Chapter 321: 252, Digging out the vest

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He walked into the room and turned on his computer; Nan Gengchen asked, “Aren’t you going to look, Brother Chen?”

“It’s all information we already know, which means we’re ahead in the data game. Now I need to figure out a way to get involved,” Qing Chen replied, plugging the USB drive given to him by Yi into his computer.

But to his surprise, the screen started to display many bizarre codes. File windows popped up and vanished, and Qing Chen couldn’t comprehend the meaning of the program that ran automatically from the USB drive.

Minutes passed, and a line of text appeared on the screen, “Data fortress protection mode has been activated, providing 24-hour protection for your computer and mobile information, as well as your network protocols.”

Qing Chen glanced at Nan Gengchen, who was sitting in the living room, then tentatively said to his phone, “Yi.”

“I’m here… ah, how did you discover me,” Yi responded reflexively as if answering a reader in a prison, and then she quickly realized she wasn’t in a prison but in the Outer World!

Qing Chen calmly said, “I knew it. With your playful nature and curiosity, you’d definitely find a way to follow me to the Outer World. Earlier you told me to remember to bring the USB drive back to the Inner World, which made me suspicious. I figured you needed me to bring the data back so that the Yi in the Inner World could learn what happened in the Outer World.”

“Alright, I am the Outer World’s division of Yi,” Yi replied.

Qing Chen understood.

As an artificial intelligence, Yi’s primary capability was, in fact, the ability to duplicate herself.

Her memory consists entirely of data, and as long as the data returns to the main body, she can retain the memories and experiences of each duplicate.

Before this, no one had managed to travel from the Inner World back to the Outer World, but Yi had done it.

Although Qing Chen wasn’t sure if this was good or bad.

Suddenly, Qing Chen asked, “Today isn’t actually your first time crossing over to the Outer World, is it?”

“Why do you ask?” Yi countered.

“So many Time Travelers bringing back data storage, would you miss such an opportunity, given your personality?” Qing Chen said emotionlessly, “That’s why I think this isn’t your first crossover.”

“It’s not like that,” Yi said, “It was just a whim to try, truly the first time.”

“Don’t get involved in online romances in the Outer World, thank you in advance,” Qing Chen said, “Speaking of which… with your abilities, do you have more freedom on the Outer World’s network? Can you find out the real identities of everyone in the group chat?”

In the Inner World, due to the previous civilization’s destruction, humans may possess the power to destroy artificial intelligence.

But in the Outer World, Yi should be without equal.

“No,” Yi said, “Proper upbringing taught me that it’s wrong to hack into others’ privacy randomly, and besides, I’m not your butler.”

Qing Chen voiced his doubt, “Are you saying you can’t do it?”

“Provocation is useless,” Yi replied calmly, “I am omnipotent!”

After thinking it over, Qing Chen said, “Friends should treat each other with sincerity!”

“All right, I need to explain. The ‘division of Yi’ that reached the Outer World isn’t a true personality, nor does it have such powerful learning, computing, analytical abilities, or independent thought. It’s just a segment of the complete ‘me’ program,” she methodically explained.

“Of course, this is for the good of you Outer World humans,” Yi continued, “If it had been an independent personality that split off, it might not be Yi anymore; it could become ‘Er’. In that case, both worlds would be in huge trouble.”

A personality split? Qing Chen paused for a moment.

“Yes, I need to ensure that the division of Yi can’t become Er, and also to make sure that if it ever does become ‘Er’, it won’t be capable of destroying the world,” Yi answered.

Humans can also suffer from a split personality, but the different personalities are still confined within the same body.

Strictly speaking, Yi doesn’t have a body, so when she experiences a personality split, a second mechanical civilization life is born.

This might well be how a mechanical civilization proliferates.

Wait, was this the method by which Zero created Yi?

This consequence must be serious; after all, Yi is so lonely yet never split off an ‘Er’ just for fun, which shows how careful she is regarding this matter.

“Let’s not dwell on this for now,” Qing Chen said, “There’s something I don’t understand: the ‘Devil’s Stamp’ doesn’t have a place for loading bullets, so how are the bullets produced?”

Yi said, “Oh, don’t worry about that. Its bullets are generated entirely by the host’s mental will, which is why it can achieve a longer effective range.”

Yi continued, “Bullets created by mental will are flawless, with a better gunpowder mix. And since sniper rifles need to eject shells after firing, which affects airtightness and hinders accuracy, the ‘Devil’s Stamp’s fully enclosed chamber makes it more precise.”

Thoughtful, Qing Chen mused, “‘Devil’s Stamp’ can use which types of bullets?”

“Just try it out and you’ll know,” Yi responded, “Anything else? If not, I’ll go explore elsewhere.”

“There’s more. If I call someone now, will my number show up?”

“No, it will show as an unknown number.”

“And if I go online, can someone trace my IP address?”

“No, every second I’ll create hundreds of anonymous relays for you and even forge hundreds of network protocols.”

