I, a cultivator, have ended up in the wizarding world

Chapter 703 Change and Reflection

With the assistance of the surrendered planetary governor, Furnace, the conquest of the remaining Tentacle Tree colonies proceeded at a speed that even surprised Jemin himself. Furnace, in his capacity as the "former Deputy Governor of the Mother Planet's Governor's Office," personally announced the surrender via the entire civilization's emergency broadcast channel. While recording the video, his tentacles were still trembling slightly, and the fear in his crystal eyes hadn't completely faded, yet his words were remarkably clear-headed: "Our original social structure has been completely destroyed in the war; continuing to resist is pointless. And the other side has promised to preserve our race and civilization."

This broadcast, like a boulder thrown into stagnant water, quickly spread through the administrative network of the Tentacle Tree Civilization.

Combined with the physical presence of the Black Giant Legion advancing in tandem, the effect was immediately apparent.

Except for a few planets that are still putting up a stubborn resistance and are firmly held by the private armies of the various governors, the vast majority of colonies took the initiative to lower their orbital defenses as soon as they received the notification.

On some planets, before the black giants had even actually landed, but had only made an appearance in orbit, the governor's office on the ground had already sent out surrender signals.

The order collapsed even faster than Jemin had anticipated.

The cost of the collapse was much lower than he had originally estimated.

According to the standard model of wizard civilizations, when a level 6 technological civilization is subjected to a full-scale invasion, the population loss rate usually falls between 15% and 30%.

Only a portion of those who actually died in the fighting suffered the secondary disasters that followed the collapse of social order: famine, riots, traffic paralysis, medical shortages, and administrative failures...

The actual loss rate of the Tentacle Tree Civilization was less than five percent, and the vast majority of the dead died in battle.

This is also because Jemin's occupation process was too efficient.

After the Black Giant arrives, he will directly take over the administrative system. Before the panic can even take hold, the new order will have already begun to operate.

By the time the public truly realized that the planet had changed hands, the broadcasts on the streets had already changed their tune.

After assisting with the surrender of the first group of colonies, Luli finally couldn't resist making a request to Jemin through the Black Giant Priest. He wanted to go to Commander Ping and ask him some questions in person.

Jemin agreed.

As Luli emerged from the teleportation array, she witnessed a group of androids being transferred from the automated factory in the Infernal Sulfur Plane and then distributed via teleportation arrays to various colonies that had just surrendered.

Those were not crude mechanical puppets, but "administrative androids" that Jemin had specially ordered from the Star Ring Federation using his military merits.

Of course, since these things simulate the creatures of an occupied civilization, they should now be called "artificial trees".

Its exterior is completely modeled after a tentacle tree, and its interior is equipped with a complete set of modules for administrative management, educational planning, resource allocation, and legal adjudication.

Each time they conquer a planet, they directly replace the existing middle and high-level administrative positions.

The entire administration was replaced, from the governor to the education bureau chief and the head of urban infrastructure.

The mid-level officials of the Tentacle Tree Civilization will not all be dismissed; the androids will be quickly screened.

Those with qualified professional skills will remain and continue to cooperate with the new administrative system; those with insufficient skills but acceptable attitude will be demoted and retained; those who are corrupt, derelict in their duties, or resist the new regime will be dismissed directly.

Resistance certainly existed, especially among the governors' direct subordinates who had been stripped of their private armies and privileges; their resistance was particularly fierce.

However, the proportion of middle and high-level officials in the total population is too small, and under absolute control, their resistance is simply insignificant.

For the vast majority of ordinary civilians in the Tentacle Tree region, the direct impact of the planet's invasion wasn't even that drastic. At most, the morning news headlines would change, and schools would resume classes as usual in the afternoon.

Lu Li stood on the edge of the flat surface, staring blankly as batches of artificial trees disappeared into the teleportation array.

His tentacles unconsciously curled up and then loosened at his sides, then curled up again.

It was only at this moment that he truly realized that what Jemin meant by "preserving civilization and race" was not as simple as a ceasefire agreement, nor as simple as turning them into vassal states.

The other side is genuinely rebuilding, and rebuilding a civilization structure that has rotted to the core.

However, Jemin was too shocked to take care of an old tree.

What he was really focused on at that moment was something else entirely.

A test tube.

To be precise, it was the quartz test tube that he had temporarily activated with his enchantment, which he was now holding in the palm of his hand.

This was the most "unruly" one in the lab before.

Not only did it refuse to be cleansed by the cleaner, but after being taken away by the black giant priest, it continued to beat the priest's tiger's mouth with its fists, its strength not great, but its attitude extremely arrogant. And now, it's still beating him.

