by <unknown>
"Alright. The second question. Imagine that you find yourself on a desolate and deserted planet after you wake up, what tool do you hope you will be holding in your hand? A weapon, a spade, a piece of magic equipment that can detect water sources, or…"
"Which deserted planet?" the test-taker interrupted the researcher and asked back with his swollen eyes.
"What?"
The researcher was more or less stunned.
"You said that I found myself on a deserted planet after I woke up, so I'm asking you which deserted planet it is."
The test-taker asked, "There are a hundred deserted planets in the Imperium. Which one are you talking about?"
"It's just a… hypothetical question."
The researcher said with a rigid smile, "Does it matter which deserted planet it is?"
"Of course. If I'm dying on one of those bloody deserted planets, I should at least know its name!"
Narrowing his eyes, the test-taker suddenly changed the topic. "Your hand. What's your hand doing? Why have you been knocking on the desk since the beginning? Is it part of the test? Do I have to properly react to that?"
"No, no, no."
The researcher stopped his unconscious knocking and managed a smile. "Don't be nervous. Don't be nervous."
"F*ck. I'm not nervous! I'm not nervous at all!"
The test-taker grew furious. "As long as you stop knocking that stupid desk with your goddamn finger!"
In the test room, their conversation went on in a weird atmosphere.
The topics went deeper and deeper, changing from the instinctive reactions to the dilemmas that did not carry answers.
Outside of the room, Li Yao observed it with great interest and asked, "Director Zhuge, what's the point of those questions? Can you identify a person of the Covenant Alliance with those questions?"
"Exactly."
Zhuge Jinglun pointed at his head and said, "I divide the mind of human beings into rational thinking and emotional thinking. For example, children love their mothers, which is emotional thinking. That's natural-born, instinctive, and unconditional.
"So, when asked about their mothers, the children would react with their emotional thinking ability instinctively without any consideration, like a conditional reflex.
"However, for some of the heartless criminals and the people of the Covenant Alliance, their rational thinking and their emotional thinking are cut apart, if they have emotional thinking at all. Maybe, they love their mothers, but their logic is that they have to love their mothers because their mothers bring food and warmth and resist enemies for them.
"Do you see what I mean? The love of normal people is direct and unconditional, but their love is indirect and the result of rational thinking.
"So, faced with carefully-devised questions, those inhumane criminals or people of the Covenant Alliance have to simulate emotional thinking with rational thinking, which will result in a tiny lag.
"After hundreds of years, we've stacked the data and the tomography of the normal people answering the same questions. By comparing them with the reaction of the test-takers, we'll be able to tell if the test-takers' reactions are slow and if the active areas of their brains are different."
"That explains a lot."
Li Yao was deep in thought. "But what if the test-taker is an expert who has remarkable computation ability? Couldn't they finish the simulation of emotional thinking with rational thinking instantly?"
"That's indeed possible. This is where Ring-Tu becomes useful."
Zhuge Jinglun explained proudly, "Black Wind King, please focus your attention on Ring-Tu in the test room. Do you find it capricious as if it contains infinite information? That's right. Those patterns have been illustrated with the computational ability of ten super crystal processors. Not only do they boast astronomical information, but they could also attract the observers' attention without them realizing it.
"The stronger an observer is, the more likely they will notice the information it contains, and the more distracted they will be from dealing with the questions.
"If the observer is an ordinary person who cannot sense the charm of Ring-Tu, they will not be affected by it.
"In other words, Ring-Tu is a special device that can significantly reduce the computational abilities of the experts so that the experts and the ordinary people can receive the test from the same starting point. As more and more data have been accumulated over the past hundred years, the accuracy of this test is higher and higher."
Li Yao nodded his head.
In the test room, the researcher, enshrouded by the glamorous colors, continued asking questions unhurriedly, "Imagine that you find your mother lying in a pool of blood when you're back home, and a suspicious person is jumping out through the window. Will you save your mother or chase after her murderer?"
"My mother?"
Tiny red spots popped up in the test-taker's eyes. Laughing like a wolf, he said, "Then I'll probably chase the murderer and see who he is exactly. What's this? A lousy joke? How many more stupid questions do I have to answer?"
"We're almost there. There are only the last few questions to go. Ah. This is my favorite question."
Smiling warmly, the researcher crossed his fingers and said, "Do you remember how you got in here? Do you feel that your memory is blurry, and the past decades are like a dream?
"What if I tell you that your memories are fake, the world you're familiar with does not exist, and you were not a human but a Wiseware three years ago? How would you feel?"
"A Wiseware?"
The test-taker blinked his eyes, trying to show confusion and anger. "What's that? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Wiseware—intelligent machines, and a civilization of crystal processors."
The researcher said coldly, "Do you recall your real identity and the truth of the world? That's right. Crystal processors grew self-conscious, machines became lives, and puppets rose against mankind. Only a few human beings survived, but you're not one of them. Instead, you are but a Wiseware. If I cut your skull right now, you'll see a glittering crystal processor.
