Chapter 1167: Intelligent Integration

Downstream along the Baishui River, in the Grant region, a newly established massive factory stood like a towering fortress on what was once barren land. Constructed from grayish-white synthetic materials, the building’s rigid, straight lines emphasized functionality above all else. Its design was a stark contrast to the intricate, ornate workshops of old-world magicians, yet it possessed a raw, powerful kind of “industrial beauty.”

At the factory’s perimeter, towering mana-monitoring towers kept a vigilant watch over magical fluctuations within the area, preventing unauthorized spellcasting from disrupting the machinery and communication systems inside. Lightly armored security personnel patrolled the various checkpoints, guarding this critical facility backed by the Imperial Administration. A broad avenue stretched straight from the riverbank, cutting through the entire complex. Along this road, a sleek black magi-tech vehicle came to a smooth stop in front of one of the workshops.

The door opened, and out stepped Lady Ropeni Grant, a tall, slender woman dressed in a dark-trimmed long skirt, her hair neatly pinned up. Her gaze swept over the vast workshop before her. Behind her, another figure emerged from the vehicle—Selina Gerfen, the “Lantern Maiden,” ghostlike in presence.

“So this is the main production zone of Grant Heavy Industries…” Selina looked up at the fortress-like workshop standing before her. The building’s sharp, straight edges sliced into the clear blue sky like blades. Material pipelines and conduits for liquids and gases extended from the roof like the veins and nerves of a colossal beast, connecting to nearby workshops and distant storage tanks. The sheer industrial might embedded here made her squint slightly. “No wonder His Majesty chose this place as the testing ground for the ‘Wetware Intelligent Workshop.’ I think I understand now.”

“The Empire has poured vast resources and policy incentives into this project,” Lady Ropeni said proudly, introducing her years of work to her guest. “His Majesty ordered me to build an industrial base capable of supporting the entire southeast region. What you see here is only a fraction of the grand plan—this is just the beginning. In the future, even larger facilities and more factories will rise in this area.” She gestured expansively. “Apart from the residential districts and legally protected farmland, forests, and water sources, there’s still plenty of unused wasteland north of Grant City. Now, these desolate lands can finally be put to use.”

As she spoke, Ropeni glanced curiously at Selina’s legs. “If I may be a bit forward, it seems unnecessary for you to have come here in person. As a network resident, couldn’t you have simply appeared before me once I arrived?”

“Life needs a bit of ceremony,” Selina replied with a light smile, her tone casual. “That’s something His Majesty once said, and I agree. Occasionally living as a ‘real person’ in the physical world helps maintain a clear self-awareness and prevents mental stagnation. That’s a lesson I’ve learned over the centuries.”

Ropeni’s expression twisted slightly. “I suppose it’s just odd to think you were basically just sitting in a chair, synchronizing with the magi-tech vehicle as it moved…”

“Fair enough,” Selina admitted with a hint of embarrassment, then waved the comment away. “Let’s not get bogged down in details. Is the workshop ready inside?”

“Of course,” Ropeni smiled. “Everything was prepared yesterday.”

Only then did the factory’s on-site manager, who had been waiting to greet them, step forward with the technical staff. After a brief exchange, Ropeni gestured invitingly to Selina. The Lantern Maiden had been looking forward to this moment. She lifted her gaze just as the heavy mechanical gates of the workshop began to open smoothly, driven by magi-tech mechanisms. A brightly lit workspace gradually came into view.

Inspecting the new workshop at Grant Heavy Industries was one of Selina’s primary missions in the region—just as important as checking on Patty’s condition and verifying the effectiveness of the anti-divinity barrier. Why a “Node Scholar” like her, specializing in neural and network fields, was involved with a heavy industry workshop had everything to do with the cutting-edge technology about to be deployed here: wetware hosts, magi-mechanical systems, and neural networks—the Empire’s three proud technological pillars—were being fused together in this very place.

With anticipation, she followed Lady Ropeni through the magi-tech-driven alloy gates. After crossing a short connecting bridge and completing identity verification and entry registration, she finally found herself surrounded by massive machines, pipelines, and cables.

The workshop was unusually spacious and bright. Two- to three-meter-high, ten-meter-long processing machines stood in neat rows along the aisles like steel beasts. Thick material pipelines slanted down from the upper levels, connecting to the tops of these machines. Behind them, large, complex transmission mechanisms linked the equipment together, forming the arteries and veins of this “steel palace.” Such a spectacle would have been unimaginable in the days of traditional magical workshops. Yet, on its own, this was not enough to impress Selina.

She had toured other factories before, many with similar magi-mechanical equipment—just smaller and fewer in number.

What truly caught the attention of a technical expert like her was the “neural lines” connecting these machines—

Amid the arteries formed by material pipelines and transport mechanisms, another intricate network came into view. Thick, sturdy composite-sheathed conduits and cables extended from inside each machine. Some plunged deep into the floor, others ran along the overhead beams, reaching out to other parts of the workshop or beyond. These lines bore dark red markings and were coated with faintly glowing enchanted paint at key junctions and maintenance points. A subtle, pulsing light flowed within them, flickering softly, as if they were alive.

In fact, they were alive—possessing awareness.

“All these machines were retrofitted from existing equipment,” Lady Ropeni explained as she approached and tapped the metal cover on the side of a large processing unit. “Their main working structures remain the same, but we’ve added new control units. This cut upgrade costs by at least half.” She turned to the workshop manager. “Mr. Pluman, please open the cover.”

