Bard looked at Andesa standing in front of him—the figure of the little girl clumsily running towards him in the courtyard in his mind had faded away a little bit, and finally all that was left was a few broken silhouettes, mixed with his fading memories.

Standing in front of him was an imperial soldier who had grown up, calm, heroic, with a tenacious will and unwavering faith, as well as her own life trajectory.

"You will return to Typhon safely—as a proof of the friendly relations between the two countries, as a good start," he pondered, and said slowly, "Your Majesty...... I mean, Your Majesty Gawain Cecil, he will do a good job of paving and guiding you in terms of public opinion, and there will be corresponding arrangements on Aldernan's side, and part of the truth behind the war will be revealed, and you will go back as a meritorious man, not a defeated and captured commander......"

"I know," Andesa said in a calm tone, "it's good for both countries, and it will make better use of my value, but in any case, in order for me to return safely, the Aldenan side must have to pay something......"

"That's not something you should consider," Bard shook his head, "Your Majesty Rosetta knows exactly what she should pay for a wolf general, and all you have to do is cooperate with Aldenand's decision." ”

"Of course, I will," Andesa said as usual, but in the end she couldn't help but look at her father twice, and said with a hint of hesitation, "Then you ...... You'll come back to ...... afterwards."

Bard seemed to have expected the other party to mention this sooner or later, and his answer was clear: "I no longer belong to Typhon, and I am not fit to appear in Aldenan again for public or private reasons." The life of the wolf general Bud Wendell is over, and my presence will only affect the situation in Aldernan, so there is only one researcher Bud here. Andelsa, you should know what I mean. ”

“…… Yes, I understand," the young wolf general could only sigh softly, then raised his head and looked in the direction of the Thorin Giant Tree - she saw several flying machines coming from a distance, making a low humming sound towards a crack somewhere in the bottom part of the canopy, which aroused her curiosity, "There always seems to be this strange-looking flying machine moving around lately?" ”

Bud had a strange expression: "Lady Berthira is testing her brains to do more and make them work together on their own away from the parent body - further details are technical secrets, and I can't tell you." ”

Andelsa: "...... What are you talking about? ”

“…… Okay, this is indeed a bit difficult to understand, so don't ask, it's good for both physical and mental health," Bud thought about the weird projects that were being carried out in the biochemical laboratory inside the Thorin Giant Tree, and his expression suddenly became more and more strange, considering that even he, the former priest of the Society of the Dead of Everything, sometimes had difficulty understanding Bertila's aesthetics, he decisively changed the subject, "We've been blowing the wind in the courtyard for a long time, you haven't been long after you have recovered, you still need to control the time of outdoor activities." ”

Andesa was a little helpless: "I've been in the house long enough, and the feeling of having nothing to do is more tiring than fighting on the battlefield." ”

"Nothing to do?" Bard glanced at his daughter and suddenly remembered something, "Ah, then I have some suggestions - remember the exercises we didn't finish last time?" We can start with a simple system of equations......"

Andessa: "......?! ”

……

The canopy of Thorin is blown by the breeze, and the huge, luxuriant leaves sway and rub between the branches, making a continuous sound like waves, while deep in the layers of swaying branches and leaves, the thick and strong wooden structure forms an exceptionally dense barrier framework that does not shake or deform in any way. Between these frames, multiple layers of wood are interspersed with metal compartments absorbed from deep underground, which are connected to each other, and finally "grow" into a massive structure of rooms, connected by passages or staircases, and illuminated by plants that emit a bright and soft glow—the private realm of Bertila's private "person", the biochemical laboratory in which she conducts her sophisticated research.

Compared to the original rough prototype of a single hall, these laboratories located deep in the canopy have now expanded several times in scope, and their internal functions and tasks have been further strengthened and increased, and considering that human assistants will come to help, Bertila has also made a lot of humanized modifications to its internal space, and now this "upper laboratory" has been placed alongside the "underground biochemical center" in the underground palace of the tree and the "Druid Institute" in Solinburg. It became one of the three major biochemical laboratories in the Sorin area.

In fact, due to the unique "natural" environment and facilities of the Sorin region, this area is now taking on more and more biochemical research tasks. The Empire is increasing its funding and talent every quarter, and more and more Druids are coming here with their projects, as if the land has been reborn from the ashes and has become the biotech center of the Cecil Empire.

