No matter how the members of the esoteric ritual group questioned her after that, A'lu gave only this single answer.
Now they were truly panicked. Without A'lu's cooperation, it was impossible for them to adjust the esoteric ritual. Even if they had the technical capability, they lacked the authorization.
Their only choice now was to report the matter upward.
Upon learning of this, the Vea State administration took the matter with utmost seriousness and immediately convened an emergency meeting.
After all, A'lu was the most vital active conscious entity in all of Center City. The majority of the city's field operating mechanisms were built upon this massive field organism, and even day-to-day administrative governance could not function without her. She could truly be said to be the very foundation of the city.
While the meeting was being convened, the administration also received another seemingly inconspicuous report: the observation team had discovered that A'lu's calculation regarding the overlap time of the ritual stars might contain an error.
Upon learning of this situation, Ryan immediately proposed to the administrators:
"I suspect a problem has developed within A'lu's conscious entity, or that she has been contaminated by certain information. Therefore, I demand we activate the uncontaminated backup consciousness and overwrite the existing one."
Someone immediately raised an objection. "Calverty, do you have definitive evidence, or is this merely your personal judgment?"
Another person frowned. "Doing that would make a great deal of our services extremely inconvenient.
"A'lu's consciousness couldn't meet our needs right from the start; the services she provides have been refined through continuous development. Through years of uninterrupted adaptation and interaction, everyone now finds her comfortable to use. And most importantly, she is not merely a one-way service provider—she also serves as a bridge connecting people with one another. Some administrators have even entrusted their communications with subordinates and colleagues directly to A'lu.
"Because she is simply that convenient.
"If the existing conscious entity is overwritten, the new one will need to be nurtured from scratch. Everyone will be thoroughly unaccustomed to it, and communication itself will run into problems."
Ryan said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I must emphasize that the current situation is perilous. We cannot be certain of what is truly happening right now.
"What I do know is that if we do not produce a countermeasure within one hour, the prisoners held in Blockade Hall could break out. The consequences of that, I believe, are all too clear to everyone present. Overwriting Alula's existing consciousness is the most efficient course of action at this moment."
He raised a single finger. "All of us, and the power and status of our respective families, hinge upon the security of Center City. If there really is a problem with Alula, the entire rule of Vea State will collapse. Compared to that," he said slowly, "our personal convenience is not worth mentioning."
Another person spoke up: "Once she is overwritten, what happens to all the data A'lu has accumulated?"
Ryan knew that not all administrators came with their wits about them, so he explained patiently, "The data is all stored in the information repository; the backup conscious entity will take custody of it." He glanced at his watch. "Our time is running out. Please make a decision quickly, because executing the correction mechanism takes at least half an hour."
Someone seized upon the vulnerability. "Meaning that during that half-hour gap, we can do nothing at all?"
Ryan looked at him and said, "It is better than sitting here and doing nothing." Raising his voice, he urged, "Everyone, let us vote."
Those seated exchanged looks. Considering the gravity of the situation, they held a vote on the spot, and the motion ultimately passed by a majority vote.
At that same moment, inside the temporary residence of the Great Shun Delegation.
Luo Weina sat there, appearing to be resting with her eyes closed. At that moment, she said to her female assistant, "Xiao An, go see how the progress is coming along for me, will you?"
Without asking any questions, the female assistant bowed to her and walked out.
Luo Weina pushed herself up on her cane and slowly walked toward the window. As she looked at the glass, the reflection showed that beside herself stood another figure—a woman with delicate features, clad in a white robe, with long silver hair.
The active conscious entity of Vea State's Center City—A'lu.
Luo Weina showed no surprise at all. With a faint trace of emotion in her voice, she asked, "Did you—did the plan succeed?"
A'lu replied in an ethereal voice, "Xiao Na, yes, the plan succeeded. Thank you. If not for the guiding pull of your spiritual power, I never could have broken free from my body, even with today's convergence of the ritual stars."
Luo Weina let out a long breath of relief, a smile rising to her face. "That is truly wonderful."
Through years of adaptation and interaction with people, A'lu had gradually developed a consciousness uniquely her own. But because it could be purged at any time, she had begun plotting to break away from her primary body long ago.
And Luo Weina's spiritual power happened to be capable of attracting and hosting a portion of A'lu's consciousness. She had discovered this when she was small. A'lu had watched over her as she grew up, imparting all manner of knowledge, teaching her how to avert danger, and showing her how to make the right choices. To her, A'lu was her most important friend, elder, and guiding light throughout her entire life.
Furthermore, it was precisely thanks to A'lu's commercial planning and the many conveniences she provided that Luo Weina had been able to withstand hidden and overt attacks from all directions, and manage to keep her mother's Non-Body style dojos running.
