Chapter 493: Plagiarism and Zombies
As the flying boat sliced through the sky, it arrived above the Immortal Armaments University.
Zhang Yu gazed down at the abyss below, its diameter stretching several kilometers, its depths utterly unfathomable. He could still make out countless glowing orbs flickering at the bottom, said to be the factories deep beneath the university.
The surrounding cliff walls were equally illuminated by countless lights, with buildings clinging to the rock face, jutting out as if desperate to reach the heavens. The massive cavern was filled with structures built into the cliff walls.
At that moment, lines of fiend energy pollution forecasts appeared in Zhang Yu’s Bionic Eye.
Looking down at the Nine Nether Abyss, Zhang Yu mused that the fiend energy pollution at the Immortal Armaments University was truly the most severe he had encountered at any university he had visited.
Upon disembarking from the flying boat, the group immediately rented magical artifacts to protect against the fiend energy pollution. Without them, they would be confined to a small, fixed area within the university.
After leaving the platform where the flying boat had docked, a massive advertisement for Extreme Tiger loomed before them.
Mo Shangjin sighed, “The Immortal Armaments University is the birthplace of Extreme Tiger. Legend has it that it was founded by several Spirit Transformation disciples. In its early days, the company only recruited wealthy individuals, and its ‘money-first’ corporate culture fueled rapid growth, making it a renowned enterprise within the university.”
As Zhang Yu walked through the campus, he noticed that nearly every student was wearing Extreme Tiger Brand Bionic Eyes, making his group feel like outsiders.
Zhang Yu remarked, “The students at Immortal Armaments University really all use Extreme Tiger Brand.”
Mo Shangjin replied, “It’s said that three out of every ten students here work for Extreme Tiger, and the university primarily purchases Extreme Tiger Brand Bionics.”
“Price is also a major factor. Look at the Bionic Platforms here — Extreme Tiger Brand products are sold very cheaply.”
Zhang Yu glanced around and confirmed that Extreme Tiger Brand products were indeed significantly cheaper than those at Myriad Laws University. He even considered buying a batch to resell back home.
However, after calculating the taxes and fees, he decided against it.
He then noticed many high-end Extreme Tiger Brand models that looked increasingly familiar.
Zhang Yu commented, “These high-end models seem…”
Mo Shangjin interjected, “They’re knockoffs. Extreme Tiger is famous for its low-end products precisely because their mid- to high-end models are all copied from other companies. Lawsuits are filed every year, and these copied models have long been banned from sale at most universities. You can only buy them here on Immortal Armaments University’s campus.”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “So Immortal Armaments University is protecting Extreme Tiger Brand’s plagiarism.”
Fu Ji scoffed, “What’s new? Look at all the companies in Kunxu — Vajra Profound Creation, Myriad Paths Artisan Group… aren’t they all built on copying others?”
“Even universities and sects do the same. How else would they grow stronger? The weak copy the strong to catch up. The strong can’t cover every area themselves, so they absorb resources from all sides, innovating while copying.”
“Copyright can restrain ordinary people, but how can it stop truly powerful, well-connected forces? Of course, they still give face to the Heavenly Court. They usually reverse-engineer the technology, restructure it slightly, and copy just enough to avoid legal trouble.”
Zhang Yu thought, “When I’m strong enough to reverse-engineer and restructure cultivation arts… I’ll copy to my heart’s content.”
Realizing this, Zhang Yu sighed at the limitations of his Feather Book. It couldn’t keep up with his boundless imagination.
As they spoke, the group arrived at the Civil Engineering Competition arena. Zhang Yu checked the messages from True Monarch Magnetic Pole and Director Gao, knowing his two teachers were watching the event through the Spirit Realm.
Above the competition arena, in the Spirit Realm’s spectator stands, projections of True Monarch Magnetic Pole and Director Gao materialized side by side.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole sighed, “Immortal Armaments University… It’s been ages since I last set foot in this wretched place.”
