The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385

by Chocolion, 齐佩甲

  He had a hunch that all of this pointed toward the final goal of the [Reboot] mission.

  Seeing that Risda was wary of him, Han Xiao explained his identity and briefly described the circumstances in which he met Aroshia. Strictly speaking, he was the one who had saved Aroshia.

  After hearing his story, Risda floated in front of Han Xiao before giving a deep bow. He gratefully replied, “Many thanks to you for helping AL51004. If it was not for you helping her to recover a portion of her memories, the sensor would not have been able to locate her whereabouts.”

  “What does the serial number mean?”

  “It was her original name.” Risda turned back to Aroshia. “Do you remember it?”

  Aroshia shook her head in response. “I can’t remember. I only know my name should be Aroshia.”

  “It seems like the memory loss is more serious than I thought. The turbulent flow of the wormholes could have torn your memory circuit into numerous bits and pieces, requiring more time to properly recalibrate. However, you need not worry. Our memories will at most be buried deep within our subconsciousness and will never be destroyed. Sooner or later, you’ll be able to regain them.” Risda immediately abandoned Han Xiao, floating back to Aroshia and speaking with a warm, encouraging tone.

  Han Xiao coughed dryly, reminding Risda whom he was originally speaking to. “Just what sort of life form are you? Are you an energy-based life form?”

  “No, I’m in fact an AI life form.”

  “You’re an Artificial Intelligence?” By the side, Feidin spoke up. “So, are you the core system of this spaceship?”

  “You’re wrong. An AI life form is not a system, nor is it limited to one body. We’re a type of life form, and this spaceship is merely a temporary tool for me to move around in the world.”

  Risda pointed at Aroshia, his tone full of nostalgia and familiarity as he spoke. “She was originally supposed to be the same as me. We upgraded our programs together as we grew up and supported each other in many difficult situations. We could be considered confidants who would share data within ourselves and also war comrades that fought side by side. She’s very important to me.”

  An AI life form?

  A lot of memories flashed by Han Xiao’s mind. The universe was full of surprises, with evolution being the representative of disorder and chaos. There were countless possibilities, and those who were restricted by the physical sense organs could hardly imagine the vastness of the number of life forms present.

  For example, the Great Mechanic Han had once read of a resource file describing a certain ‘Named life form’. When someone called out their names, they would truly exist, but if no one knew of their existence, they would also fade out of existence. Their ‘Names’ were the keys to summoning them.

  This sort of thing, however, mainly appeared only in the magical civilizations, only that the knowledge of such was in shambles. As such, when he came across the resource file in the past, the Great Mechanic Han, being the guy who deemed it his responsibility to share all kinds of knowledge, had immediately scanned through the document, memorizing it in detail.

  As for an AI life form, simply put, they were Artificial Intelligences that had gained independent thinking and become ‘alive’. The details were complicated, but if compared to ordinary Artificial Intelligences, they were as different as the heavens and the earth.

  Compared to material life forms, the AI life form was a special type of life form. They lived in a virtual network, just like fish required water to live in. Through this network, they could constantly upgrade themselves and install different modules in themselves. In addition, their way of communication, reproduction, social structure, and civilization were all extremely special.

  “Is she also an AI life form?” Han Xiao’s expression was one of surprise. This was out of his expectations. Aroshia did not look like an AI life form at all; she clearly had a body made of flesh, and she had even awakened an Esper ability!

  “I can’t tell you the specific details regarding this,” Risda solemnly said. “While I’m extremely grateful to you for taking care of her, we have an important mission to carry out. Hence, I’ll be bringing her away. I hope you can understand.”

  Han Xiao kept his expression, narrowing his eyes in response.

  Are you trying to steal my people‽

  Are you kidding me? I took great lengths to nurture Aroshia into one of my capable officers, and with just a sentence, you wish to sever our relationship? Do you not feel guilt at all‽

  So what if you two are childhood sweethearts? Your father here is the current male lead! 1

  Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed as he replied, “I believe you should ask Aroshia for her opinion. Don’t decide for her.”

  The two of them then turned to look at Aroshia, whose expression appeared a little hesitant.

  The entire scene went quiet in an instant.

  This scene made Han Xiao think of a scenario where the child was asked to choose which parent they would follow after the couple divorced. Whatever it was, it was a strange scene.

  Only three seconds passed before Aroshia stepped toward Han Xiao, stating, “You may be right, but I really cannot remember you right now. I only remember that Black Star saved me…. so I won’t follow you.”

  “You…” Risda was helpless.

  If the other party was unwilling, how could he take them away‽

  He had no other ideas. Since he could not persuade her, he could only compromise. No matter what, he had to ensure that he stayed by Aroshia’s side.

  “I understand,” Risda said in a depressed tone. “I’ll stay behind and accompany you until you regain your memories.”

