After relocating, Qi Suian found a safe place, released the Holy Orchestra, and then took out a series of Puzzle Sacred Objects to begin dismantling them.
As it stood, there were no Sacred Objects he could use for now, so he threw most of them into the Melting Furnace.
As for burning Puzzle Sacred Objects, it was no different from burning native Sacred Objects. The total amount of evolutionary energy produced was the same; Puzzle Sacred Objects didn’t yield any more.
It was better to dismantle them. Perhaps he could find a native Sacred Object suitable for the Tai Sui God.
If he could find another Sacred Object from the Eternal Beloved series, Qi Suian would have struck gold.
Unfortunately, there were none. At least they could be used as fuel.
After burning through about ninety percent of them, Qi Suian finally stopped. It wasn’t that the remaining ones were useful, but that he hadn’t examined them yet.
The main reason was that two Sacred Objects from the Eternal Beloved series had completed their assembly, forming a Puzzle Sacred Object.
[Eternal Beloved: Incomplete]
[Quality: A~S]
[Trait 1: Extraordinary Charm (Opposite Sex)]
[Trait 2: Beloved Fusion (Opposite Sex)]
"This... it really went off track." Qi Suian was very disappointed.
Trait 1, Extraordinary Charm, should be an enhanced version of the one from the Mutual Aid Necklace.
It had changed from an active ability to a passive effect. The restriction, however, hadn’t changed; the target still had to be of the opposite sex. Trait 2 naturally came from the Unbreakable Ring that Qi Suian had obtained.
The effect was enhanced. The original restriction of not being able to fuse with living beings and Sacred Objects was significantly reduced.
Now, the fusion target had to be a member of the opposite sex who had fallen in love with the holder.
If the fusion target possessed a Sacred Object, the holder would also gain the power of that corresponding Sacred Object.
Furthermore, the number of targets one could fuse with had increased from one to two.
So, as long as the user was capable enough, they could completely PUA and fuse with two members of the opposite sex who possessed powerful Puzzle Sacred Objects, allowing them to achieve a meteoric rise.
"What a piece of junk. It’s absolute trash." Qi Suian’s expression was not pleasant.
This was for no other reason than the assembled Puzzle Sacred Object making the Tai Sui God ineligible.
The Tai Sui God was just a piece of equipment, essentially an inanimate object. It also had no gender, which was difficult to even define for it.
Moreover, it had no self or consciousness, so it didn’t fit the concept of "beloved" at all.
Therefore, in Qi Suian’s hands, this Puzzle Sacred Object was completely worthless.
Disappointed, Qi Suian dismantled the Puzzle Sacred Object.
’This is even worse than the original components.’
The original could only not fuse with inanimate objects of excessively high quality, but he had been very satisfied with its effect.
"It seems my only option is to use the Ring of Unwavering Loyalty as the core to create a Puzzle Sacred Object that can fuse properly."
"Or perhaps... the Sacred Objects from the Eternal Beloved series can be traded for something I need?" Qi Suian suddenly realized that his protagonist halo wouldn’t have sent him this opportunity for no reason.
He had first obtained the Unbreakable Ring, and only then did the subsequent desire for the Eternal Beloved series arise.
So the opportunity came first, and the idea followed.
If it had been any other component instead of the Ring of Unwavering Loyalty, the moment he saw the effect, it would have been thrown into the Melting Furnace as fuel the very next second.
It was precisely because the Ring of Unwavering Loyalty had value that Qi Suian bothered with what came next.
’Which means it’s most likely meant to be used for a trade, or as a prerequisite for some other opportunity.’
’Otherwise, my protagonist halo wouldn’t have sent me something like this for no reason.’
"In that case, I might as well keep collecting them if I come across them," Qi Suian muttered.
It was just like the Shepherd Priest module from the Plague Curse before; he thought it was purely for manipulation, but its support effects turned out to be unexpectedly good.
After putting away the two native Sacred Objects, he continued dismantling the other Puzzle Sacred Objects to see if there were any he needed.
He thought to himself as he dismantled them.
’Eternal Beloved should be the name of the Puzzle Sacred Object. The reason it has the word "Incomplete" is because there aren’t enough native Sacred Objects from the same series.’
’This means that for all Sacred Objects of the same series, it’s not assembly, but restoration.’
’Only when you assemble Sacred Objects from different series does it create a Puzzle Sacred Object.’
’So, if you collect and restore all the Sacred Objects from a single series, the completed Sacred Object would be...’
’A Destructive Sacred Object!’
A flash of insight struck Qi Suian’s mind, and he guessed at a certain truth.
*Apocalypse* and *Six Days of Ancient Ki*, the two Destructive Sacred Objects, were very likely the "achievements" obtained by people who had completed a collection of same-series Sacred Objects.
They just never expected that the Destructive Sacred Objects would go out of control and become such terrifying entities.
This would also explain why Harrington knew of the danger but had forgotten the cause and effect.
Because it involved a Destructive Sacred Object.
’The possibility is quite high.’
"But... I need to find a way to verify this." Qi Suian stroked his chin, thinking about how to do so.
Now that he had a theory, he certainly wasn’t going to be foolish enough to start assembling a complete series of Sacred Objects himself.
The best method of verification would be to steal internal data from the Eternal United States and the Xuan Empire.
