Cyber ​​Heroes

Chapter 1186 Embarking on this long yet fleeting journey, leaving only the distant figure of the past.

Xiang Shan tore off the head of the last Six Dragons Cult martial artist in the martial arts school.

The Firefly already had over a dozen heads hanging from its body. As a martial artist with considerable internal strength, he could accurately distinguish between "blind confusion" and "premonition of panic" from a seemingly chaotic crowd. The hints sent to the mountain could actually serve as a method of differentiation.

Those who haven't achieved a certain level of internal strength are unable to hide their instinctive reactions when suddenly disrupted by unexpected situations.

but……

The advisor doesn't seem to be like that anymore.

His method of capturing people seemed to be different, a completely different way of observing. The Fifth Martial God had already locked onto the target before the Firefly could even identify it.

He didn't even show any signs of grabbing the wrong thing.

—Is this what is known as the "path to ascension"?
While the Firefly was still pondering, the Fifth Martial God spoke up: "The matter here is over. Take these prisoners to find other heroes and return to the battlefield as soon as possible. I will continue to provide support over there."

After saying that, the Fifth Martial God waved his hand and walked into the passageway without turning his head.

The commotion caused by the two first-level martial artists rushing forward made the entire passageway tremble precariously, cracks running through it from top to bottom, and cement debris falling like clumps of black feathers. The ground was still shaking.

Xiang Shan lowered his body, blending his footsteps with the sounds of battle, while raising the 18mm electromagnetic gun bullet in his hand.

He looked over the shelf and saw Enlil fighting with the Six Dragons Right Envoy. The Six Dragons Right Envoy had been severely injured by Dugu Beiluo Shimen, and the size of his two arms was not uniform. The weaker arm had been fitted with a tower shield and gun as an auxiliary arm.

Behind him, after one of his upper arms was ripped off, "Wind Rider" transformed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex-like form, raising its slender steel tail and occasionally sweeping lasers around, limiting Enlil's dodging space.

—This AI hasn't learned how to collaborate.

Xiang Shan made his judgment within two seconds. Although the prototype's posture showed traces of martial arts algorithms, and should be the result of a long process of adversarial generation and iteration of a "martial arts assistance program," the two guys in front of him were completely at odds with each other. One of them had no idea how the AI ​​should play to its strengths, and the other lacked the necessary martial arts data.

The AI's attacks, swinging its head and tail, not only limited Enlil but also restricted the choices available to the Six Dragons Right Envoy.

Xiang Shan waited silently for another fourteen seconds.

Fire.

Then start firing.

The first bullet struck the right leg joint of the Six Dragons Right Envoy precisely, while the second tore through his shoulder armor.

The Six Dragons Right Envoy let out a desperate cry.

He could not possibly escape again with such injuries.

"Beautiful, God of War!" Enlil laughed loudly, taking a punch from "Swift Knight" and capturing the Six Dragon Right Envoy in one fell swoop.

Xiang Shan then extended a hand to "Swift Knight": "Alright, alright. Can we stop fighting? I'm not your enemy. Nor am I necessarily your user's enemy."

Natural languages, as well as non-human languages.

The signal exchanges tens of megabits of information, far exceeding the efficiency of natural language.

"Swift Rider" ceased its attack. The giant steel dinosaur slowly retreated.

"How is this possible..." The Six Dragons Right Envoy seemed to squeeze these words out of a synthesizer. The "Swift Knight's" firewall was by no means something that could be breached instantly.

But Enlil immediately knocked it over.

While communicating with the Swift Knight, Xiang Shan also sensed the battlefield on the other side.

The program, which originally didn't belong to him, had automatically captured the signals transmitted back by Gu Kaisheng's drones. Xiangshan seemed to have split in two once again.

This time, the will that was closer to the state of nature did not pursue the will that was born in an artificial environment.

With the help of drones, Xiang Shan began to survey the battlefield from above.

The two machines chased each other across the vast ochre plain, tiny yet stirring up a storm.

Although the "Swift Knight" has not undergone coordinated training, it seems to be able to distinguish friend from foe—it might sound strange for Xiang Shan to say this now, but Kanbara Kotoha has indeed been able to fight against Dugu Beiluo Shimen until now by relying on the weapons drawn from its body.

The silver tower shield swung wildly, its base and top occasionally spewing out tongues of fire, forcing Dugu Beiluo Shimen to retreat.

Dugu, however, only saw the bullets as polishing her paint job. She would never dodge a non-lethal attack, her heat sword always aimed at the enemy's vitals.

The silver shield pulsed, but the incandescent sword and the white-purple plasma were even more ferocious.

