Grew Another Brain

"Did the Brain-in-a-Box get stronger?" Xiao Bai thought, his heart leaping with excitement. He quickly checked the Brain-in-a-Box's description, and the usage instructions automatically appeared in his mind.
"I see..."
He then rummaged through the pile of half-kneeling light mecha, eventually finding ten computational chips and a variety of miscellaneous components and materials.
Next, Xiao Bai carefully picked up a chip with his mechanical arm and placed it against the surface of the Brain-in-a-Box.
The extra nerve bundle inside began to wriggle like a jellyfish's tentacles, enveloping the chip.
Checking the performance parameters again, he saw that the "Processing Power" had indeed changed, increasing to 230 (2050).
Following the same process, he "glued" the remaining nine chips onto the Brain-in-a-Box. The "Processing Power" skyrocketed to 500 (2500).
From the outside, the box containing the peculiar brain was now completely covered in overflowing nerve bundles, making it look even stranger than before.
"My head itches again. Grew another brain."
"I never expected that burning out the Brain-in-a-Box would actually enhance its capabilities. Truly befitting of a Fantasy-Class device!"
"Moreover, it now has a smart resource allocation function, allowing it to flexibly redistribute processing power—reinforcing where it's needed most."
Xiao Bai smiled, having found a way to boost his computational power.
However, the current Brain-in-a-Box could only support ten external chips. To increase its power further, he'd need to find even more powerful chips.
As long as he avoided encountering any more of those heaven-defyingly expensive treasures, this processing power was now equivalent to a supercomputer. It was definitely sufficient.
This upgrade would also enhance functions like trajectory calculation, auto-aiming, and auto-evasion, making Xiao Bai's "hands" even sharper and more agile.
Just as he was about to continue scavenging, the Main Control System suddenly sent three notifications:
- Autonomous Combat Module updated.
- Automatic Maintenance Program updated.
- Simulation Question Bank updated.
Huh?
Xiao Bai was puzzled. He hadn't done anything! Where did these mysterious updates come from?
And why was even the Simulation Question Bank updated?
He quickly checked his system and discovered that the massive pile of alien scramble he had previously recovered from the Large Mecha had been translated into comprehensible text.
This included items like 'Combat Log', 'Communication Records', 'Combat Database', and 'Learning Materials'. It was precisely this new data that had brought about the recent updates.
"Could it be because the processing power increased, and so did the translation capabilities?"
"That doesn't quite make sense... Running those translation software doesn't require much processing power, and they haven't changed at all. It must be due to some other factor."
Xiao Bai first opened the 'Combat Log' and 'Communication Records', the files he was most interested in. Though incomplete and missing many parts, they at least allowed him to figure out what exactly that Mummy from earlier had been.
Hazard Level 9, Apostle-Class, Designation 9-002, Named: Inverted Sky Curtain Descends Judgment.
"Hisss... Even looking like that, it's only a Level 9?"
"Why is it called 'Apostle-Class'? Shouldn't it be 'Calamity-Class'? Is it a translation issue? Or are there two different hazard rating systems?"
"What a strange name. It's like an alien naming style."
He continued reading, gradually piecing together the sequence of events.
"The combat forces deployed in the outskirts of the city, led by five Large Mecha and over a thousand Light Mecha, were tasked with intercepting the terrifying Demonic Beast. Their primary mission was to delay its advance until it... oh, no, I should call it 'Him'... until it reaches the predetermined coordinates..."
"Then, a superweapon called the 'Holy Judgment Spear' would launch a long-range strike... Is this the spatial slicing effect I witnessed? Why give such a religious-sounding name to a superweapon?"
"As for the Large Mecha that landed in the city, its mission was... to slaughter over 80,000 civilians?!"
"This was met with opposition from the pilot, but his superior, the 'Chief,' insisted they had no choice. He told the pilot to steel himself and carry out this brutal order..."
Xiao Bai gasped sharply as he read this.
"What kind of desperate situation could have led to such a mad and cruel order?"
"If we hadn't killed those civilians, what would have happened?"
Xiao Bai couldn't help but turn his head toward where the mummy had been hanging, vaguely piecing together why the mecha had knelt.
It must have been the purest form of fear and despair, right?
"If that thing was still alive, would I have the courage to charge into battle against it?"
"And this... was only hazard level 9. There's an even more terrifying 'Apocalypse' level coming after it..."
Xiao Bai stood frozen for a moment, then shook his head vigorously.
"Regardless, we ultimately defeated it. That means this thing isn't invincible—it can be killed."
He finally continued scrolling through the combat records.
But the record of the mecha deployed in the city abruptly ended before they could even carry out their orders.
A long gap followed, and when the recording resumed, it was already detecting an "unknown threat," attempting to wake the pilot (with no response), and activating the auto-defense system to launch Bio-Guided Missiles at the "unknown threat."
Then it was struck by a high-powered energy weapon in its core power area. The ejection of the pilot failed, and the system went silent.
This was clearly the incident Xiao Bai encountered later.
"It was already paralyzed and immobile before I found it. Was it taken out at a distance by the Mummy?"
"The ones in the outskirts were the same. Even though they knelt in worship, they were wiped out without being able to launch a single attack..."
"But they look almost completely intact. What kind of power is this?"
The more Xiao Bai observed, the more he felt fortunate about that earlier "desperate move." If he hadn't dealt with that half-destroyed corpse, who knows what might have happened later?
"Only after witnessing these powerful beings can one truly grasp their own insignificance... Keep searching. See if there's any more information on these mechs."
His mech soared into the air and landed on the back of a large mecha. Following the same procedure as before, he first opened the cockpit to retrieve data.
The interior was f illed with repulsive lymphatic tissue. Xiao Bai was about to incinerate it all with his flamethrower, but as the mechanical arm approached, the once-vibrant lymphatic tissue suddenly withered at an astonishing speed, turning into a pile of ash-like powder.
"Hmm? It seems this lymph is connected to that mummy? Did it use this to destroy these mechas? And now that it's completely dead, these things have lost their vitality?"
Xiao Bai scanned the powder with his Green Light Absorption.
Biological Chitin Absorbed: 3
Good, the chitin can be normally recovered.

Chapter end