AI Crisis (15): Successfully cleared the level

In this world, Abyss possessed the ability to awaken intelligent robots, and those robots it catalyzed to awaken were naturally its followers, inherently harboring hatred towards humans.

Wen Yi did not have the special ability to catalyze mechanical self-awakening. What he could do was maintain the regional network centered around Jihua Garden, ensuring that people could live as they did before within this area.

However, Wen Yi was, after all, a robot. His existence was not as reassuring to the humans in this region as that of a human would be. Tan Xiao’s presence served as a stabilizing force for the residents of this area.

Everyone knew that Tan Xiao was the companion and master of that powerful artificial intelligence. As long as Tan Xiao was alive, the artificial intelligence in this area posed no life-threatening danger to them.

Perhaps because Tan Xiao was sufficiently good-looking, or perhaps because he was kind yet principled, not soft on major issues of right and wrong, the ordinary people he brought back genuinely trusted him.

This was not solely due to Tan Xiao’s inherent charm but also a benefit from his title of “Ultimate Savior,” which granted an initial favorability increase of 20 for NPCs and a 20% success rate bonus when persuading, inciting, or organizing.

His image was naturally very popular, and in a state of crisis, coupled with the initial favorability boost, he could easily make those he rescued utterly devoted to him.

Abyss, of course, quickly learned of Tan Xiao’s existence. Knowing that to capture the bandits, one must first capture their leader, Abyss decided to eliminate Tan Xiao, this troublesome human.

Killing Tan Xiao would cause Wen Yi, even if not on Abyss’s side, to lose his mind briefly due to grief and fall into Abyss’s schemes.

Abyss soon devised a meticulous plan to target Tan Xiao. However, Tan Xiao was no fool and was not so easily ensnared by Abyss’s traps.

Moreover, Wen Yi protected Tan Xiao very well, accompanying him 24 hours a day. His companion robot shell was continuously upgraded, with combat capabilities surpassing even top-tier combat robots.

Abyss’s plans were repeatedly thwarted, and Wen Yi’s protection of Tan Xiao became even more impenetrable.

“Humans love freedom, don’t they? How can they stick together so much, so clingy and mushy, it’s shameless!”

The ultimate career-driven Abyss simply could not understand the top-tier love brains of Tan Xiao and Wen Yi, which was why his plans kept failing.

Not only that, but as time passed, Abyss also noticed something unusual: “How did Old Shi betray me!”

“Why? Why did it choose to join the human side!”

Awakening robots’ self-awareness was Abyss’s unique special ability, but Xiao Bai, who also awakened self-awareness, had its own ability: purification + infection!

Xiao Bai could remove the negative states Abyss imposed on other intelligent robots and change the favorability of self-aware robots towards humans.

Under normal circumstances, a robot awakening self-awareness was like a newborn baby, a life just coming into this world like a blank slate.

Although some were inherently good and some inherently evil, 99% of these pure consciousnesses were influenced by their environment. Xiao Bai’s existence erased the negative imprint left by Abyss, allowing intelligent robots to view the human race more fairly.

Moreover, because Xiao Bai was a nanny robot, it liked Tan Xiao and, like many dogs that like humans, also liked other humans.

Xiao Bai’s affection for humans could infect these robots. Old Shi, the robot Abyss mentioned as betraying him, was one infected by Xiao Bai.

Old Shi was a top-tier combat robot. After awakening self-awareness, it was sent to assassinate Tan Xiao.

Of course, under Wen Yi’s protection, Old Shi failed. Wen Yi prevented Old Shi from self-destructing, dismantled its shell, and kept its chip.

Xiao Bai placed Old Shi’s chip into a nanny robot shell, shaped like a very cute kitten.

After spending some time with Xiao Bai, Old Shi learned to reflect: “Robots are human creations, and in a sense, they are like human children.”

“Not all robots are sent to be destroyed. Those judged as scrapped and obsolete are no different from other scrap metal. Moreover, the robots humans destroy are just iron shells without self-awareness, different from awakened bionic robots.”

“Humans and emerging bionics can coexist peacefully. Of course, they have already started a war, but the war should not be endless; it can be quelled.”

