Cyber ​​Heroes

Chapter 1168 The King’s New House

David Crane has a wooded villa in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains southwest of San Jose, close to Redwood National Park. Although David has houses in different countries around the world, there are only a few that he is happy to call "my home" - this is one of them.

The back door of "David's House" leads directly to the redwood forest in Santa Cruz. David and his two teenage sons spent half a summer vacation building a gravel road here - the gravel was brought up by hired workers at a small price, and the construction machinery was designed by Xiangshan in half an hour, and then built on the spot using additive manufacturing. This content was later made into a video and uploaded to the Internet to show the role of Xiangshan's ideal "universal industrial mother machine" in daily scenarios.

David likes to walk on this road very much. In the morning, the redwood forest is often covered with a tulle-like morning mist. The mist seems to turn the redwood forest, which is tens of meters high or even dozens of meters high, into a whole. The scaly bark of the redwood is soaked with dew, and it will ooze reddish juice, which is very beautiful.

The main entrance of "David's House" is another scene. From here you can see the entire Silicon Valley, the first concentration of technology companies in the information age and the most famous high-tech zone.

Xiangshan would occasionally come here to "do some business". Whenever this happened, he would stay at David's house for a few nights. David's door code was not kept secret from him. Even if David's family was not at home, Xiangshan could stay there directly.

Every time Xiangshan went out of the gate, he probably had the mentality of a "conqueror" - many businessmen in Silicon Valley who had dealt with Xiangshan called this colleague from the other side of the ocean "Conqueror Shan".

By the way, a private cableway was built at David’s door for going up and down the mountain.

However, on this day, the "Conqueror" rarely went out to fight.

He was wasting time with the owner of this woodland villa.

David recently set up a super-large dynamic maze in his backyard, imitating the outdoor challenge variety shows that were once very popular in the United States and still have a certain audience. As for the participants of the challenge, they are the squirrels living in the redwood forest.

The huge fir trees support a high population density of gray squirrels. When David takes a walk, he often sees these cute little creatures jumping around. The memories of mechanical design drawings in his mind are occasionally inexplicably superimposed with the image of "squirrels".

For a while, Yawgmoth recommended the hobby of "bird watching" to his friends, saying "I heard that the emperors in ancient China liked this." David did try it during his vacation, but it didn't go well at the beginning. The bird feeder he set up in his yard always attracted squirrels. These small rodents seemed to have intelligence beyond their brain capacity. Although the feeding devices David set up had defenses against rodents, the squirrels always found a way to open the lid.

David originally planned to spend half an hour designing a small mechanism to solve this problem. But at that time, Xiangshan called him, and David's cell phone ringtone was the theme song of "Super Mario".

The sound effect of "thump~thump~thump thump thump~thump——" triggered some incredible brain circuits.

David then mobilized his entire family and started his big plan.

The children racked their brains to create levels from the variety shows they watched and the games they played, and David was responsible for realizing them. The "universal mother machine" that Xiangshan gave away everywhere finally escaped the fate of gathering dust for a short time. But unfortunately, before this "luxury amusement park" was completed, David's two oldest sons had to return to the city to work. His daughter also had to continue to go to college.

David calculated his annual leave and was shocked to find that he might not have time to witness the historic moment. Although his company does not exclude remote work, it does not seem good to be absent from the department for a long time.

This free guy thought about it and finally made a decision - to call his boss.

This is the truth about Xiangshan’s trip to California.

Countless Silicon Valley elites are losing sleep over the arrival of "Conqueror of Mountain", trying to figure out what key technologies this formidable rival has seized, what companies he plans to buy, and what dirty deals he plans to make.

But Xiangshan was actually just operating what he called the "dream machine" to build maze parts for David.

"What have I done to make you disrespect me so much?" Xiangshan rolled his eyes that day to express his dissatisfaction: "This kind of shit can be done by outsourcing technicians for a little money, even remotely."

"In your words, it's 'not fun'." David said with a serious expression, "This kind of thing should be done with friends! Besides, when I was your boss, did you respect me with a humble attitude?"

During his years at the United Nations Office for Project Services, David briefly served as Xiangshan's boss, but it didn't take long for Xiangshan to become the park's leader.