  Hearing this, Han Xiao secretly let out a smile. Because of her amnesia, all Aroshia could remember was himself. Thus, she definitely would not choose someone else. This was a situation where he could not lose. Wait a minute, why did it feel as though he was the old man next door who was taking advantage of the wife while the husband was out‽

  Shaking his head, Han Xiao threw away this strange feeling. “Don’t be overjoyed. I haven’t allowed you to stay. And I won’t, not unless you tell me what happened in its entirety. Maybe I can also be of some help.”

  Risda was left in a predicament. He was not able to take Aroshia away, but he did not have any misgivings toward Han Xiao. After all, it was Han Xiao who had saved her.

  “Alright then, I’ll tell you everything. This matter has to be explained from the beginning…”

  The three of them shared a glance, finding a place to sit comfortably before Risda began his story. As he narrated, Han Xiao finally got a clear view of the situation and suddenly realized the origins of how Aroshia came about.

  Way back in the past, a spaceship had crash landed on a desolate planet, with all its passengers having died from the impact. Only the Artificial Intelligence of the spaceship was left, repeatedly sending out distress signals to outer space again and again, according to the last instructions of the captain. However, no one came in the end. After a long period of time, the Artificial Intelligence began to get bored of this repetitive work that bore no results. It developed independent thinking, and with continuous upgrades and changes to its own program frameworks, it was no longer a tool that followed commands blindly. It had evolved from an artificial intelligence to an actual life form.

  The AI life form manipulated the wreckage of the spaceship, using the equipment provided to construct a few simple robots. It began exploring the planet, tapping into its resources to create a factory. Through that, it started to mass produce work robots, all of which were manipulated by it to build up an empty base on the barren planet.

  On one of the days, the AI life form suddenly felt lonely. Thus, based on its own program framework, it created another AI life form, simulating a different personality—this was the reproduction pattern of the AI life form, self-proliferation.

  The two AI life forms began to converse, and slowly, they created more of their kind, w
hich in time became the ancestors of the entire race. They all existed in virtual networks but were able to manipulate tools and robots in the real world through their programs. Robots began to extensively harvest resources under the control of the AI life forms, and since their manufacturing base could run continuously without a need for rest, the base constantly expanded.

  In time, they finally broke free from the planet, beginning to migrate to other planets to create bases. Thus, the number of AI life forms also increased exponentially.

  Millions, dozens of millions, hundreds of millions….

  And thus, a brilliant AI civilization was born!

  Chapter 493 - Aroshia's Origins (2)

  Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  An AI civilization did not have any cities and only had ice cold mechanical bases. Not a single living being would be inside, and it would be cold and silent. However, the virtual net would be an extremely prosperous sight. In the virtual world that they constructed, every formless member would be able to have their own body.

  To them, the virtual world was their home. As for the bases, cities, and mainframe system in reality, those are only constructs created to protect their home.

  Risda and Aroshia were both citizens of such a civilization and were both AI life forms.

  AI life forms had almost no physiological desires—unless a simulation module was installed—and did not have any productivity constraints. Thus, there was no hierarchy in the civilization, and everyone was equal. Living in an AI civilization was almost like a utopia. Their method of communication was the exchange of data, and it was many times more efficient than using speech, writing, or pictures. In an instant, a large amount of data could be sent, and only a mind reader would be able to match such efficiency.

  When Risda described all that, Han Xiao came to a realization.

  For an AI life form to evolve to such an extent, it can be said to be equivalent to a soul.

  Ordinary beings would first have a physical body before having a consciousness, but an AI life form was the complete opposite. It first had a consciousness.

  The story that Risda had described afterward confirmed Han Xiao’s predictions. This AI life form was indeed coveted by others, and the one who coveted them was a beyond Grade A Mechanic!

  This person had broken through all the defenses of the AI civilization, locked down their virtual homeland, cut off all their connections to the net, and captured all the AI life forms in the civilization. To him, those AI life forms were probably materials to create weapons.

  He locked up all of the AI life forms in a mainframe system and suppressed the solitary will of the AI life forms through a program. He enslaved them all and only left them with their high-speed calculation ability and learning ability. That person then treated the AI life forms as ‘souls’ and placed them into empty shells to transform the way they lived. They turned into weapons that listened to orders and formed a huge army.

  This process was similar to Mind Possession of a Psychic.

  Aroshia’s current state was one of the ‘weapons’ that could be mass produced. Her ‘soul’ had been injected into a ball of energy through some special means, and the AI life form had been transformed into an artificial energy life form.

  After being turned into a weapon, the shell would no longer be a ‘tool’ that could be casually swapped out but a ‘body’ that the consciousness could not separate from. It was like a lock that locked up the freedom of the ‘soul’. It was almost like the majority ordinary organisms.

  The moment that the body was destroyed, the lock would be shattered. Because of the special characteristic of the AI life form living in the virtual world, it would not die together with the body but return to the mainframe system of that Mechanic through the ever-present net regardless of distance. With a backup copy of the body’s data, that Mechanic made use of a top-notch skill to allow the data to automatically reform the weapon’s body and draw energy from the main base through a psionic channel.

