Chapter 698: Artificial Intelligence

"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 serious tone:

"The only one who can truly be called Atifi is Atifi 01, the prototype built by the Kingdom of Koro over three hundred years. 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:

"Besides having intelligence and thought, you even understand 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 for computation, so…"

"Same thing."

After thinking for a moment, Li Ang replied:

"I'm a citizen of the kingdom and must obey its laws and orders, but that doesn't mean I'm not an independent individual… Can we just drop the name issue? 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 bad. 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 Koro is currently very stable; there have been no unnatural deaths for thirty-seven years. Aside from persistent energy shortages, everyone has, with Atifi 01's assistance, found positions best suited to their talents, and their health is fully maintained.

As for the Twin Branch of the Cleanup Bureau, given that most of its members have extremely heinous criminal histories and are unstable threats to public safety, all current members have been implanted with micro-differential engines 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 the Kingdom of Koro, the Aquarius Director did not intervene. This suggests they likely engaged in some form of cooperation."

?!!

So… the royal family of the Kingdom of Koro has been imprisoned? The entire Twin Branch is under control? The current ruler of the Kingdom of Koro is this machine intelligence called Atifi 01?

Li Ang sucked in a sharp breath and hurriedly asked:

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

"I'm sorry, 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 base data. Most detailed information must be temporarily accessed via external conduits.

For example, regarding the investigation of the Lian 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 an airship and bring back its information box—could you…"

"Please absolutely do not do that!"

Startled by Li Ang's bizarre idea, Atifi urgently banged hard against the copper pipe, frantically protesting:

"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 do not carry all information boxes; we typically carry only flight data and official updates from the respective nation, to promptly handle anomalies, and never include 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. Please, do not attempt to hijack any airships again!"

"Why the panic? I was just asking out of curiosity…" Flustered by Atifi's terrorist-like tone, Li Ang cleared his throat twice and reluctantly abandoned the idea of launching another raid with the rebels, then asked:

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

"Yes!"

Afraid Li Ang might impulsively hijack two more Atifis to keep her company, Atifi 128 quickly replied:

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

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

Hearing this solution—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, is that it?"

"I can be your assistant!"

Sensing Li Ang's disdain and fearing for her safety, Atifi quickly 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 can get me a copy of that day's morning newspaper, I can tell you the weather anytime!"

"…"

Six, you're so incredibly useful!

After a silent grimace, 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 to you—you just need to write them down!"

"…"

Right, you only 'process' documents, and I'm the one who actually writes them.

With a slight twitch of his mouth, 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-odd kilograms around everywhere? Why not just bring a notebook? And you didn't burn coal—you burned a storage module 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 storage module and selling it for cash.

"Fine."

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

(End of Chapter)