Xiangshan's participation accelerated David's progress many times. So in the last few days of the New Year holiday, David finally started his long-cherished observation.

Unstable ropes, spring-held passages, super swings, fully transparent mazes, flap traps, rotating platforms...

David precisely calculated the position of each platform to ensure that the squirrels could not jump directly from the wall to the end. The platform was supported by the smoothest metal pole, so the squirrels could not climb directly from the ground. To eat the food at the end, the squirrels had to move from one platform to another.

David prepared about 15 kilograms of brown sugar walnuts at the finish line. The artificially selected walnut variety has a fat content that kills wild fir seeds. The sticky sugar substance is poured into a mass the size of half a squirrel. Sugar substances also greatly extend the edible period of food.

"I got too excited and did too many levels," David concluded.

He felt that it would take the squirrels at least half a year to break through.

Xiangshan suggested that he set up several relay stations and place a few small nuts to ensure that the squirrels would not lose too much energy in the maze and to prevent them from losing interest halfway.

David took this advice. Xiangshan specially built a drone to replenish walnut kernels for the relay station on the platform. The sensor will detect whether the walnut kernel on the platform mechanism is missing. If the walnut kernel is taken away, the drone will replenish it.

The squirrels in the yard disappeared in the two days after the drone arrived. They were terrified of the flying monster. But after just a few days, after realizing that the strange-looking bird was not aggressive, the squirrels gathered again in this "promised land" with many nut kernels.

A squirrel nimbly jumps back and forth between seven wooden boards. There are three boards on the left and four on the right, standing at a 45-degree angle to the horizontal plane. The squirrels must use the power to jump left and right to cross this first level.

David held a beer can in his left hand and a telescope in his right hand, nervously observing the scene. Xiangshan, on the other hand, held a glass bottle of diet soda and sat on the sofa watching the surveillance footage broadcast by the projector. AI will automatically track squirrels. In addition, Xiangshan also used David's personal equipment to train a professional AI assistant, which continuously switched cameras and moved camera positions by understanding and learning similar variety shows in the United States over the past fifty years.

"It turns out that watching animals is such an interesting thing..." Xiangshan nodded: "It's worthy of being an AI."

“Is the point AI?”

Xiangshan shared the video, and Yawgmoth would occasionally come to watch the live broadcast.

David likes the redwood forest very much because it is the scenery of his hometown. But Yawgmoth hates this plant more than he likes it.

To be precise, Yawgmoth hates all organisms that have "co-evolved" with "fire". Australian eucalyptus and California redwoods are on this list. These plants have evolved in the direction of "arsonists". They will evolve to easily start wildfires to clear all competitors and potential animal threats in their living environment. Redwoods and Australian eucalyptus have evolved to be "fire-resistant".

Redwoods have even become specialized to the point where their seeds must survive wildfire or extreme heat to break open.

Australia's carnivorous birds, such as brown falcons and whistling kites, which have learned to set fires, are also on Yawgmoth's hostile list. Even before the arrival of the aborigines, these birds learned to expand wildfires and burn animals to obtain cooked meat.

In Yogmoth's view, "fire", a force that can easily get out of control, can easily kill creatures that exceed the amount required for the survival of "fire animals", which is very vicious.

Xiangshan speculated, not without malicious intent, that Yogmoth's "fire-using blacklist" probably included humans.

For this reason, Yawgmoth rarely accepts invitations to the house. He says he suspects the cedars are planning to burn him.

Zhu Xinyu stayed here for two days. David thought that she might have come to Xiangshan to solve the growing demand. However, Zhu Xinyu was too active and could not stay in such a rural place for long. During this time, the girl updated the control system of this amusement equipment for the men and also contributed two more imaginative levels.

After the springboard, the sturdy squirrel crossed the rolling balance beam and the narrow bridge full of traps. David was startled and called Xiangshan to pay attention or let the AI ​​record the wonderful moments. Xiangshan often had to scold David with disgust and asked him to stop this practice of reducing the purity of AI and making AI unprofessional.

This kind of moment can't be called a "highlight moment" at all! The first few levels were too easy for the squirrels who were familiar with the terrain. Xiangshan was only interested in watching the "failure highlights" in the first two days.