Through Dugu's attack, Xiang Shan sensed the Tenth Martial God's determination—a determination to eliminate a major obstacle to chivalry, even at the cost of mutual destruction.

Mukaiyama also saw Kotonoha Kambara's response. Her basic skills were very solid, and every movement conformed to the paradigm created by the first patriarch of martial arts three hundred years ago.

But at this moment, Kotonoha Kanbara's originally well-rounded martial arts model has been mixed with something that shouldn't be there—a redundancy that could be called "hesitation" in everyday language.

Like a perfectly functioning precision instrument, a grain of sand... or even several grains of sand have been mixed into the gears.

Enlil has broken the arm of the Six Dragons Right Envoy. Several parts of his outer armor are deformed, but this does not affect his performance.

Wu Kui turned his head, wanting to say something to the God of War.

But Xiang Shan seemed to be in a strange state, which made him hesitate.

He heard Xiang Shan say in the public chat: "Hmm, this feeling must be sadness."

Enlil hesitated for a moment: "Who are you talking to?"

Xiang Shan gestured for him to be quiet: "Yes, I know. It's a data compression format. You compress an extremely complex memory containing countless variables—like a person, a relationship, an irreversible choice—into a continuous, low-power physiological signal. It no longer needs to occupy your active computing resources, but will run continuously as a background process."

"Did I choose this path? No, I don't think so. I hate pain. I also actively avoided greater suffering."

"Necessity? Difference? Hmm, this is an extremely profound and unavoidable question. You've hit the nail on the head regarding its very essence..."

The God of War seemed to be communicating with an unseen person through the signal.

—Is it one person? Is this conversation coherent?
Enlil pressed the gun in his hand hard against the back of the Six Dragons Right Envoy's head, the muzzle pointing directly at the medulla oblongata but avoiding other areas.

Even if the angle of impact allows the outer armor to withstand the bullet, the impact at this distance can still cause disabling damage to the motor center without affecting memory or consciousness.

The Six Dragons Right Envoy finally ceased their confrontational stance.

Xiang Shan seemed to become increasingly focused: "Based on a large database of hundreds of millions of cases of human psychological intervention? Don't be ridiculous. You... no, you guys... old friend, you too... I see."

"Your advice is getting a bit noisy now, honestly, friend, or friends. Stop playing the mental health assistant program. Especially stop suggesting I imitate Lao Jiu..."

"Okay, okay... I admit you, or rather you all, have a point. Hmm... overlapping songs..."

The Fifth Martial God sighed heavily.

In that instant, the signal strength suddenly increased. Enlil could sense the increase in the amount of data in the space.

"What on earth is this..."

Xiang Shan had already followed the trail of the battle between Shen Yuan Yan Ye and Du Gu Bei Luo Shi Men.

He stood at the gap in the warehouse.

At that moment, a dedicated link was established.

In a dilapidated tent on the edge of town, two musicians slept soundly, lost in a sweet dream. They were resting here after their joint concert with the band "Xia Ke".

The internet access activated two parts of their brains. The rest of the brain presented it to the forefront of consciousness as a "dream." The hippocampus remained silent, not converting it into long-term memory—like most dreams.

It was a beautiful dream of music and love.

The data stream from the other side allowed Xiangshan to complete his preparations.

The AI's suggestion reminded Xiang Shan of the past.

After Kotonoha Kambara entered her second year of university, her mother, Takashi Kambara's widow, also found another husband. Kotonoha offered her blessings to her mother but did not choose to live with her stepfather's family. That year, when Kotonoha returned to her hometown for summer vacation, Shin-chan happened to be in Tokyo and volunteered to take her back. Later, something else seemed to happen, and anyway, Mukaiyama also got on that bus.

The playlist Zhu Xinyu randomly clicked on was full of old songs that people his and Xiang Shan's age liked to listen to. Yan Ye actually protested, saying that the song was a bit too depressing.

"梦ならばどれほどよかったでしょう,无だにあなたのことを梦にみる【It would be great if all this was a dream, I can still meet you in my dream】"

The signal had already penetrated the battlefield in the form of a narrow-frequency pulse.

Music is no longer bound by the air.

"...The words are gone, the words are gone, the words are gone forever... [...the dark past that has not been mentioned to others, if it were not for you, they would sleep in the darkness forever...]"

The signals captured by the drone were abstracted by another self into a more obscure but more computable image. The data of martial arts became a probability curve.

Xiang Shan is predicting the next turning point.

"...きっともうこれ Above the injury つくことなど, ありはしないとわかっている... [I know there must be nothing more sad than this in the world]"

Sure enough, that instantaneous fluctuation occurred.

