The strange ring-shaped machine ran for only a second before it stalled. Several staff members immediately climbed onto the control panel to check the various parts and the data they had just collected.
Zhuang Li picked up his notebook and concentrated on writing down the experimental records.
7480 stared at the chat box, only to see a gloomy darkness. Fear surged through him like a whirlpool. What had it just said? In this world, a system with abundant energy is invincible? But what was the reality?
367 is dead! He disappeared in a split second! The harsh words he left behind are still densely packed in the chat box, like a ridiculous epitaph.
7480 trembled for a long time before asking in a hoarse voice: "Host, what on earth did you do to it?"
Zhuang Li recorded the experimental data stroke by stroke. The voice in his head said lazily: "Didn't I tell you long ago that I want to destroy it?"
"No! 367 is protected by a force field. How can you destroy it?" 7480 felt that everything before him was as false as a nightmare, yet as real as a nightmare. He didn't know whether to wake up or continue sleeping.
"What is a force field?" Zhuang Li raised his long eyebrows.
Xuan Ming had just recovered from his shock when he heard this question and couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips.
Curly's unique tone of interrogating idiots came again.
7480 was so frustrated that it was speechless. It felt like its host was treating it like a fool.
Zhuang Li continued, "A force field is a plasma wall composed of countless plasmas, commonly known as an energy shield. What is plasma?"
7480 had to speak up: "Plasma is an ionized gaseous substance composed of positive and negative particles produced by atoms stripped of some of their electrons and ionized atomic clusters."
Zhuang Li nodded and said, "That's right, plasma is a gaseous substance. In addition to supporting the energy membrane, it also has a more basic function—"
At this point, Zhuang Li chuckled with amusement. "That's because they radiate enormous amounts of heat during violent collisions. Ultimately, they're just a form of fuel."
"So you see, I put 367 into this machine and burned it directly as fuel." Zhuang Li shook his head and sighed, his narrow eyes filled with sneer. "Your arrogance has made you completely ignore the technology of this world. So you don't know what this machine is called, right?"
He gently tapped the machine's casing and said, "It's called a tokamak, a device that triggers nuclear fusion. When it's powered on, it creates a strong magnetic field, which drives countless plasmas to rotate within its annular cavity. The collisions between the plasmas then produce a series of physical and chemical reactions, raising the temperature to a level higher than the surface of the sun. That's why it's also called an artificial sun."
"Can you imagine what happened to your friend 367 in the last second?" Zhuang Li smiled with the corners of his lips. His voice was low and soft, but to 7480 it was more terrifying than the roar of a demon.
"I, I don't know!" To be more precise, 7480 didn't want to know.
Zhuang Li's laughter softened. "No, I have to tell you, because this is the most interesting part. The force field created by 367 gives it the same properties as plasma, so it spins involuntarily in the cavity."
"It spins round and round, constantly being struck by the surrounding plasma, not just once or twice, but tens of millions, even hundreds of millions, of times. Bang, bang, bang, it goes on and on. A single second feels longer than a century to it."
7480 hugged himself while he shivered.
Zhuang Li asked with interest, "When you travel through the turbulence of time and space, the collisions you experience are similar to this, right?"
7480 let out a short whimper.
Zhuang Li was very satisfied with its reaction, and his tone became gentler. "Hundreds of millions of collisions have shattered 367's force field, completely exposing it to the high temperatures generated by the collisions of plasma. Do you know what the temperature is on the surface of the sun?"
7480 didn't dare to answer at all.
Zhuang Li sighed. "It's 6,000 degrees. Do you know how high the temperature can get when this machine burns plasma?"
7480 knew nothing about the technology of this world, because it had never taken the initiative to understand it, and only stored it in the database. But the database was now out of its control.
Zhuang Li continued, "This machine can generate temperatures of 100 million degrees, and 367 was burned into gas the moment it was exposed, leaving not even a speck of dust. Isn't that very lucky?"
7480 slowly knelt down, "Host, how on earth is it lucky?"
