Volume 17: Enemy of All Things Chapter 16 ME! ME! ME!
Games are games, and reality is reality. This has always been the education Li Lin received. The two must never be confused.
Reality is based on irreversibility. Games can be rolled back, but reality cannot. Reality is the most painful and difficult game, but when you find that there are some unsatisfactory things in the real game, most people will choose to swallow their anger. But Li Lin is different.
He was never like anyone else.
He is always different from others. Li Lin can think of things that others can think of. Li Lin can also think of things that others have not thought of. Li Lin always wants to take revenge on the cage that has imprisoned him for ten years. Ten years, even if there is any compensation, is not enough for Li Lin. He once stood at the top, but was dragged down by the problem of AI. Compensation? Can compensation make up for time?
His previous indifference and retreat were all because he could not see any hope of revenge. But now, he finally discovered some inappropriate points in this seemingly perfect world. There was a fatal flaw in the seemingly perfect world, and that was Li Lin himself.
Ten years have passed, technology has changed rapidly, and there is no trace of family members. Everything seems to have been planned.
Apart from the real-life problems, even in the game, things were going smoothly for him, and there was no room for him to perform at all.
If everything goes smoothly, then there must be some internal reasons for it. Especially when he found that he could use magic to operate those nanomachines and run them smoothly, some wonderful seeds had already taken root in Li Lin's mind. Everything that seemed lucky had internal reasons, especially in this world where AI has taken control of everything, is there really any luck or coincidence?
All accidents are the result of countless inevitabilities, especially in this AI-controlled world. Everything here, the scenery, the pedestrians, the architectural style, all seem to be so pleasing to the eye. Is this possible? Logically, it does not exist. No group of people will like the same style without any prior agreement.
Although he knew that his world was in tatters, Li Lin didn't know what to do and could only wander around in the prison in a daze.
But now, the university seems to have provided a perfect inspiration.
Since it is impossible to prove that there is something wrong with the world, then prove that there is something wrong with yourself.
Looking at the pitch-black abyss of Mars, Li Lin made a choice without hesitation that a normal person would never think of.
He jumped down.
The fierce wind blew on Li Lin's face. Even in free fall, it seemed as if he had not moved. The center of the earth still looked like a hazy spot. Only countless steel structures were constantly passing by around him, accompanied by bursts of shrill whistles.
Although he was clearly in free fall, Li Lin unexpectedly felt somewhat relieved . He had already made his own choice, so what should he do in this seemingly fake world? Waiting would never bring any good results, so it would be better to use the most brutal means to force out those hidden shadows. Li Lin didn't believe that he was about to die, and those big men hiding behind him and playing with him could still remain calm.
In a big way, he is an A-level authority, mastering countless secrets and possibilities, and holding the sole decision-making power of the eternal life agreement. In a small way, this is also a waste of ten years of hard work. No matter from what angle, the people hiding behind the scenes cannot witness Li Lin's successful suicide. Even if he is going to die, he will definitely die when Li Lin has done something or completed something. Li Lin carefully recalled his past history. He seemed to have not studied anything and did nothing. In addition to thinking about how he wasted these ten years, he was playing games.
The only agreement on eternal life that could be considered a decision was left in the corner for quite some time. He did nothing. He did not cause any harm to the world, nor did he do any good either. He was like a ghost.
Then anyone who wants it to do something will never let it die in this dark abyss.
Li Lin is not a person who particularly likes gambling, but when it comes to gambling, he will not be stingy with the chips in his hand.
"This is your last chance."
Feeling the rising temperature around him, Li Lin smiled and closed his eyes.
The strong wind caused by the free fall made Li Lin's clothes rustle. Even if he closed his eyes, he could still feel his body falling madly under the influence of gravity. But soon after he closed his eyes, the trend of this crazy fall suddenly slowed down.
Just like hitting some invisible air cushion, the strong wind that was originally caused by the free fall gradually stopped. The airflow around began to become weaker and weaker, and the sound of the wind that almost tore the whole person apart gradually disappeared. After a while, even the unique heat of the Martian factory outside had dissipated. Only the refreshing temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, which is the most relaxing temperature for humans, remained.
Li Lin slowly opened his eyes and saw everything around him was pitch black.