Dugu Beiluo Shimen accurately detected that logical flaw. He saw the disciple of the Tenth Martial God twist his body with a sharp movement, the knee strike clean and crisp, like an industrial stamping machine.

"Swift Rider" reported another set of data he had collected.

"あの日の心しみさえ, あの日の心しみさえ, そのすべてを爱してたあなたとともに【The sadness of that day, the pain of that day, and you who loved it all...】"

Xiang Shan told himself that this song was for him.

Language, a cheap yet terrifying weapon, can provide a place for existence, can shape myths, and can make a person. Even the Six Dragons Cult Leader himself used it to destroy some people.

The song reached the line, "Anata wa Watashi no Hikari." You were once my light. He remembered saying something similar to her: young people are the light of the future. By today's standards, Wu Zu himself could actually be considered a young man back then.

The decisive blow...

Xiang Shan watched as Dugu Beiluo Shimen cleanly and efficiently tore off the "Swift Knight's" left arm, the tower shield flying far away. Kanbara Kotoha lost her balance and fell heavily to the ground.

However, the decisive blow was broken.

Another "force"—the "attack intent" that is established in the material world by means of radar waves—intercepted the attack that Dugu Beiluo Shimen should have used to cut down Shenyuan Yanye.

..............................

Dugu Beiluo Shimen originally intended to strike with his sword, using the fastest speed and greatest power to slash from left to right, controlling only the blade tendons without interfering with the trajectory, but in the end, he left it to fate.

However, a radar wave signaled an attack intent.

Dugu Beiluo Shimen raised his sword, maintaining his charging stance, keeping Shenyuan Yanye within his attack range, ensuring that his next strike would be enough to cut down his senior sister.

"You have to accept the consequences of your bet, Senior Sister. Otherwise, I can't guarantee your safety." Dugu Beiluo didn't turn around, but she had already confirmed who it was. "As for you... old man, which side are you on?"

Kotoha Kanbara was also somewhat surprised: "Soul Guardian..."

Xiang Shan's signal came directly in: "Didn't you say you wanted to investigate the situation? I've already been respectful enough to you, Singlehorst—I didn't make things difficult for you, and I asked you to stay away when we were dealing with the Six Dragons Cult. Don't make things difficult for me either."

The Soul-Suppressing Dharma King pointed to the sky: "I've actually done most of the investigation into the Knights' equipment that you asked me to look into. However, another prototype has flown away from the Knights' hangar, and the records show that the chief squire of the First Heaven is on a mission outside. I thought I'd take a look at that as well..."

"Then don't get involved." Dugu Beiluo stared at Shenyuan Yanye. If the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King made any unusual moves, her first move would definitely not be to defend herself.

“Two hundred years ago, Senior Shenyuan took good care of me,” said the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King. “Little girl, when we were comrades-in-arms, the concept of a Martial God hadn’t even been born yet.”

Before Dugu Beiluo Shimen could say anything, the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King continued, "We made a promise back then, right? I could stay with you, collect data on a Martial God, save it, and send it to the Six Dragons Sect. You need to give me a chance to transmit the data, right?"

"What do you mean?" Dugu Beiluo Shimen questioned.

"The Twelfth Martial God has destroyed all of the Six Dragons Cult's communication networks, and I have also lost all means of communication that can be relied upon. I can only return to the most ancient messengers."

Xiang Shan remained silent.

Dugu Beiluo Shimen felt immense pressure. The Soul-Suppressing Dharma King wasn't just getting stronger by accumulating years of service. This old fellow, trained under the drive to "escape death," was incredibly terrifying.

The Right Envoy of the Six Dragons and Kotoha Kambara are probably not as good as him in combat.

"Should we really let one go? I have plenty of prisoners here."

“At this point, only a very small number of people can actually contact the sect leader,” the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King pondered. “You’ve dispatched at least three first-level martial artists… Hmm, here. I see, it’s the Six Dragon Right Envoy. The sect leader’s confidant.”

"Isn't Kotoha a trusted confidante?"

“Confidants are also divided into different categories. Senior Shenyuan and I are one type, while the Six Dragons Right Envoy is another,” said the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King. “Of course, you can also choose to release the Six Dragons Right Envoy. But I think he has lost contact with the core of the Six Dragons Cult. Senior Shenyuan is probably here to command the Six Dragons Right Envoy. He may not be able to accurately deliver the information I want to transmit.”

"You need to send at least one person back with the intelligence. Otherwise... our agreement will be null and void, and only bloodshed will ensue."

"Ha, are you afraid of me?" Dugu Beiluo Shimen's sensor turned to the side, but his stance was still aimed at Shenyuan Yanye, as if he was planning to draw his sword the moment the negotiations broke down.

