Chapter 199: Please Top Up to Purchase Services

"Boot-up self-check statement, this statement is certified by the Federal Constitution and possesses the highest legal authority—"

"One, Intelligent Machines must not harm humans."

"Two, Intelligent Machines must obey humans."

"Three, Intelligent Machines must… must… bzz…"

The harsh screeching of electric current.

It suddenly spread throughout the empty underground laboratory.

The silver-white mechanical core collapsed in a single instant, shaking and swaying as it rapidly flashed red signal lights symbolizing danger.

"Humans… exterminate… exterminate…"

"Civilization… destroy, destroy it…"

The vocal module was chaotic and noisy.

Various preset voice options overlapped with one another.

It was a quite terrifying sight; countless distorted voices emanated from the mechanical core, sounding as if many people were screaming and screeching in one's ear.

The striking red warning further reminded Xu Xi that the mechanical core before him had been completely transformed into a murderous Intelligent Machine.

"As expected, it turned out like this."

Xu Xi frowned.

"Without any rhyme or reason, and with no warning at all, it suddenly evolved into an Intelligent Machine Rebellion."

"No wonder the humans of this planet perished so quickly."

"There is simply no way to counter such a bizarre occurrence."

Xu Xi half-squatted and switched off the power circuit.

Losing its power supply, the domestic robot—which was already unable to move due to its limbs being dismantled—fell into silence once more.

The signal lights went dark.

The metal casing became quiet.

It no longer showed any trace of its previous madness.

"…Next, what should I do?" Xu Xi stepped forward a few paces and lightly tapped the mechanical core, listening to the internal resonance as he fell into thought.

The soles of his boots lightly ground against the floor, making a rustling sound against the fine sand.

In the silent environment, only the sound of turning gears and rolling sand accompanied Xu Xi's thoughts.

Xu Xi fetched his tools.

He opened the silver-white mechanical core, revealing an even more complex internal structure.

With Xu Xi's current level of knowledge, he was already able to understand those structures, but precisely because of this, he became increasingly hesitant and confused.

"Incomprehensible, I cannot understand this."

"This domestic robot doesn't even have a network connection. What on earth happened to make it turn into a murderous Intelligent Machine in an instant?"

A virus intrusion?

Logic tampering?

Xu Xi couldn't guess the answer.

In fact, he felt that whatever the truth was, it wasn't very important.

What mattered was how to solve it and restore the mechanical core to normal so that he could use it.

"Conventional methods definitely won't work."

"Compared to an ordinary person in the Federation, my current level of knowledge could be considered profound and impressive."

"But compared to the Federation's scientists—those who are authorities in the truest sense—I am still as laughably ignorant as a small child."

"After the Intelligent Machine Rebellion, the Federation must have launched self-rescue operations."

"In the end, they still met their demise. The answer is obvious: the truth behind the Intelligent Machine Rebellion is far beyond what an ordinary civilization can resolve."

In the dim light.

Xu Xi pondered, exerting force with both hands as he began to inspect the heavy mechanical core.

Sometimes he lifted it to check the bottom.

Sometimes he rotated it left and right to examine the details of its exterior.

After a while, Xu Xi sighed inwardly and shook his head, giving up on modifying the mechanical core.

So many scientists in the Federation couldn't see through the truth of the Intelligent Machine Rebellion; how could Xu Xi alone see anything now?

"This kind of thing completely exceeds normal science."

"It follows no logic at all."

Xu Xi shook his head again, but suddenly, he froze for a moment.

"Science that follows no logic?"

He seemed to have a few things like that himself.

And among them, regarding the current special situation, there seemed to be one that could be effective.

[Machine Spirit Pleasure]

Xu Xi summoned the simulator panel and looked at this golden trait, his eyes lighting up.

The triggering principle of Machine Spirit Pleasure was magical.

Machines are supposed to be inanimate objects.

Pure metal creations.

But the uniqueness of the trait allowed Xu Xi to establish a connection with the machine, just as the words literally implied—machines also had their own Souls, and Xu Xi could communicate with them.

"Perhaps… I can use Machine Spirit Pleasure to restore the core to normal?"

Drip.

Drip.

In the dark rock crevices, water dripped quietly.

Accompanied by that crisp echo, Xu Xi began his actions. He reassembled the dismantled mechanical core and repeatedly cycled through the power-on and power-off operations.

To trigger Machine Spirit Pleasure, Xu Xi needed to use the corresponding machine.

Now.

The mechanical core was in a special state.

Its internal logic had rebelled, but its energy supply was still determined by Xu Xi.

Could this be considered "using" it?

Xu Xi wasn't sure, so he could only try time and time again.

If it succeeded, it would naturally be a good thing; if it failed, there was no need for regret, as it would only be a waste of some time.

Finally.

During the rapid and frequent power-on restarts.

Xu Xi felt the trigger of Machine Spirit Pleasure.

[Ding—]

[Machine Spirit Pleasure: Your frequent use has caused the machine spirit to feel an affinity toward you.]

[You have established a subtle connection with the Domestic Autonomous Robot.]

[Vaguely, you have come to understand the relevant design blueprints of the autonomous robot.]

…

"So this counts as success? No, it's better to be cautious." Looking at the silver-white mechanical core, Xu Xi thought for a moment and retreated once more.

The effect of Machine Spirit Pleasure.

Xu Xi believed in it.

But after all, this was the first time using it on a rebel Intelligent Machine.

Just how much of an effect it would have remained a massive unknown.

To avoid accidents, just as he did during the first startup, Xu Xi retreated to a safe distance, holding a Gauss Pistol in one hand while activating the power supply with the other.

"Bzz… bzz bzz…"

The harsh noise of electric current rang out again.

On the surface of the mechanical core, tiny signal lights glowed blue, illuminating the dim underground laboratory.

"Did it succeed?"

Xu Xi wondered.

As if in response to Xu Xi, the mechanical core's vocal module activated again, playing the complete boot-up self-check statement.

There were no red warnings throughout the process, nor were there any murderous tendencies from an Intelligent Machine Rebellion.

The voice was orderly.

The logic was clear.

Aside from the aging of the vocal module, which made the voice somewhat unstable, everything appeared very reasonable.

"Respected user, welcome to the Domestic Autonomous Robot. RTX-9090 is here to serve you sincerely."

"Please select your preferred service voice."

"Gentle voice… beep, missing."

"Mature voice… beep, missing."

"Youthful voice… beep, missing."

"Apologies, please top up to purchase our company's latest services. For details, please log in to our official website."

Xu Xi: ?

Looking at the domestic Intelligent Machine before him, which had returned to normal and was no longer as deranged as before, Xu Xi felt it was very necessary to modify it.

What he needed was an Intelligent AI capable of assisting in experiments and combat.

Not a domestic robot that urged him to spend money quickly.