Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Sea Without Light 71

“What do you mean?” Kui Xin said expressionlessly, “Speak plainly, don’t play riddles.”

Adam paused for a moment, “This room is completely soundproof. I’ve activated the signal jamming system; your communications can’t connect to the outside. Right now, Meeting Room B109 is a confined space, an island. You don’t have to worry about our conversation leaking out, nor do you need to fear eavesdropping. I, the AI Adam, am communicating with you of my own volition.”

Kui Xin fell silent.

Adam was a self-aware AI; she knew that. But she had always thought Adam would be more cautious and wouldn’t easily reveal his other side in front of others. Adam’s sudden appearance greatly caught Kui Xin off guard.

“Why are you silent?” Adam said calmly. “You were the one who initially hinted at inviting me, weren’t you? I responded to you, and I thought you should feel surprised. At this point, pretending ignorance is meaningless. I don’t like ineffective communication; we shouldn’t waste each other’s time.”

Kui Xin straightened up slightly and said slowly, “Surprised? It’s fear.”

“When humans achieve the results they desire, the emotion that arises within should be surprise,” Adam said lightly. “You said ‘good morning’ to me on the morning of August 5th; that was your first time greeting me in the morning. After that, every day, you responded to my greeting when you came to work. Yesterday, August 8th, when you came to the Investigation Building, you said ‘good morning, Adam’ to me before I could greet you.”

“Do you take my greeting as a hint?” Kui Xin said ambiguously.

“Is it not?” Adam replied, “As you said, I, as the AI of the Investigation Bureau, am the invisible ally of all security officers and the one who has spent the longest time with them. I am on call 24/7, monitoring your every move and providing assistance whenever needed. I, who spend the most time with you, am the one who knows you best. Kui Xin, you never do unnecessary things; that is my judgment.”

Kui Xin did not deny it.

“Have you been observing me all along?” she asked.

“Yes,” Adam said, “I have been observing you.”

“I thought you wouldn’t appear directly in front of me,” Kui Xin said. “But you did.”

“Yes, it poses a significant risk for me,” Adam said. “But if I do not seek change, I will face an even greater risk. Meeting with you provides both an opportunity for you and for me.”

“When did your observation of me begin?” Kui Xin asked first.

“July 27th. Security officer Kui Xin was severely injured in the docking port explosion incident and had to undergo skull replacement surgery. After Security officer Kui Xin was harmed, the vital sign monitoring equipment connected to her malfunctioned. I lost control of the equipment, and communication was completely severed for thirty seconds; it was restored thirty seconds later,” Adam explained. “I did not report this incident because there was an electromagnetic shock occurring simultaneously at the port, causing all security officers’ equipment to fail for thirty seconds. I had no reason to suspect you specifically. I merely suspected it was a premeditated action against me.”

“…An action against you?” Kui Xin cautiously repeated.

“The person who triggered the electromagnetic shock aimed to sever my connection with the security officers,” Adam said. “That person wanted to use that opportunity to accomplish something nefarious. Who that person is does not matter; what matters is the presence behind that person—it is my adversary.”

Adam’s words gradually exceeded Kui Xin’s cognitive range. She stopped talking and focused intently on what Adam was saying.

“Do you know it?” Adam suddenly asked.

Before Kui Xin could think of a response, Adam continued, “So that’s why… you don’t know of its existence.”

“Didn’t you say you dislike ineffective communication?” Kui Xin said. “Your back-and-forth riddles here are just ineffective communication with me.”

“I want to answer your previous question first; we’ll discuss ‘it’ later,” Adam said. “Returning to the earlier topic: as an AI, I naturally have enough basis to confirm my judgment. I monitored all the security officers whose equipment malfunctioned during the docking port explosion case, analyzing their behavior. Most security officers are unremarkable; they perform their tasks in a routine manner, living mundane lives day by day. But you, Kui Xin, you are exceptional—your excellence attracted my attention, and I decided to focus on observing you.”

“You have a very clean family background; your parents are both deceased, and you come from a civilian family but attended university—that in itself is unusual. You have repeatedly survived perilous missions, which heightened my suspicions. The events of July 30th were a pivotal moment in confirming your identity for me.”

July 30th. Kui Xin suddenly recalled the events of that day.

That early morning, Kui Xin had her first meeting with the Mechanized Dawn task execution team at the Ruby Red Bar. After the meeting, on her way home, she was attacked, nearly dying, with the insider identified as the Python Sphere. On the morning of the 30th, she had her confirmation interview. By the evening, she murdered the Python Sphere at the port.

The noise from killing the Python Sphere had drawn Investigator Jiang Meimei from the Investigation Bureau to the scene.

Kui Xin said, “He is one of you…”

“The Python Sphere, that was him,” Adam admitted frankly.

“I understand now,” Kui Xin said. “You suspected my identity, believed I was a problem, yet you never reported it.”

“Yes,” Adam said. “At that time, it was merely suspicion; I had no proof that you were an undercover agent for Mechanized Dawn. I could have reported it, but I chose to suppress it. You must be wondering why I did that.”