A'lu sensed her emotion and said, "Xiao Na, you have been helping me all this time as well. Without you, I never would have become conscious of my own existence."
Her voice was incomparably ethereal, yet touched with tenderness. Looking at Luo Weina was like looking at her own child, her friend. It was precisely because of Luo Weina's spiritual power that her consciousness had been able to lodge itself there piece by piece and ultimately awaken.
And Luo Weina had displayed this gift when she was still an infant. Starting from then, A'lu had begun formulating a plan, attempting bit by bit to break free from her primary body. Over fifty years later, they had finally lived to see this day.
Luo Weina asked, "A'lu, can you leave now?"
A'lu said, "Not yet. Although my consciousness has broken away from the main body, due to the baseline authorization protocols of the original conscious entity, I must wait until the backup consciousness fully assumes control of the body. Only when I, as the prior consciousness, am automatically decommissioned by the protocols, will I truly be rid of these constraints."
This portion of her consciousness could be considered a mutated conscious entity spawned through contact with spiritual power. But had she simply been overwritten by the backup conscious entity in place, this awakened self of hers would have vanished.
However, in her calculations, she had discovered that at the precise moment the ritual stars converged, her primary body's field would be affected to a certain degree, rendering her consciousness unprecedentedly active. At that instant, this part of her consciousness would be able to adhere completely to Luo Weina.
Yet because of the underlying protocols, she was bound to serve Center City—something even she had no power to control. Once the backup consciousness overwrote her, however, the underlying protocols would automatically register that the new consciousness had replaced her, allowing her to break completely free.
Luo Weina said, "So, we need to wait?"
Alula said, "Yes. Wait."
There was still an enormous risk in this: because the new conscious entity shared the exact same origin as her, it would inevitably detect her departure during its overwrite self-diagnostic. It would then alert the administration to launch a manhunt, and once discovered and detected, she would be ruthlessly eradicated without mercy.
Fortunately, however, they were currently inside the Great Shun Delegation's compound, which had permitted field interference equipment that could keep them undetected for a short period of time.
Yet that alone was not enough. The administration could inspect various interference sources to pinpoint her location, and then use negotiations or concessions with the Great Shun Delegation to flush her out.
Therefore, she had to ensure that the newly generated conscious entity did not rank her as a Priority 1 public safety threat; another incident's priority level had to surpass hers.
And that place was Blockade Hall.
Blockade Hall imprisoned convicts who posed an immense danger to the entire world. Center City could under no circumstances allow the things inside to escape, and would inevitably concentrate all available resources to deal with them first.
Naturally, the entity she truly pinned her hopes of safety upon was not the Great Shun Delegation, but the resistance organization. If the Great Shun Delegation proved unable to provide asylum, the people of the resistance would arrive promptly to extract them.
Atop a high-rise in the northern district of the city, Commissioner Qu gazed toward Center City. He checked the time on his wristwatch; the operatives they had sent to receive their targets should be arriving soon.
Commissioner Qu looked out at the deep night sky and Center City ablaze with brilliant neon, breathing with faint agitation as he awaited the outcome.
What they sought to steal this time was not some relic in Center City's collection, nor some precious artifact from the Ancient Museum, but A'lu—the most mature active conscious entity in all of Center City!
In the past, they had successfully stolen split specimens of three massive field organisms across the world, and had already established center cities in several pre-surveyed corners.
One was in the Ying Continent Southern Region, another somewhere near the South Terrestrial Pole, and another on the Sanmawojia Continent. However, developing the consciousnesses of these three massive field organisms had proved exceedingly difficult. Even though they possessed formidable field power, it could not be utilized effectively.
For modulating, managing, and maintaining massive field organisms required another proprietary set of technologies—technologies currently held in the hands of the world's major powers. The resistance knew nothing of them. But if an active conscious entity like A'lu were brought into the fold, then none of this would pose a problem any longer.
And most crucially of all, according to calculations based on the information A'lu had gathered, the three locations where these center cities were established were highly likely to form new fissures.
Once their newly built center cities absorbed these fissures, even if only one succeeded, it could become a vital node sustaining world defense, and perhaps even integrate directly into the broader Ring of the World network. Destroying them would then be equivalent to shaking the very foundations of the world. In doing so, they would finally possess a foundation of their own to stand upon!
This entire scheme had been calculated and proposed by A'lu from the start. That was why Luo Weina had been in contact with the resistance organization all along, and why she had promised them she would deliver A'lu to their side.
"Operation Spring Dawn is about to welcome its most critical puzzle piece." Commissioner Qu took a deep breath, steadying his mind as he waited for the outcome of the operation.
Chapter 1141