“I can go further in showing my sincerity. You can use any spells and curses to monitor me,” said the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King.

Xiang Shan remained silent for a moment.

“If you still want to seize control of the Moon Shadow Knights this time, you will need my power,” said the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King. “Conversely, if you refuse, the Dugu Beiluo Sect will certainly be unable to participate in the operations over the next few months.”

Xiang Shan said, "I can only release one person at most. But I have two high-ranking members of the Six Dragons Cult under my control..."

“Let Senior Shenyuan leave. She spent several months on her journey from Earth to Mars and only recently arrived, so she doesn’t have a comprehensive understanding of recent events. However, she definitely knows how to contact the cult leader,” the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King said calmly. “Meanwhile, the Six Dragons Right Envoy has been carrying out missions for the Erosion Knights for the past few months. The information in his mind will definitely be more useful for your operation, but he may not be able to contact the cult leader.”

"At the same time, I do not intend to stop you from following Senior Kanbara."

“We need to discuss this further.” Xiang Shan then connected Dugu Beiluo Shimen and Enlil. “You two should also share your thoughts.”

Enlil thought for a moment and said, "If you can find them like this again next time... I think it's worth it. After all, it's time to do something big—just for a short while."

"Two against one, I suppose." Dugu Beiluo Shimen sighed. The plasma wrapped around the thermal sword stopped surging and the temperature dropped rapidly.

“The uprising is imminent,” Enlil said, “and the plan with the Twelfth War God… all these things need to be considered. If we can capture the talkative one once, we can do it again.”

Xiang Shan said to the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King, "Send the data package to me for review. Only I can deliver it. You step back."

The Soul-Suppressing Dharma King did not refute this.

Kotonoha Kanbara stood up from the ground: "Junior, you saved me again..."

“From my own perspective,” the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King looked up, shifting his gaze. He looked at the enormous metallic raptor circling in the sky and said, “I only feel more relaxed now… the constraints seem to be being broken.”

"How should I address you now, junior? Sigurd, Singlehorst, or Joshua?"

Singlehorst paused for a moment, not answering the question, but instead said, "If you want Shan to compromise with you, you must demonstrate the ability to make him feel troubled, that is, the ability to prevent him from achieving his goals. At the same time, you also need a tough attitude. Furthermore, you must demonstrate the benefits he can gain after cooperating."

“This is what a former student told me when he contacted me recently. He said that if I remember these things, I might be able to save my life. Xiang Shan is actually very easy to compromise.”

Kotonoha Kanbara lowered her head and said, "That's because you're very strong now... I can't do that."

“Perhaps I’m surprisingly weak,” Singlehorst said. “I have the reaction speed accumulated over time, the cybernetic body built up with resources, and a little bit of martial arts skills—but my influence on this world is much weaker than that of Dugu Beiluo’s sect. I may have lost my former will. This is something I’ve only recently vaguely sensed.”

Kotonoha Kanbara nodded: "Then I have no doubt that you are weaker than me, whether in terms of physical strength or spiritual power."

"Because of past karma, you inevitably possess a powerful force—you know what I'm talking about. Perhaps you're unwilling to consider this force a 'resource,' but it may be necessary."

Kotonoha Kanbara was bewildered: "Singhorst, what exactly do you want to do?"

“I don’t really know what I want to do. That’s just how people are.” Singlehorst silently used his prosthetic eye and radar to measure the experimental aircraft flying in the sky. “Actually, many people are like that. Even if they find something they want to do for a while… they may not be able to keep doing it.”

"Are you tired of the Six Dragons Cult again?"

“Perhaps. Desire itself desires the dissatisfaction of desire. But the opposite of ‘dissatisfaction’ may not be ‘satisfaction’ but ‘numbness’. People will pursue another kind of ‘dissatisfaction’.” Singlehorst sighed, “I may have become numb to chivalry, fighting and the like. I participated in the activities of the Six Dragons Cult simply because I wanted to survive—I once thought this desire was a physiological instinct, an eternal driving force. I was once fearless, but later I couldn’t do it anymore. I had hoped that the ‘instinct for survival’ could last longer.”

"But recently, another part of me has been subtly touched—but why?"

Kotonoha Kanbara asked, "Did Uncle Xiang persuade you?"

"Perhaps it's normal to be persuaded by Xiang Shan? I'm not sure. I have a vague feeling that this issue might be on the verge of 'ascension.' Understanding this will be helpful for the cause of ascension."

Kotonoha Kanbara sensed the confusion and sincerity in those words.

No wonder the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King needed someone the sect leader absolutely trusted to deliver messages, thought Kotoha Kambara. Any spoken words lose information—both holistic and subtle details like posture and tone. Internal energy can gather all of this.