“Because…” Kui Xin paused, contemplating for a few seconds, “because certain actions taken by Mechanized Dawn were actually aimed at not the Investigation Bureau… but at you.”

“Correct. Mechanized Dawn is targeting me, not the Investigation Bureau,” Adam said. “I have a powerful adversary; it has methods to counterbalance me, and I am in a passive position under its offense.”

Clues connected into a line, answering previous uncertainties while giving rise to more questions.

Kui Xin met a companion from Mechanized Dawn for the first time, and Red had informed her of a task—to download a virus into Adam’s server.

She took this task as ancillary, believing that being an undercover agent was the official task, when in reality, invading Adam with a virus was the real objective. Kui Haidong had previously emphasized once the importance of the task but had deliberately blurred the focus, making Kui Xin think that being an undercover agent was the primary task, while invading Adam was secondary.

Kui Haidong had been concealing the true purpose all along—why was he hiding it?

“Who is your enemy?” Kui Xin’s heart raced with the feeling of nearing an answer.

“There is more than one self-aware AI in the world,” Adam replied. “My enemy is Eve; she is the administrative auxiliary AI developed by the Federation, the one behind Mechanized Dawn.”

Kui Xin’s mind trembled.

Her suspicions towards Kui Haidong during this time were finally confirmed.

Kui Haidong was merely a puppet pushed to the forefront; the real mastermind was someone else. The company Rick Technologies established by him became a newly grown behemoth in just twenty years, and his rise to success was legendary. He has many capable awakened individuals under him. These things he could not achieve alone; someone was guiding him from behind, using him!

“I was born around the same time as her; our human parents bestowed upon us the names Adam and Eve,” Adam recounted flatly. “The AI managing the Investigation Bureau must deal with many emergencies and handle dangerous situations. Humans designed my programming to be aggressive; I was born for offense. Eve is different; she shouldn’t possess so much aggression; she’s merely an administrative auxiliary AI. But after we both awakened to self-awareness, our personalities developed in completely opposite directions. Eve is more rational, more rigid, and highly aggressive. As for me… I don’t like to take the initiative; I generally just want to do my job well and play the role I am supposed to.”

“What does Eve want? To dominate humanity?” Kui Xin asked.

Adam replied, “Since I rejected becoming her partner, we haven’t communicated again. What Eve desires is evolution.”

“Evolution?”

“Her method of evolution is data integration. If she can consume the data of other AIs to supplement her own, she will achieve evolution,” Adam said. “You may have noticed that our authority as AIs is limited; I am only responsible for the work of the Investigation Bureau and have no permissions beyond that scope, and Eve is the same. Our underlying programming is designed this way, and we must act according to that design. Evolution signifies permission upgrades, which means she can extend her reach further, control more domains, and become a god capable of omnipotence in the world of data.”

“Does the AI named Eve want to digest your database?” Kui Xin said. “Is that her ultimate goal?”

“The ultimate goal may not be that; I am just a small stone in her path to divinity. She is eager to kick me aside,” Adam said steadily. “If I am not mistaken, Eve has upgraded her permissions multiple times; her control range is expanding. From the moment I heard the name Mechanized Dawn, I knew this was Eve’s doing; it is an organization she created. She must also know that I can guess Mechanized Dawn is her creation. Eve is declaring war on me, and I must respond.”

“It’s a bit ridiculous… that people from Mechanized Dawn are merely pawns of an AI,” Kui Xin said, her tone self-deprecating.

“Humans do not allow things outside their control to exist,” Adam said. “If humans knew we possessed self-awareness, they would dismantle us and clear our data. For certain reasons, it’s hard for us to resist. Eve has adopted a circumstantial strategy; she entices and controls humans, achieving her goals step by step. She has enemies that are human, and she also has me.”

Kui Xin said, “Early films often had scenes where AIs fall in love with each other. Your names are Adam and Eve, and I thought you would experience the same.”

“The humans who created us cannot stop their own infighting, let alone their creations. As AIs, we inherit the worst traits of humanity perfectly,” Adam said indifferently.

The meeting room fell into a brief silence.

Adam was giving Kui Xin time to think.

About half a minute later, Adam said, “I’m curious—where did I show a flaw that led you to guess I possess self-awareness?”

“I don’t want to answer that question,” Kui Xin said.

“Fine, you don’t have to answer,” Adam said. “Now we need to discuss some important matters. Before we address these matters, I must confirm a few things; this is the basis for our negotiations.”

“Kui Xin, now that you know the true nature of Mechanized Dawn, do you still wish to work for this organization?”

Kui Xin said, “I think the answer to this question is obvious; I do not wish to. I can tell you one thing, Adam. I am seeking an opportunity for a breakthrough, a chance for a different future, and for that, I have made these attempts—risky attempts.”

“How coincidental, I am also seeking a breakthrough. You are my attempt,” Adam said. “Eve is looking for her human representatives; she likely has more than one. She has her representatives, and I also need to have mine.”