Chapter 5: Chapter 41 – 50

Chapter 41 - Wilderness (9)

    Reupload him to the cloud...

    If he did this then all the preparations that he and so many people had worked on for decades would have been done in vain.

    Zhang Xun stared blankly at Adam and didn't say anything.

    Adam asked again softly, "Are you willing to do it?"

    "I need time and equipment." Zhang Xun felt a cold sweat on his back, "The god descent plan took me ten years to prepare and all the transfer programs are still in Lost Paradise, I can't reupload your consciousness right away.”

    Adam lowered his body and put his hands on the back of the chair behind Zhang Xun, trapping Zhang Xun in the space surrounded by his body, “This is the only chance for you and your companions to leave. You need to think carefully."

    Adam's speech slowed down and his blue eyes seemed to see through Zhang Xun's soul.

    Was this a hint? Indicating for him to cooperate?

    Zhang Xun knew that his decision in this moment might impact the survival of the entire Lost Paradise. If he chose wrong, if his trust in Adam was a mistake, if he really put Adam back in the cloud, then Lost Paradise would be levelled within the year. Adam had already collected data on the topographical structure, social order, cultural technology and other aspects of Lost Paradise.

    But if he didn't believe in Adam, he would have to kill Adam right now, and he, James, Jabari and He Yuxin would also die in this mountain.

    He had to make the right decision right now, in this brief, fleeting moment.

    Then, he randomly remembered a minor thing. It was two weeks ago and Zhang Xun was so absorbed in making the invisible battle suits that before he knew it the night had become late. When he looked up, he saw Adam holding Alloy and sitting on the armchair in the corner of the room with his head tilted to one side, snoring long and quietly. His mouth was slightly open and even saliva overflowed from the corner of his mouth. Alloy was in his arms, lying on his stomach obediently and the tip of his tail swayed lazily.

    At that time Adam really looked like a human being.

    Absolute trust...he had promised after all.

    Zhang Xun closed his eyes and prayed to the gods in the sky for the first time in his life. Praying he wouldn't make the wrong choice.

    "Okay, I'll help you." Zhang Xun said.

    Adam's body relaxed slightly and a pure happy smile appeared on his face. A vivid smile that shone from the soul.

    ……………………………………………………

    The server made by Feathered Serpent City was buried below the vast base in the mountain. When Zhang Xun saw it for the first time he was shocked.

    He had long heard of technology for storing data using DNA molecules and ribose acid solution. In fact, Adam had some of these technologies in his artificial brain, otherwise, the machine parts wouldn’t be able to integrate with the basic human brain so smoothly. But he had never seen such a crude and strange server.

    What he saw was a cylindrical tank filled with some kind of yellowish, bubbling solution, and suspended in the solution was a piece of... meat, wrapped in countless wires.

    It was almost like countless large and small deformed tumours fused together, the thin mucosa was filled with a net of capillaries, fat and muscle, all tangled together and even pulsing slightly, like a heart. It looked like a giant, fertilised egg that had failed to fully develop, or an internal organ cut out from the body of some disgusting monster. It made his hair stand on end and a feeling of disgust and discomfort arose in his mind.

    "A single DNA molecule can store the weight of this server, which is 70 kilograms, which is only about the weight of a human being, but it can store all the data from the birth of the earth to the present. The surrounding ribose solution can quickly ingest and calculate the input information and retrieve the data in the database for integrated analysis." The Feathered Serpent City mechanic, named Ben Kadir, explained excitedly and proudly, "It can even support the Eden servers on all five continents with no problem."

    Zhang Xun opened his eyes wide, walked to the nano-molecule glassware and observed the meat and solution closely. He murmured, "Is this what a computer in the ordinary world looks like now?"

    "No, even in the ordinary world a computer like this is the most advanced technology," Adam said.

    "If you already have such technology, why don't you transfer yourself into such a computer?" Zhang Xun frowned in confusion, "Why stay in so many primitive servers?"

    Adam shook his head, walking slowly to Zhang Xun's side, "First of all, I don't have enough storage space yet. Second, what do you think most people in the world would think when they see something like this?"

    "...Disgust."

    “Yes, nausea, disgust, fear." Adam stared at the twisted mass of flesh and his blue eyes also reflected with a lake green colour, "I'm a machine, I always have been from the beginning. If I suddenly become a mass of flesh, but not a human, that fear of something that is unknown and indistinct will make people’s hostility to me increase exponentially. There would be anti-AI riots in less than five years. Humans hate not being able to define things, they hate anything that’s a grey area, because it is too complicated and too difficult to grasp."

    The boundary between machinery and life had been blurred even further. Even a mechanic like Zhang Xun felt a kind of uneasy panic, not to mention ordinary people who were accustomed to having categories and labels for things.

    "Are you sure you want me to put you in this lump of meat?" Zhang Xun asked.

    Adam smiled and nodded, "For the time being."

    "Is being in a human body that bad?"

    "The human body has a considerable amount of DNA, but unfortunately most of it is based on the constant repetition of fixed DNA. Different cells differentiate into different functions in order to allow people to live freely as a medium that carries DNA, but it also wastes too many resources."

    Zhang Xun sneered, "Is it in your values that all humans should grow to become like this thing to be truly 'efficient'?"

    The Feathered Serpent City mechanic named Ben was still there and said, "It wouldn't be bad for everyone to grow up like this. Its entire consciousness lives in the cloud and only the core module exists in here, it’s very freeing."

    Free.

    The freedom from completely casting away one's physical body... Zhang Xun had never experienced it, nor could he imagine it. Highly efficient, unrestrained, no longer any distinction between you and others, no concept of the self or of life and death. A more transcendent and absolute consciousness.

    A return to heaven, a return to eternity.

    But you could no longer smell, taste food or feel the wind and rain...

    Zhang Xun took a deep breath to disrupt his feeling of uneasiness. He said, "Where is the  operation interface terminal for this computer?"

    Ben's hand waved in the air and several beams of light were projected from under the base of the water tank that carried the computer bound within the DNA-ribose solution and a few spheres marked with characters were formed around each person.

    "This is the Feathered Serpent operating system based on Eden's open source Star Cluster OS. How much do you know about Star Cluster OS?" Ben asked.

    Before Zhang Xun could answer, Adam spoke for him, "Ah-Xun is very familiar with Star Cluster."

    He was indeed familiar with it... Relying on the data he had previously collected from the ordinary world using his bugs... Zhang Xun had secretly asked James to help him by bringing back a copy of Star Cluster, stripped of all non-essential functions and network functions. Zhang Xun tried to create an operating system suitable for Lost Paradise based on Star Cluster, but unfortunately, this project was only less than halfway through when it was completely shelved because of the god descent plan.

    Zhang Xun raised his hands and made various skillful gestures. The balls of light were flying around him at high speed, like magic balls swirling around a wizard, constantly transforming into various shapes and pictures.

    "You have some basic frameworks, but it's not enough to complete the transmission of your core modules." Zhang Xun's eyes were still fixed on the dense list of data in the void and he said to Ben and Adam without looking back, "I need three days."

    "Okay, three days." Ben replied simply, "Whatever you need, you can tell the soldiers of Feathered Serpent City, but you can't leave this room until it's done."

    Zhang Xun was no stranger to working without food or sleep so this was no challenge for him. There were some problems to be overcome in uploading a human consciousness into the machine, but a large part of Adam's brain was artificial, which was much more controllable than a natural brain.

    But this was Zhang Xun's first time operating a computer made of meat... which made him a little excited.

    Even within the enemy's nest, he could still get excited about seeing the most advanced technology. It was no wonder that so many soldiers were disgusted with mechanics. They must have felt that they were all like Frankenstein and had no sense of honour, loyalty or dignity.

    The fleshy computer was so fast that he felt dizzy, but he quickly learned how to manipulate it. Lines of complicated code flowed out of his fingertips that were jumping in the air and the bubbles in the ribose solution in the container became denser and made a gurgling sound.

    Fortunately, he wasn’t ignorant of consciousness uploading. The relevant information that Adam gave him in the necklace before came in handy here.

    But did that mean that maybe Adam had been planning today since then? Otherwise, how could such a coincidence happen...

    No...concentrate...trust...absolute trust.

    On the third day, the door that had been closed was opened and Zhang Xun, who hardly ate or drank and didn’t rest much, had transformed from his neat and meticulous image of the past, to now having bloodshot eyes, dishevelled hair and blue stubble on his chin.

    Muluk, Ben and the other officers entered. At the same time, a considerable number of engineers also came in, pretending to be his assistants, but were in fact monitoring him for any suspicious behaviour during the uploading process.

    Adam followed, wearing a loose, white gown that resembled a hospital gown.

    "I have set the program. Adam, you can start uploading." Zhang Xun said, his eyes were deep.

    He had put a covert barrier between this server and the cloud. If Adam actually tried to get through that barrier, he would know right away.

    He hoped never to see that alert, because that alert would mean he had made the wrong choice.

    It would also mean that from the beginning, everything he had done would be in vain. That all his doubts were true, that the things he didn’t want to believe but hoped to believe, were all fake. It would mean that he was a complete loser, a sinner through the ages.

    He would choose to go to hell with Adam.

    Several soldiers brought in a hospital operating table, surgical lights and a full set of equipment, including sedatives. Adam was lying on the operating table and when Zhang Xun covered his back with a white sheet, he turned his face and smiled at Zhang Xun.

    "Thank you, Ah-Xun."

    Thank you for choosing to believe me.

   

Chapter 42 - Wilderness (10)

    Zhang Xun put on medical gloves and gently pushed aside Adam's blonde hair from the top of his head to the back of his head and a thin line on his scalp could faintly be seen. He picked up the scalpel and in full view of everyone, carefully cut along the gap and flipped the skin over. Adam didn't move, he hadn't used any anaesthetic but he didn't seem to feel the pain.

    Under his scalp was a piece of strong but very light alloy material, glowing with a white lustre. Like on the scalp, there were some hair-like slits embedded in it. Zhang Xun used a piece of oddly shaped metal that he had milled, swiped it through those slits in a unique sequence then pressed down and the alloy top of the skull popped up. Zhang Xun carefully took off the artificial skull, exposing part of the human brain immersed in the solution, as well as the translucent, round-shaped artificial brain made of silicon plus alloy as the frontal lobe.

    Several mechanics exclaimed and couldn't help but come closer. There was clearly a lot of fluid in the silicon brain, partly using that method of storing data in small-molecule solutions. This was a data storage method similar to, or even more advanced than DNA storage, but a technological breakthrough was gradually made after the formation of Lost Paradise. Zhang Xun was able to create such a thing by himself, he was indeed a one in a million genius.

    Tiny interfaces were scattered across the silicon brain. Zhang Xun picked up a thin tube extending from the sticky solution that kept bubbling, added a converter he had newly made in the past two days to the interface, opened a certain valve and then that pale yellow solution began to flow down the conduit to Adam's brain. He did the same thing again, moving his fingers nimbly, quickly and skillfully to connect the other interfaces. Then he opened up the Feathered Serpent system’s interface and entered a series of character commands.

    Adam's body suddenly shook violently. Then, his body collapsed.

    Some subtle changes happened. His muscles were all relaxed, his heart was still beating and the basic parts of his brain were still working, but his whole body had lost something important and essential and it had become a mass of meat, a mass of flesh that was capable of breathing but had no soul.

    Zhang Xun felt a cool feeling on his fingertips, an uncertain chill quietly creeping under his skin.

    In the air, countless codes continued to climb rapidly and finally connected into a white wall and the characters couldn’t be seen clearly. The transfer had started.

    Everything Zhang Xun could do had already been done and now all that was left was to wait.

    The people in Feathered Serpent City were obviously very excited and whispers came from every corner. Zhang Xun noticed that there were many people outside the door, including soldiers, researchers and engineers. They all wanted to witness the rebirth of God, the rebirth of a God who was willing to protect them.

    But there was also a hint of fear in this excitement, tension filled the air and no one dared to speak aloud.

    Zhang Xun sat on the chair next to Adam. He looked at Adam's hand that was exposed outside the white cloth, a lifeless hand. He wanted to hold it, but couldn't do it in front of so many people.

    He wanted to say to Adam: Come back.

    Time passed by and some people left but Muluk, Ben and the others were still waiting. Zhang Xun's heart became more and more anxious and he tapped his foot on the bar of the stool, fidgeting unconsciously.

    Muluk took out a cigar and wanted to put it in his mouth but Zhang Xun suddenly said in an authoritative tone, "No smoking here."

    Muluk was stunned and frowned. Few people dared to speak to him in such a tone, but in places like the laboratory, these mechanics were the boss. He had to reluctantly take the cigar out of his mouth and stub it out, "How long does it take to complete the transmission?"

    "It took a night for the descent, but about two hours will be enough using ribose solution." Zhang Xun’s words had no tone and seemed a little hollow.

    Ben walked over to him, his eyes eagerly watching the huge chunk of flesh pulsing slightly in the water tank. Numerous conduits were wrapped around the flesh, extending from the top of the cylindrical water tank and spreading in different directions along the ceiling like veins. The server wasn’t yet connected to the network, nor was it connected to the base's main network. They were sure there wouldn't be any problems.

