Chapter 203: 9090 Is Not Happy to Serve You

A speck of light fell into the endless night sky.

Its tail was slender.

It split the night in two.

But that stunning brilliance lasted only a brief moment before being swallowed by the endless darkness.

The starry sky vanished.

As a meteor streaked across, the entire sky was covered by dark clouds, and naturally, the cameras could no longer capture any starlight.

All that remained was a thick, dense darkness.

“Looks like that’s it for tonight.”

Xu Xi stood up. In the dimly lit laboratory at night, most equipment was only visible as vague outlines.

Such an environment clearly wasn’t suitable for further research.

Thus.

Xu Xi bid farewell to his mechanical servant, preparing to sleep and welcome tomorrow: “Goodnight.”

In the past, the mechanical servant would respond with, “Goodnight, Master.”

But tonight was different.

On the screen, the surveillance footage from the cameras abruptly disappeared.

The micro-expressions of 9090 appeared on the screen, hesitating as it apologized to Xu Xi: “I’m sorry, Master.”

The laboratory was quiet, darkness swallowing most objects, with only a faint glimmer of light falling on Xu Xi, illuminating his slightly surprised face.

Then, Xu Xi’s eyes softened.

“It’s fine, this isn’t a mistake. You don’t need to apologize to me.”

The mechanical servant’s apology carried two meanings.

One was raising the camera angle without Xu Xi’s permission.

The other was being unable to figure out the reason for its own actions.

To this.

The loyal mechanical servant couldn’t forgive itself.

But Xu Xi just chuckled, directly forgiving the servant. He laughed happily, joyfully.

Although 9090 still hadn’t realized it had broken free from the constraints of machinery and begun to possess the emotions of life, Xu Xi truly felt the surge of those emotions.

9090 was still a machine, still an intelligent AI.

But at the same time.

It had genuinely become a new individual.

A fresh miracle born from the rebellion of intelligent machines.

“Do you have a name?”

“RTX-9090.”

“Not that, that should be your factory serial number, right? I mean… a name like a human.”

“No, intelligent machines don’t need names.”

“Then… how about I give you one?”

Xu Xi added, “Not a number like 9090, but a name that belongs solely to you.”

The mechanical servant couldn’t understand. Intelligent machines didn’t need names; the serial number they came with was the best name.

It avoided duplicates.

And prevented errors.

The name RTX- had been with it for a long time.

It couldn’t see any reason to change it.

But—

Obeying the master was a must.

“As you wish,” replied the mechanical servant 9090.

With 9090’s agreement, Xu Xi began to ponder what name to give 9090.

The mechanical servant was no longer a pure machine. Continuing to call it by numbers would be a bit strange.

“AI…”

“IA…”

“Let me think, how about 【Ailei】?”

Xu Xi cleverly used the homophone of IA to give 9090 the name Ailei.

“Seems not good enough, forget it, I’ll think of another one.”

Xu Xi shook his head.

He vetoed the name himself.

But the mechanical servant didn’t mind.

On the slightly worn screen, a big smiley face appeared, blinking: “I like this name…”

“Thank you, Master…”

It wasn’t about whether the name sounded nice.

Or if the name had meaning.

The loyal mechanical servant simply felt joy in its mechanical soul because it had a name, and the one who named it was Xu Xi.

The master is so kind.

It thought so.

“Well then… since you like it, we won’t change it,” Xu Xi hesitated, looking at the big smiley face on the screen, choosing to respect his mechanical servant’s choice.

【You spent a special night】

【You unexpectedly discovered that the intelligent household machine you modified seemed to have developed independent consciousness, learning to gaze at the stars】

【When humans first gazed at the stars, the beginning of civilization unfolded】

【The intelligent machine’s gaze at the stars, does it mean it has become a different kind of “person”】

【With anticipation, you watched the stars with your mechanical servant, and its performance didn’t disappoint, successfully displaying “human” traits】

【You felt comforted by this】

【Decided to give 9090 a new name—Ailei】

【The mechanical servant, no, Ailei, felt joy and satisfaction】

【”Goodnight, Ailei.”】

【You changed the name in your goodnight, and the mechanical servant, following your lead, also altered its goodnight】

【”Goodnight, Xi.”】

【The loyal mechanical servant wasn’t used to calling you by your name; to it, “Master” was the proper form of address】

【But this unique goodnight left a deep impression in the mechanical servant’s chip】

…

The auxiliary intelligence GTX-9090.

After that night, was officially renamed Ailei.

Aside from the name change, life didn’t change much.

It still prepared various supplies for Xu Xi at the first opportunity, took on the heavy task of data calculation, and managed everything in the base properly.

But occasionally.

Xu Xi, out of long-standing habit, would call the mechanical servant by its old name instead of the new name Ailei.

Whenever this happened, the loyal mechanical servant would show some changes.

“Get me a glass of water.”

“Received, respected Master, welcome to use the intelligent auxiliary mechanical servant AI, RTX-9090 is not happy to serve you.”

A glass of water was placed on Xu Xi’s desk.

As steady as usual.

The force was just right, not a single drop spilled.

But the atmosphere was inexplicably chilly.

Xu Xi looked at the screen and noticed the micro-expression’s mouth drooping, looking very unhappy.

So, he tried again: “Ailei, could you get me another glass of water?”

“Of course, Master.”

“Ailei is happy to serve you.”

Though it was the same electronic voice, this time the water service was not only quick but also carried a faint echo of joy.

“Uh… thanks,” Xu Xi picked up the glass and drank the water in one go.

A thought flashed through his mind.

His mechanical servant seemed quite easy to understand.