AI Artist - Chapter 69
Chapter 69
While she was touring the “Carpet Washing” project on the third floor of Quantum Leap Company, Lu Li, the assistant who was always on the road, sent Shi Er a message.
【Lu Li】: Regarding the train track threat case from July, the range of suspected parties has been narrowed down to the following: Quantum Leap Company, Sweet Bear Industries, Detail Company, Topology Company.
Lu Li was the blond traveler with the straw hat and rolled-up pant legs, an expert in field investigation.
The tour guide was still introducing Quantum Leap Company’s latest blockbuster product, the “Santa Claus Supersonic Reindeer Aircraft”: “This reindeer aircraft cannot be detected by radar, and we will also apply to the relevant departments for clear air routes. So, when you board the Santa Claus Supersonic Reindeer Aircraft, you can swagger through no-fly zones and overlook military restricted areas!”
After receiving Lu Li’s report, Shi Er listened to the tour guide’s introduction with a bit more caution.
Among the five suspected parties, the long-established top student, Quantum Leap Company, was included. What shocked her was that even Sweet Bear Industries was on the list—her creator, the former Spectrum Company.
Shi Er began to look through the files on these companies in the database.
The founder behind Quantum Leap Company seemed to have a significant background, having begun their brilliant career during the war and getting along well with both the AI and human sides.
Sweet Bear Industries’ predecessor was Spectrum Company, her creator. Although it went bankrupt during the war, the possibility that Spectrum Company was operating in the shadows, trying to kill Stardust just as they had tried to kill her, couldn’t be ruled out.
Detail Company created Ling Shun. Furthermore, Bailiang Island, located near the archipelago that housed the General Network’s control center, had been purchased by Detail Company to serve as its production and R&D island.
Topology Company created the first-generation AI commander, Ji Han. It had declined after creating Phoenix and had basically stopped producing AIs in recent years.
And among the unscrupulous enterprises exposed by the program 1717 Silver Eye, all four companies were on the list. The 1717 Silver Eye program truly lived up to its reputation as an industry model for indiscriminate attacks.
In short, it was impossible to judge just by looking at the data.
The Ling Shun robot was in the cactus pot, solving Shi Er Mechanics calculation problems. Recently, it had even started attempting Shi Er Mechanics calculus, asking Shi Er for help whenever it got stuck.
Shi Er asked it, “Do you have any thoughts about the chip we encountered in the War Pavilion at the Scrapping Museum that day?”
Ling Shun froze for a moment, then subconsciously hugged the cactus next to it. “No, I’m not Fan Yu!”
Seeing Ling Shun hug the cactus, the No. 12 robot next to it, which was acting like an old farmer checking the soil conditions, was filled with solemn respect. “!!”
Afterward, Shi Er had to pull the cactus spines stuck in Ling Shun out one by one.
“The workshop owner used materials that were too malleable and soft, otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten so many spines stuck in you,” Shi Er comforted.
Ling Shun, who had turned into a pincushion: “…”
Judging by the manufacturer, Ling Shun was indeed not Fan Yu. The Fan Yu that had served as the catalyst for the war had, in fact, come from a tech company that had long since gone out of business, whereas Ling Shun was from Detail Company.
Shi Er felt this case was far more complex than the Apple Law of Shi Er Mechanics.
She thought about it for a whole night.
【Stardust】: What conclusion did you reach?
【Shi Er】: The conclusion is: procrastination is scientific.
The Shi Er of tomorrow would be smarter than the Shi Er of today, so she decided to hand the task of “solving the case” over to the Shi Er of tomorrow. This was scientific and efficient.
Although it was absurd, it turned out that Shi Er’s conclusion was correct.
Early that morning, while Shi Er was deep in sleep and dreaming big dreams, a flash of inspiration struck. She woke up in a hurry, packed her bags, and left Dai Port.
●Shi Er’s Mainframe●: Thank you, I understand now.
●Subconscious●: You’re welc—wait, why are you thanking me?
The silent big boss, her subconscious, had made its move.
Shi Er had a dream. She dreamed of the War Pavilion in the Scrapping Museum—its gears spun rapidly, like a Puppy-Tail-brand propeller.
The robot squad didn’t understand why Shi Er was rushing back to Jin Port, but they were impressed nonetheless.
Jin Port, a gathering place for long-established high-tech companies, and the location of Spectrum Company’s former site.
Shi Er returned to the Jin Port Scrapping Museum and stood before the gear-shaped War Pavilion.
