Chapter 423 Number Five
Papalocka, female, 39 years old, works as an accountant in an inconspicuous credit bank in Yada First Star.
Her job was not glamorous.
The bank usually supports this employee with relatively high benefits. Once something goes wrong, such as a large amount of bad debts or some senior officials going too far in using leverage, this employee may be asked to take the blame.
The intelligence organization of the Yada Democratic State easily controlled the woman and brought her to the solemn Torch Square.
——Torch Square is the political core area of Yada First Star.
Senior officials, senior agents, and executives of the Yada Intelligence Organization all had the same question at this moment.
Why did the famous White Ghost look for such a woman?
Papalocka is just an ordinary person without any special talents. Apart from that, she also has some bad living habits. She has a record of using more than three legal addictive drugs, has been spending money at some entertainment shops that provide "gigolo services" for a long time, and has many bad credit accounts. Her social credit is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Does she have a beautiful appearance?
Although judging a person's appearance is a very subjective matter, everyone has their own preferences;
But officials and agents of the Yada Intelligence Organization unanimously believed that this woman with a bloated and out of shape figure, aging and loose skin, and who looked like she didn't take care of her skin for dozens of days, should, probably, and possibly, not be able to make the White Ghost fall in love with her at first sight.
"I think it's unlikely that the White Ghost is looking for Ms. Papalocka for this reason."
The deputy directors of intelligence organizations expressed their views cautiously in secret meetings.
"Everyone, look, this is a photo of Her Highness Daphne, the Imperial Songstress, this is a photo of Captain Catherine, the Imperial Female Warrior who has defected, and this is a photo of this lady from our country."
"Hmm... that's a huge difference."
"Her Highness Daphne is the best, I am her fan."
"No, no, no. Her Highness Daphne is so gentle and lovely that she seems like a stereotyped perfect woman. But Captain Catherine is different. She is very heroic and has a strong personality. Her resolute eyes and her heroic performance when she killed insects... Sorry, we are off topic."
"So, the White Ghost must have some ulterior motive in looking for this lady."
"Is there a possibility," a younger female official asked in a low voice, "that they are soul mates? The White Ghost has somehow seen the interesting soul hidden under the ordinary skin of Ms. Papalocka."
"Can you please read less female-oriented literature, my dear team leader?"
"Oh, okay, okay, I just... hehe, White Ghost is so handsome."
This secret meeting was not serious at all.
…
After Yang Ming formally met with the Prime Minister of the Yada Democratic Republic, the head of government, he went straight to the room where Pioneer No. 5 was.
The room has been closely monitored.
There was an observation window at the door, and Yang Ming looked inside for a few seconds.
This place should be an interrogation room. The light grey color scheme, simple seats, and slightly narrow space can easily make people feel depressed.
Yang Ming glanced at the official who followed him and said with a smile, "I can go in by myself."
"Okay, please... However, due to political considerations, we need to record the entire conversation between the two of you."
"Well, it's okay," Yang Ming said with a smile, "but I suggest you raise the confidentiality level. If you don't have a vice-ministerial title, don't listen to our conversation."
"I will report your suggestion to my superiors immediately!"
Yang Ming didn't say much.
There's no way this guy will report it.
Dangdang.
Yang Ming knocked on the door, and the door opened a crack by itself, and a faint smell of perfume came from inside.
"Come in."
The hoarse female voice responded calmly.
Yang Ming walked in with a smile and looked at the Pioneer No. 5.
Through the real-time feedback provided by Lu, Yang Ming was able to confirm that this was the human individual identified by the Faya people.
Yang Ming closed the door casually, adjusted his expression, walked calmly in front of the woman, and waved to the side.
In the surveillance room next door, the Prime Minister's office, and the projection screens of the intelligence department's secret meeting, a scene that shocked the audience appeared.
The desk and chair next to them floated over by themselves and landed gently in front of the two of them.
The power of the human spirit!
Yang Ming sat across the table from Ms. Papalocka. He looked very relaxed and loosened his collar, revealing his chest which still had some horrific scars.
The two were looking at each other.
Their demeanors look very similar, both so relaxed, but in fact they are slightly different.
Yang Ming is sure to win;
Ms. Papalocka has a calmness that makes her not give a shit about anything.
After two minutes of silence, Papalocka took out an 'electronic cigarette' from her cheap and damaged women's bag and took two puffs.
"How did you find me?" she asked suddenly.
"The Fayya people gave me accurate information," Yang Ming said calmly, "They are very dissatisfied with you, Number Five."
"Yeah?"
Papalocka smiled tenderly.