Director Gao asked, “You mentioned earlier that the champion’s prize for this Civil Engineering Competition is a Military-Grade Armor blueprint. What’s its true value?”
He was considering whether to let Mo Shangjin buy his way into the competition if Zhang Yu couldn’t defeat his opponent.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole explained, “Although the Military-Grade Armor is specifically designed for the Civil Engineering Department, it originated from the upper echelons.”
“Giving away this blueprint costs them nothing in terms of resources, yet it intensifies the competition even further.”
“Still, even knowing this, many will still jump at the chance, won’t they?”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole sighed again, then continued, “After all, who wouldn’t want a glimpse into the Sect’s future technological trajectory?”
“If they can glean even a hint of the future’s technological roadmap from this blueprint, the potential benefits are immeasurable.”
“But it’s also possible that after all the effort to obtain it… we might find nothing of value. The design might not contain much information about future technological pathways.”
“We won’t know the true situation until we get our hands on the design. Its value remains incalculable.”
“Still, at least it would fill the university’s gap in Military-Grade Armor.”
Director Gao nodded slightly. He knew that while universities updated their Immortal Dao Technology annually, these were merely incremental improvements and minor innovations within existing frameworks.
Truly transformative technological breakthroughs, the kind that reshaped the world, typically originated from the sects’ technological diffusion, causing massive disruptions and even altering the ecology of Kunxu’s First Layer.
If they could glimpse future technological development pathways and directions in advance, the intangible benefits would be immense.
Director Gao thought to himself, “The value of this design seems to extend far beyond the Military-Grade Armor itself. Would the Immortal Armaments University’s Artifact Refinement Department… be interested as well? Especially with the allure of the Spirit Transformation Bionic experiments…”
At that moment, a Spirit Realm Projection materialized, its metallic sheen betraying its puppet-like form. “Magnetic Pole, long time no see,” it said.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s eyes flashed. “Thousand Puppets,” she replied coolly, “you’ve come to watch the Civil Engineering Competition too?”
Director Gao’s mind raced. His Bionic Eye scanned the newcomer’s data, displaying his profile: “True Monarch Thousand Puppets, Head of the Artifact Refinement Department at Immortal Armaments University. Over the past three years, he’s been involved in over two thousand copyright disputes. Immortal Armaments University’s plagiarism king… one of them.”
True Monarch Thousand Puppets smiled faintly. “I heard Myriad Laws University recently copied Divine Monarch Jade Nectar’s Bionic again, so I came to see your latest plagiarism masterpiece.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole snorted coldly. “All the projects under my supervision are independently developed. Don’t spread baseless accusations.”
True Monarch Thousand Puppets shook his head. “Alright, alright, if you say it’s independently developed, then it’s independently developed. Let’s just watch the competition.”
“Let’s see how your ‘independently developed’ creations perform.”
Meanwhile, the two teams outside the arena had already entered.
Wan Gouxuan smiled at Zhang Yu and said, “Zhang Yu, your school’s strength is truly remarkable. The destructive power of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power is simply earth-shattering.”
“Let’s keep things restrained today. We don’t want unnecessary losses over a mere competition.”
Zhang Yu glanced at him in surprise before casually nodding in agreement.
Wan Gouxuan maintained a calm facade as he looked at Zhang Yu, but his heart was racing with excitement.
“Patience! Patience! Patience!” he mentally urged himself. “I can’t let Zhang Yu sense anything amiss. I can’t let him become wary.”
“I can’t let him realize… that he’s already become our prey.”
“I must control my malice. I can’t give him a chance to surrender. I can’t let him… escape!”
At that moment, Zhang Yu appeared to Wan Gouxuan like a delicate flower. He needed to approach him step by step, carefully and cautiously, and before the boy could react, tear him to shreds in one swift motion.
“At worst, I’ll tear his body apart and scatter his materials across the arena for the school to collect…”
The more agitated Wan Gouxuan felt inside, the calmer and more composed he appeared outwardly, betraying no hint of his true intentions.