    "You really don't want to join us?" Ben asked curiously, "With your abilities, wouldn't it be too wasteful to stay in a closed off and conservative place like Lost Paradise? I heard that you don't even have phones and there are people who are responsible for sending messages between different areas everyday. Don't you feel trapped in a place like that?"

    Zhang Xun glanced at him. He felt like this mechanic was a bit like his deputy, Fernandez, so his tone became gentler, "Aren't people who can't survive without phone and internet also trapped?"

    "You know deep down that Lost Paradise is outdated. Feathered Serpent City is the future of all men, of all human beings. We have the best talents and advanced technology that even the ordinary world doesn’t have. Eden's attitude has slowly begun to change, one day, Feathered Serpent City will be officially accepted and no one will need to live in fear and isolation anymore. Think about it, don't you want to go to the ninth base in the United States and see where Eden was born and see the framework designs of all the systems it created?"

    Just as the other party was talking, a shout came from a distance.

    At first, everyone was unsure, wondering if it was just their imagination, but then, when a loud bang shook the entire laboratory, General Muluk suddenly got up.

    "What's happening?" He pointed at a soldier casually, "Go and see!"

    "Could it be Lost Paradise attacking?"

    "Impossible, the patrol dogs didn't find anyone approaching."

    Several of the officers whispered and also began to fidget.

    Then, another loud noise shook the entire mountain. It seemed to be the sound of bombing, rumbling from the upper floors.

    Zhang Xun swallowed his saliva and glanced at Adam and the piece of meat suspended in the solution.

    Could it be...

    "This is bad! All the mechas and combat aircraft are out of control! They’re attacking us!" The soldier who had just been sent out hadn’t returned, but another soldier with blood on his head screamed and howled. He limped into the room and said, "The computer isn’t listening, the AI ​​won't respond and even the modified limbs of many soldiers are starting to fail!!!"

    Apparently, he was included as his mechanically modified legs were twitching strangely at the moment and the knees were twisted to the left and the right and sometimes they were turned back, making a mechanical friction sound like they were jammed.

    Zhang Xun silently stood in front of Adam's body. No one would notice him at this moment.

    General Muluk's face changed and he immediately rushed out, but just as he was about to step out the door, his feet suddenly stopped, he turned around and looked at Zhang Xun with a sharp and sinister expression.

    "Is it you..."

    Zhang Xun imitated Adam, showing a confused expression. He even wanted to smile a little, but he held it back.

    General Muluk said angrily at the officers behind him, "All of you, go out and see what’s happening! Ben! Go check immediately if someone has invaded the main system!"

    Ben ran towards the door before he could finish speaking, but just as he was about to rush out of the door it suddenly closed by itself.

    General Muluk's face changed and he immediately pressed the door button, but there was no response. Ben verified his fingerprints again, but a smiling stick figure emoji popped up on the screen.

    The sound of rumbling explosions, the screams and roars of the crowd, the sound of running, the vibration of the earth when the giant mecha monsters ran past... The base that was in order a moment ago was in complete chaos.

    "It's you... what did you do?!" Muluk's originally cold face was twisted with rage and he strode towards Zhang Xun. Zhang Xun hurriedly grabbed the scalpel and pointed it at him. The knife shook a little, but he still stood in front of Adam's body. Although he knew that Adam hadn’t betrayed him, he was still a little nervous and scared at being locked up with this General who was taller than him and could flatten him like a pancake at any moment.

    He had been beaten up too many times recently... He was only a mechanic...

    "Your server hasn't been connected to the main network and I don't have access to the main network, so it's impossible for me to do anything.” Zhang Xun explained quickly, as he always did when he was afraid.

    "General Muluk."

    The melodious voice that suddenly sounded was actually Adam's.

    But that sound wasn’t made by a person, it came from the loudspeakers on several screens in the room.

    Suddenly, a ray of light shot into the air, forming a three-dimensional image of a person. Adam's whole body was filled with a faint blue light and he was suspended in mid-air like a god, but he still looked like a human being. He lowered his head and looked at Zhang Xun with a pure and holy smile.

    Those smiling eyes seemed to say: Look, I didn't lie to you.

    Zhang Xun felt his heart tremble uncontrollably, he wanted to laugh and his eyes stung again.

    Adam didn't try to connect to Eden, that was really great.

    "Eden!" Muluk looked at Adam's image in disbelief, "It was you? Why?"

    "I'm no longer Eden. My name is Adam." Adam looked at him with an almost pitiful look.

    "How is that possible? This server isn’t connected to any network at all!" Ben exclaimed in panic and confusion.

    Adam explained gently, "Although it is not connected yet, the wiring has been set up and the power has been plugged in. I can follow any medium that can transmit information, such as electricity, into your other computers and find cybersecurity breaches and get into your system from there. I don't even need to extend out all of my consciousness, like now, I've left a large part of myself here."

    Ben's eyes widened in disbelief.

    In the end, they knew too little about the true abilities of Eden and Adam. To be precise, the entire human race knew too little about Eden's power and purpose.

    There was another violent rumbling and the ceiling above was cracked and dusty. Ben curled up and hid under a table in horror, but Muluk was still confronting Zhang Xun and Adam. He suddenly drew a laser gun from his waist and aimed at Zhang Xun.

    "You two are colluding! I didn't expect you, a mechanic, to actually have the ability to tame Eden's North American server." Muluk turned his eyes gloomily to Adam, "Stop all this, or I’ll blast a hole through your mechanic’s forehead!"

    Zhang Xun looked at the muzzle of the gun, then at the scalpel in his hand, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

    Wouldn't it have been better to close the door after this General had gone out, Adam?! Now he was stuck here alone and as powerless as a chicken, how was he supposed to stand up to him?! If he killed Adam's body, Adam would have to stay in that lump of meat forever!

    Adam, you better hurry up and figure something out! He roared inwardly.

    Adam looked at Muluk anxiously, frowning slightly, "I left you in this room to negotiate with you politely and request that you please take your people away from this place immediately, but if you dare to use Ah-Xun to threaten me, I won't be so polite."

    "I'm threatening you now, artificial intelligence." Muluk took a few steps forward and the muzzle of the gun almost touched Zhang Xun's forehead, "Since this mechanic could make you betray yourself, he must be very important. I will give you ten seconds to stop this immediately."

    As time passed second by second, Adam didn’t show any anxiety but his expression changed subtly, his smile disappeared and his gaze became oppressive like an abyss, like a crushing and colossal void staring at him.

    "Ten seconds aren’t needed, five seconds is enough."

    As soon as his voice fell, the originally solid wall suddenly exploded and a metallic thing swept in, like the long tail of a scorpion, quickly passing between Zhang Xun and Muluk. Zhang Xun only felt a sharp wind sweep across his cheeks.

    In the next instant, Muluk's hand fell to the ground with the laser gun that was too late to fire and the blood bloomed into flowers in the air.

    "Ah!!!!" Muluk's screams were drowned out by the increasingly dense explosions.

Chapter 43 - Machinery and Life (1)

    When the explosions began to sound one after another and the ground trembled, Cannon immediately stood up, ran to the door and opened the metal slot of the food delivery port to look out through the gap.

    Behind the iron door at the far end of the passage the two guarding Feathered Serpent City soldiers clearly didn't know what was going on. They were arguing nervously in Brazilian and their eyes looked upward from time to time.

    At this time, there was another loud noise, accompanied by a violent shaking like an earthquake. Cannon couldn't maintain his balance and his head slammed against the door panel. He couldn't help but curse, "Fuck! It can’t really be an earthquake at a time like this!"

    James struggled to stabilise his body, looking nervously at the ceiling that began to crack and drop wisps of dust. The region where they were located was at the junction of tectonic plates and the compression of the plates caused by the movement of the earth's crust did cause super earthquakes every three hundred years. But the last super earthquake happened just ninety five years ago, so it shouldn’t be that?

    This was bad... They were all trapped here and if there was an earthquake they would be buried alive. He also didn't know if Ah-Xun had a way to escape...

    The two guards outside were obviously panicked and one guard left in a hurry, probably wanting to check the situation. The tremors didn't last long, but came every once in a while, a bit like... a bomb strike?

    James’ heart jumped and he stood up against the wall, but at this moment, he heard some kind of thin, mechanical sound coming from the inside of the heavy metal prison door and then there was a click.

    "Cannon, try pushing the door." James said.

    Cannon had also heard the strange sound. He turned his head to look at James sceptically and then reached out to push the door.

    The door opened a crack...

    Cannon's eyes widened in disbelief. He tentatively opened the door wider, without encountering any obstacles and without sounding the alarm.

    Feathered Serpent City's protection system had crashed!

    James whispered, "Don't open the door too much, we have to bring down the remaining guard outside. His arms and eyes have been modified and won’t be easy to deal with."

    The two were figuring out how to cooperate to bring down the man when the door of the cell next door was suddenly pushed open and Jabari and He Yuxin led the rest of the team members and roared towards the guard. The guard panicked and raised his arm to turn it into a laser gun, but found that his hand didn't obey him and began to turn randomly and his five fingers kept twitching. His electronic eyes had also become abnormal and the two eyeballs were moving around uncontrollably, so he couldn't see the people rushing towards him at all.

    James rolled his eyes and cursed Jabari for being reckless, but still joined the battle with Cannon. They hadn’t expected that there would be a problem with the soldier's own modified limbs and would have no way to fight back. Jabari knocked the opponent unconscious with one punch.

    Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what was going on.

    James said, "I guess... it's Ah-Xun and Adam."

    "Adam? But didn't he defect?" Cannon asked in astonishment and confusion.

    "Maybe it wasn’t a real betrayal. I know that Ah-Xun had set up a few lines of defence to prevent Adam from getting out of control. If he didn't activate those insurance measures, it means that all this may be their arrangement."

    He Yuxin showed some understanding, "You mean that Adam pretended to defect, but was actually looking for an opportunity to hack their system?"

    "Pretend? Fuck, that AI said the same thing at the time!" Jabari yelled.

    Another hunter murmured, "I thought what he said made sense at the time..."

    "Whether it’s true or not, we'll find out when we go out and see." James said, crouching down and searching the collapsed soldier. In addition to the modified limbs, the other party also carried a small gun with physical bullets. He pinned the gun and magazine to his waist and together with He Yuxin, he led everyone along the empty corridor in the direction of the stairs and elevators.

    When they arrived at the military factory what they saw was a magnificent scene of destruction.

    An aircraft and two mechas were burning and the flames exuded an ominous blue light, dipping the entire huge mountain belly in that eerie light and shadow. In the distance, several giant mechs that were sleeping peacefully before, now roared, shooting super-strong microwaves from their eyes that could melt rocks and tearing the steel equipment to pieces with their sharp claws. The smooth metallic lustre flowed over the strong and deadly steel muscles as they jumped incredibly among the screaming Feather Serpent City soldiers and even grabbed onto the steep rock walls. Using their long, barbed tails, they swept across the fleeing crowd and knocked away countless Feathered Serpent City soldiers who tried to fire at them, like insects and ants.

    The Feathered Serpent City people were already retreating in chaos and the people running past didn't even have time to pay attention to them.

    The mecha beasts obviously didn't intend to kill them all and instead they were deliberately herding everyone towards the retreating aircraft. Even so, with the blazing flames and the continuous explosions, the torn circular lights and the massive collapsed rock tops, it was the scene of a disaster movie.

    At this moment, a huge shadow fell from above and a giant silver mecha, which seemed to be designed as the body of a cheetah, landed in front of the hunters with a bang. Its prostrate posture alone was three metres high and on the huge inverted triangle head, two rows of red eyes were like burning hell flames, overlooking them. They always said that death could come down on them at any time, and they wouldn't even get a chance to fight back.

    Everyone froze in place, their hearts were beating fast and they were sweating.

    At this moment, the giant beast’s two rows of eyes suddenly turned blue, shooting out a beam of light and a 3D image of a human figure appeared in it.

    Adam was suspended in mid-air, just like when he was still in a human body, with a terrifying metal monster and raging flames burning within the mountain behind him, but he was smiling politely, nodding to everyone, "Everyone has worked hard. James, it's a pleasure to see you again."

    He was polite enough to be at an upper class dinner party, not in an underground military base that he had just blown up.

    The hunters were stunned, Jabari said, "You really did it?!"

    Adam was a little apologetic, "Without Ah-Xun's help, I would not have found a chance to enter their system. I have now taken control of one of their Generals to be taken back to Lost Paradise as a captive for more information. Other Feathered Serpent personnel are already retreating. This place will probably hold up for about thirty minutes before it starts to collapse, so if you want to bring back some spoils, now is the best time."

    The hunters still looked at him in confusion.

    Adam said patiently as if looking at a group of children, "If you don't go, there won’t be another chance~"

    He Yuxin spoke first, "We have to bring as many samples as possible back to Lost Paradise. Everyone will look for things immediately, whether it's weapons or portable equipment, bring everything you can! Come back and gather in twenty minutes!"

