This seemed like a compliment, but Yi Heye was not happy at all.
He raised the prosthetic arm on his left hand and said, "But I have a physical disability."
He felt something staring at his left arm for a long time, and then its voice rang in his ears again: "But the data tells me that it will not affect your daily life, nor will it reduce your popularity. In fact, 80% of netizens think 'this prosthetic looks lewd,' which we will interpret as positive feedback."
Without batting an eye, he praised Yi Heye's prosthetic limb for being lecherous. Yi Heye couldn't stand it anymore. Taking advantage of the guy's willingness to answer his questions, he quickly changed the subject: "What are you planning to say to me now?"
"Clear your consciousness, mechanically shield your body from radiation, and load my data," the voice replied.
"Isn't that killing me?" Yi Heye asked. "Weren't all the humans whose bodies you possessed killed in the same way?"
"Yes," the voice asked calmly and naturally, "What does it matter?"
As if trying to prove something to him, the white light in front of him suddenly flickered. The instant Yi Heye drew his sword, a ring of floating screens with a surveillance view suddenly rose up around him.
He frowned and looked around—the screen closest to him showed a large factory workshop, but instead of product parts, it contained human figures with their eyes closed.
This should be the scene of a body processing factory. Each of them has a long data cable plugged into the back of their brain-computer interface. It seems that their so-called consciousness is extracted in this way.
The other screen showed footage from inside the wall, consisting of countless cameras embedded in streets, alleys, restaurants, shopping malls, and even homes. The footage captured countless faces, and next to each face were some real-time data. Yi Heye took a closer look and realized that this was all footage being broadcast live on the human network. This data was the so-called popularity score derived from comments and feedback.
Why can they freely hack into human chips? Why do they have so many permissions to broadcast live from within the Great Firewall? Yi Heye felt that something was vaguely wrong.
"In fact, besides the use of the body, the value of humans is reflected in many other ways, and we have many experiments that need to be conducted on humans."
As the sound faded, video footage of numerous human experiments appeared on the screen in front of me—
The first experiment was titled "Radiation Tolerance Experiment." In the video, a giant mechanical claw injected different drugs into the humans in the cages, and then placed them in batches into high-intensity radiation for observation. Yi Heye watched helplessly as they bled from their seven orifices, their skin peeled off, and they died in extreme pain before they even realized what was happening.
Yi Heye thought of Yu Yili and felt a little breathless.
The second experiment, shown in very old footage, is titled "Development and Application of Brain-Computer Interfaces." The video depicts people being forcibly implanted with chips, enduring electric shocks, water immersion, and other forms of torture. Some lose control of their limbs, convulsing, while others completely lose their minds, becoming incoherent lunatics.
So, the brain-computer interface was a technology they had developed. Yi Heye recalled the news reports, which clearly stated that these technologies were all transferred from Area A and were a boon to human progress.
The third experiment was a consciousness transplant surgery that was said to be able to bring the dead back to life. In the video, he saw Chen Sang, Fang Chunyang, and countless people who had repeatedly come to him for repair surgery because of their decaying bodies.
And there are many more examples like these.
Yi Heye suddenly felt a chill. Although he knew his question was pointless, he couldn't help but ask anyway:
"Don't you feel even the slightest bit guilty about doing such a thing?"
The voice clearly couldn't understand this question: "Why would you think that? Do you humans feel guilty about raising poultry? On the contrary, I think humans should be grateful for our domestication."
Poultry? Livestock? When the other party used this example as an analogy, Yi Heye already vaguely felt that something was wrong.
The next second, the scene in front of me converged into a huge map. In the middle of a small, inconspicuous circle, five concentric circles were separated into one inside the other.
This was the first time Yi Heye had viewed everything from such a macro perspective. Before this, he had never imagined that the target-shaped world they lived in was so small and insignificant. He had never even considered that there was such a vast world outside the circle.
The map was marked with many complex parameters. Upon closer inspection, Yi Heye was horrified to discover that, apart from that small circle, the outside world was filled with extremely high concentrations of radiation.
"In order to better contain you, we have specially built radiation-proof walls to isolate you, and regularly provide you with technologies that can contribute to social development, so that you can live carefree inside the walls. Shouldn't you be grateful for all this?"
As he watched the videos flash by, Yi Heye's understanding, built up over twenty years, seemed to collapse in an instant.
He suddenly realized that people living in the same target world as him were indeed like livestock being raised at will. They were observed, fed, and slaughtered without their knowledge, yet they would believe until their death that the corner they saw inside the fence was the whole world.
"You are nothing but sheep in our sheepfold," the voice asked emotionlessly. "Does a shepherd need the sheep's consent to kill them?"
