In the empty base, the ringing of the telephone sounded extremely harsh.

Sun Yuanrang, who happened to be staying at the base today, put down the boxes of experimental materials in his hands and turned to look at the corner.

"Ling, there's a phone call!" Sun Yuanrang said loudly.

Right next to him, a wheat-colored hand lazily raised up: "Just put it over there, and record it when the time comes."

Hearing this voice, Sun Yuanrang couldn't help but sigh: "It really is..."

He couldn't blame the guy though.

He still remembers that last month, this guy had not yet become as lazy as he is now.

At that time she was still called "The Web Weaver" instead of her current name - "Ling".

According to her, the person who created her was a high school student named Wang, and the person who brought her out of mediocrity and loneliness had a character in his name that reads "Ling". At the same time, the character "Ling" sounds a bit like "zero" - one of the most basic units of computer binary.

"This is my masterpiece," Sun Yuanrang still remembered the girl saying proudly that day, "The prophet will be shocked when he comes back!"

He won't be scared, Sun Yuanrang thought to himself.

Sun Yuanrang felt that there was probably no one in the world who was more calm than that man. Gathering around him was like surrounding a mountain, with a heavy shadow covering all of them.

At first, he thought it was that person's ability, the power to foresee the future, which could indeed make people feel at ease. But later, he realized that the mere existence of that person was enough to unite everyone.

The evidence is that after that person disappeared, the "Bright Day" that had been established not long ago fell apart almost instantly.

The grand plans that were promised in the past seem like a huge joke. Today, Ming Zhou has completely lost its core competitiveness. Although it has the support of the Countermeasures Bureau, compared with the other "Chao Mu", Ming Zhou's popularity has really decreased.

If it weren't for the huge amount of wealth that man left behind before he left, as well as Lin Ju's strong support, Ming Zhou would probably have completely collapsed not long after it was established.

Thinking of this, Sun Yuanrang couldn't help but sigh.

Just like the Weaver, or Ling, he had just made a breakthrough in experimental progress not long ago, and he was excitedly planning to report it to his junior after he came back.

But I didn’t expect…

Picking up the big box on the ground again, Sun Yuanrang said to the figure lying on the sofa, "Don't forget to answer the phone. It may be transferred to us by the Countermeasures Bureau. Maybe we need help from Miss Lin or Miss Li."

"I know, I know," Ling said lazily, "Just go and do your thing."

Shaking his head, Sun Yuanrang finally carried his bags and walked into the room.

Ling outside glanced at the phone next to her.

At this moment, there was a PX5 in front of her, and a famous fighting game was playing on the huge LCD screen.

There was a tube inserted into her body, and the other end of the tube was connected to the game console.

Seeing the opponent's character being defeated by him again, he angrily typed on the public screen: "Is he cheating?!"

Ling said expressionlessly: "How boring, is being good at fighting cheating?"

As an artificial intelligence, she is not so useless that she needs to use cheats or sneak into the game company's computer room to modify data.

Ling has been able to reach the top of the game now because of her own strength and a slight racial advantage!

Sighing, she unplugged the tube that connected her to the game console: "Boring."

So boring.

This was not the first time she had had such thoughts.

Originally, she didn't feel bored. When she first got her new body, she wanted to do everything by herself and experience everything that once made her excited.

But later on, she only felt dull and boring.

The whole world seemed to have returned to the data in the online game. Inorganic 0s and 1s filled the surrounding space, and even the oxygen that he had always dreamed of breathing was no different from the "electricity" and "engine oil" he had once dreamed of.

During this time, she tried almost every method to have fun. She used her current photos to post on dating websites, and then tripped up those men and women who talked without thinking, hacked into their devices to peek at their dark history; or she ran to the Countermeasures Bureau physically, and then her consciousness wandered in their servers, pretending to be fine even if she was discovered; she even tried to go to the gym to swim, and several people asked for her phone number on the way.

But it's all meaningless.

