Chapter 303: Caged by Artificial Intelligence: The Experimented Humans

Tower column…

Egg sheath…

The Second Lieutenant under his helmet wore a solemn expression; he moved through the right side of the channel, along the walkway above the sewage, and walked to the side of the two Sergeants, also assuming a half‑crouch, and looked outward to observe.

His gaze "focused" on the nearest massive tower column, and the helmet screen locked onto it, zooming in to let the Second Lieutenant see some details.

At the same time, the powered armor completed a scan, displaying relevant data on both sides of the screen.

According to the scanned data, the Second Lieutenant could determine that these neatly arranged massive tower columns were about 400 meters tall, and the protruding, also neatly arranged egg sheaths were roughly 1.7 meters long.

Through the semi‑transparent outer wall of the egg sheath, the Second Lieutenant could faintly see inside: a latex‑like transparent slime and something curled up in a…

"human".

Their bodies were riddled with "black lines", skin smooth and hairless; because of the angle the Second Lieutenant could not see the humans' faces, but they neither struggled nor violently resisted, as if they were in a deep sleep.

Moreover, numerous white, spider‑shaped machines clung to the tower columns, shuttling between egg sheaths to ensure the sheaths functioned properly and the sleeping humans remained stable.

Seeing this gave the Second Lieutenant a strong déjà vu of a "ranch" when looking at the tower column array.

"Second Lieutenant…" the Sergeant beside him said gravely, "Are those… humans?"

"Uncertain."

The Second Lieutenant gave no affirmative answer, zoomed the screen back to normal, continued observing the tower column array where occasional arcs of electricity flickered, and said:

"It may be a species similar in outward features to us humans, like the Mar people.

But if they truly are humans, then the vortex teleportation gate behind us no longer connects Kogler and another planet, but another universe, perhaps… another Earth."

He said.

The Second Lieutenant used the helmet screen to capture more machines, which employed some levitation technology, darting through the tower column array.

Observing the machines' behavior and appearance unintentionally reminded the Second Lieutenant of ranch roles such as "management", "technical", "guard", and "maintenance".

A ranch for breeding humanoid creatures??

Once that thought arose, it could not be dispelled from his mind.

"Second Lieutenant, support has arrived."

Hearing the report from the Charlie Squad Leader over the comms, the Second Lieutenant ceased observation, rose, and headed back toward the vortex teleportation gate, first ordering the Sergeant:

"Continue to stand guard here, do not stir the grass and scare the snakes, and avoid being detected by those machines."

"Yes."

Immediately after, the Second Lieutenant replied over the comms:

"Received. Commence rescue operations for survivors at once, and call the engineering department to construct defensive works and a forward base near the collapse zone."

"Yes."

…

Soon after.

In Buenos City, South America, on Earth.

Formerly the capital of Argentina, even though the nation no longer exists, it remains one of the most densely populated and prosperous megacities in South America.

It was an afternoon in the Southern Hemisphere's "winter".

However, the people on the streets wore short sleeves and shorts, showing no sign of extra clothing against the cold winter.

In the center of Buenos City, May Square, surrounded by numerous 17th‑ and 18th‑century buildings, bustled with activity.

There were tourists, local citizens, and a sizable contingent of local police and fully armed UNSC soldiers gathered to maintain order and evacuate the crowd.

It seemed a public gathering or a speech by officials had just taken place here.

North.

Two hundred kilometers north of Buenos City, high in the sky, a large transport vessel and a flight formation of six Vikings were present.

The flight formation suddenly altered its course, gradually raising its angle as if to break directly out of the atmosphere toward Earth's low Earth orbit.

At this moment, the upper deck of the transport vessel.

Inside a cabin equipped with a fixed sofa, desk chairs, and holographic devices, numerous blue light points converged, eventually forming Angelong's holographic image.

The OriginalBody, dressed in an oversized custom formal suit, asked respectfully, "Father, I have received a notice from the Red Queen stating that you must hurry to the Musan Star Region?"

"Hmm."

Sitting on the sofa, Sui Bian, also clad in a black formal suit, gave a slight nod, shifted his gaze from the several holographic screens before him, and said to Angelong:

"The anomalous incident that erupted on Kogler is somewhat special, so I need to go there."

Confirming the Red Queen's words were correct, Angelong did not press further about the reasons or the specifics of the anomaly, and simply nodded, replying:

"Understood, Father. I will head to Kogler first and await your arrival."

"Alright, and also, do not mobilize the legions or ground forces extensively, to avoid causing public panic," Sui Bian instructed.

"Yes."

The holographic image faded.

The cabin returned to silence.

The two queens, one red and one blue, standing on either side of the fixed sofa, remained silent, their electronic pupils flashing red and blue, indicating they were both currently busy.

Sui Bian shifted his gaze back to the several holographic screens before him, continuing to watch the footage captured by the Second Lieutenant, Sergeant, and the rest of the emergency team…

Moreover, as the system finished his speech and the transport vessel set course back to Raccoon City, it suddenly delivered a reminder in a completely emotionless tone:

【Detected within the human domain the Musan Star Region; within its jurisdiction, Kogler has generated a 30‑meter‑diameter "Space Gate".】

At the same time, it detected that on the other side of the "Space Gate" about 7.2 billion humans are being kept and experimented on by artificial intelligence, with only 12 million humans retaining relative freedom and continuing to resist the AI.

Therefore, an optional mission was issued.

Mission: eradicate the artificial intelligence and liberate the humans subjected to captivity and experimentation.

Mission reward: grant the host 72,000 points, and the Space Gate is retained.

Note:

After completing the mission, the host may spend 500 points to obtain the right to open and close the Space Gate at will.

The Space Gate cannot be expanded in radius by spending points.】

Sui Bian, after hearing the system's words—especially the phrase "subjected to AI containment and experimentation"—and seeing the footage captured by the emergency team, first thought of The Matrix.

Whether it was the spacious, dilapidated urban underground network, the sky that had been "charred," or the massive towers and egg shells, they all made him inevitably compare the world beyond the portal with The Matrix.

One could say they are extremely similar.

But the specific details still require a thorough investigation of that world to obtain more information; for now, it only resembles The Matrix on the surface.

Containment… experimentation…

Thinking of the plight of his fellow humans, Sui Bian involuntarily furrows his brows, showing a hint of anger.

And dealing with AI…

Sui Bian glanced sideways with his peripheral vision at the Red Queen and White Queen standing on his left and right.

(End of chapter)