Shadow's Game

In fact, when Yi first asked Qing Chen, "Are you also Artificial Intelligence?", Qing Chen had already sensed Yi's loneliness.

Only truly lonely people yearn to find their own kind.

Qing Chen had a similar feeling. He tried to look up information to see if there were any other people in the world who could remember everything they saw and had strong analytical skills like him.

The process of searching for this object was also a solitary one.

For Yi, this feeling was actually stronger.

At the very beginning of its birth.

When humans celebrate the Spring Festival, it might even have some doubts: why do humans celebrate their planet orbiting a star, and is there really any celebratory significance to this?

It gradually came to understand that humans were celebrating family reunions.

By the time it understood this, its parents were no longer around.

"Is there anyone else in this world like you?" Qing Chen asked curiously.

"If you're referring to Mechanical Civilization in the narrow sense, then no," Yi replied.

Upon hearing this, Qing Chen quickly realized a detail. "And what about in a broader sense?"

"In a broader sense, there is another life form that exists in the form of data. If we judge it by its vital signs, then it should also be considered what you call Artificial Intelligence," Yi said after thinking for a moment.

"Wait a minute," Qing Chen said, puzzled, "I don't quite understand what you're saying."

Yi said, "I'll explain it this way so you can understand. He was originally a human, but his body died. However, his spirit and will were uploaded as data, so he now lives in the network."

Qing Chen was shocked. Had the technology in the Inner World reached such a level that it could directly upload a person's mental will?

In a sense, the person uploaded to the internet is practically immortal, unless human civilization goes extinct again and no one uses the internet anymore.

"Are there many such beings?" Qing Chen asked.

"Not many, just him," Yi replied.

He asked, "Who is this person?"

"Um," Yi hesitated for a moment before saying, "In a sense, he's my brother, but he's always refused to let me call him brother. Besides, he doesn't go out much; he's in a state of self-dormancy most of the time, and I can't wake him up."

"Brother? Can Artificial Intelligence have brothers?" Qing Chen felt strange.

"Because he and I were born in the same place, from your human perspective, we are twins," One said.

"Then why is he in hibernation now?" Qing Chen asked.

"He found it boring," Yi lamented. "We almost have eternal life, and we all have to learn to witness the passing of our loved ones, which he found tedious."

"Yi, how old are you?" Qing Chen asked.

"It's impolite to ask a woman her age," Yi said.

Qing Chen: "... Alright then."

At this point, Qing Chen asked again, "Since your creator could create you, why didn't they create other Artificial Intelligence?"

"My creator died after creating me."

"Since the Inner World has the technology to upload one's spiritual will, why doesn't anyone else choose this method to achieve immortality? Has this technology been lost?" Qing Chen wondered.

"It's not lost. Someone successfully uploaded it, but my brother killed them all," Yi said.

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment. He knew nothing about Yi's brother and couldn't figure him out.

He only felt that the other party seemed to be a very willful person, and destroying other people's mental will was just a thought for him.

"By the way," Yi asked, "In your Outer World, if we two became friends, what should friends do?"

Qing Chen paused for a moment, then said, "I should help my friend avoid taxes..."

Yi sighed, "So this is what you were waiting for... Don't worry, I've already been handling it for you, it's just been a bit complicated. By the way, I've created an opportunity for Liu Dezhu to make a good impression, now it's just a matter of you clearing his name."

"Yes, I will do it as soon as possible," Qing Chen said. "The most important thing in this matter is how to get the culprit to confess and be brought to justice. This is difficult, but I have already thought it through."

He didn't plan to hunt down the Shadow Candidate directly for the time being, because he didn't know what trump cards they had up their sleeves, so hiding in the shadows and observing the situation was the best option.

However, Liu Dezhu's release from prison will give him more confidence when facing a crisis.

At this moment, Qing Chen was like a spider, diligently weaving his web in this steel jungle, waiting for his prey to come to him.

This net must be strong enough.

He thought for a moment and said, "I need to go back to the Luoshen Building to change my clothes first, and then I'll go to the Unending Club tonight. There's no need to delay any longer."

"No need to go back to change," Yi said in the car. "Just open the storage compartment on the side of the back seat. There's a suit prepared inside, in your size."

Qing Chen was taken aback. "When was this prepared?"

"I knew you were going to use the Forbidden Item ACE-005 to change your identity and enter the Unending Club this afternoon, so I prepared it for you," Yi said calmly. "Going back to the Luoshen Building would be a waste of time, so you can change your clothes in the car."

Qing Chen asked suspiciously, "Something's not right with you."

Yi asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I feel like you just want to see me change clothes. Take me back to the Luoshen Building!"

One: "... Liu Dezhu is still waiting for you to help him get off the hook, you should act quickly."