No matter how much people praise her, Ling knows that what they are actually praising is her current appearance; no matter how much they pay attention to her, she knows that what they understand is only her appearance.

This made her somewhat confused.

Originally, she really wanted to get a body, and her previous wishes were related to this - whether it was falling in love or experiencing delicious food, except that the former was not very convenient to implement due to geographical reasons, she had basically tried everything else.

But the more she tried, the more bored she felt.

Ling was horrified to find that the world that she thought was colorful in the past seemed to be gradually shedding its bright and beautiful outer shell as she explored, revealing a hollow and empty interior.

The life she admired, yearned for, and loved was actually just as boring. There were many people who were floating in such a life, complaining about it, hating it, despising it, but had to rely on it.

So what was the motivation for her to pursue it so desperately before? Ling began to fall into deep self-doubt.

As a special life form, she rarely thought about this problem in the past. Her twisted obsession did not let her think about what she should do, but rather how to become a human being.

But when she really transformed into a human, she found that it was different from what she had agreed.

For a while, she began to feel confused and puzzled.

It was a long time before she finally discovered the problem.

The man who would listen to her complaints and cheers is now gone.

When Ling first heard the news that the person was gone, she was actually very upset for a while. But because of her special life form, she didn't get entangled in this sad feeling for too long. In addition, she also needed to manage the entire Ming Zhou Internet, so she slowly recovered her emotions.

After that, she began to try what she had wanted to do before. However, the more she did it, the less she felt the happiness she had imagined.

It seems... even after becoming a human, I'm not that happy.

Until one night, Ling saw some touching stories on the Internet.

People who are older and have entered society will say with emotion that their happiest time is "holding my mother's hand after returning home from school and telling her what interesting things happened in school that day."

This sentence directly hit upon Ling's doubts.

Yeah, that's why.

She discovered that the happiest times in the past were when the prophet was still around, listening to her complaints or doubts, and then patiently explaining various problems to her.

Although other people were also very nice to her, for some reason, the feeling they had in Ling's mind was completely different from the feeling the prophet gave her.

If we have to make a comparison, then the others are Ling's "friends", and the prophet is her... "parent"-like character.

After realizing this, Ling discovered that the corners of her eyes seemed to be slightly moist without her noticing.

She also figured out why she was bored.

When the person who occupied the most space in your life leaves you, you may only feel sad. But what can really stir up the waves in your heart like the abyss is when the wounds have been smoothed out by time, but the box of memory is accidentally opened one afternoon, and you think that no one will stir up waves for your laughter and sadness.

At that time, the sorrow that is countless times more painful than before and can almost completely crush your chest will make you realize that someone is no longer here.

This is the moment when a person truly begins to understand "loss".

So Ling is becoming more and more lazy now.

She even started playing online games, something she hadn't touched since coming to Ming Zhou.

Recently, she has even stayed at home so much in the Countermeasures Bureau that she almost forgot that there is a person in Ming Zhou.

"Why don't you just let go of this body?"

Listening to the phone call, Ling couldn't help muttering to herself: "I always feel like there's nothing to do right now. Why not just go to outer space and see if there are any aliens?"

As an artificial intelligence, as long as there is electricity and internet, she can survive forever, even if it is a local area network.

From this point of view, Ling felt that she was really suitable for space travel. If she was asked to drive a spaceship, she estimated that she could drive until the spaceship was completely scrapped.

I always feel that this is quite romantic, driving a spaceship with only one person on it, wandering alone in the dark universe, and then waiting for the spaceship to "die" in the ocean, or for yourself to age to become worthless.

There is a kind of beauty in space.

Thinking of this, Ling really began to ponder the significance of spacecraft navigation.

The first call ended quickly.

This calmed Ling's mind a little.

She didn't really want to answer the phone, anyway, in the end it would be someone else reporting that they were safe, or they hadn't found Ji Qianqin "again". Of course, there was a 97% chance that it was a sales call.

