northernbook Chapter 600: Starting with the Rehabilitation Agency
Chapter 600: Starting with the Rehabilitation Agency
Jade carefully placed the notes her mother had left behind into her bag, then slung Jeberlele's axe over her shoulder.
Xu Ning and Tirzad exchanged a glance, and in an instant, they both understood Jade's resolve.
"When I was little, I saw other children with mothers, so I asked my dad, 'Where is my mother?'"
Jade removed the tear-soaked red silk from her eyes and tied a new one over them.
“Dad said that Mother was waiting for us in the distant Eternal Oasis, and that one day he would take me there to meet her. I thought that when I came back this time, he would take me to find her, but he lied to me and slept here with Mother.”
Jade patted her bag and axe and smiled, "My father rarely broke his promise in his life. Although I sometimes secretly laugh at him, I still want him to be the father who always keeps his word. I will take their belongings to find the Eternal Oasis and fulfill their long-cherished wish there."
Xu Ning lifted the gourd, took a sip of wine, frowned, and turned to look at the vast desert.
“The Eternal Oasis certainly exists, but it’s definitely not easy to find. This is your first time in the desert, and just surviving here will take up a tremendous amount of energy. It would be better to…”
Jade declined Xu Ning's offer again, shaking her head slightly and saying, "My mother's notes mention that my father came from a tribe called 'Tanite.' I want to go find Tanite and hope that the people there can tell me something about my father's past."
Seeing that Jade was determined, Xu Ning and Tirzad stopped trying to persuade her.
Xu Ning instructed Jade, "I remember that Tirzad and the others contacted the caravan through the Nightingale, right? These little creatures that can deliver messages are very useful. If you have the chance, you can raise one. No matter what difficulties you encounter, whether it's Aru Village, the Grand Bazaar, or the Faith Academy, you can send a message to them. I can find you as soon as I receive the message."
Jade forced a smile, seemingly wanting to reassure Xu Ning, but ultimately couldn't hold back her tears and burst into tears again, then rushed over and hugged Belial tightly.
"Thank you for coming, my friends, I... I really will miss you all..."
Xu Ning stared at the somewhat dazed Belial, then awkwardly lowered his outstretched arms.
I'm not going to part with you, my little lily!
Jade wiped away her tears, gave Xu Ning a quick hug, and then turned away with Benben.
Tirzad, standing to the side, raised his hand blankly. "Uh, goodbye... then."
Xu Ning patted the guy on the shoulder reassuringly, "Let's go, I'll take you back to the Order Academy. I happen to have some business to discuss with Lord Little Grass God there."
After these few days of contact with Xu Ning, Tirzad no longer dared to treat him as an ordinary mercenary or adventurer as he had when they first met.
There was absolutely no doubt about the fact that Xu Ning could easily meet the Little Grass God.
“Of course, no problem. But before we return to the Order of the Church, could we stop at Aru Village for a while? I need to change the status of my original commission there so that Nahtigar and the others can hand over the task and take on the next one.”
Xu Ning naturally had no objections. Together with Belial, they carried Tirzad down the rock wall and headed towards the teleportation anchor point.
How's your paper coming along?
When the paper was mentioned, Tirzad immediately became excited.
"The writing couldn't have gone more smoothly. In the end, I decided to use Benben as the final means of rehabilitation to write this thesis..."
"What organization?" Xu Ning was completely bewildered by this new term.
"Regeneration mechanism! The meaning of 'regeneration' actually has two layers: rebirth and resurrection, and the attainment of life. This was actually a very old research project in the Faculty of Religion, but it was later stopped..."
Xu Ning couldn't help but interrupt Tirzad, "Although I don't understand your Council of the Order's mechanism very well, since this research topic has already been suspended, I'm afraid no one will dare to approve it if you present it as a thesis!"
“Ha,” Tirzad patted Xu Ning on the shoulder excitedly, “You really are something, so you thought of that too.”
"That's certainly a possibility. After all, a long time ago, the scholars who studied this topic went astray, which led to the abolition of this experiment. After witnessing the array mechanism under the Red King Technology, they believed that they and others could also create a 'new and useful' mechanical life form that could help people conquer nature."
Xu Ning recalled the small pile of guardian cores in his Hidden Dust Cave, "Have they finished building them yet?"
Tirzad shook his head. "How could it be so easy? The Regeneration Agency isn't just a machine that operates on commands; it's a machine that has self-awareness and can modify or iterate itself according to its own or the environment's requirements..."
"The scholars of that time created machines that were simply command executors. No matter how the modules were changed, they were still essentially accepting and executing human commands and could not have autonomous consciousness like humans or other living beings."
"In the end, they had to go on a crazy, unrestrained dissection of living creatures in an attempt to find the key difference between mechanical and natural life. Due to the extreme cruelty of their actions, the Council of Fathers had to stop their research on mechanical life."
Xu Ning nodded after hearing Tirzad's words and said, "In that case, Benben almost meets all the requirements of mechanical life."
Tirzad laughed, "Of course, otherwise why would I dare to take such a risk? No matter what questions the teachers of the Faculty of Orders raise, they can't avoid the fact that we already have Benben as a clear example. It's a pity that Jade won't lend it to me temporarily..."
Xu Ning shook his head. Even if I gave it to you, would you be able to understand what Benben wants to do?
As they approached the teleportation anchor point near the oasis, Xu Ning, Belial, and Tirzad held hands, preparing to leave. Suddenly, three figures—one in gold, one in white, and one in blue—appeared from the teleportation anchor point.
"Eh?"
The white figure is Little White Hair, and the golden one is naturally Empty.
The two little ones were delighted to see Xu Ning standing beside them as soon as they came out.
"You big drunkard!"
"Brother Xu!"
Xu Ning was surprised to see the two of them at this time, which was a pleasant surprise, since they almost missed each other.
"It's been days, and you're only now thinking of helping your Brother Xu? I've already finished everything on my end!"
Xu Ning patted Kong's shoulder forcefully and joked.
Kong waved his hand and said, "I delivered Nahtigar to Bonifaz that day and received my payment. However, I encountered Tinari and some unexpected situations arose, which is why it has been delayed for so many days... But it's great to meet Brother Xu here. After all, only you can easily solve problems that we can't solve."
Xu Ning waved his hand and laughed, "Don't flatter your brother Xu right away. What can't you solve?"
Kong smiled sheepishly and explained, "It all started with a rehabilitation machine we encountered..."
The moment the words "Regeneration Agency" were uttered, not only was Xu Ning surprised, but Tirzad behind him was even more shocked.
"What rehabilitation mechanism? Where did you hear about this? How can you be sure that it really is a rehabilitation mechanism? You...you? Farusan?"
Tirzad rushed out intending to question Kong, but after only a few words, he suddenly saw the girl in the light blue dress behind Kong and Paimon and couldn't help but call out her name.
But to Xu Ning, the sound really resembled a scream, and she couldn't understand why Tirzad was so afraid of seeing her.
Upon hearing Tirzad's scream, the girl named Farusan narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side.
"Huh? What? Old age, can't hear."
Tirzad immediately changed his tune, timidly calling out again, "Ahem, Senior Farusan, what brings you here too?"
Farusan heard this immediately and spread her hands, "I was asked to do this by the younger generation. Even though I'm old and frail, I still have to care about the younger generation."
Tirzad hurriedly replied, "Of course, of course! This young man just mentioned a rehabilitation agency?"
Farusan waved her hand, "Something created by a junior's junior should have developed its own consciousness, but it's almost dead. We're just about to try our luck and find a replacement for it."