This is a scene that Beltila had never imagined when she climbed out of the depths of the ruined dungeon and faced this unrecognizable land beyond recognition.

In an oval hall deep in the upper labs, the half-human, half-plant Bertila moved silently through the room supported by many roots, examining the nerve nodes on the nearby walls, and at the end of the hall the walls were inlaid with large magical crystals, which shone and projected holographic projections from the outside world, and the projection of the flying machine was smoothly landing in the giant tree hangar.

A small old man in a short black coat, hunched over and with a white beard, stood in front of the projection, watching intently as the aircraft docked smoothly, seeing the hatch on its upper level open and a huge brain detached from the nutrients, watching it pat the droplets hanging on its body with its nerve tentacles, and then flew towards a passage in the hangar.

“…… These 'brains' are becoming more and more surprising now," the little old man turned to look at Bertilla, "Are you also in control of these subtle operations?" ”

"I can control it directly, but it's inefficient," said Bertila without looking back, as she passed by not far away, "something as simple as this can preset the logic and let the 'brain' decide for itself what to do." After all, they are efficient thinking organs in their own right, and it is even easier to endow them with simple independent intelligence than to write logic in the core of the iron man's mind. ”

Pitman blinked, "Ah, I forgot, you were a Gondor back then." ”

"As the chief druid of the Empire, have you come all the way to study how my 'synthetic brain' flies around?" Bertilla finally stopped from her busyness and glanced at Pitman with some confusion, and on an entire wall behind her, a dozen or so culture sacs were floating in a rhythmic stream of dark red light, swelling and squirming slightly like a heart.

"Observing these 'synthetic brains' of yours is indeed the main purpose of my visit - to use the word invented by His Majesty, this is called 'inspection,'" Pitman said with a smile and walked towards Bertila, "Your Majesty is very pleased with the performance of the psionic choir and the wet servo, and has also developed a strong interest in your 'synthetic brain', so let me actually see these things...... Are you busy right now? ”

"Can't you see it?" Bertila tried to roll her eyes, but her nervous system had forgotten how to make this human expression, so she spread her hands, and then she turned around, her arm pointing at the culture sacs fixed to the wall, "The modified second-generation synthetic brains are at a critical stage of development, and I must make sure that each of them is healthy and strong until they are all mature." ”

As Bertila's voice fell, the culture sacs made a slight friction sound at the same time, and then their tough and heavy outer skin slid down one after another under the pull of the muscle groups, revealing a transparent inner shell like some kind of giant egg inside, and the dormant "brains" were immersed in the translucent nutrient solution in the shell, and the large and small nerve fibers and nutritional ducts connected to these things, and between some of the ducts, a faint light could be seen.

Pitman looked at this scene, and his eyelids couldn't help jumping: "Sure enough, it was wise for me to quit halfway......"

"Don't you think they're a little cute?" Bertila couldn't help but glance at Pittman, she knew that this "Imperial Chief Druid" was actually a member of the Society of the End of All Things, and even her former subordinates, but these former relationships have long since faded away, and people who have lived to this day choose to get along with each other with a normal heart, "I have adjusted their size and form as much as possible, and everyone who comes into contact with them should know that these 'brains' are very gentle and harmless, and their favorite food is even candy and bush berries......"

Pitman couldn't help but cover his forehead: "...... It's strange enough that these 'synthetic brains' can forage for food on their own, and who cares about their recipes? ”

As if she hadn't heard Pittman's muttering, Bertila had just examined the state of the immature "brains", recording in detail every nerve fluctuation they had at the moment. These complex neuroengineering products in the terminal stage are not yet able to carry out complete mental activities at the moment, they are asleep like babies, and only occasionally some hazy and chaotic "thoughts" emerge, generating a signal impulse in the interconnected nerve nodes for less than half a second - no one can hear their "dreams", only Bertila can hear these low and trivial "voices", and these "voices" play an important role in judging the condition of the synthetic brain.

