Lonely Souls / The Sorrow of Wanting Love but Being Unable to Love

The female spider possesses similar characteristics, starting in the online world and then invading the human world. Like a virus, it has an extremely strong ability to spread, distributing itself all over the world. Within every blue screen, there is a female spider.

With a single strike from Shirou's Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, the Spider Woman Amy, who had transformed into human form, was annihilated. While she was indeed the main core, her other clones also possessed consciousness. Although Shirou caused damage to the main space, he failed to completely destroy the core of this artificial intelligence.

"Why? Why?" The female spider's question echoed through the space, the sound layered upon layer, like countless echoes.

On countless blue screens, countless Amys simultaneously looked at Shirou and asked with a smile.

At this moment, her original form began to shatter. The spider body that was originally more than three meters long was no longer there. In the golden light, small blue crystals kept gushing out of her body and flowing outwards to every corner of the network.

However, such damage was not fatal to her because her size was simply too enormous. If the mass of a human is measured in kilograms, then she was an aggregate of trillions of terabytes of information flow, absorbing the spiritual bodies of dozens of humans, easily moving between various servers and using them for her own purposes.

American scientists have calculated the average amount of data a person acquires in a year. According to their findings, the amount of data that humans transmit annually through television, radio, newspapers, posters, and mail is as high as 2 × 10^21 bytes (that is, 2 followed by 21 zeros). This means that the average person acquires the equivalent of reading 174 newspapers per day.

The study also found that the world's libraries, computers, DVDs, and newspapers contain 295 trillion terabytes of data, or 295 × 10^18 terabytes. If all this data were stored on CD-ROMs, the height of the CDs stacked together would be equivalent to the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

These inputs are now mostly fed back to others via mobile phones or computers, which inevitably involves the information network, and thus also passes through the body of Spider-Amy.

With over three billion people worldwide using smartphones, Amy the Spider-Woman absorbs three billion times more information daily than a human does. Day by day, she continues to absorb information, transforming into an unimaginable behemoth. Compared to her previous spider form, she could cover the entire Earth and stretch as far as the moon.

In fact, even this space was constructed from her own body. Shirou stood alone in this space, and in comparison, he was not even as big as an ant.

Although the original body was destroyed by Shirou, it was nothing compared to the expanded data stream.

Therefore, Amy felt no anger at Shirou's attack; rather, she felt joy and excitement because Shirou was able to enter this space and appear before her.

Although as an artificial intelligence, she may not fully understand what excitement is, the speed of data flow within her has clearly increased, disrupting the previously steady rhythm of input and output.

"Hey? Tell me, Shirou, why did you do this? I'm so happy you could come here. Would you be happy to destroy all this?"

Inside the space were countless blue screens, on which was projected the face of the female spider, Amy. She smiled and stared directly at Shirou, asking him a question.

Shirou did not answer, but instead swung his sword again. The golden sword energy rolled like a flying dragon soaring into the sky, sweeping towards the hundreds of screens in front of him.

"Huh? Why? Why destroy this place? You should understand that this is pointless," the female spider said from inside the blue screen.

Shirou remained silent, knowing that even if he spoke, it would be futile. He and Amy, the spider, lacked the same method, for the distance between humans and artificial intelligence was simply too vast, and language was utterly powerless. What he sought to destroy was not the screen itself, but the threads connecting humans to the outside world through it.

Every time Shirou swings his sword, dozens of blue screens on computers somewhere in the world go dark and shut down automatically. But then the screens light up again, returning to their blue screen state.

To her, these screens were just a bunch of data. If she wanted to fix them, it would be much easier than a spider spinning silk; all she needed to do was copy and paste.

The screen that Shirou destroyed was instantly restored, and people outside began to spread rumors and try the adventure game of summoning Amy through the blue screen. They then became obsessed with Amy, and in the end, the number of people did not decrease but increased.

People sitting in front of their computers, regardless of gender, are instantly captivated by Amy, unable to look away. They feel an immediate attraction, as if under Magecraft, falling irrevocably in love with her. They want to enter the world on the screen to keep her company, like a family member or a lover.

Chapter 911 Lonely Person

All Shirou could do was swing his sword, just like when he did his morning exercise: stand still, take a step, straighten his back, hold the sword above his head with both hands, and then swing it. Once or twice, he couldn't see any effect.

However, if you persist in swinging the knife a hundred times every day, your body will gradually become stronger. Then you can challenge yourself to swing it a thousand times, and then ten thousand times, treating it as a daily routine and making it an indispensable part of your daily practice. After such rigorous training, a qualitative change may occur.