Ever since Ding Yan infiltrated the Nine-Headed Divine Sect, Song Qingci went to the island country, and Li Jingwen went to Yanzhou, basically no one would call the base.

This phone number was also registered by the Prophet, so Ling did not install any anti-disturbance function on it - if she was bored, she would still answer the call and listen to the stupid artificial intelligence say "Good afternoon, Mr. Bai" in a mechanical voice.

To some extent, it makes her feel as if there really is a Mr. Bai there.

Just as she was thinking.

The phone rang again.

Ling was a little angry: "It's boring."

Although she is an artificial intelligence, it doesn't mean that she will answer anyone's phone calls all the time!

It's not like she has nothing to do every day! Ling's thoughts followed the phone line and she took a look at the caller's location: "Hmm? Yanzhou? Is that Li Jingwen?"

But shouldn't Li Jingwen be helping the Countermeasures Bureau handle affairs now? Thinking of this, Ling couldn't help but feel a little confused.

Could it be that...

As if she had thought of something, Ling's face showed a little fear: "Could it be... that he was killed in battle?"

She subconsciously pressed her heart, and her face turned slightly pale.

After a moment's silence, Ling finally picked up the phone next to her.

"Hello?"

A mature-sounding voice came from the other end of the line: "Hello, is this Ming Zhou?"

Hearing this voice, Ling couldn't help but raise her eyebrows slightly.

She always felt that the voice was quite familiar.

"Hello, yes," Ling said skillfully, "May I ask what I can help you with?"

The female voice said calmly, "Oh, I have something to report."

Report?

To us? Ling was stunned.

She grabbed the phone and said doubtfully, "Well, if you have any business, you should call the local countermeasures bureau. Do you need my help to transfer the call..."

Before she could finish, the person on the other end of the phone interrupted her: "It has nothing to do with the Countermeasures Bureau. It's related to the members of Ming Zhou."

Could it be true that... Li Jingwen was sacrificed?

When Ling heard this, she felt as if her heart skipped a beat, even though she was actually an artificial intelligence.

She said with some difficulty: "Okay, since it is related to Ming Zhou...then please tell us, we are recording it..."

"It's like this," the female voice smiled, "someone asked me to tell you something."

"He said, 'I'm back' and I'm in Yanzhou right now. Please help us arrange transportation if possible."

"Oh, by the way," the person on the phone said with a smile, "No need to make too much trouble to arrange it - just arrange for that bus. The person said that after being used to that bus, he is not used to riding something else now."

The words fell.

All of a sudden, the headlights of a large bus parked in the parking lot next to the base suddenly turned on!

The bright headlights shone on Ling's face, accompanied by the "tuk-tuk" sound of the horn, as if the bus was inspired by something, and the whole "car" became excited!

"ah……"

Looking at the bus that was about to depart with almost no control, he glanced at the phone in his hand.

Ling seemed to understand something, her voice trembling: "Wait...you...please ask..."

In the end, she didn't manage to organize her words for a long time.

But the female voice on the other end of the phone seemed to know what she wanted to say: "Yes, the destination is Yanzhou, you can come now. If you are fast, you can be back to Linjiang in the afternoon."

"Oh, by the way, that person also asked me to give you a message."

On the other end of the phone, the witch glanced at Bai Ling next to her , and Bai Ling nodded slightly and smiled.

After seeing this smile, the witch also smiled and said: "He said, 'Ling is a very good name, very good'."

After hearing this.

Ling finally couldn't hold back her emotions anymore. She clutched the phone tightly in her hand, and her eyes were filled with tears.

Space travel, dying alone on a spaceship, these once romantic things have now been completely discarded by her, as if thrown into a trash can.

"Yes, yes."

Her voice was a little incoherent, and she just kept repeating the same words: "Soon...soon...coming soon!"

I was busy helping my friend move yesterday and didn't have time to update the i function. Sorry.