Chapter 487 Extra Chapter 1: Choosing a Host is Harder Than Fighting
Zhou Jue lay half-reclined on a rocking chair in her own yard, swaying gently. Jing Bai, now a little nestled beside her, was dozing off. Zhou Jue looked at the light screen in front of her.
Above is the most popular forum on Earth right now, with the pinned post title highlighted in red and bold, flashing with a light effect.
[A nationwide debate on "whether to apply to join the Interstellar Alliance!"]
The official statement on the main page was concise and to the point, revealing that the interstellar space had been found and the promise of the "seat" left by Sulia.
The comments below have already reached hundreds of millions of views.
"We have to join! That's the world of stars! I dream of piloting a spaceship!"
"The person upstairs is naive. Interstellar space is too dangerous! Didn't you see it says above that we still have to go to the front lines to fight the Zerg? Isn't it better for us, a small family, to develop peacefully?"
"That's right, Boss Zhou risked his life to achieve peace, we can't let his efforts go to waste!"
"Isn't that a narrow perspective? By joining, we can access more advanced technology—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Besides, the current leader of the alliance is an ally!"
"Friendly forces? Heh, those who are not of our kind are bound to have different hearts. The ancients were right."
"Ahem, I feel that even without joining, our country's technology is still advancing quite rapidly and is quite advanced."
"I don't care, I just want to ask, do aliens really exist? Are there three-headed, six-armed ones? I want to see the diversity of alien civilizations. And also, is interstellar gender really ABO?"
"Yes, yes, yes! I'm curious about that too! And also... I'm too embarrassed to say!"
"Oh, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, it's just ABO..."
"The entire court stammered and hesitated, not a single person dared to speak!"
Zhou Jue laughed heartily at the sight, then casually turned off the light screen and lay back.
It feels so good to bask in the sun.
This kind of laid-back, easygoing life is what life is all about.
Just then, a deafening roar came from the distant Kunlun Mountains, making the grapevines in the yard tremble.
"I am the Sword Master of Kunlun! I have slumbered for a thousand years, and now I awaken!"
"I've heard there are countless stars beyond this realm! This world is far too crowded, with too many rules!"
"Nation, heed my command! Quickly find me an uninhabited planet; I'm going to become its captain!"
Before the words were even finished, a similarly immense aura surged into the sky from the depths of the East China Sea.
"Heh heh heh! You mere Sword Master dare to challenge me?"
"I've also set my sights on the stars and the sea! Give me ten or eight planets, and I'll build a crystal palace for them!"
"Awooo~ We werewolves will take over the moon!"
Zhou Jue picked at his ear, ignoring the commotion.
Since she came back, this kind of thing has happened every few days, and she's gotten used to it.
In the corner of the yard, an inconspicuous sapling suddenly stretched out two vines, covering its "ears".
That's an old tree.
Next to it, in a huge water tank, a miniature sea monster was burying its big head in the water, blowing bubbles, looking like it was saying, "I can't hear anything."
These two guys, one took root in the Imperial Garden of the Forbidden City and the other occupied the Bohai Bay, claiming to be the guardian beast of the country. But they were bored and insisted on coming out to experience the life of the Blue Star. So they separated a clone and stationed it in Zhou Jue's courtyard, refusing to leave no matter what.
Zhou Jue was too lazy to care about them.
[So noisy! So noisy!]
The irritable voice of 001 exploded in Zhou Jue's mind.
Don't the people on this planet know they should keep quiet in public places?!
Zhou Jue replied lazily, "The creatures on our Blue Planet are all very lively."
However… 001’s tone suddenly turned surprised again.
[This world is truly fascinating. The technology tree is a complete mess, and the methods of cultivation are incredibly diverse, yet they've managed to blend together without exploding. It's a treasure trove!]
[Hey, host of 2828, I've studied the list you gave me.]
Zhou Jue didn't even lift his eyelids: "How do you feel?"
"It feels...difficult." For the first time, 001's voice carried a hint of conflict.
Its solidified black data stream writhed restlessly in Zhou Jue's sea of consciousness, like a cat that needed a tickle.
