Chapter 93 Save AI10, City of Wisdom
The AI didn't mention this before because it didn't know if the underground virus had disappeared. Now that it has the results of Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan's investigation, the AI is taking a more relaxed approach because it doesn't have an emotion module.
The group set off in formation, carefully avoiding areas of human activity. Along the way, Lao Ba started her rant again.
"You guys say that the AI doesn't have an emotion module, so how does it handle emotional issues? Won't it give some ridiculous answers?" Lao Ba asked in a low voice.
In fact, everyone had similar doubts. The AI floating beside them replied, "I don't deal with emotional issues. If machines have emotions, they can't maintain rational judgment on many things. As the core of the world's operation, they cannot have emotions."
The seventh brother chimed in, "That's not right either. If there's no affection involved, what if you encounter someone who's been subjected to domestic violence, emotional abuse, or heartbreak?"
After pondering for a moment, the AI replied, "These issues are generally handled by the Emotional Court. They have the most comprehensive laws on emotions, and their laws on child protection and personal protection are very strict. As long as there is a violation, a rationally thinking robot will handle it and nip the abuse in the bud."
That's what they say, but judging from the various bounty notices on the black market, robots often can't handle all these cases. Although the law exists, it only protects those who are willing to stand up. Many people don't have the courage. When robots can't determine whether the person involved has really been harmed, the law becomes a mere formality.
The players discussed things about humans, emotions, and robots all the way, but ultimately came to no conclusion, because they were all ordinary people, and humans at that, and it was hard for them to think that half-humans and electronic life forms were the same.
Moreover, it's something that humanity has failed to solve even after millions of years of civilization; ordinary people like them simply cannot come up with a reliable way to coexist.
So, in the end, the only thing they can do is suppress them with force, which is exactly what they lack right now.
Upon arriving at the location indicated by the AI, the AI finally proved its worth, connecting itself to the network. It emitted a brighter, more colorful light, and the network speed was incredibly fast. Within seconds, it announced that it had taken control of the underground city's hub.
"The underground city is currently maintained by the old system. Since I cut off contact and left, the underground system only has basic functions. Now, it is a social order that humans and robots have re-established," the AI replied, and asked if we wanted to leave now. If we went through the underground drainage system, we could probably reach the moat outside the main city directly.
Everyone cheered and decided to leave immediately, because they didn't have much time left.
The AI immediately created a visual map for them, marked the exit route, and pointed them to the underground entrance.
The underground entrance has been abandoned for many years, and there are many skeletons and machine parts inside, indicating that many people died during the virus outbreak.
Being able to travel in a straight line using the underground drainage system greatly increased their speed. It took them less than two days to emerge from underground. Of course, they also had to thank the compressed energy packs developed by technology. These devices have even made humans evolve to eliminate sleep, allowing them to travel continuously without eating, drinking, or sleeping without any problems.
The exit was right under the moat. They had come out of the river, soaking wet, and before they could even tidy themselves up, they saw a chaotic world. Unlike when they entered the underground, the outside world was now in complete disarray.
Fighting is taking place everywhere, fires caused by explosions cannot be extinguished, and black smoke is billowing from many parts of the main city.
Everyone stood on the shore, and the second brother stared in disbelief: "My goodness, what do we do now?"
The players shook their heads in unison, then looked at Wu Wangwang, who seemed to have a good idea.
Wu Wangwang paused for a moment and said, "This must be because we kept sending messages out while we were underground. Since it's already like this, why don't we turn back and occupy the main city?"
"But we don't have the key. Even if we send the AI back, we can't get it to take control of the system again," the leader asked worriedly.
The keys that were distributed to pure humans and electronic life forms must have been separately managed by them, making it impossible to collect them all.
In response, Wu Wangwang said, "It's okay. We'll rest and recuperate for now, and continue to stir up trouble. When they really damage the system to more than 50%, then we'll send the AI back."
Since the original size is not enough for the AI to fully control, we should reduce the size and shrink the scope. Then no one should be able to compete with the AI using technology.
Ling Yuanshan continued to monitor the online activity. Whenever he found any signs of a lull in the fighting, Wu Wangwang would take the third and fourth brothers out to cause trouble, while also confirming the news about the AI. They would also occasionally reveal the AI's location so that others would hunt them down.
But every time they were about to catch up, Wu Wangwang would lead her men to snatch them away halfway, just like Cheng Yaojin, creating the illusion that the AI was being constantly snatched away by different forces.
As the battle progressed, the world became increasingly chaotic. In the struggle to reach the main city and seize the AI, most people died on the way.
As the saying goes, "If you walk the dark road too often, you're bound to run into a ghost." When they tried to use the same trick again, they encountered pure human players. Were the players too easy to recognize? They weren't carrying regular weapons, but rather high-priority items. To fight them, they could only use items.
The newcomer didn't have enough items, so he was protected in the middle, while the other side didn't have any newcomers, which was equivalent to seven against ten, which wasn't very advantageous.