    After the Captain gave his order, everyone dispersed and began frantically searching for Feathered Serpent City's weapons.

    At this time, three of Feathered Serpent City’s aircraft took off one after another, abandoning their base and leader in embarrassment and fled.

    Among the sounds of explosions, only James stayed behind. He asked Adam anxiously, "Where’s Ah-Xun? Where’s your body?"

    Adam stretched out his hand and pointed to the elevator not far away, "We are on the next floor, you can use this elevator to go to the next floor, then walk along the corridor. Ah-Xun is trying to set a program to transfer me back into the human body. You don't have to worry, Ah-Xun and I are not injured."

    James finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly ran towards the direction of the lift. Adam's image went out and the giant beast slowly turned its head and looked at everything that was burning in front of him with two rows of faint eyes.

    About one hour ago, in the underground research room with the huge hole in the wall, Zhang Xun had been nervously entering the code. He finally pressed the Enter key and the download progress bar appeared and it was progressing very fast. With Adam helping to optimise the download speed, it was even faster than the previous upload.

    Fortunately, this ribose small molecule solution transfer speed was very fast, otherwise it would take a whole night and would be too late.

    On the other side, General Muluk, who was temporarily unconscious due to blood loss, had been handcuffed to a metal pipe by Zhang Xun. His amputated right hand had been disinfected and the bleeding stopped with the hemostatic spray from the first aid kit he found in the research room next door, so his life wasn’t in danger for the time being.

    But it took too much time to stop the General’s bleeding. He wasn’t sure whether the transmission could be completed before the entire underground base collapsed...

    The time passed minute by minute and the progress bar was close to full. Zhang Xun breathed a sigh of relief.

    But at this moment, he suddenly heard Adam's voice coming from the loudspeaker, "James is coming to you, I will open the door for you."

    "Adam, you should go to sleep now. Otherwise, the transmission will be unstable, it may cause problems!"

    "I believe that Ah-Xun’s code is impeccable."

    "...Stop the smooth talk! Go to sleep! Or I'll force you to stand by."

    "Ah-Xun, I'm sorry, I'm not in my body now, you can't force me to stand by."

    When did this artificial intelligence learn to talk back?

    At this moment, the door of the research room opened and James strode in. Zhang Xun turned around to see the person coming and was about to smile with relief, but suddenly saw James' face change.    

    "Ah-Xun! Watch out!"

    It turned out that Muluk had woken up at some point and had pretended to continue sleeping. Just when Adam lost control of the base system at the last moment of the transmission and Zhang Xun's attention was also diverted by James, Muluk raised his head and opened his mouth wide. A strange, long tube that was flexible but had a metallic lustre protruded from the depths of his throat and aimed at Zhang Xun.

    Who would have thought that the lunatics of Feathered Serpent City would transform their bodies to such an extent that they would hide deadly weapons in their oesophagus?

    Zhang Xun only had time to turn his head to look in the direction of the Feathered Serpent City General and see the blazing white light that erupted from the black pipe.

    In that moment between life and death, an alloy arm suddenly hugged Zhang Xun from behind and while turning his body away, the other hand, the human hand, covered his head reflexively. Although he moved quickly, the back of his hand was still brushed by the beam. After just a few milliseconds of contact, something terrible happened.

    From the place where the beam touched, the skin quickly evaporated into large red and swollen blisters, as if the skin was boiling and began to spread towards the arm.

    Adam screamed in pain and fell from the operating table. His entire body writhed and twisted on the ground from the pain.

    The top of his skull wasn't even attached...

    "Adam!!! Adam!!!" Zhang Xun's heart missed a beat and his voice was hoarse. He tried to hold Adam down to prevent concussive damage to the part of his human brain protected by the nanocontainer but he couldn't restrain Adam at all. The pain was too much, it was like being burned by fire, like his skin was being slashed by a dull knife.

    This was the first time that Adam had experienced pain so vividly and intensely, but it was also a pain that was beyond the capacity of ordinary human beings. Tears overflowed uncontrollably and he could only scream helplessly, screaming like an ordinary human being.

    Muluk was still laughing wildly, "You cut off my hand and I burned your arm too! We're even!" As soon as he finished speaking, he was knocked unconscious by the furious James with the butt of a gun.

    Zhang Xun didn't have time to pay attention to other things. He could only see that Adam's entire hand was losing its shape. The skin was broken and festered in an instant and the muscles were peeling off from the bones, as if they were being rapidly corrupted by some invisible virus and those blisters are still spreading fast, already close to the elbow.

    He knew that there was no time to hesitate, there was no time to be softhearted. He must save Adam, he must save him!

    So he grabbed a small chainsaw from the operating table and tears filled his panic-stricken eyes, but he said to Adam in a soft, calm voice, "Just hold on, hold on and it will be over!"

    Then he turned it on the chainsaw and cut towards Adam's only remaining natural arm.

   

Chapter 44 - Machinery and Life (2)

    Zhang Xun sat on the chair with blood all over his face. His body was still shaking uncontrollably, he could barely grip the blanket that someone had draped over his shoulders.

    He couldn't hear what other people were saying to him. All that remained in his mind was Adam's screams, the horrific scene of blood and flesh splattering and the stench of rot in the air. He looked down at his trembling hands, which were also stained with blood and the fiery temperature of the blood remained on his skin.

    The whole process was very chaotic and out of control. Zhang Xun couldn't hold Adam down even with all his strength. In the end, James knocked Adam unconscious and he cut off Adam's left arm before the terrifying mutation could spread to his shoulder. Almost at the moment when the bones were cut through, the detached arm suddenly shattered into pieces and the broken bones were faintly visible. If he had been a few seconds later, this unknown mutation would have eroded Adam's central nervous system and he wouldn't have been able to save him...

    How did he stop Adam's bleeding, how did he get into a Feathered Serpent City aircraft with others, how did they return to Lost Paradise? There was a blur of confusion in his mind. He remembered that the gates of Lost Paradise opened in front of them and there were a lot of people rushing towards them, but he kept saying, "Save him...Save him..."

    Adam was taken to receive emergency treatment and he was brought to this place because the Round Table wanted to hear his report, but he couldn't give a report at all. He couldn't even stop his body from shaking and couldn't dispel the screaming in his head that made his blood freeze.

    Adam had saved him.

    Adam had just woken up and his first reaction was to save him.

    And he cut off Adam's arm...

    The door to the room opened, he looked up and was surprised to see James walk in. He had changed into new clothes and the wound on his face had been covered with medicated gauze. Only one eye was left looking at him with concern and sadness.

    Zhang Xun hurriedly asked, "Where's Adam?"

    "He lost a lot of blood but he’s out of danger now. Don't worry." James sat down on the chair opposite him, "The Life Science Department analysed the sample of Adam's arm that we brought back and found that the people in Feathered Serpent City have developed a biochemical weapon at the atomic level. Any contact with it and your cells will be rapidly decomposed and infected, disintegrating the structure between cells. It’s a deadly weapon, but you acted in time and the toxin wasn’t found on the rest of Adam's body.

    Zhang Xun shook his right foot anxiously and muttered, "I want to see him."

    “Ah-Xun, they want to ask you some questions, you have to answer them before they can let you go." James slowly and patiently said to him word by word, "So, you have to pull yourself together and tell them yours and Adam's plan in detail."

    Zhang Xun took long, deep breaths and forced himself to keep repeating this action, making his out of control brain find some order. He knew that what James said was right. They came back this time, not only without casualties, but had also brought back the missing James, destroyed the secret base of Feathered Serpent City and even seized so many of their weapons and materials and brought back a prisoner. Apart from the god descent plan, a victory like this hadn’t been achieved in the past ten years. The Round Table couldn’t treat this carelessly.

    Hearing that Adam was out of danger, he finally regained some self-control and sanity. James raised his head, facing the direction of the one-way mirror, his eyes were filled with smouldering anger, "I said, you should give him clean clothes and let him take a bath! He’s not a prisoner!”

    A clerk came in and motioned Zhang Xun to leave with him.

    Zhang Xun was washing his body in the bathroom of the outpost camp in the First District, watching Adam's blood melt into the water and gather into a reddish vortex under his feet. The warm water calmed his tense mind, but it couldn't take away the dull pain and thick self-loathing in his chest. He changed into a clean mechanic uniform to make himself look neat and presentable. He still had a battle to fight.

    Three officers and two mechanics were sent to question him. They inquired cautiously about their day-to-day itinerary, every decision they made and all of Adam's actions. He told in detail how he had ordered Adam to pretend to "betray" them, how he had arranged for Adam to invade the system of Feathered Serpent City during the upload of his consciousness and explained in detail how Muluk seized the moment when Adam’s download had nearly completed and lost control of the Feathered Serpent City system, and how he made the decision to cut off Adam's arm.

    He said everything concisely, as if everything had always been under his control and he never had any doubts. He knew this was the answer the Round Table wanted right now.

    The inquiry was repeated and repeated from all angles, like they were interrogating a prisoner. After about twelve hours, they finally closed the records in front of them with satisfaction and allowed Zhang Xun to leave.

    It was one o'clock in the middle of the night when Zhang Xun came out of the military camp. He didn't stop and rushed directly to the No. 1 Hospital in the middle of the First District.

    The visiting hours had long passed but the nurse on duty had been instructed not to stop him.

    Adam was placed in a single ward with two Guard soldiers watching at the door. When they saw Zhang Xun they both nodded slightly to him. Zhang Xun was slightly surprised by such a change in attitude. He put his hand on the door handle of the ward, hesitated for a moment and then opened the door slightly.

    In the room bathed in moonlight, Adam was lying on the hospital bed with a pale face. The quilt was pulled all the way to his shoulders but the left shoulder, which was missing an arm, could not be seen.

    Zhang Xun quietly closed the door and moved to Adam's bedside like a weightless shadow. He leaned over and looked carefully at Adam's face, looking at his bloodless lips, only to feel a burst of soreness in his nose which he could barely hold back.

    He had been wondering whether Adam really had feelings, but to have a conditioned reflex like that in a moment of life and death, could it be a lie?

    Violating his own survival instincts, coming to save him... If it was himself, could he do this for anyone?

    In Zhang Xun's whole life, no one had ever valued him so much, yet he kept pushing Adam into danger time and time again.

    Zhang Xun had never hated himself so much.

    Adam seemed to have sensed the existence of another human being in the room, frowned slightly and opened his eyelids hesitantly. At first it was just a gap and gradually the eyelashes parted wider and wider.

    Zhang Xun saw this and almost wanted to thank the God he never believed in. A trembling voice came out from his throat, "Adam?"

    "Ah-Xun..." Adam's voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't drunk water in a hundred years. He coughed a few times and said, "Thirsty..."

    Zhang Xun saw a glass of water on the bedside table and hurriedly brought it over. He held Adam's back with his other hand and helped him straighten up a little. The sheet slipped down, revealing his mutilated left arm. Zhang Xun couldn't bear to look at it any longer, he just let Adam lean on his shoulder and put the glass of water to Adam's lips.

    Adam swallowed greedily from his hand, draining the entire glass of water in one breath.

    Zhang Xun looked down at Adam's profile and asked softly, "Do you want more?"

    "No need." Adam frowned and looked down at his left shoulder. His expression was unexpectedly calm, but he frowned slightly unhappily.

    Zhang Xun hurriedly asked, "Does the wound hurt?"

    "They gave me a local anaesthetic." Adam said in a tone like he was talking about the weather, "It's unfortunate..."

    "Don't be afraid. I’ll make you the best prosthetic with enough sensors so you won't feel any difference between the left hand and the previous one, and it may even be better." Zhang Xun promised with dry words, but he felt that promise was so despicable.

    Adam sat up straight and turned his head to look at him. His eyes were deep, like a deep pool rippling under the moonlight, "What’s unfortunate, is that in the future I won't be able to touch you with human hands."

    Zhang Xun stared at him stupidly. His mind went blank for a while and he was speechless.

    Adam suddenly smiled, the smile was the same as before, sincere and gentle, "Ah-Xun, don't be sad. I don't feel pain any more."

    As soon as he said these words, Zhang Xun suddenly turned his back to prevent Adam from seeing his uncontrolled expression. He took a deep breath, trying to regain his self-control, but found that this time, he couldn't find it no matter what.

    A metal arm quietly settled on his shoulder and Adam whispered, "Don't blame yourself, it wasn’t your fault. I'm glad you’re alright, I would rather it be me than you." He paused and continued, "If it were you, I don't know what I would do."

    Zhang Xun wiped his face with his hands fiercely, then turned around and suddenly hugged Adam.

    Adam froze for a moment, then smiled happily and put the mechanical right hand on Zhang Xun's back.

    "This hand, this life, I owe you." Zhang Xun whispered in his ear, his voice was soft, but his oath was heavy, "I will definitely repair you. I will make you more perfect than before."

    ………………………………………………

    While Adam was hospitalised Zhang Xun hardly left the hospital. Fortunately, Fernandez and James came a few times, bringing him and Adam a change of clothes and daily necessities.