But when he reached the maze level, Xiangshan couldn't help but sit up and look. This level was a transparent maze. The squirrels performed amazingly here. Even some squirrels who came here for the first time were able to pass the first few forks with a high accuracy rate. Xiangshan couldn't help but suspect that squirrels have the ability to communicate within the species, and can acquire many complex abilities through communication within the population.

In order to rule out the possibility that "squirrels rely on their amazing sense of smell to find the correct path", Xiangshan even personally modified a cleaning robot to clean the maze while the squirrels sleep, while spraying cedar-scented freshener.

"It's really interesting, the intelligence of squirrels... at what level of cognitive ability does 'consciousness' appear..." Xiangshan murmured to himself.

David was as excited as if he was watching a sports game: "Oh, don't talk about spoilers, you..."

David Crane suddenly stopped. He saw someone who shouldn't be here.

Florence Luhrmann raised another can of beer.

At this moment, the world stopped, as if the pause button was pressed.

A drop of water was dripping from Xiangshan's Coke bottle, but it stopped in mid-air at this moment.

David Crane, the King of Mars, woke up from the former NASA engineer and wealthy David Crane. The expression on his face instantly changed from excitement to indifference and anger: "You shouldn't have come. You shouldn't have been here at all."

"Isn't this the cabin where you and your old friends gather? I shouldn't be here?"

"Florence, don't make me angry." David said, "You are in the medical center in Peking at this time, responsible for the safety of the first batch of volunteers. You are the busiest among us. At this time, you hardly even come to dinner parties. Either it is a department party hosted by the young Majesty, or Xiangshan takes us to visit you." "Are you blaming me for ruining the immersion?"

"Don't force me to tell the truth, King of Venus," David said. "I haven't congratulated you yet. Juan Repin is dead, and now you are the only king of Venus. Very good. Congratulations."

The God of Beauty, Florence Luhrmann, was captured before and after the Eighth Martial God incident. He eventually chose to surrender under the influence of drugs and became one of the three kings to replace him.

"Mr. Juan Repin died at his workplace." Florence Luhrmann shook her head. "Also, do you hate me that much?"

"Do you really have to say it?"

"I really don't understand." Florence shrugged. "Do you think I betrayed our friendship? But you feel the same way. His Majesty even used drugs to distort my will, and you surrendered on your own - you even surrendered earlier."

"Wow, what's the difference? With your level of inner strength, no medicine can change your will without permanently damaging your brain. This is just a way out." David said, "And I don't hate you because of this. I hate everyone now. You shouldn't be here. If you need to find me, go somewhere else. This place is not open to you."

"You've never kept your front door combination secret from anyone before."

"Bedroom locks are always separate. Get out."

David logged out and returned to his steel body. He sat cross-legged in the darkness, remaining silent for three minutes.

He didn't leave until Florence sent him another message.

"Juan Repin is dead. You can do whatever you want on Venus." David said "Congratulations" in a calm tone.

"Hartmann pulled us out for the battle on Jupiter." Florence said, "The war in the Jupiter space is crucial. Probably."

"Ah."

"Maybe there's a chance to kill Xinyu."

"Ah."

"I thought you would react a little more."

"Why? Zhu? My God, we haven't been friends for almost two hundred years. The first fake Xiangshan... I mean the second martial god, I haven't spoken to her since that incident. It doesn't matter what happens to her, it has nothing to do with me."

"Xiangshan almost killed Falcon."

"The twelfth Xiangshan almost killed the Speed ​​King." David nodded: "It can be considered news. His Highness the Speed ​​King is so powerful, hey, he almost died."

Florence sighed, "What if I die at the hands of Xinyu or Xiangshan?"

"I'll find a way to pay tribute to you. I guess. You were a respectable person two hundred years ago."

"Really..." Florence said, "Your mental problems are really serious now, David, I'm very worried..."

"You'd better worry about that bastard on the sun. I mean, our Majesty." David sneered, "If he asks you about my current situation, just tell you directly that I'm still a useless piece of shit. That's it. Your killing has nothing to do with me. You can take whatever you want on Mars, just leave me a server."

"Oh my god, David..." Florence sighed, "You...I really didn't mean that."

