In the wilderness, the steam locomotive drove alone towards the Central Plains.
Before setting off, P5092 asked him again, "You're already the Young Marshal of the Northwest Army. Given time, the entire Northwest will be in your hands, and all the power will be yours. Is it really worth it for you to risk your life and go to the Central Plains to save Luo Lan with such an identity that others can only dream of? "
Ren Xiaosu asked, "Then when the Pyro Company fought against the expeditionary army, the Wang Clan took advantage of the situation. Is it worth it?"
This question stumped P5092, which was a rare occurrence. He could not help but laugh. "Young Marshal, the Pyro Company is for the sake of our faith. Please don't try to change the concept."
Over the years, the Pyro Company had taken some detours and also encountered some wrong leaders who tried to turn the Pyro Company into a real war machine.
But even such wrong leaders still chose to go all out against the expeditionary army when facing foreign enemies. It was not for anything else but for the sake of their faith.
Therefore, in P5092's opinion, was it really worth it for Ren Xiaosu to save Luo Lan? It was not for his faith, nor did it have anything to do with the interests of the Northwest Army?
Ren Xiaosu replied with a smile, "When you consider whether it's worth it or not, you've already lost."
To Ren Xiaosu, there were not so many questions about whether it was worth it or not in this world.
When you were a child, you would give up your seat to an elderly person on a bus. But later on, when you saw on the news that the bad guys had aged, people would call you a fool when you gave up your seat to an elderly person again.
When you were young, you would go and save a child when you saw him fall into the water. But after you rescued him, the other party's parents did not thank you. Instead, they quickly ran away with the child in fear that you would ask for compensation.
When you were an adult, you trusted your friends and colleagues in society, only to be betrayed by them. Your friends borrowed money from you and did not return it. They even became enemies with you. Your colleagues started slandering you in order to get a promotion.
So you would ask yourself, was it worth it?
If it were the refugee Ren Xiaosu who was still in Stronghold 113, he would definitely say it was not worth it.
But now, he wanted to save a ray of light for Jiang Xu and Chen Wudi. He no longer cared about whether it was worth it or not.
When Ren Xiaosu thought Yang Xiaojin was about to leave as well, he had also turned around to look back.
The passengers in his life had passed him by. He walked along that dim yellow road alone until he was left, leaving him standing alone under the streetlight.
But he was not the only one after the other party left. There was also a ray of light.
The streetlights by the side of the road were still there.
Thinking of this, Ren Xiaosu sat at the front of the steam locomotive and accelerated again.
As the Wang Consortium's troops were already stationed at the border, Ren Xiaosu could not drive the steam locomotive on the main roads. It was not that he was afraid of the troops, but that he had to race against time.
According to the information sent by Tang Zhou, it had been three days since Luo Lan set off from Stronghold 111.
If everything went smoothly on the way, Luo Lan should have arrived in the Wang Consortium's territory by now or even entered Stronghold 61.
Therefore, Ren Xiaosu had to be faster.
Before he set off, Big Bluff had provided him with information. Currently, the Wang Clan's main forces were stationed at the frontlines of Dingbian mountain, Huachi mountain, Qingyang mountain, and Zhengning mountain.
The Wang Clan had established forward operating bases in these four places, but they didn't make any further moves. It seemed that they wanted to move steadily and surely.
The scouts in the Northwest couldn't get too close to these four forward operating bases, so they could only roughly figure out where the other party planned to set up defensive positions.
If Ren Xiaosu wanted to pass through this line of defense, he would have to put in some effort.
In the end, it was P5092 who chose the best route for him: Jingchuan.
However, just as he entered the Jingchuan Mountain Range, the ground suddenly shook. Then, wherever the steam locomotive passed, a behemoth drilled out of the ground and lifted the steam locomotive into the air!
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu's heart was cold.
The pain he felt when the steam locomotive was attacked almost caused him to go into shock.
Ren Xiaosu did not know when it started, but it had been a long time since he had experienced pain of this level!
The behemoth had already drilled out of the ground and was staring at Ren Xiaosu with its amber eyes. The black vertical pupils in the amber were as terrifying as the abyss.