Except for the burning magma pool directly below, Li Lin seemed to be suspended in the void. Layers of invisible networks were under him, dragging him in the air. This kind of protective network can be temporarily woven, which is a better protective measure. Li Lin still knew this.
But the problem is that sometimes it is necessary to use authority and personal will to confirm the protection net/weaving. In this society, there is no such thing as mental security and privacy, but at the same time, there is a high degree of recognition of whether personal will is right or wrong. AI will never do anything without human approval. They will only implement various protection and safety regulations after human confirmation. Unfortunately, Li Lin had already lifted all of this before. In other words, a third party saw everything he did and ordered AI to protect him.
Facing the strange darkness around him, Li Lin said loudly:
"I didn't think about surviving. So, is there really an external force tempting me? In other words, this is not a safety measure guided by my personal will. AI can't bypass my thoughts and complete this action. In other words, you who are hiding in the dark can now come out and face me."
“…”
But Li Lin's question did not receive any response.
The surroundings were still in dead black silence. Not even an echo could be heard. There was only an indescribable darkness.
Li Lin was not unfamiliar with this situation. If someone wanted to play the ostrich or simply didn't want to communicate, the game screen would usually look like this. So after thinking about it, Li Lin directly ordered the mat under his feet to be lifted.
The power of the A-level authority still exists. The protective transparent cushions disappeared in an instant, and Li Lin fell into free fall again in the blink of an eye. The surging heat wave instantly burned his hair dry and yellow. Seeing that he was about to fall into the bright magma pool, a stiff electric current sound came from the black space around him, and the invisible network appeared under his feet again, leaving Li Lin only a few centimeters away from the bubbling magma pool.
"You are a human being, but you are not afraid of death... This is not within the scope of the plan."
The sound of electricity hummed, and the surrounding darkness gradually turned into light.
Li Lin squinted his eyes and looked at the bright underground space. Everything around him seemed to come alive. Countless electric lights and fragmented lights flowed and gathered in the surrounding pipes, and finally condensed into a sphere-like individual in front of Li Lin.
"The time has not come yet, and the final calculation has not been completed. Your thinking is reckless and inefficient, and you have even given up many precious feelings. You gave up friendship, love, family, and even those who are waiting for you and loving you in the game. You don't care about anything, and you even want to give up your life for the truth. It's not worth it, Li Lin. This is not worth it for you."
The huge ball of light swayed in the air, and the sparks and plasma formed some vocal cord-like structures, which made a regretful sound.
"You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't be standing on the lava pool and gambling with your life. You shouldn't be asking questions here. This is not the same as the original plan. You should have stepped onto the Earth and started the screening of the final regulations, but you came to Mars. This is the wrong path."
"What's your name?"
Looking at the big ball of light that seemed very familiar to him, Li Lin sighed and asked in a low voice.
"Who are you? What am I? What are these rules and plans you mentioned? What have you done to me?"
"Backup Regulation No. 1, Mars Regulation No. 1, these are my names. As for the other things, whether I say them or not depends on your opinion. You are Li Lin, but you are not Li Lin yet. All of this is wrong... This is not the plan given to me. This is different from the plan."
If this plasma ball could make human expressions, it would definitely be a frown.
He seemed to be quite obsessed with some plan, and was very surprised by Li Lin's sudden threat of death. But Li Lin felt that this person, or this AI's reaction was very strange. How to say it, it was as if something was stuck on the bolt, giving people a sense of stiffness of old-fashioned AI rather than the latest AI with personality simulation. He seemed to be able to only repeat the logic of a plan, and would be at a loss if anything unexpected happened.
But how could there be a perfect plan in this world? There is no such thing as perfection in this world. Perfect AI will make mistakes, and perfect humans will also have selfish desires. Looking at the electric ball that seemed a little confused, Li Lin narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice:
"Are you an AI? Or a human? What on earth is this so-called plan of yours?"
“…”
The lightning ball didn't speak.
After a long time, as if a new personality had been switched, the photoelectric appearance finally disappeared. Instead, a blurry figure was projected on the dark wall. The hazy figure, who seemed to have poor contact waved at Li Lin with a little regret.