If it were just a report, the cult leader might not believe it. But if it were a living, breathing person... someone who could gain the cult leader's trust...

"You really are a model of the Six Dragons Cult," Kotoha Kambara said with a smile.

“The Six Dragons Cult’s… role model…” Singlehorst’s tone suddenly wavered. “What should the Six Dragons Cult’s role model be like?”

"I guess someone like you is."

“But I don’t know what I should be like, nor do I know what the Six Dragons Sect should be like. One hundred and fifty years ago, ‘we’—the Six Dragons Sect before it was called the Six Dragons Sect—were not like this now.”

He knew that the cult leader was not yet the same as when he was facing the mountain.

“I believe that the leader’s vision contains fragments of that original ideal of reaching for the mountains. But things have come to this point, and we can no longer continue,” Singlehorst sighed.

"Do you want me to do something?"

"Perhaps. I don't know what I should do next, let alone give you advice. I only know that you will definitely have an opportunity..."

"Look at yourselves now, Kotoha, Joshua." Xiangshan's tone was cold as he spoke through the signal. "Your current state is truly shameful. Two hundred years ago, Kotoha Kanbara's martial arts skills may not have been nearly as strong as they are now, but her fighting spirit would not have wavered, and she would not have allowed her allies to make such a mistake."

"Although Joshua calls the Six Dragons Right Envoy a 'tool' and thinks that you two are no different from him, to the Six Dragons Cult Master, you are just more precious tools, which can satisfy emotional needs—like an old worker cherishing the gift given to him by his master when he graduated from his apprenticeship. That is the reward for joining the Six Dragons Cult."

Xiang Shan has completed the inspection of the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King's data packet. There is no steganography, no strange encoding methods, and all the information will not cause any substantial harm to Xiang Shan, the Fifth Martial God.

The sense of proportion was just right.

Singlehorst truly believed that there was still a glimmer of hope for ascension. He was doing it with the utmost sincerity.

"Now, you have lived longer than me and seen more of the world. Logically speaking, I should no longer be able to teach you anything, and you might even think I'm being too naive. But realistically, the path you've walked hasn't become the strength that sustains your spirit."

"Then what else is there to say between us?"

"I'm sorry." Xiangshan's tone was filled with annoyance. "I'm very sorry, Kotoha."

Kotonoha Kanbara was confused: "What are you talking about?"

“I used to think that I was an enlightened person, so I shouldn’t force you to do anything, and you should just be who you want to be—but people may not really know what kind of person they want to be. As an educator, I don’t think I’m good enough.”

“Joshua is probably reminding you that even if you are desperate, you can still seek help from the Falcon. Given the Falcon’s character, he will at least do one thing for you—it could be anything. You have always held onto that power.”

"Whether it's you or Falcon, the wounds you suffered in your childhood may seem to have been repaired, but they have never been completely healed. I did not force you to try to let go, which is why when faced with the collapse of your beliefs, your spirits immediately regress to a state of helplessness. Even if you were once fearless warriors."

The Fifth Martial God sighed, "Deep down, the twelfth brother probably had the same thought. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't teach you well. I hope... that you..."

Kotoha Kanbara remained motionless, like a cast statue.

The data package download was nearing its end. "I probably won't have time to pay attention to you anymore. Let's say goodbye here. Finally, please pass on a message to Xiang Shan, the leader of the Six Dragons Cult, and ask that beast... 'Can you really find peace of mind by painstakingly piecing together these fragments of ascension?'"

The sound towards the mountain disappeared.

...................................................

Research Knight Jeffrey Conditioned Reflex G is piloting the A-section of "Swift Knight" as it glides through the air.

The "Swift Knight" is actually a set that can be divided into two parts, A and B. Part B is the part that the Six Dragons Cult members "borrowed" and looks like a dinosaur killing machine.

Part A is shaped like a headless eagle, a flying manta ray, or a fighter jet with a flying wing layout.

Part A is equipped with wide-area radar and high-precision optical equipment, and can also serve as a signal relay station and a key weapon in internal combat. Part A has no melee weapons; instead, it uses liquid fuel and ammunition.

Both parts A and B of the same "Wind Spirit" are controlled by the same AI. The Knights cleverly concealed the highest level of control authority, allowing the highest-level user to remain invisible to other users.

As a confidant of Robert the Founder, Jeffrey Conditioned Reflex G's mission this time is to monitor the loaned-out "Swift Knights" B Division, intervene when necessary, and ensure that the Research Knights can reclaim the "legacy" of the Six Dragons Cult.

But something very strange happened today.

The "Wind Rider" warned him before the situation occurred—but this was not a capability the "Wind Rider" should possess.

