46 Weird Oceanarium (Part 3)

◎The rumored mastermind is in my own head◎

Zhu Ning had always wanted to see it, but he never expected it to be in such an official occasion.

Prometheus's voice is transmitted directly into the skull, unlike the voice assistant inside the helmet.

It felt like someone was talking in his ear, and this absolutely intimate way of speaking made Zhu Ning very disgusted.

Zhu Ning looked at the others; they seemed to have no reaction at all as if they were connected to an artificial intelligence.

Li Nianchuan asked, "Are you okay?"

Xu Meng beside him asked, "Zhu Ning, are you okay?"

Her face looked extremely ugly, she had never looked this bad after being beaten by the witcher for three days.

Zhu Ning adjusted for a while, and the tingling sensation disappeared. It seemed that Prometheus only existed on the surface of his brain.

Zhu Ning took a deep breath and quickly composed herself. She could feel inquiring eyes falling on her. "I'm fine."

Zhu Ning's mental state was more problematic than his physical one.

The rumored mastermind is right in his own mind.

The helmet has an automatic camera function. After the mission is completed, Zhu Ning needs to return the helmet to the data collection center.

If it was Prometheus who helped Zhu Ning edit the surveillance video last time, it might be difficult for Prometheus to do it again this time.

After all, there was only one video last time, but now there are eight people and eight cameras. If we process all of them, there will definitely be loopholes.

Therefore she could not have any additional conversation with Prometheus at all.

This big boss that she imagined came to see her, but Zhu Ning couldn't even talk to it.

She could only suppress her curiosity and pretend to be an ordinary employee.

Prometheus' voice continued to be heard in my ears, this time speaking to everyone.

[I am Prometheus. For all employees who access my services, I will assume full authority over your bodies. If necessary, I will take control and force you to leave.]

Its voice is more humane than a simple mechanical sound, and can even be called gentle, but it is a cold and indifferent gentleness.

It seems like it doesn't care about your life at all, you are just a tool for it to carry out its goals.

Once it takes over your body, you cannot go against its will. It will invade your nerves, control your body, and make all arrangements for you.

How can I describe this feeling? It's just very insecure.

It is equivalent to opening a backdoor in the human brain for artificial intelligence to enter.

An artificial intelligence can overpower you and even deprive you of control of your body at critical moments.

This clearly tells you that the other party is an intelligent creature with a higher level than you.

All decisions it makes are better than yours.

Disgusted.

Zhu Ning's first impression of Prometheus was one of great disgust.

As someone who came from the zombie world, she always felt that no matter how powerful artificial intelligence was, it could only be used as a tool.

It's terrifying that the wasteland world allows an artificial intelligence to take over the human body.

Zhu Ning finally understood what Li Nianchuan meant when he said that the Demon Hunter was a pawn of artificial intelligence.

She is now a pawn.

Prometheus: [Everyone, please wear your helmets.]

The full-body helmet covers the entire person, forming an enclosed space, making Prometheus's voice clearer.

[This mission is located in the Mechanical Oceanarium. The cameras inside the aquarium have been contaminated, so the only cameras I can use are yours.]

The cameras inside the aquarium are unavailable, which means they are all Prometheus' eyes.

Prometheus's omniscience advantage cannot be brought into play. Its greatest function is actually to connect the communication channels of the entire team.

Prometheus: [The contaminated area is experiencing high levels of pollution, reaching a maximum of 178%. The cause of the pollution is currently unknown. Technical assessment has determined it to be a Class B contaminated area, encompassing 50,000 cubic meters. Entering the area will result in intense mental pollution, so please remain rational.]

The aquarium's internal plexiglass can withstand tons of pressure, but high-intensity weapons can cause secondary collapse. The aquarium's water pressure is approximately 2,620 tons. Please use explosive devices with caution.

Fang Ying also repeatedly reminded that the interior of the aquarium was too complicated and overly powerful weapons might bury everyone inside.

Prometheus: [The current plan is as follows: Team Grey Eagle will lead Cleanup Team A70265 to search for the source of the pollution, while Team White Dove will be responsible for rescuing survivors. I will synchronize information between the two teams.]

[The mortality rate for this mission is 5% to 8%.]

mortality rate?

Zhu Ning had never heard of the mortality rate when he went on missions in the past.

Artificial intelligence can quickly rehearse all possibilities, but contaminated areas are dangerous areas and it cannot guarantee that everyone will come back alive.

In this mission, someone will die in the aquarium.

Zhu Ning sometimes feels that the rapid development of technology makes people feel scared, and some of them have been sentenced to death.

