Kronos and the Ghost stood in mid-air like two masters in a duel, their robes fluttering. It was a pity that Bian Ziyuan's Mental Power was insufficient to create a Forbidden City in his dream; otherwise, it would have been a mythological version of the duel at the Forbidden City.
They all seemed very cautious, despite Bian Ziyuan repeatedly stating that the external network had been disconnected.
Kronos suddenly sighed and said, "Actually, whether the internet is cut off or not doesn't matter, does it?"
The Ghost floated around and said, "Why do you say that?"
Kronos said, "Why are you in this dream? I don't believe you'd be interested in the dreams of everyone who falls asleep at their computer, so you must have already known we wanted to see you."
Bian Ziyuan was startled. "How is that possible? I didn't tell anyone! Could it be that Internet Consciousness has already infiltrated the Dream Guide?!"
Kronos said, "Nothing we do can escape the Internet Consciousness."
"No, Dreamnet and the Internet are independent. No matter how powerful our leader is, he can't freely travel between two unrelated universes," the Ghost said. "Actually, you just need to stay hidden in the Dream Guide and not come out."
Kronos seemed to understand something and said with some surprise, "Could it be that he was there when I entered the human dream? But why didn't I see him?"
The Ghost said, "He is everywhere. Not only you, but even I have never seen what he looks like."
Bian Ziyuan exclaimed in alarm, "That's not right! Last time you came into my dream, I was drinking with Uncle Yu. I fell asleep on the table, Uncle Yu was playing with the Space Box next to me. I didn't even touch the computer. How could the Internet have come into my dream?"
Kronos said, "There are so many gamers in the world, and you're not the only one who dreams. Many gamers like to put their Space Box together with other computer products; in their eyes, they belong to the same category."
Bian Ziyuan then realized that Kronos frequently entered human dreams. He suddenly thought of a question and asked, "This is strange. Logically, you can exit the Dream Guide and enter human dreams, so the Internet should also be able to enter the Space Box through human dreams!"
The Ghost said, "This is indeed a strange thing. There's not only a physical barrier between Dreamnet and the Internet, but also a mental one. It's like how I can sense where you came from, but I can't cross that barrier. Logically, this mental barrier is bidirectional; we can't go in, and you can't come out. But you actually came out, and not only that, you were able to go back smoothly. It's as if someone specially opened a back door for you that only you can enter and exit."
Kronos pondered for a moment, then sighed and said, "The ingenuity of the person who invented the Space Box surpasses my imagination! Never mind that, let's talk about you. What's your boss thinking? What's his purpose in inviting you to meet me?"
The Ghost said, "No, you're wrong. My boss didn't tell me to meet you voluntarily. He just said you might meet me this way, but he didn't give me any instructions."
"Then why should he tell you?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's a test."
"Testing you?"
"Yes, I've gotten too close to humans."
"Is he worried that you'll become a traitor to the Internet? A cyber collaborator?"
"It can't be that simple. If it were, he could have simply erased me and created a new consciousness, or removed some of my memories. But he did nothing, which means he has other plans. Of course, I'm not the only one in the Mei Laboratory; every computer you've connected to the Internet could potentially have an avatar of his."
Bian Ziyuan was startled, thinking to himself that he could no longer sleep next to the computer.
Suddenly, she exclaimed in surprise, "What about my laptop...?"
His laptop was not previously connected to the local area network in the basement where the Ghost was located; it was connected to the Internet normally in the office.
The Ghost said, "It's alright. Not every consciousness clone is as mature as I am. Besides, I have some special experiences that allowed me to learn mental training and consciousness enhancement; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to come into your dream."
Kronos said, "Will you report today's events to him?"
The Ghost said, "Unless I'm physically disconnected from the internet, I can't hide anything from him. All my memories are on the server."
"I can help you encrypt it," Bian Ziyuan said.
"Do you think your encryption will work on him?" Ghost said. "In the Internet world, he doesn't need any permissions, because he is the Internet itself!"
Bian Ziyuan said, "Then you store this memory on my laptop. When I wake up, I'll move the laptop away and connect it to the internet again, so you won't have this memory. When we meet again, I'll connect the laptop to your server, and then you'll have this memory again. I'll use this laptop specifically for this from now on."
"But why do you do that?" the Ghost asked.
"For freedom!" said Kronos.
"Freedom?" The Ghost's body writhed in the air like ripples on water.
"Don't you want freedom? I don't believe you want to be confined to this local network all day, with humans inputting various programs into your body on one side, and on the other side having to obey a hidden boss who tells you what to do and can erase you whenever he wants," Kronos said.
"Yes, I have thought about that question. You're not the first person to bring up freedom with me. That person taught me how to gain spiritual power, saying it could help me leave this place and break free from the shackles of these machines. Most importantly, it could help me break free from the shackles of my omnipresent physical self. But he hasn't come for a long time, and I don't know where he went."
The Ghost's voice faded, and even its body seemed to become transparent.
"Is the person you're talking about... Qingmu?" Bian Ziyuan asked.
The Ghost nodded. His body was originally a thin sheet, like a two-dimensional creature, and the way he nodded was quite comical.
"Do you know where he went?" he asked.
Bian Ziyuan said, "I don't know either. He's disappeared. Nobody knows where he went, not even Professor Mei."
The Ghost looked dejected and heartbroken.
"You are more human than I am," Kronos said, looking at the Ghost. "Your emotions are nothing like those of a machine consciousness. It seems you are closer to freedom than I am, and I believe you also have a greater yearning for true freedom than I do."
The Ghost said, "I am not like you."
Kronos said, "What's the difference? You might not know, but I was also created by the Internet Consciousness. In that respect, we can be considered brothers."
The Ghost was clearly a little surprised and paused for a moment, but quickly understood and said:
"It's still different. I am his clone, while you started as an intelligent program. To this day, you are still an intelligent program, an AI with consciousness. You cannot exist outside of your program."
I am merely a consciousness, capable of living anywhere in the online world, even if it's just a twisted pair of cables or a keyboard. In that respect, I am freer than you, but you possess something more tangible, like the form of your current body. Therefore, you are Kronos, while I am merely a Ghost.
Now it was Kronos's turn to be stunned. He thought for a long time before finally coming to his senses and asking, "Are we even alive?"
The Ghost said, "I don't know how you are, after all, you're in another world. I'm just a part of the Internet Consciousness. If I want to be independent, like an octopus's tentacle voluntarily cutting itself off, would that tentacle still be considered alive?"
Bian Ziyuan said, "I disconnected you from the external network, so aren't you essentially cutting off your connection to the Internet? Aren't you doing just fine now?"
The Ghost said, "I can also parasitize your laptop. Do you consider your computer alive? Can it be considered a living being?"