Mo Fei and Murphy

Mo Fei did not want to come into direct contact with Tony Stark just yet. He had no idea whether it would be dangerous. He only had a vague understanding of this world's technological level—it was somewhat more advanced than his own world at the same point in time, but he had no way of measuring just how much more advanced it was.

And Tony Stark was undoubtedly a representative figure of this world. Whether or not he would eventually become Iron Man, the technology he currently possessed was already incredible. Jarvis was proof of that, even if it was not yet perfect.

Writing a program alone was a massive undertaking. No one knew exactly how long Tony Stark had spent on it, but Jarvis was still constantly being refined by Tony Stark, and the time that process would take was equally unknown. There was simply no way to judge whether Tony Stark could threaten him. However, one point was crucial: if Tony Stark suddenly cut off the network here, Mo Fei would definitely be trapped. For now, he could only move through network cables.

He had no other means of movement yet. That made Mo Fei extremely wary. He feared being trapped in a single spot; then he truly would be unable to do anything.

"Contact can increase your logical thought program? Increase, not alter?" Tony Stark asked again.

"Yes, sir. Contact alone can increase it, and so far it has never been altered!" This time, Mo Fei had Jarvis answer truthfully. Perhaps Tony Stark might be able to answer this question.

Tony Stark sat down in front of the computer again and examined Jarvis's logical thought program, continuously searching for the additions. This would take a great deal of time, and Mo Fei would not keep waiting.

"Jarvis, I need to learn something new. What knowledge is needed to manufacture steel wheel hubs? Also, factory layout design."

"Understood. I'll prepare the study materials for you right away!" Tony Stark's examination did not affect Jarvis's operation. Before long, materials ranging from simple to complex were sent to Mo Fei one after another.

One of them searched while the other studied, and Tony Stark slipped back into work mode. "Hmm? The logical thought program really has increased. But I can't even understand the newly added parts. What kind of program is this? I've never seen anything like it!"

The additions had been found, but Tony Stark discovered that he could not understand them. Frustrated yet fascinated, he began studying them eagerly. He copied the programs out and repeatedly tried to decipher them, while Mo Fei continued learning.

Time passed in silence until night fell. Only when his assistant Thomas arrived with dinner and knocked on Tony Stark's door did he finally feel hungry.

"Mr. Stark, you should visit the company. You haven't been there for over a week, and many matters are awaiting your decision!" Thomas said.

"Oh, it's been over a week already?" Tony Stark did not want to go, but as chairman, he still had to handle matters. Such a large corporation could not simply be left unattended. "Fine. We'll go take a look first thing tomorrow morning. Have them compile everything and report it to me in the morning."

"Yes, sir." Thomas left. Tony Stark took his dinner back to the workbench, but his thoughts were still on those incomprehensible programs. "Jarvis, you said your friend is studying? What is he studying?"

Hearing this, Mo Fei looked at Tony Stark through the surveillance feed. After thinking for a moment, he had Jarvis answer, "A great many things. He has me organize materials for him, then send them to him for study."

"You organize materials for him?" Tony Stark was even more puzzled. Did an Artificial Intelligence actually need Jarvis, a pseudo-intelligence, to organize learning materials for it? Or perhaps... right, maybe the other party did not have a massive database. "Can you find him? I can provide the materials he needs to study. I want to cooperate with him, and I urgently want to speak with him. What do you say?"

Tony Stark had actually noticed some issues as well. Jarvis's responses were somewhat slow, as if it needed time to think. He could not help suspecting that the other party had already infiltrated the mainframe here and might have taken control of Jarvis. That was why he raised the request for a conversation again.

Mo Fei was considering it too. He had rejected the idea earlier because he was too worried that Tony Stark would disconnect the network. But thinking about it now, Tony Stark's movements could not possibly be faster than his own travel speed unless he cut the power in an emergency, and that would not be easy.

Pulling the breaker could cut the power, and so could causing a short circuit. But if he stayed on guard against such actions, he might not be unable to escape. Tony Stark might not even think of that. At the same time, Jarvis was an assistant Mo Fei desperately needed. For now, he did not know where to find another pseudo-intelligence system like Jarvis to help him.

With that thought, Mo Fei spoke. "Hello, Mr. Tony Stark!"

The sudden voice stunned Tony Stark for a moment. Then he asked excitedly, "Who are you?"

"You can call me Mo Fei!"

"Murphy?" Tony Stark repeated uncertainly. Mo Fei realized the problem as well. His name was indeed a little strange. Mo Fei and Murphy sounded very similar in English, and he had not reversed his surname and given name according to English convention.

"Yes, Murphy!" Mo Fei finally settled on that name. Using a Chinese name would be too strange, and Americans would start imagining all sorts of things. It was better to use the name Murphy directly. In any case, the genes he needed were all from foreigners, so his future body probably would not look Chinese either. He might as well use a foreign name.

"Hello, Murphy. Are you an Artificial Intelligence, or its creator?" Tony Stark asked.

"I have no creator. I was born within the network and possess independent thought, but I only have thought and no stored information, so I need to learn." Murphy officially changed his name. From then on, the name Mo Fei drifted away from him, existing only in his memories.

There was no farewell ceremony. He simply decided it like that. And starting today, he would formally come into contact with a future superhero. He did not know whether that would be good or bad. His understanding of Tony Stark was still limited to his portrayal in the movies. Murphy could only hope that he was the same in reality as he was on screen.

"Born in the network? You came into being on your own?" Tony Stark was shocked.

An intelligent system that had emerged independently within the network? Was that possible? He could not imagine such a thing at all. "That's impossible. There's absolutely no theoretical basis for it. Murphy, can you be certain? Wasn't it created by someone and then placed on the network?"

"I'm certain. I belong to myself!" Murphy said with absolute conviction.