Exploring Immortality Cultivation
Chapter 469 - 222: Weak Self-Judgment Mechanism

The following work, in Wang Qi's view, was quite like a remote setup.

A beam of Spirit Light connected the large calculator in the study, which was networked, with the two Sword Immortal Artifacts. A light screen appeared in front of Shang Nancheng and Wu Chengdao respectively. Their fingers moved rapidly, leaving behind countless afterimages, as Spirit Rhinoceros Collection [data packets] were imported in a specific order and slotted into the incomplete One Is Algorithm, initiating the installation.

After the basic plan was hammered out, this step came particularly quickly. The two operators were the cream of the crop among Shenzhou's young talents and quickly completed the first step of the installation. Two more light screens popped up before them, with various colors changing randomly, yet no icons or windows, nor any operating system, were visible. This was the operating interface of the two Immortal Artifacts—although it was utterly incomprehensible.

The technicians' hands finally slowed down. Dealing with a Pseudo Postnatal Will was not the same as a mere installation. Due to the presence of the Pseudo Postnatal Will, the calculator was akin to a system with a plethora of bugs, a third-rate one at that, and an incredibly complex operating system at that, entirely based on Chaos algorithms, without a single accompanying application.

What was most frightening was that you couldn't even get the system's code, not even if you wanted to be a coder. This was because mathematical logic was not well developed, resulting in an underdeveloped programming language as its engineering application.

Facing a consciousness composed of 0s and 1s was enough to drive a Primordial Spirit Master mad.

To continue developing this system, special measures would have to be taken.

"Madman, get the synchronizer ready for the next step."

Chen Feng complied, taking a Jade Pendant from the study and hanging it on Wang Qi's forehead, perfectly aligning with the ancestral brow chakra. Then, the Jade Pendant emitted a deep blue light that enveloped the calculator. Wang Qi once again felt as if something had connected to his will. Unlike the last time, this time the sense of "foreignness" within his consciousness became much clearer. This feeling was not uncomfortable. To put it this way, when the consciousness previously merged with his, he felt as if a clump of water, with the same temperature as his body, had been stuffed into his hands. He could feel it there, but couldn't grasp it, or even locate this clump of water. But this time, he distinctly felt that the "water" had turned into "ice"—a tangible "ice"!

And their next job was to forge this "ice" into a great "Ice Sword" that would resonate with his Heart Intent and be connected by blood—a "Supreme Sword"!

"First, let's test which functions are available." Shang Nancheng began with a painting. Not a famous painting, but a randomly generated irregular Geometry: "Look here. Don't think about what it looks like; don't try to describe it. Just remember this shape."

As he spoke, the shape in his hand changed three times. Wu Chengdao and Chen Feng kept an eye on the artificial consciousness' operating interface. As soon as there was a sudden, unusual response on it, they immediately marked it and declared, "Visual function exists, image processing unknown."

Shang Nancheng nodded, then gave instructions to Wang Qi: "Raise your hand, extend it, and wave rhythmically... Madman, Wu Junior Brother, do you observe the rhythmic changes?"

"The subject repeated the action three times, after which a rhythmic response occurred."

Shang Nancheng continued giving instructions to Wang Qi: "Gesture an isosceles right triangle in midair, gesture a right-angled trapezoid, a Pythagorean right triangle with sides three, four, and five, gesture a rectangle... Madman, compare the reactions with the first two times."

"The function of processing shapes exists, but it does not completely repeat simple movements..."

Then, Shang Nancheng created a row of differently colored icons in front of him: "Now, point out the red one, the green one, the blue one..."

Wang Qi felt like he was a baby being trained. He vaguely remembered doing the same thing when teaching little demons from the Demon Clan. However, the process of training an artificial intelligence, in a sense, had the same nature as teaching a child.

Next, Wang Qi spent several hours on testing. It included kicking, walking; mentally estimating the duration of a minute; wearing headphones inscribed with Talismans, listening to different pieces of music; consuming sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy flavorings for taste testing—all provided by Chen Youjia and all exquisitely delightful; with Silver Needles and feathers—Wang Qi repeatedly argued strongly to get Bao Xiaoya to put away the idea of using a whip; plunging his hand into hot and cold water—fortunately, Chen Feng was decent enough not to use boiling water or liquid nitrogen...

After all the torment, Wu Chengdao looked at the data in his hands, his expression as calm as still water: "Visual processing, shape judgment, color vision, spatial perception are all present, taste detection is missing, olfactory detection is missing, tactile sense is weak... Time perception exists, but is not synchronized... Computational abilities are present, upper limit unknown... Then, emotional response is absent... Language function exists..."

Wang Qi asked, "So, how is it?"

Wu Chengdao's expression was unchanged but not exactly normal: "It's very suitable for combat, and can participate in research, but only in a supportive role, like designing standard experiments, or assisting in calculations, acting as an assistant, incapable of understanding some of the psychological issues..." As he said this, Wu Chengdao's face took on a strange expression. "I really didn't see it, Senior Brother. To think you have such a battle-thirsty scholarly mania in your bones, not unlike the style of Daoist Bu Rong."

Bao Xiaoya vigorously nodded, praising with the demeanor of a diehard fan: "Senior Brother is amazing! Among our peers..."

Wang Qi laughed and cried at the same time: "When I first got this, I was on the brink of life and death—not establishing my Foundation would likely have resulted in death!"

"Okay, let's do the last test now. Madman, keep watching—Wu Junior Brother, take a look at the data first, then we'll discuss how to implant Spirit Sense." After Shang Nancheng finished organizing the data, he asked Wang Qi. "Wang Qi, think about the question of 'I'. What is 'I'? Who am 'I'? Is 'I' not me? The difference between me and others? Just think casually."

"Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?" Wang Qi unhesitatingly chose the questions he was most familiar with. After a while, Chen Feng said, "No response, absolutely does not distinguish self from others, incapable of self-identification."

"Understood, let's program a weak self-identification mechanism so that it can distinguish itself as an individual." Shang Nancheng nodded and said to Wang Qi, "Junior Brother Wang, would you like to name that Postnatal Will?"

Wang Qi took off the Jade Pendant on his head and pondered: "A name…"

"The weak self-identification mechanism will only allow it to recognize itself as an individual, but it won't have self-preservation as a motivational factor. And thus, it most likely will not know what 'I' means, and will be confused if the word 'I' appears in received instructions. It must be given a unique term to define itself."

Chen Feng suddenly called out to Shang Nancheng, "Senior Brother, how about we just call it Wang Qi? To differentiate it, we can add the suffix 'Number Two'."

Damn, I absolutely can't listen to this guy's naming suggestions! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)