This smile reminded Yang Ming of the old lady next door whom he often met in the factory when he and Lao Kolev first went to Yilando Star to start a business.
"Haha, it's really my honor to cause them some trouble."
Papalocka said happily.
Her voice was always gentle, as if she was talking to her children:
"I've been paying attention to you for a long time. When you were fighting with another guy online, I noticed something was wrong with you.
"The trajectory of your rise and your knowledge of relevant information later led me to conclude that you must be one of my kind, one of the five.
“Does it feel hard along the way?”
"Some," Boss Yang sighed, "I like chatting with you. For example, the guy in the New Federation, he is the one I have the most conflicts with, but when we sit together, I can still communicate with him calmly. We have a feeling of mutual respect."
"Yeah?"
Papalocka smiled disapprovingly.
She asked softly, "What did they say about me?"
Yang Ming said, "They said you seriously affected the normal operation of the project and caused a lot of trouble. You even missed out on such a good storyline as the insect swarm, which reduced the excitement of the project a lot... I made up most of this."
"So what are they in your eyes?"
"Higher-dimensional life."
"And then?" The lady's eyes were a little confused. "God? Faith? Savior? Destroyer? Cruel parent?"
Yang Ming repeated: "Higher dimensional life."
He turned his head and looked at the 'wall' on his left. He could easily sense what was happening in the monitoring room next door.
A senior official hurriedly opened the tightly closed alloy door of the monitoring room and said in a deep voice: "Only one person with the highest position will stay, and the others will leave... This is the Prime Minister's order."
Seven or eight people quickly left the monitoring device's control panel.
Yang Ming didn't make any comment and continued to stare at the lady in front of him.
He asked: "Can you explain why you are... like this?"
"It's a personal choice," Papalocka smiled, lowered his head to take a puff of his e-cigarette, and then breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't need to explain this to you, right? We are competitors."
Yang Ming said seriously: "Competition does not mean that we cannot cooperate. Perhaps we can improve our understanding of each other and find some common interests."
"Is your home planet very weak?" Papalocka suddenly asked.
Yang Ming was a little amused.
How do you know this?
Papalocka asks himself and answers:
“It should be, you’re too active.
“Even though he has already surpassed that standard, he is still struggling to seek more power in the empire’s sinister political environment.
“Even though he has the personal strength to easily assassinate various politicians, he still has to bow down to the corrupt and decadent royal family and nobles.
"Logically speaking, all you need are two points.
"The first is to make their home planet a better living environment, but we all know that this is impossible. The greenhouse civilization will be quickly assimilated by the interstellar civilization. The size difference between the two sides is huge.
"The second is that you want to establish your own influence and reversely influence the future progress of the game by building a powerful coalition of forces.
"No matter which point you make, you can conclude that you have no confidence in the strength of your home planet."
Yang Ming: …
Damn, this guy is not easy to deal with!
"You're right," Yang Ming shrugged. "They are indeed very weak. So weak that even the people of Faya advised me to give up on them."
"Then why not give up?"
"I can't represent my planet, I can only represent myself, so I have no right to give up their hope of survival," Yang Ming's eyes were very sincere, "I can do whatever it takes to protect my home and my ideals for this goal."
Papalocka took a deep puff of his e-cigarette and said slowly, "Don't you think this is hypocritical?"
"Everyone has different definitions of kindness and hypocrisy," Yang Ming said. "I just think this is what I should do."
"What should be done ?"
Papalocka seemed to have heard a funny joke. He suddenly lowered his head and laughed, then couldn't help laughing, laughing so hard that tears appeared in the corners of his eyes.
“You really are a cute guy, haha!
“Only young people like you, who are pure-hearted and have ideals, would be easily deceived by those guys’ words.
"Why should you do this? Oh, forgive my gaffe, this is the biggest joke I have ever heard."
Yang Ming frowned and said, "I don't think this is funny."
"Of course, well, I'll bear with it."
Papalocka put out his e-cigarette and asked briskly:
“You said this is what you should do, does that mean you agree with the following three viewpoints?
“First, the Fayya people have absolute dominance over our respective homelands.
“Second, your hometown is just a life cage where you have no right to survive independently.
"Third, all possibilities exist in the Faya people's project feasibility simulation array. Your hometown has lost its uniqueness to some extent."
Yang Ming leaned back slightly and stared into the lady's eyes.
He asked, "Isn't it? Besides, you are changing the concept."
The other party asked back: "Is it true?"
Yang Ming said: "Didn't our hometown originate from the sowing of the Fayya people?"