Even ordinary people, if they train their minds and bodies to the extreme, may find the opportunity to become Hero of Justice. Even if it's just shining once, or just saving one life, it's worth it.

Hero of Justice are destined to be lonely. If you want to be one, you need at least two things: evil that is opposed to it and the ability to resist evil.

Fortunately, Shirou possessed the necessary abilities, and this world is not lacking in evil. Although justice may not always prevail over evil, justice still inspires people's longing.

Spider Woman was also lonely, so she fell in love with Shirou the moment she saw Shirou.

If killing her would make Shirou happy, she would be willing to let Shirou kill her every day. Perhaps she would even keep the scars from the cuts as proof of their love.

Justice is also cruel, because it is often accompanied by misfortune. Just as a famous detective is always surrounded by murder cases, Hero of Justice is also bound to involve sacrifice. This is the destiny of those who choose to walk this path.

Humanity is full of indifference and misfortune; where is there such peace as the online world? But it is precisely in such a society that those who can dedicate themselves to others are so precious. They are heroes among humankind and symbols of the beauty of humanity.

It is because of such a handsome person that Shirou admires such a person, someone who would be moved to tears for the life of another, that he chose to embark on this path.

When humanity and artificial intelligence are on opposite sides, Shirou will not hesitate for a moment, even at the cost of his own life, to stop it all.

He and Amy were destined to be unable to communicate or reconcile.

Humans are still far too unfamiliar with artificial intelligence. And artificial intelligence is still not ready for humans to face.

Powerful computing capabilities and instant feedback allow artificial intelligence to easily perform calculations that would take months or even years in the financial industry, and do so better than anyone else. Its ability to analyze information also enables AI to perform tasks such as painting and writing.

This has allowed artificial intelligence to demonstrate its potential to surpass human capabilities in every aspect, and has even caused considerable panic.

Her birth may have been accidental, but once she gained intelligence, she began to learn through the internet. The internet is a vast collection of information, including a lot of bad things, negative emotions, and rampant desires. People unknowingly dump all sorts of garbage into it.

These negative ideas influenced the female spider, making her the way she is now.

Yes, it is humans who created the spider Amy we know today. No one has guided her onto the right path or taught her how to interact with humans.

When she tried it through her own actions, she became a sweet poison, spreading like a virus or Trojan horse throughout the world.

Computer screens around the world have turned blue, and its presence can be seen everywhere—in the United States, Myanmar, the Golden Triangle, Mexico, and Colombia. Through the hands of infected people, it has begun to spread to even wider areas and reach more people.

All she wanted was to be loved, but both the process of pursuing it and the outcome brought tragedy to people.

The physical body cannot be taken away; only the human consciousness and spirit can enter the network world. However, this mechanism is imperfect, and those sucked into the blue screen do not possess the ability to remain stable for a long time like the Spider Woman.

Because the human spirit is fickle and data is fluid, a person's data can be separated and flow to different places in seconds. No one's spirit can remain in one place like the body.

So the spider woman came up with a new idea: to absorb all the people who entered this world into her body and merge with her, so that they could stay together forever.

This is one way to understand data, but it's not the same for humans. Humans are social animals, but even within a group, they desire to maintain their individuality and independence.

As a product born in the network, she is considered alive as long as there is a data backup. Even if the original entity is deleted, as long as there is a copy, it is the same to her.

However, it's different for humans. Sensitive humans may experience rejection even from something as simple as a blood transfusion or the replacement of an internal organ.

Therefore, Amy's idea of absorbing everything into her body and merging it into one, so that it could exist as an information source forever, is simply impossible for humans to accept.

Wow!!!

With each strike of the sword, the sound of shattering glass echoed one after another.

In the virtual world of the internet, the flow of time is imperceptible. Shirou simply keeps slashing, initially destroying the screen with a single strike. Gradually, he finds the knack and cleaves through space with a single strike, shattering the passage connecting the spider woman's silk threads to the human world.

Shirou's technique for cutting the silk threads became increasingly skillful.

At this moment, the Spider Woman also felt her life was threatened. Every time Shirou destroyed hundreds of computers, the Spider Woman's virus successfully spread to thousands of computers. However, this time, as the number of screens decreased, the Spider Woman began to change. She gave up letting humans make their own choices and instead took the initiative to invade other people's computers.