"Ah, it has nothing to do with me, nothing at all. Even though I know that this is a personality mask created by new technology and it is definitely not your real self, I will just pretend not to know. I'm not curious." David waved his hand.

"You used to be best friends with Xiangshan. When I saw you become like this, I..."

"I'm only close to the first Xiangshan, the real one." David waved his hand: "I once regarded the Fourth Martial God as the first one. I once sincerely praised the resurrection of a dead person as if I were a Christian. Oh my God. But what was the result? Taking those fake ones as real will only lead to greater disappointment. I'm just a lonely person. That's it."

"Mars has recently been experiencing frequent AI failures..."

"It has nothing to do with me. I only have a few weak AIs that are not even connected to the Internet. I don't care if the AI ​​gets out of control. I'm afraid your Majesty also hopes that the AI ​​can wipe out us humans."

Florence is gone.

David came to the upper floors of the super building. This is a floor more than 50 meters high. Here, several redwoods thrive.

There was a small house in the redwood forest. It was a completely indoor environment that simulated almost natural light. A gauze-like white mist flowed between the needles. David walked quickly towards the house.

Then he heard a snapping sound.

He crushed a few pebbles under his feet.

David stopped.

This house is the same one as before, even this gravel road is the same one as before. The Father of All Machines lowered the altitude of many places in the world by several meters, taking away "research materials" that he thought might be useful. This hut is his gift to the King of Conquering the Sky.

David's shoulders trembled twice, and he almost cried. He squatted down and gently touched the gravel road he and his sons had paved with his fingers: "I shouldn't have come. Oh, God. I'm sorry, Ian... I'm sorry, Marco..."

These stones were indeed the ones that they had laid together. They were one of the few things in David Crane's hands that his family had actually touched.

And Florence... Florence, Florence now is also very sad.

The Queen of Venus was once the most outstanding nursing expert. She happened to have the same name as the founder of nursing, Ms. Nightingale. She was proud of this in the past and believed that it was fate that led her to a noble path. In the era of Superman Enterprise, she was the person who admired Yawgmoth the most. Yawgmoth's practice of publicly making the universal medicine method was simply the behavior of a saint in her eyes.

——That’s right, that’s right. Everyone has been harmed by Xiangshan. It’s all-purpose, all-purpose, sharing, sharing… It’s really…

David stood up again and walked towards his own quiet room, where there was only darkness and network signal.

He entered his "toy house" again.

In David Crane of the 21st century, the King of Mars finally found the long-lost peace.

"Let's choose a particularly happy scene today... Well, not too many people, not too complicated, but... Oh, is this part finished too?"

On Christmas, David Crane put on a red coat, a Santa hat, and a fake white beard. "Let me think... The best Christmas gift for children, and I was with..."

He turned and saw Yawgmoth.

"Who else could it be? A United States man, a medical professional, God." David thought for a moment and reached out to send a command. An interactive interface appeared next to the still Yawgmoth. David swiped left and right and called up Ingrid's data. "God, it makes sense for you to be here, Your Majesty, but this is not an audience area - well, it's you, Viking."

A moment later, he pushed open the door of a small house on the street. The company had communicated with this family in advance that this was a "surprise event".

"Hohoho, where are the good kids? Santa Claus is here to deliver the latest and coolest prosthetics!"

Inside the glass... or rather, in the "mirror image", Xiang Shan and Zhu Xinyu covered their foreheads at the same time.

"Because our essence is a care program? I really think he needs treatment now..."

"Xiang Shan and David Klein are really good friends, so this kind of feeling is indeed possible." Zhu Xinyu sighed, "The key point is what David said to Florence just now. What do you think?"

"The Twelfth Martial God did a great job." Xiangshan concluded.

He was created based on the memory of the 21st century, and he had little knowledge of the outside world. At present, they only knew that Juan Lei Pin was a French combat pilot and one of the first "new-style soldiers" who grew up rapidly in the war. Terrorists and soldiers, knights and hawks, evolved together and sharpened each other in that era. Juan Lei Pin was the combat hero of that era.

Xiangshan then added, "It's worthy of me."

"I really hope the war will reach here soon..." Zhu Xinyu looked at the model of David on the other side of the "mirror".