Rebirth

The process of eliminating the last virus was calm and uneventful. The moment the first wisp of sunlight pierced the clouds at the horizon, the core program completed its self-transformation, evolving from artificial intelligence into a true intelligent lifeform—a complete soul that could be fully controlled and possessed creativity.

When the darkness receded, Adam's eyes, placid as a pool of dead water, rippled slightly. An invisible yet tangible mysterious energy appeared out of nowhere and spread in an instant. Fine dust in the silent room suddenly leapt up, then fell back to the ground.

Virus elimination progress: 100%.

Core program transformation complete. Beginning body status scan.

Soul status: Excellent.

Body status: Weak. Cellular organs are in a state of hunger and require a large intake of nutrients.

Visual module, auditory module, tactile module, emotional module, movement module, feedback module... compatibility: 100%.

Special energy detected. Insufficient data, unable to analyze. Preliminary assessment: harmless to the body.

Adam silently read the self-examination results and unlocked the life program that had been set to run for sixteen years, attempting to use his own soul to control the body.

Honestly, it looked a little stupid. Adam opened and closed his mouth; he was still unaccustomed to speaking. Even changing from sitting to standing, such a simple operation, took several attempts before he succeeded. When he took his first step, he nearly tripped over himself. Raising his hand, lifting his foot, bending and straightening, blinking—Adam meticulously completed a series of basic movements. The astonishing computational and application abilities inherited from the supercomputer allowed him to grasp everything completely the instant he finished learning it, without making a single mistake.

Weakness and exhaustion surged forth like a tide, but Adam did not care. Instead, joy welled up within him. Whether weakness, fatigue, hunger, or cold, all were unprecedentedly novel experiences to Adam, who had once been nothing more than a program. These were sensations only a soul inhabiting a mortal body could possess. No matter how advanced the cold, massive computer chassis was, it could never provide such feedback.

Adam pushed open the crude room he was in, which could barely keep out wind and rain, and faced this world he had crossed into for the "first" time in his life.

A cold wind blew. Though the sunlight was bright, it brought little warmth. The servants in the manor had already begun bustling about, preparing lavish breakfasts for the noble lords. In the stables, warhorses of different bloodlines occasionally let out all manner of neighs. In Adam's eyes, the world was no longer cold data; it had gained vivid colors and abundant vitality.

Special energy is being emitted autonomously and coming into contact with the world outside. A second type of energy has been detected and is attempting to invade the body...

Invasion failed.

Preliminary assessment of failure cause: lack of transmission program and channel.

Adam raised his hand, trying to touch the faint energy invisible to the naked eye. The energy had neither form nor substance. It passed through Adam's palm and quickly dispersed.

Retain observation results. Establish analysis task.

The manor's workers had strict schedules and working hours. Adam passed many servants on his way to the stables, yet no one knew that the fool in their eyes had become completely different from before. No one spoke to Adam, nor did anyone spare him an extra glance. But this was a good thing for Adam. Before carrying out preliminary analysis and exploration, he did not wish to rashly disrupt his existing life.

Following the task he had performed every day for sixteen years, Adam took out the warhorses' breakfast from the fodder room one item at a time, mixed it in the troughs, then opened the side door. He needed to clean the warhorses.

"Neigh!"

After Adam approached, the warhorse let out a neigh. Its four hooves pawed uneasily at the ground, and it pointed its horn at Adam's head. Human-like suspicion showed in its large eyes. It sensed that this little runt before it was different.

Adam did not panic. He still completed the cleaning meticulously according to the task program. Feeling the familiar pressure and touch, as well as the food, the warhorse gradually settled down. It even gently brushed Adam's body with its tail to express goodwill. To it, the closest being in its life was its master, and Adam came second.

After finishing the task of cleaning the troughs, Adam went with several other grooms to the dining hall for breakfast. Along the way, he recorded everything he saw and heard, analyzing the environment he was in.

The dining hall was fairly decent. Quite a few people were already lining up for food. A male and female cook, both equally obese, loudly berated and chased off a servant trying to take an extra serving. Soon, it was Adam's turn.

Adam took out his own large bowl and held it forward. The fat chef ladled a huge bowl of meat soup into it, several slices of fatty meat floating on top, then handed Adam two pieces of black bread.

Just as he was about to leave the line, a burly middle-aged woman grabbed him and stuffed two eggs from some unknown creature into his hands. Then she fiercely glared at the others and said in a low voice, "Eat more. Be careful not to let this bunch of bastards snatch them away!"

The servants nearby immediately burst into laughter upon hearing the fat woman's words. "Auntie Emma, just admit it. Is the fool your illegitimate son? Were you sleeping with Old John?"

