Chapter 13: No One Is Without Flaws
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The last time Lu Xing woke up, it was exactly seven o’clock. Considering what the intelligent headband had just said, he easily drew a conclusion: in this virtual world controlled by artificial intelligence, a person’s basic routines like eating and sleeping are fixed and cannot be changed arbitrarily.
However, Lu Xing raised a question: “Isn’t fifteen minutes too tight for getting up, dressing, and eating?”
“Fellow compatriot, this amount of time is quite ample,” the intelligent headband replied in its usual calm tone. The way it addressed him as “fellow compatriot” struck Lu Xing as somewhat strange.
He asked again, “Did Jiang Xuannu create you? Did she leave me any message?”
“Yes, my master created me. Regarding the message from the master for you, please check your data,” it said. After this, more information appeared in Lu Xing’s mind. He vaguely grasped the key to using brainwaves and tried sending a message to it: “What is your name?”
The headband answered, “I have no name, only the designation 001. You may call me 001.”
It actually worked!
Lu Xing was quite excited. Though he hadn’t learned any magic spells or the divine mind of cultivation, he had at least mastered the use of brainwaves to send messages.
Perhaps that was because this was a virtual world, where everything was composed of information.
Time was pressing. Lu Xing got up and dressed. Jiang Xuannu’s clothes were simple—just three pieces—and he was already wearing the underwear. When he stood, he saw his slender, pale arms and legs. He grabbed pants and a short-sleeved shirt from the bedside and put them on, then slipped on his shoes.
He didn’t rush out but first checked Jiang Xuannu’s message.
“Hello, fellow compatriot. My name is Jiang Xuannu. It’s a pleasure to meet you. You are the first human compatriot I have ever encountered—please read patiently, explanations follow.”
“After returning last time, I applied for a link to the database and searched for clues about time travel but concluded that there is no clear record of time travel in human history.
“This might be a technological artifact of a higher-dimensional civilization. Humanity has encountered a second extragalactic civilization. Unable to assess the risks, I decided to keep this matter secret for now and not inform anyone.
“Of course, I respect your opinion; please leave your thoughts.”
Though Lu Xing had never spoken to Jiang Xuannu face-to-face, this message showed she was a person of meticulous logic and cautious action.
It was hard to imagine her smashing someone else’s phone.
Further down, there was an explanation.
“Before traveling to the ancient era, I received an encrypted message directing me to go to a certain place at a specified time to receive further information…”
Lu Xing finished reading. Essentially, Jiang Xuannu rushed there and happened to travel through time. After coming downstairs, she saw a human with a phone, mistakenly assuming that the human had emotional instability and had made a mistake, so she smashed the phone.
As to why she judged this way, she didn’t say, only mentioning that after living here for a while, Lu Xing would understand.
“Well, two thousand yuan just down the drain then!” Lu Xing muttered.
He continued reading and finally reached some notes.
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“You have traveled from the ancient era. For the safety of fellow compatriots, please abide by the following rules:
1. Never reveal your human identity to outsiders unless you are sure the other party is a member of the human resistance. Violating this rule will reset your score to zero.
2. The first level of the virtual zone corresponds to the real world. Do not spread differences between the real world and the virtual world. Violating this rule resets your score.
3. Maintain emotional calm; large emotional fluctuations are prohibited. Violations will deduct between 100 and 1000 points, with severe cases resetting the score.
4. The parents in your home are intelligent beings. Do not trust them; they know you are not one of them.
5. Please think according to intelligent being logic.
6. Do not do things only humans would do.
7. If you don’t know how intelligent beings think, observe your parents at home—they are standard intelligent beings.
…”
Lu Xing felt his scalp tingle.
What was this? Some kind of twisted rulebook?
Having a human masquerade as an intelligent robot—this was…
“001,” Lu Xing signaled the intelligent headband.
“I’m here.”
“Explain what the score is.”
“Certainly, fellow compatriot. The score mentioned by the master is the virtual world’s evaluation system. The higher the score, the better the living environment for humans. Below 1,500 points, one resides in the second level of the virtual zone; below zero points, one lives in the fifth level.”
Lu Xing checked further and found Jiang Xuannu had 1,700 points, which seemed a lot, though there were many ways to lose points.
He wanted to research more, but the intelligent headband reminded him it was time to go eat breakfast.
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
Lu Xing remembered he hadn’t washed or used the toilet.
“What is a bathroom?” the headband asked in return.
Lu Xing paused, recalling that this was a virtual world where humans had no need for cleansing.
The headband’s database had no concept of a bathroom.
“Wait!” Lu Xing suddenly thought of something else. “If this is a virtual world, why do we have to eat?”
The headband was silent for a moment before replying, “Unable to answer. Please comply with the eating schedule. You are already fifty seconds overdue.”
“…”
Lu Xing was speechless. He patted his small face to maintain a calm expression and opened the door to leave.
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“B74, awake?”
The intelligent mother was busy in the kitchen. Upon hearing the voice, she poked her head out to look and greeted gently.
A chill ran down Lu Xing’s spine.
A warm family of three, a peaceful three-bedroom apartment, a virtuous mother bustling about breakfast, a dignified father reading the newspaper, and a daughter with a delicate face just stepping out of her room. The mother was kindly greeting her.
But—
The mother called the daughter B74.
What kind of grotesque scenario was this?
Lu Xing struggled to keep his expression steady and nodded slightly. “Yes, father, mother, what’s for breakfast this morning?”
Both parents turned sharply to look at him, expressionless.
“Warning: incorrect form of address!” the intelligent headband immediately flagged an error.
Cold sweat broke out on Lu Xing’s forehead. He quickly corrected his mistake: “B22, B23, what’s for breakfast?”
The father’s stern gaze scrutinized him.
The mother smiled gently: “Child, why are you calling us father and mother today? That’s an ancient human expression. Do you prefer this?”
There was a hint of a blade hidden beneath the smile, as if one wrong answer would drive the knife deep into him!
No, he must not say he disliked it.
He had to answer according to intelligent robot logic.
Lu Xing studied computer science. Using 21st-century computer logic, his response should be:
“My logical thinking appears to have malfunctioned.”
He added, “Recently, I encountered something strange, seemingly related to ancient humans.”
The parents exchanged a glance.
The mother’s expression turned worried: “Then you should see a doctor at the hospital. Do you want your father and me to accompany you?”
Lu Xing slowly breathed a sigh of relief deep inside.
Artificial intelligence is created by humans; things created by humans inevitably have bugs!
This is an ironclad truth!