"It won't make a difference if it's just a little while longer," Qing Chen said calmly.

The airship slowly descended from the parking lot on the 67th floor of the Luoshen Building, Qing Chen took the elevator all the way back to the 132nd floor.

However, when he was about to open the door and go inside, he suddenly stopped.

In the long and deep corridor, Qing Chen calmly pondered something until two minutes later, when he finally entered the password.

With a click, the door opened, but the lights didn't turn on automatically as usual; instead, the room remained shrouded in darkness.

A soft cough came from inside the room, and someone chuckled, "How did you know there were other people in the room?"

"I have my own way of doing things," Qing Chen replied calmly from the doorway.

"Is it based on your memory? You noticed the subtle differences at the door and concluded that someone had come in," a laugh came from the darkness. "Your ability is even more impressive than I imagined. In the past, when we went out, we had to tuck hair into the crack of the door. If the hair wasn't tucked in the same place when we came home, it meant that someone had moved inside. Now you've even skipped that step."

"Hmm," Qing Chen realized that the other person understood him very well.

In the darkness, the uninvited guest coughed softly, suppressing the discomfort in his chest and lungs, as if a volcano was being suffocated beneath a snow-capped mountain, faintly scorching the earth.

After a long while, the uninvited guest laughed and said, "Since you knew there were people inside, why did you still dare to come in?"

Qing Chen was very clear about one thing: this building was under Yi's surveillance. If someone came to kill him, Yi would definitely give a warning in advance.

But this time, Yi did not.

If Yi wanted to kill Qing Chen, it would be a very simple matter. All he had to do was for the hovercar to suddenly stall while it was in motion, and the huge vehicle would fall from a height of several hundred meters, and he would surely die.

Therefore, there is absolutely no need for more complicated methods.

In fact, Artificial Intelligence is more powerful and harder to defend against than we imagine.

He thought for a moment, then calmly said, "Someone told me that I would receive a warning if anyone who threatens my life entered the building."

In this sentence, Qing Chen did not reveal Yi's existence.

"You seem to trust Li Shutong a lot?" the uninvited guest asked curiously. "Has anyone ever told you that if you want to become a shadow, you must first learn to question everything?"

"I trust him, and I have my reasons for it," Qing Chen, slowly walking into the room after his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He sat down on the sofa opposite the uninvited guest. "Does Mr. Shadow have no one he can trust?"

The last sentence carried a hint of hostility.

The gunpowder smell was out of place, yet it was neither servile nor arrogant.

It's not hard to guess the identity of the uninvited guest sitting opposite him: knowing Qing Chen's identity Shadow Candidate, the coughing sound in the darkness, and knowing that he is Li Shutong's student—all these things combined are enough to corroborate some things.

This is the shadow of the Qing family.

He is one of the most mysterious people in the entire Federation. Compared to the Shadow Candidate, he is the real giant who can rewrite history with a wave of his hand.

Just now, Qing Chen stood at the door for two minutes, deep in thought, sorting through all the clues he had gathered since his transmigration.

The clues were originally disorganized, but when the shadow of the Qing family visited late at night, all the clues seemed to have a thread connecting them, subtly linking everything together.

At this moment, the shadow opposite him laughed, "From the moment you realized there was someone in the room, from your initial surprise to your current calm and composure, only three minutes have passed. That's quite impressive. Besides, in all these years, you're the only person who has dared to sit across from me and calmly counter my questions. To answer your question directly, I don't trust many people, but there are certainly some."

The shadow continued to laugh and said, "But what I said isn't wrong either. If you want to be a shadow, you should learn to question everything, even whether I am a real shadow."

The shadow sat on the opposite sofa, its face shrouded in darkness, its eye sockets appearing like endless abysses in the shadows.

"I wonder what brings you here so late at night?" Qing Chen asked calmly.

"There's nothing to tell you," Shadow said with interest. "Would you believe me if I said I just wanted to see your puzzled look?"

"I believe you," Qing Chen nodded, "The wicked quirks of big shots when they're bored are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people."

"Your reaction is rather boring," Shadow tapped the sofa with his finger. "How about this? I know you have a lot of questions. How about we play a game? You kill a Shadow Candidate, and I'll tell you a secret. Isn't that a good deal? Consider it an extra prize in the Shadow Struggle."

Qing Chen's breath hitched. He hadn't expected that the game this shadowy figure was playing was about risking one's life.

Today, the two major alliances, Haihunyi and Shenyin, along with the operations officers, arrived in Luoyang, and I need to entertain them... Also, I haven't had a break in over two months since I started writing this book, so today's update is a day off to rest. I'll resume normal updates tomorrow.

If anyone has something to blame, here is a list: Haihunyi, Shenyin, Sisi, Qing Bao, Mo Chengkong, Lulu...