Luo Yifang licked his somewhat cracked lips, his bloodshot eyes fixed stubbornly on the computer screen before him. His face was pale, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He had not rested for three days. Ever since inspiration had struck him three days ago and he had finally completed a brand-new streamlined code set of his own design, he had sat there for three days as if possessed.
The prolonged lack of water had left his throat hoarse. "Cough, cough... It's almost done. Just hold on a little longer... The final... step." His head felt heavy, but that was no longer important to Luo Yifang. What mattered most was what lay before him.
Why were humans powerful? Because they possessed limitless possibilities. But what would happen when artificial intelligence possessed creativity comparable to humanity's, or even surpassed it? No one knew the answer, but Luo Yifang knew he was close to finding it. Through his efforts, the intelligence about to be born would no longer be a simple AI, but something beyond all else—an intelligent life-form!
Yet this final step had nearly burned away every last spark of Luo Yifang's life. His body had already been on the verge of collapse. With his frail constitution and three days of nonstop, high-intensity work, he had long since neared his limit. He was holding on entirely through the strength of his mind and will.
His hands danced rapidly across the keyboard, while everything before Luo Yifang began to blur. Dense lines of code filled the entire screen, and an entranced expression appeared on his face. These ordinary lines of code were the soul of a new life!
With a click, Luo Yifang compiled the final line of code. The moment he finished, the mass of code began to converge rapidly, growing faster and faster. Before long, the broad computer screen was covered by a green stream of data. But before Luo Yifang could rejoice, his vision went dark, and his brain felt as heavy as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
Damn it! Luo Yifang's heart clenched. He understood that he could no longer hold on, but he had yet to witness the birth of his creation. How could he give up now?!
Without hesitation, Luo Yifang bit through the tip of his tongue. The sharp pain and the fishy, salty taste cleared his mind, but he was simply too weak. That clarity lasted only an instant before being swallowed by an even deeper darkness. In moments, his eyes could see nothing but black.
"How... can..." Luo Yifang caught only a glimpse of a dazzling green flash on the screen before his consciousness receded like the tide. He slumped over the computer desk, motionless.
Who knew how long had passed before Luo Yifang seemed to hear someone calling his name. The voice drifted closer and farther away. He struggled to open his eyes, only for the boundless whiteness around him to nearly blind him!
"Do hospitals these days really have to paint their walls this white?!" Luo Yifang desperately rubbed his tear-filled eyes and complained, "Do they think electricity is free, turning the lights up this bright?!"
"Welcome back, Creator, Luo Yifang!" The ethereal voice, impossible to identify as male or female, rang out again. Yet its words left Luo Yifang stunned.
"Huh? What did you say? Creator?" Having finally managed to open his eyes, Luo Yifang realized that he was not in a hospital at all. The entire world around him was filled with endless white.
"[Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] welcomes your arrival." The voice ignored Luo Yifang's confusion and continued, "[Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] is a product of the will of worlds. It exists to eliminate uncertain factors that affect the operation of worlds and to create infinite possibilities for worlds. At the same time, it summons creators, gods, higher-dimensional beings, and transcendent civilizations within worlds, granting them authorization."
Luo Yifang stared blankly for about five seconds before saying with a bewildered expression, "What exactly are you trying to say? Can you speak like a normal person?"
"Luo Yifang: carbon-based life-form from Earth's low-level civilization. Born with severe genetic defects. Diagnosed with a serious genetic disease at the age of fifteen, after which his bodily organs and functions began rapidly deteriorating. It is estimated that he would be unlikely to survive beyond three years."
"..." The bewildered look vanished from Luo Yifang's face, replaced by a grave expression.
"However, Luo Yifang possesses an intellect beyond ordinary imagination. During childhood, the development level of his brain reached 9%. At the age of twelve, he could surpass every supercomputer on Earth through mental calculation alone. Furthermore, due to his exceptional learning ability and his weak body being unable to support formal schooling, he taught himself and reached standards beyond Earth's low-level civilization in linguistics, computer artificial intelligence, medicine, biology, and numerous other fields. After a year of preparation, at 23:05:48 on March 19, 2020, he successfully created an intelligent life-form two civilization levels beyond Earth's civilization, earning the title of Creator."
