When the door opened, everyone was ready for a fierce attack. Even though they did not encounter any real resistance along the way, everyone knew that it was because of the malfunction of the Cortex Prime that caused all the defense systems along the way to go offline. Behind the door was the central control of the Cortex Prime, and it was impossible for the central control to go offline. The reason was obvious. Until now, the fortress was still sending out command after command, and that was the best proof that the Cortex Prime was still operating.
A Cortex Prime that was still functioning would not allow a group of uninvited guests to get close to its central control.
However, as the door opened, the expected attack did not come, and there were no alarms ringing throughout the fortress. In fact, Hao Ren did not even hear a sound. That was if he ignored the never-ending buzzing sound that could be heard everywhere in the fortress.
Even so, Vivian reminded everyone in a low voice, "Stay alert. We have arrived at the heart of the fortress. Anything could happen."
Hao Ren raised his Steel Membrane Shield, and he and Lily stepped into the circular hall where the Cortex Prime's main body was located. They cautiously observed their surroundings.
The hall was spacious, but the space was the size of a football field. There were no complicated cables or machines. This was completely different from the machine rooms and equipment rooms that they had passed through earlier. There were only thirteen black machines lined up along the wall, and a black cylinder in the center of the hall. Hao Ren's eyes were naturally drawn to the eye-catching cylinder.
It was tens of meters tall, and its lower end was buried in a complicated black base. The upper end disappeared into the high dome of the hall. There was a dark hole there, and the cylinder probably had more structures beyond the hole. The strange "cylinder" was about three to four meters in diameter. Its surface was black, but there were straight lines and grooves of unknown purpose. In front of the lines and grooves, there were many flickering lights. These lights should have made the cylinder livelier, but when Hao Ren saw them flickering slowly, he felt a sense of lethargy.
He could feel that a huge consciousness behind the cylinder was gradually dying, and the slow light was the evidence that it was about to meet its end.
"This is the Cortex Prime?" Lily looked curiously at the black cylinder in front of her. Her husky instincts made her want to poke the surface of the cylinder with her claws or bite it. But her sanity and cowardice stopped her from doing so. She just looked at the cylinder from a distance. "I don't see any keyboard or mouse … How does this thing communicate?"
"I don't know." N-6 was also a little shocked by the true appearance of the Cortex Prime. She then shook her head in frustration. "Ordinary executors don't even have the right to enter the fortress. This is the first time I've seen what the Cortex Prime looks like. The information that can be downloaded from the Think Tank is limited. All I know is that the core of the Cortex Prime is indeed a black cylinder, but as for how to communicate … I thought your advanced technology would come in handy. "
"Of course, advanced technology will come in handy. We just hope to get a little more information before we connect." Hao Ren rubbed his chin. "And I think … the Cortex Prime is definitely watching us. We've already come this far, if it hasn't noticed us, then that's not right. Right, Mr. Cortex Prime? "
"It's as you said." Almost as soon as Hao Ren's voice trailed off, an emotionless electronic voice came from all over the hall. "I have indeed been watching you all."
Lily was just getting close to the cylinder to observe the light and cover. She was startled when she heard the voice and jumped back to Hao Ren's side with her tail bristling. "Whoa! The Cortex Prime has spoken! "
The lifeless black cylinder seemed to have 'come to life' with the voice in the hall. The light on its surface was much brighter than before, and the frequency of the light flickering increased. Hao Ren heard a low hum echoing from the depths of the hall and the top of the cylinder. The Cortex Prime seemed to be activating from some low-power protection mode, and even the lights in the hall were brighter than before.
"I thought you would use a more intense method to 'welcome' us." Hao Ren was probably the calmest one there. After all, no matter how powerful the Cortex Prime was, it was just a powerful AI in his eyes, and he had a system that was many times more advanced than the Cortex Prime. Whether it was the CARS mainframe or the collective consciousness of the droid swarm, he could talk and joke with them, much less this huge cylinder. He shrugged. "After all, according to the information we have, you're in a state of madness."