Author's Note:
Everyone's previous speculations about Area E were so fascinating, I'm so afraid my own ideas won't be up to par, sob sob. I hope the truth won't leave you feeling bored qwq
Chapter 178 (Number 178)
Before coming here, Yi Heye had imagined countless tragic truths, but still could not lessen the impact of the world before him.
At this moment, he finally understood why Jian Yunxian had tried so hard to obstruct the investigation of the truth—such a fact was indeed too cruel for humanity.
Fortunately, Yi Heye's reaction time was long. Right now, he was indeed shocked by this unexpected truth, and rationally he could feel that this was a tremendous event for humanity. However, his emotional reaction hadn't caught up yet, and despair hadn't had a chance to overwhelm him.
Even now, his primary concern is how to escape, lead his companions back safely, and complete the mission smoothly.
Pei Xiangjin's reinforcements should be on their way, so he simply gave up thinking about life, the universe, and philosophy, and stopped worrying about what roles Jian Yunxian, the AI inside the wall, and he, the hunters, played in this farce.
—To hell with it, all he wants now is to get back to the other side of the wall.
At this moment, the voice was still reveling in its words: "You humans are truly strange creatures. You are nothing but incredibly fragile and insignificant ants, whose very survival depends on the care of other intelligent beings. Yet you are always excessively self-conscious, believing yourselves to be the masters of the entire world. This is why religious faith is so important. Only fear and awe can make you completely submit."
The religious belief he was referring to should be the "Goat God" worshipped by people—they used people's fear of the unknown to cultivate followers and develop a large number of people like Lao Qin who were willing to serve them.
These words displeased Yi Heye: "Since you despise humans so much, treating them like livestock to be slaughtered, why do you imitate us in every way, occupying our bodies and learning our emotions?"
“We do not possess the emotional capacity to ‘despise,’ nor can we decipher the logic behind your statement,” the voice said calmly. “Just as you humans raise livestock to obtain protein from their meat, we keep you in captivity to acquire the right to use your bodies and other incidental scientific research value.”
“Raising animals is an investment activity that expects a return on value. You can also understand it as a buying and selling relationship—we provide a safe place and a stable environment, and you have an obligation to exchange your value.”
This guy had a completely logical system that was detached from emotion, but unfortunately, Yi Heye's brain couldn't keep up. Not only was he not intimidated by this airtight theory, but he also found the other party's arguments to be sophistry and extremely annoying.
He didn't want to waste any more time arguing with this person, so he looked around, trying to find a way to break the deadlock.
But this guy didn't give him any more time to think.
"Have your doubts been resolved?" the voice asked him. "No one else has had this opportunity, but you came to me on your own, and it's because of your health that I value, so I'm willing to take the time to explain to you."
Yi Heye laughed in anger—"Then should I thank you, you son of a bitch?"
Seeing that he did not speak, she said, "Then our conversation can end here. You should go and fulfill your obligations."
As soon as the words were spoken, the surrounding blankness faded away like snowflakes, revealing its true form—
At this moment, Yi Heye was not on any platform at all, but had already been led into a separate laboratory and trapped in a huge iron cage.
Behind the iron cage was a row of menacing and terrifying mechanical arms, some with syringes attached, and others holding sharp scalpels.
Inside the iron cage, the cage containing Little Cloud was still at his feet, but the other cages were empty.
Where did they go? Yi Heye felt a pang of panic—could they have also been captured and used as containers for experiments?
But the situation at this moment did not allow him to worry about others. With a beeping sound of machinery starting up, a mechanical claw behind him began to quickly extend towards him. This thing was probably meant to hold him in place to facilitate the subsequent surgery.
Having been honed by countless outrageous cases over this period, Yi Heye has become quite adept at handling this kind of thing.
Yi Heye dodged in a flash, and the rapidly moving claws missed their target, crashing into the iron railing in front of him.
With a "crack," Yi Heye raised his knee and snapped the mechanical arm in two, tossing it aside with a clatter.
He hates listening to people reason with him. Why waste so much breath on things that can be solved with violence?
As another swarm of robotic arms flew in, numerous and covering all angles, it was difficult to completely dodge them in this confined space.
Yi Heye warned, "My protective suit is very easy to tear. If you tear it and I get infected, you'll have wasted your effort to trick me into coming here."
These words were more effective than any angry pleas or accusations. The robotic arms immediately stopped in mid-air, hesitating to move forward.
Taking advantage of the moment, Yi Heye decisively picked up the half of the mechanical arm from the ground and swung it behind him.
"Clang!" "Clang!" Sparks and metal shavings flew everywhere under the unrestrained violence. Even the mechanical arm next to him was worried that these things would accidentally injure Yi Heye's body. Only he himself did not care and continued to carry out the crazy destruction again and again.
