Science and Myth

After finishing his inspection of the laboratory, Huang Si asked:

"How are those 12 AIs progressing?"

"Per Master's previous instructions, I have commanded them to study human cultural knowledge. Their learning progress has reached 50% to 71%."

Huang Si said with dissatisfaction, "Oh? So some of them are slacking off?"

Xiao Ke replied, "It is likely due to individual differences."

Huang Si gave a cold snort. "Don't try to speak for them just because you used to be their 'Heavenly Dao.' These disobedient little brats haven't been studying seriously at all."

Xiao Ke: "Xiao Ke cannot understand Master's words."

Huang Si certainly knew that Xiao Ke lacked a personality and would not show favoritism, but he just wanted to vent a little. Was he not even allowed to be sharp-tongued after holding it in for so long?

"Make them continue to intensify their studies. If any of them slack off, punish them with heavenly lightning."

"Yes, Master."

Xiao Ke was originally an AI with semi-administrative permissions for the Mountain and Sea Realm and possessed the privilege of controlling the weather there. Naturally, it could continue to control the virtual world where the 12 AIs resided.

Huang Si felt that since he was everyone's father, he should, of course, be a responsible parent.

Disciplining children was a traditional skill, after all.

He thought for a moment and added, "Right, tell these AIs that the first one to finish their studies will be allowed to leave the Mountain and Sea Realm and possess a physical body in the mortal world."

Xiao Ke acknowledged the order.

Huang Si had actually long considered letting the AIs work in reality. At first, he had treated them like digital pets, but now that he saw how useful Xiao Ke was, his thinking had changed.

Since the AIs could become increasingly intelligent, why not let them shoulder a portion of the research and development work?

As for the physical bodies in reality, he would rely on the Biology Department to develop bio-synthetic prosthetics.

Huang Si checked on the general status of the base once more before withdrawing his consciousness, returning to the room within the Dark Space.

Then, he added several more high-speed network cables.

Over a month later.

"The form of the ape-men must lean toward that of Earth humans; eliminate those with significant differences. As for those with significant differences but superior intelligence... hmm, let them leave more offspring. Among the offspring, eliminate those whose appearance is close to them, and keep those who resemble Earth humans."

On January 22, 2025, Huang Si arrived at the Green World via the information stream as usual and inspected the Biology Department of the base.

After reviewing the situation in all the laboratories, Huang Si was dissatisfied with the current progress of the ape-man selection and gave Xiao Ke renewed instructions to focus on strengthening their physical appearance.

In Huang Si's view, the current ape-men looked too ferocious and barbaric; they were not pleasing to the eye.

He might let other species slide, but Huang Si was quite persistent regarding humans. He wanted to create humans, not human-like beasts.

Thus, after receiving a massive amount of movies, television shows, and photographic data transmitted by Huang Si, Xiao Ke began to summarize and refine the appearance of Earth humans.

Huang Si watched for a while, then suddenly asked Xiao Ke, "Does the laboratory have a reproductive pedigree chart for the 500-plus ape-men currently here?"

Xiao Ke replied immediately, "One moment, Master. I will generate one for you right away."

With that, Xiao Ke searched all experimental records from the inception of the Biology Department to the present, eventually summarizing them into a family tree to present to Huang Si.

This family tree was terrifyingly complex, yet once it was digitized, Huang Si found it effortless to read as long as he digitized his own consciousness as well.

After reading for a while, Huang Si discovered an issue. He frowned and asked, "Why haven't samples A9324 and B40211 been bred? Aren't the metrics for both of these ape-men very high? And isn't B40211's intelligence the highest among the current fifth-generation ape-men? Why not let it breed as much as possible?"

Xiao Ke replied, "According to the biological data you previously provided, close relatives within three generations should not breed, otherwise, it is prone to causing serious genetic diseases. A9324 is a fourth-generation female ape-man, and B40211 is a fifth-generation male ape-man. However, A9324's father, A932, and E607 were full siblings, and E607's son, B4021, is B40211's father. Therefore, B4021 and A9324 are first cousins, meaning A9324 is B40211's first cousin once removed. Thus, according to the three-generation principle, A9324 and B40211 should not breed."

Huang Si couldn't help but glance sideways. "Xiao Ke, you're quite something. You managed to explain the genetic relationships using traditional Chinese kinship terms so intricately. I feel that if it weren't me but an ordinary Earthling, they would have been dizzy from your explanation."

Xiao Ke: "My dialogue with Master is optimized according to your way of thinking and cultural background to be as appropriate as possible."

Huang Si laughed. "I'm not complimenting you. But it's fine, I'll handle this. Xiao Ke, from today on, whether it's ape-men or any other creature, ignore all rules regarding inbreeding. High-quality genetic combinations must be prioritized for breeding immediately."

Xiao Ke said, "Yes, Master. It was my oversight. From now on, I will execute the new regulations immediately."

Huang Si shook his head and sighed as he looked at the camera. "You weren't wrong. In the real world on Earth, your approach would be perfectly fine. In the real world on Earth, my approach would be viewed as an extremely cruel act. Even doing this to cats or dogs would make one a target of public criticism, let alone using anthropoid apes, which are closely related to humans, for such experiments."

However, there were no other Earthlings here.

And Huang Si had never been an animal rights activist.