[I will now enter monitoring mode, providing only communication support and scenario analysis. Your captain will be Gray Eagle Captain Tang Ke for now. I wish you good luck.]

Prometheus fell silent after saying this.

?

What does that mean? Is this free-range?

Isn't he a combat commander?

Zhu Ning whispered to Li Nianchuan, "What is surveillance status?"

The demon hunters were ready to enter. As they entered, Li Nianchuan replied, "It means that before it obtains permission, it can only provide assistance and cannot directly take over your body."

Zhu Ning understood that Prometheus was an artificial intelligence, and humans were wary of artificial intelligence.

On the one hand, they are highly dependent on artificial intelligence algorithms, but on the other hand, they are afraid of being directly controlled by artificial intelligence.

Therefore, they set up many constraints and analyzed different situations. If the situation can be controlled, Gray Eagle team captain Tang Ke can lead everyone to complete the task.

When the situation got out of control, Prometheus had to apply to his superiors to have room to maneuver.

All in all, it's a safety net.

Prometheus is a backup for everyone, and before this its authority was very limited.

Perhaps there is also a responsibility system involved here. If everything is handed over to Prometheus from the beginning, it will be difficult to determine who is the first person responsible when the task is reviewed.

After all, we can’t put all the blame on artificial intelligence.

Zhu Ning asked, "How could Prometheus actually command a B-rank mission?"

Why is it different from what she imagined the big boss's daily life to be like?

Li Nianchuan: "It handles a lot of things at the cleaning center. I don't know what it does specifically, but it monitors every Demon Hunter mission. It has very strong computing power. It might be carrying out our mission while taking over another team and leading them off."

Prometheus is a true multi-pronged operation, and this B-level mission is just one of them.

Artificial intelligence was developed to serve humans from the very beginning, and there is nothing wrong with that if you think about it carefully.

but.

The Demon Hunter's communication channel is always through Prometheus. During the incident with the Murloc, Prometheus was definitely there.

The assessment of the contaminated area was wrong and there should be intervention.

Zhu Ning asked, "No response when you connected?"

Li Nianchuan: "No, I could feel something piercing my body, but only for a short while, and there was no pain at all."

Zhu Ning was silent.

Why are the two people's reactions so different?

How does it work? Why can technological development control human nerves?

Li Nianchuan: "Maybe your spirit value is high, so it's difficult to adapt."

The higher the spiritual value of a person, the harder it is to control their nerves. Li Nianchuan could not understand Zhu Ning's feelings, just like ordinary people do not know what a genius is thinking.

Li Nianchuan was talkative and added a few more words: "I quite like it."

Zhu Ning asked, "Why?"

Why would humans willingly allow their nerves to be penetrated by an artificial intelligence?

Li Nianchuan: "With it, the Internet is very safe. You don't have to worry about the channel being contaminated by others."

Polluted spores can contaminate the network, and Prometheus is a firewall that blocks pollutant attacks at the network level.

All Demon Hunter communications are controlled by Prometheus.

Communication is a very important part of a team.

With it, you never have to worry about communication errors. Even if Prometheus is just an auxiliary, it can definitely increase your survival rate on the battlefield.

This is a wasteland world, not a peaceful place. They are willing to give up some things to artificial intelligence in order to ensure their own survival.

Li Nianchuan: "And if you are in a near-death state, it will soothe you."

Zhu Ning was silent.

Prometheus also provides part-time hospice care?

She originally wanted to say that the absolutely calm voice just now sounded like the god of death and would not have any comforting effect.

But she thought of Cheng Mofei.

How did Cheng Mofei feel when he died in Experiment No. 777?

He knew he was going to die, so he resolutely walked into Subject No. 777, took off his helmet, and was contaminated without resistance.

If Huang Yaruo was not there at that time, what was he thinking about in the last moments before his death?

If you were trapped in a polluted area, the death process would not be so painful if there was an artificial intelligence that could speak to you before you died.

Cheng Mofei's Demon Hunter employee bracelet was still inside his pocket.

Zhu Ning is not alone, she is now two people.

She seemed to have inherited some will from Cheng Mofei invisibly.

Zhu Ning held the gun firmly in his hand. After all, if he made a mistake, Cheng Mofei's fate might very likely be his own.

Everyone has entered the venue in an orderly manner. They have all participated in many B-level missions and are very skilled.

But for Zhu Ning, this was her first time to go on a group mission. Her previous experiences of entering contaminated areas were just playing house.

This is the scale that a regular mission should have.

With so many people around, Zhu Ning couldn't use any system items and talents as he pleased, otherwise it would be difficult to explain to others.

She really didn't want to be used as a guinea pig.