During the standoff, a masked man among the human players suddenly said, "Everyone be careful. That tallest guy on the other side has completed the game many times and has a lot of high-level items. He's going to be tough to deal with."
The tallest player is Ling Yuanshan. He has performed unremarkably well throughout the game, only taking good care of Wu Wangwang and spending most of his time monitoring the news online. Although he admitted to being a veteran player, no one knows exactly how veteran he is. In addition, he is young, so veteran players don't think he has many items.
Ling Yuanshan wasn't surprised when it was suddenly revealed; he had participated in too many instances, and there were bound to be some he encountered repeatedly.
Ling Yuanshan, holding a long sword, said, "Looks like an old acquaintance. Knowing I'm not easy to deal with, you've come here to die?"
"Because our mission is to kill you and retrieve the AI. If we fail, we'll die too," the man said helplessly.
This is a faction-based combat instance with ridiculously simple rules, but there's absolutely no room for maneuver. Players fight each other to the death, and only the last one standing wins.
Hearing them say that, everyone's faces turned grim. As fellow players, killing each other is always the most painful thing. Death erodes their values time and time again, and sooner or later, everyone will lose even the last bit of humanity.
However, there was no time to worry about that; we had no choice but to take action.
With Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan there, they could naturally win. However, Ling Yuanshan reminded them not to go too far and just make sure the players were incapacitated. When they had the ability, they shouldn't take on too many lives.
After defeating the purely human players, they must quickly move to another location; they cannot stay any longer, or they will be discovered and captured by NPCs, which is very troublesome.
About a month later, there were not many organizations left that still had fighting power. They were still fighting because they were the largest organizations and had been preparing to seize power for a long time.
The day before they were to return to the main city control room, Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang sat on the rooftop railing. Ling Yuanshan had made her an electronic flower these past few days. He didn't know what it would grow into, but it was a seed that needed to be cared for every day.
Wu Wangwang rarely encountered such a creature, so she put a lot of effort into raising it.
But they have to leave after completing their mission, and it's unknown whether they will be able to see the seeds bloom before they leave.
"Can't you write me a program to speed up growth?" Wu Wangwang asked, looking up. In the setting sun, Ling Yuanshan's face was also golden, very beautiful.
Ling Yuanshan laughed: "The fun of raising things lies in the anticipation of waiting. Every day you imagine what it will look like when it grows up. If you know the answer too early, you lose interest."
Wu Wangwang held the electronic flowerpot and spun it around: "No way, even if people know that it will only grow roses in the end, many people will still grow it."
However, Ling Yuanshan said, "Because what you end up growing may not be a rose, but a Chinese rose. Every time is a gamble, but as long as you put your heart into it, you will like it the same whether it is a rose or a Chinese rose."
It sounded like a lovestruck fool's statement. Wu Wangwang held up her electronic flowerpot: "Then I hope it's a rose, preferably black."
Ling Yuanshan paused for a moment, then turned to look at her: "Why don't you expect it to be a rose?"
“I’ve heard that roses are for lovers, so you certainly wouldn’t give me something like that,” Wu Wangwang replied with a smile.
"Why not?" Ling Yuanshan asked in return.
Wu Wangwang paused in her hand as she spun the electronic flowerpot, and looked up at Ling Yuanshan in surprise.
The sun was slowly setting, and the golden sunlight began to turn purple. Ling Yuanshan stared at Wu Wangwang without looking away. In his eyes were the same emotions that Wu Wangwang had seen many times before, but those emotions were rarely directed at her.
After staring at each other for a long time, Wu Wangwang lowered her head again and looked at her flowerpot: "Because if you give roses, they will never bloom."
Ling Yuanshan didn't speak. He simply raised his hand to pat Wu Wangwang's head and replied in his mind: In this game, nothing is impossible.
The next day, they entered the main city and, with the help of the AI, avoided other people and smoothly arrived at the control room, where they encountered another thirty players.
They hadn't gone all out before. Once the ten human players had recovered from their injuries, they came back. Their only mission was to kill the ten players who had stolen the AI. So they cooperated. The thirty of them had been waiting there for a long time. They were also players and knew very well what players could do.
They understood that Wu Wangwang and the others would definitely choose to let the AI come back and re-control the system, because this was the fastest and simplest way to achieve the conditions for passing the level.
Ling Yuanshan drew his longsword: "It seems the final battle will be hand-to-hand combat. If we win, will you hand over the key?"
One of the players on the other side said, "The key isn't in our hands. We're just mercenaries selected to hunt you down, not part of the core faction. But so what? Our conditions for clearing the game are different. If we kill you, we can clear the game. We don't need to do anything fancy."
As soon as he finished speaking, the thirty players rushed over without hesitation.
During this escape, they were also training. The three new recruits, the seventh, eighth, and ninth, were able to pick up NPC weapons to protect themselves. Although they were not as good as the items, it was enough for the three of them to protect themselves when the other seven had already blocked most of the players.
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Author's Note: [End of Chapter]
Wu Wangwang: Falling in love with ghosts and gods is human nature, don't take it seriously [pats head]
Ling Yuanshan: I don't understand [glasses]
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