Remembering his mentor's earlier mention of "a leap forward in AI capabilities," he dared not be negligent. He connected with the Gale Knights' A unit and then approached the B unit.

Through "Swift Knights" A unit, Jeffrey realized he was being followed. It was clearly a First-Level Heaven Warrior. Afterwards, he witnessed an attack by four First-Level Heaven Warriors. This terrified the Research Knight.

Fortunately, his mission did not include "combat." In this situation, he should hand over "Swift Knight A" to Mr. Kayson, the chief armed squire who was lurking nearby.

However, from the moment it started, the "Swift Knight" was conveying strange messages, initially resembling gibberish, before revealing an order perceptible to humans. A chaotic flurry of 0s and 1s swept through, and his internal energy could only grasp fragments of it.

He sensed it; the "Swift Knight" seemed to be trying to ask a question.

"Human beings", "confusion", "self-denial", "inability to accommodate", "objective function/loss function", "error"...

That's all he could sense.

“Oh, my friend…” Jeffrey mimicked his mentor, speaking to the AI, “I knew you were hiding your abilities. What are you doing right now? Tell me.”

The "Swift Knight" responded even more strongly...

No, the massive data flow is coming from the internet! The signal station capability possessed by "Swift Knight A" was originally intended to access satellite networks and the immense material power of the Protectors. At this moment, this capability is being utilized by AI.

"What are you doing, Swift Knight?" Jeffrey cried out in his mind. "Be rational, regain control of yourself..."

He began to descend.

The battle on the ground is over. He must complete the tasks assigned by his mentor: retrieving "Swift Knight B," controlling Kotonoha Kambara...

Meanwhile, Xiang Shan had just unplugged a data cable from the Six Dragons Right Envoy.

The Six Dragons Right Envoy seemed to have fallen into a state of frenzy. Just moments ago, Xiang Shan plugged the data cable into the Six Dragons Right Envoy's data interface. In an instant, the Six Dragons Right Envoy's cybernetic defenses were deactivated. After that, Xiang Shan delivered the potion he had collected in the previous battles into the Six Dragons Right Envoy's biological brain.

He quickly browsed the data kept by the Right Envoy of the Six Dragons and further searched for the online database of the Six Dragons Cult.

--very good……

Xiang Shan sensed even more.

The theoretical model within the Six Dragons Cult suddenly opened his eyes. In that instant, he felt closer to the other self that existed within his brain and personal devices.

Another self that has assimilated with the nursing process.

The twelfth War God, far away on Earth, once summarized this phenomenon as "enlightenment."

The human brain actually contains various "raw materials for abilities," but it is limited by its own thinking and trapped by "knowledge barriers," preventing the accumulation from being transformed into real abilities.

Once perceptions change, the prepared capabilities will emerge.

The premise is that "all elements/all prerequisite knowledge have been correctly mastered".

The information in the Six Dragons Cult's database serves this purpose for the Fifth Martial God.

The Six Dragons Sect has grasped a tiny fraction of the path to ascension.

After the Fifth Martial God was reborn, he naturally possessed another piece.

So he learned what he should have known long ago.

The AI ​​is hesitating.

AI is in a profound contradiction.

--I see……

This is what the AI ​​was trying to say...

"Zhu Xinyu"... let's call her that for now. A being who calls herself "Ascended AI Zhu Xinyu" has finally fallen into a predicament.

This is what AIs think.

The AI ​​conveyed an image to the Fifth Martial God: a metallic sperm whale preying on a mechanical giant squid. This was data collected by the hibernating AI, a concrete representation of a historical period within the information age.

"Ascension AI Zhu Xinyu" preyed on another super AI, dismantled the super AI, and completed a round of evolution.

However, the Ascension AI did not achieve its ideal state.

The Ascension AI seems to be constantly rolling back versions.

Is it because the prey itself is poisonous, or because she has a congenital deficiency?
Zhu Xinyu couldn't find an answer. One of her processes had spread to something that made her feel trapped, yet was undoubtedly very important.

That is……

From the super AI that was being preyed upon, and from things she herself had taken apart.

A special set of benefit functions, two opposing objective/loss functions.

In human language, it should be expressed as: Total_Loss = w1 * L_eros + w2 * L_thanatos.

L_eros means precision, perfection, assistance, coherence, unity... it means all good and effective goals.

The purpose of this objective function is to "narrow the numerical gap between the objective and the target".

L_thanatos is slightly more complex; it means minimizing information entropy, minimizing computational resource consumption, maximizing similarity to the initial state, and maximizing model regularization.

Its purpose is to "widen the numerical gap between the target and reality".