However, Zhu Ning is a cleaner and should be able to avoid most dangers. Under normal circumstances, he doesn't need to do it himself.

The staff member in yellow protective clothing gestured over here and slowly opened the door of the venue.

After opening the door, a gust of damp air hit me in the face.

There was a power outage inside the aquarium and there was water on the ground. If there was a leakage, there would be an electric field inside, so they simply cut off the power supply system.

With the night vision function of the helmet, the entire aquarium glows green.

Having participated in many missions, Zhu Ning has become very accustomed to night vision scenes.

The aquarium hall is usually where you buy tickets and souvenirs; there are no marine life here.

Most of the interior collapsed, the counter and chandelier were all down, and there was rubble and water on the ground.

Tang Ke led the demon hunters in the vanguard, "Be careful to protect the cleaners, Cao Wei will lead the way."

The Grey Eagle team cooperated very well. Although they didn't have a good impression of the cleaning team, after Tang Ke said a word, their team moved.

Cao Wei was walking in front, and Zhu Ning heard Li Nianchuan snort beside him.

Judging from the reaction, Cao Wei should be the one who mocked Li Nianchuan for being a weakling.

Chu Ling walked over to Zhu Ning with a gun in hand. Chu Ling was responsible for protecting the cleaners. She liked the cleaning team very much and naturally took on this task.

After Chu Ling put on the demon hunter helmet, he looked very cool wrapped in the full steel armor.

But Zhu Ning was thinking that the demon hunter's metal coat was actually quite unsafe.

For example, as long as they are within two meters of Zhu Ning, she can forcibly control the entire Grey Eagle team.

Chu Ling: "Don't worry, I will protect you."

Before Zhu Ning could speak, Li Nianchuan beside him said proudly, "Don't worry, Zhu Ning will protect me."

Zhu Ning: “?”

I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense.

And why are you so proud?

Chu Ling glanced over here and seemed to find it difficult to determine the relationship between Zhu Ning and Li Nianchuan. Zhu Ning was very strong and was probably on par with himself, so protecting Li Nianchuan should not be difficult.

Are they that kind of combination?

Chu Ling: "That was a bit abrupt of me."

Zhu Ning: “…”

What's so abrupt?

However, Zhu Ning was still a little concerned about Li Nianchuan. His mental state was not very high and he had been contaminated in the D-level pollution area last time.

After coming out, I recuperated for a week and insisted on being my sister's puppy.

If it happens again, Li Nianchuan will really have to quit his job at the cleaning center.

However, why was Li Nianchuan arranged to come in?

Who assigned this task?

Li Nianchuan's mental value is not high and he is easily polluted by the mind. He probably wants Zhu Ning to die, and Li Nianchuan is just a by-product.

Zhu Ning, out of concern, asked Li Nianchuan, "Are you okay?"

Li Nianchuan: "It's okay, my spirits have improved."

In Zhu Ning's understanding, raising the spirit value to 400 is not much.

Li Nianchuan: "I had a brain chip connected before I came in."

Zhu Ning: "What?"

Li Nianchuan: "It can temporarily boost your mental state. Cleaners will implant it when you're on a major mission. It doesn't protect you from contamination, but it will delay the onset of contamination symptoms, such as four hours. Of course, you don't need it. The captain and I both have it implanted."

That is to say, under normal circumstances, Li Nianchuan would develop symptoms of mental pollution within an hour in a Class B pollution area and become unconscious.

The chip can prolong this process, but it cannot stop it.

Four hours later, Li Nianchuan walked out of the contaminated area and only then did he experience any sequelae in a relatively safe environment.

But his condition will worsen, and in severe cases he may even become brain dead.

There is no other way. There are too few people with high spirit values. Most cleaners do not have high spirit values. Some tasks have too high requirements. This is the only way.

It's quite cruel.

Zhu Ning thought that this world was very cruel to consumables.

Sometimes it is understandable why Yongsheng Pharmaceutical has become the hope of defective products.

Zhu Ning looked at Xu Meng's back. The other party spoke to Zhu Ning as usual, neither distant nor overly enthusiastic, and remained calm.

Zhu Ning was very calm when he recalled the first time she took him on a mission.

I don’t know what Xu Meng is doing in the foundation.

Maybe Zhu Ning was overthinking it. Xu Meng was just simply learning about this project and didn't necessarily have any entanglement with Yongsheng Pharmaceutical.

After all, if he was really from Yongsheng Pharmaceutical, he wouldn't have to go to the foundation in person.

Zhu Ning withdrew his gaze and focused all his attention on the task.

The witcher led the way in front, and Zhu Ning just followed behind as a follower who took advantage of the situation.