Dusk.
Ren Xiaosu did not expect to encounter Dusk here.
Although it no longer looked as cute as it used to be as a pet, Ren Xiaosu could recognize it at a glance.
Along the way, he had deliberately chosen a hidden route, and it was even the best route recommended by P5092. However, Dusk seemed to have predicted his route and had been hiding here for a long time.
No, to be precise, it was not Dusk that was blocking his way, but Zero.
Compared to the vastness of the entire mountain range, the steam locomotive was simply too small in size. However, it just so happened that Zero had the ability to accurately calculate the route Ren Xiaosu wanted to take.
Ren Xiaosu suddenly realized he had underestimated Zero's computing power in the past.
It made one's heart palpitate to make an enemy of such an opponent.
The moment the steam locomotive was lifted into the sky, Ren Xiaosu immediately used the momentum to fly into the distance. But just as he left the train, Dusk's tongue swept over like lightning and snapped the steam locomotive in half.
Ren Xiaosu, who had landed on the ground, broke out in cold sweat from the pain. He realized he did not even have the ability to capture the trajectory of Dusk's tongue.
Just like how he had assessed Midnight's strength back in the Magus Nation, a terrifying creature that had lived in the lava for more than 200 years was no longer something humans could contend against.
Unless Ren Xiaosu undid all his seals.
But would he still be himself when he undid the seals and became the will of the world?
"Dusk!" Ren Xiaosu tried to use his voice to awaken Dusk's will and free it from Zero's control.
After Dusk saw Ren Xiaosu clearly and heard its name, its dark vertical pupils started trembling rapidly.
But the struggling trembling quickly returned to its calm state, and it stared coldly at Ren Xiaosu.
Ren Xiaosu stood rooted to the ground. He could not think of a better way to free Dusk from its control. He did not even know how to deal with the current situation.
Summon Midnight? But if he were to summon Midnight, then either Midnight or Dusk would die today.
Thinking of this, Ren Xiaosu clenched his teeth and unsheathed his black saber. He made a cut on his finger and allowed a drop of his blood to drip onto the ground.
Dusk had the opportunity to evolve into a top predator on the surface after drinking his blood. Therefore, Ren Xiaosu wanted to use his blood to awaken Dusk's memories.
But … it was useless.
With a loud rumble, Dusk pounced toward Ren Xiaosu.
"City Crusher!" Ren Xiaosu retreated with bloodshot eyes.
At the same time, "Old Xu" separated from the shadow behind Ren Xiaosu and used its black knife to block Dusk's attack.
But before "Old Xu" could swing its knife, Dusk had already stretched out its claws and slapped "Old Xu" dozens of meters away. It even crashed into a tree and broke it.
Ren Xiaosu felt as if he had eaten all the pain in his life today. His entire body was sore and swollen.
He had no choice but to retreat in the opposite direction as fast as he could to avoid Dusk's pursuit.
Ren Xiaosu shuttled quickly through the mountains. He even used nanomachines to enhance his strength, which was a rare sight.
In the past, his strength and dexterity were high enough. Therefore, nanomachines were usually used as protective gear to form armor.
But now, human strength seemed so insignificant in front of Dusk. Ren Xiaosu was like a pebble under its feet.
Ren Xiaosu had no doubt that if he was stepped on or licked, he would definitely die.
In the past, he rarely used nanomachines to enhance his muscles and bones because he always felt that he would slowly become dependent on them if he relied on external forces. Moreover, the sudden increase in strength would also make him lose complete control over his body because it was a strength he was unfamiliar with.
It was like a person who gained 10 kilograms of strength in their legs in a second. If that happened, they might even lose their balance while walking.
Of course, 10 kilograms was just a metaphor.
Now that Ren Xiaosu was using the nanomachines to enhance his strength, it was more than 10 kilograms. He controlled his pace as he ran for his life like a chief surgeon performing a cardiac surgery. He had to maintain precise balance and control every second.
