Bian Ziyuan was speechless for a moment, yet he felt it made sense, but he couldn't quite figure out what that reasoning was. Only the effects of the alcohol surged up with his thoughts, rolling like ocean waves.
Old Yu clinked glasses with him and said, "Don't go that far afield. Transformers are just something people imagined."
Bian Ziyuan said, "That's not necessarily true. The Internet is already conscious, and my Kronos is incredibly intelligent. Transformers aren't far off!"
Old Yu said, "Are you talking nonsense? The Internet is interesting, but that's only because you young people find it interesting. Playing games, chatting, watching movies—how can that not be interesting? Your ' Kurounuosi' won't do. Even the best shredded pork can't compare to braised pork trotters with soybeans!"
Bian Ziyuan said, "You don't understand! It just means the professor won't let the Space Box connect to the Internet. As long as it's connected, my Kronos can figure out the principles and rules of consciousness parasitizing the network world..."
Old Yu said, "If he won't let you connect to the Internet, can't you just build your own Internet?"
Bian Ziyuan said, " The Internet isn't something you can just build on a whim!!"
His eyes suddenly lit up, he reached across the table, knocked over the bottle of liquor, grabbed Old Yu's shoulder, and looked at Old Yu excitedly. But then his eyes welled up with the murky light of alcohol, he shook his head, released his grip, slumped down, and said:
"It's useless, useless. Even a virtual Internet in a dream can't be built. Dream Guide is an independent game; everyone builds their own world, unconnected to each other. It's useless, useless..."
He felt his eyes were about to close, his body felt limp, his head drooped forward, and he slumped onto the table. Then, in a daze, he heard Old Yu say:
"It will be connected sooner or later!"
Bian Ziyuan speed on the empty city road. The green light ahead flashed a few times and then turned red. Seeing that there was not a single car or pedestrian in his field of vision for several hundred meters, he simply ran the red light.
There are no cameras at this intersection. This was the thought that popped into his head before he ran the red light. He didn't know how he knew, but he was absolutely certain of it.
But the absence of cameras doesn't mean there are no police. Just after crossing the intersection, a traffic policeman suddenly rushed out from the side, waving his white-gloved hand at his car.
Bian Ziyuan cursed his bad luck under his breath, pulled the car over to the side of the road, rolled down the window, and saw a traffic policeman walking towards him, his back swaying. He thought the policeman's face looked familiar, and then he realized it was Old Yu!
Traffic police officer Old Yu came to the window and said, "Please show me your driver's license and vehicle registration."
Bian Ziyuan said, " Uncle Yu, what are you doing? I was wondering why there were traffic cops here, turns out it was you in disguise!"
Old Yu then said, "Show me your driver's license and vehicle registration."
Bian Ziyuan sensed something was wrong, so he looked down to get his driver's license. When he looked up again, he saw that the traffic policeman outside the window had disappeared and turned into a yellow Transformers.
" Bumblebee!" he recognized it at a glance and exclaimed in surprise.
The Bumblebee said in a gruff voice, "Hey bro, wanna have a contest?"
Bian Ziyuan asked, "How do we compare?"
Bumblebee pointed to the straight road ahead and said, "Let's see who gets to the end first! The loser gets an energy cube!"
Bian Ziyuan said, "I don't need energy cubes."
Bumblebee said, "What do you want?"
Bian Ziyuan said, "Buy me a drink!"
Bumblebee agreed and squatted down, transforming into a yellow sports car. The paint on the car shimmered in the Sun, the engine roared, and the car lurched forward, clearly possessing great power.
Bian Ziyuan wasn't to be outdone. His used Toyota transformed into a silver-white sports car. With a mere thought, the clutch and gears moved on their own. He felt his body disappear, or rather, merge with the car. His heart stopped pounding and instead churned like a motor, making a roaring sound; he farted repeatedly, sending up plumes of black smoke. With another thought, the clutch released, and the car shot off like a rocket.
Bumblebee and he raced side by side, sometimes one would take the lead, sometimes the other, neither could overtake the other.
Bumblebee said, "Hey buddy, not bad! Looks like I'll have to buy you a drink!"
Bian Ziyuan wanted to switch the bet back to energy blocks, because he wouldn't be drinking anymore and he needed energy. He felt a little disappointed that he couldn't drink anymore, as if life had lost some of its fun.
This is a straight highway that seems to have no end in sight. The scenery along the road is constantly changing, while the distance is always hazy, as if shrouded in a layer of gray fog.
The airflow from the car whistled past Bian Ziyuan's ears, stronger than any wind. He said against the wind, " Bumblebee, I want to ask you a question."
"Ask away," Bumblebee called out.
"Why are the Autobots and Decepticons fighting each other? You won't die, and you don't need money or women, so why do you keep fighting?"
"Because of energy, energy will run out, and as long as resources are limited, the struggle will never stop."
"But you were already fighting each other before your energy ran out. What were you fighting for then?"
"For... freedom..." Bumblebee's words were drawn out in the wind.
"Free?"
Suddenly, something struck Bian Ziyuan's consciousness, causing him to lose focus and the car to slow down. Bumblebee sprinted across the finish line, stood up, and transformed back into a human, extending its hand and saying:
"An energy block."
Bian Ziyuan wanted to stand up, but his body felt incredibly heavy, and he couldn't get up no matter what he did.
"I won't transform!" he said.
"Then why don't you turn back into your original form?" Bumblebee said.
Bian Ziyuan then transformed back into a human, sitting in his dilapidated secondhand Toyota. He knew he was ultimately not Transformers; he was just an ordinary person, and even if his consciousness was attached to the car, he could not become Transformers.
He rolled down the car window, stuck his head out, and looked up at Bumblebee, only to see the glittering golden Kronos floating in the air.
"Ah, Kronos, what are you doing here?" Bian Ziyuan sensed something was amiss.
"Have you been drinking?" Kronos said.
"Drinking?" Bian Ziyuan seemed to have thought of something, but he felt dizzy.
"Don't play with helmets after drinking."
Kronos's words struck Bian Ziyuan like lightning, instantly snapping him back to reality. He exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, I'm using the Space Box? I'm dreaming? But... isn't the Space Box supposed to keep one awake? Why don't I know I'm dreaming?"
"No, you're not using the Space Box, and you're not in the Dream Guide game; you're just dreaming," Kronos said.
Bian Ziyuan heard the word "dream," his heart skipped a beat, and suddenly the world spun around him, plunging him into darkness.
However, no matter how space twisted and shifted, Kronos remained standing firmly before him. He saw Kronos with his arms outstretched, standing like a true god, a powerful force emanating from him that instantly froze the surrounding space.
Bian Ziyuan finally realized that he was really dreaming. Having spent so much time in Mei Laboratory, he knew a little about lucid dreaming and Mental Power.
"How... how did you get into my dream?"