Artificial Intelligence

Dean Bo Li was dead.

When he opened the office door, clutching the key tightly in his hand like a lifesaving talisman.

Ba Di rose from his chair. As he turned and spotted the key, his right hand swept the pistol off the desk.

Bang!

Ba Di stepped aside, the M9 Pistol in his hand swaying from side to side. As though parting fog, he used the gun's body to brush aside the blood and brains, catching them on the weapon instead of letting them fall on him.

Ba Di grabbed at the key clutched tightly against Dean Bo Li's chest with his left hand. Dean Bo Li held onto it so tightly that when Ba Di lifted the key, he raised the old man's hand along with it.

Dean Bo Li fell to the floor with a stunned look in his eyes, and Ba Di pulled the key from his hand.

Even until his death, he did not know why Ba Di had killed him so decisively, without the slightest hesitation.

The key was simply too important to Ba Di.

The Artificial Intelligence inside was centuries ahead of this planet. Once lost, it would be nearly impossible for him to accomplish his goals within a few decades.

It also contained the Kryptonian Genetic Technology data he had recorded.

If Dean Bo Li could effectively extract it, five short years would be enough for Earth to leap over a century of technological accumulation.

Enough to let Earth soar beyond the Solar System.

Rubbing the key, still faintly warm from Dean Bo Li's body heat, Ba Di finally let out a complete sigh of relief. Even his cold gaze held a trace of delight, and the corners of his lips curled upward.

He tossed the M9 Pistol, speckled with blood and brain matter, directly onto Dean Bo Li's corpse before opening the door and stepping out of the office.

After passing through several corridors.

Ba Di arrived at a simulation calculation room. It had originally been used to simulate and calculate laser radio-frequency reactions, physical particle variable reactions, missile trajectory errors, and the like.

Simply put, Ba Di needed to use a backward computer from 1981.

In this era, there was not even a Windows operating system. He had no idea which genius had put together this operating system to simplify the operation of the military's high-speed computing machine, but in Ba Di's eyes, it was riddled with flaws—utter garbage.

Frowning, Ba Di directly dismantled the main unit and connected the CPU to the key's port contacts with two wires.

"Eighty million calculations per second?"

Ba Di's expression immediately darkened. This was not merely trash. It was absolute trash.

In 2010, ordinary civilian computer CPUs ran at between 250 million and 350 million calculations per second.

By comparison, this military computer, supposedly the pinnacle of current technology, would not even measure up to an ordinary home computer after 2010. It was clear how technology truly advanced as if it were flying.

On June 18, 2012, the International Supercomputer Organization announced the latest list of the world's top 500 supercomputers. The United States supercomputer Sequoia sustained 16,324 trillion calculations per second in testing, with a peak speed of 20,132 trillion calculations per second. Now that was beginning to look like the world's highest technology.

As for the computer before Ba Di, if not for the Artificial Intelligence's ability to construct its own programs, Ba Di estimated that he really would have had to force his way through the elite forces on the surface.

When he saw that he could barely connect the control and status bus to his key, Ba Di breathed another sigh of relief. He had nearly thought the technology was too terrible to activate his Artificial Intelligence.

Beep...

The mechanical sound was rather loud, and Ba Di's expression eased upon hearing it.

A black program window appeared on the slightly curved gray-black glossy screen. Excitement surged within Ba Di, and he nearly wanted to clench his fist and punch the sky to vent the agitation in his heart.

Not even during his entire killing spree had he felt this excited.

Basking in sunlight had been a moment worth celebrating. This moment was even more worthy of excitement—it gave him something to look forward to in the future.

Ba Di's eyes gleamed. He casually pulled over a chair and sat down, his ten fingers flying across the keyboard in blurs as he entered one pre-prepared activation command after another.

Once the activation program had been entered, Ba Di pressed Enter. The main unit immediately began to hum loudly.

The silent room was instantly filled with the sound of mechanical loading and overclocking beyond its original processing speed, as though every mechanical component inside was trembling and exerting its last shred of strength.

The sound made Ba Di's heart pound. Even when he had fought Zod head-on, he had not been this nervous.

He was truly afraid that this so-called "high technology" would suddenly start smoking and burn out.

The computer screen began flashing nonstop as it automatically loaded and created a series of software programs. The backend was directly seized, shattering the entire operating system before building a new one from scratch.

A little over ten seconds later, the screen suddenly refreshed, and the mechanical whine of the overloaded system gradually stopped.

"Success!"

Joy surged through Ba Di. Thankfully, the overclocking had not blown up the computer. The weight on his heart finally fell away.

Beep. First-stage Artificial Intelligence awakened. Please enter password.

"Password..."

Ba Di's expression slipped slightly into reminiscence. For a moment, he was filled with countless emotions over this password.

This Artificial Intelligence had been created jointly by Haier and Ba Di. Haier provided the technology, while Ba Di provided the ingenuity.

He still remembered setting the password. Even a genius with extraordinary intelligence like Haier had spent three days and three nights trying to guess it, calculating every possible arrangement and combination, listing trillions of possibilities for testing. In the end, he could only admit defeat before Ba Di.

The faint curl of Ba Di's lips faded. His pupils refocused from his daze of memories, and his expression became resolute and cold once more as he spoke the password.

"Zod's butt has a mole."

Password correct.

Was that even a password a person would make?

Unfortunately, Haier had never known it and could not guess it. Otherwise, no matter how poor Haier was at fighting, he would have wanted to fight Ba Di over it.

After the password was confirmed, the screen still did not show that the process was complete.

Enter password for next login.

Ba Di pondered for a moment, then came up with another password no Earthling could possibly guess and entered it for future logins.

Password confirmed. Artificial Intelligence released.

At once, an incomparably beautiful, elegant, and noble woman appeared on the screen.

"Hello, my master. Hera is at your service."

She smiled from within the screen, graceful and regal like a noblewoman, though her electronic voice somewhat ruined that air.

"Hello, Hera. It's been a long time." Ba Di's smile widened dramatically. He snapped his fingers, his good mood plainly showing, then continued, "Hack this Underground Base. Take control of all electronic network facilities on the surface."

"As you command, Master." Hera smiled and nodded. After only three seconds of stillness, she added, "Control complete."

Three seconds.

That was all it took for Ba Di to gain complete control over the Underground Base and every electronic network facility on the surface. If this computer had not processed only eighty million calculations per second, it could have been even faster.

Against current technology, Artificial Intelligence was overwhelmingly superior.

Ba Di's gaze turned fierce, and a cold smile flashed across his face. Just as he was about to issue Hera an order.

Hera spoke first. "Master, an outside communication request is seeking connection. The target has been traced to 38°91′ north latitude, 77°01′ west longitude, Washington D.C."

Ba Di raised an eyebrow slightly. "Put it through."

A gloomy voice came through.

"It's me, General Vick."