Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 528 - 521: 3D Reconnaissance Network

Chapter 528: Chapter 521: 3D Reconnaissance Network

Looking at the magic sphere in front of him, emitting noises like a little girl’s chatter, Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but think of a term - artificial intelligence. Of course, the intelligence of these little girls in front of him was too poor to bear the term intelligence, but they were quite similar to an advanced concept on Earth.

In the Halo series of video games, the Master Chief risks his life with an artificial intelligence. The AI he carries is presented in a way quite similar to these magic spheres. The Advance Team members fight with these magic spheres, just like how the Master Chief fights with his artificial intelligence, the two situations share an astonishing similarity.

Cheng Ziang even had such an idea; utilizing the high mobility and stealth of the Ghosts, they could easily scout ahead for the Advance Team and establish connections with various combat units.

Of course, such an idea seemed inhumane. These Ghosts in front of him were all test subjects of the Creating God Plan, all victims. Their objective was to destroy this plan and liberate them. If they forced them to work for the so-called AI loading just for their own benefit, then what would differentiate them from the Theron?

As he was pondering, a Magic Cluster swam curiously towards him and hovered around him. Although Luoya was not as scared as before, she was startled and clung tightly to Cheng Ziang.

"Wow, you’re so handsome, you..." The Magic Cluster chirped in front of Cheng Ziang, but suddenly it whipped backward, its tone becoming high, "You, you, you, you... You’re an Aud, wa!"

With that, it darted off like a shooting star towards the gathering place of the Magic Clusters, hiding behind Hu Daoke.

"Um, I..." Seeing that he had scared a little girl, Cheng Ziang was speechless. He reached out his hand to explain, but he didn’t know what to say.

"Don’t be afraid. He’s from the Otherworld too, he just looks like an Aud," Luo’er walked over, gently lifted up the Magic Cluster, and comforted her.

Because the soul repels foreign bodies, he couldn’t actually touch the Magic Cluster, but it floated up following his movement, maintaining a hover in his palm.

"Is that so?" The Magic Cluster asked, then slowly flew towards Cheng Ziang and carefully hovered around him.

"He’s right." Cheng Ziang shrugged, acknowledging Luo’er’s explanation.

"Are there people who look like Auds in your Otherworld?" The Magic Cluster asked doubtfully.

"Of course." Cheng Ziang nodded hastily.

"Hm... then I will believe you for now," The Magic Cluster said, continuing to circle around Cheng Ziang, returning to her adoring tone, "Wow, you are so handsome..."

Cheng Ziang shook his head helplessly. Now, he wasn’t afraid of these Ghosts anymore, and even started to like them. He had to admit, these chattering little girls were really cute.

The noise continued, and the number of Magic Clusters got increasingly numerous. Luo’er counted roughly, there were at least twenty, all whirling around the periphery of the Magic Array. If it wasn’t for their soundless voices, the noise would have long attracted the Theron’s attention.

The Magic Array that shaped Fulajie’er’s body seemed to have a visibility feature. Ghost Magic Clusters, which were usually not very conspicuous, became remarkably visible near the array.

In the dim light of the Magic Array, they could see the Magic Clusters twirling around, leaving behind long trails that distorted their line of sight. But Fulajie’er’s movements didn’t leave any trail, probably because her body was composed of mineral magic at this moment.

The Ghosts were chattering in front of Luo’er’s drawn map. Although it was noisy, the information they acquired was surprisingly efficient. The structure of each place, where passages lead to, where people might be, when they would leave, all these important intelligence were recorded by Luo’er amidst the commotion.

It seems that over the past twenty years or so, these unemployed ghosts could only roam around the Creating God Base, and they’ve thoroughly familiarized themselves with the area.

According to Fulajie’er, the Creating God Base is guarded by two different groups of people. The ones guarding the exterior are ordinary Theron, who know nothing about what is happening inside the base. At the same time, they are the ones who fear ghosts the most.

Within the base, an elite Theron force is stationed. These individuals are far more formidable than those outside, better equipped, and are very aware of their mission. These people are not afraid of ghosts at all. If the ghosts disturb them, they would arbitrarily select bodies that have not yet died to be burnt as a warning to other ghosts. Because of this, ordinary ghosts harbor great fear towards them, not daring to cause trouble in front of them.

Fortunately, although these individuals are relentless, they cannot see or feel the presence of ghosts. This elite Theron force is primarily comprised of pure Aud individuals, with no other mixed-race individuals amongst their ranks. As such, they are not aware that individuals of mixed Elf descent can detect the tracks of ghosts.

Understandably, Fulajie’er’s information dispelled Luo’er and Luoya’s ideas of infiltrating the Theron and penetrating the base. Since these two different groups guard the base, even if they were to join the Theron, they would likely only be able to join the exterior guards, with no opportunities to enter the base. The Theron inside the base are primarily pure Aud individuals, thus even if Luo’er and Luoya were to gain recognition, their Elf heritage would not be of use.

However, looking at the current situation, even if they don’t infiltrate the Theron, they have gathered sufficient information. These ghosts have actually been of great help, eliminating the need for them to take the risk of penetrating the base.

In terms of these ghosts, Luo’er also had a new idea. His idea was similar to Cheng Ziang’s, though not as inhumane. Since they needed to infiltrate the base to sabotage the plan and rescue the ghosts, they might as well form a command and information network to assist the Advance Team in completing their infiltration and assault mission.

According to Fulajie’er, ghosts are not influenced by Earth’s gravitational pull. Although they are constrained by their bodies and cannot stray too far, they can manage a few hundred meters, enough to form the most basic three-dimensional reconnaissance network.

"Well, since everyone is willing to help us, may I be so bold as to ask for your names?" Luo’er asked the Magic Clusters, a look of complication on his face.

"I’ll go first, I’ll go first, I’m Zoey!" A Magic Cluster excitedly bobbed in front of Luo’er, like a grade-schooler eagerly raising their hand in class.

"Ah, I was beaten to the punch, I’m Hana!" Another Magic Cluster rushed over, pushing Zoey aside.

"I’m Lily!"

"I’m Xierwei!"

"I’m... I don’t have a name."

"Well, then... I’ll help you choose one..." Luo’er said awkwardly.

The area became lively once more, with the ghosts chattering amongst themselves in small, excited voices. Luckily their voices couldn’t be heard by outsiders, or the Advance Team could have been surrounded by the Theron by now.

For ghosts to make sounds, they need to be within a certain distance from a human body. Only within this range can living souls resonate with the souls of ghosts, thereby hearing what they’re saying. Some ghosts have a strong Soul Domain, which easily covers a wide area and allows everyone within range to hear their voices. However, once people leave this area, outsiders can only hear the members of the Advance Team talking to themselves.

Therefore, in the past, when people heard ghosts speaking beside them, it was actually because the souls of the ghosts had already invaded the soul’s domain of the living, resulting in a resonance. Of course, living souls cannot speak since humans can simply use their throats to produce sounds. As for so-called inner thoughts, since they originate within a person’s body, ghosts cannot sneak in to eavesdrop, because they are repelled by any body other than their own and therefore cannot invade others to steal their thoughts.

Furthermore, because the souls of the living are stronger than those of ghosts, even if the body doesn’t repel them, the living soul within the body would expel an invading ghost’s soul.

As time went by, the magic supporting the Magic Array was gradually exhausted. The faint light emitted by the Array began to dim, and Fulajie’er’s body became increasingly transparent. She looked at her body, which she had regained after losing it, and let out a long sigh.