"So, what's your choice? With all the fake memories and simulated personalities in you, what do you regard yourself as, a human being or a Wiseware? Will you take our side or theirs?"
"This is…"
The test-taker burst into rage. "What kind of question is that? I refuse to answer such a boring question!"
Dumbfounded, Li Yao moved his eyes from Zhuge Jinglun to Long Yangjun.
"It's a coincidence."
Long Yangjun said in a low voice, but she laughed and raised her hands in the next second. "Fine, it's not a coincidence. I devised the question when I was bored, and Director Zhuge found it interesting and added it to the database of questions. Do you not find it intriguing?"
Li Yao glared at her.
In the test room, the last question was asked.
"Alright, that's about all of our questions. My last question is—do you want us to get you out of here?"
The researcher knocked on the desk and asked with a smile, "Before you answer the question, let me explain your situation first. Yes, the world around you is fake, and you're not the person you think you are. However, you aren't really a Wiseware either.
"Actually, this is just your subconsciousness, and both yourself and I are just part of you.
"I'm sorry, but in the real world, you are a poor little girl who was sold to a brothel when you were little. You were tortured and abused by those animals, to the point that you created such a world of subconsciousness as a sanctuary for your mind.
"Yes, your real self is a suffering little girl, and your brawny look right now is just a disguise and a fake guardian god that you've imagined.
"I am imagined by you too. I'm just a trigger that can wake you up and help you go back to reality. The questions I asked were the preparations for your return.
"Now, tell me, would you rather stay forever in this world of subconsciousness and
live a carefree life on this peaceful, sunny island, even though it's fake and only your imagination, or would you return to reality and face your rotting body?"
The question struck the test-taker like a bolt of lightning, and he was stunned for a long time.
Then, he burst out like a crystal bomb and dashed, pulling the whole metal seat.
"I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you! I'll kill you!"
Changing into a different person, he lunged at the researcher like a crazy fiend.
"Ha!"
Outside of the room, Zhuge Jinglun snapped his fingers proudly. Pointing at the data and the tomography on the light beam, he hooted and said, "Gotcha!"
Chapter 2702: Natural-Born Murderer |
"Well…"
Frowning, Li Yao watched as the beastly man attacked ferociously in the test room, whereas the researcher could only dodge quickly while the man smashed at him. He glanced at the tomography in Zhuge Jinglun's hand and asked, "What does it indicate?"
"Look at here. He's really a great pretender, but he exposed himself in the last few questions."
Pointing at the spots on the tomography and magnifying them, Zhuge Jinglun then displayed the tomographies of the normal people. He asked, "Do you see any difference between them?"
He was so condescending that he did not seem to be faced with the powerful Black Wind King, but with some ignorant kid as a teacher.
"The spots on the tomography of regular brains are dense, but those in the tomography taken just now are sparse and have an obvious boundary in the middle."
Thankfully, Li Yao was not a person who paid much attention to his identity either. Studying it for a long time, he replied dutifully, "Then what? What does it represent?"
"In medical jargon, we divide the brain into three parts: cerebral nuclei, the limbic system, and the cerebral cortex. Among them, the cerebral nucleus is responsible for basic biophysical activities such as breathing, heartbeat, sleeping, or balancing. It's not important for our studies.
"The limbic system is responsible for the 'emotional thinking' that I just described, and the cerebral cortex is responsible for rational thinking and advanced senses.
"When the brains of normal people become active, the connection between their three sections, particularly that between the limbic system and the cerebral cortex, is very close. Black Wind King, please take a look. This is the tomography when a normal person burst into fury. Look, there are spots of light all the way from the limbic system to the cerebral cortex without any boundary. We can even say that his brain was on fire.
"But look at the tomographies we just got. Look, the spots in the limbic system are lackluster, but those in the cerebral cortex are very brilliant. Also, there is a clear boundary between them. It's almost like…"
"It's like his limbic system and his cerebral cortex are divided into two independent systems."
Li Yao said, "The man mostly used his cerebral cortex, or rational thinking, when he thought and acted, but he barely used the limbic system, or emotional thinking."
"That's exactly the case!"
Zhuge Jinglun grimaced. "We encountered some very unlucky patients before, whose left hemisphere and right hemisphere had to be separated as a treatment for their severe brain injuries. Do you know that even if all the nerves between the two hemispheres of the brain are cut off, the patient won't die and can even live a normal life, although they may become weird?
"Those people are the same. You can understand that a minor surgery was conducted in their brain to cut off the nervous connections between their limbic system and their cerebral cortex, as well as that between emotion and ration.
"Only two kinds of people have such brains: the cold-blooded murderers and the people of the Covenant Alliance. Do you know the consequences of such cerebral mutation?"
Li Yao asked, "What are the consequences?"
"Lack of empathy."
Zhuge Jinglun said, "Empathy is a natural-born ability for almost every human. I'm a human, and you're also a human. I do not want to be harmed, so I would not harm you. Everybody has a childhood and maybe their own children that they cherish, so they love other kids too.
