Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 151 - 151 71 Yangtze Knight Daijiu Tai'a

151: Chapter 71 Yangtze Knight Daijiu Tai’a 151: Chapter 71 Yangtze Knight Daijiu Tai’a The Yangtze Knight, Daijiu Tai’a, appeared at the entrance of the Meiyimei Building as dusk fell.

He emerged naturally from the street, draped in a black cloak commonly worn by those from Jianghu.

His entire head was concealed within the hood as he made his way towards the grand entrance of the building.

For an instant, the Secretary Officer even thought that he was witnessing someone from Jianghu directly assaulting the Meiyimei Building, a strike against the home of the Scientific Knight Order.

But soon, he laughed at his own notion.

Indeed, the Lord tasked with the security of the Scientific Knight Order’s headquarters had taken most of his forces to exterminate a Hero, but the Scientific Knight Order still retained some of its strength.

The number of its internal automated weapons even surpassed those of the Lord’s.

Nonetheless, as the man in the black robe stepped through the gates, the Secretary Officer couldn’t help feeling a tinge of tension.

Then, the door opened automatically.

It seemed that the black-robed figure had passed some type of automatic detection mechanism.

This indicated that within his prosthetic body, there was a still-active access authorization.

No doubt, he was “one of their own”.

After entering the gate, he removed his hood to reveal his head.

This gentleman’s prosthetic head was of a very different style compared to Knight Bengel—it was an abstract, perfectly spherical head with no details, making it a mystery how he received visual signals.

The electromagnetic waves seemed incapable of piercing his black cloak, which also appeared to be made of a special material.

The Secretary Officer stepped forward and bowed, “Excuse me, are you Mr.

Tai’a, the Yangtze Knight?

I am Ming Jing, your Guard Officer during your appointment period, belonging to the local Gene Bank’s guard logistics system, a Ranked Martial Artist.

If you need assistance with your luggage…”

“That won’t be necessary,” Daijiu Tai’a waved his hand dismissively.

“Understood,” said the Secretary Officer.

“The building’s system is now configuring a route for you—please do not resist it.

A guidance system should have appeared before you.

If you prefer solitude, you can follow these directions to find Mr.

Bengel, the local Vice Captain.

His Excellency Ashur-Lei-Goodrian Paladin is not currently here, but he has also prepared a welcome for you…”

“I understand,” said Daijiu Tai’a.

“It’s just a nominal commander, no need for such a verbose explanation.

Just lead the way.”

“Understood,” the Secretary Officer replied, escorting the Yangtze Knight from the “Evolutionary Language” Order of the Oslo Holy Palace deeper into the building.

They took the elevator up several hundred floors.

Finally, the doors opened, and they stood before an office.

They walked towards the back of the office.

This large space was filled with various exhibits, much like Knight Bengel’s office.

It also featured numerous art pieces from the Old Era that captivated the senses.

Knight Bengel had been seated, but he quickly rose to his feet at the arrival of the Yangtze Knight and exclaimed toward his side, “Commander?”

There was a dense silver-black fog beside Bengel that had been fluctuating unstably.

Within this fog hung an unclear silhouette that did not seem to be looking at the camera, but instead was preoccupied with something else.

Upon Bengel’s prompt, the fog suddenly became sharply defined.

At the same time, layers of light lit up from within, casting through the edges of the fog the image of a blond, blue-eyed cheerful young man.

“Greetings, Mr.

Tai’a,” Ashur-Lei-Goodrian Paladin greeted with a smile.

“A pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency,” responded Daijiu Tai’a.

In Daijiu Tai’a’s name, “Dai” indicated a surname marking the Y chromosome, “jiu” an interfix marking the mitochondria, and “Tai’a” the formal title.

Registrants could decide the order of these elements based on their own customs and cultural backgrounds, but one must not get it wrong.

This was also considered as upholding the obligation to “maintain human genetic diversity.” Only those rebels from the Martial World liked to pick names arbitrarily, showcasing the heretical notion of “freedom.”

For these ascetic members of the Scientific Knight Order, addressing each other by name was the most polite practice.

The Holy Knight smiled and said, “I am seldom in this laboratory so I am unable to receive you in person, which is truly regrettable.

But I do have a bit of work left to finish; I’m truly neglectful…”

Daijiu Tai’a found this behavior utterly revolting.

He knew that the refreshing image of the blond, blue-eyed appearance was not truly that of Ashur-Lei-Goodrian Paladin but a real-time computational overlay using augmented reality, superimposed on the communication display.

The Paladin could be using an entirely non-human form as a prosthetic body, and this face was an image algorithmically generated based on the Paladin’s genetic information to show a “possible appearance”—even then, it was selected among hundreds of “possible appearances.”

