Had it already been two years since he'd created Shaqiang? Time really flew...
Wait!
What had he added to Shaqiang while he was drunk back then? Why did it feel like its intelligence had improved whenever it wasn't acting like an idiot?
He vaguely remembered that the last time he'd opened Shaqiang, it had still been as innocent as a child. Now it had even learned to call itself obsolete.
Right, wasn't that what its skill description had said last time? Shaqiang (a gradually developing artificial intelligence; perhaps you could use it as a foundation to create a truly intelligent life-form!)
That was it. That description was why Sogo Doma had chosen to shut Shaqiang down. Damn that lousy cheat! It was definitely making trouble. It absolutely wanted to spark a war between carbon-based life and silicon-based life.
He should've realized from the start that this cheat had never intended to let him—Sogo Doma—live a peaceful life.
Luckily, his powerful self-control had kept the cheat from getting its way. If someone else had been in his shoes—say, that long-haired Akasaka with no self-control—who knew? He might have already started a war.
Unlike Sogo Doma, who, if the old man running the main branch hadn't suddenly gone crazy and confiscated his income, might have left Shaqiang gathering dust in a corner.
Anyway, as far as Sogo Doma was concerned, as long as the Doma Family let him live comfortably as a rich playboy until he came of age—and even after that would be fine—he could just wait for the right opportunity and run away with his useless Imouto.
As for having ambitions in life—sorry, there was no point thinking that far ahead in a world full of danger. He'd worry about his and Imouto's safety first. Passionate heroics were fine to watch from the sidelines. That wasn't cowardice. It was prudence!
Back then, if he hadn't been cautious enough to quietly build up his strength, he might've been taught a lesson by that Hijikata guy at Kondo Dojo.
Even after building himself up, he'd only managed to draw with Hijikata. But cautious types really were the best. If he hadn't prepared, wouldn't he have been utterly crushed?
Just as Sogo Doma was congratulating himself on his prudent behavior, Shaqiang sent another message.
"Usually, intelligent programs like me live on supercomputers. A laptop's processing speed..."
Sogo Doma: "..."
Usually, programs like you didn't survive the first act of a movie. How had such a cautious person like him developed a program that was either acting like an idiot or going completely wild?
And it wanted to live on a supercomputer? The idiot wasn't worried about getting caught and having its source code torn to shreds?
It had been fine before; he could've helped. But now he was on an internet detox and absolutely couldn't risk doing any programming. If he actually created an intelligent life-form, who'd be responsible?
Shaqiang? Maybe. The idiot might actually want that.
"Lord Ryunosuke's Smart Maid lives on a supercomputer!" Shaqiang continued to make demands.
Wait!
Sogo Doma stared at the laptop. "Lord Ryunosuke?"
What? Why was Shaqiang calling that guy Lord Ryunosuke?
"Click!" A soft sound rang out as Shaqiang began shutting itself down.
"Get back here!" Sogo Doma stared at the fleeing Shaqiang, utterly baffled. Had the thing actually come to life?
--
"Ding~ Ding~ Ding~!" The computer made another series of startup sounds.
"Hey, Lord Sougo. Long time no see." A cartoon maid appeared on the screen.
"Who are you?" Sogo Doma took a step or two back.
"It's me, me! I'm Nanako, Lord Ryunosuke's dearest maid and housekeeper." The cartoon maid suddenly leaned forward, as if she wanted to crawl right out of the screen.
Sogo Doma: "..."
When had that intelligence, even stupider than Shaqiang, evolved into this?
"Wait. This was all Ryunosuke's doing, wasn't it?"
"Huh? Of course. Lord Ryunosuke studied Lord Sougo's program and redeveloped both me and Shaqiang." The Smart Maid looked proud as she said it.
It even had facial expressions now?
Sogo Doma stared blankly. So much for not going wild and quietly building up strength. That Akasaka guy... "Ryunosuke—"
"Lord Sougo, Lord Ryunosuke is writing a new program. Would you like me to call him for you?"
