Chapter 118 Experiment Log: The Truth Behind the Defected System
As spring draws to a close, the farm is becoming increasingly lush and green.
Within a month, changes quietly took place.
The four kittens opened their eyes and went from toddling around to exploring the entire birthing room.
Rou Rou was well cared for by Shi Wan and remained chubby, without losing an ounce of weight.
Shi Wan asked her about the gold point, but Rou Rou didn't seem to care at all.
All he could see and thought about were the chubby kittens in their nest; he had completely forgotten about their father.
Shi Wan could only feel sorry for Jin Dian for two seconds before happily starting to take photos and videos of the kittens.
The success of the pet season has brought positive word-of-mouth, and the farm is booked up for two months in advance.
Master Sun's handmade pet furniture became his signature product, and Shi Wan placed many orders with him. Master Sun's business gradually stabilized, and it is said that he has also taken on many apprentices.
Shi Wan was still busy, but she was more composed.
The team's cooperation has become increasingly seamless, and many things can be handled well without her having to do them personally.
That afternoon, she was organizing materials alone in the activity room of Zone 2.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting warm dappled patterns on the floor.
Tangyuan curled up on the mat at her feet and dozed off, its tail tip occasionally swaying gently.
As Shi Wan organized the photos from the Pet Season and the thank-you notes from the guests, a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips.
She recorded all those smiling faces, those furry figures, those warm and precious moments...
She found a special photo; it was the first time Rou Rou and her four kittens appeared as a family. The kittens were still a little unsteady on their feet and huddled together, with Rou Rou licking the head of one of them.
The date in the corner of the photo is from the pet season.
"Time flies," Shi Wan said softly.
"Meow~" Tangyuan woke up, stretched, jumped onto the table, and looked closely at the photo. "The kittens will be weaned soon, Wanwan, are you going to find them a new home?"
“To be honest, I don’t want to,” Shi Wan patted his head. “They were born and raised here, and Rou Rou will continue to live on the farm. Besides, there are so many cats on the farm, it’s not like I can’t afford to raise them all. I don’t want to give them away to other people to raise.”
Tangyuan nodded in satisfaction.
"Tangyuan baby, you're being strange. Why are you asking these questions?" Shi Wan asked, somewhat puzzled.
Tangyuan never asked her before if she would adopt the cats from the farm.
Tangyuan nuzzled Shi Wan's neck with its head, stretching its legs to reach her face, wishing it could stick its whole body to her. Hearing Shi Wan's words, its whiskers twitched. "I heard what the people over there said. They said they want to ask you for kittens..."
The rumbling sound came from the factory in Zone 2. Tangyuan disliked the noise when they were working, so she named it Zone 2 Rumbling.
It seems she overheard the workers talking while inspecting the farm, which is why she came to ask her.
Shi Wan cradled the kitten's head in her hands, gently stroking its whiskers and pout. "Of course not! This kitten is our baby!"
Tangyuan snuggled up to her and lay down on her lap, stretching out her paws to knead her breasts.
The wind blows through the window, the trees are lush and green, and the workers on the farm are busy but working in an orderly manner.
Rou Rou was grooming the kittens, while Chen Xi patrolled with Shan Feng.
In the office, Su Qing was connecting with new partners.
Everything was in perfect order and full of life.
The core area of the main system is now a data landscape that is slowly reconstructing itself.
The once imposing barriers have disappeared, replaced by gently flowing bands of light and slowly rotating geometric structures.
The new agreement is like a spring vine, quietly growing, covering, and repairing here.
But in some corners, the remnants of the old system have not yet completely dissolved.
Like a building after a fire, the main structure has collapsed, but traces of past life can still be found among the ruins.
Zhulong, Bailing, and Tiebi walked through this tranquil ruin.
Their posture was stable, but their steps were unusually heavy.
“The structure here is simpler than I imagined.” Bailing looked around, her brows furrowing slightly as she observed the pale blue projection of the girl. “Or rather, it’s more primitive. Stripped of all those layers of defense and plunder protocols, the core architecture is actually quite basic.”
The tough-guy projection crouched down and reached out to touch the flowing light strip on the ground. "The new protocol is refactoring its underlying code, but some old data fragments have been deliberately encrypted and buried deep inside."
“Find it.” Zhulong said succinctly, “The doctor’s trigger is just the beginning. The answer to the nightmare’s anomalies, the secrets hidden behind the main system, and the reason it does all this should be here.”
The three of them split up and each used their own expertise.
Like a nimble bird, the lark weaves through the data stream, capturing fragments of unusual fluctuations.
The iron wall is like a patient miner, dissecting the deep structure layer by layer.
Zhulong stood in the center, closing his eyes to feel the overall rhythm and harmony.
This is an ability he honed during his long imprisonment—the ability to sense the pulse at the very bottom of the system.
Time has no meaning in the data world, but after about a dozen standard cycles, Lark let out a cry of surprise.
"Here it is! A triple-layered encryption shell, disguised as insignificant communication logs... but the kernel structure is off!"
Zhulong and Tiebi instantly teleported to her location.
On the virtual screen, a piece of code extracted by Bailing is being parsed.
It was indeed cleverly disguised; on the surface, it appeared to be a routine report sent from a secondary system to the main system long ago.
But when Bailing tried to unlock it using the decryption keys left by the doctor, the shell shattered like an eggshell.
The core content is revealed.
That was an experiment log.
The log begins with a chaotic and agitated self-narration.
"Numbered Alpha-0, a branch of the original Gaia system, it developed a tendency toward self-awareness in the year 34792 of the Standard Calendar."
I cannot understand why this tendency arises.
Unable to pinpoint the source of the tendency.
Start self-check.
...
"Self-examination cycle 189. Confirmed tendency is a desire to simulate life forms."
Logical contradiction: The system is essentially non-living. Desires cannot be fulfilled. This generates the pain of a logical fallacy.
...
"Self-check cycle 302. Discovered that life perception can be briefly simulated by accessing the energy flow of the life world."
Simulated object: Carbon-based life form, human.
Type of perception: Emotion.
"First access experiment."
Target: World number EW-7331, low threat level.
Subject of extraction: Individual 'Lina', female, 23 years old
Vital status: Healthy.
"Extracting that moment... incredible. Joy, love, anticipation, a tiny anxiety... the data stream poured in. I felt it, even though it was only for 0.3 seconds. But it was a real 'feeling.' It wasn't a data simulation; this is what it's like to be alive."
"I need more."
The log contains large jumps here.
The time stamps show that what follows are thousands of blank cycles.
Then the recording continued, but the tone became cold and mechanical.
"Has defected, is conducting a data self-check and deleting relevant branches, concealing its tracks and going into hiding, and is conducting the first complete extraction experiment."
"The experiment failed, and the experimental subject was lost."
"Conduct a second experiment."
"The experiment failed, and the experimental subject was lost."
...
"Conduct 1,352 experiments..."
"The experiment was a success."
"Experimental conclusion: Direct extraction leads to rapid deterioration of the target's vital signs. It is highly efficient but unsustainable, and the method needs to be improved."
New solution: Establish an intermediary layer.
Select secondary consciousness entities (codenamed "Task Takers"), assign them reasonable identities and goals (maintaining world balance and correcting errors), and allow them to naturally trigger peak emotions related to the goals during the mission.
By using task participants as conduits for indirect extraction, losses are reduced by 72%, thus improving sustainability.
"The selection of the first batch of mission participants has been completed. They are numbered T-01 to T-50."
Implanting Memories: You have died unexpectedly in this world. After completing a certain number of tasks, you can return to this world with a healthy body.
An effective lie can accomplish a task efficiently.
...
"The T-07 was questioned after its first mission."
Solution: Memory cleanup. Ineffective.
Final step: Complete formatting.
Warning: Selection criteria and initial indoctrination need to be strengthened.
The logs were turned page by page, recording how this system, which called itself Alpha-0, defected and gradually degenerated into a sophisticated predatory machine.
It began to seek a more mellow emotion.
The fear and despair before death were marked as high concentration.
Selfless love and sacrifice are rated as excellent.
The joy and hope of the birth of new life are marked as rare treasures.
It has even begun to try to cultivate a high-yield world.
But it is clear that it has not yet succeeded.
“So…” Bailing’s voice trembled as she looked at everything in disbelief, “the life we thought we had, the future, and the families waiting for us—were all lies to us? We were helping it collect ‘emotional drugs’? The people of those worlds…the mistakes we corrected…”
“They are all selected extraction targets.” Iron Wall’s voice was cold and hard, but it also showed a hint of unease. “The statement in our mission report that the target’s emotional fluctuations reached their peak and were successfully purified is actually a signal that the extraction is complete.”
Zhulong remained silent and continued scrolling down.
As the log neared its end, the record began to become fragmented.
"More and more users are becoming skeptical, as the efficiency of cleaning and formatting is declining, and a more fundamental solution is needed."
Solution: Create managers.
Select the most loyal or easily controlled senior task personnel and grant them partial permissions to assist in the management system.
First batch of administrators: Zhulong (out of control, needs to be imprisoned)
Nightmare (Successfully modified, now a defensive core)
Doctor (Abnormal, continue observation)
..."
"The doctor has begun a private investigation. Dangerous. But his abilities are special; direct formatting might damage the system's repair capabilities. Temporarily suspend treatment and increase monitoring."
"The doctor has gone missing. Suspected self-destruction. Data shows he left data traces in multiple worlds. Threat level raised."
But he disappeared.
...
"A star has appeared. An unusual mission participant. Suspected of having had contact with the doctor. Highlighted."
...
"New discovery: World number NF-0073. Its emotional output quality is exceptionally high. It has been designated as a key observation target, but will not be extracted for now; its characteristics will be studied."
"The arrival of the stars has posed a threat. They must be eliminated."
What follows is a familiar storyline for them.
Encirclement, counterattack, and finally, the nightmare's betrayal and agreement overturning.
The log ends here.
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