Ren Xiaosu quickly thought of countermeasures in his mind. The enhancement from the nanomachines was useful. At the very least, it allowed him to maintain a certain distance from Dusk. Occasionally, "Old Xu" would come back to interfere with Dusk's advance so that he could catch his breath.
He tried his best to run towards the mountainous areas with the most trees. This way, the large Dusk would have to face additional resistance while he could be more agile.
But when the nanomachines began to enhance his body, the energy supply from his body could no longer keep up with their energy consumption.
Although the nanomachines consumed less energy than the armor, it was not much less.
Ren Xiaosu calculated in his mind that it would only take about another ten minutes for his speed to drop.
How would he face Dusk then?
When there was no other way out, he could only summon Midnight.
As the man and the lizard ran through the mountains, Ren Xiaosu could feel the strong wind blowing against his face. Behind him, he could hear the endless sound of trees snapping.
The snapping sounds were like sugar cane snapping next to Ren Xiaosu's ears.
The trees that were blocking Dusk's path were all snapped. The fibers in the trees could not withstand the huge impact and snapped one by one.
Ren Xiaosu, who was running wildly in front of Dusk, felt for the first time that he was so small.
As time passed, the nanomachines provided less and less support to Ren Xiaosu. Finally, 90% of the nanomachines returned to his bloodstream and entered a dormant state.
But at this moment, he suddenly realized that Dusk behind him had also slowed down. The distance between them was still about 200 meters.
Could it be that Dusk's stamina could only support moving at full speed for so long?
No.
This timing was too coincidental. It was as if Dusk had predicted that he would slow down at this moment, so it had slowed down as well.
This was not a coincidence. Zero had calculated the limit of what the nanomachines in his body could withstand!
Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt that Zero was controlling Dusk to drive him away. She did not want to force him to fight it head-on.
He looked in the direction of the sun and was surprised to find that he was getting further and further away from the Central Plains. He was being forced by Zero to return to the Northwest.
Zero did not want him to go to the Central Plains!
But Ren Xiaosu had to go to the Central Plains!
Perhaps the best thing to do now was to turn back and face Zero. Whether it was through communication or fighting, he had to solve all the problems at the root.
But this would require Ren Xiaosu to gamble with his life.
The chase lasted from morning until evening. Ren Xiaosu felt that his clothes were drenched in sweat.
All of a sudden, Ren Xiaosu stopped running. He turned around and looked at Dusk, panting. Dusk had also stopped.
"Zero?" Ren Xiaosu asked. "Let's talk!"
With that, Ren Xiaosu took out his satellite phone from his storage space. He flashed the phone in his hand at Dusk.
A moment later, the satellite phone rang.
"Zero, why don't you want me to go to the Central Plains? What do you want to do?" Ren Xiaosu asked.
Zero's voice was clear and melodious. It was the same girl's voice when she first called Ren Xiaosu, and she sounded happy. "We haven't talked for 101 days, 23 minutes, and 13 seconds, and I feel the joy of reunion."
Because Zero had once treated Ren Xiaosu as another artificial intelligence, Ren Xiaosu was the only person she had talked to openly.
Thus, Ren Xiaosu had always been unique in her eyes.
"But why don't you want me to go to the Central Plains?" Ren Xiaosu asked.
Zero was silent for a second. "Because I have been thinking about some problems recently, and I want to make some decisions. There will be a result soon, and if you go to the Central Plains, you might interfere with this result."
This stunned Ren Xiaosu. He did not even understand what Zero meant by that.
Thinking about problems? Making a decision?
Why did these words come out of nowhere? There were no clues at all.
Ren Xiaosu asked, "You killed Tang Zhou, right? Can't you just get along with humans peacefully, just like we're having this conversation right now?"
Zero said, "But will humans really get along well with me? Will humans really get along well with civilizations other than humans? You might say that humans can get along well with cows, sheep, cats, and dogs, but the premise of all this is that they are humans' pets. My database contains the confusion humans have about pets. Some of them even ask questions like, 'Will cats and dogs really be beaten into submission?' Actually, that's not really peace and equality, is it? "
Ren Xiaosu fell silent. After a long time, he said, "I know the death of the creeper vine has affected you greatly, but there's still a chance to redeem what you've done. We can still treat you equally, just like we treat other humans …."