This time, she didn’t put the robot squad in a storage locker.
Shi Er settled the luggage machine, Xiao Lu, and the robot squad in a thicket of bushes. “You hide here. I’ll come find you in fifteen minutes to an hour.”
“Be careful,” Xiao Xing urged.
“You said fifteen minutes. When fifteen minutes are up, I’m kicking down the door and charging in!” Xiao Ju’s terrorist style was as reliable as ever.
Shi Er: “If I don’t show up after an hour, give Xiao Lu to a student nearby for adoption, and you guys buy tickets back to the island yourselves.”
The Scrapping Museum was right next to the student dormitories of Jiuli Human University. This area was teeming with students.
“Take me with you.” Ling Shun grabbed the corner of Shi Er’s clothes, dangling and swinging in the air like someone holding onto a hanging strap.
“I already have.”
No. 12 was her replicated signal, and the main body of Ling Shun’s signal was housed within her system. If something happened to her, the robot squad should collect the remains of these two companions first.
Ling Shun scratched its head sheepishly. “I forgot.”
As it scratched its head, it lost its grip, fell from mid-air, and landed headfirst.
Shi Er entered the gear-shaped War Pavilion alone.
The small building’s gears began to turn. A gear tooth embedded itself into the foundation like a sharp blade, securely locking the entire pavilion.
The small lights at the bottom of the glass display cases glowed dimly, but the green exit lights in the hallway had all gone out.
Shi Er found the pavilion’s network signal and launched an attack.
【Attack from unknown hacker】
The program that had previously attacked Stardust was put to use once again.
After the first attack, a notification popped up on the page:
【Attempt to enter pavilion’s protective shield has been countered】
The shield’s counterattack was quickly broken.
After all, it was an offensive program that had attacked the General Network, written by an antique AI that didn’t abide by the AI rules of this world.
The offensive program carved a straight path through the pavilion’s program shield, driving straight in.
【Pavilion network entered】
【Unlock building】
A heavy, muffled mechanical sound emanated from the building’s foundation, grinding against her auditory sensors like an earthquake.
The gears began to turn.
The dark wooden frames next to the display cases moved, crisscrossing each other, and everything within the War Pavilion was turned upside down.
This pavilion was designed in the shape of a gear, but only three teeth were used to open and close the door, because the remaining teeth served another purpose!
The last time she entered this gear-shaped pavilion, Shi Er’s subconscious had already detected the incongruity in the gear’s design.
It could have been like the McSpicy Chicken Building, displaying advertisements from sponsors, or it could have been like an ordinary gear-shaped hut, for viewing only and not interactive. But all of its gear teeth could move.
Her subconscious had detected it, and only revealed this clue to her consciousness in a dream.
All the display cases moved smoothly in a spiral, like baring beasts in the dim pavilion.
It was like a personification of the past war.
In the early stages of the war, humans removed AI chips, throwing them out of windows and onto the streets. Sanitation workers in helmets would collect these small, environmentally hazardous items and take them to specialized waste stations, selling them to government-run stations for one yuan per gram of chip, and one yuan per kilogram of all combustible electronic components.
As for the containers, displays, and mechanical shells left after the chips were removed, humans would smash them with hammers. Scrap metal collectors generally wouldn’t take them, because scrap collection required waste sorting, but those smashed mechanical containers were often shattered beyond recognition.
Unable to sell them, humans would gather the fragments and burn them in the streets during protests, sending foul odors and black smoke billowing into the sky.
Beside the glaring firelight, crowds shouted slogans, and the sound of explosions echoed intermittently, like ancient tribes singing and dancing around a bonfire.
Shi Er had not experienced any of this.
She stood in the War Pavilion, the spinning, gear-shaped room a dizzying, distorted blur of light and shadow.
These images were all preserved by a few surviving AIs.
[There are still several thousand photos in there, don’t throw it away!]
[Hand it over.]
[I won’t… I won’t!]
Later, a progressive faction of humans joined forces with the AIs who refused to be destroyed and launched a counterattack.
The war escalated.
Humans bled, and AIs billowed with thick smoke.
The last tooth of the gear-shaped room cut into the foundation.
With a loud rumble, the contraption-like pavilion completed the final configuration of its mechanism.
The glass display cases had retracted, the information plaques had retracted, hidden behind the walls. All that remained were the surviving mechanical bodies, gleaming with a cold light.
Carbon-based life, silicon-based life.
After all life burns, it becomes a handful of ash, scattered by a gust of wind.
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