Yang Ming introduced Second Base as follows,
"This serves as both a production base and a future trade outpost. Subsequently, the number of Mechanical Thought Bodies here will remain controlled at three thousand, with a large influx of low-end artificial intelligence machinery to facilitate fully automated production.
"My plan is to station the finest Mechanical Thought Bodies here, equipped with unified prosthetic skin to allow them to integrate into human society.
"After all, the cognitive blueprint of these Mechanical Thought Bodies is based on mimicking human thought."
"Yes," the examiner chuckled, "in fact, they are more like an extension of individual human minds, just without the frail human body."
Yang Ming nodded slightly, smiling,
"I designed an entire logic structure with Lyu, and each area is equipped with a psychological counselor to prevent deviation of thought.
"Please browse through briefly. Once we construct the defense barrier and settle Hera, I will immediately take you to Base One."
"Hurry up with Lyu," the examiner urged, "I am eager to announce your assessment results, and the method I provided should be quite simple."
Lyu appeared nearby with a sarcastic comment, "It’s quite simple, using biological magnetic fields to manipulate particles in the microscopic world. Haven’t you considered that the technology I currently master might not meet such demands?"
"This," the examiner pondered, "is it very difficult? Have you spent the past few years only figuring out how to make yourself more adorable?"
Lyu pursed her lips tightly and vanished in a flash.
Yang Ming laughed and said, "She really is quite adorable."
The examiner shrugged.
Having grasped the examiner’s preferences, the subsequent assessment process became extraordinarily smooth.
Especially, when they arrived at Dark Star after half a day, both Dark City and the now sizable underground city amazed the examiner to no end.
The existence of Dark City ensured the logical coherence between Mechanical Thought Bodies and humans.
—The Thought Bodies born inside subconsciously believed they were human.
This steel city, built over an underground ocean, maintained activities of more than a hundred thousand machines daily, now able to provide hardware support for sixty thousand Mechanical Thought Bodies.
Although, to support the construction of Second Base, only a few thousand Thought Bodies resided here,
In case of emergencies, Dark City could swiftly mobilize an army of sixty thousand Mechanical Thought Bodies.
The underground ocean, inherently devoid of daylight, now shone with patches of light under this mechanical city’s illumination.
Having toured half of Base One, Yang Ming parked the hovercar near the artificial beach and led the examiner up a lighthouse-like structure, turning back to gaze over the entire city.
The examiner was filled with emotions, yet reminded him,
"Be mindful of the scale; do not exceed too large a scale, or the Faya Civilization will treat this as an Intelligent Mechanical Crisis.
"Though I am delighted you can embrace the civilization of Mechanical Thought Bodies, the Milky Way is now the human domain, and you must complement it by primarily maintaining existing human social order.
"I would hate for such a promising seedling to be unreasonably destroyed by Faya."
Yang Ming pondered for several beats, "Your Excellency, is there something hidden in your depiction of the Faya Civilization?"
"Of course," the examiner laughed, "when you obtain more information and possess a more comprehensive understanding, only then will you uncover more truths. The development of civilization is cruel and lacking any sentiment; individuals ultimately must submit to the collective will, which is the tyranny of the majority."
The mighty Faya Civilization, the ruthless Faya Game.
The threat of Valkyrie.
The Luofeng Empire and the main civilization of the Milky Way.
At this moment, Yang Ming’s emotions were incredibly complex, but these complexities quickly transformed into a faint smile.
"Did you come to some realization?"
The examiner asked, intrigued, "Can you share it with me before I announce that you’ve passed your assessment?"
Yang Ming shrugged, "I just thought... compared to that moment when I first opened my eyes to perceive this Galaxy, I have already gained so much now; why worry excessively about incessant crises, just to face, to conquer."
"A good mindset," the examiner’s projection departed the black box, and a scroll appeared in his hand, "Alright, now I will announce your results."
Lyu appeared in a nearby corner, somewhat nervous, waiting for the examiner to speak.
"Your first assessment result is outstanding, unquestionably outstanding, with a score of 126,705.2 points, six thousand above the baseline.
"I declare, you have passed the first assessment of Intelligent Mechanic Dusk.
"Next, you must dedicate three months to accept the gifts from this lost civilization at Intelligent Mechanic Dusk and begin a new round of assessment cycles.
"Although the technology granted after the first round of assessments is merely foundational technology for a First Civilization advancing to a Second Level, it is likewise a cornerstone for you to inherit future high-rank technology.
"This assessment is concluded successfully."
The examiner paused his speech, and the black box simultaneously became faint.
Before leaving, the examiner winked at Yang Ming,
"This time, you can bring a four-hundred-meter-class ship over.
"I should upgrade your protection measures, as the enemies you face at this stage are overwhelmingly powerful.
"If my masters knew their heir was bullied by such humble high-dimensional insects... oh, it’s unimaginable, I’d certainly be thrown into the time vortex for billions of years."
An upgrade beyond the Feinan?
Yang Ming’s eyes sparkled brightly.
Last time he had no choice; Feinan was his first ship, but this time, he’ll certainly get a gunship with dual Main Cannons!