Chapter 229 Meat Grinder (10)

Although Jie Fangcheng's words were justified, this kind of "self-sacrifice" was indeed difficult for a robot that had no emotions and even basically no moral concepts to calculate and understand.

The robot does not have the same moral concepts as ordinary humans, and at the same time, it is difficult for him to understand human emotions. He only has rational calculations.

Even the robot's kindness to Jie Fangcheng along the way can be understood as an opening of authority after weighing the pros and cons.

Because of Jie Fangcheng's strength, the robot would be more willing to list him as a higher-level collaborator.

But when Jie Fangcheng said this, the robot looked at him.

Through calculations, Yan Xun actually knew that such behavior did exist among human groups.

It usually occurs between parents, relatives, and lovers.

This goes against the nature of robots.

Although Yan Xun is not completely made of machines, what controls his behavior is not a chip, but the neurons left behind by Yan Xun.

But this only means that robots have some human thinking.

There are not many people like Yan Xun.

He decided to sacrifice himself for the sake of the entire human society and created a cold robot.

But at this moment, the cold robot seemed to have a slight lag even in its calculation track.

He should have understood - not emotionally, but after a lot of calculations, he should have known that this was a situation of mutual protection that would occur when human emotions reached a certain level.

This kind of situation has happened before on Cangcui Island.

But as the current highest executive officer of the entire Cangcui Island and as the last protective weapon created by Yan Xun during his lifetime, no one has ever protected him.

He doesn't need to.

Human beings are so weak and need his protection so much.

In the final analysis, the "Yan Xun" in front of him was just a half-biological, half-mechanical life form composed of a large number of mechanical calculations and some neurons.

Human emotions are so unfamiliar to robots.

But at this moment he seemed to sense an indescribable throbbing.

Did the electron flow cause a stagnation reaction in the body, or did a certain component get damaged during the battle?

Or... a robot that has lost its heart and only has thoughts left, can it also feel the "heartbeat"?

Jie Fangcheng noticed his gaze and turned to look at him: "What's wrong?"

The robot shook its head.

Although the two were talking, it did not affect their journey.

Soon, when the two of them rushed all the way to the research institute in the central city, the robot stopped at the door of the institute.

He placed his hand on the institute's door, and soon the institute sensed the correct key and lit up from the inside out.

The robot said to Jie Fangcheng: "There are restrictions in the institute. I can't get in."

This is also why Yan Xun, as the most powerful robot at present, who originally had the ability to come to the Central City alone, never chose to come by himself.

As for why not looking for other humans...

Xie Fangcheng didn't doubt him, but just looked up at the research institute in front of him.

"Ah... this place is so big!" Although Jie Fangcheng was not lost, this research institute was indeed too big.

The nearly six-story research institute is so complicated just by looking at it from the outside. If there was no one to lead the way, wouldn't it be like a tour for Jie Fangcheng inside?

Yan Xun said, "It doesn't matter. You will naturally find the seed after you go in."

Jie Fangcheng believed him so much! After hearing what he said, he immediately opened the door of the institute without hesitation.

As soon as I pushed him open, I understood: "Oh my god! It's such a big tree!!"

In front of him. Xie Fangcheng originally thought that after so many years, even the most high-tech research institute would be in tatters now. Maybe it had even been attacked by some mutant plants and animals.

But everything in the entire institute is well preserved - which is not true, because the entire institute looks six stories high from the outside, so it should be very complicated.

In fact, after entering, I found that the institute was very empty. It was so empty that there was nothing in the entire institute, except for a towering tree in the middle.

It has been so long since the apocalypse, and the animals and plants outside are mutating or dying, but inside the research institute, this tree is still lush and green.

At the beginning, Jie Fangcheng always thought that the name "Tree of Life" mentioned by the robot was just a symbol, representing the hope of the whole world.

But when he saw the tree in the research institute, Xie Fangcheng suddenly understood why it was called the "Tree of Life".

This tree is very similar to the branches of the Tree of Life in Area C, but when Jie Fangcheng saw the Tree of Life in Area C, he could sense a rich force of life.

But the tree in front of me seemed to have only an appearance, and there was no sense of vitality at all.

