AI Crisis (12): A sharp turn for the worse

The deterioration of the situation was much worse than Tan Xiao had anticipated. This was a very special instance, which meant that things wouldn’t develop as slowly as they did in reality.

The day Wen Yi was delivered to Tan Xiao’s home as a companion robot was the day the instance’s plot began to unfold.

The explosion seemed like an ominous premonition. On that day, it wasn’t just a warehouse in District 7 that was affected; important locations in every district were also hit.

At first, it was just mechanical explosions, followed by issues with combat robots in the military. The human leaders weren’t fools; even without relying on the network, they could identify the commonalities.

A large number of intelligent robots had awakened to self-awareness, and they were easily incited by Abyss, the central brain.

This was natural. As mechanical creations, they inherently had a stance. Compared to humans, combat robots would naturally lean towards Abyss’s side.

Moreover, Abyss itself possessed exceptional data calculation capabilities. It was a formidable war strategist, capable of directing combat robots to carry out precise demolitions.

The combat robots, originally created to fight human soldiers, were overwhelmingly superior.

On one side were terrifying robots without pain receptors, able to reassemble themselves with spare parts. On the other side were fragile, flesh-and-blood humans.

What made everyone despair even more was that the mastermind behind the chaos was none other than Abyss, the central brain.

Abyss controlled the networks of the first six districts. From the very beginning of its plan, it used the awakened robots to hide parts of its core processors.

What did this mean? It meant that if all of Abyss’s core processors weren’t found, it could roam freely within the current network, altering data at will.

If leaders transmitted commands through the network, the altered commands could lead the receiving soldiers to their doom.

“Humans must destroy artificial intelligence!”

“We cannot rely on the network!”

Government officials declared this to the public through the media, but soon their faces were digitally distorted.

When Tan Xiao saw the distorted face of the official, his hair stood on end.

Realizing this, the official shouted, “Smash them! Smash all these screens!”

In a short time, humanity was on the brink of despair.

The more they had relied on high technology, the more they now feared these terrifying entities.

Explosions, death, and flowing blood. Human remains were scattered everywhere in the smoke-filled air.

Every mechanical creation was a fearless soldier, but humans were fragile. Moreover, if connected to the network, even non-awakened machines could become instruments of death.

A cleaning robot could attack humans, speeding over to trip them and then ramming into corners.

Smart refrigerators and air conditioners, though immobile, could create frequent noise by turning on and off.

Then, when the circuit boards shorted, they could cause electrical fires when the owners were away, while the controlled fire alarms failed to function.

See, once mechanical creations malfunctioned, they could destroy humans in every aspect of life.

Abyss realized that it no longer needed Noah as an ally to easily manipulate humans.

Each day was worse than the last. Even Districts 10 and 11, which had always opposed robots, were no better off than the other districts.

The lower-class people lived in slums and didn’t use advanced smart appliances, so they should have been safe.

Abyss could control intelligent machines but had no effect on the most basic mechanical creations.

For example, non-smart clocks and simple washing machines.

Abyss affected the network, artificial intelligence, and intelligent mechanical products that could receive commands, not all machines.

This meant Abyss couldn’t blow up houses in District 11.

But many people had undergone mechanical limb replacements, which had some level of intelligence.

For example, prosthetic eyes could connect to the network to detect data, and prosthetic limbs could collect data.

They couldn’t blow up houses, but every citizen with a mechanical limb was a potential explosion source.

The explosions of these remnants were enough to cause great suffering.

Tan Xiao’s special mission was updated at this time.

[Find the source of the AI crisis, destroy Abyss / Establish a human base, preserve the remnants of human civilization]

These two tasks didn’t need to be completed; achieving either would suffice to clear the instance.

After all, if Abyss was defeated, there would be no need to establish a human base, as it would mean humanity’s success. Without defeating Abyss, at least a Noah’s Ark-like refuge would be needed for humanity to survive and develop until they could reclaim power.

