A towering bronze wall, embedded with gears and pipes, stood before Samael. It stretched endlessly upward and downward, extending infinitely to the left and right.
The bronze metal parts, etched with ancient textures and mottled with blue-grey rust, interlocked and supported each other in complex formations to construct an impossibly colossal machine.
It was an ancient Relic, a world, a peerless... machine.
Pale blue arcs of light flickered across the intricate mechanical patterns, and a virtual, deep cyan screen suddenly lit up:
[Detected Work Unit Type III. Space Type. No oxygen or thermal insulation required. Suitable for extreme environments and deep space.]
[Detected intelligent consciousness piloting the unit.]
[Activating...]
[Extraterrestrial Underground Colony Construction System, activated.]
[Identity verification... Failed.]
[Secondary identity verification... Failed.]
[Tertiary identity verification... Failed.]
[Unknown user. Privilege Level 0.]
[Only Level 0 Tech Tree available. Tech Level 1 and above locked.]
[Level 0 Tech Description: Assists in alien survival, manufacturing necessary weapons and production tools, processing, building basic living facilities, and constructing underground ecosystems.]
[The sea of stars is vast. This system will assist you in surviving on deep space alien planets and building an underground oasis. Good luck.]
Samael lowered his head and looked at his cast-metal armored hands. He suddenly remembered something, sensed something—but in the next second, he heard a voice.
"Samael?"
He woke up from the dream with a start. Talia’s steel-grey eyes were right in front of him.
"Samael? Samael?" Talia shook him. "Are you still there? You... you don’t have eyes, or a breath, or a pulse, or anything like that. When you didn’t answer me, I thought you’d been banished—maybe your Undead possession wasn’t sticking tight enough and you fell out of the armor or something..."
"I’m fine... I just accidentally fell asleep." Samael pushed himself up from the ground. "I had a... weird dream."
Talia had been trekking alone in search of ancient Relics for a long time and was utterly exhausted last night. The two of them had rested on the dimly lit floor of the Relic overnight and had just woken up.
"So ghosts can sleep too?" Talia asked. "The ghosts I’ve seen before never sleep, nor do they have any self-awareness. You’re so special."
"This is the first time something other than a scam ad or a fake personality test has told me I’m special..." Samael quipped habitually.
He fell deep into thought.
He thought, "Extraterrestrial Underground Colony? Underground City?"
He looked down at his armored hands, and a phantom cyan screen suddenly lit up before him.
[Unit Model: Space Type III]
[Unit Status: 79% functional, lightly damaged]
[Scanning...]
[Remaining Energy: 63% (Ambient free heat detected. Automatically absorbing heat to recharge.)]
[Power Skeleton: Good]
[Component Communication: Good]
[Joint Adhesion: Average (Prone to loosening upon impact)]
[Level 0 Tech Tree unlocked]
[Missing Tech Blueprints detected. Please proceed immediately to the nearest Extraterrestrial Underground Colony database to reset the Tech Blueprints. Alternatively, scan technological products, collect environmental data, analyze, and manually complete the Tech Blueprints.]
[Searching Level 0 Artificial Biological Blueprints...]
[Slime Organism, Primal Fungi, Symbiotic Plant Type 1, Symbiotic Plant Type 2, @Missing Entry@, Symbiotic Plant Type 4, Fluorescent Fungi, Nitrifying Bacteria, @Missing Entry@...]
[Material database empty. Level 3 Tech "Artificial Incubation Pod" locked. Temporarily unable to manufacture.]
[Searching Level 0 Tech Blueprints...]
[Primary Classification: Basic Energetics, Basic Matter Phase Transitions, Basic Dynamics, Basic Material Science, Basic Colony Management, Basic Medical Science, Basic Chemical Engineering, Basic Spiritual Energy Science, @Missing Entry@, Basic Automation, Artificial Biology, Xenobiology, Asteroid Survival Guide...]
[Missing Tech Blueprints detected. Please proceed immediately to the nearest Extraterrestrial Underground Colony database to reset the Tech Blueprints. Alternatively, scan technological products, collect environmental data, analyze, and manually complete the Tech Blueprints.]
[Scanning auxiliary components:]
[Scanner ready.]
[Logic Analyzer and Oscilloscope ready.]
An impossibly complex array of entries popped up rapidly, mixed with waveforms and analytical logs, resembling a massive maze of data. Thousands of dense files and pieces of information unfolded before Samael in encrypted or semi-encrypted formats.
In a daze, he felt transported back to his high school days years ago, to the afternoon he first tried playing *Dwarf Fortress* and *Oxygen Not Included*. Staring at the countless rich information entries on the panel and the complex control UI that offered absolutely zero beginner guidance, he felt a brainstorming rush of excitement. It was like an experienced locksmith standing before countless locked treasure vaults.
