Chapter 6 Let's set sail, ███! The head suddenly spoke…
The corpse's hand suddenly twitched, grabbing her wrist with such force that it almost broke it. Pu Fengchun was startled and quickly retreated. Her other hand had already touched the white rose earring, but the corpse twitched a few more times and then let go, as if it were just the lingering aftereffects of death.
Pu Fengchun then noticed something was wrong. The cut on the woman's neck was clean, as if it had been severed with a single stroke, but there wasn't a drop of blood around it. The flesh inside her neck was intact, even "healthy," and was twitching disgustingly as it convulsed.
In the dimly lit room, the computer on the desk was brightly lit, displaying a dynamic seascape from a high angle, like footage taken by a drone. A head with its hair up was placed in front of the computer, its back to her.
Pu Fengchun walks past the woman's corpse, and in the scene, layers upon layers of mist at the end of the sea come into view, getting closer and closer until he disappears into the mist.
The head suddenly spoke: "...I see it, the mist...behind it is...is..."
Xue Chao, who was playing a video pretending to broadcast live and reenact the scene, was also startled. Wasn't this head just sitting there as a "decoration"? Why did it suddenly start talking?
Sizzle—
The computer screen suddenly went black.
Pu Fengchun remained alert with practiced ease, but no female ghost crawled out of the computer. She breathed a slight sigh of relief and went to observe what was around her.
She couldn't see the head's face clearly, but she saw two eyeballs fall out. One stopped beside the cut on the neck, and the other rolled all the way to her. She stared at the shattered eyeballs, and saw extreme terror in one of them, as if it had seen something unbearable before it exploded and died.
She suppressed her nausea, pinched her eyeballs, and found a very fine hole in the pupil, as if something had pierced through it.
She came to the table and finally saw clearly that there was a signal device in front of her head. One end of the signal device was connected to the computer, and the other end had two wires that went through the woman's wide-open eyes—now there were only two empty eye sockets—and plunged into the depths of her brain, emitting a burnt smell.
Just then, the computer screen lit up, and an electronic male voice sounded:
"Reconnection failed... Connection failed..."
"The signal unit itself is damaged... The signal transmitter is damaged..."
"The 18th probe, the 'drone,' has failed..."
"The footage has been recorded to the database... Madam, you'd better put down the signal transmitter." The two cameras in the room and the computer's webcam rotated simultaneously, all looking at Pu Fengchun.
Being watched by several "electronic eyes" without missing a beat, Pu Fengchun got goosebumps. Holding the signal device, she retorted, "Didn't you say the signal transmitter was damaged? It's just a piece of scrap metal now."
"That's right," Xue Chao said calmly. "But it just burned out, and if you unplug the wire now, it could cause an electric shock."
After Pu Fengchun silently put it back, he asked, "Are you lost? The boarding gate is in the aerial tunnel on the third floor. You need to go through customs on the second floor and border control on the third floor to get there. There are staff members to help you in front of the boarding gate."
"This kind of staff member?" Pu Fengchun pointed to the head that was still plugged in with wires.
“…It shouldn’t be.” Xue Chao paused. “You’re not here to upgrade your cabin.”
"You're not a real staff member either; you just impersonated her voice to fool me."
The electronic male voice seemed to be deep in thought, and surprisingly said in a good-natured tone, "I'm sorry."
Pu Fengchun was a little surprised and seized the opportunity to ask, "Then who are you?"
Xue Chao reintroduced himself, creating a fictitious alternate version: "Hello, welcome to the Giant Cruises Home Port Passenger Terminal. I am the artificial intelligence of Giant Port. You can call me 'J'. I am at your service."
“…” Pu Fengchun glanced at the surveillance camera that was monitoring her from all angles. “Are there many artificial intelligences in the building?”
"You've probably already seen some of the members on the first floor; they're responsible for helping passengers collect their tickets."
"...They don't seem very 'intelligent,' so you have a clear division of labor: ticket collection, baggage check-in, customs, border inspection... I heard on the radio that there are also walking robots for storing towels, life jackets, and other supplies, as well as service robots for calling taxis and booking hotels—and you, you're in charge of this service window?"
“No, ma’am,” Xue Chao said slowly, “I am in charge of managing all the robots you mentioned above.”
"...all of those mentioned?"
"There's something else you haven't mentioned," Xue Chao said with a smile. "Perhaps you need my help?"
"【Pu Fengchun】WoW, is this an important NPC?"
"How come this memorial tablet of Pu Fengchun is so lucky..."
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
This is a lesson learned through blood and tears by Pu Fengchun after experiencing so many instances.
This artificial intelligence... is not as "simple" as the machine downstairs that just splits open and eats people.
Pu Fengchun: "Did you kill her?"
Xue Chao: "Is this related to your request?"
"If so, I don't think I have the right to refuse."
"You think I'm threatening you?" Xue Chao's real voice was hidden in the electronic noise, making his originally charming voice sound rigid and cold. "Unfortunately, I didn't kill her. She was just a task assigned to me by my superiors. As you can see, the task failed again."
"Are you extracting her memories?"
"I'm keeping up with her observations."
Pu Fengchun immediately thought of the phrase that had come back to life: "After the fog?"
