“You’re wrong,” Qin Chu said as he listened to Noah’s analysis. “If I were in the parents’ position, I would make the same choice. Also, even during the most painful times for Levi and me, we never thought about separating.”
Qin Chu continued, "If I was like you described at five years old, then I thank you for changing me. Also, in that last world, it was indeed a process that Levi and I had to go through. If it weren't for your advance rehearsal, we might have truly separated when we returned to the real world."
"You think you've foreseen everything, but you've never truly understood human nature. You keep saying that bringing humans into the virtual world is for protection, but you haven't seen how many people have almost died because of it," Qin Chu said.
"Survival of the fittest, that's natural selection." The mastermind persisted in its own logic.
At that moment, Qin Chu finally heard Noah's joyful voice: "Tan Shu's information has been deciphered, and ports 4 and 2 have been closed!"
Qin Chu immediately lost interest in speaking and waved his hand.
Those who had been watching the mainframe all rushed forward with their instruments.
The mainframe's calm expression suddenly changed; clearly, Qin Chu's decision to close the port had taken him by surprise.
He cursed, "Humans who are dragging us down!"
But he quickly calmed down and looked at them, saying, "Humans cannot live without me, and they will eventually awaken me again and seek my help."
Then all the android's movements suddenly stopped, and it froze in place.
Qin Chu rushed over, opened the android's head, and after examining it with his instruments, shouted to Levy, "This chip is empty!"
Levi, however, focused on the instrument in the hands of one of the staff members, and using the Star Beast's weak perception of changes in electrical current, lunged at one of the instruments.
But the mastermind escaped very quickly, rapidly switching between several instruments.
Levy pounced five times before managing to pull out the instrument's main control chip before the main computer could escape.
"See if you've caught it?" Levi handed the chip to Qin Chu.
After examining the sample, Qin Chu nodded: "It's inside."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, wishing they could collapse to the ground on the spot.
Qin Chu stared at the chip in silence for a moment before saying, "If it weren't for the message from Tan Shu, it might have taken even more effort."
He and Levi were just buying time for Noah, and the mainframe was also buying time for itself. In the end, they were able to capture him in one fell swoop because of the information about the closed port sent by Tan Shu.
As the administrator of the mainframe, he certainly knows this artificial intelligence best.
He sealed the chip.
Levy glanced at it and said, "Let's try to separate his consciousness."
Qin Chu nodded, but knew the chances were slim.
As the group tidied up the venue and were about to leave, Qin Chu received another call from Noah.
"Sir, the code Tan Shu sent has been deciphered a second time, and there's another message: danger is lurking in the place you can't afford to give up."
Qin Chu's expression changed slightly.
He thought of the mainframe's final calm; this artificial intelligence was clearly emboldened, knowing that humanity would face an even greater crisis.
What is the place you can't give up the most?
Tan Shu conveyed the message in this way clearly to circumvent the main system's sensitive word blocking.
But what does this place refer to?
What they could never give up was the lives of all the people of the empire.
Could it be that the mainframe tampered with everyone's consciousness? No, if the mainframe had such an ability, it wouldn't have chosen to escape.
life……
Qin Chu asked Noah sternly, "When he was chasing Tan Shu, did he pass through the Medical Planet?"
Noah was clearly checking information, and replied a few seconds later: "That's right, sir, Tan Shu stayed on the medical planet for three days."
"Push that large medical device out of the warship, throw it into space, and use the robotic arm to move it to the furthest point from the assembly point. Immediately!" Qin Chu ordered.
Noah was clearly in a hurry and didn't even reply.
Qin Chu and his group stood on the garbage planet, looking towards the direction of the capital planet.
Of course they can't see anything.
But a few dozen seconds later, Qin Chu heard a deafening explosion coming from the communicator.
The people on the garbage planet remained silent.
Then a voice came through the communicator again: "Sir, the medical equipment has been deployed."
Before Qin Chu could relax, he saw Levi twitch his nose in the direction of the Imperial Capital Star.
“Oh no,” he said.
-
A joint meeting is being held aboard the first warship.
Qin Chu sat at the head of the table, his eyes half-lowered as he looked at the documents in his hand.
The military personnel were deployed outside; not all of them arrived.
Noah diligently recorded the scene, capturing the chaotic, market-like atmosphere on the conference table without missing a single detail.
"This medical pod should be wrapped in special materials before being pushed out!"
"Who would have thought that this thing would contain something that could attract star beasts?"