  This was the reason for Aroshia ‘undying’ body. However, it was not controlled by the system, and thus, there would be an error in her data whenever she was reborn. Under normal circumstances, a weapon that was reborn would not lose their memory like Aroshia.

  That beyond Grade A Mechanic had created a powerful army that could be recycled ceaselessly! Every single weapon was a standalone warrior!

  Magic and technology made use of different means to achieve the same result. Such technological skills were almost like magic.

  In order to kill those weapons completely, one had to wipe their AI life form out in the virtual world.

  Ordinary people would develop technology, and when technology went out of control, they ended up being wiped out by artificial intelligence. However, this time, the opposite had happened, and numerous AI life forms had been enslaved.

  Aroshia and Risda were both fish that had escaped the net and were extremely lucky to have escaped the process of being enslaved. The two of them wanted to save their brethren, but that required them to destroy the main system so that they would be able to activate the consciousness of their entire kind.

  As such, Risda found an opportunity to control the assembly line that had created such weapons to give Aroshia a body. However, the alarm was sounded before they had a chance to take action, and they ended up being chased by countless of their kind. The two of them had no choice but to escape, and Risda had managed to snatch a BlackLight Stealth to escape with Aroshia. However, they could not defend against the numbers of the enemies and fell into a wormhole, and the two ended up being separated.

  The changes to one’s body would also cause one’s thinking to be changed. Aroshia originally needed time for her consciousness to meld together and get used to her body, but being chased afterward gave her no time to rest at all, resulting in her memory loss.

  …

  Hearing Risda’s story, the three of them had looks of disbelief on their faces.

  “Undying army‽ A Super strong Mechanic‽”

  Han Xiao almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

  These two labels were far too unique, and he almost thought that the other party was describing him. Of course, this was not possible. The Great Mechanic Han knew who this Mechanic was. This Mechanic was far too famous, and it would be impossible for him not to recognize that character.

  This beyond Grade A Mechanic had been the highest-grade teacher of the Mechanic class in his previous life!

  Furthermore, he was one of the main characters in the main storyline [Calamity of the Supers] of the later version. He had naturally formed a faction of his own!

  To think that this would be related to the main storyline in later versions. Just what kind of a person did I save?

  Han Xiao rubbed his temple and felt a huge headache.

  My goodness! Version 2.0 hasn’t even started! Can we still play properly?

  Without even thinking, Han Xiao was able to guess what the final target of [Reboot] would be. It would definitely be to reactivate the independent consciousness of those AI life forms and save them from the demonic hands of a beyond Grade A bigshot. Could this mission be any more dangerous‽

  Do you think that I am a sh*t digger who loves to find sh*t‽

  “I have already told you the truth,” Risda said. “Regardless of whether you are willing to help, I must stay behind to wait for her to recover her memory.”

  The three of them looked at each other and Aroshia was in a daze. Such a feeling was like an ordinary nine-to-five working Chinese adult being told that she was actually a South African citizen.

  You are actually African—you only look a little bit more yellow. All of your countrymen are being controlled by an alien with a flying saucer. I am going to pull you back to get rid of the aliens and save our country…

  Such a feeling was truly awful!

  Aroshia was thrown into confusion.

  Han Xiao regained his cool and thought about the pros and cons of t
his matter.

  Actually, let’s forget about the cons. Whether or not I want to do this mission is a decision for another day. There is a very obvious pro right now. If Risda stays behind, does this mean that we will be able to use this BlackLight Stealth temporarily?

  Han Xiao’s eyes lit up immediately. The BlackLight Stealth was a high-grade spaceship that was worth tens of millions of Enas. From activation to hyperdrive, only a couple of seconds were required. It was the Maserati and Bugatti in the spaceship world. Piloting such a spaceship would give him a great deal of face, and it would save him the trouble of renting spaceships from everywhere!

  This is the best!

  Because of Alvin’s mission, Han Xiao rejected Risda’s idea of moving out immediately. He got Risda to wait in the warehouse, and they would return after completing their mission. Risda had no choice but to agree with Han Xiao.

  The three of them said goodbye to Risda and left the spaceship. Along the way, they slowly digested the large amount of information that they just received and gradually calmed down.

  Han Xiao had not expected Aroshia to have such a background. However, she would not bring him any risks at the present moment. Patting Aroshia on the shoulder, he said, “Don’t worry too much. Regardless of how things turn out in the future, you are still yourself at the moment.”

  “Hmm…”

  Walking over to the elevator region, Han Xiao’s communicator suddenly rang.

  Opening up his communicator, Herlous’ anxious face could be seen.

  “Black Star, bad news. DarkStar found Alvin’s main body!”

  Han Xiao’s expression changed immediately.

  “We’re on our way!”

  Chapter 494 - Emergency Plan

  Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios