"Y-you-you—" Gwen exclaimed in surprise, "Are you a ghost?"
Well, actually, it seems they've seen ghosts quite a few times, so it doesn't seem that's anything special.
"Hahaha! Little girl, you're hilarious!" The man burst into laughter, though his hands, piercing through his body, gave him an oddly comical appearance. "We're not some lowly creature; how can inanimate objects compare to us?"
"Young lady, be careful what you say. You'd better not say these things to other people. It's only because I'm a nice person that I know you don't mean any harm."
“Then let me explain properly to you!” The man opened his arms. “My name is William. We are a new species that ascended from the weak and incompetent humans! We possess eternal life and an indestructible will!”
“As for food? We don’t need that.” William looked at Jiang Ran. “Mr. Jiang Ran, we certainly cannot provide you with food, but we can ensure that you never need food again!”
"Join our glorious evolution, become one of us! There were travelers like you who came here before, and they too embraced us! They became our brethren, and gained eternal life!"
“We—” William grinned, “are eternally immortal!”
“Eternal life?” Alice raised an eyebrow. “You’ve also obtained… um!”
Before Alice could utter the word "God," Gwen immediately covered her mouth!
"What are you doing?"
"Shh! Don't mention that word yet!"
“I have eternal life—” Alice pushed Gwen away, “Then can my big brother stay with me forever?”
Eternal life? A perfect race? Jiang Ran just smiled, recalling what the giant insects had told him when he first arrived in the Insect Forest: anyone can claim to be eternal, but actually achieving it is another matter entirely.
“Come on, Mr. Jiang Ran.” William walked down the corridor. “If you want to be one of us, follow me. If you refuse, I suggest you leave this city as soon as possible.”
"Is it up to you to decide something as big as converting humans into your race?"
“I’ve said it before.” William pounded his chest with one hand. “Our minds are one, our will is our individuality, and our individuality is our will.”
“Not only do I have authority, but we all have equal authority. Whoever guides you, you can become one of us.”
William disappeared at the end of the corridor.
"Let's go, let's follow them!"
Jiang Ran and the other two immediately gave chase. After leaving the hotel, William turned around and smiled, "I knew you would follow. After all, no one would refuse a glorious evolution."
"Our goal is the giant tower in the city center. If it were me, I could get there instantly, but since I've become the guide, I'll naturally lead you there. Follow me."
Guided by William, the group quickly arrived at the foot of the central tower, a massive white building a hundred meters high, its exterior made of an unknown metal. Even after so much time had passed, the tower still looked brand new.
"Come in with me."
The tower's doors opened automatically, and William explained, "This thing is actually designed to defend against night storms. We don't need it ourselves, but it's precisely because of your situation, Mr. Jiang Ran, that this door has the function of opening and closing."
The tower's interior was filled with sophisticated electronic instruments, and densely packed codes scrolled across the screens. Another figure emerged from within.
“Oh, William, leave the rest to me.” He stood in front of the group and greeted Alice first, “Hey, Alice, long time no see.”
Alice asked, somewhat puzzled, "Who are you?"
"Don't you remember me? That's understandable, it was all 20 years ago." He explained with a smile, "I was an adventurer who passed through here 20 years ago, and I even stayed at your house for one night."
Is that so?
There were so many people staying at Alice's house that Alice didn't really recognize the guy in front of her, but he did seem a little familiar.
20 years? As an ordinary person, how could his appearance not have changed at all in 20 years?
"Surprised? Haha, it's alright. Here, this is just a very simple technique." The adventurer waved to the group. "Next, I will show you the power of evolutionary ascension!"
The group took the elevator, which hadn't been used in a long time, to the top floor of the central tower. From there, they could look down on the entire deserted city through the windows. The most eye-catching thing in the room was the semi-transparent cylindrical device.
"Behold, I will lead you to eternity."
"I've had enough of your boasting from the beginning until now, so can you explain to me the principle behind this so-called ascension?"
“Of course, of course—” the adventurer turned around, “The human body is so weak, a little injury or a little illness can take their life. How can such creatures become the overlords of the world and move towards a glorious future?”
"Even if one encounters a wise and ambitious ruler, he will only live for a hundred years. No matter how well he governs the country during his reign, after his death, his country will gradually fall apart!"
"A finite lifespan dictates that humanity's journey is finite, so if we want to move towards infinity, we must abandon our frail physical bodies!"
The adventurer waved, gesturing for everyone to look at the device at the very center of the room: "Everything about humanity originates from the memories in our minds. As long as the data in our memories is uploaded to the terminal, even if our physical bodies perish, our consciousness will exist forever!"
"Through the projection of thoughts, as long as the terminal remains, we are eternal!"
"Is that so?" Jiang Ran chuckled. "Then how can you be sure that the you now is the same as the you in the past? Every time you appear, it's just a matter of reusing that cold, lifeless data, a body without warmth, a mind without warmth. Is this what you call eternity?"
"I thought you were a smart person to come here with me, but I didn't expect that what you're saying is still just superficial opinions!"
The adventurer's expression turned cold: "What do you mean by 'thoughtless'? Aren't I standing right in front of you? Do I look like a dead thing? Don't I have the ability to think?"
"So, are you thinking for yourself—" Jiang Ran leaned closer, staring intently into his eyes, "or is it that AI analyzes your past memory data to deduce your next actions and then projects them onto this screen?"
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