To showcase a sense of ritual, this real-time communication wasn’t facilitated through a mere air projection or augmented reality directly into the visitor Daijiu Tai’a’s field of vision.

Instead, they set up a large cloud of aerosol in which they deployed several tethered drones that projected a shadow and emitted a magnetic field to shape the fog.

This materially dense projection could even facilitate a “tangible” handshake to a certain extent.

But apart from that, the projection couldn’t really walk about.

If one stood a bit farther away, they would see that behind the Paladin’s backside, a rather long data cable trailed off.

Of course, if you were to ask what the difference is between this kind of “handshake” and overlaying an AR/augmented reality layer or entering a VR/virtual reality meeting room…

Then it could only be said to be a matter of “ceremonial ritual,” I suppose.

And just now, that “I am in the midst of work, and I was working before receiving you” is a special etiquette within the Scientific Knight Order.

After all, what the Scientific Knights are engaged in is humanity’s most sacred enterprise, so “completing one’s own work” becomes especially persuasive on a moral level.

And “setting aside work to receive guests” signifies that “your arrival is more important than everyday work.”

——Of course, that’s just “everyday.”

According to the habit of Scientific Knights, if they truly have some important work to do, at most they would send an apprentice to receive the waiting Scientific Knights, and the entire Order would be working non-stop, without coming out to receive anyone.

This too is just a form of new etiquette.

His Excellency Ashur may well have just been resting.

Honestly, Daijiu Tai’a found this whole routine somewhat nauseating.

But still, he bowed slightly, “Hearing that your work is going smoothly, I too am very pleased.”

That also counted as a customary phrase.

Even if two Scientific Knight Orders had come to blows over competition for projects, these rituals still had to be observed when hanging up their coats.

Moreover, the Galapagos Sanctuary and the Oslo Sanctuary had no direct conflicts of interest, so not even “surface tension” could possibly exist.

“May I presume to ask a question, Mr.

Tai’a?” His Excellency Ashur began, “Do you have some particular objective for this visit?

After all, this matter is somewhat sensitive.”

“Oh?

What do you mean?”

“I mean, the ‘Mona Project,'” His Excellency Ashur explained.

“The Mona Project is divided into several parts, and basically, both the Galapagos Sanctuary and the Oslo Sanctuary share them.

This field has connections with the ‘Evolutionary Language’ Knights’ Order too…”

“I am not here to gather intelligence.

I won’t inquire into matters that need to be kept secret, nor will I ask about the unpublished progress of experiments,” said Daijiu Tai’a.

“I am only here to conduct field research, to observe the changes in language habits among the lower classes over the past decade, and to record them.

My direction has no connection whatsoever with the Mona Project.”

His Excellency Ashur nodded his head.

This declaration of self fit with the publicly available information.

The Paladin was simply seeking a statement of “not inquiring.”

After all, with so many laboratories under His Excellency Ashur’s command, he could not constantly keep an eye on this place.

And if he were not around, this Yangtze Knight could casually ask the apprentices a few questions, which they would be unable to refuse.

Really, the apprentices’ level was too low, and they might not even realize what they had given away.

In their eyes, this high-ranking Knight might have just asked an ordinary question, but from that, the Knight might deduce an “inspiration” belonging to Ashur or even Ashur’s superiors.

But if they didn’t answer, the Yangtze Knight could entirely accuse them of “impoliteness,” and later find various excuses to deal with the Mona Knight Order.

“It’s best that you understand, Mr.

Tai’a,” the Paladin smiled.

“I have further work to do and can’t keep you company.

Knight Bengel, my deputy here, will take care of the rest of the reception.”

Knight Bengel gave a slight bow, “Greetings, Mr.

Tai’a.”

“This office is also my collection room; it contains many of my personal collections, including some natural specimens and also some cultural relics,” explained Ashur-Lei-Goodrian Paladin with a smile.

“These collections are my private hobbies.

They remind me that we live amidst the boundless mysteries of nature and share this world with the great sages of history.

Every time I see these collections, I feel an endless strength, as though inspiration bubbles up like the bubbles in a spring.”

“I have noticed,” Daijiu Tai’a nodded at his own abstract head.

“A considerable part, it seems, comes from the native species of the Galapagos Islands.

Things that can now only be seen in breeding bases.

There are also some deep-sea hydrothermal creatures… and even relics related to many World Openers!”

“Indeed,” the Paladin’s face lit up with joy: “It’s good that you take an interest too.

That gives us a common hobby, doesn’t it?

I appreciate the historical weight behind those relics.

If you’re interested, please let Bengel take you on a tour.

Farewell.”