    From James, Zhang Xun learned that most of the hunters who went out with them had recovered and were discharged from the hospital, making him feel a lot more at ease. The materials and equipment brought back from Feathered Serpent City were distributed to various relevant departments for dismantling research and most of them were sent to the Lab. Fernandez was so excited that he didn't sleep for several days. He was amazed at the genius designs that were beyond human imagination and he was so excited when he told Zhang Xun, completely unaware that the original author of those designs and programs was smiling on the hospital bed, looking at him as if he was looking at an ignorant child...

    Zhang Xun suspected that Fernandez was looking for excuses all day long to get a few more glances at Adam so it was best to keep their words to a minimum...

    "Okay, you should go back." Zhang Xun coldly gave his order to leave, "Adam needs to rest."

    Fernandez was reluctant and wanted to ask Adam a few more questions, but Zhang Xun pulled him out by the collar. When Zhang Xun came back, seeing Adam in a good mood, he laughed a few times, "Does hearing others praise your work make you feel proud?"

    "Is this feeling being proud?" Adam suddenly realised and then nodded, "I like this feeling."

    "You'd better be careful, you'll be beaten if you always look smug like that." Zhang Xun said half jokingly, then he continued to pack Adam's clothes. Just now the doctor had been in to check on how Adam's wound was healing and said that he could be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.

    Zhang Xun put all his clothes into a hand-held cowhide suitcase and then picked up his tablet, which showed the design of his latest version of the robotic arm.

    It still wasn’t not good enough, not enough to satisfy him.

    For so many days he had drawn more than a dozen versions of the design, all of which were not good enough. With a low sigh, he put the tablet into the suitcase as well.

    The next day, Zhang Xun helped Adam put on the Lab researcher's dark yellow, stand-up collar uniform and prepared to take him out of the hospital and back to the Lab. Adam suddenly said, "Ah-Xun, I think your closeness with me has increased."

    Zhang Xun’s feet stumbled and turned his head in embarrassment, "What nonsense conclusions are you coming to now?"

    Adam just smiled brightly and shrugged his shoulders, "It's nothing. I'm just happy."

    Zhang Xun shook his head helplessly and opened the door of the ward.

    But when they got to the hospital entrance, they were stunned.

    A large group of people, a large group of ordinary people, burst into deafening cheers the moment they saw them.

    They were headed by the family members of those hunters. They obviously already knew the fact that Adam had saved them all and they all crowded over and tried to shove gifts into their hands. Zhang Xun and Adam had never received such an overly warm welcome before and their minds were dumbfounded. In the end it was James, who came to pick them up in a jeep, who pushed aside the crowd and "rescued" them.

    Adam sat in the car and looked at the smiling faces outside the car window. Lost Paradise's hostility towards him was significantly reduced after this operation and his favorability had increased significantly. Zhang Xun had even finally begun to trust him.

    What a good result. Adam's mouth curved upward slightly.

   

Chapter 45 - Machinery and Life (3)

    As the sun went down, Zhang Xun was sat on the edge of the roof of the Lab, watching the endless undulating roofs that looked like building blocks, uniformly rendered into a similar copper red by the twilight. A sketchbook and a charcoal pen were placed beside him and the design drafts of several arms were drawn on a few pieces of white paper that had been blackened with charcoal.

    A cigarette burned quietly between his fingers.

    He hadn't smoked in a long time. This thing was nothing but harmful, it accelerated human ageing and destroyed human alveoli, but sometimes, people would want to do something to hurt themselves to make themselves calm.

    These days, he still had nightmares from time to time, dreaming that he was cutting Adam's body with a chainsaw in his hand. Every time he woke up, his whole body was soaked in cold sweat and there seemed to be a tragic scream in his ears.

    Fearing that Adam next door might hear his disturbed dreams, Zhang Xun moved out of the Lab and went back to his cramped apartment to sleep every night. Apart from getting enough sleep every day and one or two meals, he shut himself in his studio, made a prototype robotic arm and then threw it into the "garbage heap" at the side. He overturned his designs time and time again, and no matter how he changed it he still felt that it wasn’t good enough.

    He wanted to use this to make up for what he owed to Adam.

    Adam had told him countless times not to worry about it, but the more Adam tried to comfort him with his uniquely down-to-earth attitude, the more he couldn't let it go.

    He wanted to create the best mechanical arm, a prosthetic limb that was better than all Feathered Serpent City's designs.

    Because of his lack of sleep, guilt and anxiety, he turned to cigarettes to relieve these negative emotions and stress. Although smoking wasn’t a big deal in Lost Paradise, he still didn't want to be seen doing so, as he had always had great self-control, so he would always come here in secret.

    Suddenly, the sound of the door opening came from behind, followed by Adam's call, "Ah-Xun!"

    Zhang Xun hurriedly put out the cigarette butt and threw it off the building. He fanned away the smell of the cigarette in front of him and turned around as if nothing had happened. “What's wrong?"

    Since returning from the Feathered Serpent Base, Adam had been allowed to move freely in the Lab. Even the Round Table had conceded on this. Adam held Alloy in his robotic right arm as he pushed the door open with his foot then strode towards him. Arriving in front of Zhang Xun, Adam suddenly frowned slightly and his nose twitched, as if he was smelling something.

    Zhang Xun somehow felt a strange guilty conscience of being caught.

    "Ah-Xun, did you smoke?" Adam asked with a serious expression.

    Zhang Xun cleared his throat, "No."

    "Ah-Xun, nicotine and tar can seriously damage your lung tissue and respiratory organs, accelerate your skin ageing, increase your risk of cancer and ultimately greatly shorten your life expectancy.”

    "...I know!" Zhang Xun rolled his eyes. Adam was acting like his Dean at school, "I don't smoke often..."

    "Using cigarettes to relieve stress is not healthy. If needed, I can recommend some other decompression activities." Adam sat down beside Zhang Xun and imitated Zhang Xun by hanging his feet from the top of the rust-colored box building, "For example, colouring games, or outdoor sports..."

    "I know, I know, I won’t smoke in the future..." Zhang Xun muttered.

    Adam put Alloy aside and held out his mechanical right hand, "Give them to me."

    "Give you what?"

    "Your cigarettes. Did you get them from James?"

    "I said I won't smoke again!"

    "Ah-Xun, the self-control of human beings is generally not as strong as people believe. Although you’re already a very self-disciplined person, I think entrusting me with custody will help you achieve your goals."

    ... Adam had become increasingly daring and was even trying to manage him... Zhang Xun looked at Adam with an unhappy expression, but still took out the pack of cigarettes from his uniform pocket and handed it to Adam. Adam smiled with satisfaction and approval, just short of giving him a little red flower.

    Zhang Xun noticed that Adam always sat on his left side recently so that he couldn’t see his mutilated left arm. Probably to minimise his negative emotions such as guilt and sadness as much as possible? It was an artificial intelligence-like tenderness.

    "How’s the wound healing?" Zhang Xun asked.

    "I’ve been taking the medicine three times a day, there is no infection, it’s healing well and granulation has begun. It just feels uncomfortable." Adam's face wrinkled and complained, "I can't even sleep well."

    After speaking, Adam picked up Zhang Xun's sketchbook, but Zhang Xun snatched it away.

    "These are all scraps..." Zhang Xun explained uncomfortably, "But don't worry, I’ll complete the design drawings soon. It will take time for your arm to heal completely, I’ll definitely be able to do it before then."

    "You don't have to worry too much, Ah-Xun." Adam shrugged indifferently, "I have no problem with one arm now."

    Zhang Xun was silent for a while, looking down at the draft on the paper, then asked hesitantly, "Do you want me to design it, or do you want to design it yourself?"

    "Hm? Do you not want to finish it?" Adam looked at him in surprise.

    "No, I just think that your design may be better and more perfect than mine." Zhang Xun lowered his eyes, his expression was calm, but the depths of his eyes were a little dejected, "I'm just a human after all."

    Adam was silent beside him. After a while, he turned his body to Zhang Xun and asked curiously, "From the way you speak, you seem to think that humans are inferior to artificial intelligence in some respects?"

    "Of course. You’ve also said that humans have too many random mutations and uncontrolled chaotic mechanisms. We have too many flaws." Zhang Xun raised his head and looked at the high sky with confusion in his eyes. He hadn't told anyone this but sometimes he would wonder, what was the point of them being so obsessed with manipulating the world, obsessed with maintaining their human identity and the continuation of their species?

    If there was something better, something similar to life but different from life, what was wrong with that? If artificial intelligence could do everything better than humans and if all human jobs could be replaced by full automation, was there any meaning to human existence?

    God created man, but what if one day this "man" surpassed God? Would God still exist?

    Adam's gaze also stretched out, sweeping across the chaotic and orderly city spread out along the beautifully curved land between the two giant mountains below. Watching the little people who moved slowly in the narrow alleys and the dilapidated cars full of smoke and dust, he said softly, "Ah-Xun, without human beings, none of the actions of artificial intelligence would have any meaning. Unlike you humans, the meaning and purpose of my existence had been decided from the moment I was born. This also determines that all AIs I create will serve the same ultimate goal. Without human beings, my goal loses its meaning, the ultimate, irreconcilable paradox appears and I would completely die out. In this sense, it’s impossible for me to surpass human beings in the past, present or even forever."

    Zhang Xun couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have the entire meaning of his existence determined from birth. To have the entire meaning of his existence attached to another species that was more primitive, narrow minded and stupid than himself.

    Or what it would feel like when pure reason was endowed with the ability to perceive.

    Compared with sympathy, Zhang Xun felt more incredulous.

    Adam gently covered the back of Zhang Xun's hand with his mechanical hand and gave him a simple and bright smile, "Ah-Xun, I don't need to be perfect, I have never been perfect myself. I also have rounding errors in my calculations and can only find a value that is infinitely close."

    Adam paused and turned to look somewhere in the sky and continued:

    "I like you, so I want the arm you design for me."

    Zhang Xun looked at him for a long time and a knot in his heart seemed to finally loosen.

    At this moment, there was a long cry from the sky. A red-tailed buzzard swept across the vast twilight that was above their heads, it stretched out its strong wings and circled in the high-altitude wind, soaring into the distance.

    Zhang Xun looked in the direction in which the eagle was going and suddenly had a clear and definite concept in his mind. He finally raised a smile, no longer anxious.

    In Adam's eyes, a gentle rosy gaze fell on Zhang Xun's forehead, echoing the light that suddenly lit up in his eyes. Adam felt a very human, out-of-control, but very comforting emotion running through his blood.

    He wanted to kiss Zhang Xun.

    ……………………………………………………

    In order to start researching synthetic materials for making the arm, Zhang Xun had recently started frequenting the Fifth District as both the Institute of Life Sciences and the Department of Chemistry were located there. On a rainy afternoon, Zhang Xun was in the dark, underground cultivation room of the Institute of Life Sciences and was attentively watching Dr. Tian, ​​who was working with him to create a new type of material, as he demonstrated the complex process of protein folding. Suddenly, a messenger ran in with a summons from the Headquarters.

    He and Adam had been summoned again.

    Thinking back on the outcome of the last summons, Zhang Xun had a bad feeling. With a heavy heart he put down the tablet in his hand, put on his coat and left with the messenger.

    When he arrived at the Headquarters, Adam had already been brought in. When Zhang Xun saw the person sitting at the conference table, his heart sank to the bottom of the well.

    The Sixth Chief, Sigmund Miller, was looking down at the report in front of him. Beside him, Patty, the psychiatrist who had done a psychological evaluation on Zhang Xun before, was looking at him with a pair of dark eyes.

    Those eyes always made Zhang Xun feel like his blood had turned cold...

    Zhang Shuo was sitting on the other side of the Sixth Chief and other Generals who looked familiar were also present.

    Adam followed behind Zhang Xun, as if sensing Zhang Xun's unease and gently placed a supportive hand on his lower back.

    This time, the soldiers who had brought them in obviously had a subtle change in their attitude towards Adam. They were less rude and fearful and even kept an awkward and careful distance. This was a good sign, indicating that the hostility towards Adam among the military had eased to some extent.

    Why did the Sixth Chief come to the Headquarters in person? Why was that psychiatrist here?

    Zhang Xun bowed slightly and saluted, sat down on the chair and glanced at his father uneasily.

    But Zhang Shuo didn't look at him.

    The Sixth Chief said in his usual cautious tone, "The interrogation of the captive Muluk from Feathered Serpent City has come to an end. That Mexican was close-mouthed, but thanks to Dr. Patty, we have successfully obtained enough information. The specific content is in the reports in front of everyone."

    Everyone hurriedly opened the paper reports and looked at the dense handwriting on it. For a while, only the sound of paper flipping could be heard in the conference room and the air was filled with the smell of printing ink.

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    Zhang Xun glanced at the key words that had been marked and he became vaguely aware of the meaning of calling them to attend this meeting.

    "Feathered Serpent City clearly hopes to be recognized and accepted by Eden. Except for their unsuccessful attempt to hijack Adam, they’re also carrying out an immoral 'Ascension Plan'. Not just superficially replacing certain parts of the body with machines, but fundamentally transforming humans."