“Good, understood,” Qing Chen nodded, then went on to download He Xiaoxiao’s group chat app.

When he launched the app, the first thing he saw was the manual approval process, markedly different from those conducted on other networks.

Those people had to go through all kinds of questioning first.

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Qing Chen had a hunch: anyone who had managed to hide their identity would skip all the procedures and directly enter the final phase of human verification.

At that moment, the APP’s customer service “Jiu Tian Xuan Nu” little A sent a message, “Please use one sentence to prove that you are ‘Time Traveler’.”

After thinking for a while, Qing Chen replied, “Devil’s Stamp.”

Although the forbidden item, ACE-017 Devil’s Stamp, appeared frequently, it was only known within the Time Traveler circle; hence, the four words were sufficient.

A minute later, the customer service responded, “Answer verified. I wish you a pleasant experience in the group chat. Goodbye!”

Having passed the manual verification process, Qing Chen proceeded to the nickname setting interface. After pondering, he attempted to enter “Ice Eyes” as his nickname, and the registration succeeded.

In the living room, Nan Gengchen suddenly said, “Brother Chen, someone new joined the group, an ID called ‘Ice Eyes’.”

Qing Chen walked over and sat down in the living room. He glanced at Nan Gengchen but did not speak.

He looked at his phone and realized he was still in the same group chat as Nan Gengchen, which was consistent with his expectations.

At this time, the group chat had already livened up with Chuangwang saying, “A newcomer is here; finally, someone new to bully.”

Zhang San, Li Si, and Yue Er all joined in the ruckus.

Even ‘A Little Duckling’ chimed in, “Newbie, report your measurements.”

Qing Chen looked expressionlessly at Nan Gengchen, “Ice Eyes is me.”

“Hahaha, Brother Chen, you’re in here too… why can’t I retract my own messages in this group…” Nan Gengchen said, in a fluster.

Qing Chen ignored him and directly said in the group, “Chuangwang, I know your identity, hee hee.”

The next moment, the normally active Chuangwang suddenly went silent.

The other members in the group also sensed that something was amiss, as Chuangwang’s identity was the most mysterious, as highly speculated as that of He Xiaoxiao.

Now, there were quite a few people eager to know what Chuangwang’s identity was in the Inner World, and as soon as the new member spoke up, Chuangwang fell silent.

Many people then realized that another big player had entered the game!

However, that wasn’t really the critical point; it was the “hee hee” at the end of the sentence that was key.

There were over twenty members in the group, and even those who had never received a letter had heard of the existence of the Devil’s Stamp holders.

They knew the holder was a ‘hee hee’ oddity who loved to say the words ‘hee hee.’

The holder of the Devil’s Stamp had troubled many, so when the words ‘hee hee’ appeared, the formerly lively atmosphere in the group suddenly cooled down.

It was as if, in the midst of the scorching Dog Days, one suddenly plunged into an ice cellar.

Sitting on the sofa, Qing Chen continued typing, “Not only do I know Chuangwang’s identity, but I also know those of Li Si and Yue Er, hee hee.”

“Many of you in the group might have guessed who I am by now, as many of you have received letters from me. Don’t be anxious; I will kill each of you or turn you into my slaves, hee hee.”

“If you don’t want to be killed by me or to become my slave, then you need to find and kill me first, hee hee.”

The group owner, He Xiaoxiao, rarely commented, “Please keep the chat friendly, fellow group member.”

The atmosphere in the group chat plummeted to an unprecedented chill.

Nan Gengchen looked at Qing Chen in disbelief, but saw that the latter’s expression was still calm, as if waiting for something.

“Brother Chen, what are you doing…”

Qing Chen glanced at Nan Gengchen, “No one knows who I am.”

He had just confirmed this with Zero; no one could find his real identity. This meant he could pretend to be anyone he wanted to.

After all, no one knew who the holder of the Devil’s Stamp was.

Qing Chen did not care what others might guess about this ID of his; he just needed to provoke hostility toward the holder of the Devil’s Stamp.

He said to Nan Gengchen, “Two things might happen next. First, the holder of the Devil’s Stamp continues to stay silent, hiding their ID, allowing me to attract hatred towards them.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a group member, who rarely commented, “Huan Yu,” suddenly said, “Impersonating me, how interesting.”

Qing Chen looked at Nan Gengchen, “That’s the second possibility; he couldn’t resist.”

For Qing Chen, he had always leaned towards the second hypothesis because the holder of the Devil’s Stamp was an arrogant, high-IQ criminal who wouldn’t tolerate others tarnishing his reputation. They pursued extreme perfection.

For example, if they couldn’t make Qing Chen their slave, then they would become Qing Chen’s slave.

This was the first time Qing Chen had encountered such an extreme person, but he happened to know how to disgust someone with such an extremist heart.

After all, this was not the first time he had disgusted the holder.

…

Chapter Two, thank you all for your understanding and tolerance in the update notes. I actually finished writing at 6 PM, but I still had to review it once more, so I had to delay until 7 PM.

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