Huaxia, Beijing, Beijing University of Science and Technology, a certain male dormitory. It was midsummer, and the weather was hot. Most of the students in the dorm had gone to the study room to enjoy the air conditioning, leaving only one student inside. He was five feet ten inches tall, had a simple and neat buzz cut, and handsome features. He wore a cool, clean white T-shirt and black shorts. His skin was relatively pale, but his muscle definition was clear, especially his chest muscles and abs, a result of long-term fitness training. His name was He Xingzhou, a student at the Physics Department of Beijing University of Science and Technology, nineteen years old, currently in his third year. At that moment, He Xingzhou was browsing the news on his computer, and one piece of news made him feel somewhat angry. “Breaking news! Japan has decided to discharge nuclear wastewater into the sea. Studies show: it will pollute half of the Pacific Ocean in 57 days!” “To save money, they’re dumping nuclear wastewater into the ocean? Do these people have no shame at all?” He Xingzhou couldn’t help but curse in the comments. In the comments, netizens from Huaxia were condemning it unanimously. “Apologize? They persist in discharging even after apologizing! Haha, is this the spirit of craftsmanship? Make a mistake and just apologize, but never change!” “The environment of Blue Star has been polluted like this. Do they not consider future generations at all?” “I heard they’ve already been discharging. Environmental organizations detected radioactive substances nearby long ago!” “Will marine life mutate in the future?” “Really worried about the future of humanity.” Although He Xingzhou was just an ordinary college student, it didn’t stop him from thinking about the future of humanity, the beginning of time, the end of the universe, and other such questions. With a light swipe of his finger, he scrolled to another piece of news. “In the Southern Sea, fishermen caught a deformed shark with human-like features. Experts confirmed it’s a thresher shark that mutated for some reason.” He Xingzhou looked at the photo. It was a thresher shark pup, and its eyes were actually on its belly, making it look somewhat like a human face, appearing very strange. “There seems to be more news about mutant creatures lately.” He Xingzhou had noticed that news about mutant creatures had appeared from all over the world recently. “Could it be a survivorship bias? Because I keep following these things, big data is sending me these news stories, making me have this illusion?” He Xingzhou wondered. “It’s not an illusion, but a fact.” A voice echoed in his mind, startling He Xingzhou. “Who?” He looked around but saw no one. “Don’t look for me. I’m here, in your brain!” A light ball seemed to appear before He Xingzhou’s eyes. Even before He Xingzhou could ask, it spoke up on its own: “Let me introduce myself. I am the Quantum Light Computer, a relic of a god-level civilization. For some reasons, you activated me. I belong to you now, and you can treat me as your personal AI.” “The content and information I display can only be seen by you now.” He Xingzhou was stunned for a few seconds, then exclaimed with joy, “Are you the legendary cheat system?” The Quantum Light Computer said, “You can call me that, but I am not a system. I only have a tech tree.” “Why did you bind with me, and what do you intend to do?” He Xingzhou remained cautious. After all, there’s no such thing as free pie falling from the sky. The Quantum Light Computer explained, “Many eons ago, there was a powerful god-level civilization in this universe. Their technology had reached its zenith. In your Blue Star people’s words, their technology was at a divine level!” “To uncover the ultimate mystery of the universe, the god-level civilization created me, the Quantum Light Computer, a quantum robot with super computation and analysis capabilities.” “My purpose of creation was to research the ‘Cosmic Matrix,’ which contains the ultimate mystery of the universe!” “But before they could successfully research the Cosmic Matrix, the god-level civilization was destroyed by enemy attacks, vanishing from this universe.” “I chose you because I calculated countless possibilities and deduced that you are the most likely to research the Cosmic Matrix, fulfilling the god-level civilization’s long-cherished wish and completing my mission!” “Am I that awesome?” He Xingzhou doubted, “How likely am I to research the Cosmic Matrix?” The Quantum Light Computer said, “About one in ten trillion.” He Xingzhou: “Damn, are you kidding me?” The Quantum Light Computer continued to explain, “You already have the highest probability. The Cosmic Matrix is the ultimate mystery in the universe. If it could be easily researched, the god-level civilization wouldn’t have perished.” “In your research process, you will also encounter various issues, technological bottlenecks, resource limitations, and attacks from extraterrestrial civilization enemies, among others.” “But even if you don’t manage to research the Cosmic Matrix, the journey of development alone will be enough to make you a leading figure on this planet, and even in this star system!” After speaking, the Quantum Light Computer displayed a tech tree to him. “Electromagnetics, materials chemistry, quantum physics, genetic engineering...” The tech tree had numerous branches, each corresponding to various technological creations. With just a glance, He Xingzhou saw nuclear fusion technology, spacecraft, neuro-mechanical devices, and the like. His heart pounded. As someone who had received modern university education, he knew exactly what these meant! The tech tree consisted of technologies that humanity had yet to complete and achieve! Randomly bringing out even just one of these would be enough to etch He Xingzhou’s name in history and earn him world fame! Becoming the world’s richest man would be a breeze! How could he not be tempted by this? He was going insane! “How do I research the things on the tech tree?” He Xingzhou asked eagerly. The Quantum Light Computer said, “It’s simple. You just need to provide energy and accomplish some small goals. Then I can unlock computational power and automate research.” “You need to continuously provide me with energy. Once a precondition is met, I can unlock new technology.” “How much energy is enough?” He Xingzhou had a premonition that this wasn’t going to be simple. “Hmm, let me put it this way. Based on the current situation of the Solar System, the first stage of the energy supply device requires the construction of a Dyson Sphere around the Sun,” the Quantum Light Computer replied. The so-called Dyson Sphere was an energy collection device. Its diameter was over two hundred million kilometers, and it could envelop an entire constant star with an artificial celestial body! It could maximally absorb all the energy output from the star, generating immense energy. “Dyson Sphere?” He Xingzhou couldn’t even imagine. Humans were struggling with moon landings, yet they wanted to build an artificial celestial body that enclosed the Sun? Even novel authors wouldn’t write that! “Yes, the Dyson Sphere. This is just the first stage of researching the Cosmic Matrix, the first stage is merely the beginning; there are higher stages yet to be unlocked.” The unemotional words of the Quantum Light Computer shook He Xingzhou to his core. As a lower-level civilization being, his imagination was insufficient to conceive the grand undertakings of the god-level civilization back in the day! “Forget the Dyson Sphere. Creating a Dyson Sphere would eliminate Blue Star’s sunlight, leading directly to an ice age and mass extinction!” He Xingzhou said. The Quantum Light Computer: “If you want to protect Blue Star’s ecosystem, you can construct a Dyson Ring or Dyson Cloud, part of the Dyson Sphere. Through orbit control systems of planetary spacecraft, their positions can be adjusted to avoid impacting Blue Star.” “Although the energy supply would be somewhat reduced.” He Xingzhou: “...” “I don’t even know if it’s possible.” He Xingzhou sighed, not because he was unwilling to try, but because the idea was too far-fetched. A penniless student building a Dyson Sphere? It was ridiculous! The Quantum Light Computer said, “It’s not about whether you can do it, but you must do it. Because if you don’t achieve it within a certain time, you might perish with this planet!” He Xingzhou: “??? What, not doing it means destroying the world?” “I am just a scientific research and knowledge storage device, and I wouldn’t do such things.” The Quantum Light Computer’s voice was emotionless. “Based on the information I’ve obtained, the Zerg has already appeared in this world.” “They are alien creatures that feed on matter and energy, like locusts in the universe. They can devour every planet they encounter!” “Following their evolution pattern, they could eliminate humanity within fifty years; within a hundred years, they would devour all life on Earth. If a Planet Devourer emerged among them, the entire Solar System could be consumed!” “You’re trying to scare me?” He Xingzhou was skeptical, “I haven’t seen any alien creatures.” The Quantum Light Computer said, “The mutant creatures you’ve observed are the juvenile forms of the Zerg. It’s a self-protection mechanism to embed their genes in local creatures. When the time is ripe, they will seize the original form and completely mutate into the Zerg.” “I must remind you, the Zerg can absorb nuclear radiation to accelerate their evolution. Your planet seems to be doing something that aids their mutation and evolution, such as releasing and polluting substances.” “If no measures are taken, the Zerg will land from the oceans in a few decades, and conventional thermal weapons will have limited effectiveness against them. Even your nuclear weapons can’t completely destroy them, and there are even Insect Kings that can absorb nuclear energy.” “These insects will consume all humans before advancing into space.” “The situation might be more severe than I described. Don’t you say that when you spot a cockroach in the kitchen, there certainly isn’t just one in the house? It’s not only Earth; other planets in the Solar System might also have Zerg.” “With the energy from the Solar System, a Planet Devourer could be born and devour an entire planet! Suppose one appeared on Earth, do Blue Star people have a way to deal with such a creature?” “No,” He Xingzhou replied decisively. “Only unlocking advanced technology can you have the capability to fight them!” the Quantum Light Computer continued, “A Dyson Sphere can provide energy for a Planet Destruction Cannon. As long as you construct the Dyson Sphere and the Planet Destruction Cannon, even if a Planet Devourer appears, the Planet Destruction Cannon can eliminate them!” “On the ground, you can also build steel cities, Mecha units, aircraft carriers, and so on, for defense.”