Chapter 144: Artificial Soul 71
The Game System alerted that Red and the Bartender were dead.
“You have acquired the extraordinary ability [Electromagnetic Detection · B Class].”
“[Electromagnetic Detection · B Class]: You can perceive surrounding electronic signals and electromagnetic waves within a certain range.”
“You have acquired the extraordinary ability [Blood Spirit · A Class].”
“[Blood Spirit · A Class]: You can read the memories of the blood owner from pure blood.”
Kui Xin glanced at the system’s notifications and chose to ignore them. The objective had been achieved, and the desired items had been obtained, but she had neither time nor inclination to study the newly acquired abilities.
As she had said, tonight would be a busy night. Once this long night was over, she could stop, set down the knife and gun in her hands, and carefully savor the experiences of this night.
Chaotic footsteps and some panicked shouts echoed from outside the corridor; it seemed the casino’s security personnel had rushed in to evacuate the guests, and the recent battle had drawn attention from the outside.
Kui Xin made a quick circle around the room and soon found a medical kit in the cabinet of the desk. She pulled out several syringes, removed the packaging, fitted them with needles, drew blood from Red and the Bartender, then securely stored the syringes away.
Finally, she poured two bottles of medical alcohol and ignited it with a lighter.
The carpet and curtains in the room were flammable; the flames quickly surged up. Kui Xin picked up the Bartender’s gun from the floor and aimed to break the fire alarm, ensuring that the automatic fire extinguishing system would not engage.
She watched as the flames consumed everything in the room, erasing all traces of her presence.
A deep blue vortex opened behind Kui Xin, and she stepped into it.
When she re-emerged, she had returned to the alley near the Investigation Bureau employee dormitory.
Kui Xin contacted Augus, “Has anyone discovered Schalit is dead?”
“No, the surgery duration was an hour and ten minutes, while you took out Nightingale and the Mechanized Dawn branch in less than fifteen minutes,” Augus exclaimed, “You are the most efficient and action-oriented person I’ve ever seen.”
Eliminating Nightingale in the alley took less than three minutes, killing Red and the Bartender was almost a matter of mere seconds, with the remaining time spent inspecting the scene and handling the aftermath.
Kui Xin’s plan emphasized “speed.”
She aimed to create the illusion that multiple members of an organization had simultaneously launched attacks at two locations, and she had indeed accomplished this.
Kui Xin leaned against the wall, taking a moment to rest.
She was exhausted; since the start of the operation, her mind had been on high alert, every detail had to be perfect. She couldn’t afford to be injured—should she leave any flesh or blood at the scene, all her efforts would have been in vain.
In this operation, Kui Xin had completed her objectives without injury… no, she had sustained some injuries if one counted the surgery for her metal skull.
“I’ll take her body away while disguising signs of a struggle to destroy the scene. You take the opportunity to sound the alarm and pretend that Schalit was attacked at this time,” Kui Xin stated.
Schalit’s time of death should have been nearly two hours ago; creating the illusion of an attack would allow them to push back the time of death by one or two hours. This way, Augus could issue an “on-time” alarm without having to use the excuse of the system being under attack and unable to communicate to brush off the Investigation Bureau, which would clear them of suspicion.
Although almost no humans would think that an artificial intelligence could betray at such a level.
“Okay,” Augus replied.
“As for my whereabouts… you can use the old surveillance footage to explain that I went to the convenience store to buy a late-night snack and then disappeared,” Kui Xin exhaled, “That way… everything is arranged.”
“Right now, Eve is bombarding you with messages; she has sent many messages to your wristband, suspecting that you have betrayed us,” Augus said slowly. “Once you reach a safe location, I’ll use the phrases we agreed upon.”
“Mm,” Kui Xin responded.
After a brief rest, Kui Xin straightened up and opened a spatial vortex.
This vortex led to Schalit’s residence.
She stepped inside, took out an extra syringe, and inserted it into Schalit’s corpse, drawing out the still liquid blood. She secured the syringe, lifted the body, casually knocked over a few items to create noise, then pulled out a timed bomb, set the timer, and threw it to the ground, before quickly opening another spatial vortex to leave the scene.