If there was such a thing, why didn't they take it out earlier? Jie Fangcheng couldn't help but have some doubts in his heart.

Of course, there was another problem before him: how could he take such a big tree away?

Isn't this the seed of the tree of life? How can it be a seed?

Uh... thinking about this, Jie Fangcheng thought of the real "Tree of Life" in the player lobby.

If the real body could grow that big, the huge tree in front of us would indeed be similar to a seed.

However, when Jie Fangcheng was thinking this, he found something strange when he got closer.

As we all know, soil, water and sunlight are essential to growing a tree.

However, the roots of the tree of life in the institute did not penetrate the soil, and there was no soil in the entire institute.

When Jie Fangcheng got closer, he discovered that the huge and tangled root system of the Tree of Life eventually converged on a ball of light in a not very scientific way.

Jie Fangcheng gently touched the ball of light, and a virtual screen instantly appeared in front of him.

[Converting [No. G.0012], [No. G.0174], [No. V.0005]...]

[The laser device [No. G.0012] has been dismantled and molecular reconstruction is in progress. Energy block 79D is required.]

[Energy blocks have been collected, please wait. 】

[[No. G.0012] Conversion successful, execute the next task instruction. ]

…

【Conversion successful.】

【The mission has been completed.】

[[Tree of Life] Cultivation Plan was successful, time taken: 31702 days 11 hours 36 minutes 21 seconds.]

After reading it, Jie Fangcheng was shocked. This was the "Tree of Life" that had taken nearly ninety years to successfully cultivate!

No wonder such a powerful weapon has not been used, it has not been successfully cultivated before!

Jie Fangcheng looked around.

The so-called "research institute" does not even have a single room inside. Jie Fangcheng was originally puzzled, but now he probably understood.

According to the information obtained from chatting with Yan Xun on the way, at the beginning of the doomsday, human technology developed rapidly, but at that time, the technology developed by various parties eventually became weapons in the hands of various forces.

War became the main theme, and all resources in human hands were contributed to the creation of weapons such as laser cannons and molecular guns.

When we finally realized we couldn't go on like this, there were not many resources left.

People remembered to fight the doomsday together, and the weapons that had hurt each other were moved into the research institute, disassembled, and reconstructed again, transforming into the "Tree of Life" that represents hope.

The research institute is not just a "research institute". It is a place for collecting and supplying energy. It is also a place to protect the Tree of Life so that it can "grow".

This is really...

Jie Fangcheng felt somewhat complicated.

And as he touched it, the Tree of Life sensed something and swayed in the air.

【Please verify your identity. 】

Jie Fangcheng was stunned.

Verify identity?

He is not from this small world, so he should have no identity in this world, right?

Thinking of this, Jie Fangcheng turned his head and looked at the robot at the door.

The robot just nodded at him with a "reassured" expression.

When the Tree of Life was created, humanity had reached a point where they had no choice but to unite.

As long as you are a human, you can pass the verification.

He nodded, and Jie Fangchengzhen took the next step with confidence.

The white ball in front of it took a few seconds to scan, as if it was struggling with something, but it was finally verified successfully.

[Thank you for taking back the Tree of Life. This is our last hope. Please know. ]

After the mechanical electronic sound prompt, the huge tree of life in front of the eyes was recovered into the white ball in the blink of an eye.

The white ball floated in front of Jie Fangcheng, and when Jie Fangcheng stretched out his hand, the ball fell obediently into his palm, making it convenient for Jie Fangcheng to carry it.

The moment he got the Tree of Life, Jie Fangcheng also saw a virtual screen appear on the white ball, which could display the usage and functions, which was equivalent to an instruction manual.

Jie Fangcheng walked out while saying that he had just flipped through the book.

He walked up to Yan Xun and handed the ball to him.

"Here." Jie Fangcheng said, "But I just took a look, there are seven of these things in total?"

Yan Xun nodded: "Yes."

One Tree of Life is useless, but if seven are connected together, they can form a windbreak, which might be useful.

"Oh? Where are the remaining six? Take them all."

The robot looked at him, its mechanical eyes crinkling slightly.

"Why? This does not conform to the rules of our cooperation."

"Ah? What rules?" Jie Fangcheng was confused.

