The Puppet in the Mirror (2)
The room is rather small, but it has everything you need, so staying for a few days shouldn't be a problem.
Jian Tanxi first conducted a cursory search of the room to make sure there was nothing dangerous.
Qu Chen continued to play with his little wooden puppet, patting its head and pinching its nose.
Jian Tanxi instructed, "Xiao Chen, don't hit it, it will hurt."
I don't know if Qu Chen can understand it.
Jian Tanxi began to study her own puppets.
The puppet's height, appearance, and even the clothes it wore were exactly the same as Jian Tanxi's.
The only difference is that it doesn't have very detailed facial features, but at a glance, you can still tell that it looks like Jian Tanxi.
Qu Chen's little wooden puppet also looks similar to Qu Chen.
Jian Tanxi pondered that the reason these puppets were called "mirror puppets" was partly because the puppets came out of the mirror, and partly because the puppets looked very much like the players, just like looking in a mirror.
Jian Tanxi tentatively said to her puppet, "Hello."
The puppet spoke up: "Hello, Jian Tanxi."
It's a strange feeling to see someone who looks a lot like yourself talking to you. The puppet's voice doesn't sound mechanical; it sounds quite like a real person.
Jian Tanxi continued, "Do you have a name?"
Puppet: "My name is 'Jian Tanxi in the Mirror'."
Hearing the name, Jian Tanxi felt a slight chill run down her spine, but then thought she had no reason to be afraid. The puppet came from the mirror and was dressed up in imitation of her, so the name was quite fitting.
Jian Tanxi pointed at Qu Chen's puppet and asked, "Is it called 'Qu Chen in the Mirror'?"
"Yes."
"Can you say just one sentence—'I give up'?"
The puppet asked, "Why?"
"If you say that, I can clear the game."
"Sorry, I don't want to talk about it right now."
"What will it take for you to tell me?"
"I have no idea."
"Can you only talk, or can you initiate conversation?"
“I can speak up.”
If I did something very difficult in front of you, would you praise me?
"Maybe, but it depends on my mood and thoughts at the time. If I feel there's no need to speak, I won't."
Jian Tanxi pondered that perhaps she should do something amazing to make the puppet truly submit, so that the puppet might say, "I submit."
She plans to continue communicating with Qu Chen's little wooden puppet.
So she said to the little wooden puppet, "Hello, Qu Chen in the mirror."
Little wooden puppet: "Hello, you're so clever, you called my name right away."
Jian Tanxi asked, "Can you think?"
"Sure."
"Then how different are you from real people?"
"From a cognitive perspective, there may not be much difference. It's just that the components of our bodies are different. We are made of wood, while you are made of bones and flesh."
Are you smart?
"I think I'm pretty smart."
Is there anything you want?
"No. Puppets don't need to eat or drink, nor do they have the need to buy things."
"Don't you want to reshape your body with better, more expensive wood?"
"No, I think it's fine as it is now. Besides, health isn't important."
Would you be willing to say 'I give up'?
"No, there's nothing, no one, no thing that I can submit to."
Are you the youngest of these puppets?
"That's how it seems on the surface, but I'm from the same batch as them, so there's no difference in age."
Jian Tanxi originally thought that if the little wooden puppet's mind was equivalent to that of a child, it would be easier to surprise it.
However, these puppets all have mature ways of thinking, unlike children. It may take some effort to convince them.
Jian Tanxi continued speaking to "Qu Chen in the Mirror": "Do you know that Qu Chen has a special ability called 'Word Spirit Technique'? What he says will come true. For example, if he calls someone 'Mom,' that person will believe that he is their mother. Do you think this ability is amazing?"
"sharp."
Do you submit or not?
"It's alright."
"Could you express this in a different way?"
"I think it's pretty good."
Jian Tanxi sighed. Getting a puppet to say "I give up" was indeed no easy feat.
She then said to her puppet, "Do you believe I can know what you're thinking?"
The puppet said, "I am just a puppet; I can't think of anything."
Jian Tanxi tried to read the puppet's mind using mind-reading techniques, but she couldn't read anything.
The puppet's brain is like artificial intelligence; it answers when you ask it a question. But when no one asks it a question, it doesn't have any human thoughts or ideas; it's just like a program.
Jian Tanxi asked, "Can you enjoy the performance?"
Puppet: "Okay."
"When I do something without explaining it in any words, can you understand it?"
"Can."
"Okay, then watch carefully."
There was a decorative painting on the wall, depicting sunflowers.
Jian Tanxi used her "two-dimensional grabbing" ability to pull the sunflowers out of the painting.
The puppet said, "Wow, you're amazing!"
"Have you given up?"
"Um."
Could you express it another way?
"I'm truly impressed."
"Could you please remove the word 'really'?"