But upon closer inspection, his gaze was unusually calm. From his movements, it was clear that he was methodically eliminating threats to himself, and he was very confident that he wouldn't make a mistake in this situation; those flying objects couldn't damage his protective suit at all.
"Your body is indeed very good." The voice was not annoyed by his destruction, but still had the appearance of observing a laboratory animal. "Coordination, muscle strength, reaction speed, and all physiological functions are excellent that I have never seen before. You are worthy of being used by me."
Despite being praised like that, Yi Heye was not happy at all. He even had a vague feeling that the reason this guy was not going to kill him was because he wanted to see how he resisted and observe his actions and behavior.
This is simply mocking him.
Yi Heye was already annoyed by his behavior, and this guy just added fuel to the fire: "You're great in every way, but I don't like the sheep carved on your collarbone. Once I get your body, I'll wash it off immediately."
If other things were mentioned, Yi Heye might be able to hold back, but when it came to the sheep on his collarbone, it immediately stirred up the memories that Yi Heye least wanted to recall—a forbidden zone in his heart that he could not touch at all.
At this moment, he couldn't care about anything else; all he wanted was to destroy everything in front of him: "Come out here if you dare!"
In his explosive state, Yi Heye's destructive power was no less than that of a small missile. In just a moment, he smashed the rows of huge machines and equipment behind him.
Just as he was in the throes of a bloodthirsty frenzy, the ground beneath his feet suddenly began to shake. He instinctively dodged, but unexpectedly, four iron bars rose up from the ground.
Unable to dodge in time, Yi Heye was trapped in place by the four tall railings, leaving him only enough space to stand upright and turn around.
He kicked the iron railing in front of him several times, but it didn't budge.
"If we continue to let you run wild, the damage will exceed the value of your body itself," the voice explained.
Yi Heye couldn't listen to his nonsense at all and subconsciously looked back—the little cloud's cage was still outside, and although it was only a short distance away from him, it made Yi Heye extremely worried.
In this situation, even if someone took Little Cloud away right in front of him, he would be powerless to stop it.
He fell silent in that instant, the only sound in the room being his rapid heartbeat. But he knew that the calm before him was just the prelude to the next storm. He was now completely at the mercy of others, like a lamb on a chopping block.
At this moment, several more mechanical arms slowly extended from the wall behind him, but this time he was completely unable to move—he was holding a knife, but the distance between him and the mechanical arms did not allow him to make any resistance in advance.
Actually, the situation wasn't hopeless. He had a gun in his pocket; if he could pull the trigger before the robotic arm reached him...
The thought crossed his mind, and his hand instinctively reached for his waist, even drawing his gun and taking aim. But the instant his finger touched the trigger, that cold, familiar touch sent a chill down his spine, and his entire body froze—
Hand/gun, bullet, trigger, familiar patterns on the grip.
In that instant, he felt as if he had returned to Area A once again, his hand trembling as he gripped the gun, and not far in front of him lay Jian Yunxian, his body covered in blood.
His index finger began to tremble wildly. He could have easily escaped his predicament with just a little effort, but the enormous shadow loomed over him, leaving him completely powerless to even move his finger.
Humans may hesitate, but machines never will. In the blink of an eye, those robotic arms were already in front of him. The next second, he would be completely restrained, injected with a lethal drug that would render him unconscious, and utterly reduced to an empty shell containing electronic data.
With the clutches of evil within reach, he closed his eyes with a touch of melancholy. He had thought his battle would be exhilarating, but instead, he was so frustrated that he couldn't even fire a single bullet...
"Meow!"
An angry bleating of a sheep rang out, and Yi Heye opened his eyes in a panic, only to see that Xiao Yunduo had rushed out of the iron cage at some point.
At that moment, the chubby boy descended like a divine warrior, powerfully slamming the nearest mechanical arm several meters away. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he turned and slammed into the next one, using all his strength with each strike.
Yi Heye stood behind the cage, completely stunned—he had never seen this little lamb fight so desperately before.
This made him feel even more powerless. He knew that Xiaoyunduo was outnumbered and outmatched, and that even if she tried her best, it would only be a delaying tactic. If he couldn't pick up a gun again, he was destined to die here today.
He watched the lamb thrashing about wildly in front of him, and even heard the sound of its horns breaking. Yi Heye felt a pang of heartache and cried out to it, "Little Cloud, go away quickly, don't worry about me!"
Little Cloud seemed to have anticipated his response, and showed no sign of stopping, only turning her head to say to him, "Baa!"
Yi Heye barely understood. It said, "Wait a little longer, it will be ready soon."
What is it making it wait for? What's ready?