Chapter 116
Si Chen felt that Turing’s routine was a bit unoriginal.
He himself had often used this trick in the past, but at a higher execution level. For one, he would never so blatantly speak about it; letting the other party find out quietly.
Mercy is a good thing. On a small scale, he got a couple more pieces of meat from the cafeteria auntie; on a big scale, the boss of the arcade turned a blind eye to the fact that he gets twenty or thirty dolls every time he comes to play the crane game, allowing him to earn enough for one month’s living expenses at a time.
Sympathy, a high-level emotion, can only be felt when one is sufficiently fed and clothed.
It could be seen that Si Chen’s life has indeed been on the up.
So much so that he had begun having such emotions.
The body in front of him was too tall. Si Chen hesitated for a moment and hugged Turing’s waist.
He originally thought it would be akin to hugging a cold piece of iron, but this body was actually warm.
He heard Turing say, “Thank you.”
…
Si Chen opened his eyes the next second.
Above him was a ceiling made of metal. The time displayed on his watch was 6:57.
For a moment, he felt entirely too aware of this feeling of being awake.
Si Chen’s expression went puzzled “…Was that a dream?”
To be honest, because of his preconceived impressions, he actually did not doubt that he truly had seen Turing last night.
But he really should be more cautious.
What if it had been some electronic ghost wearing a Turing skin who tricked him into going to the suburbs, when it then dismembers him… then Si Chen would be in a whole world of trouble right now.
At 7 o’clock on the dot, the closed metal door opened.
Si Chen changed his clothes and followed the flow of people out into the corridor. All the talk that reached his ears were about the referendum.
“We can finally turn off Turing! I have no idea how we managed to survive this past 20 years!”
“But what will we do about the supernatural disasters?”
“There’s nothing we can do about the supernatural disasters, is there? At worst, we can hide in the dormitory at night. I heard that those things don’t move during the day…”
From a distance, Si Chen saw Zhao Zixin waving to him.
Among the adult male Carolian who were all less than 172cm tall, the two of them, who were over 180cm, looked particularly conspicuous.
Si Chen made his way towards him and leaned in close.
Zhao Zixin lowered his voice, “About shutting down Turing, this happens every time the world restarts. They start to regret it around five years after the vote. Before, these Machines managed to last for a while. Later, more and more people began to disregard the rules. There are always some who aren’t afraid of death and don’t realize what they are doing.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Is there a way not to turn off Turing?”
Itjb Il ujnf j ylaafg rwlif. “P atbeuta jybea atja veglcu atf rfmbcv gfrajga. Dea atf olcji nbalcu gfreia kjr jybea 62:38. Ktf ujq kjr abb ylu. Obcu-rajcvlcu mbcmfqar mjccba yf gfnfgrfv lc pera j ofk vjsr. Ktf Mgffvbw Crrbmljalbc wjcjufv ab julajaf atf qfbqif yfmjerf atf alwf kjr glqf; gewbgr jcv qeyilm bqlclbc kfgf ublcu atflg kjs. Lewjc yflcur jgf pera vloofgfca gjmfr atja mjc ufa abufatfg. Rba tjgv ktfc atfs tjnf atf Zjmtlcfr ab eclaf jujlcra.”
The patrolling robot supervisor seemed to glance their way.
Zhao Zixin immediately stopped talking. He waited until he reached the carriage and then whispered, “Don’t let them know you’re from the outside world. You’ll be treated as a ghost and executed.”
As he said that, Zhao Zixin shuddered.
Although the robots here are all subservient to the Carolians, as long as someone is judged by the system as a “high-dimensional intruder”, they will act like emotionless murderers.
“In recent years, there have been fewer and fewer ‘outsiders’ like us. Not all of us have died from supernatural disasters.”
Si Chen: “I think I’ve got most of it. But I still have a question. How did you spend the thirty years before?”
Zhao Zixin’s eyes widened. “You’re asking me. I was going to ask you.”
Si Chen thought for a moment. “I hid underground.”
The other party immediately cast an admiring look. “I went to the shelter. It was the scraps left over when the Carolians made the Nuwa. The last few years, I would have died of frustration. The only reason I didn’t go crazy was because I had a Machine to talk with. I would rather stayed in the Safe Zone for thirty years. At least I would have had food to eat.”
The train arrived at the school as scheduled.
Si Chen followed the flow of people out of the carriange and as per force of habit, went to his classroom yesterday.
To his surprise, he found that the teacher had changed today. Yesterday it was a male-looking robot, but now it was a female.
Judging from the surprised expressions on the surrounding students’ faces, it seemed that this kind of change was not common.
After a while, He Rui walked in through the door. He looked like he hadn’t slept well and was in a daze.
The members of the Freedom Association were taking advantage of the time before class starts to paint a picture of a Machine-free utopia to their classmates. They called Turing’s control an “out-of-control Machine” and called for extra effort.
The robot teacher paid them absolutely no mind.
Zhao Zixin whispered, “This is the limitation of the Mahcines. They’re too dull. They simply act according to their program. They don’t understand the significance of such propaganda. So long as humans do not violate the prohibitions and do not conflict with their programs, they won’t pay attention to anything.”
If the Turing of now were allowed to manage these Machines and humans, the outcome probably wouldn’t be as tragic.
But back then, Turing was indeed just a super intelligence limited by its programming. He’d been created to fight, not to manage.
“Just how did the Freedom Association come about?”