"That fog suddenly appeared a year ago and has not dissipated no matter what. All ships that sailed into the fog have disappeared, including helicopters and submarines that were sent. She connected to the 18th type of detection equipment, but still to no avail."
"Why not just use the device's camera instead of going through the unnecessary step of connecting to the human brain?" Pu Fengchun wondered.
Xue Chao had a guess about this.
What he just said was based on the information found in the system, which, apart from the "fog background" that sets the tone for the entire Giant Harbor story, consisted only of a list of detection equipment marked with "x".
He could only trace back to the system records from a year ago, around the time AI was created. When AI was born, the detection equipment had already reached the 13th type. However, even after the 13th type, there was no equipment information, test time, detailed detection records, experimental summary reports, etc. It was as if AI was just a backup file folder storing tables.
Only with the 18th type of drone detection, Xue Chao found an encrypted video deep within the program. Combined with the head that had been sitting at the second-floor window, the video was exactly what staff member 029 had seen. Someone had hidden the video in the system, instead of deleting it as before.
The purpose of this is still unknown, but according to the incomplete surveillance records, the earliest traceable fragment regarding the window service is that the woman was fully intact, sitting in front of the computer while still alive, with wires running through her eyes and connecting to her brain, and the signal transmitter was working normally.
In other words, her task did not require her to leave the window, nor did it require her to leave her head.
So Xue Chao looked at the list of detection equipment again and made a discovery: all the detection equipment after the 13th type was small and could not carry people.
Furthermore, why connect to the brain through the eyes? This seems like the most unnecessary step, and rather than a scientific method, it has a touch of religious superstition.
One possibility is that behind the fog, the human eye can "see" more than electronic devices, and the words spoken by a resurrected mind can prove this point.
Previously, large manned equipment, such as helicopters and submarines, disappeared together after entering the fog. Later, smaller equipment was used, and it was discovered that the human eye can see things that machines cannot. Therefore, a signal transmitter was connected to the human eye and brain, projecting the human's "consciousness" onto the detection equipment.
Separating consciousness from the body and projecting it into electronic devices—isn't that him? The so-called "AI".
He guessed that his consciousness was also projected into the terminal's network system in this way.
"You have quite a few questions, but they don't suit your status." Revealing only half the information is key to piquing the fish's interest and getting them to bite. Xue Chao cleverly used a strategy of retreating to advance, "It seems you don't need my help. Would you like me to show you the way back?"
"You're in charge of the entire passenger terminal, you should know what happened... I'm just a little curious, why are there blank tickets?"
"Because the sample bank did not collect the biometric information belonging to that tourist, he did not leave it, so he should have left it at the ticket office. Unfortunately, he did not remember this, and our members thought he was 'refusing to cooperate', so we did it for him."
"Acting on behalf of someone"? More like getting things done for them. Why would a port store passengers' biological samples? That sounds like something only the police do to criminals or lab personnel to test subjects.
Pu Fengchun probed, "The biological information you're referring to is blood?" She braced herself, ready to outmaneuver the cunning artificial intelligence, determined to find a way to get the ticket.
"You can give it a try."
In an infinite world, giving away one's blood is sometimes no different from giving away one's life. Blood is not only a gene, but also often has special meaning in the realm of gods and demons. This is definitely not a good suggestion.
The AI seemed to sense her wariness and thoughtfully added, "If you have any doubts, you can try it with someone else's blood first."
"Not everyone's blood is acceptable. According to you, even among the same group of passengers, there are quite a few who did not have their biometric information entered in advance."
Some passengers, like the players, have blank tickets, while others have already obtained their tickets. Even if they get the tickets, they might not get a second one, and there's also the risk of being discovered and punished. So, the only option is to gamble among those who haven't obtained their tickets yet on who will get a full ticket.
She's been gone for a while now, and most of the other passengers in the same group have probably already collected their tickets. From both a time and operational standpoint, it's not a good option.
"At the far end of the second floor, in a hidden corner, there is a locked room with a sign that says 'Warehouse'—you can think of it as a 'blood storage warehouse'."
Throughout the entire T1 terminal, there are only four places where Xue Chao "cannot see" surveillance cameras: the eight players' watches (which can detect signals but do not have viewing permissions), the ticket hall, the customs inspection area, and this seemingly dilapidated warehouse.
Of those who entered the ticket hall, nearly half came out looking pale and thinner. Their purplish veins were visible even through the security cameras, indicating they had likely had a lot of blood drawn. Yet, they all received their full tickets.
Among them were three players. A veteran player and a newbie bespectacled man were nearly fainting. Zhu Wen was the only one who looked radiant as he walked out of the ticket hall.
Many people never came out again; they either died in the ticket hall or were led to other locations by secret passages.
The entire building was under his surveillance. No one suddenly appeared out of nowhere. If there was a secret passage, it could only lead to the warehouse or the customs inspection area. The customs inspection area occupied the entire central hall on the second floor, with exits at both the front and back, and it was the next step after collecting tickets. The warehouse was the most likely option.
Pu Fengchun understood: "That's the sample room."
Xue Chao neither admitted nor denied it, but said meaningfully, "Opportunity also means danger. The warehouse is a forbidden area. You should think carefully."
Why isn't the place that this "AI who controls Hong Kong" is hiding from considered a forbidden area?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com