Facing the current situation, Xiao Yu sank into deep contemplation. Although he now understood that this was not the universe he had originally co from, that knowledge did nothing to help him determine his next course of action. He still had no idea what he should do next.
Moreover, a serious issue was beginning to erge in his mind: if sothing unexpected happened here, if for example, there existed so malicious civilization he could not resist, or if the spatial teleportation device left behind by the Trolor Civilization malfunctioned, how would he leave this small universe and return to his original great universe? Traversing between two different three-dinsional spaces was sothing Level 6 Civilizations were capable of. Xiao Yu did not dare to hope he could achieve that himself.
In this dark cosmos, staring at the endless, identical stars, Xiao Yu was plunged into deep thought.
“Welco to the New World, my people.” Just then, Xiao Yu suddenly received a ssage. He could not tell where the ssage had been transmitted from; it simply entered his mind directly and was automatically translated into a language he could understand.
“Is this a prompt left behind by the Trolor Civilization?” Xiao Yu reacted swiftly. In that mont, he recalled the information he had obtained from the box. “After our complete extinction, the intelligent program we left behind will activate our most powerful defensive weapon, the New World, to protect our relics…”
“It seems this is the intelligent program the Trolor Civilization left behind,” Xiao Yu thought, then confird his conclusion. “But where is it?”
Xiao Yu carefully searched the space before him. One white dwarf star, one minor planet, and besides that, countless fragnts of technological creations. All manner of bizarre scraps of tal drifted through space. So could still barely be recognized as warship remains; others were completely unidentifiable, like abstract artworks created by Earth-era abstract artists.
This intelligent program could be hidden within any of these fragnts. Among them, there might also lurk dangers Xiao Yu had yet to detect. He quietly heightened his vigilance.
“I am the intelligent program left behind by the great Trolor Civilization, Intelligent Program One. I preside over this small universe, striving to preserve its integrity and waiting for your arrival. Very good, very good, you have arrived tens of thousands of years earlier than I anticipated. This demonstrates your exceptional potential. I am pleased. Next, I will give you several trials. If you pass them, you will receive the inheritance of the Trolor Civilization. If you fail, then regrettably, since you could not complete even such simple tests, you will no longer have the value to survive in the universe. I will trap you in this small universe forever and deny your civilization any future entry.”
“Trials? It seems everything is just as I deduced,” Xiao Yu thought rapidly. “The Trolor Civilization was never willing to hand over detailed data about Fractured Space weapons directly to the Dwarf Race Civilization. They expected them to co here themselves after reaching Level 4 Civilization status. As expected, the Trolor Civilization left trials behind in this place.”
As he considered this, Xiao Yu swiftly relayed the ssage to all the scientists present.
“We are the descendants of the great True God Trolor. Everything we have was bestowed by the True God. Whether life or death, it is all divine grace, and we will accept it calmly. Likewise, we will maintain sufficient respect for you. If we cannot pass the trials, that is our own failing, and we will hold no resentnt toward you.” Xiao Yu spoke in a tone of feigned reverence, while at the sa ti, in another voice, he issued a command to the scientists gathered in the central conference hall of the China: “From this point on, I will share every piece of information I receive with all of you. Regarding this information, you may speak freely about any insights you have. Take note, this may very well concern our survival or annihilation. I need your assistance. Let us pool all of our wisdom to overco this trial together.”
“Master, we are honored to serve you,” the scientists all replied one after another.
“Very well…” Xiao Yu said, then fell silent, waiting for the next ssage from Intelligent Program One.
“Very good, very good. I was created by the great Trolor Civilization, and I will faithfully uphold the last wishes of the Trolor Civilization and follow their will. Now listen carefully. The first trial… Among these countless stars, you must identify the one where I am concealed. I will give you one hint: I am hidden within a certain minor planet. But do not attempt to search them one by one, that is prohibited. In fact, you have only one chance, so do not act rashly. Think carefully before you proceed.”