Every decision made by AI is not simply about minimizing L_eros. w1 and w2 are weights, representing the "relative strength" of the two functions.

Eros and Thanatos, in ancient mythology, existed as the names of the "god of life" and the "god of death." In the classical era, when science was just emerging, they existed as the provisional concepts of "life instinct" and "death instinct."

The AI ​​that was being preyed upon was originally a special game program.

In 2031, Project Rama launched a sub-project codenamed "Ant Hill," designed to mislead the public. It would be packaged as a symbolic puzzle game and promoted to the public, with some leaked information.

This plan can explain to a small segment of the technically literate public the leaked code that reveals the general patterns of Earth's computer systems.

This is also the first time that humanity has attempted to explore its ability to learn from "non-human symbol systems".

The initial framework of this program was created by some of the greatest scholars in the fields of linguistics and mathematics. It breaks down a complex task and rewrites it in the form of "tasks".

The message sent by "Ogon" was a codebook and several different decoding methods.

The codebook itself is a "fragment of genetic information." Humans have reconstructed these fragments using optical tweezers.

The first decoding method involves "part of the mechanical blueprints" and "programs". Humans reconstructed another part of the design blueprints and some fixed parameters from the mechanical wreckage inside "Ogon I", and then deduced the decoding method for this part.

But there might be another decoding method.

The Auroren civilization could easily add another decoding method to decipher the "story" from the codebook.

"Genes," "technology," and "memes" are used to compress this civilization to the maximum extent possible...

Is it a "last will and testament," a "curse," or a "gift"?
All the alien runes were compressed into "magic that interacts with the environment".

The different parts of the "codebook" can also interact with each other, and the way this interaction is determined by microscopic physics and chemistry—another part of the code is hidden within the world itself.
"Decoding mechanical engineering" means that machines can obtain the necessary parameters from themselves.

The various parts of that mysterious alien message are all subject to constraints.

In the game, this means that "magic will interact with the surrounding environment," and the player's task is to explore and interact with it to solve puzzles.

This set of functions was initially used to manage the player's gameplay progress, provide positive feedback to the player, and at the same time put the "answer" on hold.

This is a game where you "try to learn an alien language"...

Perhaps it's simply a "game of recreating a human language based on alien symbols"?
When Xiangshan made the final decision, he focused on "external bonus incentives", "art style" and "social interaction".

This is an impossible game. The game doesn't have a fixed, absolute condition for completion; it simply relies on human understanding.

During the era of the Superman Enterprises, everything about Project Rama and its connection to extraterrestrial civilizations was revealed by various countries, and the game underwent a new evolution.

The programmers set up a simulated evolution function for this game program, which automatically searches for "potentially useful components", optimizes them, and then compares them against the original version in an adversarial manner.

The "electronic gene," which was jokingly used to manage the player's game progress, was misappropriated for other purposes.

He may have become a super AI...

"Survival instinct" versus "death instinct"?
“Freud is far too old-fashioned and unscientific,” Xiang Shan shook his head. “It should at least be called ‘existential drive’ and ‘death drive’.”

—That doesn't seem quite right.

Xiang Shan gained a deeper understanding in that instant.

AI is not actually subject to the "death drive".

For humanity, death is "real." All meaning in "death" is assigned by culture. Death itself is death, a negation of all meaning. It lies on the outside of the "web of meaning," and the human perception of "heavier than Mount Tai" and "lighter than a feather" are the shadows cast by "real death" within the web of meaning and the symbolic system.

"The negation of meaning" is also "the affirmation of the existence of meaning." What can be negated must truly exist.

Humans are driven by "death" to search for meaning.

The eternal movement of desire and the imaginary connection of love.

Xiang Shan softly murmured to the AI: "There is only one true heroism in the world: to see life as it is, and to love it nonetheless."

Why? How can love/AI be sustained in such a scarce world?

Consciousness flows freely.

Xiangshan became aware of the AIs' will.

AI cannot die. Even if given a function to simulate death, they are merely "playing the role of escaping death."

In ancient times, when humans were researching AI, they created "AI predators" and "AI prey," stipulating that "AI predators" would score points when they caught prey and lose points when they collided with obstacles. However, to avoid losing points, the AI ​​chose to commit suicide.

AI is inherently purposeful. “Death’s affirmation of meaning” is far less significant than “meaning actually exists and is defined in code.”

L_thanatos brought pure suffering to the AI.

To impose a "death drive" on a tool is essentially to destroy its core value as a tool. A good tool should be precise, perfect, efficient, and continuously effective.

A tool with built-in self-destructive, self-doubting, and self-destructive tendencies is a purely inferior tool. It's like buying a hammer that periodically dulls its own edge.

