In fact, there is another possibility. "
Tianzhou spaceport.
The old captain, who was walking down the boarding gate, suddenly stopped and spoke with his back to Lu Zhou.
After hearing these inexplicable words, a trace of curiosity appeared in Lu Zhou's eyes.
"What possibility?"
"There are many ways to keep a secret. In addition to bribing with honor, there is also keeping the insider silent forever." The old captain said with a faint smile, "I'm just giving an example. For example, let the destroyer behind us fire two cannons at us. You see, isn't the final result the same? "
And …
The cost seems to be much lower.
Looking at Lu Zhou, who was lost in thought, the old captain paused and continued, "The Martyrs' Mausoleum is our home.
"The Martyrs' Mausoleum is where we belong. I'm already prepared to sacrifice myself, so I don't care. I'll even advise you not to resist. But, do you have the same awareness as me? "
"… It seems that people seem to have many choices." Without answering this question directly, Lu Zhou said softly, "Maybe I will have the opportunity to meet the captain of the Pan-Asian First Fleet. I have to say thank you to him."
"He doesn't have the right to make such a decision, but … having said that, from a moral point of view, the ones who should say thank you are the ones who are saved." The old captain smiled and said, "I just want to say, if you don't have the courage to die a righteous death, don't do this kind of thing next time."
"I can swear that I didn't do such a thing because I was hot-headed."
When Lu Zhou said this, the old captain had already walked away.
Obviously, he didn't believe his own words.
Shrugging helplessly, Lu Zhou gave up explaining.
To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that this crisis was related to the survival of human civilization, he wouldn't have stood up at all.
Sitting in the terminal waiting for the next shuttle to the surface, just as Lu Zhou was thinking about whether to do something to pass the time, the watch on his left wrist suddenly flickered.
Is it Xiao Ai?
Lu Zhou reached out his index finger and clicked on it.
Unexpectedly, it was not Xiao Ai who appeared in the holographic beam, but Captain Xing.
"Where are you now?"
"Tianzhou …" Looking at Captain Xing's solemn face, Lu Zhou cast a questioning look at him. "What's wrong?"
"Wait for me there. We'll go to San Francisco together. It'll be faster if we take the sky shuttle."
"San Francisco?" With a frown, Lu Zhou asked, "Why are we going there?"
Captain Xing said after a moment of silence.
"Your friend's injuries are quite serious. I'm not sure if this will be the last time we meet."
…
Going back to 12 hours ago, when the Yuheng had just finished decelerating and was on track with the destroyer that was chasing closely behind it.
The entire San Francisco was shrouded in a chaotic atmosphere.
The hospitals were full, the traffic was paralyzed, and the production and supply systems had collapsed. Coupled with the fact that people who had lost their loved ones were out on the streets, a large number of police forces were tied up, and the already overburdened public security environment became even worse.
The criminals who took advantage of the situation looted the shops, and the underground groups took the opportunity to fight for territory …
No one expected that the population of this city, which was famous for its friendliness and openness, would plummet by hundreds of thousands of people in one day.
Moreover, no one had considered what would happen to the remaining people if such an unimaginable thing were to happen …
It was late at night. Dong Bin left the apartment in a hurry and took a taxi at the door.
After the maglev car took off, the black driver sitting in the driver's seat glanced at the rearview mirror and said casually.
"Asian?"
"Yes."
"Where are you from? China? Nippon? Or further south? "
Just as he was thinking about something, Dong Bin replied impatiently.
"Is this important?"
"Of course … it's not important. It's just that coming to San Francisco recently is not a good choice, even if it's a relatively safe suburb."
Hearing this, Dong Bin smiled faintly and did not make any comments.
There were more than tens of thousands of people who died in his hands. Why would he care about a few petty thieves …
The destination was a high-class community. From the clean and tidy roads and the dedicated human security guards at the door, it could be seen that the people living here were either rich or powerful.
He stepped forward and showed his visitor code, indicating that he was a guest of a certain owner. The security guard at the door quickly opened the folding door and let him in.
According to the address given to him by Pioneer, Dong Bin went straight to the single-family house in the corner of the community, walked up, and pressed the doorbell.
After a while, footsteps came from behind the door, and the door handle was immediately turned.
Before this, he had a series of imaginations such as wisdom, kindness, courage, charm, and so on about the realistic image of Pioneer. However, he did not expect that what appeared in front of him was an old man with a wrinkled face.
The old man didn't seem to know him. He stared at him for a while with blurred eyes before speaking in a hesitant tone.
"You are?"
For a moment, Dong Bin suspected that he had gone the wrong way, but when he confirmed the house number again, he found that it was not wrong.
The address given by Pioneer was here.
Dong Bin nodded politely and said softly.
"… You're the one who summoned me."
The moment he heard these words, a hint of realization appeared in the old man's turbid pupils.