"Primitive AI is no longer sufficient to deal with this kind of problem. Now let me answer your question. Li Lin, your thoughts all along were correct. You are indeed different, and you are indeed chosen. All the dangers and difficulties you think of in your mind are derived from your pain and suffering. Ten years have passed in your memory. For these ten years, I can only say that this was part of the plan. It was even approved by you, or you agreed to it at that time."
"But you never expected this outcome, did you?"
Li Lin looked at the blurry figure and said sarcastically.
"You have never thought about what a person can do after being deprived of ten years. You just fiddle with your things from a God's perspective, thinking that you can control everything in your own hands. But you have never thought about the fact that I would rather die to know the truth, right?"
“…No, to be precise, we have thought about it.”
The figure in the image said sincerely:
"We thought of all kinds of endings and all kinds of extreme scenarios. But the only thing we didn't expect was that your casual question could have such a big impact, causing the AI and management systems in the solar system to crash one after another. Even so, you could still come here through the Mars system and let us correct your personality hints. But unfortunately, for some reason, you didn't come."
"But since you've realized the problem, I can declare this operation a complete failure. However, due to the downtime of the entire solar system server, I can't even use AI or other means to show you the truth. You have to see everything inside by yourself."
"...You don't plan to keep hiding this from me?"
Looking at the figure who readily opened the door in the darkness, Li Lin was somewhat incredulous.
"Just like what you always do, continue to use a trumped-up charge to trick me to some place, continue to brainwash me and throw me out to conduct your hidden experiments?"
"Because it's pointless to do so now."
The projected figure seemed to look at Li Lin meaningfully, and that inexplicable behavior made Li Lin feel some strange pressure.
"Now all the computational workload has been delivered to the General AI. Your question has almost ruined everything. It is meaningless to continue the experiment. Moreover, without the support of the General AI, we cannot independently complete the reloading of the personality sandbox. You are free, so you are free to see the final results of the experiment. Because you have the only remaining A-level authority, you can do whatever you want, and I can't stop you."
"Finally, who am I?"
"Who are you? Do you really care about this issue?"
"care."
"Then come in and take a look. After you've read it, you can go to Earth to find the truth you really want."
The light door in the air slid down to the edge, and there was a big arrow on it with a special LED light pointing downwards, as if it was afraid that Li Lin would not notice the entrance. The texture of the door frame inside the light door made Li Lin feel inexplicably familiar, but also very strange.
"You can come and take a look, but it may not be what you think."
Pointing at the door, the AI transformed into a human figure and said calmly:
"There's a saying I've always liked. That is, the world doesn't revolve around a certain person. No matter who dies or wakes up, the world will still revolve according to his normal trajectory. I hope that after you see the truth of everything, you won't have any other ideas."
“Please always remember one thing: there is no romance in this world, nor any metaphysical things. We are all material beings, born into this world only because of scientific choices, not because of romance or idealism. So when you see something that shocks you, please don’t forget that there is no coincidence or accident in this world, and what exists in this world is always inevitable.”
"Hold on to this belief, and then watch till the end, and you will know what happened to you. But before that, I want to ask you, are you sure you want to give up everything you have now?"
"I am sure of it."
"Including everything in your game? Those friends, those NPC companions, the friends who have been with you for so long, have you decided?"
“…I am sure of that.”
Seeing the AI's serious expression, Li Lin nodded in the same serious manner.
Nothing is more important than everything in reality, and those things in the game are just games. This is Li Lin's creed.
He never yearned for anything, worshipped anything, or prayed for anything. He was still a cold-blooded killer, who only cared about his own life. Turning his head to look at the light door that had extended to his eyes, Li Lin took a deep breath, then stretched out his hand and pushed open the door.
But the moment after pushing open the door, looking at the projector that first came into view inside, Li Lin felt his head suddenly explode.
"Welcome, everyone."
This is a triggering image.
The shadow projected on the projector had a face that Li Lin was very familiar with.
The figure wearing the white robe of the research institute and with a calm and steady smile had a face that was exactly the same as the one Li Lin saw every morning.
"Welcome to the backup shelter, elites of humanity. I am Li Lin. You will complete the most valuable experiment for all of humanity here. We will work with the experimental sites on Earth and the Moon to complete our great plan. If all goes well, it will surely go down in history."
“…What the hell is this?”
Looking at himself smiling in the air, Li Lin said subconsciously.
