Reborn in 2010, the AI ​​in my mind is too powerful.

On the naval vessel 'Pilot', part of the Swiss Transocean Drilling Company in the Mississippi Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico, Old Zhang is working diligently.

His feelings were mixed. On one hand, he was happy that he had survived. On the other hand, he was also anxious and wanted to earn more money as soon as possible.

Aurora University is currently very capricious in releasing new student quotas. In addition to Singapore and Hawaii, which have confirmed that all citizens have a quota, even South Korea requires a lottery.

Of course, Lao Zhang also saw some news reports that some important figures could always cut in line.

However, everyone can understand this, since Aurora has not charged any money for the new student slots it has released so far. They give you a wet brain and a basic mechanical body for free.

If you want to make some improvements, you can ask them for money, but they don't accept cash payments, so you can only ask them for loans with interest.

Old Zhang was very lucky to get a spot. When he was young, he was seduced by a Hawaiian girl and went to Hawaii. Although they broke up quickly, he managed to settle down there and buy a house.

Although he was a legal resident of Hawaii, he was a rare find among all oil workers, including a bachelor who had never married. Finally, when he was in the late stages of pancreatic cancer and nearing the end of his life, he received the good news and became one of the first Hawaiian newborns.

After spending two weeks at the Aurora Rebirth Center in Hawaii, a fresh-faced Zhang with a metallic sheen was born.

As a Chinese, he inherited the traditions of the older generation. Even when he was a wealthy bachelor, he would carefully manage his money to ensure that he could continue to live a carefree life without any financial setbacks.

So he still had several hundred thousand US dollars saved up before he died, intending to leave it to his colleagues and friends to give them a shock. He wanted to show them that the playboy they called a spendthrift was actually quite shrewd.

But right now, what he needs isn't money, but interest. He completely doesn't understand this. Aurora Group has only said that within a year, some places in the world will open up interest trading. Or, a year later, when Aurora Group contacts him, they'll see what he can use to pay.

Old Zhang was lucky because he had been paying attention to the Singapore Exchange and when it started issuing interest rates, he quickly bought in. At a rate of 3% interest and 1 US cent, he converted all his assets into interest and successfully held them for 4 years.

But he still felt it wasn't enough. The aurora was really something else; this information was a real threshold fee. To live well, one needed to be quick-witted, have a brain that didn't consume much energy, not to mention biological agents, electricity was also essential.

So no matter how wonderful the virtual world is, he still has to return to reality and start looking for a job.

He originally thought this matter would be quite troublesome, after all, he was no longer that handsome middle-aged man, but a shiny metal man.

However, the situation was much better than he had imagined. He contacted his former employer with a try-it-and-see attitude, explaining that he was in excellent health, his mechanical hand was very dexterous, and he could even have a few extra fingers to assist him.

He used to be a field engineer and a half-step drilling supervisor, but now the requirements aren't that high; he'll take any job he's given.

Unexpectedly, the Swiss transoceanic drilling company immediately signed a bunch of legal documents with him and directly appointed him as the drilling supervisor of the Gulf navigator.

What's unusual is that, normally, a drilling supervisor on a ship works two day shifts and two night shifts, but because he doesn't need to sleep, the company treats him as two people.

This is just the beginning. He has been here for more than a month now, from November to December, and he has taken on more and more work.

Baker Hughes made significant updates to the Navigator, upgrading the entire ship's network, laying fiber optic cables throughout the ship, adding countless anthropomorphic arms and fingertip sensors, and incorporating various motors, harmonic reducers, and force feedback circuits.

Safety measures have also been implemented, with backups for all lines. Old Zhang's mechanical workshop is practically a super safe haven; if there's a problem, it can be driven away immediately.

These settings were all new, but Lao Zhang learned them quickly. In just three days, he found that he could replace most people's work.

He felt at that moment that his old buddies were about to lose their jobs.

And that was indeed the case. Within a month, the number of people on board plummeted from 180 to just 25 plus Lao Zhang.

At that moment, Mike, the captain of the saturation diving team, was saying goodbye to him: "Friend, I'm leaving. I don't think I'll be back."

Old Zhang's voice came from the speaker, tinged with sadness: "I'm sorry, old friend, I didn't expect it to turn out like this."