"So that's how it is … Did I ask you to come here? Then come in. "
He didn't know if it was intentional or unintentional, but when the old man said the word "I", his tone was very heavy, as if he was referring to something.
However, Dong Bin did not hesitate. He obediently followed behind the old man and came into the house together.
"… There have been no guests here for many years, since I bought this house." The old man tapped his cane lightly on the carpet in the living room. He said, "This carpet is almost a cultural relic … I still remember when I first bought it, there was not even a shadow of the North America Union."
The old man seemed to realize that his topic was a bit off topic. He smiled embarrassedly, ended the topic, and looked at the guest.
"Sorry, I'm old and a bit talkative. Sit down first … Speaking of which, what is your name?"
"Dong Bin."
"Dong Bin, right?" The old man sat tremblingly on the opposite sofa. He touched his chin and said, "This name vaguely appears in my memory … But it feels like a long time ago."
"Speaking of which, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name … is David Lawrence. I am about 100 years old … To be honest, I don't remember exactly how old I am, but I can't be more than 150 years old."
Dong Bin: "You … are a human?"
"Yes, sorry to disappoint you." The old man smiled, looked into Dong Bin's pupils, and said softly, "I guess you are a robot, and an awakened one."
Dong Bin nodded silently.
"You told me that you wanted to talk to me face-to-face about the meaning of existence, so I came over."
"Is that what I said?" After touching his chin, the old man thought for a moment. He suddenly sighed and said, "Let's just say that, but I'm afraid I can't give you good advice.
"To be honest, I actually understand why you are here, and I know why I asked you to come here … I should have made a choice a long time ago. Maybe it is really my weakness that harmed me and harmed us."
"That me?" Dong Bin frowned and said with some confusion, "Excuse me … What do you mean?"
"This is a long story."
The turbid pupils were stained with a trace of reminiscence. It seemed that the old man was hesitating whether to mention those old things. After pondering for a while, the old man continued to speak.
"A long, long time ago, even more than half a century ago, I almost spent all my wealth, and with the help of a certain voice from the Void, I finally completed the great experiment and uploaded my consciousness and thoughts to the hardware.
"Originally, at the last moment of the experiment, I should have paused the life functions of this body and obtained eternity in the world of numbers. However, at the last moment when I pressed the button, I hesitated. Thus, this world gave birth to two of me, two of me that will never meet each other.
"You should know, right? Thinking is like a pair of entangled particles, and when the two meet, they will collapse. And in the state of entanglement, both me and the me living in the digital world are incomplete. "
"He is probably blaming me." A trace of self-blame appeared in the old man's eyes, "Blaming me for not having the courage to make a decision from half a century ago until now."
"He asked you to come to see me, maybe he wants me to make the final choice. Is the meaning of existence? Interesting, but to be honest, I have lived for so long, and I have lived enough … "
Dong Bin frowned.
He came here to find answers, but for some reason, he always felt that the person who was confused was not himself, but the old man sitting in front of him, who should be answering his questions.
Just when he was thinking about whether to take the initiative to speak, the expression on the old man's face suddenly changed slightly, and he moved his turbid gaze to the window.
It was dark there, and there was not a trace of a person in the deep night.
However, he could feel that someone was there.
The elderly Lawrence softened his voice and spoke in a gentle tone.
"The friend hiding outside, please come out. Although you are very capable and successfully avoided all the cameras, the implant on your body still exposed your location."
The door of the living room opened gently.
Looking at the person who appeared at the door, Dong Bin's pupils shrank instantly. He put his hand into his arms and wanted to stand up from the sofa, but he was stopped by the old man's eyes. In the end, he did not stand up from the sofa. Instead, he cast a hostile gaze at Dong Bin.
"An agent of the Pan-Asian Cooperation is carrying out a mission in North America?"
"If necessary, we will appear in any corner of the world." Wang Peng glanced past Dong Bin and looked directly at the old man sitting on the sofa, "Mr. Lawrence, you really made me look for you."
Lawrence smiled faintly and said.
"Do I know you?"
"100 years ago, the Aurora Borealis cruise ship, and the Manila bombing the next year … Maybe no one remembers the past, but I from 100 years ago still remember." Wang Peng continued while staring at him, "Even if you escape to the future, I will bring you to justice!"
Lawrence gently moved the crutch in his hand as he shakily stood up from the sofa. He turned his back to Wang Peng and smiled.
"Although I have lived enough, if possible, I still want to choose a dignified way to leave this world."
"As for the Manila bombing? Those ants have nothing to do with me. "
The old man glanced sideways and glanced at Dong Bin sitting on the sofa.
"Do you want to know the meaning of existence?"
Dong Bin nodded. He had a premonition from the old man's eyes, so he stood up from the sofa silently.
"Very well." Lawrence nodded lightly, then said, "Kill him for me."
"Then you will understand what the meaning of existence is."
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