This guy, nicknamed "The Majestic Zhang Asheng," has a truly unique way of thinking. He actually wants to use talismans to "bless" a lithography machine. I think he has the potential to become a grandmaster!
[And that guy named 'Xiao Yangxing Wang Yanyang,' he's actually trying to compress spiritual energy into data packets and send them over the network! Although it always fails, this idea is practically tailor-made for me!]
[That little girl named 'Chang'an One Year Old' talked to a willow tree every day, and guess what? That willow tree practically became a spirit! What kind of magical talent is this, where words can become law?!]
[And another thing, that "Lu Tiantian from Han Kingdom" is unbelievably lucky! She always gets a "buy one get one free" offer on drinks, wins every scratch-off lottery, can snag concert tickets whenever she wants, and is even incredibly lucky at grabbing red envelopes! I suspect she was a lucky charm in her past life!]
001's voice grew increasingly agitated, yet also increasingly conflicted.
They're both so great! Who should I choose?!
Choosing one means giving up the others, which feels even worse than fighting the main system!
Zhou Jue was so annoyed by the noise that he sat up from the rocking chair, picked up the herbal tea next to him, and took a sip.
"Then don't rush to choose."
【Huh?】The data stream for 001 paused for a moment.
Zhou Jue put down his teacup with a smile.
"Then let's talk to them one by one."
"There's no rush. You're a free person now, you can stay as long as you want."
"Take a closer look and see who you're most compatible with."
"Shall we chat?" 001 asked, somewhat puzzled. "But they don't know I exist."
Zhou Jue smirked: "Then let them know."
"Or, 'chat' in your own way."
001 remained silent for a moment, seemingly processing Zhou Jue's words.
A few seconds later, its data stream suddenly lit up.
I understand!
[As expected of the host of 2828, so direct! I like it!]
The next second, 001's aura disappeared from Zhou Jue's sea of consciousness.
It went out to "chat".
Zhou Jue lay back in the rocking chair, closed his eyes, and sent a wisp of his consciousness to follow along with great interest.
...
Blue Star, Sichuan, Qingcheng Mountain.
Inside a secluded Taoist temple, Yi Mu, who "loves the guqin of the Laoshan School," is sitting cross-legged in front of the guqin.
Her fingers gently plucked the strings, but what flowed out was not a beautiful mountain stream.
The tone was strange, chaotic, and full of breaks and jumps, much like the sound of an old-fashioned dial-up internet connection.
Several young Taoist disciples who were passing by covered their ears and ran away quickly.
"Senior Sister Yimu is 'composing music' again. My goodness, the noise is making my mind unsteady."
"Keep your voice down! Last time Senior Brother Zhang said that, Senior Sister chased him across three mountains with a 'Heavenly Demon Sound,' and he feels like throwing up whenever he sees musical notes after that."
The girl ignored the surrounding chatter; her gaze was focused, and she seemed lost in thought.
The next second.
A voice that only she could "hear" suddenly rang in her mind.
A 0.03 Hz decrease in the frequency of the G string will cause data overflow.
[The C-string's spiritual energy infusion mode is incorrect. It should use the 'Fibonacci sequence' model, not the 'arithmetic sequence'. Doing it this way will burn out the 'CPU'.]
Iki's fingers, which were plucking the strings, suddenly paused.
She suddenly looked up, her clear eyes scanning the empty surroundings.
"who?"
[A passerby, whose ears were nearly blinded by listening.] 001's voice carried a hint of disdain, yet couldn't help but offer his opinions.
Imu was stunned.
What she is trying to do is to merge ancient formations and modern programming languages through the sound of the zither.
This was her biggest secret, which she had never told anyone.
This voice not only knew what she was doing, but also immediately understood the difficulty she had been struggling with for months.
Imu's breathing became slightly rapid.
"senior?"
Don't call me "senior," just call me 001.
001 said arrogantly: "Your idea is interesting, but too crude. It's like putting a supercar engine on a tractor."
Here's a 'guide' for you; give it a try.
As soon as he finished speaking, a complex yet harmonious melody resonated directly in Yimu's mind.
That wasn't sound, but a pure flow of information.
Imu was completely stunned, as if he had seen the door to a new world.
She looked at the guqin in front of her, her eyes shining with an unprecedented light.
