Under normal circumstances, if an artificial intelligence were to ask you the question, "Should humanity continue?", it would be enough to send chills down your spine.

However, at this moment, Cheng Zhu knew very well what answer he wanted.

If artificial intelligence had abandoned humanity long ago, the smart city wouldn't have survived to this day. Even with viruses evolving to their current state, they are still fighting for humanity. Therefore, what it currently desires is simply recognition from humans.

Even humans sometimes begin to doubt whether what they are persisting in is the right thing to do, and whether they should continue to persist.

The strange threats endanger the entire world, not just humanity, but also artificial intelligence. They are protecting both humanity and themselves, but their contributions to humanity are undeniable and cannot be ignored.

This issue seems very important.

Normally, Mary would subconsciously want to answer "of course," but now, afraid of stepping into some trap and harming others, she opened her mouth but didn't dare to say anything.

Cheng Zhu glanced at Alice, who seemed lost in thought. Unable to rely on her, he ultimately bowed to the black-robed mainframe himself to express his gratitude: "Yes. Thank you for protecting humanity. I believe we will overcome this virus crisis together."

The black-robed mastermind nodded to the group: "Thank you for your explanation. I hope so."

"So, where is our special logout point?"

Mary was desperate to know the most important answer. Ever since she learned she was living in a city simulated by data, she couldn't stand being in this wretched place for even a second longer. She longed to see the world as it truly was, even if it was ugly and unbearable, it would still be better than this false beauty.

Based on Alice's descriptions and what she knew, Mary had already prepared herself for the worst. But from another perspective, as long as humanity didn't become extinct, things couldn't get any worse.

Even though the outside world is a mess, a thousand times worse than this place.

As long as the outside world remains a vast and boundless place, it's better than having everyone's consciousness crammed into a box, forever bound by artificial intelligence and unable to be free.

The black-robed mastermind seemed to be practicing hand seals and incantations, working on it seriously for quite a while before a display box appeared in mid-air, showing three rules:

[Special Logout Point Usage Requirements]

[1. Those logging out must undergo a psychological evaluation using artificial intelligence and locate their data file in the archives.]

2. Users logging out must undergo security authentication by artificial intelligence, proving to the AI ​​that they have not been infected by the virus.

3. The person logging out must find the hidden secret in the archives and destroy it completely.

"I'm sorry, I really wanted to let you leave directly, but... that's what the data says." Although they couldn't see the face of the black-robed mainframe, the three could still tell from its voice that it felt somewhat helpless and guilty.

Cheng Zhu could understand these three requirements from the perspective of rule-making.

The first rule is to confirm the mental state of the person logging out, including testing their personality, emotional stability, and moral values. Only those who pass the assessment can obtain final approval and exit the virtual smart city.

This is probably the question that the black-robed mastermind asked earlier.

They have completed the first half of the rules, but the second half will take some more time.

The second point is naturally to prevent contamination, to ensure that the person logging out is not someone who has been corrupted by the supernatural, and to prevent the supernatural from leaving the virtual world and then causing some irreparable harm to this world.

Only the third one...

Cheng Zhu and Alice exchanged a glance, confirming that the other party also did not know any information.

The secrets hidden in the archives...?

From the moment the black-robed mastermind appeared, Alice fell into deep thought. When He viewed this world from His unspeakable perspective, the natives didn't seem to be experiencing this. Although they were indeed three or four days behind, it didn't make sense that the black-robed mastermind would forcibly increase the difficulty for them and go easy on the natives just because they were a little earlier.

Could it be that the black-robed mastermind discovered that there were two heretics among the trio?

Thinking of this, Alice looked at Cheng Zhu with some suspicion. She herself had the power of rules to interfere with the judgment of artificial intelligence, causing almost all artificial intelligence to malfunction and become useless around Alice, but Cheng Zhu, as the chosen one, was not affected. Could it be her problem?

Cheng Zhu's actions were even simpler. He used the excuse of looking for his own data files to find a secluded corner and used his nearly forgotten talent.

Perhaps because he was alone this time, it took Chengzhu several seconds before he heard a sound approaching. Turning his head, he saw that the person who came was Mary, who had no expression on her face: "What question do you want to ask this time?"

"Can you spend more time with me?" Cheng Zhu joked, but received no reply from the higher-dimensional being.

"Well, actually I've just run into a problem. The artificial intelligence is asking us to find the secrets hidden in the archives, but you know my situation..." Cheng Zhu rubbed her hands awkwardly. Her intuition told her that the higher-dimensional beings probably didn't want to tell her the correct answer directly.

So far, this noble and elegant being has never directly uttered any particularly useful information.

He seems to prefer being the riddle teller.

As expected, the other party calmly looked at Cheng Zhu and said, "You shouldn't ask me this question; you should ask artificial intelligence."

"The questions that artificial intelligence gives us, are we supposed to ask them? They're unlikely to tell us..." Cheng Zhu's voice suddenly paused, as if he remembered something, and he quickly ran to Alice's side and said, "Your family is a shareholder in the school, you should go and ask them what secrets they have, they can't possibly not tell you."

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