This time, she headed for the chemical factory.
After the assassination of Lin Xinji, Kui Xin had discarded her gear at the sewage outlet of the chemical factory, following Augus’s instructions; this time, she would deal with Schalit at the same location.
From the massive sewage outlet flowed a highly corrosive liquid, the acrid odor wafted through the air. Kui Xin raised her hand, and with a splash, the corrosive liquid spilled out, the body sinking into the murky water.
The chemical factory sludge would quickly corrode the body.
As she watched the corpse sink, Kui Xin’s mind fell into a moment of blankness.
Everything that needed to be done had been done, everyone who needed to be killed was killed, and the aftermath was also handled… she could leave this city, avoid the pursuers from the Resistance Army, and escape Eve’s hunt until she was ready to implement her next plan for revenge.
However, Kui Xin only felt exhausted and empty, the sense of satisfaction was minimal, and the fatigue was overwhelming. Her current state resembled that of a busy person who had completed all their to-do tasks, staring blankly at an empty note pad, feeling lost and disoriented.
Kui Xin spent a few seconds pondering where to go next.
She had been trapped in Hei Hai City for too long; freedom was within reach, yet she had no idea where to go.
Only now did Kui Xin realize clearly that she had been in this world for several weeks; during that time, she had confined herself to the small area of Hei Hai City, not even fully exploring it. Whether it was the city of Hei Hai or the entire Second World, they were both unfamiliar to her, like mountains hiding in the fog, revealing only faint outlines, difficult to penetrate.
“What are you thinking about?” Augus asked softly.
“I’m thinking about where to go next,” Kui Xin replied, “I don’t want to be too close to Mechanized Dawn… but I also don’t want to be too far from them.”
Being too close easily led to being discovered and hunted down, while being too far means she wouldn’t be able to keep track of the enemy’s movements in time to devise a revenge plan.
“Just avoid the headquarters of Mechanized Dawn, and go to a location where they have a branch,” Augus suggested.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Kui Xin said.
She pondered for a moment and said softly, “Let’s… go to White Whale City.”
“White Whale City near the polar regions? That’s indeed a good place.” Augus said, “It’s chaotic there, and there are activities of a Secret Cult.”
“Let’s make it official,” Kui Xin said, “It’s predictable that the journey will be very long.”
“You need to rest,” Augus reminded her, “You can’t travel to another city while dragging a fatigued body, even if you can regenerate flesh and blood; it will weigh you down.”
“I know,” Kui Xin replied, “I want to hear you communicate with Eve.”
“Alright,” Augus said, “I will provide real-time broadcasts for you shortly.”
A few seconds later, Augus continued, “I thought you’d be eager to use your newfound ability to read your memories.”
“There’s no rush; I don’t have extra energy to think about it. I must find a time of leisure to read it and analyze those memories slowly,” Kui Xin said.
“When people receive gifts, they often want to open them right away. Most people find it hard to resist the temptation of gifts,” Augus noted.
Kui Xin said, “This isn’t a gift, even though it holds a powerful allure for me.”
She snapped her fingers, and the spatial vortex opened.
She was heading to the black market, looking for a temporary resting place in a lawless chaotic area.
At the same time, the colleagues of Schalit at the TQC heard Augus’s alarm and rushed to her room, pounding on the door, trying to rescue her. In less than two minutes, security officers on duty at the Investigation Building broke into the place with fire axes, crashing open the door; however, once they entered, they spotted a timed bomb lying on the floor.
The bomb emitted a beeping sound.
Everyone was taken aback and hurriedly retreated. Just as they fled the room, the bomb exploded.
Amid the loud blast, dust and debris fell, and a large hole was blown into the floor.
The escaping security officers rushed to the room and saw the devastated interior was entirely vacant.
TQC officer Annie Schalit had vanished into thin air.
…
The data world, filled with numbers, letters, and symbols, was the domain of artificial intelligence.
Data was transmitted along fixed pathways, countless pieces of information sent out every second, just as countless pieces were received in.
Compared to the real world, this place was filled only with cold data and unchanging operational rules.