Samael reviewed and analyzed the database contents and the tech tree item by item. The sheer volume of data was enormous. Even for a hardcore gamer like him—who used to calculate the heat exchange of engineering modules, total disposable energy yield, output power, and biological cycles in gaming worlds—it would take a long time to understand a single equipment entry and its operational methods.
Suddenly, he felt that dying inexplicably and reincarnating into another world as a living suit of armor, while a bit hard to swallow, wasn’t entirely unacceptable.
"Samael?" Talia asked tentatively. "What are you looking at?"
She reached out and waved her hand in front of him. Her fingers passed right through the illusory blue screen, but she saw nothing.
Only Samael could see the screen of the Extraterrestrial Underground Colony Construction System.
"It’s nothing," Samael said, closing the virtual screen in front of him. "I just think... we can definitely build an Underground City. And perhaps, this endeavor will be even greater and more magnificent than an Underground City."
He pondered for a moment.
"I once heard a saying: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic." He stood up from the ground and adjusted his helmet. "Maybe the same applies to this world."
He looked at Talia, subconsciously observing her closely. Information popped up on the side of his vision like a game UI, displaying the scan analysis results:
[Half-Blood Space Sub-Human]
[Parentage Analysis:]
[Human (Maternal), Space Sub-Human (Paternal)]
[Space Sub-Human Overview: A human subspecies with a specialized biological structure. Adaptable to prolonged darkness in space and alien environments, extreme temperatures, extremely high or low gravity, and ether radiation. Possesses enhanced sensory abilities and accelerated healing. Strength ranges from approximately 340% to 5300% of an augmented human. Spiritual Energy aptitude ranges from approximately 530% to 4700% of an augmented human. Natural Alien Pioneers. Some individuals experience occasional temporary adaptive evolution of organs, including anomalous height, scales, claws, horns, ears, skin color, and other traits. These traits are mutable and reversible.]
[Biological Structural Integrity: 99%]
[Stamina: 86%]
[Spiritual Energy Reserves: 97%]
[Age: 21]
[Status: Healthy, mildly hungry]
[Mood: Depressed]
[@Refreshing@]
[Mood: Displeased]
Samael froze for a moment. He thought, "Huh?"
"Did you use an [Appraisal] Magic on me?" Talia frowned, crossing her arms over her chest and taking two steps back. "It’s extremely rude to use [Appraisal] Magic on someone without their permission! That was way out of line!"
"Sorry, sorry! Honto ni sumimasen!" Samael gave a deep, hundred-and-eighty-degree bow, which sent his helmet flying off once again. It rolled far away with a series of loud CLANGS. "Ow! My head!"
Talia sighed.
"Hey, body, over here!" The helmet, having rolled into a corner, called out to the headless torso of the Knight Armor. "Over here, come here!"
The headless body groped around blindly and staggered forward a few steps.
"Right, keep coming, keep coming, forward, forward-forward-forward, stop!... Ow! You kicked me, you idiot!" Accompanied by a loud CLANG, the headless torso kicked the helmet, sending it flying far away yet again.
"Alright, let me do it." Talia bent down, picked up the helmet, and placed it back onto the neck of the headless torso. "Seeing you like this, I really don’t have much confidence in rebuilding the Underground City..."
"Don’t worry, Talia. We have to take things one step at a time." Samael held his helmet and secured the armor plates around his neck. "Are you hungry?"
"Uh... a little bit, I guess." Talia awkwardly turned her head away and put on her helmet to hide her face. However, the soft rumbling from her stomach indicated she was hungry enough to eat a horse.
"We’re in an underground Relic. Let’s figure out how to get back to the surface first and find some food while we’re at it," Samael planned. "As they say, an army marches on its stomach. We can’t do anything on an empty tank."
He closed the visor of his helmet to prevent the hollow inside from scaring anyone.
"Uh..." Talia hesitated. "Um, do you have any money on you? Divine Era Ancient Coins used by the Demon Race, or currency used by humans?"
"No." Samael stared blankly. "Why would you think I’d have money from this world on me... Wait a minute, you don’t have money?"
"I’ve been traveling around looking for Relics for two years. This is the last one. I spent all my money long ago during the journey," Talia answered in a muffled, quiet voice from beneath her helmet. "Actually, I never planned on leaving this Relic alive in the first place..."
"Don’t overthink it, Talia!" Samael interrupted her. "This world has adventurers and mercenaries, right? We can go be adventurers to make some money first. We can look around while we’re at it and find a good location for the Underground City we’re going to build!"
He took large strides, resolutely taking the lead as he marched toward the exit of the Holy Hall, leaving behind an optimistic and resilient silhouette.
Upon reaching the doorway, he turned back around.
"It’s a maze-like ruin out there—I don’t know the way." Samael said, "Um... could you lead the way?"
"...Let’s go. Follow me." Talia facepalmed. Dragging her heavy Hammer Spear, she took the lead and walked forward.