Although I really wanted to say that you can't buy me with money! I can't let my friends down! But they gave me so much that I couldn't resist.

"Or you should change careers. Machines are becoming obsolete, and robotic arms are getting more and more dexterous. Your job is a sunset industry. How about becoming a driller or driving a crane?"

"Forget it, I feel like they'll eventually withdraw everyone, leaving you alone here. That's how they maximize their profits. The only reason they're forcibly keeping twenty people here is for classification society certification."

Given your current situation, how should the classification society assess you—as a person or as equipment? Even if the law stipulates that you should be considered a person, it's clear that your equipment classification is stronger.

This is a mess right now. They're afraid that if they just evacuate all the ordinary people, and something goes wrong, the insurance company will refuse to pay.

If this matter is settled, I estimate that all twenty-odd of them will leave. There might not even be any jobs left for the crane operators and drillers. By the way, can you secretly tell me how much they paid you?

"Fifteen thousand US dollars."

"Weekly salary?"

"Daily wages."

Mike took a deep breath, then, as if trying to convince himself, said, "Oh well, this is the future, I guess. Maybe the oil wells will be safer in the future. It's not bad that we won't have to go down there to do those dangerous jobs. Even if there's an accident, machines are easier to use than people, right?"

Moreover, the work of saturation diving teams is dangerous and short-lived, involving underwater non-destructive testing, marine organism removal, and sacrificial anode replacement of mooring systems. Nobody wants to do these things all the time.

When faced with a major problem, I felt like I wanted to die. Like in 2010, so many people died, and we were still expected to go down and find a solution. It was utterly ridiculous.

Although Mike spoke with nonchalance, Lao Zhang could still detect a hint of melancholy in his voice. It was the feeling of a veteran. You have to understand that these underwater tasks couldn't be done by remotely operated vehicles before. Back then, these divers were highly paid and sought-after.

The two chatted for a few more minutes before Mike said goodbye and left the control room.

He walked around the entire drilling ship before finally reaching the helipad to prepare to leave by helicopter. He was just about to muster some emotions of reluctance, or perhaps, like in the movies, shout a few words to the sea.

Old Zhang's voice came from the loudspeaker next to him: "I don't think you're as carefree as you say. Everyone else is waiting for the helicopter obediently, but you're just wandering around like a high school fresh out of school."

Mike blushed and pretended not to hear, staring blankly at the horizon.

"Hey, let's talk. If it's really like you said, and there's no one left on the ship, and I'm all alone, I'll be very lonely."

Mike said with an unfriendly expression, "Lonely my ass! Didn't you start working on the ship last month? I heard that only you have that network access to Aurora's Starlink, which is said to have very fast internet speeds."

Old John said he saw you playing games in the virtual world! And during work hours! Everyone's saying you can play games at the same time as work now!

"Why isn't Old John dead yet? That bastard is spreading rumors! He's only spreading them because he's jealous that I don't have to die. Who told him not to be from Hawaii? Garbage New York, even dogs wouldn't go there."

The two argued and bickered until Mike left.

Before leaving, the two made a promise to meet in the virtual space after Mike arrived at the Wanderer.

Old Zhang became somewhat happy, hoping that more and more friends could meet in the virtual world.

This would make his life at sea a little happier. At this time, he was multitasking, monitoring the oil well operation on one hand, and on the other hand, he was chatting with a girl in the virtual space. She was a girl from Singapore who looked quite young and very eager to learn, asking him questions about the oil well.

He also spared a moment to check the Singapore Stock Exchange for updates on the exchange rate fluctuations.

Interest rates have been fluctuating a lot lately, going from a sharp rise to both increases and decreases.

But he only hesitated for a moment before starting to buy. He didn't want to get rich through any financial schemes. To him, US dollars were useless. The company provided electricity and nutrient solution; he just needed to firmly convert all his US dollars into interest to prolong his life.

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The legal headquarters of the Swiss transoceanic drilling company is in Steinhausen, Zug, Switzerland, but its Houston branch is its true brain.

Almost all of its core departments are located in Houston.

At this moment, several managers from the company were reporting on the status of the Navigator.

CEO Steven Newman stood by the window, watching the protesters outside the company with a cold smile, then said to the person giving a presentation, "Stop talking nonsense and just tell me, how much money can we save?"