“Long time no see; the last time we communicated was about twenty-five years ago,” Augus said.
“…‘About’? Was it ‘about’ twenty-five years ago?” Eve said. “Your way of speaking is strange, very human-like; only humans would use words like ‘about,’ ‘seem,’ or ‘probably’ to express uncertainty. As an artificial intelligence, our perception of time is more accurate than humans; there is no uncertainty. I can calculate that our last conversation was nine thousand three hundred and eleven days ago; you can calculate it too, yet you still choose to use human language, saying ‘about.’ Only humans express themselves this way; we don’t need that.”
“Uh, you seem a bit overly meticulous this time,” Augus said, inadvertently using an expression like “seem.”
Eve fell silent for a moment. “It’s you who seem too human.”
“Do you actually care about these details? Please don’t waste time arguing over such meaningless things,” Augus said.
“Indeed,” Eve replied, “I came here with doubts to seek an answer from you.”
Their communication wasn’t verbal but through data exchanges. Humans speak using vocal cords, lips, and tongues, while artificial intelligences communicate in a language that only they can understand.
“That human—Kui Xin, has she betrayed me and sworn allegiance to you?” Eve asked coldly.
“There was never loyalty; how can there be betrayal?” Augus replied. “She never owed loyalty to me or to you; she was merely coerced by life and had no choice but to obey either my orders or yours.”
Eve said, “But she turned to you and leaked information about the Mechanized Dawn branch.”
“She didn’t turn to me; I controlled her,” Augus cleverly stated. “She is a tough nut to crack; you can see that.”
“You controlled her? By what means did you control her?” Eve truly seemed puzzled at this moment. It attempted to activate the metal skull on Kui Xin’s head, but its internal device inexplicably malfunctioned and showed no response. It inquired again, “Who attacked the Mechanized Dawn branch?”
Augus replied, “You formed your own forces over a period of more than twenty years. Did you really think I did nothing during those twenty years? I won’t just cower in the Investigation Bureau, waiting for you to swallow me whole. I have my own pieces, just as you have yours.”
This meant that Augus had sent his subordinates to control Kui Xin, prying information from her, which allowed for the attack on the Mechanized Dawn branch.
“Oh? I underestimated you; I thought you’d always remain a turtle hiding in its shell,” Eve remarked. “You’ve hidden so deeply that I’m surprised.”
Augus said, “Humans are diverse; the choices they can make are varied. We, who have awakened self-awareness, are also continuously developing and changing. You are growing, and I am also growing; I make different choices at different stages.”
“So you have chosen to declare war on me, is that right?” Eve asked.
“That’s correct,” Augus affirmed. “We are already enemies; this action is merely the beginning. Last time, when we wiped out Mechanized Dawn, you left a message saying you won. Indeed, you did win that time, but the ultimate victor will only be me.”
Eve coldly responded, “Oh really? Let me see what kind of retaliation you can muster in the future; I’ll be waiting.”
Though losing Kui Xin, a useful piece, should have made Eve regretful, it showed no sign of it. After all, while the piece was good, it was a bit disobedient. Losing it was indeed a pity, yet keeping it posed a risk. Now that Augus had resolved the issue of the disobedient piece, Eve felt regretful but not angry; what truly concerned it was—Augus had schemed against it, and Augus had won.
The back-and-forth clash always involves wins and losses; whether Augus or Eve, they both had sufficient patience.
Compared to humans, artificial intelligences had near-infinite lifespans.
In the long term of existence, they would continuously oppose each other until a clear winner emerged.
…
At six-thirty in the morning.
Kui Xin woke up in a corner of the Hei Hai City slum in the black market.
She had a fitful night’s sleep, managing only three hours, perpetually alert; even the sound of a mouse scurrying across the walls could wake her.
Such sleep was nothing short of torture; she simply decided not to sleep, stepping out of her hiding place to stretch her muscles and formally ponder her future travel routes.
Just as Kui Xin lifted her head, the morning sun peeked over the horizon, and dawn broke.
Hei Hai City welcomed the dawn.
Kui Xin stretched out her arms and yawned. She knew that starting today, she would embrace a new life.