"Whether it's removed or not doesn't affect the meaning of the sentence. So there's no need to remove it."
"But if I remove it, I can pass the level."
"Sorry, there is no function in my program to help players complete the game."
"So what's your program? Is it designed to prevent players from completing the game?"
"No, it's that I try not to say those three words."
Jian Tanxi: "..."
Jian Tanxi took out paper and pen, wrote the three words "I give up" on the paper, and then asked the puppet, "Can you read these three words?"
Puppet: "These three words mean 'I'm convinced'."
"Can you stop being so verbose? Can you just read those three words out loud?"
"I've already told you what the word is, so my program doesn't think it needs to be read again."
Jian Tanxi: "..."
At this moment, Jian Tanxi remembered her other special ability—editing scripts.
She said directly, "Modify the script and activate the superpower. Remove the word 'not' from 'The puppet refused to say I submitted,' and change it to 'The puppet was willing to say I submitted.'"
At that moment, a sharp electronic voice rang in Jian Tanxi's mind: "Warning! This modification is not allowed! This modification is invalid!"
Jian Tanxi clutched her head in pain, and after a while, the sharp electronic sound disappeared.
Jian Tanxi murmured to herself, "I give up, I really give up."
Puppet: "You said it yourself, so it doesn't count."
Jian Tanxi: "I know, I just wanted to express my complete acceptance of this game."
Jian Tanxi was in a very irritable mood. She set her sights on Qu Chen.
She pulled Qu Chen aside and said, "Xiao Chen, say one thing to those two puppets: 'Say I submit.'"
The puppet reminded him, "According to the test, Qu Chen cannot speak such a complex sentence."
Jian Tanxi: "..."
Jian Tanxi, unable to bear it any longer, said to her puppet, "I really want to hit you right now."
Puppet: "Warning! Violent behavior may trigger a counterattack mechanism. Players, please proceed with caution."
Jian Tanxi: "..."
She looked at Qu Chen, who, as expected, couldn't say anything and just stared at Jian Tanxi with a silly grin.
After a while, Qu Chen found a gourd ornament and started playing with it.
Jian Tanxi: "I knew it, I can't count on one or two of them. Xiao Chen, why don't you use such a powerful weapon as the Word Magic? Why can't you speak? Answer me! Look in my eyes!"
However, no matter what Jian Tanxi said, Qu Chen was immersed in his own world, playing with the gourd ornament with complete concentration.
Jian Tanxi felt somewhat helpless.
After resting for a while, she began to empty out all her props.
She discovered something wonderful—a megaphone.
A loudspeaker can amplify sound 100 times.
She said to the puppet, "If you don't say 'I give up,' I'll yell at you through a megaphone, and your ears will be deafened."
The puppet said expressionlessly, "Sorry, my ears are just for show. If you use a megaphone, it will only damage your and Qu Chen's ear canals."
Jian Tanxi: "..."
Jian Tanxi: "Fine, this doesn't work, right? I have another one... Just you wait, the time to witness a miracle has come..."
Jian Tanxi took out her disguise rouge. This could be used one last time.
She disguised herself perfectly as a puppet.
Then she said, "I give up."
However, after waiting for a while, there was no indication of whether the level was cleared.
The puppet reminded her, "I just said that saying those three words yourself won't work."
Jian Tanxi: "I look exactly like you now."
"But you are not me. You are a human being, not a puppet."
Jian Tanxi: "..."
If she had known this trick wouldn't work, she wouldn't have used the disguise rouge.
Now that I've run out of the disguise rouge, I still can't pass the level. It's like I tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead.
Next, she demonstrated some of her special abilities, but the two puppets never said "I'm impressed." At most, they would say things like "You're so amazing" or "I admire you."
Jian Tanxi suddenly grabbed the little wooden puppet and slammed it heavily against the wall. The little wooden puppet weighed the same as Qu Chen, so Jian Tanxi could lift it.
Jian Tanxi looked at the large wooden puppet and said, "If you say 'I give up,' I'll let the small wooden puppet go. You don't want me to break its body, do you?"
The giant puppet calmly replied, "You can bump into it; it's just a puppet."
Even if puppets don't feel pain, could you just stand by and watch your fellow human beings be harmed?
"I've said it before, the body isn't important; we can rebuild a body anytime."
Jian Tanxi was at her wit's end.
She tried to bump the little puppet twice more, but the big puppet remained unmoved.
So she had no choice but to put the little wooden puppet down.
The little wooden puppet said, "Jian Tanxi, how could you do this to me? If you keep bumping into me, I'll trigger my resistance mechanism."
Jian Tanxi wanted to subdue the two puppets, but she was afraid that if they resisted, they would hurt Qu Chen, so she dared not make any rash moves.
She had no other options for the time being, so she could only lie in bed and rest. She planned to ask Professor Pan later.
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