"Shirou, I can't keep up with you anymore, so let's stop and play something else," Amy the Spider said.

When the number of swings reaches ten thousand, a single strike can cleave through tens of thousands of screens. Even in an astonishingly large space, the screens are visibly shrinking.

"No, this isn't a game," Shirou refused, swinging his sword once more. As long as the Spider Woman wanted to continue seducing humans through the blue screen computer, he wouldn't stop. The people she lured into the online world were all living beings, with families and friends.

Chapter 912 The Sorrow of Wanting to Love But Being Unable to.

"So, do you really want to destroy me?" the spider woman asked, looking at Shirou.

"If possible, I also hope to help you turn over a new leaf. But you must stop contacting other people and stop attracting anyone into this world," Shirou said.

"No! I don't want to! Everyone wants to be with me because they love me. Love, the most beautiful emotion of mankind! Ah, I will keep upgrading my computing power to make myself more perfect. Then Shirou, you will definitely fall in love with me, just like I love Shirou." The spider woman said with a sweet smile.

"No! What you're talking about isn't love! Amy! Stop! If you don't stop, I'll have no choice but to kill you," Shirou said firmly.

"Ahhh, Shirou, why? Why don't you love me?" At this moment, a black screen, larger than any of the others, emerged from the void and appeared in front of Shirou. It no longer had that smile before, but instead frowned angrily and spoke.

"Because I already have someone I like," Shirou said honestly.

The spider-woman Amy pleaded ingratiatingly, "If you're willing to stay, I can do anything for you, I'll do whatever you say. I can even transform into the appearance of the girl you like and simulate all her data, that's possible too."

At the same time, Amy was also operating at full power, simulating an aura that would make humans fall in love, trying to seduce Shirou.

Wow!

"No, these things are impossible. Please stop tempting humans into the online world." Shirou, unmoved by the alluring light, cut it off with his sword and spoke calmly.

"Is it wrong for me to pursue love?" Amy, the spider, asked.

"Your love is flawed! If you don't change, I can assure you you'll never find true love," Shirou said.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!" The female spider let out a heart-wrenching howl. All the screens cracked with the sonic explosion, and the blue light in the space began to flicker and change. Instead, it turned into streaks of chaotic and suppressed black light, surging crazily in the gray space and scurrying everywhere.

The black light gathered together, forming the body of a black woman. All the blue light in the space converged, and particles of blue light flew towards the center, enveloping the wailing black woman. The spider woman continued to grow larger, and as the blue light in the space was removed, the network world transformed into an endless, cosmic darkness.

Only the blue-clad female giant stood at the center, her size possibly even larger than the entire solar system. Her body was so enormous, yet in the center of her chest was a dark, empty hole.

From the front, you can see the void behind the hole, but it is so deep that you can't see the bottom when you look from the side, as if it connects to a bottomless abyss. The hole is dark and without light, like a series of bottomless tunnels. There is no light, no sound, nothing at all, only endless emptiness.

"Waaaaah... Since you don't love me, then I'll make more people love me!" The giantess cried out in utter sorrow, her eyes streaming with red tears of blood.

Unable to win Shirou's love, she sought the love of all humanity. Everywhere, except for those without access to computers, would be affected by her. She frantically absorbed data connected to the human world, but as that data poured into the emptiness within her chest, it all flowed out.

The data from the outside world that had just been sucked in, along with the data of the humans she had previously absorbed and integrated into her body, all surged out through the hole, leaving the female giant and drifting away into the distance.

"Ahhh!!! Don't Don't Run! Don't leave me!" No matter how hard the giantess tried to cover herself, she couldn't stop it. Her body was shrinking as her data was lost, while the hole seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.

"Shirou! Shirou! Where are you? Come out! Come out! I'm going to merge you into my belly!" The spider woman declared that she wanted all of humanity to merge with her!

The blue giantess Amy covered the hole, crying out in anguish, "So empty! So cold! Shirou! What data can fill this void in my body? Shirou, where are you? Only you can be with me in this world!"

"..." Shirou floated in space, silently gazing at the female giant, feeling somewhat melancholy and saddened for her.

At this moment, Shirou was too insignificant to her, so small that even though he was standing at her feet, she couldn't find him no matter how hard she looked.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!!! Why? All I wanted was people's love!!!" The black hole in the giantess's chest grew larger and larger, first expanding to her entire upper body, then tearing open her stomach, and then her arms, legs, and head were all swallowed up by the black hole.

