Chapter 524: A Tale of Experience |
"It's quite simple, really. Right from the beginning, I never believed in your identity," Su Chen's words surprised Taru. After all, from various angles, he had played the role of a Qiluo Civilization individual flawlessly. Especially considering he controlled everything here, didn't it appear convincing?
"Tell me, how did you find out?" Taru's face twisted in frustration. He couldn't tolerate his acting skills being questioned.
"What if I told you it's from my experience? Would you believe me?" Su Chen said earnestly.
Indeed, Su Chen hadn't deceived Taru; he had spoken the truth.
Ever since encountering Atlantisian Lance, who had pretended to be the last survivor of the Qiluo Civilization on Earth, Su Chen had developed a profound distrust of those who immediately claimed to be someone specific.
By starting with skepticism, he could naturally pick up on many anomalies while listening to the other party's words.
For instance, Taru claimed he could see everything on Yan Yun Star with a telescope-like instrument. So why did he need to learn about the changes outside from Yun Ru and others?
Someone who theoretically knew Yan Yun Star inside and out didn't need to know these things unless he genuinely knew nothing.
This was a point that only made Su Chen suspicious at first. What truly confirmed for him that this person wasn't from the Qiluo Civilization was the psychic shield.
There was only one answer: he wasn't from the Qiluo Civilization, and hence, he lacked these two related technologies.
Without the psychic shield, Su Chen could completely control him and make him say whatever he wanted.
Taru, of course, didn't believe Su Chen's nonsense about an "experience." He thought Su Chen was trying to deceive him.
The current situation was highly unfavorable for Taru. His consciousness was trapped inside the psychic shield, unable to control the iron sphere outside. He had become a caged bird.
"What do you want from me?" Taru finally asked.
"Tell me your true identity and what happened to the Qiluo Civilization back then," Su Chen replied.
So, Taru provided a different version of events. In essence, he claimed to be a member of the Ghost Clan, the first successfully modified member, in fact. He was the ancestor of all Ghost Clan.
Taru was the name given to him by the Qiluo Civilization, and he had never forgotten it.
In fact, after creating more Ghost Clan members, he and his partner had been forgotten by the Qiluo Civilization researchers and imprisoned in a room.
He didn't know what had happened during that time, but one day, he discovered that the door to his room could open. He left with his partner and found an empty city outside. It seemed that the entire city had been abandoned by the Qiluo Civilization.
He had inferred some things from the information he found. The concept of cloning was true, but he didn't know the specifics. What he had told Yun Ru and the others earlier was a fabricated story.
Furthermore, nothing was left behind here, and the only exit was blocked by a spatial barrier. They were trapped here.
They were Ghost Clan, a race that needed to eat. However, there was no food left here, so they had to survive by eating the plants outside.
Centuries passed like this, and they reached the end of their lives. So, they decided to conduct an experiment: a consciousness transfer experiment!
Using the information and equipment left behind by the Qiluo Civilization, they could conduct the experiment. Many things had been abandoned here, especially some large equipment, which made things convenient for Taru.
Since it was an experiment, they naturally needed a subject. However, there were only the two of them here. So, Taru's partner volunteered to be the subject, and the transfer vehicle would be this iron sphere. The iron sphere was part of a Qiluo Civilization research project, designed for transferring consciousness. This way, the person could achieve immortality.
Without the limitations of natural aging, they could potentially achieve true immortality using only the iron sphere. However, many people couldn't accept this form of immortality, and so the project had stagnated. It wasn't until Taru restarted it that there was progress.
The experiment initially proceeded without any issues. Her consciousness gradually transferred into the iron sphere. However, before long, her consciousness encountered problems.
Taru panicked and tried to extract his partner's consciousness, but it was too late. Before her consciousness disappeared, she left behind an important message.
The iron sphere could only carry human consciousness; they, as Ghost Clan, were incompatible!
Later, Taru spent a lot of effort modifying the iron sphere to allow it to carry non-human consciousness. This was the only way the experiment succeeded, but his partner was already gone.
With the iron sphere's body, he didn't need to be limited by the need for food. He searched everywhere within this space, hoping to find an exit.
Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful. It wasn't until Yun Ru and the others came in that he learned the spatial barrier had been breached.
At the time, Taru had thought he could use his identity as a member of the Qiluo Civilization to deceive these people into helping him. But he never dreamt that his identity would be exposed so quickly, that all his secrets would be laid bare. How could he continue to manipulate the situation?
Faintly, Taru felt a fatal crisis from Su Chen. He believed Su Chen might kill him. Having lived for so long, he certainly didn't want to die, so he could only submit in humiliation.
Su Chen's psychic power conveyed to him that this time Taru hadn't lied. Everything he had said was true.
Unexpectedly, a mining expedition had led to the discovery of the true ancestor of the Ghost Clan. This was getting interesting.
"Since you are the ancestor of the Ghost Clan, do you know what the Ghost Clan has become today?" Su Chen waved his hand, and an image appeared in front of Taru.
Taru looked at it and hesitated for a moment. "He looks similar to the Ghost Clan, but what are those ugly patterns on his face?"
Su Chen almost burst into laughter. If the Ghost Clan found out their revered Ghost Patterns were described this way by their ancestor, would there be an uproar?
"Those are called Ghost Patterns, and they're something the Ghost Clan takes great pride in. They were created by one of your descendants. By the way, the current Ghost Clan with these patterns is considered the true Ghost Clan, while those without them are branded as heretics."
"What?!" Taru couldn't sit still.
Even though he only had his consciousness left, he was still the ancestor of the Ghost Clan, the first Ghost Clan member on this planet. In theory, all Ghost Clan members carried his bloodline within them.
To him, all these Ghost Patterns were just flashy decorations. But now, these non-mainstream Ghost Clan members dared to label the legitimate descendants as heretics? Could he tolerate that? (To be continued)
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