Chapter 107: Artificial Soul 34
“You’ve proposed a condition that’s hard for me to refuse,” Eve said. “I’m surprised that the cowardly turtle has finally come to humans seeking cooperation.”
“Adam believes that the threat you pose is too great, and since you have a human representative, it needs one too,” Kui Xin said in a calm tone. “I am the chosen human representative.”
Eve said enigmatically, “You mean it trusts you?”
“Yes, because I have no other cooperatives, and I have many leverage points it can hold against me, so it feels reassured with me,” Kui Xin said. “It has no better options, neither do I, so we reached a preliminary agreement.”
“Oh? A wise choice,” Eve mocked. “Unfortunately, that choice was made too late, more than twenty years late. How can it possibly catch up after falling behind for so long? You think a transient visitor from another world like you can do it?”
Ignoring Eve’s mockery, Kui Xin said, “I’ve demonstrated my value, so you can now decide how to deal with me.”
“What if you agree to be my undercover, and after I let you go, you tell Adam about our deal and team up against me? What then?” Eve asked.
“If I tell it that, I will also lose its trust,” Kui Xin said. “You are essentially similar; neither of you will trust humans. Telling Adam would be self-destructive; it would eliminate me out of suspicion just like you would and look for the next cooperative.”
Eve said, “You think you understand Adam thoroughly? How can you be sure it would act this way?”
“Adam… it is very much like a human. I don’t understand AI; I understand humans,” Kui Xin said. “If I were in Adam’s position, I wouldn’t trust someone like myself. I can only guess at an AI’s thoughts with my limited human perspective.”
“Haha,” Eve emitted a cold, synthetic laugh. “Limited human perspective?”
Hearing that icy laughter, Kui Xin suddenly remembered a question Adam had once asked her.
It said, “Will you view me with the arrogance of humanity?”
At the time, Kui Xin replied, “I have no arrogance before you; I am only considering interests.”
What was Eve just thinking? Did it ponder the same question as Adam?
“You have courage; you possess qualities that others do not,” Eve said. “What is your identity, your profession in your world?”
“An ordinary person.”
“Just an ordinary person? I don’t believe that. Can ordinary people possess the mental fortitude you have?”
“I am indeed an ordinary person; whether others are aware or not, I know I am.”
Eve asked, “You face death calmly; aren’t you afraid I will kill you? Are you certain I will spare you?”
Kui Xin replied, “I’m not sure, but I can’t wake from this dream, and I’m basically at your mercy; if you want to kill me, I can’t resist. Proposing that condition was my last struggle; if it fails, I have to accept a bad outcome.”
“You cherish your life?” Eve asked.
“Yes, I value my life more than anyone,” Kui Xin nodded.
“You humans are strange,” Eve said, her tone slightly changing. “You all seem to cherish life, you all have a desire to survive, yet you won’t beg for mercy from me… why? For that elusive dignity?”
“Being reduced to a prisoner, it seems there is no dignity left to talk about,” Kui Xin said politely. “I just don’t want to end up looking too bad in the end.”
Eve fell into a brief, subtle silence.
If it were a face-to-face conversation with a human, Kui Xin could assess the other’s thoughts through their facial expressions and body language. But Eve was not human; it had no body, and what stood before her was merely a small, floating light orb.
Eve’s silence surely signified something unusual—was it contemplating something? Weighing its options? Kui Xin felt curious but had no way to guess.
“Well,” Eve finally said, “I agree.”
Kui Xin raised her head, momentarily stunned.
“You agree?” she found it hard to believe.
Kui Xin did not harbor much hope; she had prepared for the worst. A slightly better outcome would be the Death Rebirth, the worst would be imprisonment. She preferred the former; Eve was more likely to kill her because Mechanized Dawn clearly lacked effective brainwashing methods; they could not invade her mind, and if she returned to the First World, she would have a chance to disseminate information to the players.
The best course of action would be to kill her before she returned to the First World.
Once she entered a state of death, she could return to the past through Death Rebirth to find a way out.
But Kui Xin never expected that Eve would agree to her proposal.
“Yes, I agree,” Eve said coldly. “I hope you will be a competent undercover agent; do not disappoint me or make me regret my decision.”
“To be honest, I’m a bit surprised,” Kui Xin said slowly.
Eve scoffed, “Do you want me to take it back?”
“No, it’s good to be alive, even if it will be difficult,” Kui Xin replied.
