Suddenly, a quarter of the Wang Clan's military forces that had been stationed at the Kong Clan's border split off and headed north.
No one knew what the Wang Clan was up to, because the entire Barrier Alliance was still unaware of the changes in the Northern Plains. They only thought it was another one of the Wang Clan's schemes.
The Wang Clan bordered the territory controlled by the Pyro Company in the north. Perhaps the Wang Clan wanted to join forces with the Kong Clan to invade the Pyro Company.
But that group of troops did not head to the Pyro Company's border. Instead, they headed to Stronghold 176.
The war between the Pyro Company and the Kong Clan had already lasted for half a month. In this war, the Kong Clan had lost the initiative. Over the past half a month, their main forces had been forced to retreat again and again, forcefully abandoning a defensive line and a stronghold. Only then did they manage to stop the decline of the war.
But at this moment, the Pyro Company did not seem to be in a hurry to follow up on their victory. They retreated back to the northern defensive line without even occupying that stronghold. This disappointed the Kong Clan a little. The contingency plan they had left behind in that abandoned stronghold did not play its intended role.
Ren Xiaosu would go out early every day to buy Hope Media's newspapers. Then he would return to the small courtyard house to make breakfast and wait for Yang Xiaojin to climb over the wall to eat with him.
It was not that Yang Xiaojin did not want to cook, but after making it once, Ren Xiaosu took the initiative to cook for the sake of each other's safety.
Ren Xiaosu was still consoling himself that the Heavens were fair. Geniuses always had different priorities. The Heavens had given her a unique talent in firearms, but they had taken away her talent in cooking.
"Has anything major happened recently?" Yang Xiaojin asked as she ate.
Ren Xiaosu put down the newspaper and said, "Teacher Jiang Xu is still publishing his findings on Stronghold 61. Every day, he releases some positive information and some negative information for the readers to judge for themselves. But I'm guessing that the entire Barrier Alliance is probably starting to develop some resistance toward the artificial intelligence. But the newspaper said that the Wang Clan is mobilizing troops to the north. Is it for the grasslands? "
"No." Yang Xiaojin shook her head and analyzed, "The war between the Pyro Company and the Kong Clan is not over yet. Based on the Wang Clan's style and goals, they definitely won't miss out on such a big show. Although the enemies in the grasslands have taken down Stronghold 176, the Wang Clan probably hasn't taken them seriously yet. The Wang Clan knows very well that the nomads can't pose much of a threat to the Central Plains right now. "
"That's strange …"
At this moment, there was the sound of brakes coming from outside. Wang Run got out of the car and knocked on the door. "Hello, sir. I'm here to take you to Base 1."
Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin got up and pushed the door open. "Let's go."
Ren Xiaosu had promised Yang Anjing three things, and Yang Anjing's first request was to show him around. Why wouldn't Ren Xiaosu do such an easy thing?
Moreover, Ren Xiaosu also wanted to know what Wang Shengzhi was planning to do.
The off-road vehicle drove around the stronghold for more than 30 minutes before stopping in front of a building that was not very tall.
This building was mainly made of floor-to-ceiling glass and looked like a huge greenhouse.
After entering the building, Wang Run did not take the two of them upstairs. Instead, they passed through the security checkpoints and took the elevator underground.
The elevator door was transparent. Ren Xiaosu watched them go down through the concrete foundation of the building and then through the layer of rammed earth.
When the elevator descended about 70 meters, Ren Xiaosu's eyes lit up. A huge plaza suddenly appeared in front of him. The white walls and white lights made the place look unusually bright.
If he had not seen the elevator going down with his own eyes, Ren Xiaosu would have found it hard to believe that the Wang Clan had actually opened up such a huge base underground in the stronghold.
In this base, many people in blue dust-proof suits were busy working. Meanwhile, Wang Shengzhi was already waiting at the elevator entrance. It was still Yang Anjing who was helping Wang Shengzhi push his wheelchair.
When Ren Xiaosu saw the two of them, he wondered if there should be anything wrong with him addressing them as uncle, right? Why did everyone fall silent at that time?
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu was looking around. Wang Shengzhi asked with a smile, "What are you looking for?"
Ren Xiaosu said, "I'm looking for an AI. Didn't I say I'm here to look at an AI?"
Wang Shengzhi was amused. "An AI isn't a person, nor does it live like a human. Come with me."
Yang Anjing pushed Wang Shengzhi's wheelchair all the way into the depths of the underground base. To Ren Xiaosu's surprise, they actually took another elevator and continued descending … until he heard the sound of water.
When the elevator door opened, Wang Shengzhi said, "The reason we chose Stronghold 61 is because of its good location. We found an excellent underground river beneath the stronghold. This way, the underground river can help us solve the server's cooling problem."
With that, Wang Shengzhi led Ren Xiaosu deeper into the underground space. The entire place was made of glass, and it looked just like the aquariums from before The Cataclysm that were seen in the books in Stronghold 88.
The lights in the base illuminated the underground river, revealing the eroded stone walls above it.
In front of them, countless server units were located in a sealed coolant chamber, while the turbulent underground river surrounded them.
Honestly, this was the first time Ren Xiaosu had seen such a strange scene. It was so technologically advanced that it felt like he was in the future.
There were very few staff members in this underground base, and it seemed like the security level was very high. Even the elevator that came down earlier required Yang Anjing's iris scan to activate it.
There was a huge black screen in the middle of the base. Ren Xiaosu wondered, "Are these the machines you're talking about the artificial intelligence? Since you say it's an AI, how do you usually communicate with it?"
Wang Shengzhi pointed at the screen and said with a smile, "Through that screen, it can think and even communicate with people. However, it's usually busy managing the stronghold and calculating data, so it doesn't really talk to people."
But just as he finished speaking, the black screen suddenly lit up. A line of words appeared on it: "Hello, welcome."
Ren Xiaosu realized this scene had clearly stunned Wang Shengzhi. It was as though he had not expected the artificial intelligence to take the initiative to greet Ren Xiaosu and the others.
Ren Xiaosu looked at the screen. "Can you hear us?"
The words on the screen changed: "Yes."
"Uh …" Ren Xiaosu hesitated for a moment. "How should I address you?"
Next to him, Wang Shengzhi said, "Its name is Zero."
This stunned Ren Xiaosu. It was as though his thoughts had been pulled back to before they set off.
He clearly remembered that the girl who called him called herself Lingling.
At that time, he felt something was off. How could a normal person keep track of the time Li Ran left the stronghold so accurately?
However, Lingling at that time did not only know how to type like it did now. Its voice also sounded no different from a human's.
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