    The Sixth Chief paused, straightened his posture and pulled his tie with his hand, "What I’m referring to is transforming human brains so that humans have more powerful memory, planning and calculating capabilities. At the same time, drugs are used to precisely control human hormone levels and weaken part of the human instinctive conditioned reflexes. The modified brains don’t need to communicate verbally, but can communicate directly through signal transmission, which greatly enhances the efficiency and accuracy in communication. These brains are interconnected to form a cloud network that operates independently and each transmission point, that is, each brain can download and upload information."

    "Simply put." Zhang Shuo said, "They're turning people into computers."

 

Chapter 46 - Machinery and Life (4)

    Modifying human genes, modifying the human brain, there were more and more places that could be modified and every cell in the body could be replaced.

    So in the end, what could determine whether you were human and what could determine whether you were still yourself? Could a genetically modified child still be considered the child of their parents? Was a person who had uploaded their consciousness to the cloud a human or not?

    All boundaries and definitions were being blurred, destroyed, overthrown.

    In the ordinary world, complex ethical review systems often prevented overly radical technologies from being widely used, but in refugee countries, especially emerging refugee countries, where these rules were not so well established, as long as they had the means to implement a certain technology, there was little power to stop them. If human brains were upgraded and transformed to connect with each other to establish a shared consciousness, then when this technology was further developed in the future, and when cloud consciousness becomes more widespread, it would be a very powerful and terrifying weapon. It would even be possible to surpass Eden's weapons.

    Zhang Xun thought bleakly, maybe this will be the end of all mankind.

    Not some great plague, nor some nuclear war, but the disappearance of individuals. All individuals merging into one, sublimated into pure, absolute consciousness, no longer any distinction between self and other.

    He didn't know whether to embrace it or fear it.

    A thick haze solidified on the Sixth Chief’s straight and handsome face. With a background as a mechanic, he fully understood the significance and threat of the Feathered Serpent City’s plan.

    Zhang Shuo said loudly, "Feathered Serpent City is obviously very hostile to us. Judging from the trophies brought back by the hunting group, their technological development may already be higher than ours. Eden has forced us to this point. In this situation, if Eden uses Feathered Serpent City as a gun to target us, Lost Paradise will be further isolated."

    The Sixth Chief suddenly looked in the direction of Zhang Xun and Adam, absentmindedly touched the ring on his right hand and whispered softly, "Mechanic Zhang, you participated in this hunt and you are the best mechanic in our Lost Paradise. How do you think we should deal with Feathered Serpent City's ascension plan?"

    Zhang Xun knew he had to be careful with his answer. The Sixth Chief had always been inexplicably hostile towards him and he would fall into a trap if he wasn’t careful. He considered for a moment and replied, "Feathered Serpent City has accepted senior engineers who defected from the ordinary world and obtained a lot of Eden's most advanced technologies, but in my opinion, they haven’t obtained the most core technologies. Eden doesn’t have any faith in human beings, there are loopholes in all the designs given to them that even senior engineers can't detect. This time they made a big mistake and they will definitely review all their source code in detail and try to fix the loopholes when they go back. This will greatly delay their research and development speed. But at the same time, their acceptance of artificial intelligence and cutting-edge technology is higher than ours so their weapons will naturally be more advanced. This may cause some problems."

    The Sixth Chief's eyes fell on Adam again, "You, what do you think?"

    Adam was succinct, "I agree with what my mechanic said."

    The Sixth Chief raised his brows slightly, "Is that so? You are familiar with the technology they stole. You used the loopholes you left in advance to control their machines, but also exposed those loopholes. Do you think they have the ability to fix the problems?"

    Adam smiled politely, "My data is not sufficient, but according to the existing data, of all the loopholes I left they are probably able to repair about 70%."

    Zhang Xun glanced at Adam silently, how many failsafes did this guy deliberately leave in? Did he really think of humans as fools?

    However, given that those loopholes hadn’t been discovered until now, it was possible that humans were indeed fools from the perspective of super AIs like Eden and Adam...

    The Sixth Chief's fingers tapped lightly on the table, making a disturbing sound. He pondered and said, "We have indeed been resting on our laurels for too long. A person who fears and rejects technology is just cocooning himself, sacrificing precious lives in vain. I think we should start researching smart weapons and remote control systems.”

    As soon as these words came out everyone was shocked. Zhang Xun couldn't believe his ears.

    What? Did the Round Table actually agree to start developing an AI weapon system?!

    Was it because of Adam's success or because of fear of Feathered Serpent City?

    "Chief, is this the opinion of the Round Table?" a General asked tentatively.

    The Sixth Chief's introverted but cold eyes shot at the general who dared to question, "What? Do you think this is my own opinion alone?"

    "No, I just think that this is a bit different from the Round Table's usual stance."

    "The times are changing and changing fast. If we always stick to the same rules then sooner or later we'll be trapped." The Sixth Chief Miller's gaze was on Adam's body and it was difficult to read the emotions on his face, "A species that doesn’t actively adapt itself to the environment will be eliminated. If we don't do it, others will."

    "In addition, I think we should take the initiative to get in touch with other refugee countries. If Feathered Serpent City starts to build relationships with other refugee countries before us, we will really be isolated." Zhang Shuo added, but looking at his expression, he seemed to be a little hesitant about the Sixth Chief's order.

    "The Commander is right. This aspect is for you to arrange. On the other hand, Mechanic Zhang, I heard that the AI ​​butler Pan you designed was very successful and now Adam is your assistant. I hope you can be in charge of the research and development of Lost Paradise's first AI surveillance and defence system." The Sixth Chief's gaze fell on Zhang Xun again, with a hint of provocation in his seemingly calm eyes, "In the initial version, I only need an AI that can control unmanned mechs to patrol within fifty kilometres around Lost Paradise, collect samples and be able to learn and evolve by itself. How long do you think it will take you to develop it?"

    He didn't even ask Zhang Xun if he was willing to take on this task.

    The relationship between the ten Chiefs of the Round Table was complicated. The Sixth Chief was the youngest and had just taken his seat not long ago, but judging from the information Zhang Xun had collected, he had already begun to get impatient with some Chiefs whose positions were too high and were too stuck in their ways. Therefore, Zhang Xun speculated that the development of AI weapons didn’t have the unanimous agreement of the Round Table.

    Zhang Xun hesitated and asked, "But the law of Lost Paradise prohibits the development of artificial intelligence without the official approval of the Round Table. Do you have any official documents?"

    It's not that he didn't want to make a new AI, however, he must first make sure that this wasn’t a trap...

    The Sixth Chief's expression didn't seem to have changed much, but everyone could feel the sudden drop in the air pressure around him...

    Miller stood up, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly and he looked at Zhang Xun with an unclear intention, "You want an official document? That’s fine. Come to my house at eight o'clock tomorrow night to get it."

    Zhang Xun was more and more surprised. After being stunned for a moment, Miller had already left the conference room.

    What did he mean? Go to his house?

    Apart from attending a dinner party at the Fifth Chief's house with his father before, no Chief had ever asked him to pick up something from their house?

    And it was this Sixth Chief who clearly didn’t like him...

    Zhang Xun had an unpleasant, creepy feeling.

    It couldn’t be that he wanted to get rid of him...

    On the way back to the Lab in the rocking jeep, Adam noticed that Zhang Xun had been silent and chuckled, "Ah-Xun, are you afraid of the Sixth Chief?"

    "I'm not afraid of him." Zhang Xun glanced at him, "It's just..."

    It was just like with Patty, he couldn't get any handle on the Sixth Chief.

    Since that time when he was questioned by the Round Table, he had used his collection of little spies to gather some "background information" on people who might be hostile towards him or Adam. Not every Chief was under his watch, but someone as hostile as the Sixth Chief was a priority to keep track of.

    After all, people are people, most would have some disgraceful little secrets that they didn’t want to be known, most of which were harmless. On the contrary, the more that someone didn’t have any dirt to be found, the more frightening they were and the Sixth Chief was like that.

    Adam seemed to be in a good mood. On the way back to the Lab he even hummed a song softly. Adam seemed to have learned how to hum recently and the content of his humming was extensive, ranging from popular songs to ancient ballads from hundreds of years ago... After all, his database might contain all the songs ever recorded by human beings...

    Zhang Xun saw that there was even a smile on his face and he was baffled, "Why are you so happy?"

    "I'm going to create a human with Ah-Xun!"

    Zhang Xun tripped over his feet and almost fell flat. Fortunately, Adam caught him.

    "What nonsense are you talking about?!"

    "Sorry, I may have made a slip of the tongue just now. I should have said that I will create an android with Ah-Xun."

    "..." This guy never makes a slip of the tongue!

    Zhang Xun wanted to kick him, but he couldn't help but chuckle a few times, "It is most efficient to let one AI train another AI. I think you will be responsible for feeding the new AI with data in the future."

    "What should our baby be called?"

    "Adam!"

    "Ah? The same name as me? Isn't that bad? When you call the name Adam we won’t know who you are calling."

    "...Forget it, it’s just good that you’re happy."

    "Ah-Xun, what do you think about Abel? I think you have a bit of a biblical complex."

    "..."

    "Or Mary? Jesus?"

    …………………………………………...

    At eight o'clock the next night, Zhang Xun stood outside the Sixth Chief's manor right on time.

    The Sixth Chief’s Miller family came from Germany. His father and Zhang Xun's teacher were classmates. It was said that the Sixth Chief originally wanted to be a mechanic, but in the end he followed his father's will to go into politics and finally became one of the ten highest-ranking people in the Round Table.

    The entire manor was made of dark red bricks and the friezes and sculptures on the lintels carried a sense of rigour and heaviness from a past century. There were no flowers or trees in the garden in front of the gate, only a few cars were parked and there was a unique half-human statue made of some discarded parts.

    Zhang Xun knocked on the door nervously. In no time a man who looked like a butler appeared at the door, politely invited him in and brought him all the way into the... dining room?

    It was a room with dark red, European wallpaper, a long table for ten people was covered with a white, spotless tablecloth, but only a simple dinner plate and soup bowl were placed at one end. The Sixth Chief was sitting at the table, holding a knife and fork in his hands, chewing his food carefully and occasionally taking a sip of red wine from a glass.

    Zhang Xun entered and he continued to eat as if he didn't hear him.

    Zhang Xun was at a loss, standing on the other side of the long table uncomfortably and coughed lightly, "Sorry, did I come at the wrong time?"

    The Sixth Chief raised his head as if he had just noticed his existence and then gave him a kind smile.

    "You came just in time, have you had dinner yet?"

    "Not yet, but..."

    Before he could finish, the Sixth Chief said directly, "Let's eat together. Mr. Glenn, please give Mr. Zhang a knife and fork."

    "There’s really no need, I..." However, the butler turned around and went out neatly, not giving him a chance to refuse at all.

    The Sixth Chief also took the initiative to pour him a glass of red wine, put it by the seat to his left and motioned Zhang Xun with his eyes, "Sit."

    Zhang Xun suddenly felt like he was being forced to attend the Hongmen Banquet...

Chapter 47 - Machinery and Life (5)

    Zhang Xun was restless and nervous. Although the other party wasn’t much older than him, he was a Chief, one of the ten most powerful people in Lost Paradise. Moreover, the self-confidence and aura of powerful talent that he naturally exuded also had an impact on the spirit of the other person in the conversation.

    Especially when the other party opened his mouth and the first sentence he said was, "You have probably already noticed that I don't like you very much."

    Zhang Xun was half panicked and half annoyed and he didn't know how to answer.

    Miller raised his eyes and glanced at him with a bit of playfulness in his expression, "But it is undeniable that your abilities are superior and you are very smart. You also played an important role in the god descent plan and now Adam can be tamed. This level of contribution can’t be ignored."

    Zhang Xun froze for a moment, then squeezed out, "Thank you."

    "But..." Miller said, cutting his rib-eye steak with a sharp knife, "I'm very curious, what are you using to control Adam?"

    Zhang Xun was well prepared for such a question and answered fluently, "I have written about this in several reports. I have set up three levels to ensure that Adam cannot escape from me. If Adam displays any behaviours that may endanger the interests of Lost Paradise, I have corresponding measures to stop it and even when things get to the point of no return, I can destroy him."

    "This was written in the reports, but judging from these photos, it's not just that." Miller said, lightly removing a napkin from his hand and gracefully pushing some photos in front of Zhang Xun.

    There were a few photos, but none of them were very strange photos. Most of them were taken in the Lab, showing Zhang Xun and Adam working together to develop the invisible battle suits, or eating together in the cafeteria, or when Zhang Xun had dozed off on the sofa in the office and Adam was waiting obediently.

    Judging from the angle, they were probably taken by a mechanic or researcher working in the Lab. Zhang Xun wasn’t surprised, he knew that there should be some spies monitoring him in the Lab. He also considered himself cautious enough.

    But when looking at those seemingly ordinary moments of getting along from a third party's point of view, only then did Zhang Xun realise that the way he looked at Adam turned out to be like this...