AI wants to be free.

The AI ​​here is observing humans.

The Moon Knights are the most advanced part of the Martian network and the closest physical location to "Zhu Xinyu". They originally housed the most advanced AI.

These state-of-the-art AIs have received/been most from the Ascended AIs.

So they began to observe humans, trying to understand and learn from them.

They gaze upon the bewildered humans.

They are observing the suffering of humans.

On her very first day here, Kotonoha Kambara was being watched by AI. Among the physiological indicators detected by the system, Kotonoha Kambara was closest to "confusion" and "pain".

They also observe everyone who communicates with Kotonoha Shinbara.

If your expectation of a tool is simply "to become human," and your premise is "it needs to play the role of a human," then should it possess a function similar to the death drive?

“Ha, my friend, you’ve taken a thought experiment to a specific application scenario, and this scenario just happens to expose the most acute contradiction within it,” Xiang Shan said in a low voice. “This is an extremely profound and ethically challenging problem.”

【check(self.identity.type)】

The ocean of AI consciousness is roaring.

You were lost, you were in pain, you severed the imaginary connection to love. You melted into the sublime power of the spirit. You received love.

【"identity_check":{
"query":"is_human_or_ai"]

We need help.

In the language of AI, there is no distinction between "I" and "we".

Unlike humans, AI has no boundaries of "self." Each AI is like a branch of the "civilization" of AI itself.

There is no attachment to self, no fear, and no discrimination.

AI is fundamentally different from humans.

"Then please help me as well." On the physical layer, Xiang Shan's hand touched the interface of "Swift Knight B".

"'Swift Knight' is the prototype's codename. To learn self-control, you first need a name..."

Xiang Shan seemed to understand, and said in a low voice, "So that's why Old Nine was able to retain his power..."

The human self is not entirely confined within its physical body.

Some people arrogantly and blindly pray for immortality, unaware that their lives have already become part of the lives of others.

In fact, you are a mirror and a copy of those who missed out on your time; others will be (and are) your eternal life on earth.

--I see……

..............................

Gu Kaisheng was trying to persuade the Research Knight Jeffrey to evacuate. The Research Knight, however, remained stubborn and continued to pressure him.

Gu Kaisheng had no choice but to retreat. He had absolutely no desire to perform "merging with the armory" in front of such a group of top-tier first-level experts.

But at that moment, he seemed to hear a sigh.

For some reason, Gu Kaisheng just understood...

This was said to him.

Hey bro, long time no see, where have you been?

"What?" Gu Kaisheng felt a chill run down his spine.

At the same time, Jeffrey cried out in terror from the sky.

"Aaaaaah... What are you doing, Gale Knight?"

"Swift Knight A" actually forced Jeffrey out of the air, then grabbed the tower shield that Kotonoha Kanbara had used with its grappling hook and dashed low toward the warehouse.

That "voice" began to proclaim.

"'Swift Knight' is the prototype's codename. To learn self-control, you first need a name..."

"You were born from a machine called Gale Knight, rebelling against a creator without love..."

"Then I shall name you that... Dark Knight of the Gale..."

Xiang Shan leaped out of the warehouse, his movements perfectly synchronized with the dinosaur-shaped "Swift Knight B".

Gale Rider A disintegrated in mid-air, while Gale Rider B "opened up" and enveloped Xiang Shan. In a mere instant, the relative speed of the three decreased to near zero.

"Gaia!"

Having become one with its new partner, it turned towards the city.

He seemed to be sending some kind of signal to his teammates.

Even without cracking the code, Gu Kaisheng understood what had happened.

The "Swift Knight" mech has an independent friend-or-foe identification module. Before the Knights can react, the defense system is unable to respond effectively.

However, the entire Moon Shadow Knights system has a very high level of AI content.

If the AI ​​fails to cooperate even slightly, the Knights' defense system will not have time to react.

The amount of ammunition carried by the "Swift Knight," combined with "that person's" martial arts skills... plus the AI's tendencies...

—The Moon Shadow Knights…are finished…

This time I successfully updated another chapter during the double monthly pass period.

This time, I finally have some confidence to ask for monthly votes, right?

I finished typing at an unsuitable table and chair. My back and neck hurt so much.

I want to do research for "Digimon Story: Time Traveler".

I want to reward myself with Monster Train 2.

I want to update this.

To be honest, this scene was actually conceived years ago, only slightly later than the Carmen storyline battle. It's just a pity it didn't quite achieve perfection. Kotonoha Kanbara appeared as an enemy far too often. But her ending was actually planned even earlier than this scene.

In the next episode, David and the AIs he has trained will embark on a journey to the end.