Zhao Zixin’s face was a complete blank. “I don’t know. It was already there when I got in. I heard it’s been around for many years.”
On the stage, members of the Freedom Association were giving powerful speeches: “…We have been controlled by Machines for too long! We made the Machines to serve as our tools. Now, they’ve turned the tables on us and they have become our masters. In fact, the supernatural disasters are nothing but a conspiracy perpetuated by the Machine to keep us as docile as sheep!”
In the audience, Si Chen and Zhao Zixin, the two outsiders, said nothing. He Rui suddenly slammed his first on the table and stood up. “No!”
In an instant, everyone’s eyes focused on him.
He Rui’s voice was scratchy. “…I stayed at school last night and encountered ghosts.”
The classroom suddenly fell quiet.
Yesterday, He Rui was still a staunch non-ghost believer. No one expected he’d have such a change of heart today.
“You encountered ghosts?” The person on the podium sounded puzzled. “Then doesn’t this further prove that we don’t need such extreme protection provided by the Machines? Didn’t you survive the encounter with the ghosts?”
He Rui said, “The robot teachers protected me.”
The person on the podium asked: “Doesn’t this further prove that we do not need AI control, so long as the Machines continue to serve us?”
The school bell cut short their argument.
Si Chen found that the content of today’s textbook had changed.
The focus has shifted from mechanical maintenance to “how to save yourself in the event of a supernatural disaster.”
Zhao Zixin gave a “Huh” and whispered, “I haven’t seen this before.”
In the first two rounds, the content of the textbook did not change. It had all been about mechanical principles and maintenance.
Si Chen: “In the first two rounds, the referendum results were the same. But Turing’s response was different. I think, it must be making attempts.”
Try to figure out how to save the Carolians in the Safe Zone.
Si Chen took advantage of recess to visit the classroom next door.
He found that the content of their textbooks had also changed. Looking at the courseware, the progress of each robot teacher was the same.
It’s 11:58 a.m. and it was soon to be lunch break.
The lesson had reached the last page.
“Beginning 29 years ago, supernatural disasters began to occur during the day. Turing used isolation equipment to identify specific human activity areas and prescribed a daily schedule. This schedule is still implemented today.”
The schedule, accurate to the minute, popped up on the tablet.
The expressions on most people’s faces were very disapproving.
At 12 o’clock, class ended.
The robot teacher had already prepared lunch boxes. Walking in, it was distributed to every student.
Today’s lunch actually included fried chicken legs and braised pork. The fried chicken legs had crispy skin and the fatty juices oozed out with every bite.
Si Chen missed the Eternal Life Abyss a little bit.
Although they hadn’t seen each other for only a couple of days, Si Abyss hadn’t had time to eat before he entered the Space Fold.
If Si Chen guessed correctly, his body should be in a coma. The Eternal LIfe Abyss was probably worried.
He didn’t want to stay in the Space Fold for thirty years, even if it was just thirty years in his mind.
While eating, a faint scream suddenly came from the direction of the sports field.
There were no windows in the classroom. Si Chen put down his bowl and chopsticks and went directly to the playground.
A lot of people had gathered in one corner of the field.
A man had fallen to the ground, his face looking very ugly.
The robot school doctor helped him up. “What’s wrong?”
It activates its prosthetic eye and began a scan. It found that the Carolian was whole and unharmed.
The student turned to look at the people around him and then at the school doctor. “I, I…I hit the air wall around the school field.”
This wall has always been there, invisible to the naked eye. It surrounded the school to prevent students from running rampant.
“The air wall doesn’t hurt. Why are you screaming so loudly?”
The student visibly flinched. “I hit the wall and found…there’s someone outside the wall.”
The people near him were stunned.
Si Chen took a couple of steps forward. The field was wide and open, with colorful flower beds outside. It created a pleasing scenery.
He raised his hand and touched the wall.
With his fingertip as the center of the circle, ripples began to spread out.
A black screen with a radius of several meters appeared in front of him. Pale-faced people stood beyond the wall, including old people and children. Their figures were all gray, white and black, like characters in a silent film.
Their eyes were looked vicious and they looked at the people inside without hiding with unconcealed greed and hunger.
This scene only occured for a moment. Soon, the original nature scene was restored on the wall.
Even though he had been mentally prepared, Si Chen couldn’t help his heart from trembling.
This was an instintual response from the body. He had fought and he knew what danger was.
The nearby students all backed away in fear, their tails exploding behind them like a frightened cat’s!
Most their tails were covered in fur, only the tails of juveniles and a few with genetic diseases were hairless.
He Rui rushed out and shouted, “I wasn’t lying – it’s true! It’s true!”
The playground grew extremely quiet.
Members of the Freedom Association responded quickly, “Who doesn’t know that these walls are controlled by the main system? This is Turing’s doing.”
But this time, there were obviously fewer people supporting him. Everyone was still immersed in shock.
There were also the brave few, who imitating Si Chen’s example, touched the surface of the barrier.
The high-dimensional creatures outside the barrier made to bite down fiercely but unfortunately for them, they were like dogs trapped in a cage.
“Do you feel it?” Si Chen said to Zhao Zixin, “This barrier and the Space Fold barrier seem to be the same.”
The difference was that the Space Fold barrier protected the people outside.
The barrier here protected the people inside.
Ugh…. So they are trapped like a rabbit in a furrow
Now they are fish in aquarium
Thank you for your translation 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
There’s no way Turing is losing the vote this time. Thanks for the chapter!
这就叫吃硬不吃软 :p