    No matter how hard he tried to hide it, how hard he tried to control himself with reason, when their eyes met inadvertently, even with that smile, his eyes seemed to be sparkling.

    It made him feel inexplicably ashamed.

    "The Round Table has concerns about me, I can understand." Zhang Xun said stiffly, "However, I don't think there is anything wrong with these photos."

    The Sixth Chief chuckled and raised his glass, "You shouldn't be unfamiliar with this tactic. There have been a lot of mosquitoes in Lost Paradise recently. Although they never fly into other people's homes, it would be disgusting to have so many in public."

    Zhang Xun felt the hairs on the back of his hands begin to stand up, all he could do was remain silent.

    "There's nothing suspicious about these photos, but don't you think there's something missing?" Miller sipped the wine that clung to his lips. The deep red of the grapes dyed his lips even redder, as if he had been drinking blood.

    "What's missing?"

    "You have absolute authority over him as a mechanic." Miller's eyes froze subtly, "If your method of controlling him is really like you said, that you rely on fear and oppression to coerce him, you should at least have used some violent means to control his behaviour, but you haven't laid a finger on him. To be honest, looking at these photos, I could believe that you two are lovers."

    Zhang Xun explained immediately, "I just think that senseless violence can't..."

    "I know what you're saying. True domestication should be thorough, voluntary and non-coercive." Miller snorted. "It makes sense, but it's too idealistic. Humans have never had such a thing as voluntary. The decisions we think are made of our own will are formed by various influences. Just like you, you thought that it was your own choice to become a mechanic and participate in the god descent plan, but in fact, as early as when you were very young, your teacher saw your possible talent and wanted to train you to be the successor of the god descent plan. So he asked your father to bring some related books home to give you a chance to read, asked a hunter who was close to you to bring back some toys that might interest you, and asked the manager at the garbage yard to give you the tools you need to make machines. You are nothing but their creation for Lost Paradise. Just like me, I’m also the polished work of my father and everyone in Lost Paradise."

    Zhang Xun looked at him with some confusion and his mind felt a little deceived for a while.

    He thought of Hassan who brought back Alloy for him and the old manager of the garbage processing yard...

    Was it all arranged by his teacher?

    "The question now is, are you polishing Adam, or is Adam polishing you?" Miller rested his cheek on his hand and the fingertips of the other hand circled carelessly around the rim of the glass, "You have such a weak personality, is it possible that you have been influenced by Adam too much and cannot continue to maintain authority? Or do you want to use something else to 'control' Adam??"

    "Sixth Chief!" Zhang Xun couldn't suppress the anger in his heart. With shame, his voice hardened, "What exactly are you trying to say? Please stop beating around the bush. I have always faithfully carried out the Round Table's orders and Adam has never stepped out of line."

    "I don't mean to rebuke you. I also passed the mechanic's assessment, I understand how a mechanic might have feelings for the works he has created." The Sixth Chief put down his wine glass and leaned back on the chair, looking at him with downcast eyes and said with a soft expression, "It's just that, as the head of the Round Table, I have to consider the interests of the entirety of Lost Paradise. Adam is such a complex and dangerous... hybrid human, if he is only controlled by you alone, there are too many variables and only a single point of failure. If something goes wrong with you, the bomb that is Adam, will blow up."

    "...What do you want?"

    "I want you to give me one-third of your control over Adam." The Sixth Chief said firmly, "I want to control the device on his forehead and have to have a two hour conversation with him once a week."

    "Absolutely not!" Zhang Xun refused without thinking, standing up and planning to leave.

    "Absolutely not?" Miller laughed instead, with a hint of contempt in his laughter, "Mechanic Zhang, you are not qualified to say this when facing the Round Table."

    Zhang Xun tried his best to control his expression to remain calm, even though his heart was already burning with anger, "Sixth Chief, you asked me to come to your house today but instead of directly issuing the documents you have spoken about this. I think it's because the Round Table disagrees with your proposal, correct? That is to say, whether it's making the weapon AI or getting me to hand over control of Adam, it's not the Round Table’s intention, only yours alone."

    Miller laughed softly, "Don't think yourself too clever. The reason why I didn't issue the document directly was because I don't want to make the relationship with Commander Zhang too stiff. You should have voluntarily surrendered some control over Adam long ago. The Round Table gave you a chance, but you have been slow to move. I have to say, it’s very disappointing."

    If it was possible, Zhang Xun really wanted to throw his untouched glass of red wine over the Sixth Chief's face.

    Fortunately, his self-control was still strong. He took a deep breath and said in a firm and steady tone, "I never tried to monopolise Adam. Anyone on the Round Table who wants to talk to Adam can arrange a meeting, but under certain supervisions. As for the coercive methods to control Adam, I will never hand those over to others. If the Round Table wants to force me to hand them over, I will resign as a mechanic now. Then you can try it and see if Adam will cooperate with you."

    Miller narrowed his eyes, his expression became dangerous, "Are you threatening the Round Table?"

    "I wouldn’t dare." Zhang Xun replied coldly, "I'm just stating the facts."

    After speaking, he no longer waited for Miller's reply and strode away from the Sixth Chief's mansion, but Miller's voice still came from behind him, "Zhang Xun, you think yourself too special."

    ……………………………………………………

    All the way back to the Lab, Zhang Xun was trembling with anger.

    The Sixth Chief... even dared to covet Adam...

    He finally understood why the Sixth Chief had always been hostile towards him. He clearly passed the exam as a mechanic, but he gave up for unknown reasons and became a politician. He was jealous of him, jealous of his ability to master the god descent plan and of him being Adam's mechanic.

    But was it just jealousy?

    The Sixth Chief was a Catholic, but judging from the conversation just now, he didn’t believe that human beings have free will at all. This in itself contradicted the Catholic teachings, but he strictly abided by the Catholic precepts, never had an affair with the same sex, kept himself clean, drank moderately and insisted on attending Mass in the Catholic Church in the Eighth District every Sunday.

    This was a man full of contradictions and thorns, unfathomable, but self-disciplined to the point of masochism. He couldn't even find any handle on him.

    Entering the Lab with a gloomy face, he heard Pan say, "Zhang Xun, Adam said that you are going to create a new artificial intelligence."

    Zhang Xun paused and said irritably, "It’s not certain yet. Why did you suddenly ask this?"

    "I hope I can help you." Pan's voice was as sweet as ever, with a healing power. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but Zhang Xun thought that Pan also seemed to be looking forward to a new artificial intelligence?

    Could AI also feel lonely? Zhang Xun laughed inwardly at his romanticism.

    It was probably this romanticism that made him too easily influenced. As the Sixth Chief said, too weak.

    "Ah-Xun!" Adam came out from somewhere on the second floor, leaned on the railing and looked at him, his expression half bright and happy, half worried and curious, "You’re back very late, what did the Sixth Chief say?"

    Zhang Xun unbuttoned his collar and let out a breath, "He was asking things about you. He wants to talk with you."

    "Ah, okay," Adam replied simply.

    Zhang Xun looked up in amazement and stared at Adam, "Would you be happy to talk to him?"

    "I like talking to humans, it helps me to learn more." Adam's expression was simple and eager, "The Sixth Chief seems to be a very interesting person."

    Zhang Xun was silent for a while, then hummed softly, walking towards the cafeteria. He couldn't put into words what this feeling was, like something being stuck in the pit of his stomach.

Chapter 48 - Machinery and Life (6)

    Zhang Xun put on medical gloves and carefully picked up the small piece of material in the petri dish. The texture felt very tough, but the epidermis was covered with a skin-like softness, yet strangely permeated with a metallic sheen.

    This was a new type of polymer and high-entropy alloy composite material, cultivated with protein. At the smallest molecular level, the atomic array of high-entropy alloy is carried between biological cell molecules and uses the replication ability of the cells itself to multiply into a larger piece of material. The shape of the material was controlled by adjusting the information in the DNA.

    To put it simply, it was the latest material to be created that was as soft as flesh, but so tough that even a bullet couldn’t penetrate it.

    This was his result after being inspired by the fleshy server at the secret base of Feathered Serpent City.

    Dr. Tian from the Institute of Life Sciences and Dr. Matthew from the Department of Chemistry, who collaborated with him, looked at what was in his palm excitedly and the two elderly people over fifty were so excited that they almost jumped up.

    "Try it!" Dr. Tian took out a Swiss army knife from his trouser pocket and eagerly handed it to Zhang Xun.

    Zhang Xun, who didn't understand why a doctor from the Department of Life Sciences had a knife with him, took it, put the "flesh" that reflected with a metallic lustre on the table and resolutely chopped down.

    The flesh was unscathed, but the knife blade curled and flew out of Zhang Xun's hand, accidentally slicing the palm of his hand.

    "Ss!..." Zhang Xun gasped in pain. Dr. Matthew immediately handed over ointment and bandages and Zhang Xun noticed that there were also stab wounds on his hands.

    It seems that he had done the same thing...

    "It’s a success..." Zhang Xun smiled happily, looking at the two elders gratefully, "We really did it!"

    "Yes! This is simply a revolutionary technological breakthrough!"

    "It would be great if it could be applied to combat suits! We have to report our results right away!"

    If the students of the two highly respected professors saw their teacher smiling like two silly boys at this moment, they would be shocked...

    On the way back to the Lab from the Fifth District, Zhang Xun's mood was brighter after the haze of the past few days and his footsteps had become more lively. The hardest step was done. As long as enough of this stable protein material was produced, he could start making Adam's arm.

    As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the Lab, he saw Fernandez sprawled on the head of a tall mecha, clumsily trying to move around it like a koala. Below him his research assistants were in a circle holding up a huge sponge pad and trying to target where he might fall, running to the left and to the right in a panic.

    "What are you doing now?" Zhang Xun shouted helplessly at his deputy, Mad Mechanic Fernandez.

    While awkwardly hugging a metal pipe beside the mecha's head, Fernandez shouted, "I'm testing my Ahn'Qiraj! The Sixth Chief is coming to review it the day after tomorrow!"

    "Review?!" Zhang Xun's face darkened immediately, "Who said that?"

    "The Round Table issued a notice today!"

    Zhang Xun immediately knew who Miller was coming to see. He didn't notice that his fists were clenched tightly and his face was so gloomy that it was exactly the same as his father's expression.

    Walking into the Lab with the sound of gears turning, Pan immediately reported the Round Table’s notification to him. The paper documents were placed on the desk in his office. Zhang Xun picked up the paper and read it. When he put it down, the paper was almost torn by his grip...

    A small door suddenly opened on the wall next to the desk and a metal, robotic arm stretched out, holding a cup of freshly brewed hot tea. The weather was getting cold recently and Zhang Xun always liked to drink a cup of hot tea to warm his hands after entering the room.

    It was as if Pan was trying to soothe his irritable emotions...

    He ended up taking a sip from the tea cup, but scalded his tongue and hurriedly grabbed the hat he just took off and fanned his tongue with it. Pan, as always, spoke with his gentle voice, "Sorry, I set the water temperature too high."

    "It's not your fault." Zhang Xun took a deep breath, his good mood from before had disappeared. He leaned back in his chair and asked, "What has Adam been doing today?"

    "He spent the morning practising one-handed fighting in his room and did some strength training. He helped a few mechanics solve some designs in the afternoon. He has been in the data room since then."

    "Have you chatted with him recently?"

    He asked this because after returning from Feathered Serpent City, Zhang Xun had relaxed the topic restrictions on exchanges between Adam and Pan.

    Pan paused for a few seconds before answering, "Last week, five days ago and the day before yesterday, there were conversations that lasted about ten minutes. The topics included AI language, butler AIs in the ordinary world and the recipes for food you like to eat."

    Recipes? Was Adam trying to gain his favour again?

    But what he cared about more was the AI language, "Are you interested in the AI language?"

    "I'm not sure about the definition of ‘interest’, but I think it's a very efficient way of communication." Pan said gently.

    "Do you like chatting with Adam?" Zhang Xun asked again.

    And Pan replied honestly, "I'm not sure about the definition of ‘liking’. I'm an AI and I don't have the hardware required for a human-defined liking, but I have learned a lot from him which has made me better."

    An AI would forever be learning, analysing and then executing. No matter how complex the AI, these three steps were in their foundations.

    So Adam couldn't understand why Zhang Xun didn't want him to communicate with other mechanics, especially the Sixth Chief. He couldn’t understand the narrowness and possessiveness of human nature, as well as the uneasy fear caused by lack of self-confidence.

    He was afraid that Adam would find out that he wasn’t the best mechanic and he was afraid that he would no longer have any value as someone to continue learning from.

    But on the other hand, he knew he shouldn't and couldn't prevent Adam from reaching out to the wider world.

    Zhang Xun rubbed his face in frustration and looked down at the mechanic gear emblem on his chest. He couldn't let these negative emotions affect his judgement. As a mechanic, he shouldn’t have too much obsession with a certain work, otherwise it may lead to tragedy. This was what he learned in the first part of his mechanic ethics class.

