Li Yao said solemnly, "We found a lot of vegetative patients soaked in medical cabins in the inpatient area outside. Were they the patients?"
"Yes," Liu Wenshan said.
"I've asked all the seniors. Their experiences were exactly the same as mine. When they were working on a certain important research project, they worked day and night without eating or sleeping. With the help of the virtual cabins, the holographic helmets, and the grand-unified Spiritual Nexus, they broke the limits of their brains time and time again and exploited the potentials of their brain cells. In the end, they were mentally deranged and passed out. When they woke up, they were already in the Spiriters' Realm.
"Lei Yuqin simulated the environment that was similar to our hometown or our workplace in the Spiriters' Realm. She even simulated our family members. Our job, on the other hand, was to study the many projects that Lei Yuqin brought to us. Some of us have been studying them for decades."
Li Yao was surprised. "If you knew that it was the Spiriters' Realm and everything you saw was illusionary, why did you cooperate with Lei Yuqin and help her with her research?"
With the most painful and absent-minded expression, Liu Wenshan mumbled, "There are many approaches in the Spiriters' Realm that you don't understand or can imagine at all. Naturally, Lei Yuqin had all kinds of ways to tempt and coerce us to cooperate.
"Most of the time, she did not need to coerce us at all, because research was our natural instinct. Everything was fake when we were trapped in the Spiriters' Realm. Although most of our needs could be satisfied, such satisfaction was too feeble and even more painful than a life sentence. What was really meaningful other than research?
"Besides, most of the projects that Lei Yuqin proposed had been solved. Many of them boasted whimsical, amazing ideas that we had never heard of before. They were beyond the technological limits of the Federation and even the Imperium. They were too attractive for us!
"The special environment of the Spiriters' Realm also gave us an illusionary sense of security. Or rather, it allowed us to deceive ourselves. Although we knew that Lei Yuqin could monitor our every move, we would still gather and discuss the projects in secret rooms that seemed to be 'empty'.
"In the most extreme cases, if anyone showed too much resistance, Lei Yuqin would throw them into a special Spiriters' Realm. It was a silver, ball-shaped space less than two meters in diameter. It was as smooth as a mirror without the slightest gap. No sound could be heard, and no colors other than silver could be seen!
"Everything in the Spiriters' Realm is virtual. As long as Lei Yuqin is willing to, she can completely deprive us of our sense of hunger. Think about it. A person who has lost the sense of hunger, cannot hear, see, or touch anything, and is floating in a silver, ball-shaped cage that is less than two meters in diameter. There is no telling how long they will be sentenced. Five days, ten days, one month, half a year, or perhaps forever. What kind of cruel torture is that?
"At this time, if a research topic suddenly appears in the spherical space, as well as everything needed to complete the topic, then, other than starting the research, what other choice does the subject have?"
Li Yao silently thought about this punishment. The more he thought about it, the tighter his teeth became.
Whoever came up with such a method of torture was too dreadful!
Liu Wenshan shuddered hard and said, "I was thrown into a silver cage once. After spending about … five days inside, I couldn't stand it anymore and was willing to compromise on anything. After all, it was to study the loopholes of the crystal processors of the Imperium and the ways to seize the starships of the Imperium. It would not do any harm to the Federation at all. So, I comforted myself and cooperated with Lei Yuqin obediently.
"It hasn't been long since I was trapped in the Spiriters' Realm. I can still keep part of my consciousness, but many of the seniors who have been trapped in the Spiriters' Realm for decades have cooperated with Lei Yuqin sincerely. Some of them even joined Lei Yuqin's side from the bottom of their hearts and became real members of the Spiriters' Realm!"
"Why?" Li Yao asked.
With a bitter smile, Liu Wenshan said, "It is very easy to lose yourself in the Spiriters' Realm and blur the boundary between 'reality' and 'illusion'. I haven't been trapped here for long. Although Lei Yuqin simulated my family, I know that they are fake, and my real family is still waiting for me outside. I still want to escape.
"But many seniors have been trapped in this place for decades. They have spent decades with the fake family simulated by artificial intelligence and have worked hard to build the Spiriters' Realm for decades. Every flower and every tree in this place may have been calculated, modeled, and rendered by them. They have long been melted into the Spiriters' Realm and become part of it. For them, the Spiriters' Realm and the family simulated by artificial intelligence are the only reality. The world outside is no longer important!"
Li Yao was silent. He recalled the vivid Wei Qingqing, Long Yangjun, and Ling Xiaole in the second Spiriters' Realm that Professor Mo Xuan constructed.
It was true that if he was trapped in a Spiriters' Realm and faced with artificial intelligences that looked exactly like Ding Lingdang, Jin Xinyue, and the rest of them, he would realize that they were all illusions in a day or two.
But what if it was ten years, thirty years, fifty years, or forever?
Could the artificial intelligence that had lived with him for thirty to fifty years in the face of his family and according to his family's behavior and speech habits really be called 'fake'?
