Chapter 234: CH 234

Hu Shuli returned to his residence. Since the Mainbrain sent him an urgent job and the results were due in the morning, he had to take his work home to study it—his own residence was better than his office and at least someone would accompany him.

As usual, as soon as he entered the door, his wife smiled at him. The layout here was exactly the same as his home before the Great Rebellion. The view from the windows was well simulated. Stepping through the door, all memories of the doomsday were inconsequential, like waking up from a nightmare and finding yourself lying in a warm, familiar bed.

In order to save the dead, people in stories would make a deal with the devil, but he didn’t need to give his soul. All he needed to do was make a wish to the Mainbrain and continue his work.

“Come and eat. I made wontons today.” His wife looked extremely healthy. She was putting fresh flowers in a vase. The housekeeping robot was cleaning on the side, vacuuming the floor. “Why are you back so late again?”

“Busy at work.” Hu Shuli smiled at her. “I have to work overtime today, so let the housekeeper do it.”

“Oh, but I already stewed up some chicken soup.” There was no hint of complaint in his wife’s tone. “You’re staying up all night, Lao Hu? Why don’t I make you a bowl first so you can replenish your body.”

“No, it’s not such an exaggerated job. Just DNA comparison.” Hu Shuli’s expression softened. “How about you?”

“Same as always. I met a few unpleasant clients today. I’m telling you that Lao Sun…”

While listening to his wife’s nagging, Hu Shuli found a comfortable spot in the living room and pulled up a light screen. He used to hate it when his wife muttered these trivial things, but now he was more than happy to use them as background noise as he worked. It made him feel at ease.

The young man surnamed Ruan was too young. His eyes couldn’t tolerate any sand and everything needed to be pure. In contrast, Hu Shuli was already old and wasn’t as confused. He didn’t want to tear open his scars over and over again, and escape wasn’t a solution.

Ruan Lijie’s attitude made him secretly angry as well as gave rise to an unknown anxiety. He had been extremely attentive to that young man. Everything he said was soft, and he took great care with his words, but Ruan Lijie didn’t appreciate it.

Ruan Xian couldn’t win, so why couldn’t the young man face reality?

“Lao Hu, do you want to eat pears? I can wash them for you. The housekeeper’s chicken soup is also quite good…” His wife was still nagging.

“Eat.” Hu Shuli stared at the light screen in front of him.

He had proven the mother-child relationship between Ruan Yuchan and Ruan Lijie, but the Mainbrain wasn’t satisfied with this result. It asked him to analyze the gene fragments of the S-type Prototype and compare them to the characteristics of the disease Ruan Xian suffered from.

Hu Shuli had his own set of conjectures—the birth of the S-type Prototype was probably Ruan Xian’s intention of treating himself, but they couldn’t obtain Ruan Xian’s complete DNA. Since the S-type Prototype was highly suitable for those two people, they may have a certain kinship with Ruan Xian.

The Mainbrain could develop a virus specifically for Ruan Xian by analyzing their genetic characteristics.

But these issues belonged outside the door. Hu Shuli took a breath and continued checking the jumping numbers on the light screen. He had been busy with this matter for a day, and now he only needed to compare the final data and the question of “whether Ruan Lijie and Ruan Xian are related” would be proven. Next, he only needed to verify some details and apply the finishing touches.

After entering the final parameters, the analysis bar reached 97.59%.

His wife approached with two pears that had been peeled. She picked up a piece and brought it in front of Hu Shuli. Hu Shuli was looking at the number solemnly, and he subconsciously stretched out his hand to block it. He inadvertently used too much force when pushing his wife’s hand away that he caused her to drop the pear. The snow-white pear rolled onto the carpet, no longer suitable to be eaten.

Hu Shuli shrank his neck—his wife didn’t like him working overtime at home. This would most likely cause her temper to explode, and then he would inevitably suffer a scolding.

As a result, his wife just smiled, without the slightest hint of anger, but looked distressed.