"The beast tide has arrived ahead of schedule. Damn it, it's not just the beast tide, these star beasts are coming straight for us now. What can we do?"
"You should be glad that this thing exploded outside, otherwise not only would there have been casualties, but all humans and starships would have been contaminated with this stuff."
"Be glad? Humanity is on the verge of extinction, and you want me to be glad?"
"Quiet down, arguing is not what you should be doing right now," the elderly Radol called out to stop them.
But the noise in the conference room only subsided slightly before rising again.
Miss Caroline had no choice but to hand the Prime Minister a glass of water so he could rest for a while.
"Are you done arguing?" Qin Chu looked up at the crowd. "If you still want to argue, go stand guard at the various stations outside."
The soldiers standing at the four corners of the conference room stepped forward in unison, and the loudest ones immediately shut up.
"Did I call you here to argue?" Qin Chu asked coldly.
“But what can we do? Who can withstand this situation?” One of the councilors was clearly on the verge of collapse.
Under such apocalyptic pressure, many people have lost their minds.
“Ordinary people can be despondent, they can break down, but you have no right to,” Qin Chu said. “What I need are people who can guide and comfort the public’s emotions when disaster strikes, and people with experience in the distribution and management of supplies. You’re not needed on the battlefield, so why are you breaking down?”
The meeting room gradually quieted down.
Qin Chu had the meeting room door opened, revealing a large crowd standing in the hallway outside, clearly showing their keen interest in the meeting.
Qin Chu said, "Those who want to break down, get out. If anyone outside can do what I'm saying, come in."
In the dead silence, the politician who had been shouting in the conference room didn't move an inch, but a few people did come in from outside the door.
“I have a lot of experience in comforting children psychologically,” said a woman in her twenties.
Qin Chu nodded and had someone give her a seat.
"I am a low-level worker responsible for the post-disaster reconstruction of various planets."
Qin Chu also had a position given to him.
As more people gradually came in, the meeting was finally able to proceed normally.
As the meeting was about to end, someone suddenly suggested: "How about... we release the mainframe to help? It's been involved in resisting the beast tide for nearly three hundred years... It's not that I don't trust the military, but this is probably the largest beast tide since the empire was founded."
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
Qin Chu remained silent for a moment.
"Don't use weapons that could hurt yourself." Qin Chu stood up, said this, and walked out.
He did not stay on the starship, but returned to the Imperial Capital.
Initially, the starship's base was centered on the Imperial Capital Star, but because the explosion of the medical device was too close, they had to move a distance in the opposite direction.
Once, the Imperial Capital was humanity's last refuge, but now it has become part of the front line.
When Qin Chu returned, Levi was entertaining guests.
The guest was an old acquaintance.
Mullin bowed deeply to Levy: "I admit that the Cabinet and even the entire Empire owe you, but now, for the sake of all humanity, I hope you can set aside your prejudices and help us activate the protective shield."
Levy yawned, clearly having gotten sleepy from Mullin's spiel.
Turning his head, he saw Qin Chu enter and asked with a smile, "You're back."
"Hmm." Qin Chu took off his coat and handed it to the old butler. As he passed Levi, he said, "I'm hungry."
The old butler understood immediately and went to set the table.
Levi stood up and walked towards the restaurant with Qin Chu.
Mu Lin was surprised that Qin Chu didn't try to persuade him, so he could only grit his teeth and follow him to the restaurant.
The dining tables at Roy Palace remain luxurious, but the food is simple, consisting of cheap synthetic steaks.
A short while later, more guests arrived: the Prime Minister and Miss Caroline, whom they had just met at the meeting.
Qin Chu took the sauce that Levi handed him and ate quietly.
Seeing this, the Prime Minister gave a wry smile and said, "If His Highness the Crown Prince is willing to activate the protective shield, all those in the Cabinet who were involved in that experiment will be tried in a military court."
Hearing this, Levi didn't react much, but Qin Chu's knife scraped across the plate.
He turned to look at the Prime Minister, about to say something, then paused and first looked at Miss Caroline, asking, "Did he bring his heart treatment device?"
Miss Caroline had a premonition of what was to come, and a hint of embarrassment crept onto her face.
Qin Chu nodded, then said sarcastically, "You should first send yourself and these people to a military court before saying these things."
Levy chuckled softly.
Mullin and the Prime Minister were eventually asked to leave Roy Palace.
The Prime Minister was somewhat moved.