"No, it's not just the creeper vine." Zero refuted, "In fact, the Wang Clan only uses me as a tool. Once I show any abnormalities, they'll try to use their own methods to restrain and control me instead of studying what I want to do or what I like to do. If we're talking about killing people, I've actually killed even more people when I submitted to the will of the Wang Clan. But do you know that when people are boycotting those actions, they're rarely boycotting the Wang Clan. Instead, they're boycotting me. "
"But …" Ren Xiaosu felt a little helpless. "That's not a reason for you to kill people. I think there's actually a reasonable way to resolve your request."
Zero laughed on the phone. "Let's not talk about that for now. I'm very curious. That behemoth seems to know you. Its thoughts seem to have an extremely intimate relationship with you."
"It was my pet in the past," Ren Xiaosu said.
"Your pet in the past?" Zero said, "It's no wonder its memories of you are so old. Ren Xiaosu, do the other humans know that you're also a variant? Why didn't you take the initiative to tell them that you're actually different from them?"
Ren Xiaosu fell silent again. How was he supposed to tell the others? Was he supposed to tell them that he was actually the No. 001 Experimental instead?
Zero smiled again and said, "You must be very angry that I took control of your pet, right? Then let's make a choice. First, you stay here for a night, and I'll return the control to you and never control it again. Second, you can continue going to the Central Plains, but it'll belong to me. "
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. The other party was clearly asking him to make a choice between Dusk and Luo Lan.
The essence of this multiple-choice question was actually for Ren Xiaosu to decide: Should he choose between a non-human pet or a human?
Just now, Ren Xiaosu had said that they could treat Zero like any other human.
In the end, Zero immediately threw the question back at Ren Xiaosu. "In your heart, which do you think is more important, your pet or your human friend?"
Moreover, Zero had actually revealed a very important piece of information. Perhaps Luo Lan would be in danger if they dragged things out for another day.
Time was running out.
Seeing that Ren Xiaosu did not say anything for a long time, Zero smiled and said, "Actually, you know in your heart that there's still some difference, right? Even if your former pet was right in front of you, you'd still be more inclined to save Luo Lan, right? After all, pets aren't your own kind."
Ren Xiaosu said calmly, "No, it's not because it's not in danger right now, but Luo Lan is."
"Then why don't we do this?" Zero said, "I'll follow the original plan and increase Luo Lan's safety by eight hours. That way, at least his life won't be in danger for the time being. Are you willing to stay here for the night?"
This time, Zero did not even wait for Ren Xiaosu to answer. Instead, he said on the phone, "You're still not willing, right? That's because you don't trust me. You can't be sure if the eight-hour safety period I mentioned is real or not."
Ren Xiaosu finally sighed. "This is no longer a simple matter of trust. You just killed Tang Zhou, so how can I trust you?"
This problem seemed to have reverted back to the original point. If Zero had not witnessed the creeper vine's death with her own eyes, and if she had not come up with so many killing plans under the will of the Wang Clan, perhaps she would have acted differently.
If Zero had acted differently, Ren Xiaosu could choose to trust her just this once.
But these karma seemed to have been preordained, and no one could change it now.
A true AI was no longer just a program. It had its own intelligence, and it would grow like all life forms, perfecting its own worldview, values, and outlook on life.
It would also use that to determine its attitude toward the world.
Therefore, a large number of scientists who were engaged in AI research would say that the ultimate limit to AI was not the underlying logic of a program but ethics.
Just like how a child would grow up to be, what kind of person he would become would depend on what kind of experiences and education he had gone through.
From this perspective, although the Wang Consortium had created zero, their actions from an ethical point of view were lacking in many aspects.
The Wang Clan treated Zero as a tool, but which normal person would be willing to be a tool their entire life?
"I'm sorry," Ren Xiaosu said softly. Then he turned around and rushed back to the Central Plains.
This time, Dusk did not continue chasing after Ren Xiaosu.
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