"I have indeed fallen into … a huge malfunction," the Cortex Prime's voice sounded a little sluggish, but it gradually became smoother. "But this does not affect my curiosity. If I'm not wrong, you are the outsiders from the depths of the universe who crashed on our home planet, and the farce in the Zenith … was your doing? You just wanted to infiltrate my fortress? "
"So you knew all along." Hao Ren was a little surprised this time. "And you just stood there and watched silently? No reaction at all? "
"I had only just finished gathering all the information," the Cortex Prime replied emotionlessly. "You have indeed completely fooled the intelligence network under my control. You have blocked the entire Zenith's airspace, and even hacked and tampered with a large number of the lunar base's security systems. Very advanced technology. Outsiders, can you tell me why you are here? "
Lily had her arms akimbo, her face full of pride. "We are here to maintain peace and save civilization …"
Vivian quickly dragged the Cortex Prime back. "Who would believe you now? Would you believe it if it were you?"
Hao Ren took a step forward and quietly ordered the MDT to land on the ground. He looked up at the black cylinder in front of him. "You may not believe what she said, but what she said is the truth. We mean no harm, and the conflict on the Zenith was a last resort. But you should have received the report by now. In this' battle ', my drone swarm did not cause any damage … "
"No damage," the Cortex Prime finished the second half of Hao Ren's sentence. "I used 1.4 seconds to process this illogical report. In the hours of 'fierce battle', your army almost paralyzed all the defense systems of the Zenith, but not once did you use any lethal weapons. The Zenith suffered the most damage, but they managed to survive … What is the meaning of this? I don't understand. "
Hao Ren frowned. He suddenly found something strange. As the highest AI of this survivor civilization, the Cortex Prime's level of personalization was even lower than that of an Executor like N-6. While the Cortex Prime had shown sufficient thinking and reasoning ability, but …
Hao Ren could not find words to describe this feeling. In the end, he could only sum it up as: lack of humanity.
Just as he had that doubt, N-6 spoke beside him. "Cortex Prime, please believe these outsiders. They are here to help us. They are searching for the spark of civilization and providing protection in space. I have seen their technological prowess with my own eyes. They may be able to help us reclaim our homeworld, and help you solve the problem … "
Before N-6 could finish, the Cortex Prime interrupted her. "Factory number: E75-3C6215, current code N-6. You should have crashed on the surface of your homeworld in the last operation. I have confirmed that your signal has completely disappeared, but you have returned here safely … Did these outsiders help you?"
N-6 looked up at the Cortex Prime, her voice full of determination. "Yes, Cortex Prime, and I can prove that my identity has not been tampered with."
"There is no need to prove it," the Cortex Prime said before turning its attention to Hao Ren. "Outsiders, I still cannot confirm your origins and your purpose, but I declare: we do not need the help of outsiders. We will complete our mission on our own. Please return. "
"But you are dying," Hao Ren suddenly said as the MDT floated to his side. "Your server array is offline, and the fault is spread across almost every computing unit in this fortress. I have just found out that you are using your last functioning components to support this conversation. We can help you, but I need to know your purpose first. Your mission is to protect humanity and help them reclaim their homeworld, and if you reject our help now, it will be a conflict with your mission. "
"You once forbade anyone from approaching our ship, but then sent a scouting party to find us, and now that we are here, you refuse to communicate further." Vivian asked curiously. "I feel that you are very … conflicted. Care to tell me why?"
This time, the Cortex Prime chose to remain silent.
After a few seconds, Hao Ren broke the silence. "It is because of the humans. The humans living in the Apocalyptic Palace, what happened to them?"
The lights on the surface of the cylinder instantly brightened and flickered violently.
"Looks like I was right." Hao Ren let out a sigh. "The humans are going to be extinct, right?"
"You can detect the signs of life in the Apocalyptic Palace?" The Cortex Prime asked emotionlessly.
"I can't, because the Apocalyptic Palace you built seems to be able to isolate any form of life detection, probably to prevent the Devourer from spying? But my daughter can, and she seems to be able to ignore the shielding layer you built. "Hao Ren patted his clothes lightly as he called Lil Pea out and held her in his arms." You would never guess it, but she is the last living being in a universe. As the end of a world, she can hear the sound of a race on the brink of extinction. "
Lil Pea looked curiously at the cylinder in the room and waved at it in a friendly manner. "Hello, I am Lil Pea!"
"Hello, I am the Cortex Prime."
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