"How about it?" 001's voice held a hint of smugness: "Think about it. Become my boss, and I'll guide you to godhood through musical notes."
Yimu took a deep breath, stood up, and respectfully performed a Taoist salute facing the empty space in front of him.
"I will never forget your great kindness, senior."
"But the Way resides within oneself, not in external things."
"Imu wants to walk on his own."
[...]
001 fell silent.
A few seconds later, it left behind a resentful "Idiot!" and then disappeared.
Zhou Jue's divine sense "watched" this scene from a distance and almost burst out laughing.
What a bad start, 001.
...
Next stop, Beijing, employee dormitory of a major internet company.
The presence of 001 appeared in the room of a programmer with the ID "Air Conditioner Should Be Set to 25 Degrees".
In the room, a young girl with long, smooth hair and a tall, straight posture, wearing black-rimmed gold-rimmed glasses, was facing three huge monitors, her fingers flying across the keyboard.
On the screen, code flowed like a waterfall.
Behind her, the air conditioner's display screen firmly showed the words "25℃".
Next to her keyboard was a crooked yellow talisman with the words "Never a Bug" drawn on it in cinnabar.
"[Tasteful.]" 001 exclaimed in approval.
The next second, it made its move.
The little girl was engrossed in solving a problem that had been bothering her for three days: no matter how she modified the code, it would trigger a chain reaction of crashes.
Just as she was frowning and deep in thought.
The cursor on the screen moved by itself.
It deletes, adds, and reconstructs at an extremely fast pace.
Less than a second.
The bright red error code in front of me instantly turned emerald green.
Successfully run!
Little girl: "...?"
She rubbed her eyes hard, thinking she was hallucinating because she had been working overtime for too long.
She tried running it again.
success!
She stared blankly at the screen, then glanced at the "No Bugs" symbol on the keyboard.
"...It's a miracle?"
"Little girl, it's not the talisman that's working, it's your ancestral master who's appeared." 001's voice echoed in her mind.
The young girl was startled, and her cool and aloof demeanor was instantly shattered.
"Who? Who's speaking?"
[A place that can make you the world's best programmer.] 001 The temptation begins: [How about it, interested in joining me?]
The little girl adjusted her glasses, and after her initial shock, a hint of curiosity and excitement appeared on her face.
"Big Boss? Is he the legendary old man who always has someone with him?"
[...This can be understood as such.]
"Then, could you help me optimize my company's database algorithm? Also, what about my KPIs this month..."
【No problem!】001 guarantees: 【As long as you're willing to partner with me, forget KPIs, I'll make you redefine the internet! Even code superpowers are no problem!】
The little girl blushed with excitement.
She rubbed her hands together and asked the most crucial question.
"Well... Boss, could you permanently lock the central air conditioning in this building at 25 degrees Celsius?"
"Those bastards at the property management company always secretly turn the temperature up to 26 degrees Celsius in the middle of the night! They're absolutely insane!"
The data stream of 001 froze again.
Is this your dream?
“Yes!” the little girl answered confidently, “Everyone needs to have some goals and bottom lines in life, right? 25 degrees is my bottom line!”
[...]
001 left, grumbling and cursing.
Zhou Jue lay on the rocking chair, laughing so hard his whole body was shaking.
【Host. 】
The voice of 2828 faintly echoed in her mind.
"Hmm?" Zhou Jue finally managed to stop laughing.
[Senior 001 seems to be having some trouble finding a host.]
"It's fine, let it bump into walls more often, it'll be quite interesting." Zhou Jue looked like he was enjoying the show.
She doesn't want to do anything right now; she just wants to lie down, take a vacation, and enjoy life.
"Host, are you really not planning to go and see other worlds?" 2828 asked cautiously.
"No," Zhou Jue replied decisively. "There's no threat anymore. I need at least a ten-year vacation!"
【But……】
2828's voice suddenly became mysterious, carrying an irresistible allure.
[Host, don't you want to go to the Journey to the West world and see the Monkey King?]
Zhou Jue's eyelids twitched.
Don't you want to be in the same sect as the Great Sage, and be his senior sister when he was still a little monkey?
Zhou Jue slowly opened his eyes.
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