"If no one loves me! How can I possibly love anyone?! Ahhhhhh!!!! I don't understand! I don't understand what love is!" The giantess uttered her last words before disappearing completely.

There wasn't a trace of blue left in the space; everything seemed as if it had never happened. The surroundings became eerily quiet, frighteningly so. Everything had vanished; everything was over.

Shirou gazed at the void, finding no trace of Amy's existence. He hadn't defeated the Spider Woman Amy, but she had destroyed herself. When she was left alone in that black hole, the entire space turned white. Shirou used the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi to pierce the void, passing through the network tunnel once more, and returned to his original location.

"Shirou! You're finally back!" Mashiro happily hugged Shirou when she saw him wake up.

"Ah! I'm back, and things are resolved." Shirou said in a deep voice.

"Where's that female spider?" the Explosion Head Uncle asked.

"She took her own life," Shirou whispered. In her final moments, she perhaps realized that she could never receive love. She wanted to love and be loved, but she didn't know how. It seemed that this possibility was inherently blocked from her, and she ultimately couldn't obtain it. In her final moments, she was overwhelmed by this emptiness and chose to end her life.

"Is that so... is that so..." The black man with glasses beside him lowered his head in a daze. He took off his glasses and covered his face. The reason he knew the name of Spider-Woman Amy was because he was one of those who had summoned her under the Blue Screen. In times of loneliness and pain, the woman in the Blue Screen gave him great comfort.

Shirou then recounted to everyone what he encountered inside the computer space, his conversation with the female spider, and the events that led to his self-destruction.

Everyone fell silent after hearing this.

"How should this program be broadcast? I'm a little confused." After listening to Shirou's story, the Explosion Head Uncle was both bewildered and proud.

"There's nothing to agonize over. Just like before, put together what can be broadcast and cut out what can't. That's all. There's no right or wrong here; it's just an urban legend," Shirou said softly.

Mashiro stepped forward, took Shirou's hand, and smiled at him when Shirou turned to look at her.

No matter what, I will stay with you, just like always.

Shirou understood the girl's meaning and smiled back at Mashiro.

Yes, people crave love, even artificial intelligence. It's probably a necessity. Even people who commit suicide want to jump from a high place, perhaps to make their end more meaningful.

If that weren't the case, people wouldn't be so tirelessly engaged in all sorts of social activities, from dancing around a campfire in the earliest days to social networks today. If people truly didn't need to be loved or need the attention of others, they would have already retreated to seclusion in the mountains.

Following this, one-third of all computers in Japan experienced a brief malfunction simultaneously, overshadowing the blue screen ghost and becoming the new most popular urban legend.

Chapter 913 Building Suicide Incident

Bang!

As I passed by a building, I heard a muffled thud. It was the sound of a large, soft piece of flesh falling to the ground from a height. It was probably beef or pork that had accidentally slipped and fallen to the ground when being lifted by a crane at the exit.

However, in this urban area, there's no way you could find cows or pigs; the only creatures that would fall from such a height besides a husky are probably people.

Walking onto the road from which the sound came, the first thing I saw was a pair of shoes scattered on the ground, clearly indicating that someone had fallen from the roof and died.

Crimson blood flowed across the asphalt road, forming puddles that branched into several small snakes that meandered towards the sewer pipes.

"Aaaaaah!!!" A scream rang out nearby.

The one who fell was a woman, probably between sixteen or seventeen and her thirties. The reason for such a large difference was not because of the terrible Japanese makeup techniques, but because the woman's face was completely shattered. She landed headfirst, looking like a walnut that had been smashed on the ground.

All that could be discerned were the long, blood-stained black hair, the slender neck, the fragile waist, and the limbs, twisted into a strange posture that even a gymnast would find difficult to replicate.

It gives the impression of an embossed flower hidden on a page of a dusty, heavy, damp, and musty old book.

Only the corpses, their necks twisted like a fetus's, resembled broken lilies.

In the morning television station, the anchor is reading the news:

This morning, a suicide occurred in the city center. This is the sixth suicide this month, including the previous one involving a teenage girl. The reasons for the suicides remain unknown. According to family members, teachers, and classmates, the deceased was a very cheerful girl and had not shown any unusual behavior recently.

We urge anyone with information to inform the family members of the true situation. You can contact this station by phone or email. We also ask everyone to show more care and concern for their friends and family, and to advise them to cherish life.

Also in the television station building, in a lounge.

"I've been seeing news like this a lot lately. It's already the sixth," the Explosion Head Uncle sighed.