“Look at how busy you are.” She picked up the pear. “I’ll wash it again. It’s cold in autumn, so I’ll add it to a stew with some rock sugar.”

Hu Shuli was taken aback by this reaction.

The time for self-deception had come again. He closed his eyes, calmed his breathing, and didn’t bother to look at the readings that came at the end. “It’s been hard on you.”

“We’re family. What are you talking about?” His wife left the living room.

Hu Shuli wiped his face hard twice before looking at the result, and then he was really stunned.

As one of the top researchers under the Mainbrain, he defected from Ruan Xian. He had been responsible for many analysis cases of Ruan Xian’s genetic information. He didn’t even need to compare, as he could recognize it empirically—Ruan Lijie’s genetic data was almost exactly the same as the recoverable parts of Ruan Xian’s DNA.

Hu Shuli was shocked and deliberately changed several algorithms, but the value on Ruan Lijie’s side didn’t change. This wasn’t a calculation error.

Ruan Lijie was most likely to be “Ruan Xian”, or Ruan Xian’s clone.

But he had been with Ruan Xian for so long, and he knew that Ruan Xian had never cultivated a clone—simply cloning a body was fine. In terms of personality, this wasn’t a replica of some random person. To give “another Ruan Xian” a complete personality, Ruan Xian himself would inevitably participate in the process, and that was a workload that one person couldn’t complete.

Hu Shuli’s fingers trembled a little and he started sweating suddenly.

Who is Ruan Lijie? If he’s Ruan Xian’s clone, why would Ruan Xian make such a clone and allow him to run around with his own DNA? This didn’t make sense, but if it wasn’t Ruan Xian’s clone, what could it be?

He had a ridiculous guess.

No, stop. He just needed to do what he was good at. Complete the comparison, submit the report, then his work was over.

Just tell the Mainbrain that “Ruan Lijie” was extremely likely to be “Ruan Xian”. No need to say any other nonsense…

“Here, the chicken soup is ready.” His wife came over again and put down a bowl with a smile. “I’ve even asked the housekeeper to make some sorbet, so you can have it as a dessert after dinner.”

Hu Shuli moved his gaze away from the light screen and looked at his wife in a daze.

[We can’t win.] A long time ago, he said this to his wife, who was still alive. [Come with me to see the Mainbrain.]

[How do you know you can’t win? Is it a 100% chance that we’re going to lose?]

[Professor Ruan is gambling his life. I can see it. We just have this one chance. The Mainbrain’s side is growing too strong… Be good and listen. I still have the power to treat you—]

[Hu Shuli, you bastard! Do you want a perfect wife? Do you want me to be transformed? I am not you. The Mainbrain doesn’t allow ordinary people with big personality flaws to exist. You know this!]

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[No, I—I’m just saying, based on the situation, it will take a miracle for us to win. It’s better to cut our losses early…]

[What’s wrong with miracles? Huh? Are there not strange and bizarre things in the world? It’s not like no one has won the first prize in the lottery before. I don’t care. Even if I die here, I don’t want the Mainbrain to remove my head!]

……

Hu Shuli silently held the bowl of chicken soup; his hands were cold, but the bowl was a little hot.

This matter was truly strange and bizarre enough, dear wife. The real Ruan Xian had returned to the world as a ghost and was acting with NUL-00.

“Why are your eyes turning red? Hurry, put the soup down!” His wife—or the replica of his wife—raised her voice. “Housekeeper, bring a cold towel—”

“No, it’s okay.” Hu Shuli lowered his head and took two sips of his soup, then he entered a string of numbers on the light screen.

Escaping was also a way.

Besides, he was originally cowardly and timid. Although he had some skills, he wasn’t a major force that could influence the direction of the war. The Mainbrain knew this, so even if he gave results with errors, the Mainbrain would probably only change the weight of a certain possibility.

He wanted to let this strange thing stay a little longer, and he didn’t care about what the result was.

“I actually like the way you look when you’re angry.”