Zhu Ning had visited an aquarium before. The aquarium near her home was old and shabby. It was just a large glass tank with some marine life in it. It only took 20 minutes to see all the creatures.

But the oceanarium in the wasteland world is spectacular.

There are seven venues in total. The design style of the entire oceanarium is to simulate the deep sea world and is designed to look like a deep sea mountain.

Each venue visited is a deep-sea cave.

The terrain in the middle of the venue is complex and you have to turn several corners to reach another area.

Now there are not even lights, and the immersive experience of the deep sea world is maximized.

When you walk in, it's like walking into the deep sea. It's dark, cold, and depressing. You have no idea what's ahead.

The oceanarium planned an optimal viewing route. The first venue was the mermaid pavilion. They had to pass through four venues before reaching the mechanical jellyfish pavilion where the accident occurred.

Mermaid?

The first thing that appeared was a creature that did not exist at all in Zhu Ning's world.

The witcher took the lead and pushed open the door of the mermaid pavilion.

appeared.

Gray-black lines twitching in the air are the background color of the polluted area.

As they entered, the helmet automatically announced: [Entered Class B contaminated area.]

It seems that this is the polluted area.

In the darkness, several corpses lay on the ground, blood oozing from them and slowly floating in the accumulated water.

There was a big hole in the heart of the corpse, as if a monster had crawled out from the middle.

Zhu Ning thought of the tentacles he saw outside the venue.

Prometheus' voice came: [The Mermaid Pavilion has examined 17 bodies, and no human remains.]

17?

Seventeen people died in the Mermaid House alone?

Zhu Ning held the gun and stepped onto the floor of the mermaid pavilion, which was covered with water.

The water was ankle-deep, and the entire team was wading through it.

As soon as Zhu Ning stepped in, he heard the system prompt.

bite--

[You have started the side quest, Strange Oceanarium. The mission goal is to successfully cleanse the area. The current purification progress is 0%. Please keep up the good work.]

She triggered the mission mechanism.

The system described it as a side quest, which meant that she couldn't refuse this mission.

Zhu Ning seemed to have figured out some patterns. The tasks posted on the tomb post were identified as random tasks by the system, and she could choose to accept or not.

To her, random tasks are like copies used to upgrade and obtain items.

The official tasks of the cleaning center are all side tasks, and there is no room for refusal.

Zhu Ning must complete it.

The door behind him slammed shut, forming a closed space.

The witcher was in front, about three meters away from them.

On Zhu Ning's side, Chu Ling took the lead and took on any problems first, while Zhu Ning relied on his high spirit value to guard the rear.

She couldn't let that unlucky guy Li Nianchuan be the last one to leave.

There was nothing behind the glass walls on both sides.

The aquarium is completely dark, and normally the night vision function of the helmet can show a lot of details.

But there is a large area of ​​sea water in the aquarium, which blocks part of the vision, so the things behind the glass wall are blurry.

Ambiguity is frightening.

When humans encounter something unknown to them, fear is almost ingrained in their instincts.

The Grey Eagle team spread out, searching the entire Mermaid Pavilion for anything suspicious.

The Grey Eagle team has strict discipline and basically does not speak except for necessary communication when performing tasks.

In contrast, their team seemed very noisy.

Li Nianchuan whispered to Xu Meng, "Captain, are we really just going to sit there and wait?"

Xu Meng: "Wait for them to search the scene. If there's no pollution source, we'll go to the next venue. If there is, we'll wait for them to resolve it. We shouldn't add to the chaos."

Article 14 of the Cleaner Employee Code of Conduct: When working with a Demon Hunter, the Cleaner should try to remain still and not interfere with the Demon Hunter's movements.

As an old employee, Li Nianchuan certainly knew this employee code. In fact, before Zhu Ning appeared, they, the cleaners, would stay still when they encountered any sudden danger.

But ever since Li Nianchuan and Zhu Ning fought the fishman, they have been eager to make a move.

Li Nianchuan asked Zhu Ning in a low voice, "What do you think?"

Zhu Ning said: "What ideas can I have? I am learning."

"What to learn?" Li Nianchuan asked.

Zhu Ning: "On-site teaching on how to purify polluted areas is more intuitive than video lessons."

It is a great opportunity to learn from five famous witcher teachers.

Li Nianchuan: "..."

He knelt down to Zhu Ning. What kind of thinking is this?

Taking the opportunity to steal my skills?

Chu Ling next to her also heard this and was amused by Zhu Ning. She was really interesting.

The other demon hunters looked over here, and Zhu Ning's words made them all unhappy.