The man called Pluman stepped forward and unlocked the sturdy steel panel with a specialized key. Selina leaned in, her eyes catching the inner workings beneath the cover.

Inside, she saw a finely partitioned “rune palette” mounted on the frame. The ends of the rune units connected to dark red biological tissue, which grew out from a pipe deeply embedded within the machine. These tissues branched into nerve-like fibers, intertwining with the palette like vines spreading through soil. Deeper within the runes, nerves, and pipes, she spotted another conduit carrying nutrient fluid—a thin biomass slowly flowing through, nourishing the neural nodes inside the machine.

At that moment, one nerve fiber seemed to receive a signal from a higher command. The connected runes lit up, and a low hum resonated from within the machine. After a few seconds, everything returned to calm.

“The system is performing a self-check,” Ropeni’s voice came from beside her. “The neural network inside the workshop runs these self-diagnostics periodically, much like a supervisor inspecting machines. But human eyes can’t match the sensitivity of these nerves. They perceive each machine’s status as clearly as a person senses their own fingers. Any faults or potential issues are detected immediately and uploaded.”

Selina nodded and stepped away from the “neural control unit.” She looked up to see a neural conduit extending overhead, merging with several others before disappearing into a large beam higher up.

“This neural system and its supporting biomass pipelines stretch for kilometers,” Ropeni continued, “connecting machines, exchanging data between neural nodes, drawing nutrients from underground circulation pumps and splitting pools. There are also external interfaces reserved for other workshops. But to transmit data farther afield, we still rely on the magi-net hub for relay.” She pointed toward a facility deep within the workshop. “Next, we’ll visit the ‘brain’ of this workshop—well, the real brain.”

Led by Ropeni and the workshop manager, Selina ventured deeper into the facility. At the end of a connecting corridor, she saw a towering structure resembling a large distillation column from an alchemical plant. Its lower half was embedded in a vast underground chamber, while the upper half stretched up to the workshop’s dome. Numerous pipes and neural cables converged atop it like blood vessels feeding a heart. A mechanical bridge connected the tower’s midsection to the main workshop corridor.

Before this tower, Selina closed her eyes briefly. Another layer of vision unfolded—one invisible to ordinary eyes, accessible only to eternal sleepers like herself.

A river of neural impulses flowed silently through the cold steel workshop, weaving a complex web.

In her mind’s eye, all the machines glowed faintly in the darkness. Tiny points of light flickered within them, converging and flowing along artificial pathways. They met both above ground and below, swelling like a river of life, ultimately connecting to a shared source—a source right before her eyes. It was an artificial brain, formed by countless neural nodes pulsing with intense thought energy… and it seemed there was more than one such brain.

Opening her eyes, the extraordinary vision faded back into reality. She saw Lady Ropeni stepping forward as the tower’s massive doors began to open.

Inside, the tower was brightly lit. Three tubular devices, each two to three meters in diameter, were fixed to the floor in a triangular arrangement, spaced several meters apart. Countless pipes neatly connected from above to the tops of these devices. At the center of this trio, partially embedded in the floor, lay an object resembling an insect’s carapace—its upper half smooth and curved, its lower half a metallic base. The strongest pulses of thought energy radiated from within it.

“This is the workshop’s central processor—after passing inspection, it will become the main control unit for the entire industrial zone. Next to it are the backup and servo processors, each with distinct functions. If any one of these processors encounters a problem, the others can quickly take over the system,” the workshop’s technical supervisor stepped forward. A seasoned Druid, his thinning hair and deep-set eyes spoke to his professionalism and reliability. “In theory, unless all processors fail simultaneously, as long as one remains operational, the system won’t shut down—at worst, efficiency might drop a bit…”

Lady Ropeni took a few steps closer and gently tapped the casing of the “main processor” with her finger. A crisp sound rang out, and the shell slowly opened, revealing a crystal container filled with a biomass solution, inside which floated an artificial brain.

Immediately, the three tubular devices nearby responded in kind, their alloy protective shells lowering to expose crystal tubes filled with the same biomass fluid, each housing a suspended brain.

A tangle of synthetic nerve cords, metal needles, and fiber conduits connected to these brains. To an ordinary observer, the sight might be… unsettling.

But those who worked here long-term were clearly accustomed to it—much like Druids and physicians grow used to the sight of corpses.

“These are the neural interface units, which also include monitoring nodes. The wetware mainframe issues commands to the workshop’s neural network through these interfaces, sensing and controlling all machinery. The monitoring nodes allow our central control to constantly track the status of each servo processor and also send instructions to them,” the technical supervisor explained the complex, advanced system. “According to the deepest-level commands of the servo processors, they only release orders externally when they receive signals from the monitoring nodes and verify the operator’s authorization. If any part of this chain malfunctions, the processors sever the neural network and alert the workshop workers via the broadcast system to manually take over the machines.”

“This is to prevent anyone from hijacking control of the factory,” Lady Ropeni added. “As His Majesty put it, once a system achieves a high degree of integration and centralized command, it becomes vulnerable to unauthorized access. In the near future, taking over a factory might only require a single wrongly authorized command—we have to guard against that risk.”

“Ah… His Majesty is indeed very skilled at network-level infiltration and permission control…” Selina’s expression briefly shifted, as if recalling something chilling. Her gaze then landed on a manual control panel in the corner of the room, where a large red button stood out prominently. “What’s that?”

“That’s the one-touch overclock button, used to temporarily boost system performance—usually during overtime production or rapid system resets,” the technical supervisor replied immediately. “Its main mechanism is to automatically inject syrup into the biomass conduits when pressed…”

(End of chapter)