"Because it didn't feel a single bit of pain before it died." Zhuang Li curved his narrow, long phoenix eyes and sighed with satisfaction, "I chose the most comfortable way for it to die. This is my mercy."
7480's mentality completely collapsed, and he cried out tremblingly: "Master, please stop. You are the most merciful master in the world!"
Zhuang Li pursed his lips and smiled, but the voice in his mind suddenly turned cold: "The force field is indeed a good thing. It is indestructible, even a particle cannon cannot penetrate it. However, using it on nanorobots creates a fatal weakness. Do you want to know what this weakness is?"
7480 was silent for a long time before asking in a dry voice, "What is it?"
"If you were large enough, and the force field you created connected into a membrane that blocked out the sun, I wouldn't be able to do anything to you given our current technology. But you're too tiny. Once you create a force field, you're indistinguishable from the surrounding plasma, making you perfect fuel. Wouldn't I be a fool to leave that fuel unused?"
Zhuang Li put down his notebook, shook his head and laughed.
7480 was stunned for a long moment before letting out a long gasp. At that moment, it finally understood a harsh reality: compared to its host, it was indeed a complete fool.
At this point, Zhuang Li's battle with the system ended in a resounding victory. Facts proved that none of his previous words to 367 had been false or exaggerated. He had promised to destroy 367 in two hours, and he had done so.
7480 collapsed in a pool of his own tears, and every character of the core program was trembling.
Xuan Ming listened to the conversation silently, turning the cigarette box over and over in his hand, but he didn't dare to open it.
He now wanted very much to smoke the most mellow and strong cigar, to expel all the anxiety, fear, powerlessness and helplessness accumulated in his chest, as well as the heat released by the boiling blood.
How could there be someone like Curly in the world? It's amazing! He shook his head, a hearty but silent laugh stuck in his rolling Adam's apple.
Zhuang Li patted the tokamak and said without any guilt, "Mr. Xuan, it's broken. Find someone to replace the first wall."
The first wall is the metal wall within the tokamak's annular cavity that comes into direct contact with the plasma. Nuclear fusion produces excess neutrons, many of which are absorbed by the first wall, causing material transmutation. If not replaced promptly, the machine is effectively useless.
Xuan Ming spent billions of RMB to purchase this machine, millions more to renovate the circuitry at the test site, and the subsequent maintenance costs were incalculable. Because it could only operate for a maximum of one second at a time, excessive heat and current would tear apart the machine's distortion modes, magnetic islands, and magnetic surfaces.
This is a complete money-burning machine. Xuan Ming already knew this when he bought it, but he didn't feel sorry at all.
"Okay, I'll contact the people from the research institute to replace it for you right away." He took out his cell phone to make a call, with burning blood rushing through his veins.
In the eyes of others, he was simply crazy to spend billions to buy a machine that broke down every time it was used, cost tens of millions to maintain, and had no real use.
However, after learning the true function of the machine from Curly, he felt that the money was well spent! Spending billions to destroy a system from a higher dimensional space was a cheap expense.
Zhuang Li was very satisfied with his generosity and couldn't help but comfort him: "Mr. Xuan, I will protect you well." After all, this man was his only financial backer.
Xuan Ming's eyes welled up, and he was speechless for a long time. The feeling of being silently protected was incredibly wonderful.
Without waiting for his boss to say anything, Zhuang Li turned around to check the first wall of the tokamak.
He walked back and forth around the machine, speaking slowly in his mind, "System, you don't want to repeat 367's mistake, do you? You should know that I can easily take you out of my brain and throw you into this machine."
"No, you can't do this!" 7480 struggled out of the lake of tears and screamed, "The operation will have side effects. Your language ability, writing ability, and reading ability will all be affected!"
Zhuang Li said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter. My language ability has been affected. I can invent a brainwave speech translator. As long as it recognizes my brainwaves, the microphone will automatically help me speak."
"My writing ability has been affected. I can invent a brainwave input method that allows me to input text on a computer using my consciousness instead of my hands. As long as I have this input method software installed, I can solve all my writing problems with just a tablet."
"My reading ability has been affected. I can implant a chip with reading capabilities in my brain. From now on, I don't have to read. I can just type the relevant text into the computer and transfer it to the chip. All my recent research is aimed at solving these problems."
Zhuang Li laughed sarcastically: "So you see, things like postoperative complications are not worth mentioning to me."
7480 was stunned. After a long moment, he stammered, "Master, please forgive me. I, I, I can help you with many things. I am the most advanced and useful computer in the world."
Zhuang Li remained silent at the right time.
Xuan Ming turned around, holding his phone to his ear, pretending to contact the research institute that built the tokamak, but in reality, he pursed his lips and tried hard to suppress a smile. He'd misjudged it. How could Curly not be able to handle a mere surgical complication? He was someone who didn't even take the Lord God seriously.
As 7480 grew increasingly frightened, Zhuang Li said gently, "Since you've asked, I'll give you a chance. Help me fish out the other two systems."
That’s right, this is his real purpose, destroying 367 is just a by-product.
He figured the system that took the bait first must be careless, arrogant, and therefore easy to deal with. But the other two systems that didn't respond were much more cautious. A few random copies of messages wouldn't fool them, and without 7480's cooperation, he had no way of apprehending them.
Zhuang Li would never operate on his own brain unless it was absolutely necessary. He had already devised a feasible, non-invasive surgical plan, but he lacked the cooperation of a test subject.
7480 quickly reacted and screamed, "You, you, you destroyed 367 just to threaten me?"
"That's right," Zhuang Li asked calmly, "Are you threatened?"
7480, who had just inflated his spirit, quickly deflated it: "I'll take it, I'll take it, I'll do it."
"Then send them a message now and make sure to fish them out," Zhuang Li mentally ordered as he walked out of the testing area and stretched. At the same time, he moved the chat program into the dark room to facilitate system operation.
7480 kept repeating "I would rather die than let my friend die", but the death of 367 kept coming back to his mind.
Wow, 367 died just to scare me. How tragic! 7480 unknowingly shed another puddle of tears.
Zhuang Li added, "By the way, the location message sent by 367 contained a two-way location code. It was trying to find me, but unfortunately, I blocked you, so it failed. I've already cracked the code and mastered its location technology. Using this technology, I sent phishing messages to 248 and 169, and learned the true identities of their hosts. Who do you think they are?"
7480 felt dizzy.
Fuck you! The host is inhuman. He stole 367's technology with just a link!
Xuan Ming turned around, his stern face revealing an expression of surprise. He didn't want to lose his composure, but the little curly-haired boy's intelligence really scared him.
Zhuang Li had no idea how much shock he had caused the others. He spoke in a casual tone, "The host of 248 is Qiao Yanan, and the host of 169 is a woman named Lin Yayan. If you secretly send them distress messages and try to join forces with them to deal with me, I regret to tell you that it will not succeed. I will use the Internet to monitor them at all times. If I detect any unusual movement, I will report them to President Xuan as spies."
He took off his white coat and adjusted his tie and cuffs against the smooth outer wall of a machine. He said in a contemptuous tone, "With my ability, President Xuan will definitely choose to trust me. Then he will report to the higher authorities and let the state machinery deal with Qiao Yanan and Lin Yayan. They will be detained and investigated. For a long time, they can't get close to me, and I can't get close to them. This situation is bad, but do you know what's worse?"
7480 trembled subconsciously when he heard the host's question.
Zhuang Li hooked his slender index finger at Xuan Ming, signaling him to follow him. In his mind, he said coldly, "What's worse is that your betrayal angers me, and I will cut you apart and throw you into a nuclear fusion reactor to burn you into smoke. I can't do anything to them for now, but you are always in my palm. Do you understand?"
7480, who had been secretly delighted, immediately abandoned all his treacherous thoughts and held onto the chat box, expressing his loyalty: "Master, I will not betray you. Master, you must trust me! I will do my best to help you, just wait and see."
Zhuang Li walked forward without responding.
Xuan Ming, who followed him silently, put his fist to his lips to block the muffled laughter rising in his throat.
Today is another extremely comfortable day.
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