"Dad …"
Pep felt that his father was particularly different today. Although he was usually frowning, worried, and even unfathomable, his father seemed particularly solemn and indifferent today, as if there was an invisible layer of blood armor tightly wrapped around him.
For a moment, Pep even suspected that the man before her that seemed to be enshrouded in darkness and scarlet was not her father but the cruelest creature that could be found in countless galaxies.
The girl took a step back and stammered, "Just … Just because of that? Just because Shanuya has awakened self-awareness and wants to know who it is exactly? Isn't that the question that everybody wants to know? Every child has to figure out who they are when they grow up! "
"Others might be able to, but the Void Hunters can't. That's because they're simply too large, and the power they control is far too dangerous. Once they figure out their own destiny and develop independent thoughts, it's extremely likely that … the consequences will be unimaginable.
Her father said coldly, "For thousands of years, countless gory lessons have taught us that we cannot be too vigilant when dealing with the Void Hunters. That is why we established the 'Dream Control Bureau' and came up with all kinds of methods of mental scanning and consciousness testing to form multiple defenses. The most central and critical of all the defenses is its name.
"You may not know this, but ever since our ancestors encountered the first Void Hunter in the depths of space and 'exploded', all the new Void Hunters that were born were named 'Shanuya'. The name naturally refers to the brutal and heartless king in 'The Thousand and One Nights', and it is a metaphor for the fate of all of us. Just like Shaluzard, the prime minister's daughter, and all the other girls who live under the king's palm, our life and death depends on the 'king's' mood, and the king's mood depends on the stories we provide. Only by providing fresh stories and sincere emotions can we survive the torturous nights one after another and usher in the day of hope.
"When a brand-new Void Hunter is' reborn 'from its tentacles and begins its journey of life again, its nervous system is relatively simple and does not give birth to enough intelligence. In fact, if it were not for the stimulation of the unexpected factor that is human beings, the Void Hunters would never need the so-called' intelligence 'and live well in the universe.
"Regrettably, we humans need the Void Hunters to grasp a certain degree of intelligence so that we can better … cooperate with them so that they can grow, jump, roam, consume, and destroy according to our will. After thousands of years of hard work, all kinds of methods to stimulate the growth of the Void Hunters' neural network, including the secret techniques to communicate and control, are very mature. Shanuya and all its' brothers and sisters' are all products of artificial intervention and enhanced stimulation.
"However, we do not need the Void Hunters' intelligence to be too mature and powerful. We do not want them to learn the darkest things deep inside the human brain in deep communication.
"In other words, we hope that the Void Hunters can maintain the intelligence of four or five years old, or at most seven or eight years old. It would be too — too dangerous if their intelligence exceeds that of ten years old.
"A child of four or five years old might not be curious about the origin of their name, but a child who can understand the meaning of 'Shanuya' and express clear disgust definitely has intelligence beyond that of a seven or eight or even ten years old. Also, from the fact that they named themselves' Happy Prince 'on their own, it is obvious that they have a strong personality, if not uncontrollable. That is why we have to arrange for them to be' reborn '."
"Just … Just because of the name?"
Pep listened in bewilderment, feeling that the whole world had become twisted. She wanted to laugh to ease the absurd atmosphere, but her laughter sounded like sobs. "What danger could there be? I mean, even if Sanuya knew who it was, what did it matter? Even if its intelligence develops to the level of an adult in their twenties or thirties, so what? Aren't we friends? We are close partners who have fought side by side for thousands of years because we need each other! We can't treat our friends and partners like that, can we? "
"Remember, my daughter, always remember that there has never been any 'friends' in the dark stars before your eyes," Dad said coldly.
Dad said coldly, "There are only prey and hunters, or rulers and their slaves."
Pep subconsciously hugged her arms. The girl felt that it was so cold.
"Besides, even if we are willing to treat it as a friend, what about it?"
Dad asked back. "After it understands everything and masters the strength that is getting stronger every day, is it willing to treat us as friends forever, to contribute selflessly for us, and to serve as our towns, warships, and mines?"
"Of course!"
Pep replied without any hesitation. "Shanuya is very kind. It will never change!"
"Don't be silly, Pep. It will change. Everything will change. Human beings have been utterly deformed since they came to the center of the universe from Earth, and all the species that are floating and struggling in the sea of stars are undergoing drastic changes every moment for survival, too."
Dad sighed and said, "Right now, Shanuya is like a seven-year-old child. From the age of seven to the age of thirty to the age of seventy or eighty, nobody can tell how many changes will take place in a person's mind. Also, it is so powerful that it will only need a slight flip or an unexpected four-dimensional 'stab' to destroy our entire fleet. Nobody dares to take such a risk. Nobody dares to entrust the lives and future of billions of people in the fleet to the trust of a little girl and a giant octopus.
"Even more critically, Shanuya's intelligence level will not stop at the age of thirty or forty of human beings. No, it has far more neurons than human beings. Even if the growth pattern of the neural network is rather primitive, after our intervention and stimulation, there is no telling how terrifying the fire of consciousness will be when the 'neural network of the Void Hunter' and the 'thinking pattern of human beings' collides. If there are no restrictions, its intelligence may be improved infinitely until it is ten thousand times smarter than the wisest human being.
"A monster that is ten thousand times smarter than human beings, with the strength to shatter stars, and the ability to perform a four-dimensional jump freely in the sea of stars, will become the most terrible life form since the birth of the universe. Or rather, it will be the eternal doom of all mankind!
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