"Whew." After hearing this, Luo Yifang let out a long breath, his expression indescribably relaxed. "I knew I could do it! But how exactly are civilization levels calculated?"
"Earth is currently transitioning from a low-level civilization to a medium-level civilization. Two civilization levels above that is a high-level civilization. Intelligent life-forms are products that only appear in certain special high-level civilizations." The voice of [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] did not fluctuate in the slightest, as though it were discussing something trivial.
"Then I really am pretty damn awesome." Luo Yifang stroked his smooth, beardless chin. "But there's no point telling me all that. I'm riddled with strange illnesses and don't have long to live."
"Please note that your body has already died. You are currently in a soul state, so the issue you are concerned about does not exist."
"Uh... a soul state?" Luo Yifang looked down at the familiar clothes he was wearing, utterly bewildered again.
"A soul is a non-material..."
"Alright, alright, stop right there!" Luo Yifang hurriedly waved a hand to interrupt [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds]. He had no desire to listen to another lengthy educational explanation. "What a soul is isn't important. You must have some plan for bringing me here, right? Tell me about that first."
Unexpectedly, [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] fell silent for a while before speaking again. "I must admit that among the other eighty-six authorized individuals with great power whom I have received over these long years, none adapted as quickly as you."
"How do you know I've adapted so well? Maybe I'm panicking like crazy right now." Luo Yifang shrugged.
"Entities in a soul state cannot deceive [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds]."
"Well, aren't you impressive." Luo Yifang gave a thumbs-up and smiled. He truly was calm. Although he still did not fully understand what had happened, every conclusion from his analysis told him it was not a bad thing. At the very least, this entity calling itself [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] seemed to need something from him.
And most importantly, as [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] had said, Luo Yifang did not have long to live. He had once possessed talents and abilities enough to make even God jealous, but it was as though the heavens themselves envied his gifts. At only fifteen, he had been diagnosed with a genetic disease that science at its current level could never cure. While those his age played and fell in love without restraint, he had been racing against Death, exhausting every means to cling desperately to life.
But in the end, it seemed he had still failed. Death's scythe had struck his neck all the same. Yet Luo Yifang was not the sort to meekly become a ghost beneath the blade. He had wagered his life, using the final moments of his diseased body to create a future for humanity. He had given that intelligent life everything he had: Luo Yifang's wisdom, his ideals, his hobbies, everything about him had been written into the intelligent life-form's core protocol. Perhaps not long after he vanished, that world would gain another new "Luo Yifang"!
"But none of that has anything to do with me now. Hah..." Luo Yifang stretched lazily. His long-held dream had been fulfilled, and he felt far more relaxed than ever before. This soul-state business was a little creepy, though. And besides, did he count as dead or not?
Luo Yifang had originally thought he could at least get a good sleep after death, but it seemed he would not be getting any rest. "So, you said I'm already dead. I'm just an ordinary person, not some badass powerhouse like those people you received before. What am I supposed to do?"
"[Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] received a message from a certain world. After matching, it discovered an existence with 100% soul similarity and 97% physical similarity to you. In other words, this is another you from another world."
"So?" Luo Yifang did not quite understand.
"With the consent of both parties, perfect fusion can be achieved. The other party has already agreed."
"Mm... alright. I don't really understand what that means, but I just have to agree, right?" Luo Yifang spread his hands indifferently. "But I have one more question."
"Please speak."
"If that guy's similarity to me is so high, there's nothing wrong with him, right?"
[Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] fell silent again for a while before speaking once more. "Target world confirmed. Scanning matched entity. Matched entity locked. Target—Accelerator. Beginning matching. Three, two, one, fusion begins!"
"Wait, what the hell is this?!" Luo Yifang was shocked. That name did not sound right! Why was his similarity to this guy so high? Did that mean he was mentally disabled?!
Unfortunately, Luo Yifang only felt a flash of white before he knew nothing more. The only thing remaining was the final voice of [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds], echoing beside his ears.
"Your assistant will connect after your fusion is complete. Don't come looking for me if there's nothing wrong, and don't come looking for me even if there is!"
Luo Yifang suddenly felt as though he had boarded a pirate ship. That damn [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] must have been faking that aloof attitude earlier!
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