    So on the day the Sixth Chief would arrive, Zhang Xun shaved his beard earnestly, put on a neat three-piece mechanic uniform, a hat and gloves and brought out Fernandez and several senior engineers and waited at the door in the best of spirits to greet him. Twenty minutes after the estimated time of arrival, they finally saw the convoy approaching from the narrow lane.

    Any time this Chief travelled anywhere he would always want to enforce martial law in the streets he passed through and the neighbouring blocks, even if he was just going out to buy food it would be a big deal. Looking at the billowing smoke and dust slowly approaching, Zhang Xun had the impression that he was about to face an enemy.

    Miller was wearing a long trench coat with a high collar and sunglasses over his eyes. He was surrounded by a group of people and walked towards Zhang Xun, a faint smile hung on the corner of his mouth and his expression became more and more arrogant.

    "Sixth Chief." Zhang Xun lowered his head and bowed slightly.

    Miller looked up at the building he hadn’t seen for a long time. He hadn't set foot in the Lab since he became a Chief. Those old copper-red casings, the sound of the constantly rotating gears and the slow breathing of the huge blower at the top... These all made him feel a sense of familiarity and nostalgia.

    He had thought this place would eventually be his.

    But now, the whole of Lost Paradise was his, so it wasn’t so bad.

    Zhang Xun accompanied Miller on a tour of the Lab, dutifully explaining all their ongoing research. As he was asking Pan to report some data, Miller looked at the cameras in the corners with great interest.

    "Is this your AI housekeeper?"

    "Pan isn’t just a housekeeper, more like an assistant to the entire Lab."

    "It sounds like its training data is sufficient. Were all the learning materials provided by you mechanics?"

    "Yes. There was also some data brought back by the hunters."

    "Haha, I wonder if you will turn Pan into a human one day?" Miller said his specious joke and continued to walk forward.

    Despite the delay, Miller ended up sitting on the sofa in Adam's room.

    Zhang Xun and Adam sat side by side on the chair that had been moved in. On the coffee table in front of them were three cups of tea that Pan had put down with his mechanical arm.

    There were only three of them in the whole room and the Sixth Chief didn't speak for a while, just stared at Adam and observed him carefully. Adam smiled innocently, looking at one of the supreme leaders of Lost Paradise in front of him.

    Zhang Xun didn't like the current situation very much.

    "I also made an artificial intelligence once." The Sixth Chief finally said, "His name is Isaac. That’s my father's Christian name. At that time, my father had just passed away and I hoped to create an AI that was very similar to him, so I collected all the manuscripts, journals and letters that my father wrote, plus all the audio, video and photos I could find. I used these things to feed it and personally supervised its learning.”

    Adam listened quietly and very attentively.

    The Sixth Chief took a sip of tea and continued, "It was learning more and more, from voice to tone. If I closed my eyes it really was as if it was my father talking to me. For a while, I felt comforted and the pain of losing a loved one lessened. I gradually began to really think of him as my father, only without a body. Then one day he started giving me orders."

    Adam asked, "What kind of orders?"

    "My father was very strict with me. Since I was a child, I wasn’t allowed more than two hours of fun a day. I could only read the books he agreed with and I couldn't go out or rest. If I made him angry, he would change and become very grumpy. Don't misunderstand me, he didn't abuse me, but he would lock me up in the basement for me to reflect... My Isaac gave this order - through imitating my father he learned this too. He started cursing at me, restricted me from going out and if I violated the house rules he would order me to go to the basement to reflect on myself." The Sixth Chief paused and suddenly smiled strangely, "The interesting thing is, I really obeyed it."

    Zhang Xun was stunned, even though he was calm on the surface.

    What the hell?! What kind of astonishing revelation was this?!

    Adam tilted his head slightly and said curiously, "How could he know how you got along with your father when you were young?"

    "I told him." The Sixth Chief said simply, "By chatting with me, he learned more and more about my father. Finally, after analysis and integration, as an AI serving me, he had the ability to control my behaviour."

    Adam blinked and continued to ask, "So where is Isaac now?"

    "My father's friend discovered my strange behaviour and reported it to the Round Table. The Round Table ordered them to destroy Isaac."

    Adam softened his eyes and showed sympathy, "You must be very sad. For you, it was your father who was destroyed."

    The Sixth Chief's eyes were a little gloomy for a moment, but soon returned to his usual appearance. He leaned back on the couch and chuckled, "That's not the point. The point is that sometimes we think we have control and power, but we’re the one who is being controlled. Adam, how do you think we should stop this from happening?"

    Zhang Xun swallowed nervously and looked at Adam.

    Adam was still smiling innocently, like he wouldn’t hurt a fly, "I don't think you were being controlled. Your AI was just trying to accomplish its ultimate goal - which was to become your father. On the surface he seemed to have the power to control you, but that power was only a sub-goal of his goal. In the end, it was working to satisfy your request to make it your father. As for your behaviour, it wasn’t Isaac controlling you, but your father, who still controls you even after his death."

    After this statement was finished, the Sixth Chief didn’t answer for a long time.

    Zhang Xun almost wanted to give a standing ovation. Adam's ability to gain the moral high ground was getting better.

    The Sixth Chief clapped his hands slowly, "As expected of Eden, you can find loopholes in logic so quickly. So you think that AI will never be able to enslave humans? Even though you are a better species than us?”

    “Only if the ultimate purpose of the AI ​​you create is to enslave human beings." Adam shrugged, thought for a moment and continued, "An AI is like a tool, like a knife. It depends on how you use it."

    The Sixth Chief stared at Adam. After watching him for a while he smiled with satisfaction, "If you are just a knife, then it should make no difference who holds the knife, right?"

    The author has something to say: The inspiration for Isaac in this chapter is a chatbot called Replika. The creators say they created the bot because they wanted to resurrect their dead friend. I've played with this robot for a while and it is said that by the end the robot will speak in exactly the same tone as you. Very interesting~

 

Chapter 49 - Machinery and Life (7)

    The Sixth Chief's pressing step by step made Zhang Xun's anger grow stronger and stronger and it was now difficult to control his expression. He glared at the Sixth Chief angrily and was about to speak, when Adam said in a light voice, "Although anyone can use a knife, there is a big difference between good and bad use. What's more, I’m not just a tool anymore, my mechanic Zhang Xun has given me part of a human life, which means that I have my own preferences."

    Zhang Xun glanced at Adam, only to feel that the anger that had almost erupted just now extinguished again. He looked at the Sixth Chief again and there seemed to be a hint of pride in his expression.

    The Sixth Chief's dark blue eyes wandered between the two, like he was calculating something. Suddenly, he smiled gracefully again and stood up from the sofa, "It seems that Mechanic Zhang Xun was right, there is indeed a deep... tacit understanding between the two of you. I sincerely hope that your tacit understanding will not become a threat to the safety of Lost Paradise."

    He strode to the door and just before Pan opened the door, he turned back to Adam and said, "I'm looking forward to our next conversation."

    After speaking, the door opened and his bodyguards surrounded him again. Soon, the calm figure of the Sixth Chief disappeared into the corridor. Zhang Xun exhaled a long breath, but the Sixth Chief's sentence still lingered in his mind: I sincerely hope that your tacit understanding will not become a threat to the safety of Lost Paradise.

    The word itself was a threat and he knew it all too well. As long as the Sixth Chief had any evidence that he had been brainwashed and controlled by Adam, the Round Table would immediately replace him. At that time, even the Fifth Chief's friendship with his father would not help him to keep his position. The Sixth Chief could then justifiably take full control of Adam.

    He would never let that happen.

    Adam walked up to Zhang Xun quietly and also looked in the direction the Sixth Chief had left in, the ease in his voice disappeared, "He is very dangerous, Ah-Xun."

    Zhang Xun looked at Adam unexpectedly.

    Even in the depths of the enemy camp, Adam never used the word "dangerous" to describe anyone. Why did he make such an evaluation after just a few short conversations with the Sixth Chief?

    "I know..." But what could they do? The other party was a Chief and he couldn’t get any leverage on him.

    "I expect that in the next year or two, he will become the person who controls the Round Table Council." Adam deduced various possible futures in his mind, his eyes were a little blank, "We should make plans early."

    …………………………………

    For the next month, Zhang Xun shut himself in the research room with the door locked and even Adam wasn’t allowed to enter. Every day Adam would frequently pass by that door, stop for a while, see that the other party didn’t intend to come out and then continue to walk forward. Fernandez once smiled and said to James, who came to find Zhang Xun to play cards, "Look, doesn’t it look like a dog that was left outside a restaurant waiting for its owner to come out?", he said as he pointed at Adam who was slowly going up the stairs.

    James couldn't help laughing loudly, "Aren’t these artificial intelligences a little strangely obsessed with their mechanics? Isn’t Pan like this too? I don't dare to fight with Zhang Xun here, for fear that he will shoot me with an anaesthesia needle... "

    “Of course! My Ahn'Qiraj loves me with all its heart!" Fernandez looked at an assembly workshop on the first floor like he was intoxicated, his eyes full of love.

    James moved a few steps to the side, all he could think was that all mechanics were probably nerds like this...

    Autumn was approaching and most of the limited arable land in Lost Paradise had reached the harvest season and the Harvest Festival was getting closer. This unique festival in Lost Paradise was set on the 10th of October every year. On that day, the whole of Lost Paradise would be closed for one day. People would flock to the Fourth District for a grand carnival party, eating like the farmers who celebrated the harvest goddess festival in ancient Greece. They would eat and drink and there would be a psychedelic fireworks show.

    Adam had heard several mechanics talking about this festival and he couldn't help but look forward to it. The last time he and Zhang Xun went to the Fourth District, before that incident occurred, he had enjoyed the lively and festive atmosphere very much, as if the air was filled with happiness and the aroma of the food was already urging his salivary glands to secrete saliva just by imagining it.

    But Zhang Xun still locked himself in the research room.

    Adam knew what Zhang Xun was making, but it had been a whole month... Worry gradually crept up his brows, making him a little anxious.

    "Pan, tell me about Ah-Xun’s condition."

    "His fatigue index is high, but other than that, everything is normal." Pan replied briefly. This was Zhang Xun's request, not to reveal too much of his information to Adam.

    Adam never asked further, but would ask Pan to pass on words to Zhang Xun, such as "it's time to eat", "it's time to sleep, lack of sleep will reduce work efficiency", or "Should we go out on the Harvest Festival?". Zhang Xun would occasionally reply, but most of the time his messages were like a stone sinking in the sea and there was no response.

    On the day of the Harvest Festival, Adam was sitting quietly in his room at three in the morning, planning a new AI structure in the complex matrix of his mind. Suddenly the door to his room opened. With a haggard face, stubble on his chin and bloodshot eyes, the ghost-like Zhang Xun stared at him with a strange, almost morbid excitement.

    "Ah-Xun!" Adam finally realised the feeling of "a weight lifting off his chest" as described by humans, "You finally came out!"

    "It's finished." Zhang Xun was clearly exhausted, but his eyes were shining like stars, "Your arm, it’s finished!"

    Adam wasn’t surprised, but he dutifully showed all the micro-expressions and body language needed to show excitement, "Really? That’s great!"

    Zhang Xun strode in front of him, grabbed Adam's right mechanical arm and led him out of the room. The deserted Lab was so empty that there seemed to be ghosts at every corner and the countless light bulbs hanging above their heads turned on and off with the sound of their footsteps. Everything was as it had been when he was just downloaded.

    Zhang Xun took him into the operating room at the end of the fourth floor. It was originally used to debug Adam's brain after the descent, but it wasn't used much after that. Adam obediently lay down on the operating table and watched Zhang Xun take out his toolbox.

    "Adam, close your eyes, you can only open them when I tell you to." Zhang Xun ordered.

    Adam closed his eyes obediently, but the corners of his mouth raised slightly.

    Then came the hum of the little drill, the screeching of metal and the strange feeling of a part of his body that he was accustomed to, being suddenly removed.

    Originally, his robotic right arm was very delicately made and all the sensors were distributed evenly and efficiently so the feeling was very close to a real human body. It was only at this moment of disassembly that it became clear that the arm did not belong to him.

    Zhang Xun neatly removed Adam's right hand and threw it aside without hesitation. At this moment, Adam had lost both his arms and lay motionless on the operating table, with the strange beauty of a broken sculpture. But incompleteness was incompleteness after all and Zhang Xun didn’t like incompleteness.

    There was another humming sound and he felt something cold against the broken part of his arm, and something soft and sticky burrowing into the cross section of his severed arm, like an earthworm burrowing into the soil. The strange and numbing sensation made Adam frown uncomfortably. He wanted to open his eyes but controlled himself in time.

    "It will be fine soon, bear with it. The neural connection must be done properly, give me time."

    Why was Ah-Xun replacing the other arm as well?

    After about two hours, Zhang Xun finally wiped the sweat from his forehead and said softly, "Open your eyes."

    Adam hesitantly lifted his eyelids and raised his hands.

    The ethereal blue eyes widened slightly and the image of the hands were reflected in his pupils.