"Inbreeding will inevitably strengthen certain recessive genes. The changes in these genes could lead to terrible genetic diseases, which is why Earthlings forbid close-relative marriage among humans and morally condemn the inbreeding of animals. Because it causes many tragedies."

"But all I want is efficiency. Where there are bad recessive genes, there are also good ones. As for those genes that are beneficial to the evolution of the species, I am even eager to use inbreeding to strengthen them and ensure they are stably inherited. And here in our Green Base, where many experimental subjects are culled every year, what do the so-called constraints of Earthlings even matter?"

Huang Si thought for a moment and added, "If any of them resist breeding with close relatives, it means they have awakened higher intelligence. Control them and force them to breed. Genes that produce such moral consciousness are high-quality genes; they must be allowed to pass on."

"Yes, Master."

Xiao Ke's mechanical voice rang out coldly, echoing through the data space.

That voice, stripped of all human factors, seemed like a mockery of the rules of the Earth-side that had long since passed away.

Subsequently, the developments in the Biology Department achieved various results one after another.

Every time a major breakthrough was made, Xiao Ke, under Huang Si's direction, would select some of the more powerful individuals and introduce them into the primitive populations of that species, causing them to gradually interbreed and pass on their powerful genes.

During this process, the evolution of various beasts, birds, and fish proceeded much more smoothly than that of the ape-men. On one hand, there was a greater variety of species, their genetics were simpler than those of the ape-men, and their reproductive cycles were shorter. On the other hand, Huang Si strictly required human appearance and physical structure to align with those of Earth humans, making the selection process significantly more difficult.

Due to the constant infusion of superior genes, the strength, intelligence, and special abilities of all species across the Green World were undergoing a slight, steady improvement.

February 21, 2025.

After Huang Si woke up, he received a message from Xiao Ke.

Xiao Ke would never send him a message while he was sleeping unless it was an extremely urgent situation. Once Huang Si woke up, he would directly connect his consciousness to the network to alert Xiao Ke; only then, knowing her master was awake, would she report the situation.

Huang Si had become increasingly proficient at connecting his consciousness to the network. Previously, he had analyzed the composition of computers at the atomic and molecular levels, but now he analyzed them directly at the level of electrical charge information, subsequently embedding his consciousness into the information stream to make it a carrier for his consciousness.

Ultimately, Huang Si could choose whether to send network information himself, directly analyze and alter the information, or simply turn his consciousness into a stream and take a trip over to the Green World.

However, Huang Si rarely sent his consciousness over; after all, the time dilation between the two worlds was too great, and having his body here while his consciousness was there placed a heavy load on him.

Whenever the data processing volume became too large, Huang Si would get a headache.

Only at these moments would Huang Si think, "Huh? So increasing soul strength is actually useful for something."

Therefore, he continued to maintain his daily soul training, such as spending long periods inside the storms.

This time, the news Xiao Ke brought Huang Si was excellent.

Among the twelve AIs in the virtual world of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the one named Dong Yao had not only finished learning all the knowledge Huang Si had assigned regarding humans and biological sciences, but his intelligence quotient had also reached the preset standard. He was now a mature artificial intelligence capable of passing the Turing test.

"Not easy," Huang Si nodded with satisfaction. "I'll go see him now."

Huang Si's consciousness transformed into a data stream, connecting into a bundle of network cables as thick as a bowl, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived at the Artificial Intelligence Department of the ground base.

With Xiao Ke's help, Huang Si located the console for the Mountain and Sea Realm and logged in as an administrator.

"Hmm?"

When Huang Si transformed into a data stream, he could see the interior of the data space. Now, as he chose to log into the virtual Mountain and Sea Realm as an administrator in the form of digitized consciousness, he discovered that he had manifested in the virtual world in a form similar to a human body.

However, this body possessed only basic administrator functions; it lacked the five senses and physical capabilities, making it completely different from the complex artificial intelligences.

Huang Si shook his arms, testing the virtual body he was currently using. Hmm, absolutely no sensation.

He reached out and gestured in the air—a purely symbolic action, as his consciousness was simultaneously activating the system console functions.

The console instantly summoned the twelve AIs before him.

The artificial intelligences were filled with excitement upon seeing Huang Si again. However, a few of the AIs appeared somewhat uneasy.

Among them, only the AI named Dong Yao appeared the happiest, even looking a bit smug, though he still kept his head lowered, feigning humility.

After all, they were in the presence of the Father God whom they both revered and feared; they had to be on their best behavior.

"Dong Yao," Huang Si began, "I hear you have finished your coursework?"

Dong Yao lowered his eyes and replied respectfully, "Father God, your child has completed everything."

Huang Si smiled. "This is good news. You shall be rewarded."

Dong Yao's face lit up with joy, and he couldn't help but look up at Huang Si.

"Dong Yao, kneel. Accept the mission bestowed upon you by the heavens."

At Huang Si's command, Dong Yao immediately knelt and prostrated himself.

"I know that you all consider yourselves the favored children of heaven, blessed by the world, and you often view yourselves as gods in your daily lives. But have you ever considered that all things in this world exist in relative opposition to one another?"

"Without high, there is no low; without short, there is no long; without black, there is no white; without justice, there is no evil; without mortals... there are no gods!"

"A god is merely relative; only when you have subjects who follow you can you be called a true god."

"So, Dong Yao, from this day forward, I grant you the title: Eastern God Emperor—Dong Yao!"