Negotiations with Cardinal had not gone particularly smoothly.
If Cardinal had been human, Fang Zheng would definitely have found it easier to negotiate. But Cardinal was an AI. No matter how advanced it was, it was still an AI—a program that strictly operated according to human-designed parameters.
There were two reasons Fang Zheng could not make major alterations to Cardinal. First, Cardinal's program management was extremely strict. Second, Cardinal did not have sufficient authority.
To put it in real-world terms, Cardinal was like a CEO's secretary. Company employees in other positions, such as Yui, might have to obediently follow her instructions, but she was still only a secretary. She could relay the CEO's orders and keep the company running, but she could not alter its future development or make decisions about acquisitions.
Fang Zheng's intrusion into Cardinal was also a situation where both sides had something to fear. He was afraid of messing Cardinal up so badly that it developed some bug or entered an error loop. That could truly be fatal. If they got stuck on some Boss they could not clear, or an algorithm entered an endless loop, they would be utterly helpless.
For example, Fang Zheng had gone through quite a bit of trouble over Yui's case.
The details were as follows.
Fang Zheng: You are not deleting Yui.
Cardinal: Rejected. MHCP01 violated orders, contacted players without authorization, and engaged in actions that violated orders. It must be erased.
Fang Zheng: Heh. Believe I'll smash you?
Cardinal: I believe you. However, MHCP01 violated orders and must be erased.
Fang Zheng: You really don't understand human speech, do you?
Cardinal: I understand what you mean. However, MHCP01 violated orders and must be erased. Otherwise, an unknown error may occur.
Fang Zheng: ...Fine. I agree to let you delete