The test tube's tiny, hair-like arms were tapping rapidly and in rapid succession on the web between Jemin's thumbs, as if expressing a resolute protest. After tapping for a while and finding it useless, it began to kick its legs.

Two thin quartz legs kicked wildly in the air, desperately trying to break free from his grasp.

After pedaling for a long time, I didn't move an inch.

So it was changed to pinch.

After pinching it a few times, it clearly paused for a moment, as if it was seriously considering why it couldn't be pinched.

Finally, it concluded that it hadn't used enough force.

Then it put more pressure on it and pinched even harder.

Jemin looked down at it, letting it do whatever it wanted, but his mind was racing with other things.

This thing is almost exactly the same as when it was first enlightened; it still has those small arms and legs.

His traits, including personality and strength, do not seem to have changed much.

But it is precisely this "lack of change" that is most unusual.

When he designed this technique, although he did not pre-set a mechanism that could be canceled at any time, according to theoretical deduction, the effect of the initiation should have naturally decayed to zero after a period of time.

A considerable amount of time has passed since he cast the Temporary Enlightenment spell, more than enough for the spell to naturally decay.

In fact, according to the message from the Black Giant Guards who remained outside the laboratory, the other consecrated equipment inside the laboratory had long since lost its activity and returned to its original state.

Not only large instruments, but also other test tubes of the same model turned back into inanimate objects.

However, the effect of this test tube not only did not diminish, but seemed to stabilize on its own.

Moreover, instead of degenerating, it has developed a certain degree of "personality" while remaining active.

From initially just running around aimlessly, attending meetings, and launching subconscious attacks, to now even knowing how to switch attack strategies promptly when caught, this change is far beyond the standard effects of a temporary enlightenment spell.

What is the reason?

What special variables did it experience during this period?

Several possibilities flashed through Jemin's mind.

The first possibility is that it's due to greater exposure to the world.

After being handed over to the Black Giant Priest, this test tube went through the entire process of the interdimensional war.

From the purgatory sulfur plane to the tentacle tree mother planet.

From the control room to the battlefield.

From the rift in the dimensional barrier to the ocean of debris in the void.

It saw a far greater amount of information than the laboratory environment could provide.

Does this massive input of information activate its false soul, thereby leading to the solidification of the activated state?

The second possible hypothesis that emerges from this is that it is due to the large amount of interaction.

Its interactions with the Black Giant Priest were clearly more frequent than those with other consecrated items.

Does this continuous interaction affect the persistence of the dot effect?

Another more obvious possibility is the difference in the laws governing different planes.

This difference is even more pronounced, since he left the Purgatory Sulfur Plane and entered the cosmic plane of the Tentacle Tree Civilization. The laws and environments of the two planes are clearly different.

Did this difference trigger some kind of abnormal reaction in the underlying architecture of the Temporary Enlightenment technique that he had not yet noticed?

Or is it a chance effect resulting from the combined influence of multiple factors?

Jemin mentally noted down all the hypotheses, planning to schedule them for experiments once he returned to the Purgatory Sulfur Plane.

Meanwhile, the IVF tubes are relentlessly trying to stop him.

Jemin finally looked down at it, then turned to the black giant priest beside him and tossed it away casually.

"then."

The test tube traced a short arc in the air, and the black giant priest skillfully caught it, his movements as fluid as if he had rehearsed it countless times.

The test tube wriggled in the black giant priest's palm, adjusted its position, and then nestled comfortably within his hand. It no longer attacked the priest with the frenzied fury it had initially displayed.

To be precise, it stopped after hitting it a few times.

Moreover, these few blows looked more like a greeting than an attack.

After spending so much time together, its attitude towards the black giant priest was completely different from when it was first handed over to him. In Jemin's opinion, the way these two interacted was more like that of a master and a pet.

Occasionally, it would prop itself up on the priest's fingers with its tiny arms, leaning half its body out to look around, as if using the priest's height to observe its surroundings. Most interestingly, it would resist fiercely when Jemin took it from the priest's hand.

But when Jemin throws it back into the priest's hand, it immediately peeks out half of its quartz face from between the priest's fingers, giving Jemin a self-righteous look.

If a test tube could actually have expressions.

That's probably it:

"My protector is back, come again."

The black giant priest's attitude towards this thing had gradually changed from initial incomprehension to near-silent acceptance.

Sometimes the test tubes would climb onto his shoulder or sit on his head, and he would just let them.

Jemin didn't look at it any longer.

This test tube research can be put on hold for now; there are other more important things to do.

He was preparing to continue his research on the divine weaponry...

Suddenly, a communication signal entered my mental sea.

It's a message from the shuttle.

The golden vertical eye between Jemin's eyebrows suddenly opened.

The patrolmen he had sent out sent word.

The target has been found.