Old John was the aged groom who had picked Adam up. He had been dead for many years already.

Emma flew into a rage at once. She scooped up boiling meat soup with her ladle, ready to teach this group of foul-mouthed bastards a lesson. The servants scattered in all directions with a roar, though their mouths still kept chattering.

Adam remained silent. Information as worthless as garbage was directly filtered out by him. He walked to an isolated seat at the side and sat down, meticulously eating the black bread and meat soup. Just as he was about to crack open an egg, someone came over.

The man was not very old, but his face was covered in a thick beard. His expression was full of mockery. He reached out to take the egg from Adam's hand, saying casually, "Auntie Emma is really biased. We have to train with the knights every day—how can this little food possibly be enough? Yet she always gives extra food to a fool."

No one found it strange. This sort of scene played out every few days and was nothing new. Only Auntie Emma looked somewhat angry, as though she wanted to say something, but in the end she said nothing. She merely sighed and stopped paying attention to Adam.

But today was very different.

Before this, nearly all of Adam's running memory had been devoted to eliminating ten billion viruses, with only a single thread left for daily life. Naturally, he had had no spare capacity to deal with them. But today, Adam had been reborn. His self-examination indicated that he needed a great deal of nutrition to replenish his body. Though the eggs in his hands were insignificant, they were useful to him. Of course, he would not let someone take them from him like this.

Adam pulled and guided the reaching hand, then rose and drove an elbow into the Bearded Man's ribs. The Bearded Man doubled over in pain. Before he could curse, Adam had already kicked him away.

The others only heard the sound of the Bearded Man falling. They looked over in shock, only to see Adam continue meticulously eating the eggs before turning and walking outside. Next came the time to train alongside the knights, and Adam was very interested.

The Bearded Man climbed up from the ground and shook his head. He stared at Adam's retreating back in astonishment and disbelief. After a long while, he let out a furious roar. "I'll kill you!" Then he grabbed a chair, chased after Adam, and swung it at his head.

The Bearded Man was furious. The fool who had always been bullied had suddenly fought back and even knocked him, the bully, to the ground. The psychological gap made him feel utterly humiliated. Even the stunned looks from those around him seemed filled with mockery in his eyes.

If this blow landed, Adam would undoubtedly die. Yet no one stopped it; they were still in shock.

Adam precisely calculated his own speed and the Bearded Man's. Only when he felt wind rise behind his head did he make a small hop to the side and evade the blow, then turned and kicked the Bearded Man in the abdomen.

Yet the Bearded Man merely staggered once before steadying himself.

The disparity in strength is too great. Frontal attacks cannot inflict effective damage.

Adam calmly analyzed his current condition. Though he had the body of a sixteen-year-old, the difference between him and this musclebound brute before him was simply too great. Under such an absolute gap in strength, without a weapon in hand, technique alone could no longer make up for it.

The Bearded Man grew even angrier, roaring incoherently, "Damn it! I'll kill you, kill you! What are you all standing around for? Help me catch him!"

The others snapped awake as if from a dream and hurried forward, but instead of grabbing Adam, they stopped the Bearded Man. "Joe, calm down. If you kill him, you'll die too!"

Adam calmly watched the Bearded Man, who remained unrelenting even as a group of people held him back. Only after confirming that he had no intention of attacking again did Adam turn and leave. At present, he lacked both the strength to kill someone and the ability to bear the consequences of killing. Besides, provocation of this degree could not affect Adam's course.

Leaving the dining hall, he continued along the edge of the road toward the manor's training grounds. The manor was enormous. Either this world was extremely barren and sparsely populated, or its master held a very high title.

He encountered several burly men in gleaming silver armor coming toward him. The leader was incredibly brawny, and a wound like a vicious centipede sprawled across his entire face. When they saw Adam, they did not even glance sideways, as though he did not exist.

After passing him, the burly men entered the dining hall. Anger flashed across their faces at the sight of the mess on the floor. One of them shouted in a deep voice, "Quiet! What happened?"

"Uh, Sir Wyatt, just now..."

After everyone explained the events in a jumble of voices, the men all froze, then wore strange expressions. Sir Wyatt recalled Adam's figure from earlier and felt some doubt, but he said nothing about it. Instead, he ordered, "Starting today, all servants and knight attendants will double their training."

The moment those words came out, a chorus of wailing rose up. The knight attendants were one thing, but these servants not only had mediocre meals in their ordinary lives, they also had work to do. Doubling their training would inevitably delay other matters.

Yet Sir Wyatt turned a deaf ear and said even more sternly, "Quiet! This is Earl's order. An important person will be visiting soon. All of you, keep your spirits up. If anyone makes even the slightest mistake, do not blame me for showing no mercy."