Chapter Ninety-Two: Metamorphosis into a Butterfly

As the sound of turning gears rolled through the passage, the great doors of the underground fortress’s command chamber swung open. The long-waiting Master Hand and Dogmeat hurried forward to greet him.

Master Hand was astonished to find that Sun Licheng seemed somehow changed. If there had been any alteration in his appearance, aside from a face a little paler than when he had entered, Master Hand could not quite name it. And yet those eyes of Sun Licheng’s now shone with extraordinary brilliance, and his back was held straight and proud. Even as an artificial soul, Master Hand could sense the iron will that had been cast and tempered within him.

After suffering pain beyond bearing, Sun Licheng had finally understood. In order to go home, he would have to set foot upon a road paved with thorns. He had fought monsters before, fought gods before, and now even the Goblin Empire stood opposed to him. Every battle he had survived was a reminder: he must never be weak, never retreat.

“Since I have already stood at the center of the storm, then let the storm rage all the more fiercely!”

He cried out again and again within himself.

It could be said that the two dream battles had at last broken Sun Licheng from his cocoon and allowed him to emerge as a butterfly. The cowardice he had brought with him from Earth had been thoroughly shed, and his mind had undergone a complete sublimation.

Seeing his two subordinates looking somewhat puzzled, Sun Licheng smiled at Master Hand and lightly patted the iron giant’s head. Then he reached out and stroked Dogmeat’s small head as well.

“These are all my good companions. With them at my side, what is there left to fear? What reason would I have to be timid? I will keep going, no matter if it means making the whole world my enemy!”

Having made up his mind, Sun Licheng’s gaze became even more resolute.

“Your Excellency Sun Licheng, I can no longer receive any signal from our Commander. What exactly happened inside?”

Death Waltz, who had been guarding the door, came to Sun Licheng’s side and asked in a chilly voice, eight tentacles already resting on the hilts of its blades.

Sun Licheng looked at Death Waltz, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, and said softly, “Commander Reit sacrificed himself for his cause. I have inherited all of his will. From now on, I am the highest commander here.”

At this moment, Sun Licheng’s bearing was commanding indeed. As the victor of the dream war, everything in Reit’s mind had become his spoils of war. He could even manipulate Reit’s brain and issue orders to the entire fortress; changing a mere authority setting was nothing at all. He believed that Death Waltz had already received the latest command.

Sure enough, Death Waltz slowly lowered its hands, and excitement gleamed in its electronic eyes.

For these battle puppets, combat was their ordained duty. But that old fellow Reit, who did not even possess a body, had been far too conservative. Now that they had been placed under a young goblin hero, it was somewhat exhilarated. Though Sun Licheng had not yet given a battle order, Death Waltz seemed to feel that the fortress, once dead and still, was now brimming with life.

Seeing that Death Waltz’s hostility had faded, Sun Licheng finally let out a breath of relief.

Though the heaviness in his chest had not yet completely vanished, Sun Licheng intended to examine the spoils of this battle in detail. Now, this entire fortress belonged to him.

“Master Hand, please gather the fortress data.”

Sun Licheng issued the order to Master Hand.

Since discovering that goblin research institute in the mercury mine, Sun Licheng had used the goblin CPUs there to rebuild Master Hand’s large head. After optimization, Master Hand now had more than a thousand CPUs installed in his skull, and with the improved parallel computing programs, his strength had become terrifyingly great.

Even when faced with the vast underground fortress of the Goblin Empire, Sun Licheng believed it could complete the data-gathering task quickly.

Watching Master Hand fly off, Sun Licheng turned to Death Waltz and said, “Death Waltz, show me around this underground fortress.”

With a sharp snap, Death Waltz stood at attention and asked, “Commander, where would you like to begin?”

After thinking for a moment, Sun Licheng decided to inspect the battle puppet storage warehouse first. The battle puppets were currently his most important fighting force, and they demanded special attention.

Standing in the machinery storage hall, even for the second time, Sun Licheng still felt his heart shaken with awe.

Within the nearly hundred-meter-high warehouse, countless iron racks covered the entire space like a vast hive. At the very center of the hall stood the grand emblem of the Goblin Empire, an abstract eagle.

“Commander, there are ten such warehouses in the underground fortress. Each one contains ten thousand storage bays for battle puppets. When fully stocked, they can hold a total of one hundred thousand battle puppets.”

Death Waltz reported this to Sun Licheng, and the contents made his heart pound wildly. This was the sign of a great windfall.

But immediately afterward, Death Waltz poured a basin of cold water over him: “However, after more than ten thousand years, only about eight hundred and forty-six battle puppets remain usable.”

“What a suspenseful lead-in,” Sun Licheng muttered to himself, shooting Death Waltz a sidelong glance, while the latter showed not the slightest trace of shame.

“How many Death Waltzes are in here?”

Sun Licheng asked. The performance of Death Waltz in the dream war had been far too unforgettable.

“We still have fifty units,” Death Waltz answered quickly.

After considering it, Sun Licheng issued his orders. “All battle puppets are to be organized into a battle puppet brigade, with four companies under the brigade. Your Death Waltzes are excellent in combat, so form a Death Waltz squad, to be commanded directly by me.”

After another moment’s thought, he added, “From today on, you will be renamed Azure Dragon, and you will serve as commander of the entire brigade. As for the other battle puppets, let them choose their own names. Those long numerical designations are impossible for me to remember.”

Hearing this, Azure Dragon’s electronic eyes flashed wildly, and he looked deeply moved. Somewhat uncertainly, he asked, “We can have names? And we can choose them ourselves?”

Sun Licheng looked at Azure Dragon strangely and asked back in confusion, “Of course. Why not?”

Azure Dragon hurriedly shook his head.

As an artificial soul, throughout the long years he had been treated as nothing more than a machine. His name had been that tedious string of numbers, 35853986. But today, Sun Licheng had not only given him a name, but also allowed his companions to name themselves as well. This meant that they were no longer regarded as mere mechanisms, but as true living beings. It left him deeply stirred.

Soon Azure Dragon steadied himself and began asking Sun Licheng how to accomplish the task of restoring the empire.

“Restoring the empire?”

Sun Licheng stroked his chin and murmured to himself.

Frankly speaking, what did the restoration of the Goblin Empire have to do with him? It was just those old immortal goblins dreaming foolish dreams. If he had the time and energy, Sun Licheng would rather finish the Earth God’s quest as soon as possible and get home earlier.

Still, looking at Azure Dragon’s expectant face, Sun Licheng thought it over and spoke at last: “The affairs of the empire are too painful to dwell upon. Right now, we must stand on the ground of reality and face the future. We must believe that as long as we persist, we will surely realize the great dream of imperial restoration!”

When Azure Dragon heard this, he was left utterly bewildered.

After finishing his official-sounding speech, Sun Licheng felt that picking on Azure Dragon, such an honest child, was a bit unkind, so he walked over, patted its iron frame, and then clasped his hands behind his back and strode away with all the bearing of a seasoned bureaucrat.