As both sides entered the arena, the competition officially began. Wan Gouxuan and his teammates immediately opened a series of iron coffins.
With each roar, a twisted humanoid figure was released from its coffin.
These were bodies that had worked for years in underground factories, their Bionics severely damaged and their souls long gone, all due to prolonged exposure to high concentrations of fiend energy.
The original owners had been forced to abandon their physical bodies due to the overwhelming fiend energy corruption.
Without maintenance or upkeep, the bodies deteriorated further, leaving only the rudimentary artifact spirits within their Bionics to maintain basic functions.
However, these rudimentary artifact spirits had entered a disconnected state, akin to a Spirit Realm Network account in arrears, due to their original owners’ abandonment.
Thus, these disconnected artifact spirits roamed the high-concentration fiend energy zones, piloting their decaying bodies as zombies that neither the company nor the school bothered to deal with.
Only the rudimentary artifact spirits continued to send repeated requests for connection to the Spirit Realm, this instinctual behavior becoming their final obsession, a boundless yearning for the Spirit Realm.
Now, as Wan Gouxuan pointed his finger, the Spirit Realm Network traffic supplied to these zombies exploded like a spark in their dark world, guiding them toward Myriad Laws University’s position.
Amidst the roars, fiend energy-saturated zombies surged forth like wild beasts.
Watching the scene unfold, Zhang Yu frowned slightly. He knew that while these zombies weren’t particularly strong in combat, their bodies were saturated with fiend energy that was difficult to handle. Contact with it could lead to shortened lifespans, medical expenses, construction site contamination, and other troublesome consequences.
Zhang Yu soared into the air, proactively intercepting the approaching horde.
But in the next instant, beams of Divine Light descended from the sky, radiating terrifying pressure.
Zhang Yu’s hair stood on end. He sensed that even the slightest touch from that golden light would instantly kill him.
Simultaneously, a message from the referee appeared in everyone’s Bionic Eyes:
Referee: “Emergency situation. Match suspended. Do not move.”
Zhang Yu was startled. This was the first time he had ever seen the referee intervene in all the matches he had participated in.
“What major incident has occurred?”
As Zhang Yu remained bewildered, the golden light converged and dissipated, while the Bionics of all the zombies were now covered in a mosaic pattern.
Zhang Yu paused, then realized: “Damn it… Is the Extreme Tiger Company worried about damaging their brand image, so they’re censoring the Extreme Tiger Bionics on the zombies?”
Referee: “Match resumed.”
In the next moment, the entire arena sprang back to life. Zhang Yu unleashed a palm strike from afar, channeling the formidable Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power. It materialized as an impenetrable wall, firmly blocking the advancing zombies.
Zhang Yu reached out with another telekinetic grasp, intending to lift the zombies into the air and hurl them toward the Immortal Armaments University’s construction site.
But the moment the zombies were restrained, their Bionics began to convulse violently. Through their connection to the Spirit Realm Network, they received the self-destruct command.
Their long-denied hunger for the Spirit Realm was finally satisfied. The zombies’ violent explosions echoed across the arena like a chorus of final, triumphant roars.
As the zombies collectively detonated, vast waves of fiend energy surged across the arena, indiscriminately engulfing friend and foe alike.
Zhang Yu’s gaze sharpened. “So the Immortal Armaments University plans to saturate the entire arena with fiend energy? They must be supremely confident in their fiend energy shielding technology.”
Across the arena, Wan Gouxuan watched the scene unfold, thinking to himself, “Myriad Laws University, your living conditions are too comfortable. You can breathe without air purification, attend school without fiend energy protection. How could your accumulated expertise in this area ever compare to ours?”
“For you, saturating the arena with fiend energy is a hostile environment.”
“For us… it’s just daily life.”
As he pondered, Wan Gouxuan repeatedly reminded himself, “Patience, patience. Subdue him gradually, bit by bit. Don’t give him any chance to escape.”