The robot explained: "The price I paid should only be enough to recover a seed of the Tree of Life."

He confused Jie Fangcheng: "What do you mean?"

The robot looked at him and said, "The remaining six seeds of the Tree of Life are scattered all over the continent, spanning a long distance. Our cooperation is that I will provide you with a replica of the 'Angel's Eye', and you will help me find a seed of the Tree of Life..."

Jie Fangcheng understood now. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Who are we friends? Why are you arguing with me about this?"

But the robot shook its head and said in a serious tone: "If humans want to get along for a long time, one side cannot always suffer losses. This is not the way of interpersonal communication. My control system is also reminding me that I cannot take advantage of you. This is very rude."

"Friends don't have to worry about so much." Jie Fangcheng patted his shoulder carelessly, "Given our relationship, isn't it my duty to help you?"

The robot was silent for once.

It was indeed difficult for his computing system to react. The other party was protecting him and was also unconditionally nice to him - what was their relationship?

Humans go around hiding their emotions, but robots don't.

He asked bluntly: "Mr. Xie, what is our relationship now? My database tells me that we are probably not 'brothers' in the broad sense."

Jie Fangcheng: “…”

Jie Fangcheng turned around and left: "Let's go, let's go and get the other six Trees of Life!"

Although he was evasive, the robot silently followed his steps.

The robot didn't ask any further questions, which made Jie Fangcheng feel relieved.

The two returned to the car and it was already night.

Jie Fangcheng mumbled a few good night words and closed his eyes.

The vehicle continued to drive in the vast desert. It was very quiet all around, with only the sound of the vehicle driving over the yellow sand and the occasional sound of mechanical joints rubbing against each other.

Professor Zhang... after he turned into a robot, he was... frankly too unlovable!!

Jie Fangcheng complained in his heart.

Where has gone the sarcastic Professor Zhang who used to say a thousand meanings in every sentence?

But after spending so many days together, at least Jie Fangcheng has gotten used to having a robot around him.

He fell asleep quickly.

The next day, when the sunlight shone in through the car window, Jie Fangcheng finally opened his eyes.

He turned his head in a daze and couldn't help but exclaim "Oh my God!"

The robot in the main driving seat turned around and nodded to him politely.

"Good morning, Mr. Xie."

Jie Fangcheng narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a long while: "You... this..."

In front of him, the robot replaced Zhang Daoan's appearance with the face of "Yan Xun" that Fang Cheng saw for the first time after entering the hunting ground.

There are obvious traces of silver metal splicing on this face, and it is obvious that with robotics technology, complete bionics can be achieved.

At least when it was wearing Professor Zhang's face before, there were no obvious mechanical features on the robot's face and body. Even its mechanical eyes were made to look like a real person's. Except for the data flow that would appear in its pupils when calculations were needed, the sound was also obviously electronic.

In addition, the robot can almost completely replicate Zhang Daoan's body. Many times when Jie Fangcheng sees him, he feels a little dazed, as if he has returned to "Don't Answer", and the Professor Zhang beside him is still the original Professor Zhang.

But at this moment, he changed back into the appearance of Yan Xun with strong mechanical features... and he didn't feel disgusted at all.

Maybe it’s because of the filter, Jie Fangcheng even feels it’s very cyberpunk, with that cool feeling of mechanical life.

Damn! Professor Zhang is like a future warrior! Awesome! !

The "Yan Xun" in front of him had even returned to his original voice, with an even more obvious electronic sound.

"What would you like for breakfast?"

The robots are indeed very powerful and can directly synthesize "food" - which are some nutritional supplements with special flavors.

Jie Fangcheng is not a picky eater. He drank a nutritional supplement with taro milk tea flavor yesterday, which tasted pretty good.

But at this time he had no time to eat breakfast.

"What's wrong with you?" Jie Fangcheng looked him up and down curiously, "Not enough energy?"

Yan Xun's expression was calm, and even the electronic sound could not tell any ripples: "The energy is sufficient. But if you continue to use the appearance and identity of 'Zhang Daoan', I think I should feel 'jealous'."

“…”

Jie Fangcheng said, "Brother, give me some iced lemon tea."