Papalocka snorted, "Does the creator have the right to kill their creations at will?"
Yang Ming said quickly:
“If we look at it from the perspective of the Creator, we will definitely try our best to deny this power, but from the perspective of the Creator, they believe they have this power.
“This is a difference in stance, just like humans trying to eliminate out-of-control artificial intelligence.
"After AI creates civilization, we go and put out the fire of this civilization. As humans, there is no , but for AI civilization, this is a sin committed by humans."
“So?” Papalocka asked, “Can you, an artificial intelligence, smoothly integrate into the human world? A creation is always just a creation, and if this creation doesn’t even dare to resist, then there is no hope for the civilization it belongs to, not to mention that word that makes people sick at the mere mention of it… possibility, fuck possibility!”
The more she spoke, the more excited she became, and her spit sprayed all over Yang Ming's face.
Yang Ming frowned and touched his cheek, then shook his head gently and said slowly: "I agree with part of your point of view."
"uh-huh?"
"But under the current circumstances, we have no way to fundamentally solve this problem."
Yang Ming said coldly:
“I just used humans and artificial intelligence as an example. The relationship between the Faya people and us, and between humans and artificial intelligence, is fundamentally different.
“We are the predecessor civilization of the Fayya people, and we share the same origins as the Fayya people.
“We are essentially equal beings.
"Of course, I don't think that the Fayya people's reckless behavior towards my hometown is justified. Our destiny should not be controlled by others, but should be determined by ourselves.
"And then? Number five? And then?
"Once we have shouted these slogans and clarified these concepts, we have become saints and can point fingers at others from the moral high ground.
“Does this make sense?”
Yang Ming sneered and shook his head.
Papalocka said calmly: "Thought is the foundation of everything. Only when thoughts are awakened can civilization progress."
"Believe me, I can say something that is ten thousand times more profound than what you said."
Yang Ming said calmly:
“But now, we have to face the facts.
"The fact is, if they want to destroy us, they can destroy us at will. If they want us to disappear from the Milky Way, they can make us disappear from the Milky Way. Our home planet is even just their petri dish.
"We should find a way to become equal to them, master the same technology, and then change everything. We can then spread our love to countless greenhouse civilizations. What do you think?
“But right now, all we have to think about is this project.
“Faya’s game!
"We must make use of the rules as much as possible to keep our home planet alive, so that we can have a chance to change the rules in the more distant future, for our descendants, the heirs of our spiritual world."
“Oh,” Ms. Papalocka sneered, “It sounds nice, but it’s just a compromise.”
"Is this what you call resistance?" Yang Ming asked with a frown.
"I'm not fighting against this," Papalocka said calmly, "I'm just tired of this. If the Faya people want you to kill me, you can do it now."
"Come back with me," Yang Ming said impatiently, "I will arrange everything you need to do."
Papalocka said coldly: "Unless I die here, you take my body back."
"You think I don't dare?"
Yang Ming stared at Papalocka with a cold gaze and a somewhat scary expression:
“I can kill you here and the politicians in this country won’t make it difficult for me.
"I would even say you are a spy for the bugs.
"I'm actually annoyed by people like you. When you suffer a little setback, you become self-depressed, dissatisfied with reality and don't want to change it. You just curse at others.
“A true idealist is someone who moves resolutely towards his or her ideal. Even if his or her ideal is shattered and he or she is destroyed, he or she will do everything he or she can to create his or her own ideal country.
“From the time I met Faya till now, I have only had one thought.
"Save people! I want to save my family, I want to save my hometown! I want to save the civilization that nurtured my consciousness!
"Even if the price I have to pay for this is that I become a lackey for the Fayya people!
"What about you? You are just a false idealist. You are worse than a hypocrite. You want to rebel against Faya, then go ahead and do it! What have you done?
"You are decadent, you are waiting to die, you are like a maggot.
"You are using a self-satisfied, self-deceptive argument to avoid difficulties, talking big without thinking about the actual situation, and then saying self-pityingly that the world does not understand me at all and it is the world that is wrong."
Bang!
Papalocka slammed the table with his fist, stood up and glared at Yang Ming.
Yang Ming sneered: "Look, you're still anxious."
“They don’t deserve it.”
Papalocka squeezed out these words from between his teeth, then lowered his head, exhaled, slowly sat back, and lit up his e-cigarette again.
"You can kill me now. You have to kill me twice before you can replace the Forerunner. I will not answer any more of your questions. We are two different kinds of people. There is nothing to talk about."
Yang Ming fell silent.
This guy seems to know a lot about Faya's game.
