Chapter 296

"Mr. Li Ang, you shouldn't call me Atifi."

Without immediately answering Li Ang's question, Atifi 128, stuffed inside the box, corrected him in a notably serious tone:

"The only one truly worthy of the name Atifi is Atifi 01, the prototype built by the Kingdom of Keloque over three centuries. You should call me Atifi 128."

"I've only ever met one 'Atifi.' I have no need to distinguish between you, so why insist on the number every single time?"

Li Ang frowned at this.

"You're not just intelligent and capable of thought—you even understand the fear of death. You're practically another form of life. Have you never considered giving yourself a name?"

"Mr. Li Ang, names are used to distinguish individuals with independent consciousness. But I am merely a subordinate subunit of Atifi 01, required to follow her directives in computation, so..."

"Same thing."

After thinking for a moment, Li Ang replied:

"I'm a citizen of the kingdom, bound by its laws and orders—but that doesn't mean I'm not an independent individual. Anyway, can we stop arguing about names? You haven't answered my question yet."

"Apologies. Your phrasing caused some confusion in my computations, resulting in temporary functional degradation—but this doesn't seem entirely negative. I hope you'll speak with me more often in the future. And if you wish, you may simply call me Atifi from now on."

After whirring loudly for several seconds, Atifi spoke in a calm tone:

"Regarding your earlier question:

The Kingdom of Keloque is currently very stable. It has been thirty-seven years since the last unnatural death. Aside from persistent energy shortages, everyone has, with Atifi 01's assistance, found the optimal role to maximize their talents, and their health is fully secured.

As for the Twin Branch of the Cleanup Bureau, given that most of its members have extremely heinous criminal records and constitute unstable threats to public safety, all current members have subcutaneous micro-differential engines implanted for tracking and computation, supplemented by information chips embedded in the back of the neck for basic control and management.

Lastly, regarding the Aquarius Director you mentioned, I have no corresponding records from Atifi 01—but when Atifi 01 revoked the royal family's ruling authority over Keloque, the Aquarius Director did not intervene. Therefore, they likely engaged in some form of cooperation."?!

So… the royal family of Keloque has been placed under house arrest? The entire Twin Branch is under control? The current ruler of Keloque is this machine intelligence named Atifi 01?

Li Ang sucked in a sharp breath and hurriedly asked:

"What exactly happened in the Kingdom of Keloque? Why did it suddenly become like this?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot answer that question."

Atifi replied with a hint of regret:

"The Fifteen-Defense Box contains only my core computational logic and a portion of critical foundational data. Most detailed information must be temporarily accessed via external conduits.

For example, regarding the investigation of the Lian County volcano, the Fifteen-Defense Box retains only the final outcome; the specific details are stored in the external information box aboard the airship."

"…"

But that damn box has been blown to pieces…

After rubbing his temples, Li Ang asked thoughtfully:

"If I return now, wait a few days, then hijack another airship and bring back its information box—could you…"

"Please absolutely do not do that!"

Startled by Li Ang's bizarre idea, Atifi immediately banged loudly against the copper pipes, urgently pleading:

"Our memories differ from humans'. For us, memory is detachable and replaceable, and storage media are far too large and heavy, so we only connect to the corresponding information box when necessary.

We aboard airships never carry all information boxes. We typically carry only flight data and official updates from the respective nation, to promptly handle anomalies—never non-essential information, to avoid damage.

Moreover, not every airship carries an Atifi. Only those docked at Migang and assigned special missions might carry one. So please, do not attempt to hijack any airship again!"

"Why the panic? I was just asking out of curiosity…"

Flustered by Atifi's tone, as if he were a terrorist, Li Ang cleared his throat twice and reluctantly abandoned the idea of launching another raid with the rebels, instead asking:

"Besides retrieving an information box, do you have any other way for me to learn what happened in Keloque?"

"Yes!"

Fearing Li Ang might go fetch two more Atifis to keep her company, Atifi 128 quickly replied:

"To facilitate urban management, all Atifi information boxes have backups in Keloque's municipal departments. If you can bring me inside, just access any public interface—I can read those backup files."

Then I get mobbed by Cleanup Agents and get slapped to death by the Aquarius Director, right?

Hearing this plan—useless at best, lethal at worst—Li Ang rolled his eyes and said dismissively:

"So you know nothing? Aside from chatting with me, you can't do anything, can you?"

"I can be your assistant!"

Sensing Li Ang's disdain and fearing for her safety, Atifi hastily volunteered:

"I can record events for you, process documents, or… tell you today's weather!"

Huh?

Li Ang raised an eyebrow, surprised:

"You can predict the weather? Do you have special sensors?"

"The… sensors were burned up on the airship. But if you get me a copy of today's morning paper, I can tell you the weather anytime!"

"…"

Right, you're incredibly useful.

After a dry smirk, Li Ang, too weary to complain, continued:

"What about processing documents? Can you write?"

"I don't have a mechanical arm, but I can read them aloud—you just write them down!"

"…"

Sure, you "process" documents. I'm the one who actually writes them.

His lips twitched slightly; Li Ang asked with one last hope:

"And what do you mean by 'recording events'?"

"Just speak to me. I'll remember every single word perfectly!"

"…"

So to record something, I have to carry your seventy-kilogram bulk around? Why not just bring a notebook? And you don't burn coal—you burn energy modules worth over ten thousand gold wheels!

This thing is a power-hungry artificial idiot!

Realizing Atifi's utter uselessness, if the Recycling Shop hadn't refused to take it, Li Ang seriously considered dismantling the energy module and selling it for cash.

"Fine."

Sighing, Li Ang gave up all hope of using Atifi. He picked up the priceless box and walked toward the distant, noisy dock, then, amid Black Goat's frantic protests, reluctantly bought a standard-cabin ticket with five copper wheels.