After sending out his conclusion that “No match was found. Ruan Lijie and Ruan Xian are not close relatives”, Hu Shuli finished his bowl of soup.

“Have you eaten yet? I’m done with my work. Let’s have some wontons together.”

And the Mainbrain did adjust the relevant weights.

“Adjust the alert level of the vicinity to the main body to level A. Send the modified R-β and M-β to patrol the perimeter.” The Mainbrain was standing in the wide lecture hall, playing with a virtual orchid in its hand. “Dispatch A-016 team to suppress the chaos in the stronghold near the Sea of Ruins. Zhuo Muran, what’s the situation now?”

“Don’t you need to send more forces?” Zhuo Muran responded to the question with another question.

“At this stage, it seems that Ruan Lijie and Ruan Xian aren’t directly related. As for the specific conclusion, we will have to wait until we visit Fan Linsong to determine it.” The Mainbrain’s tone remained relaxed. “Then as far as the current intelligence is concern… Ruan Lijie and NUL-00 are following Ruan Xian’s instructions. If we put too many troops into dealing with these two, it’s likely we’re playing right into Ruan Xian’s hands. Aside from the garrison near my body, the improved versions of R-β and M-β are enough.”

It was true that the matter wasn’t urgent. If there was a new discovery, they would increase their troops in time, but despite knowing this, Zhuo Muran still felt uneasy.

It was clear that only Ruan Lijie and Tang Yibu were currently acting.

“Continue to focus the investigation on Ruan Xian’s possible attacks and pay close attention to the trends of petri dishes around the world. I will let Hu Shuli continue to research the perception enhancement of R-type weapons.”

It seemed the Mainbrain could sense Zhuo Muran’s anxiety and spoke up as if to comfort him.

“In addition, I will mobilize several experts to test Hu Shuli’s report, just in time to produce the results along with our meeting with Fan Linsong. Just wait two more days. There will be no mistakes in this matter.”

“I understand.” Zhuo Muran reluctantly pulled the corner of his mouth. “It’s just that the chaos near the Sea of Ruins has just dispersed the spare troops in the middle of Continent Y. Although it’s not a big deal, I have a bad feeling…”

“Can you produce conclusive evidence?” The Mainbrain responded calmly. “Ruan Xian hasn’t made any big moves yet, and it’ll be too late to deploy troops at that time. On the contrary, once our pace is disrupted, they could take advantage of the situation.”

“…Yes, but I have a request.”

“Go ahead.”

“Requesting a full set of combat equipment support. I will personally travel to the garrison of your main body. Changing positions will not affect my command work. Just in case, I will be in a better position to deal with it—if Ruan Lijie and NUL-00 are indeed targeting your body, with the ability of the D-type Prototype, coupled with the support of M-β and R-β, I will not be wiped out by NUL-00 so easily.”

“Alright.”

“Thank you.”

“Zhuo Muran.”

“Yes?”

“I can’t figure out the purpose of NUL-00.” The Mainbrain turned its head. The skin it projected looked bloodless under the white light. “I have calculated for a long time but still can’t understand its motivation. Its action style this time is very weird and has no clear logic.”

“……”

“Our logical core is the same, but I have learned more about complex human morals and rules than it does. Our essence is the same and our abilities are comparable. Now, it seems that for humans, it may be countless times more dangerous than me.”

The orchid in the hand of the Mainbrain slowly disappeared.

“Why does Ruan Xian allow it to live but not me?”

The author has something to say：

Mainbrain: I’m the one who plays chess well. Why would Ruan Xian rather let the crazy cat dance wildly on the board than fight me first?

Professor Ruan: Shit, I don’t want to either. I can’t help it. The one who contributed to it is the great uncle.

Tang: Be free and fly*, cool.

*(放飞自我) Refers to letting go of oneself and pursuing your dreams. Later, due to heated discussion on Weibo, it means breaking character and showing your true temperament. || In this context, it’s referring to the latter.

Ruan: Be free and fly, cool.

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