"Actually, there's something I've always been curious about," Pitman didn't care about Bertila's attitude, he just casually said while observing the synths, "I looked at the structure of the wet servers - you seem to insist on making the top of the cockpit transparent." Why not add an opaque lid? You know, a lot of soldiers get startled when they first come into contact with that thing, and your 'synthetic brain' shouldn't need to use normal vision to see your surroundings. ”

After Beltila checked all the synthetic brains, she controlled the protective layers of each culture sac to close, and replied very seriously: "Every brain should have the right to soak up the sun......

"No, a normal brain doesn't bask in sunlight at all!" Pitman almost pulled his beard off and glared at the other person, "You just can't control your photosynthetic urges!" ”

"Photosynthetic ......" Bertila was stunned for a moment, as if she had just woken up from a dream, and stood there for a few seconds before muttering to herself to break the silence, "Ah, so that's it...... No wonder I always felt that there was a cognitive error at the bottom of my nervous system that I couldn't rule out...... So that's ......"

She shook her head, her tone a little self-deprecating: "I see, I'll follow the advice of the other technicians and add a masking shell to the subsequent synthetic brain container." Sorry, it looks like I'm unconsciously getting into some trouble. ”

“…… We all understand, take your time, you'll get used to it one day," Pitman sighed, pulling back the topic that had already run a little away, "Back to the technical realm." Your Majesty has been paying attention to these 'synthetic brains' you have been paying attention to lately, and now we have one of the biggest questions...... Can these brains only be 'produced' by the Thorin Giant Tree? ”

Bertila reacted quickly: "Do you mean that they can be reproduced by technical means to achieve mass production and increase production?" ”

"Synthetic brains are a good thing, but at this stage they are laboratory products after all - although your lab is very large, and you can even manufacture synthetic brains in batches like a factory, you are the only one in the Thorin Giant Tree after all," Pitman shook his head, "You have studied for so long, you should have understood what the concept of 'magic industry' is, in the face of the real industrial system and its potential, what cannot be mass-produced has natural flaws." ”

“…… Of course I understand, so I've thought about this aspect during this time," Bertilla pondered for a moment and nodded slightly, "Theoretically, the production process of the synthetic brain can indeed be carried out without the Thorin Giant Tree. ”

"Really?" Pittman's eyes widened in surprise, "You can make this thing out of a factory?" ”

"It's not a 'factory' in the conventional sense, it's a biological replication center and a ...... Feedlot," Bertila said in thought, "I know it sounds strange, but you may already know where the genetic samples of the synthetic brain come from—the Nightmare Skull in the Dark Forest, the Soul Eater at Ancestral Peak, and some other monster or beast. Essentially, these 'synthetic brains' are actually a kind of synthetic monsters, you should know how humans domesticated wolves into dogs, and how they bred griffons from a branch of predatory giants, in a sense, the process of creating these brains is similar.

Of course, this is a general statement, and there is a big difference between the actual technology and the difficulty of implementation.

"Returning to the question of mass production, I think there is a real possibility that these 'brains' can be cultivated without the Thorin Giant Tree relying on an ordinary biofactory under artificial control. As far as I know, you and your team of druids have reconstructed the Enher's Fusion Chambers and Cross-Split Pools from the technical data left behind by the Society of the End, and have used modern technology to render them harmless, both of which are key to cultivating the 'synthetic brain'. The only question that follows is how to translate the knowledge that I 'understand' into something that ordinary humans or elven druids can learn and control...... If you don't break through this, even if I give you the original 'brain' matrix, you won't be able to guide and cultivate a complete 'synthetic brain' from it. ”

Bertila said, tapping her forehead lightly - although she looked like a real person, she made a sound of tapping wood in the process: "The change in life form has caused me to perceive the world and the way I think about problems, although I still have the human heart, I can no longer think like a human, there are many things, I know how to do it, even instinctively, but it is difficult to explain to you. Like this 'room' in front of you, I can make it grow with a single thought, but I may have to spend half a year talking to the druids who are working as assistants to show them how this plant manipulation is possible. ”

"It's going to take time, I understand," Pitman nodded, "but aside from that, mass production of synthetic brains is indeed achievable, and it can be achieved in an acceptable timeframe, right?" ”

Bertila thought about it seriously before bowing slightly: "That's for sure." ”

"Then we can keep this project going," Pittman exhaled, "and then the 'wet part host' will have a chance to officially appear on the stage, not just special equipment for small applications." ”

(During the double period, ask for a monthly pass!) ）