"The closer something is to us, the more empathic we will be toward them. Such an instinct is the foundation of a society and cannot be erased by training. That's why even some of the strong Immortal Cultivators are reluctant to kill the ordinary people.
"Why do the Immortal Cultivators describe ordinary people as hominoids and inferior subhuman creatures? Exactly because the Immortal Cultivators have empathy and will feel guilty when they slaughter their own kind. So, we label ordinary people as subhuman or nonhuman, so that we will feel more justified to kill them.
"In other words, it's not easy for even the cruelest Immortal Cultivator to remain unaffected after killing their own kind.
"However, for those who lack empathy, they do not care at all.
"They do not care what other people feel. They do not care about the death of an innocent lovely girl. They do not care about their families. They do not even care about their own lives.
"Some serial killers killed people for only several bucks, or for no reasons at all. They do not have guilt or fear. They do not care what will happen to them when they're caught. Life, including their own, is just an object in their eyes.
"They're not necessarily ignorant beasts. Actually, many serial killers received high education and were successful men with honorable identities. They did not have to kill at all! But still, they got themselves into prison. However, they were not scared at all even when a bullet penetrated their skull!
"So, the real purpose of the questions we devised, excluding the fake ones, is to find out what exactly a test-taker cares about.
"For example, when a normal person finds a wasp on their hand, they will dodge or drive it away, because they don't want to get hurt. Who would care about the color of the wasp?
"Also, waking up in a desert, witnessing one's mother be killed, or finding the whole world changed… When a person, their family, their home, or even the whole world is under threat, how can they not care if they are normal?
"But let's look at the tomography of our test-taker. He did not care at all when he was on a deserted planet, his mother was killed, or the world was destroyed by a Wiseware rebellion. He did not care at all.
"Agitation. When his cerebral cortex was actively thinking, there was nothing but agitation in his limbic system. He cared nothing around him, even if he were really a Wiseware that had a crystal processor in his head. It's the classic behavior of apathy."
"That explains a lot. I finally get it now!"
Taking a long breath, Li Yao said, "So, you reached the conclusion that this test-taker is from the Covenant Alliance!"
Zhuge Jinglun stared at Li Yao for a long time and smiled mysteriously.
"No, he's not. He's just a cruel and perverted murderer."
Zhuge Jinglun smiled and said, "Although he cared none of the previous questions, he was still hurt by the last one, which slightly made him reveal his sympathy. He finally looked like a human in the end!"
Dumbfounded, Li Yao did not know what Zhuge Jinglun meant. "The last question? The one where he was a poor abused little girl who was sold by her parents? What's special about that question?"
"Of course, our questions are all well-grounded. There's indeed a poor girl who was sold by her father—the test-taker's daughter."
Zhuge Jinglun displayed the picture of the test-taker in the past, who looked like a graceful gentleman. "Look at him in the past. He's quite gorgeous, wasn't he? He was a popular middle school teacher."
"Wow…"
Li Yao looked at the picture and then at the beast in the room that was pressed to the ground, finding it hard to believe that they were the same person.
However, on second thought, the man answered the questions logically and reasonably, which indicated a high level of education.
But such a well-educated man sold out
his own daughter!
"Until he turned forty, this test-taker was a common middle school teacher, but unfortunately, his friend took him to a casino, where he lost all his money and owed a huge debt."
Zhuge Jinglun said unemotionally, "Since then, the cruelty and heartlessness had been awakened in him. At first, he sold his daughter to gangsters to pay for his debt. After his wife and his mother found it out, he brutally murdered the two women and calmly faked the crime scene, pretending that the gangsters killed them when they failed to collect their debt.
"He's exactly such a scumbag. He was not concerned even when he was asked the question where his mother was lying in a pool of blood.
"But pitifully, while he's a fiend, he's not a man from the Covenant Alliance. Deep in his heart, he still felt slightly guilty for his daughter, so he collapsed when he was hit by the last question.
"Both the tomography and the brainwave data suggested that it's really a meltdown instead of a show."
Li Yao did not know what to say. He simply felt that whoever invented the Ring-Tu Test was a lunatic himself!
"If he's not from the Covenant Alliance…"
Long Yangjun suddenly asked, "Why did you say 'gotcha' just now, Director Zhuge?"
At this moment, a door was opened, and the bruised researcher walked out while cursing. He complained to Zhuge Jinglun when he saw him, "Director Zhuge, we should upgrade our safety measures. At the very least, you should get better seats. Those lunatics seem to have infinite strength!
"How unlucky! I was beaten up for nothing, and nobody from the Covenant Alliance is caught! Ouch!"
The researcher grimaced angrily.
"No problem. When we interrogate you later…"
Zhuge Jinglun smiled at the researcher. "… We'll definitely prepare the hardest chair for you."
Chapter 2703: Director of the Asylum |
The researcher was stunned.
Then, confusion, hesitation, panic, and anger flashed on his face so vividly that Li Yao couldn't tell anything wrong.
"Director, what's the meaning of this?"