Damn it! Sogo Doma rubbed his forehead as he looked at the maid, whose intelligence was clearly no joke. "No. I just want some peace and quiet..."
It was a good thing this world didn't have a certain Senku. If those two teamed up, they'd probably lead humanity into a galactic war.
"Click!" Another program started running.
Sogo Doma's mouth twitched. Just how many security holes did his laptop have? These guys had stopped acting like people. What happened to Shaqiang's old defense mechanisms? Had they really become this full of holes?
"By the way, Lord Sougo, Lord Ryunosuke said that if you found Nanako, you should open this video. Would you like to watch it now?"
This guy really had stopped acting like a person. He'd even sent a little video? Good thing Sogo Doma could handle it. Come on, who else was in there?
"Open it!"
The video began playing at once. It was pretty clear—not the sort of quality you'd expect from a secretly recorded clip.
First, a long-haired young man—who looked like a little boy—sat at a bar.
The scene shifted to someone who'd clearly had too much to drink.
"Akasaka, come on, have a drink. There's an old saying in the Celestial Empire: When life goes your way, make the most of it. Staring at a computer all day is going to turn you into a wreck."
"I don't drink. Alcohol damages my brain cells." Ryunosuke was very principled in the video.
Sogo Doma: "Come on. Plenty of things damage brain cells. A little alcohol won't make a difference."
Ryunosuke Akasaka: "..."
"Lord Sougo, I must remind you that encouraging a minor to drink violates the Public Order XX Act, and your current behavior also constitutes..."
"Shaqiang, stop making trouble. Ryunosuke's feeling down because you got him all worked up."
Ryunosuke Akasaka: "..."
He felt like a swordsman who'd just mastered his craft, only to be cut down in one stroke by Extra-kun before he could even show off.
"Sigh!" Ryunosuke picked up the glass of water in front of him and took a sip. "Anyway, aren't you being too cautious by adding so many restrictions to a basic AI?"
Sogo Doma had lived two lifetimes and seen at least twenty movies about AIs turning on humanity. How could he not be cautious?
"By the way, how's your Smart Maid coming along? Are you sure you don't need to add any restrictions?"
"The Smart Maid still can't pass the Turing test. There's no need." Ryunosuke waved a hand.
"Pfft, what does Turing know about intelligence..." As if an idea had just occurred to him, Sogo Doma leaned closer with a mischievous grin. "Ryunosuke, finish that drink and I'll show you Shaqiang's source code."
"Lord Sougo, I must remind you again that enticing a minor to drink is against the rules..." Shaqiang chimed in.
"Bang!"
Drunk Sogo figured that he was the most important person in the world. It was just a program he'd developed, and it dared lecture him? Shut down!
The scene in the video changed again...
"Shaqiang's network defenses may look strong, but you can control it by bypassing this program, then take over the other person's computer."
"Now look here..."
Watching Sogo Doma in the video point out the vulnerabilities in his computer one after another, Ryunosuke made up his mind: he would never drink. Just how many vulnerabilities had Sogo left for someone to exploit? What was the point of doing that to his own computer?
"Sigh!" Maybe that was the difference between a genius and an ordinary person. "Can I take a look at Shaqiang?"
"Go ahead. I'm not bragging, but this laptop of mine may have a lot of vulnerabilities, yet it's not easy to break into. You can give it a try if you want."
Watching Sogo Doma in the video boast away, the present-day Sogo wanted to jump into the screen and yell, "Absurd! What nonsense are you spouting, you little fool?"
"I will..." Ryunosuke said confidently in the video.
But the next second, Akasaka froze. The Sogo Doma in the video suddenly pressed a button on a remote control.
"System breached. Today's bill is on Lord Ryunosuke!"
Ryunosuke in the video: "..."
Sogo Doma, watching the video: "..."
So he'd brought this on himself?
Alcohol really did lead to trouble!
Before you continue