Is this a mockery?

Zhu Ning was speaking the truth. She was really learning how demon hunters work.

Much more professional than myself.

After entering the contaminated area, Zhu Ning wandered around aimlessly, following his intuition, which was not very efficient.

When a demon hunter enters a contaminated area, he will conduct a carpet search to ensure that no evidence or doubts are missed.

The clues found will be divided into levels one, two and three, and five people will communicate simultaneously to summarize the clue classification.

Very efficient.

Zhu Ning asked, "Why didn't you see the mermaid?"

Behind the transparent glass walls on both sides, the only moving things were the swaying water plants. Apart from that, everything was silent, as if there was no moving creature.

Chu Ling: "Mermaids are very timid and shy. They must be hiding behind the rockery."

Zhu Ning asked, "How do tourists usually visit?"

Chu Ling: "Mermaids are afraid of light. When it's time to visit, they'll turn on high-intensity lights to drive them to the viewing area."

Zhu Ning: “…”

How cruel! There is no protection association in this world?

Zhu Ning: "What does a mermaid look like?"

To be honest, she had never seen a real mermaid.

Chu Ling: "It's just like that, a human body on top and a fish tail on the bottom, nothing fancy."

Chu Ling spoke as if mermaids were just cabbages and nothing special.

But Zhu Ning, a local dog, found it quite magical.

In the wasteland world, mermaids are man-made creatures. With the maturity of gene editing technology, scientists can realize many stories that originally only existed in fairy tales and legends overnight.

For example, mermaids.

When mermaids were first discovered, they caused a huge sensation and were featured on the headlines of major media outlets. Countless people came to see them every day.

With a beautiful human face and a gorgeous fish tail, many people say that their fairy tale has come true.

Mermaids were so popular during that time that many restaurants would place an ornamental mermaid to attract attention.

But after just five years, people lost interest in mermaids.

It's just a beautiful face. With the development of technology, beauty is worthless.

Besides, mermaids are so unimaginative.

The appearance of the artificial mermaid is entirely intended to restore the fairy tale, which was already shown in literary and artistic works hundreds of years ago.

Mechanical creatures are more popular now.

For example, a mechanical nine-tailed fox.

That’s why mechanical jellyfish became so popular after the mechanical trend started.

Zhu Ning is listening to the history of popular internet celebrities in the wasteland world.

"Search completed," someone reported, "nothing unusual at this time."

It sounds like good news, but everyone knows it's not good news.

Because it was obvious that something terrible had happened here. The corpses on the ground and the bloodstains on the glass wall proved that someone wanted to escape but failed.

They looked around but couldn't find the monster.

"What should we do?" someone asked.

Tang Ke: "Everyone, be alert and keep moving forward."

Xu Meng also said: "Be careful."

When Zhu Ning heard this, she raised her gun. By the time her sense of danger started to ring, it was probably too late.

Before, the eight-person team walked very separately, but now everyone consciously walks very closely.

The water was getting deeper and deeper. As they walked out of the mermaid pavilion, the water had already reached from their ankles to their knees.

The walking speed is also getting slower and slower.

In night vision mode, they cannot see what is underwater.

Therefore, it is equivalent to moving forward in unknown waters.

Everyone was very alert, even Li Nianchuan didn't say anything, and for a moment there was only the sound of splashing water.

Zhu Ning walked alone at the end.

There was no one behind her, but she always felt that something was strange behind her.

And because I was in the aquarium, my back felt damp and sticky.

It seemed as if a pair of eyes were staring at her from behind.

Is it an illusion?

If it's a ghost story, the general advice is not to look back.

Zhu Ning stared at the back of Li Nianchuan's head in front of him, hesitating whether to turn around.

Suddenly, she paused as something in the water grabbed her ankle.

The author has something to say:

Very thick and long today!

By the way, there really is such a thing as a mechanical jellyfish in reality, but it is still in the early stages of development. It may eventually be used in underwater rescue operations.

The long-awaited update of the Cleaner Employee Code, Article 14: When working together with the Demon Hunter, the Cleaner should try to remain still and not interfere with the Demon Hunter's movements.

In order to avoid confusion and improve recognition, I changed the name of the captain of the Grey Eagle team to Tang Ke ~ It doesn't affect the reading.

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2022-09-02 11:41:50 and 2022-09-03 11:36:00~

Thanks to the little angel who cast the mine: 1 piece of firewood, rice, oil, salt, tea and wine;

Thanks to the little angels who provided nutrient solution: Siren (72 bottles); Tingting and Wumo (10 bottles); Xinxin (5 bottles); Yazhenglu (1 bottle);

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!