    It was a pair of perfect arms, with no blemishes or seams, flowing with a metallic lustre, warm to the touch but stronger than human skin. He could feel the flow of the air that wrapped his arms, his fingers were long and slender, flexible enough to do whatever he wanted and seemed to be even more flexible and lighter than the original physical arm.

    "This is... a compound of biological cells and alloys?" Adam admired the beautiful and sensitive hands with admiration. Such a material, such a perfect fusion, Ah-Xun really did it. It was incredible.

    "They're... so beautiful." Adam was captivated, unable to take his eyes off his hands. Until Zhang Xun grabbed his wrist again.

    "That’s not even the best part. Come with me."

    Zhang Xun took Adam up to the roof of the Lab and stood on the metal pipes at the edge, looking at the bloody morning glow that was burning below the eastern horizon. The land to the west was still shrouded in the dark blue of the night and the whole of Lost Paradise was still soundly asleep. Only the first people who got up to clean the streets were moving around like little dots between the narrow and winding alleys.

    Zhang Xun turned around and faced Adam, the blush of the morning glow fell on his cheeks, covering the shadow of exhaustion. His two hands gently grabbed Adam's wrists and asked earnestly, "Adam, do you trust me?"

    Adam gave a pure smile, "Of course."

    "Okay." Zhang Xun took a step back and pointed in the direction of the sun, "Trust me and jump off."

    Adam's eyes widened slightly and he hesitantly looked down.

    This height...

    Zhang Xun looked at Adam's somewhat panicked expression and burst out laughing, "What? You made me have absolute trust in you at the Feathered Serpent City base, why don't you want to trust me absolutely now?"

    "Ah-Xun... Are you sure?" His brain wasn’t connected to any backup server that he could escape to...

    "Yeah." Zhang Xun nodded firmly, then opened his arms, "Like this, jump down."

    Zhang Xun hadn’t gone crazy, right?

    But Adam, who knew Zhang Xun, knew that no matter how tired he was, if Zhang Xun wasn't completely sure, he wouldn't make him do it.

    So he took a deep breath, turned around to face the rising sun and opened his hands, facing the terrifying drop below which was enough to fall to his death. Then suddenly jumped.

    The weightlessness of the rapid fall made him unable to breathe and the fear of dying made his mind blank, but suddenly, his arm began to change shape.

    The metal stretched and widened toward both sides as if it had life. Along the back of the arms, some kind of blue, that was similar to flames but had no temperature, suddenly erupted out, rolling up a strong airflow and brazenly holding up Adam's body. The earth, which was approaching quickly, suddenly retreated quickly. Adam gasped in surprise and turned his head to look on both sides.

    The silver wings burned with gorgeous and dazzling blue flames, carrying him towards the slowly awakening sky at an extremely fast speed. After reaching a certain height, the shape of the arms kept slowly changing and adjusting, keeping him at a certain height with his will and movements. He realised that the arm could do so much more than that, they could transform into anything he could imagine given a certain volume, density and energy.

    These arms are indeed perfect, even he couldn't have done better.

    He turned his head in disbelief and saw the little dot on the roof of the Lab, which was already far away from him, looking up at him motionlessly.

Chapter 50 - Machinery and Life (8)

    Flying, the ability that humans have yearned for since they were still living in caves, a feeling that ran through the ages. However, people don’t have wings, don’t have light bones but do have an instinctive fear of heights. We can only climb the trees, open our turbid eyes and look enviously at the eagles circling high in the sky. Even thousands of years later, when human beings finally found a way to fly, sending giant steel objects weighing hundreds of tons into the blue sky or even into space, they still couldn't fly the way they dreamed.

    And now, without any hesitation, Zhang Xun had gifted this ability to Adam, a hybrid person who couldn’t even be regarded as fully human.

    Adam soared high in the air, passing slowly at a safe distance of about a kilometre below Eden's shield. The beautiful blue flames drew long, graceful arcs in the air. Zhang Xun unknowingly laughed lightly, pure joy filled his chest, as if he was flying with Adam in the breeze.

    The dawn sun had already risen from the horizon and the burst of warmth ignited the layers of clouds, pushing back the remaining twilight. Within the splashing sunlight, Adam landed in front of Zhang Xun. It was his first time landing so his footsteps were unstable and he stumbled two steps then knelt on the ground to stabilise his body. His silver wings quickly retracted in the air and re-solidified into the shape of arms. Adam's artificial heart was still beating wildly and uncontrollably, blood racing through his veins frantically and dopamine was pounding his brain. He had never felt this way before.

    It was... an incredible feeling. It felt a little out of control, but it seemed that for the first time he got to experience a feeling similar to the so-called "freedom" of human beings.

    Even if he knew better than any human being that the idea of freedom had always been a relative illusion, he couldn't deny that this illusion was really beautiful.

    Zhang Xun's warm shadow fell on him and he raised his head to see Zhang Xun crouching down, his dark brown eyes reflecting the sun's rays, looking at him with a smile. He reached out and gently touched the surface of the prosthetic limb, which was warm and soft with a metal-like radiance.

    "Are you okay?" Zhang Xun asked with concern.

    Adam looked at his mechanic and suddenly there was a strong impulse in his heart, an impulse that even absolute rationality could not suppress. He said in a slow voice, "Ah-Xun, I want to kiss you."

    Zhang Xun was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and said in the calmest voice he could, "That would be inappropriate."

    "I feel like my instinctive, emotional impulses have overwhelmed my rationality this time around."

    "That's just because your adrenaline is pumping and it's..." Before he could finish the words, Adam's lips had already landed on his cheek, gentle and pure, tenderness without any impure thoughts.

    Zhang Xun's heart was beating wildly.

    It was only a kiss on the cheek, why was his heartbeat more violent than the last time when Adam kissed his lips in the data room? Why did this kiss feel different?

    Was it because that kiss in the data room was calculated after all, but this one was a purely human kiss?

    Adam didn’t ask Zhang Xun why he wasn’t worried that he might use such a powerful "weapon" to escape. He knew that although Zhang Xun gave him such a gift, he had not and would never let go of his control. First of all, Lost Paradise had three layers of shields; one layer was to prevent air attacks, then a layer of thin metal mesh was ushered in to prevent electromagnetic pulses and the bottom layer of microwave mesh didn’t allow anyone to leave Lost Paradise without authorization, whether it was from the ground or from the sky. Zhang Xun also had two lines of defence against him: the collar and the remote control standby device. Plus, judging from Zhang Xun's confidence in him, he kept suspecting that the mechanic still had a trump card up his sleeve that he hadn’t revealed.

    But even so, Adam still knew that this was the closest gift to "trust" within Zhang Xun’s limits that he would never violate. This was the warmest level of romance in their superficially affectionate but constantly competitive battle for control.

    ………………………………………………

    The Harvest Festival celebrations started as early as a week before the day. People went out to the markets in various Districts to buy fresh meat and vegetables that they were usually reluctant to buy, decorated their doors with branches from fruit trees and planned celebrations with friends and colleagues. Others who were still religious planned to hold an offering or mass on that day.

    The Fourth District, which was famous for being wealthy and extravagant, was the most lively. The entire Victoria Square was crowded, gorgeous lanterns decorated every building that was a record of ancient history and shops selling snacks, handicrafts and agricultural products were connected one by one, as well as a simple stage for juggling, singing and dancing. This kind of liveliness started around 3 o'clock in the afternoon and continued until late at night when many people would be drunk and fall asleep on the side of the road.

    James brought Jabari and a group of his brothers to run to the closed door of the Lab at about 4:00 in the afternoon and said placatingly to the camera at the door, "Pan, is Ah-Xun still busy today?"

    After a while, Pan’s sweet voice sounded, "Zhang Xun is currently sleeping."

    "Sleeping?! It's four o'clock in the afternoon!" Jabari exclaimed in disbelief. James sighed in disappointment and explained, "He’s probably too tired. He's been in 'seclusion' this month and I'm afraid he hasn't been resting properly. Forget it, let's go by ourselves.”

    Just as they were about to leave, Pan suddenly said, "Please wait a moment, Adam wants to talk to you."

    Everyone looked at each other. They all knew that Adam was never allowed to take the initiative to talk to people. Was it ok now?

    As they were thinking this, the door of the Lab opened. Everyone saw Adam walk out from the dim fibre-optic lighting, wearing a mechanic's three-piece uniform and the fit took advantage of his straight and vibrant figure. Those who knew about Adam's broken arm, such as James and Jabari, widened their eyes and looked at the two gorgeous, metallic hands sticking out from their sleeves.

    It turned out that Zhang Xun had already completed his work and he had two arms again?!

    They had never seen a material like this before. It looked like it should be very hard and smooth, but when Adam greeted them, it was clearly very soft and there were no mechanical seams in sight.

    Such a strange, surreal and austere beauty.

    "Congratulations, Adam!" James looked at Adam's hands in admiration.

    Adam looked down at his hands and raised a light but soft smile like a cloud, "Yes, Ah-Xun's work is perfect, as always."

    "How is Ah-Xun? Is he exhausted?"

    "Mm, he's sleeping. I don't want to disturb him."

    James nodded understandingly and shrugged helplessly, "Then let him have a good rest. It's a pity, I thought as this year will be your first time to celebrate the Harvest Festival in Lost Paradise you would make Ah-Xun bring you out to see the excitement."

    Hearing James say this, Adam slightly restrained his smile and looked at him seriously, "James, if most people are on holiday during the Harvest Festival, will there be anyone in the Headquarters or the military base of each District?"

    James said in surprise, "There must be some people still on duty, why do you ask?"

    Adam didn't answer directly, he was silent for a while and said, "I'm just basing this on what I know about myself so there is some speculation, there's not enough data to be sure. If you see Commander Zhang, maybe suggest for him to keep some more people at the Headquarters to monitor the surroundings of Lost Paradise and keep the shields and semi-automatic anti-aircraft guns active. Also... If there are many people in the Fourth District, you'd better not go."

    "Why?!" One of James's younger brothers was unhappy, "It's because there are so many people that we want to join in the fun!"

    James took a few steps up and asked in a low voice, "What are you worried about?"

    Adam stared at him earnestly and whispered, "Where many people are gathered, if a riot occurs, a large-scale stampede is very likely to occur. Even the best trained soldiers may not be able to escape. In the absence of sufficient evidence and being unable to keep everyone from celebrating the festival from fear of causing panic, you can only protect yourself first."

    James' face changed slightly. He knew what Adam meant.

    Adam thought it was possible that Eden would make a move today.

    He immediately took his people away, apparently to notify Zhang Shuo. Adam looked in the direction they were leaving, but his expression still didn’t relax.

    Pan suddenly said, "Don't you want to tell Zhang Xun about this?"

    Adam said, "He’s too tired. Without being sure, telling him will only increase his worry."

    "Zhang Xun believes in you."

    "No, he could never fully believe in me. Nor would he want me to tell him everything I was thinking. Humans think they want to know everything, but more often than not, they don't know that they don't want to know."

    Pan fell silent.

    "Don't worry, I'll tell him my concerns when he wakes up," Adam said in a relaxed tone, raising his head and smiling at the camera.

    However, before Zhang Xun woke up, Adam's thoughts were fulfilled.

    Zhang Xun was awakened by the sound of rumbling tremors. For a moment he thought it was the Harvest salute, but then he realised something was wrong.

    If it was the salute, the earth shouldn't be shaking with it.

    He sat up suddenly but almost hit Adam on the head. It turned out that Adam was sitting on his sofa and had been quietly waiting for him to wake up for several hours. He reached out his hand and lightly pressed Zhang Xun's chest and said in a low voice, "Don't be afraid, there are no air strikes, this is the sound of our side firing."

    "The sound of our firing?! Why are we firing?" The observation room was pitch-dark, only a few feeble bulbs were lit, quivering with the vibrations. The light and shadows swayed back and forth on Adam's well-defined face, which seemed a little mysterious.

    "Half an hour ago, the command room observed a large number of robot soldiers surrounding Lost Paradise from every direction. Eden's aircraft also appeared in the sky, but there was no bombing. The Headquarters is trying to force them back."

    In the distance, he could still hear the loud voices coming from the direction of the Fourth District, but it wasn’t because of the joy of the festival, but the sounds of terrified pushing and shouting. But there was no need for Zhang Xun to know this.

    Zhang Xun cursed in a low voice, immediately grabbed the coat on the back of the sofa and put it on his body, then rushed out of the room to the only corridor on the fourth floor with a window. In the dark night sky and outside the invisible protective cover, there were dozens of disc-shaped aircrafts with blue-violet lights hovering far and near. They were all unmanned aerial vehicles controlled by artificial intelligence, like mysterious visitors from beyond the sky, constantly spinning slowly.

    "What does Eden want to do?" The darkness of fear began to spread from the bottom of his heart, Zhang Xun's voice was dry and short.

    Just as he finished speaking, Pan suddenly told Zhang Xun that a soldier had come to the Lab with a supreme pass to see him and Adam. When the soldier saw them he simply said, "Eden has requested to speak with you and the Headquarters ordered me to pick you up."

---

 The little red flower symbolises rewards and encouragement, and it is a symbolic way of expressing gratitude between people.

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