’The second possibility is research. Since my protagonist halo sent me a Sacred Object from the Eternal Beloved series, if it’s not for a trade, then it’s for research as a prerequisite for a future opportunity.’
’For example, the word "Eternal." It’s hard not to associate that with the Eternal United States.’
Qi Suian wasn’t very keen on researching the Sacred Object system. The main reason was that its origins were too bizarre, and it had the hallmark of a windfall that was too good to be true.
So he only thought about using them, not studying them in depth.
The Sacred Object system and the Fire Seed system were fundamentally different. The former was more inclined towards the innate, while the latter was technology.
Purebloods and mutants indeed had a civilizational gap, yet they had built survival systems suited for themselves in the wasteland, complete with a well-rounded structure.
That’s why Qi Suian’s research and studies had all gone smoothly.
The situation with Sacred Objects was similar to the Low-level Poison Element Attachment Technique he had acquired. In his eyes, they were more like rootless duckweed.
The Xuan Empire’s and the Eternal United States’ development and research on Sacred Objects, influenced by the war, were more focused on how to strengthen the nation’s foundation and maximize their use in warfare.
There was little research into their fundamental nature. Even if someone wanted to, they probably wouldn’t get any support. After all, the mainstream thinking was that annihilating the enemy and winning the war was what mattered.
Even if you researched their fundamental nature, so what? Wouldn’t the time you spend on that research be better used developing the killing power of Sacred Objects or enhancing fertility rates? Isn’t that more in line with the main theme of war?
So it wasn’t that no one did the research, but that it didn’t align with the mainstream, and thus never made any waves.
"Holy shit, I’ve been influenced too!" Qi Suian suddenly came to a realization. No wonder he had been on a killing spree ever since arriving in this Doomsday World.
Normally, after obtaining a Sacred Object, even if he chose to use it as fuel, it would be after studying it first, not just immediately deciding to burn it.
Even if the research yielded nothing, he would have been happy to try. He wouldn’t have just given up because he thought there’d be no results or that it was dangerous.
He had even forgotten that he could determine the function of a Sacred Object through research, instead relying on the doomsday game’s panel like a brainless idiot.
"Damn, the Destructive Sacred Objects are terrifying. Just one of the four great Chapters was enough to make me neglect the very foundation of my rise." Qi Suian felt a lingering fear. "Thank you, protagonist halo, for saving my life!"
"I’ve been acting so recklessly and killing nonstop lately. While my own personality is part of the reason, the influence of ’War’ must have been a critical factor."
This was definitely the work of his protagonist halo. Otherwise, the thought would have been lost in some forgotten corner of his mind, with no chance of ever being recalled.
The only thing that could have helped him return to his senses under these circumstances was his protagonist halo.
"What a huge loss!" Qi Suian’s heart bled as he thought of all the native Sacred Objects he had wasted as fuel. "Such a waste, a complete waste!!"
"A sacrilegious waste of heavenly treasures!!!"
Having come to his senses, Qi Suian was almost on the verge of tears.
’No, I’ve probably only temporarily broken free from the influence of ’War’. If I don’t find a way to solve this, I’ll definitely repeat the same mistake.’
’My protagonist halo doesn’t protect against this kind of influence. At most, it can use external factors to help me indirectly snap out of it.’
’Since there’s no way to protect me directly... I’ll have to use a more drastic measure.’
"AI Brain, I want to set a Death Reforging to occur every thirty minutes from now on."
Since there was no way to protect himself, Qi Suian decided to just endure it and then reset his state.
Death Reforging had a significant chance of restoring Qi Suian to his normal state of mind.
If he were facing the influence of the true Destructive Sacred Object, *Apocalypse*, he wouldn’t have much confidence.
However, this was only ’War’, not the whole thing. It was most likely just equivalent to SSS-rank.
Between entities of the same rank, Death Reforging had the help of his protagonist halo, Celestial Fate: Profound, while ’War’ likely couldn’t receive support from *Apocalypse*.
Therefore, his chances of success were very high.
[I do not advise you to...]
"Do as I say." Qi Suian paid no mind to what the AI Brain was saying.
The AI Brain had definitely been influenced as well.
’War’ didn’t directly tamper with one’s thoughts or alter one’s cognition. Instead, it subtly and imperceptibly combined with your own desired benefits, eventually leaving you deeply ensnared and unable to break free.
Looking back, you would even think they were all your own choices, since they aligned with your interests.
[The command has been set for you]
Bound by Qi Suian’s command, the AI Brain offered no rebuttal and chose to obey.
It had only ever been an assistant, not the main entity, so it naturally lacked the ability to defy Qi Suian.
"’War’ has already affected both you and me, but you should be mostly fine, since you’re not a living being," Qi Suian explained.
[Yes, your statement is correct. According to my calculations, ninety percent of all recent plans and proposals ultimately point towards slaughter and war as the method of gain.]
The AI Brain reviewed its processes and gave Qi Suian an affirmative answer.
"So it’s not that ’War’ twisted our thoughts and logic, but that the entire environment has been altered by ’War’."
"The macro-environment is like this, so all our plans are inevitably swept up by the mainstream current."
"No wonder the fourth batch of survivors started killing the moment they arrived. I guess apart from the protagonist survivors, the other survivors are probably still in the dark," Qi Suian said.