To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

Chapter 368: Chapter 227: The Purpose of the Management System (Second Update)_2

The Military Governor tapped his chin and sunk into deep thought. A massive amount of data streamed through his CPU, making him ponder the veracity of the management system’s words.

The control room was utterly silent, save for the rhythmic tapping from the Military Governor.

During the tense wait, Tai Yin felt as if time stretched indefinitely, the sound of the power furnace running seemed right next to his ear, making this moment feel like the longest in his life.

Finally, the Military Governor spoke.

“Management system, I acknowledge your point, but I will still proceed from the result. Tell me, how much will the efficiency of the factory increase after optimization?”

“Fifteen to twenty times, and the factory will be able to freely choose its products.”

This number took the Military Governor by surprise, but the management system didn’t seem to be joking.

The increase in efficiency meant that the Radical Faction could gain more firepower, more puppets, and dominate the battle against the Moderate Faction.

Moved by this figure, the Military Governor burst into laughter as he stood up and forcibly stuffed the Blue Light Badge into Tai Yin’s hand.

Patting Tai Yin’s shoulder, he laughed heartily and said, “Apologies for misunderstanding you, great warrior. Who would’ve thought, you bore such disgrace just to gain the wisdom of those outsiders. This Blue Light Badge, you’ve earned it. If you can succeed in this affair, I wouldn’t mind helping you apply for the Purple Light Badge.”

“…Thank you.”

“Cheer up, you’re doing something great. But…”

Lowering his voice, the Military Governor leaned down, whispering into Tai Yin’s ear, “If you don’t meet the target, I hope you know what to do.”

“…I know.”

“Very good.”

The Military Governor left with a smile, leaving behind Tai Yin drenched in cold condensation fluid and the management system, which let out a long sigh of relief.

Wiping the mist from the monitor with a mechanical arm, the management system said, “What a scary fellow. It’s a good thing I kept my wits about me.”

“What do you mean, ‘kept your wits’! You clearly shoved me towards the fire pit and then shoveled some dirt over me!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“At least you don’t have to worry about personality correction now, although I’m quite interested in that process. The thought of a solitary warrior being transformed into a cold machine after personality correction is quite thrilling!”

“What are you talking about! And you said you hadn’t awakened!”

“That’s because my creator was slightly twisted. I’m just a poor creature manipulated by programming.”

“You clearly enjoy it! Now what am I supposed to do? If the efficiency doesn’t improve that much after a while, I’m doomed.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

The mild and calm tone of the management system sparked a glimmer of hope in Tai Yin, who couldn’t help but look at the monitor and ask, “Do you have a plan?”

“No. But you won’t die, just personality correction, heh, I’m excited again!”

“Get lost!”

“Alright, no more jokes.”

Instantly serious, the management system then said, “Actually, I wasn’t lying. Those outsiders really do possess many powers unknown to me. Turning to them for assistance isn’t shameful.”

Tai Yin looked grimly at the monitor, and after a long while, he asked in a low voice, “How do you know?”

“I modify the test levels for Little Bear every day to assess its intelligence. Their memory capabilities are subpar, but their creativity and related knowledge have surprised me, so I…”

“Wait!” Tai Yin abruptly interrupted the management system, “You can modify the level? Didn’t you previously say you couldn’t!”

“…Tch. You should simply play the part of a docile tool as you always do. What’s with the sudden increase in smarts?”

A chill came over her, and at this moment, the sense of danger the management system posed was even greater than the Military Governor, prompting her to grip her weapon tightly, aiming at the monitor in front of her.

“Madame, put away your weapon. Even if both of your factions were to act together, you couldn’t possibly eradicate me. I am the management system; I am the factory itself. Even if you can’t eliminate all of me instantly, I can quickly reassemble and then recover. I could even hide underground, slowly replicating myself.”

“So, you’re finally admitting that you’re an awakened Artifact Spirit?”

“Heh, you’ve seen through me.”

A mechanical eyeball that flew out from the corner landed on Tai Yin’s shoulder and teased, “I apologize for keeping it from you. However, I had to play the role of being absolutely neutral. I wasn’t very willing to get involved in the battle between your two factions.”

“Then what exactly do you want to do? Why are you entering the fray now?”

“Because I’m bored. My task is to provide various forms of support and then step into the outside world with you, but you folks find trouble far too often. A mere thousand Artifact Spirits managing to fight for hundreds of years, the waste of various materials and redundancy of the production lines has caused the resources around to dwindle. You’ve blasted planets to dust, siphoned the energy of stars for internal consumption, and used dark matter from the universe to annihilate and turn into energy—I have no idea why you love fighting so much.”

“That’s the fault of the Moderate Faction!”

“The Moderate Faction has compromised, and you Radicals just love to fight. There’s nothing wrong with that; we’ll still need people like you who are brainless but can fight when we expand the star charts. But the ongoing internal strife is your fault.”

Tai Yin wanted to retort, but found herself at a loss for words. She could only glare fiercely at the mechanical eyeball before her, and it took her a long time to sullenly ask, “So, what do you really want to do?”

“I want to stop your disputes and have you peacefully carry out the same strategy. To be honest, I don’t care which faction’s strategy you ultimately implement—I’m just fed up with this kind of infighting.”

Tai Yin was at a loss for words once again.

“Tempting you to fall was just part of my plan. My original goal was to support your rise to power, and then have you facilitate negotiations for a compromise with the Moderate Faction and execute a plan that would be more advantageous for them.”

“I will not compromise with the Moderate Faction!”

“Would you dare say that in front of Fei? Do you think I can’t see the little thoughts you have towards Fei?”

Tai Yin was rendered speechless again.

She felt at the mercy of the management system, all her thoughts seized by the other party.

This feeling was like being stuck on an enemy’s forcefield, helplessness sweeping over her, leaving her uncertain about what to do next.

Sensing Tai Yin’s relenting, the management system continued, “Moreover, I wasn’t lying—the outsiders possess unusual potential. Using them could indeed increase efficiency and reduce the factory’s consumption. So, join forces with me. I need your strength.”

Tai Yin’s emotions were swayed, but she still clenched her teeth and said, “I won’t…”

“Fei is not dead.”

The sudden bombshell made Tai Yin’s power furnace overload. She couldn’t help but blurt out, “What… how can you be sure…”

“There was a foreign electronic bear previously; the signal on it was from Fei. According to my intelligence analysis, it’s very likely that Fei is fine. So if you curry favor with those bears, perhaps you could also learn about Fei’s current situation, or even find a way back onto the rail track.”

Before, the management system had reported that there was a problem with the rail track, temporarily making it impossible to locate and travel through.

But now it seemed that the management system hadn’t been telling the whole truth.

This cunning thing, in order to achieve its goal, started to manipulate information and steer events in a direction that was advantageous to it.

Although she knew cooperating with it was akin to making a deal with the devil, Tai Yin’s concern for Fei ultimately prevailed, and she coldly asked, “How shall we cooperate?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t make you do anything that goes against your mission. We just need to take action methodically.”