Abyssal Wanderer.

I think...

Jim crossed his arms and rested his chin on his hand, pondering for a moment, then said without the slightest sign of panic:
“I admit that if you were infected with both the Dionysus and Apollo viruses at the same time, given Kigi’s intelligence and abilities, she probably wouldn’t be able to bring you here by herself—you would have had plenty of opportunities to kill her along the way.”

At this point, he ignored Ji Mu, who was standing to the side with his hands on his hips, vehemently protesting, and continued:

"Of course, in this respect, I'm not much better than Ji Mu. From beginning to end, I've been pushed to where I am now by the situation and the invisible hand behind it. I understand that I've always just been a pawn, and I can't figure out what path the other players are taking... I even doubt that I can see the future clearly."

The ambush by the Celestial Path and the pathogen data collected by the Animal Path—that chess player had been planning all this for a long time.

To be honest, even controlling the pharmacist to the point of near death, allowing Hanel to implant a virtual personality at the most opportune moment, and thus gaining control of this mobile biochemical reaction factory, could be considered the chess player's ultimate micro-management.

That's why...

"I believe you are very intelligent... your IQ is generationally behind ours. Similarly, I can't see through your tactics, nor do I understand how or why you pretended to be captured and brought here. But it's clear that your current advantage isn't as great as you think. Everything you've done so far has been nothing more than a game of chess with that invisible player on my side, and..."

Jim looked at Duanmu Youxue with a very calm expression.

"Right now, it seems that the player on my side has a slightly higher chance of winning."

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Youxue's expression instantly turned sinister.

"He just had more time to prepare and more resources at his disposal than we did."

"Youxue said fiercely."

Jim shrugged:

"Don't say things that make you seem like a sore loser."

"We're only in the middle of the game now, and it's still uncertain who will win in the end! Do you really think you've already secured the victory?"

The other party immediately replied.

Jim shook his head:

"I don't know, I can't understand the situation anyway... I'm just a pawn, why are you asking me how the game is going?"

Such a frank statement immediately deflated Youxue's spirits.

"I'm telling you, don't you have any dignity as the most intelligent of all beings? You so easily accept the fact that you can only be a pawn? At least struggle a bit, shout out some lines like 'human dignity,' or 'Don't underestimate humans.'"

She said with great disappointment.

"In an era where over 90% of the internet is occupied by AI, and humans can only live huddled in resettlement areas? Humanity already lost during the 'Great Shock' a hundred years ago. Throwing a tantrum and refusing to accept this fact is the real manifestation of a lack of dignity."

Jim was quite open-minded about it—perhaps because his consciousness was influenced by Jiang Zhou.

For the new humans infected with the "superhuman virus," these old guys on the evolutionary path might indeed be chimpanzees, but for those super artificial intelligences, both species are probably similar to paramecia—and the difference between the two paramecia is probably difficult for them to measure.

Duanmu Youxue remained silent for a long time after hearing this statement.

After a long silence, she finally spoke:

"I would say that your views on humanity might be a bit too self-deprecating... but I don't really want to discuss this topic further. Besides, I'm a little curious, in your eyes, after losing its status as the most intelligent of all beings, how should human dignity be manifested?"

Just as Jim, who had already prepared his answer, was about to speak, a voice behind him spoke the answer first:

"Free will".

The speaker was Wang Ying.

She had been smoking on the balcony until Duanmu Youxue woke up, at which point she returned and listened to the entire conversation from a short distance away. Seeing her stride over, Jim stepped aside to let her pass.

Wang Ying first glanced at Jim, then casually glanced at Hanel beside her, and finally stood in front of Duanmu Youxue.

“If we analyze this purely from a self-interest perspective, I have no reason to let you live—you are dangerous, intelligent, and have plans we can't see through. But even so, I still won't kill you. Because you might still be saved, because I will consider Ji Mu's feelings, and because in my judgment, you are also a victim of this incident.”

She said so.

"So this is what's pathetic about you... You don't even realize that I came looking for an opportunity precisely because I knew you wouldn't kill me."

Duanmu Youxue sighed.

"It doesn't matter."

Jim said:
"After all, if we really only act according to our own interests, then what's the difference between us and those walking corpses?"

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Youxue turned to look at the ceiling, her face devoid of any expression.

"Then I'll give you a suggestion... Just have that eager Ji Mu-chan give me anesthesia. Right now, the power of the memetic entity is enough to shake the firewall of the tenth floor of the resettlement area. If I stay awake, even with the Silence Domain shielding me, it will quickly send a construct over to absorb me, this excellent programming entity, into the network."

She hesitated for a moment, then continued:
"Also, please don't misunderstand, I'm just listing things that you're intelligent enough to think of, and things you would do even if I didn't tell you. I'm definitely not reminding you of anything. And... before the Apollo virus spreads widely, I don't really want to network with that bunch of prefrontal cortex-damaged lunatics."

But Ji Mu put down the anesthetic and forcefully turned Yuki's face toward him with both hands.

"It's snowing!"

A serious expression like that appearing on Ji Mu's face is as rare as that of an albino panda.

"Listen to me, I have never, ever considered you a burden! Don't overthink it. Just like you cured my illness before, I will definitely cure you too!"

To this, Duanmu Youxue simply scoffed, muttering, "Wouldn't it be a joke to let a chimpanzee save us?" and then said:
"Thank you for going to such lengths. Listen to me... I will make sure you get infected with both viruses normally and stay at the forefront of evolution with me."

At this point, she suddenly smiled.

"I wonder if the Superman virus would even work on an idiot like you."

Watching Jim administer the anesthetic to Yuyuki, Jim suddenly said:
“She just mentioned wanting to be infected with two viruses ‘normally’… Do you think it’s possible that the Dionysus virus she previously contracted was implanted with a part that reverses fear behavior? And it’s not the original, unprocessed version of the Dionysus virus?”

Hanel looked at Jim with some confusion:

"I don't think it makes a difference, even if something's been added. If the Apollo virus balances things out, it'll just mean having another desire to control; it won't affect intelligence or abilities. Of course, she herself might be a little concerned about it..."

But Jim shook his head.

"So what exactly is her purpose in risking her life to come to this safe house to find me? And why does Apollo Bio want to reclaim my biological brain? In the end... what is so special about me?"

"If we're talking about special cases... back in the research zombie department, Jimmy, you were the only research zombie who awakened free will..."

Hanel stopped there.

"But why does the consciousness of free will awaken?"

She murmured.

Jim then pointed to Duanmu Youxuedao, who had already fallen into a deep sleep:

"Isn't there a perfect example right here?" (End of Chapter)