Li Yao took a deep breath and dropped the dilemma for now. Changing the topic, he asked, "What are you working on?"
"The specialists in the Spiriters' Realm are divided into different research groups," Liu Wenshan said. "Their work mainly revolves around the Spiritual Nexus, crystal processors, and artificial intelligence.
"Some of the groups are working on the war network of the Federation and the Imperium, studying how to sneak into and even paralyze the battle network of the two parties. Some of the groups are trying to create more powerful crystal processors so that our own computational ability and deduction ability can be improved to a higher level. As for the research group that I'm in, it is in the field of artificial intelligence. We are developing the most powerful artificial intelligence in the entire Federation so far. It is even more advanced than the artificial intelligence of the Imperium!"
Li Yao slightly frowned. "More advanced than the Imperium? How is it possible?"
"I didn't think it was possible at first, either," Liu Wenshan said. "After all, the Imperium is a superpower at the center of the cosmos with a lot of technological heritage. It is impossible for us to catch up with them in a short amount of time.
"However, Lei Yuqin has brought tremendous files incessantly. Many technical difficulties have been solved by her. I've seen the artificial intelligence on the starships of the Imperium that we captured ten years ago, but they are all dwarfed by what Lei Yuqin has brought.
"The Federation and the Imperium are both civilizations of mankind. We also have the gift of Kunlun. The technological gap between the two parties is huge after all. Based on the latest files provided by Lei Yuqin, we naturally made tremendous progress!"
Li Yao and Long Yangjun looked at each other. They could not have been more surprised.
It did not make sense!
Even if Professor Mo Xuan was really behind it, the limits of Professor Mo Xuan's technology were the limits of the Federation's technology. How could he have grasped the crystal processors, the Spiritual Nexus, and artificial intelligence technologies that were even more advanced than those of the Imperium?
"When I joined the 'virtual research team', they had already developed quite a few brand-new super artificial intelligences," Liu Wenshan said. "Their official name is' Quasi-Intelligent Virtual Combat Telepathic Thoughts Amalgamations'."
Li Yao bulged his eyes. "I've heard of the name before. It is also known as' old grandpa 'in the outside world. It seems to be for educational purposes."
Liu Wenshan smiled. "Yes. Some people call it 'old grandpa', too. However, educational? Hehe. Any brand-new technique or technology will be applied to the military field first when it is just born before it is gradually spread to other fields.
"If an 'old grandpa' can search and analyze the environment on its own and carry out complicated education and inheritance assignments, why can't it be used in battles?
"Therefore, in the Spiriters' Realm, the code name of such artificial intelligences is not 'old grandpa' but 'Deviant Spirit'!"
"Deviant Spirit …"
Pondering over the plain name, Li Yao couldn't help but feel creeped out.
Liu Wenshan continued. "Deviant Spirits can be divided into two categories: 'intelligent spirits' and 'fighting spirits'. Intelligent spirits are used to sneak into and control the Spiritual Nexus without alarming anyone. They can also simulate the image and even the habits of many people on the Spiritual Nexus. When an intelligent spirit takes over the Spiritual Nexus and talks to someone through a spiritual crane messenger, that person will not be able to tell whether it is a real person or a fake one at all. Fighting spirits are pure battle-type artificial intelligences. Once they control the battle puppets, starships, and even the mainframe crystal processors of the space fortresses, there will be dire consequences!"
Li Yao's eyelids twitched. He asked, "How many … Deviant Spirits have you produced?"
Liu Wenshan shook his head and said, "I came too late to participate in the production of most of the Deviant Spirits. Therefore, I don't know the total number. The regular Deviant Spirits that were involved in real-time calculations must've been countless. There was also a super Deviant Spirit that seemed to be used to seize the control of the main-force warships. I think there were seventeen of them. Yes, that's the number.
Seize the control of the main-force warships …
Li Yao swallowed and asked, "Then, where are your companions and the Deviant Spirits right now?"
"I don't know."
Liu Wenshan replied dutifully, "Last night, most of the people and the Deviant Spirits in the test disappeared in batches. Only a few of them stayed to work. They were all new to the Spiriters' Realm just like me. They were still resistant to the Spiriters' Realm and the identity of the Spiriters, and they were still attached to the real world."
Li Yao and Long Yangjun looked at each other in bewilderment, their hearts sinking.
The most dreadful thing had happened.
This place was indeed Professor Mo Xuan's nest and the production base of his secret weapons.
But they had been one step too late.
The 'battle shells' refined from the bodies of a thousand Cultivators of the Combat class, the souls of countless specialists adept at crystal processors and the Spiritual Nexus, and the mysterious' Deviant Spirits' had all been on their way!
No wonder they did not encounter much resistance when they barged in. As it turned out, the place was already empty.
What was the target of Professor Mo Xuan and his army of Deviant Spirits?
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