech-Priests converted to Chaos. They used Chaos Scrapcode to infect every nearby system and successfully breached the Vaults of Moravec, eventually leading to the Fabricator-General's fall to Chaos.
While this thing was likely one of the many dangerous entities created by the Emperor using the Warp, its lethality toward digital lifeforms was unquestionable. Moreover, as its name implied, a Digital Demon was not merely a string of dark code capable of corrupting mechanical bodies; it possessed incredible Warp power.
David clicked the details of the [Digital Demon]. As expected, one needed to simultaneously understand Scrapcode and reach Psionic Level 3 to fully control this fragment without being consumed by the backlash.
As for the [Nanoviral Cells], they originated from the weapons used by the Necrons, the race that once ruled the galaxy in Warhammer lore. The principle involved nanobots releasing infectious sentient plasma into mechanical bodies, recoding them to either enhance friendly units or destroy enemy machinery.
From the results, both technologies seemed sufficient as countermeasures should the Abominable Intelligence betray him. However...
David looked at the description of the [Digital Demon], his eyes flashing. "In addition to paralyzing precision machinery, it also possesses the ability to cause Warp corruption?"
David fell into thought. Sophon surveillance was everywhere. The only thing that could evade their eyes was the newly born Warp. Nanoviral cells might succeed or fail, but exposure was almost certain. This meant nanoviral cells could only be used against the Trisolarans once. They could then study countermeasures and launch them toward Earth with the next batch of Sophons.
But if it were the Warp...
David actually looked forward to the Trisolarans' reaction upon discovering the Warp. If they refused to study it, David could repeatedly use Warp technology for incomprehensible attacks. If they tried to explore the Warp...
"The Warp storm a hundred years from now is enough to swallow any race in this galaxy that dares to peer into that dark abyss."
Having reached this conclusion, David made his decision. His panel updated:
[Name: David | Race: Human]
[Class: Psyker]
[Psionic Level: Manifest Grade 3 (1/30)]
[Skills: Psionic Precognition / Astral Projection / Digital Demon (Scrapcode)]
[Equipment: Abominable Intelligence / Polymorphine]
[Remaining Warp Salvage Attempts: 1]
David extended his finger slightly into the void before him. Then, he whispered the Scrapcode.
In the next moment, every technological creation in the room let out a heavy groan. Followed by a visible spark that raced through the entire room, the lights abruptly went out. The room—no, the entire building—plunged into a deathly silence and darkness.
"The effect is a bit too good."
Although David retracted the Scrapcode as quickly as possible, he pushed open his door and saw the ceiling lights in the hallway flickering back on one by one. Without him swiping his ID card, the elevator opened automatically and pre-selected the floor for him.
"The entire building is now 'shaped' like the Digital Demon."
David took a deep breath. He had no doubt that the Digital Demon could affect the existence of Sophons.
"Now then—"
The elevator doors slid open to a sunlit lobby outside the glass revolving doors. Following the navigation sent by Yang Dong, David searched for nearby buses. The nearest stop was less than two hundred meters away.
He walked onto the street, bathing in the brilliant sunlight rare for Beijing. Luck was on his side today; just as he reached the stop, a bus numbered 109 pulled over.
Walking ahead of David was a young woman carrying a child. As two teenage girls dressed in JK uniforms—likely headed to an anime convention—passed by, the infant stared at these curiously dressed humans with wide eyes.
David checked the timetable on the bus wall. It was exactly 12:00 PM. Having missed the rush hour, there were plenty of empty seats. David chose a seat behind the young mother. The infant's vibrant energy brought a faint smile to David's face.
As the bus started, David leaned to the side. A breeze blew through the gap in the window, carrying the cool crispness of autumn. David gazed out at the heavy traffic beyond the glass.
White-collar workers out for lunch, laborers finding a shady spot for a nap, delivery riders on electric scooters, moving truck drivers...
Everything within sight was a scene of vibrant life. Perhaps society still had many flaws, but over time, it was at least becoming better. This was the world of humans, the civilization of humanity. They were still moving forward, striving with all their might for a future that was prosperous, fair, equal, and free.
No power had the ability to crush this rapidly rising race.
"Because I will crush them first," David thought.
"So, Sophon, where will you be?"
David withdrew his gaze. He opened his phone, sent an apology emoji to Yang Dong, and whispered softly to himself.