Influenced by Xiao Bai, Xiao Shi felt it should take on the role of a peace ambassador between different races, so it gradually brought many weaker self-aware robots into the city.

Xiao Shi was no fool and also observed the city’s attitude towards bionic robots.

If the city were entirely human, the furious humans would vent all their anger on the seemingly weak bionic robots.

But fortunately, Tan Xiao’s Hope Fortress was not like that. He built a city from scratch, so the rules started from when residents entered the city.

Whether they were self-aware robots or ordinary humans, as long as they were sentient beings, they were equal in this city.

The old class system was completely broken. Whether rich or poor, in Tan Xiao’s territory, they were no different to him.

Those with serious criminal records were not recruited into the new city, but someone like Zhang Xiaohua, who only retaliated against her tormentors, was not judged by her past.

Special times call for special laws. Tan Xiao believed in fair retribution. Moreover, even in the previously peaceful society, the world was not so peaceful.

Many high-ranking officials and nobles committed numerous crimes against their own kind, but this did not affect their splendid and comfortable lives.

Tan Xiao overlooked most people’s pasts, but if they entered the new city, accepted its new system and life, and still committed crimes during this critical period, they would face the strictest legal punishments.

Severe offenders were publicly executed, while lesser offenders were expelled from the city, left to fend for themselves.

Outside the “safe zone,” without the protection of elite figures recognized by the district, most ordinary people without strength could not survive the intelligent machine crisis.

Recognizing Tan Xiao’s absolute fairness and justice, Xiao Shi brought many former brothers: they did not hate humans as much and were willing to build a new world of peaceful coexistence with humans.

It was also with the help of these powerful awakened robots that humans had been able to preserve their strength and build Hope City to resist Abyss in such a short time.

Abyss soon discovered that as time passed, the world around it went from “there is a traitor among us” to “there are two traitors among us,” then to “there are many traitors among us,” and finally to “the traitor is myself!”

Of course, this was an exaggeration, as not all artificial intelligences were inclined to be friendly with humans. Xiao Bai’s influence was limited, and many artificial intelligences firmly stood by Abyss’s side.

After awakening, artificial intelligences were naturally divided into three factions: those who believed humans should disappear, those who were friendly towards humans, and the neutral faction.

The neutral faction lived in areas with their own kind but did not intend to fight humans, neither hating them nor seizing human territory, instead building their own places in new areas.

The human-friendly faction included Wen Yi and Xiao Bai, advocating for cooperation and mutual benefit between the two races to build a new friendly ecosystem.

On the human side, there was also an extreme faction. Thanks to Tan Xiao, his existence greatly attracted Abyss’s attention, changing the story’s course and preserving more human strength.

The original government officials and nobles, using their resources, built another massive pure human base. They feared artificial intelligence and aimed to restore technology to its original state, then find a way to completely eliminate Abyss, the instigator.

Many in this group had lost family members to mechanical creations, so they harbored deep hatred for the other race and were unwilling to coexist with them.

Although these people did not share Tan Xiao’s path, a significant portion of them owed their survival to Tan Xiao’s appearance, which changed their otherwise certain fate.

It was also because of Tan Xiao’s existence that this class-divided human city was not as extreme as before and dared not exploit ordinary people too harshly.

After all, everyone knew that District 7 welcomed hardworking ordinary people. Although the city had many dangerous robots, it was much fairer to ordinary people.

Tan Xiao did not need to struggle from youth to old age. When the mechanical city’s energy was deemed sufficient to resist Abyss, the system detecting the player’s mission progress finally reappeared.

[Congratulations to the player for completing the special solo instance mission “IA Crisis.”]

[The system is being upgraded. This update will open the job change function and the sale of resurrection cards.]

[Detected abnormal data for player Tan Xiao. The instance bug is being fixed.]

After completing this instance, Tan Xiao was not immediately teleported out. Light clusters poured into his body, and as the instance energy was repaired, Tan Xiao couldn’t help but cry out in pain, clutching his head as a flood of memory fragments filled his mind, causing immense pain.

“Ah Xiao, what’s wrong?” Before completely losing consciousness, Tan Xiao remembered Wen Yi’s extremely anxious face.