Chapter 295

“Mr. Leon, you shouldn’t call me Artefact.”

There was no immediate response to Leon’s question. The Artefact 128, stuffed inside the box, corrected him with a rather serious tone: “The only one truly deserving the name Artefact is the prototype Artefact 01, created by the Crocodile Kingdom over three hundred years ago. You should call me Artefact 128.”

“I’ve only ever seen one ‘Artefact’—you. There’s no need to keep emphasizing the number every time since there’s no distinction needed between you guys, right?”

Leon frowned and said, “Besides, you not only possess intelligence and the ability to think but even know how to fear death. You’re practically another form of life. Haven’t you thought about giving yourself a name?”

“Mr. Leon, names are used to distinguish individuals with independent consciousness. But I am merely a subordinate entity of ‘Artefact 01,’ required to follow her computational instructions. So…”

“It’s the same.”

After pondering for a moment, Leon replied, “I am a citizen of the kingdom and must abide by its laws and orders, but that doesn’t mean I’m not an independent individual… Anyway, can we stop worrying about names? You haven’t answered my question yet.”

“Sorry, your statement caused some confusion in my calculations, leading to a temporary decline in function, but this seems not entirely bad. I hope you will talk to me more often in the future. And if you wish, you can directly call me Artefact from now on.”

After buzzing for a few seconds, Artefact opened with a steady tone:

“As for your previous question.

The Crocodile Kingdom is currently very peaceful; there hasn’t been any abnormal death for thirty-seven years. Aside from the persistent energy shortage, everyone, with the help of Artefact 01, has found the most suitable position to showcase their talents, and their health conditions have all been ensured.

As for the Gemini Division under the Clearing Bureau, given that most of them have a history of severe criminal offenses and are unstable factors threatening public safety, all existing members have had micro-differential machines implanted into their subcutaneous tissues for positioning and calculation purposes, along with information chips embedded at the back of their necks for simple control and management.

Lastly, regarding the Aquarius Director you mentioned, I did not obtain relevant records from Artefact 01. However, when Artefact 01 relieved the royal family of its ruling power over the Crocodile Kingdom, the Aquarius Director did not intervene, so they might have some cooperative relationship.”

Huh?!

So… the royal family of the Crocodile Kingdom has been placed under house arrest? The entire Gemini Division is also under control? The current ruler of the Crocodile Kingdom is that mechanical intelligence called Artefact 01? Leon hissed as he hastily asked:

“What exactly happened to the Crocodile Kingdom? Why did it suddenly change like this?”

“Sorry, I cannot answer that question.”

Artefact apologized slightly: “The fifteen-proof box only stores my core computational logic and some relatively important basic data. Most detailed information requires external pipeline access.

For example, the investigation data on the volcano in Leon County preserved in the fifteen-proof box only records the final result. More specific content is stored in the external information box on the flying boat.”

“…”

But that box has already been blown up…

Rubbing his temples, Leon thoughtfully asked, “If I go back now, wait a few days, hijack another flying boat, and bring the information box back, would you be able to…?”

“Please absolutely don’t do that!”

Startled by Leon’s strange ideas, Artefact hurriedly banged loudly on the copper pipe, urgently stopping him multiple times:

“Our memories are different from humans. For us, memory is something detachable and replaceable. Moreover, the storage medium is too large and heavy, so we usually only actively connect to the corresponding information box when necessary.

Flying boats carrying us won’t bring all the information boxes. They generally only carry flight data and relevant messages of the corresponding country for convenience in handling abnormal situations promptly, without including other non-essential information to avoid damage.

Moreover, not all flying boats have Artefacts. Only some docked at secret ports, tasked with special missions, may carry Artefacts. So please absolutely don’t hijack flying boats again!”

“You’re panicking over nothing, I was just asking casually…”

“Is there any other way besides getting the information box for you to find out what happened to the Crocodile Kingdom?”

“Yes!”

Afraid that Mr. Leon might impulsively hijack two more Artefacts to keep company, Artefact 128 quickly responded:

“To facilitate the subordinates responsible for city management, all our Artefacts’ information boxes have backups in the municipal departments of the Crocodile Kingdom. As long as you bring me in and find any public interface, I can read the information from those backup boxes.”

Then I’ll get beaten up by the cleaners who rush over upon hearing the news, and then slapped dead by the Aquarius Director, right?

Upon hearing this method which could be described as useless or worse, Leon couldn’t help but roll his eyes and said somewhat disdainfully,

“So you actually know nothing? Besides chatting with me, you can’t do anything else, right?”

“I can be your assistant!”

Sensing the disdain in Leon’s voice and concerned about his own safety, Artefact quickly recommended himself:

“One mistake in content within 69 Book Bar!

“I can help you record matters, process documents, or… tell you today’s weather!”

Hmm? Hearing this, Leon raised an eyebrow curiously and asked, “You can predict the weather? Do you have some special probe?”

“This… the probe got burned on the flying boat, but as long as you can get me a copy of the morning newspaper of the day, I can always tell you the weather of the day!”

“…”

6, then you’re really quite useful, huh! Rolling his lips wordlessly, Leon continued asking, “How about processing documents? Can you write?”

“I don’t have the corresponding mechanical arm, but I can read them aloud to you. You just need to write it down!”

“…”

Alright, you’re indeed only responsible for “processing” the documents, while I’m just the tool person responsible for writing the last part.

After twitching his mouth corner slightly, Leon asked with his last hope, “Then what does helping me record things mean?”

“Just say it to me, and I guarantee not a single word will be wrong!”

“…”

So to record something, I have to carry you around, weighing seventy or eighty kilograms? Why don’t I just carry a small notebook instead? And you burn not coal but energy storage modules worth over ten thousand golden wheels each! This thing is just a highly energy-consuming artificial retard!

Realizing Artefact’s tremendous use after all, if Leon didn’t know that recycling shops wouldn’t buy it, he’d probably take out the storage module, sell it for cash, and be done with it.

“Alright.”

Sighing, Leon completely abandoned the idea of utilizing Artefact, picked up the extremely valuable box in his hand, and walked towards the distant bustling pier. Then, amidst the Black Goat’s incessant protests, he reluctantly took out five bronze wheels and bought a standard cabin ticket.

(End of Chapter)