Chapter 103 An Unlocked Door

Ning Shuyin quickly disconnected the black box operator, but it was too late. A melting point appeared in the center of the device and was rapidly expanding.

The scorching heat penetrated through the gloves of her combat uniform, burning her palms, leaving her no choice but to let go.

"Clatter".

The black box calculator fell to the ground, emitting blue smoke, and was considered completely destroyed.

Ning Shuyin felt a pang of heartache when she thought about the price of nearly one billion.

Loran looked at the molten scrap metal box on the ground: "I'll compensate you."

However, before Ning Shuyin could reply, a powerful mental shock rebounded from the core of the glass sphere and crashed directly into their consciousness.

"Ugh!" Ning Shuyin groaned. She was in so much pain that tears were about to stream down her face.

The progress bar on the screen also instantly dropped to zero.

Loran shook his head, slammed his palm against the glass ball's shell, and looked annoyed.

"Damn it, is it really not going to work?"

Just when the puzzle seemed to be at a standstill, a line of universal language suddenly appeared above the glass sphere.

I am a door without a lock, why do you stubbornly search for the key?

The enigmatic words made the two of them think.

"A door? A key? A logic bomb?" Loran guessed. "Cognitive paradoxes, if used properly, can burn out high-speed computing equipment. This glass sphere might be designed to target black-box operators..."

Ning Shuyin savored the feeling of being bounced back, but a hint of doubt crept into her mind.

She was far more sensitive to fluctuations in pure spiritual energy than Loran. That shock just now didn't seem like a simple act of violence.

She seemed to hear a hurt complaint: "Don't touch me with that thing!"

“This glass ball, it seems…” Ning Shuyin looked at the line of text that was gradually fading away, “is it throwing a tantrum?”

Upon hearing this, Lorraine frowned.

He believed in absolute rationality and found it difficult to understand this description of emotions.

Ning Shuyin, however, followed this absurd idea and boldly continued to speculate: "Perhaps it's not AI?"

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something.

She closed her eyes, and the scene of them entering the ruins flashed through her mind.

The ruins had no door. They entered the room, and the door with the small window was also unlocked.

Doesn't this match what was said in the previous line: "I am an unlocked door"?

Then, she thought of the hall filled with statues. Li Qing, whose biosignals had been hidden.

Li Qing...

The ruins deliberately set a malicious trap to torment the student.

“Loran,” she suddenly looked up at him, “I think I’m starting to get a sense of direction.”

"Okay, go ahead."

"Could you check Li Qing's information at the Academy of Sciences? Is there anything special about him?"

Loran nodded.

As the chief scientist of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, retrieving a student's information was a simple matter for him.

Access verified. All of Li Qing's academic records—publicly published papers and research projects—were projected onto the screen.

Li Qing is an outstanding student. She has published numerous papers on the development of technology in ancient civilizations.

Up to this point, nothing can be discerned.

But when their eyes fell on his minor course and his minor paper, they both froze.

One of the papers received an award of excellence from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The title is strikingly similar to "Technology for Detecting Differences Between Artificial Intelligence Generated Objects and Natural Life Forms".

Ning Shuyin felt that her guess might be somewhat correct.

“It’s not a logic bomb. In fact, it’s not even a program. At the heart of this ark, it might be a life form!” she said.

Lorraine immediately realized something: "The velvet veins in this corridor are missing branches and leaves, and are deliberately incomplete. It's like a craftsman who, in order to prove that his handmade work is not machine-made, has to go against his conscience to make an imperfect production and deliberately scratch a few knife marks on the surface."

Ning Shuyin nodded: "That feeling of being wronged seems to come from here."

Based on these inferences, Loran summarized the current situation:

"Everything it does, such as suggesting that we use technology to crack it, is completely going in the wrong direction. Mimicking biological flaws and tormenting Li Qing is actually an expression of hatred for that paper. It is declaring in a paranoid way: Look at me! I am not a machine, I am a life."

“Since it is a life,” Ning Shuyin looked at the glass sphere, “we cannot gain its recognition through technological means. Perhaps we should try a different way of treating life.”

She looked at Loran: "I plan to try to use my healing power to purify the trauma in its core consciousness."

Loran nodded. This was the only option at the moment. They had no choice but to try.

Ning Shuyin walked to the glass ball, closed her eyes, and placed her hand on the cool surface of the ball.

She activated the healing power within her body.

A soft green light seeped from her palm into the core of the glass sphere. Ning Shuyin felt as if she had touched the edge of that ocean of data.

She used her supernatural abilities to express her kindness.

Her power did have some effect. But that was all.

The glass ball did not react otherwise.

“Not quite enough…” Ning Shuyin’s forehead was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. “Its consciousness is too vast.”

“I’ll help you.” Loran walked behind her, summoning silver light from her fingertips and placing it on her vest.

A silvery-white energy connected with her, providing powerful support for her healing abilities.

With Loran's blessing, Ning Shuyin's F-level healing ability was elevated to the E-level.

The difference of one level can result in an effect several times stronger.

A beam of light shone from within the glass sphere. The ocean of data rippled.

But that's all.

Did it fail?

Ning Shuyin withdrew her hand, a look of resentment on her face.

Just a little bit more. Time ticked by, second by second.

She tried again. Still no success.

Lorraine patted her on the shoulder. He knew she had done her best.

He turned on his computer and copied the 3D map inside the glass sphere, trying to find another way.

The space fell silent.

On Ning Shuyin's personal computer, time quietly skipped past midnight.

At that moment, a voice that only she could hear resounded in her mind:

[Host, the system store has been refreshed!]

[Note: Today is the last day of the system month; some items are on limited-time discount.]

Ning Shuyin's long-awaited "limited-time shop" is here.

There's only one chance per month.

Don't miss it.

She glanced at Loran, who was busy beside her, and immediately opened the store page in her mind.

A dazzling array of discounted goods came into view.

At first glance, the items discounted by 20% or 30% are mostly useless and laughable:

[Mind-Reading Mint Candy]: Effect lasts for 3 minutes.

Reading can be done when the other person is holding candy and has a strong desire for it.

Original price 250 points, now 50 points.

【Beauty Necklace (Flawed)】: Effect lasts for 30 minutes, cooldown period is 10 days.

Wearing it may improve one's appearance.

Original price 300 points, now 90 points.

[Lightning Rod]: A disposable item.

When you hear something incredibly shocking, you can remain calm and not laugh.

Original price 500 points, now 50 points.

This is simply... an interstellar version of a bizarre clearance sale.

As for those truly powerful and expensive items, such as [Stellar Energy Guidance Technique (original price 800,000 points)] and [Dimensional Deployment Device (original price 2,500,000 points)], they were only symbolically discounted by 5%.

The already despairing price made her not even want to look at it.

However, the [Gene Repair Fluid (Basic)] that she had been longing for, which could have boosted her F-rank combat power to D-rank, was only half the price.

Original price: 1000 points.

You now have 500 points.

She received 50 points for treating Su Zhe today, and she now has 500 points in hand.

Just as she reached out to click to buy, her gaze was suddenly drawn to another item.