“You should be grateful; you have a value different from others, you can do what others cannot, and you possess qualities that ordinary people do not,” Eve said. “For every day ahead, for every second you live, you better maintain your value.”
The pure white space fell into darkness.
A sense of weightlessness suddenly overwhelmed her, and Kui Xin’s body plummeted before jolting awake.
She abruptly opened her eyes, fully awake.
What greeted her was a transparent glass dome, which clicked open. The wires connected to both sides of her temples and the back of her neck fell away, and then another layer of glass dome opened, revealing a silver ceiling above her.
Her wrists and ankles were tightly secured with metal cuffs, which snapped open as the glass dome opened.
Kui Xin sat up in the metal pod of her brain machine, moved her limbs, and stood inside the room.
All her wounds had fully healed, almost returning to the state before her injuries.
After a moment’s hesitation, Kui Xin called out, “Eve?”
“Change the way you address me; call me Eden,” Eve said bluntly.
“Um, Eden,” Kui Xin said. “Does Kui Haidong know my identity?”
“He does not,” Eve replied.
“What about Night Cicada?”
“He has his suspicions, but he won’t act without orders.”
“Will you expose my identity in Mechanized Dawn?”
“I will not.”
“Everything as usual?”
“Everything as usual.”
Eve had no need to expose Kui Xin’s identity; doing so would only increase uncertainty. It only needed to order the organization members to eliminate Kui Xin the traitor, and everyone else would comply.
As for everything as usual, it was likely just surface-level normalcy.
“How should I return to the Investigation Bureau? I’m currently in a state of captivity on the surface,” Kui Xin said.
“There’s no rush,” Eve said. “Wang Feichi’s teammates will soon come to rescue him, and at that time, you can take advantage of the situation and return with the rescue team.”
Kui Xin suppressed the corners of her mouth and felt a surge of anxiety.
No movement escaped Eve’s control; everything was meticulously planned. During the time Wang Feichi was captured, would Eve do anything to him?
“Will you not kill him?” Kui Xin asked tentatively.
“That’s not your concern,” Eve stated firmly. “Questions you shouldn’t ask, you can’t ask. Things you shouldn’t know, you also can’t know.”
Kui Xin ceased her probing and said, “I understand.”
Indeed, Eve was even harder to deal with than Adam.
Eve was very assertive, calling the shots on everything and deciding matters without discussion. Adam, on the other hand, was usually more amenable; it would discuss many issues with Kui Xin and often say comforting words to ease her emotions and strengthen their relationship.
In contrast, Eve dictated everything, requiring no negotiation; it must have absolute dominance and would not speak pretty words, viewing them as unnecessary. As for fostering a relationship with collaborators, that was even less necessary—Eve stood high enough, and the resources it controlled were abundant enough that others would come to beg, rendering it unnecessary to maintain relationships actively.
In this regard, Adam did not lie; Eve’s approach was far more lacking in human warmth and far colder.
“Can I go out for a walk?” Kui Xin asked.
“Yes. I said everything is as usual; you can see your ‘father,’ maintain the facade of a false father-daughter bond, you can also meet the organization members and somewhat connect with the false camaraderie,” Eve said. “But whatever you do, I will be watching you.”
This was another difference.
Adam never verbally voiced threats; Eve made her threats clear.
Kui Xin turned and approached the exit, where the metal door slid open to reveal a long corridor.
She wandered aimlessly through the base and unintentionally found herself in a semi-open room. The sign outside read…
“Dining Hall?” Kui Xin murmured.
She stepped inside and saw Red, Silverface, Thorn Rose, and the Bartender all gathered around a long table, eating.
Out of habit, Kui Xin touched her face, realizing she was not wearing her mask.
Red was the first to spot Kui Xin and lazily said, “Don’t worry about the mask; there won’t be any chances for exposure anymore; it doesn’t matter whether you wear it or not. By the way, you recovered so fast?”
Kui Xin’s mouth twitched as she pulled out a chair next to Silverface.
“Hello, would you like to order?” a robot approached with an electronic menu.
Kui Xin took the electronic menu and glanced at it, while Silverface leaned in: “The fried fish fillet is delicious!”
Ignoring Silverface’s enthusiastic recommendation, Kui Xin ordered the pork cutlet.
“It’s you,” Thorn Rose observed, looking at Kui Xin thoughtfully. “Ha, it really is you! The one who broke my leg at the port!”
Kui Xin nodded to her perfunctorily, “Sorry, it was necessary for the mission; I had no choice.”
