538: Chapter 182 Unexpected News 538: Chapter 182 Unexpected News The mechanical shell was largely enclosed.

And on the last side where it connected with other parts, a large number of the gear structures were invisible.

Of course, being “invisible to the naked eye” was a manageable situation.

With the advancement of technology, there were now numerous technologies that could peer into the internal structure of an item without damaging its exterior.

Like various kinds of rays.

If a creature’s vision was based on X-ray, then in its eyes, trees would appear crystalline, and the flesh and organs of animals would be semi-transparent.

It could clearly see the shadows on the organs.

Except, the material of this thing was a specially made alloy, which was difficult for most rays to penetrate.

In addition, Xiang Shan weighed it in his hand and tapped it a few times.

From the tactile feedback, there seemed to be cavities and sound-absorbing materials inside designed to interfere with ultrasonic detection.

With professional large-scale equipment, perhaps there would be a way to comprehend the internal structure without destroying the outer layer.

But solely with his Prosthetic Eye, Xiang Shan couldn’t achieve that.

Moreover, this was just one part.

The other parts were likely kept by the Hermit members of the Six Dragons Sect.

Then there were the punch cards.

These punch cards were probably not the complete set.

They were all stored separately.

Xiang Shan had gone through the storage device of the Vice Captain and found no programs that could decode the information on those punch cards.

The punch cards could truly only be interpreted by that machine.

Unlike electronic computers, this purely mechanical computer shared some similarities with the “brain”—its “hardware” itself contained a part of the “software” information.

The structure of its hardware was also part of its software.

Without the machine, it would be impossible to crack the information within the punch cards.

Xiang Shan shrugged his shoulders, “It seems pointless now.”

He glanced at Isin, “This Hermit from the Six Dragons Sect doesn’t even know about the Hermit of the Heavenly Machine…

It seems like the connections between the Hermits are quite weak.

Unless they are working on the same project within the same Order of Knights, otherwise they don’t know much about each other…

Are the envoys more important?

Then we’ve missed it.”

Xiang Shan felt slightly annoyed.

If he had known that the intelligence on the Six Dragons Sect available within the Secluded Crane Knight Order might not be more substantial than what could be obtained from Daijiu Tai’a, he should have tried to detain Daijiu Tai’a.

Oh, but arriving in Secluded Crane City and testing the Igni Seal was a prelude to the assault on Paradox City.

From this perspective, it didn’t really seem like a loss.

On the other hand, Xiang Shan was growing increasingly certain about one thing.

The Six Dragons Sect was indeed a true malignancy.

Even someone like Isin, who had climbed to the position of Vice Captain as a “Hermit,” didn’t have a clear understanding of the organization’s true objectives or overall orientation.

Even the Third Reich dared to claim it was for the interests of the Germanic peoples.

“But this also implies…

that within the Six Dragons Sect there might be a group that could be reformed…”

Xiang Shan had previously noticed that the Eighth Martial God’s “adoptive father,” Doctor Hu, was associated with a mysterious organization—to a hacker, gathering various kinds of information was almost instinctive.

The anomalies on Doctor Hu were unable to escape Xiang Shan’s eyes.

But based on the memories of the Eighth Martial God, and Xiang Shan’s recent observations, Doctor Hu didn’t seem to have any particularly evil tendencies.

The Six Dragons Sect’s choice to completely conceal their stance suggests that they either have no real stance and are simply a chaotic group of anti-human elements united to engage in more unscrupulous activities—a mere conglomerate of evil interests—or their stance is so anti-human that it could never be accepted by the majority of people.

Yet even inside the Six Dragons Sect, a large number of members are unaware of their own organization’s stance.

“Hmm, it’s a bit tricky,” Xiang Shan pondered, “I might need to find a way to distinguish them.

But the Six Dragons Sect has existed for at least eighty years without exposure.

Even when occasionally someone becomes aware of the Six Dragons Sect, they only consider it a local power…”

This result hardly seemed surprising.

Hackers know how to seek information, and they also know how to hide it.

The names of Zhu Xinyu and Hartman were hardly known to anyone.

The Internal Strength Master who had engaged Xiang Shan on the satellite network—most likely the Sect-protecting Dharma King within the Earth-Moon system—was also a highly skilled individual.

With such a person involved, records related to the “Six Dragons Sect” had a hard time staying on the network, making it difficult to discuss and only leading to local rumors.

But this also indicated one thing: members of the Six Dragons Sect at least had a sense of confidentiality.

For eighty years, they hadn’t caused any “uncoverable” commotions.

If it weren’t for Black Hand Master coincidentally hearing about it, Xiang Shan might only have learned of the Hermit’s Six Dragons Sect membership after accessing the Hermit’s hard drive.

Oh, if the Hermit of Heavenly Machine had a sufficient sense of confidentiality, he might have also had the chance to destroy his own records.

“Hmm…

You’re not very clear on the Hermit of Heavenly Machine.

But let me still ask.

‘The Holy Maiden’ has recently come from Mars, hasn’t she?

Bringing along a batch of genetic data?

You’re exterminating local forces of chivalry to ensure this matter isn’t disturbed, aren’t you?”

Isin nodded his head.

It was precisely because of the Holy Maiden’s actions that Daijiu Tai’a made a great concession to Xiang Shan.

And from Daijiu Tai’a’s concession and the Six Dragons Sect’s delivery of the “small fridge,” Xiang Shan inferred the stance of the Six Dragons Sect in this matter, as well as the information that Hartman was currently resting.

These pieces of intelligence also led to the Inner Strength Battle on the satellite network, allowing Xiang Shan to use the Sect-protecting Dharma King of the Six Dragons Sect to gain some control over the satellite network, ensuring his own future safe access to the internet.

This victory further promoted Xiang Shan’s trip to Secluded Crane City.

—From this point of view, since the arrival of the Six Dragons Sect’s Holy Maiden, my situation has completely opened up!

Xiang Shan said, “Why is that batch of data so important?

Progress of the experiment?”

Isin said, “I’m not sure.

But…

it should be…

related to the…

level of compliance of the Experimental Subjects.

We need new methods to ensure…

ah…

ah…”

He seemed extremely bewildered.

Part of it was the training he had undergone resisting the topic, and another part was his limited understanding of this area.

But Xiang Shan’s tone became very menacing, “Let’s confirm again, you just said ‘level of compliance,’ not ‘controllability,’ right?

Does your project involve using Experimental Subjects that include intelligent life?”

“Exploring the..

boundaries…

and…

origins…

of intelligence…”

Xiang Shan pressed his hand against his forehead, “Stay calm, just calm down.

This is roughly on par with the sort of thing happening in Green Forest.”

He patted the center of his forehead.

“Where’s the location of this project?” Xiang Shan asked.