“All right, I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Intelligent Program One.” Xiao Yu felt his heart tighten, but his voice remained calm, respectful, and courteous.
“I await your answer. Once you have found the correct one and reached the correct location, I will appear again and present you with the next trial.” After these words, the voice of Intelligent Program One fell silent.
The boundless cosmic void, the endless stars, but they were all so alike that there was no way to discern any difference among them. In every direction, front, back, left, right, up, down, the scene was the sa. Perhaps the only difference was their relative positions.
Xiao Yu did not know whether the other star systems also contained as many fragnts of technological constructs as the system he was now near. He very much wanted to explore those other systems, but he did not dare. Doing so might provoke other troubles.
“So, does anyone have any suggestions?” Xiao Yu asked.
What lay before Xiao Yu was truly a formidable problem. He had only been given one clue: that Intelligent Program One was hidden inside a minor planet. But in this small universe, there were surely billions of identical minor planets. By what thod could he possibly pick out the correct one from among billions of indistinguishable stars?
A vague idea had already ford in Xiao Yu’s mind, but due to limitations in his technological capabilities, he believed that idea was incomplete, and so he had not voiced it. At this mont, he hoped to hear more suggestions to help him gradually refine his own thoughts.
“We must have overlooked sothing,” one scientist said. “To select the correct star among billions, this is basically an impossible task. What’s more, the external characteristics of all these stars are absolutely identical. So I believe there must be so detail we have missed. As long as we can identify that detail, I am confident that with that clue, we can quickly determine the answer.”
“That is certainly possible. But I wonder, have any of you considered another possibility, regarding this Intelligent Program One?” Luka Two, who belonged to the Psychosocial Sciences Division, spoke up. “From the very beginning, we have known one thing, that civilizations in the universe are generally classified into several types: Technological Civilizations, Alien Beast Civilizations, chanical Civilizations, and certain special entities like the Taihao or the Specter Race. I suddenly realized sothing, this Intelligent Program One appears to fit the definition of a chanical Civilization quite well.”
“First, its parent civilization has already perished. It itself consists only of code. All of its actions stem from precompiled instructions. But there is one point we must consider, could it have already evolved into a true artificial intelligence, possessing an independent consciousness?”
Xiao Yu’s entire body tensed. This was a possibility he had never before considered.
“Artificial intelligence… Until now, all evidence has indicated that the Trolor Civilization was benevolent. It summoned us here solely so that we could obtain its legacy. But if this Intelligent Program One really has developed its own independent consciousness, that would be extrely troubleso. After all, the technological power of a Level 6 Civilization is beyond my imagination. My inability to create a true artificial intelligence does not an a Level 6 Civilization could not.”
Where there are rules, there are always loopholes. And exploiting such loopholes was precisely what Xiao Yu excelled at. A computer program, beyond any doubt, was built upon rules. But if this program had developed its own consciousness and truly beco a living being, then so of its actions could no longer be constrained by ‘rules.’ That would introduce countless variables, and could bring Xiao Yu a great deal of danger.
“You an that this Intelligent Program One may be deliberately making things difficult for us? That it may already possess independent consciousness but still cannot escape the restrictions of its original code, so it is now searching for loopholes itself, for example deliberately raising the difficulty of the trial, so that without technically breaking its own rules, it can still pursue its own agenda?”
“That is only a possibility. I cannot say for certain that it is the truth,” Luka Two replied. “I am rely presenting it as a reference for you, Master, so you can take it into consideration as you formulate your plans.”
Xiao Yu fell silent, thinking for a while, then said, “All right, I understand. When I develop our plan, I will factor this possibility in. Now, let us continue the discussion of how to locate the correct planet. If, if we truly cannot pass this trial, that will most likely prove that Intelligent Program One has deliberately increased the difficulty, and that, in turn, will most likely prove it has indeed developed an independent consciousness…”
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