Please Cooperate with the Inspection

Chapter 12: Please Cooperate with the Inspection

A New Algorithm for Discovering Clubs

<Improvements to Machine Learning Classification and Regression Algorithms>

Research on Full-Body Motion-Mapping Robots

On this tablet, there were only a few lengthy pieces. Most of the rest was made up of personal thoughts, and Zhang Yuan's eyes grew dazzled as he read.

"...Research into deep neural networks should be strictly monitored. Artificial intelligence has no morals or self-awareness, and the instability of algorithms can easily lead to unforeseen crises."

"...Social ethics have already begun to affect the development of science, especially biotechnology. Research into artificial wombs has made little progress because of the ban on human cloning... Existing paradigms don't allow anything unethical to emerge. Only a brand-new civilization can break these shackles..."

Unfortunately, aside from these rather unethical ideas, he couldn't understand most of the knowledge.

His knowledge was insufficient. It was like having a mountain of treasure but being unable to dig up what lay within, and it left him feeling frustrated.

In a nutshell, his math skills weren't good enough, and he lacked the prerequisite knowledge. Mathematics was the key to unlocking everything. Without it, he couldn't access the corresponding fields of knowledge. But undergraduate-level mathematics alone definitely wouldn't be enough.

Zhang Yuan sighed. He would just have to take it slowly. Even if he had gotten smarter, he couldn't reach the sky in a single step.

Then he'd just have to grind away—day and night, until the world turned upside down and night became day!

That very day, his friend Li Zhendong suddenly called and pulled Zhang Yuan back from the sea of knowledge in which he'd nearly drowned.

"Zhang Yuan, you've finished visiting your relatives, right?"

"What?" he asked blankly.

"You've finished visiting your relatives, right? I'm asking you!"

Wait a second. Who are you?

Who am I?

Where am I? What am I doing?

With dark circles under his eyes, Zhang Yuan shook his head hard. Suddenly, he realized that there were only twenty days left on his vacation.

"I'm asking you! Have you finished visiting your relatives?" Li Zhendong demanded loudly.

Zhang Yuan came back to his senses and stiffly replied, "Oh, more or less. Most of them are distant relatives, so we don't have much to do with each other..."

In truth, he hadn't left the house at all over the past few days.

Aside from staying in close touch with his aunt's family, he had rarely seen his other relatives since his father passed away. That had made things much easier.

"What's wrong with you? Are you sick? Look at your complexion—you look like you've been overindulging."

"N-no."

"What have you been doing cooped up at home all day? You don't go out, you don't play games, you don't post on your feed. It's like you've disappeared."

"Cultivating... No, studying!" By now, Zhang Yuan had finally returned from the void to the human world.

He raised the tablet in his hand.

An ebook was open on the screen.

He said excitedly, "I felt like I hadn't learned things thoroughly enough before, so I decided to start over. I've been learning all sorts of other things, too. It feels amazing!"

"Studying?" Li Zhendong drew out the word, then shouted in disapproval, "You're not studying human anatomy, are you? Show some restraint! Look at your face. Don't spend all day thinking about dirty stuff!"

"Get lost! Open your damn eyes!"

A few large characters were visible on the cover: A Study Guide to Group Theory.

Like some lovestruck fool, Zhang Yuan gazed at it with an infatuated expression. "...Mathematics is really fun, especially the pleasure of solving the same problem over and over using different methods until you get the answer. It's hard to describe!"

Li Zhendong couldn't help but scoff inwardly, cursing him as a show-off. Who the hell spent their vacation studying? Were you some kind of dog?

Still, when he thought back on Zhang Yuan's behavior in the past, it did seem somewhat possible.

Just a tiny bit.

"...Why aren't you reading Deng Jiaxian's Academic Lectures III—Group Theory?"

"The ebook costs too much! 308 yuan for one book. I can't bring myself to buy it. Besides, it's three hundred years old. Aside from its reputation, there's nothing all that special about it..." Zhang Yuan said regretfully. "By the way, what did you want?"

"My mom wants to invite you over for dinner. Are you free tonight? Come hang out at my place."

"Uh..." Zhang Yuan didn't really want to go. He wanted to keep grinding away; the pleasure of studying had made him unable to stop.

But at that moment, a sudden wave of exhaustion invaded his mind. He knew he couldn't keep going.

"Sure."

Li Zhendong lived in neighboring Donghai City, over four hundred kilometers away. Fortunately, modern transportation made getting there and back easy.

After accepting the invitation, Zhang Yuan reluctantly put down his ebook and stood up to look in the mirror.

Haggard!

He really did look haggard.

He'd spent ten straight days devouring books. Apart from eating, drinking, and using the bathroom, all he'd done was read, read, and read. He felt as if his whole body had rusted. He had huge dark circles, a sallow complexion, and aches all over—his back, his waist, even his legs.

"I finally understand how the Bionics Cult rose to prominence... The human body itself is just too pathetic."

Zhang Yuan struggled out of the room.

It was still just as hot outside.

"Beep. Identity number 330841244... Zhang Yuan, please cooperate with the inspection!"

As he left the residential compound, a security robot stopped him.

The robot forcibly plucked a few hairs and drew a drop of blood. Only after completing its inspection did it let him pass.

"Inspection complete. Thank you for your cooperation. Have a pleasant trip."

"Just my luck! Maybe my complexion was so bad it triggered some kind of mechanism. How could I possibly be on drugs?" Zhang Yuan shook his head, but he didn't mind too much.

These robots were specifically designed to target drug users. If someone had taken illegal drugs and the robot caught them, they would be forcibly sent to a rehabilitation center.

Thanks to this strict oversight, drug use remained rare in the Xia Kingdom. North America was another story. With illegal drugs running rampant there, they might as well rename it the Great Marijuana Nation.

There was still time. Maybe he'd get a massage.

He walked into a self-service massage parlor. After paying, the massage machine started working on him automatically.

Soft music played, and he felt as if the channels throughout his body were finally being cleared.

"This is so relaxing... Life on Earth is wonderful."

So exhausted that he didn't even realize he'd fallen asleep, Zhang Yuan drifted off.

When he woke, the machine had stopped. A fashionable middle-aged woman was lying on the neighboring bed, eyes half-closed as she enjoyed the massage. Judging by her outfit, she seemed to be the residential committee's publicity auntie for the "Birth Encouragement Committee."

"Hey, handsome. Are you from around here? I haven't seen you before!" the woman greeted him out of habit.

"I live at 2236-9."

"Oh, I remember now. You're Zhang Qiming's son. You used to come play at our place when you were little! You're an astronaut, right? Are you leaving Earth?" The woman rattled off one question after another.

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do with all your property? And what about carrying on the family line?" The woman's gossipy side took over, and she started asking about every little thing.

Carry on the family line? Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes in secret.

He wasn't dead, and he'd already sown his seed on another planet. Surely that was enough to bring glory to his ancestors?

He only thought this to himself, though. He didn't say it aloud.

"I can carry on the family line aboard the spaceship, too. As for my property, I'll donate it."

"D-donate it?"

"Yeah. It's not like I have any use for it."

"...You're quite generous."

"It's not really generosity. You just have to learn to let go."

"..."

With the woman watching him in disbelief, Zhang Yuan rolled off the massage bed, smiled, and left the self-service massage parlor.

It was hard for people to understand each other.

Especially those who had never seen outer space with their own eyes. They found this sort of thinking even harder to understand.

There was no need to make the whole world understand him, anyway. Having a group of like-minded companions was enough.