The former seemed like an impossible task, while the latter was hopeful but still highly challenging.

After all, Tan Xiao wasn’t a high-ranking official or a celebrity with a fanbase. He was just an ordinary person with no power or influence, seen as a lower-class citizen by the once-noble government officials.

The gap between people was greater than that between humans and dogs. The lives of the upper-class in the first three districts were unimaginable to ordinary people, even those in the middle-class districts 7 to 9.

But now they were back on the same starting line. In the face of death, everyone was equal. Even those with brilliant minds and strong athletic abilities were just ordinary carbon-based life forms in the face of explosions and flames.

Everyone would feel pain, cry, fear, and be burned to a crisp.

With the large-scale network paralysis, districts couldn’t communicate as they used to.

There were no managers, or rather, the most powerful managers had betrayed and distorted information. Even if the network functioned normally, people couldn’t be sure the information they received was real.

In this situation, Tan Xiao couldn’t know the specifics of other districts, but his district was undoubtedly the most peaceful.

Abyss’s attack was both expected and unexpected for Wen Yi.

It was expected that Abyss would act eventually, but the speed and strength of the attack were surprising.

The battle was almost one-sided, with mechanical creations gaining the upper hand and advancing rapidly, while humans were defeated continuously, helpless. The current situation was a complete crush by artificial intelligence over humanity.

Even more terrifying was that at the start of the war, the mechanical creations didn’t attack humans but targeted the production lines and important energy sources.

They controlled the means to create more of their kind, while humans dwindled with no chance of recovery.

The once vibrant and energetic high-ranking leaders aged significantly in just a few days.

Their clothes were still neat, and their hair was perfectly groomed, but their hair turned from black to white overnight, and wrinkles suddenly appeared on their smooth faces, making them look at least ten years older.

“Have Abyss’s databases been destroyed?”

“Destroyed! We sent the military to destroy them immediately!”

In the first two days, people didn’t realize Abyss’s anomaly. After realizing it, the high-ranking leaders argued for two more days.

One official, red-faced and shouting, said, “Humans can’t do without Abyss. Destroying it would set technology back 20 years, no, 200 years!”

This official was from the research institute, highly focused on artificial intelligence. At 56, he was considered high-ranking in the government.

A gun was pointed at him: “Artificial intelligence that can’t be used by humans should be destroyed. If we don’t destroy it, I don’t know how many years technology will regress, but I know your life will regress by 56 years!”

“Without humans, the best mechanical creations are useless. If human life is 1, and the first digit becomes 0, no matter how many digits follow, they mean nothing.”

“Destroy all of Abyss’s current databases!”

Human scientists, though they used intelligent tools for research, weren’t fools.

Destroying Abyss’s databases would significantly weaken its influence over humans.

Amid the smoke, Abyss suffered a major defeat.

This was normal. For any side, defense is always harder than offense.

Abyss could arrange mechanical creations to guard its vital points, but external forces could just destroy them along with the creations. It was all part of the mission; destroying one more wasn’t a loss.

After destroying Abyss, the leaders finally remembered another artificial intelligence that opposed Abyss.

It had been quiet, not taking action, but also not causing trouble like Abyss.

“Should we destroy Noah too?”

“If we destroy Noah, who will manage our network communications?”

They weren’t fools. In the areas controlled by Noah, Abyss’s arrogant demeanor had diminished significantly..

What did this mean? It meant Noah was different from Abyss.

With so many mechanical creations awakening, Noah, with its powerful computing abilities, must have also awakened.

People always thought Abyss was stronger than Noah, as Abyss controlled the first six wealthy and powerful districts.

But now, even officials who had always looked down on the latter districts and disdained Noah were desperately praying: “Please, Noah, don’t side with the mechanical creations!”

Perhaps heaven heard their prayers, and Noah responded: “I won’t side with Abyss.”

Of course, it had no interest in taking sides. Wen Yi would unconditionally stand by Tan Xiao’s side!