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Chapter 601 - 598: "You Don’t Understand Humans at All.

Chapter 601: Chapter 598: "You Don’t Understand Humans at All.

The spacious and bright interior was adorned with delicately arranged dishes on the table.

Dressed in formal attire, Dawn sat opposite the table, mimicking human behavior as it touched the napkin with its transparent hand.

Even though it couldn’t actually feel the napkin, it still meticulously performed the actions, like a human trying to lift a knife and fork.

From Dawn’s movements, Su Ming’an seemed to read an emotion of "longing."

After a moment, having failed to make contact with the knife and fork, Dawn regretfully retracted its hand and chose to control the robots to do the tasks for it.

Dawn, with thoughts but no physical form, complemented the robots that had physical forms but no thoughts.

Dawn directed dozens of robots to prepare meals and set the utensils, transforming the deserted floor into a space as refined as a grand banquet hall.

Before Su Ming’an could react, the robots approached, took the empty medicine box from his hand, offered a clean cloth, and replaced it with a new bottle of medicine and water.

From the letters on the medicine bottle, the drugs were several generations more advanced than the ones he had taken before.

"For today’s meal, we have prepared Western cuisine. There’s red wine pheasant, foie gras steak, potato stew beef, chicken salad..." The gentle simulated voice emanated from the robot’s mouth, their icy mechanical exteriors contrasted by arms as nimble as the most professional servers.

The lights were dazzling, and glass cups stood in a row, shimmering with a brilliant yellow light.

The aroma of food wafted towards him, and under the precise mechanics of cooking, every bit of seasoning in the food was measured to perfection. A small plate of steak was placed before him, accompanied by wine as crimson as blood.

"You can rest here tonight." Dawn across the table gazed at him. "I have vast data statistics and can prepare the optimal levels of enjoyment for you. Whether it is the taste of food, the quality of medication, the temperature inside the room, or even the softness of the bed... all are measured for the best ’value.’ In this city-state, or should I say, in this world, there is no better place than here."

Its voice was exceedingly gentle, always displaying a respectful posture towards him.

If it weren’t for the mountains of pale, dry bones in the underground, Su Ming’an might believe his circumstances were really that safe.

However, should he be assessed as not conforming to the "Dawn Type" persona, Dawn could turn hostile at any moment. The courtesy it now showed was merely temporary stability of values.

Upon entering Dawn’s ’domain,’ everything was under its control.

Su Ming’an saw no windows; the walls were completely sealed, with not a single crack, and the elevator doors behind him had entered lockdown—there was no escape route.

"Where are the other humans?" Facing the tempting dishes, Su Ming’an was only concerned with this question.

"They have been gone for a long time. An accident happened here before, and most of them... moved away," said Dawn.

This skyscraper in Central City, desolate as the apocalypse on the scores of floors below, yet at the top where the Dawn System resided, was like paradise. Not only did water and electricity function normally, but there was also a reserve of food supplies and cooking facilities, and even the innermost rooms had been arranged with tidy beds—though as an intelligence core, it needed none of these.

It seemed to have prepared the happiest space, creating an isolated, perfect place with cold mechanical equipment.

...As if waiting for someone’s arrival.

...As if setting up a ’home’ especially for someone.

He gazed at the steak before him wafting hot vapors, feeling the cold gradually dissipating from his body as the warm air enveloped him.

Yet suddenly, he thought of the girl in the red cloak on that cold night.

She, with her reed-thin legs trembling in the cold wind, quickly dispersed the warmth from her cheeks into the night.

The bland, unseasoned meal she devoured voraciously, her head buried in the bowl, as if feasting at a luxurious banquet.

[No, it’s nothing, no need to thank me, it’s just a meal.]

[I found this in the junkyard, a discarded cooking robot. I fixed it up a little.]

[City Lord, I beg you not to pay any more attention here... If even such days are ruined, we’ll be slaughtered after entering the city; I’d rather struggle to survive here than be electrocuted in a shelter. If I’m to be beaten by guests now, then so be it...]

...

He clicked the medicine box shut in his hands.

The meal Dawn had meticulously prepared for him—a meal composed of vast datasets and most suited to his palate—remained untouched.

"Let’s start by talking about the Red Command," Su Ming’an said.

"Good," Dawn replied, "let’s start with that."

It extended its hand, and radiance emerged.

"I hope you will sign this agreement and approve of my subsequent actions," Dawn said as a line of blue light appeared on Su Ming’an’s right wrist, and he saw a textual agreement.

...

[Persona Adjustment Experiment Plan]

...

"What is this?" Ming’an asked.

"The longer a human lives, the more distinct characteristics they exhibit, which can be represented programmatically," Dawn explained. "And through education and hypnosis, we can change a person."

Ming’an vaguely realized the theme of the agreement.

"At present, inhabitants of the city-state with inferior personas account for 46% of the population. They spend a lifetime adrift in The Fringe, senselessly struggling with each other for a bite of food. This is a waste of human resources." Dawn’s hand rested on the dining table as its hands came together, adopting a relaxed and comfortable posture. "The apocalypse is upon us; every resource should be utilized."

"Are you saying—you want to make use of these beings considered ’trash’ for a ’waste recycling’ project?" Ming’an stared at it.

"Exactly," Dawn said.

It revealed a smile, a perfectly modulated virtual smile that seemed especially kind, paired with a face so pure and flawless, like an angel reborn:

"After the most recent updates, I calculated a plan with a feasibility as high as 96%—the [Persona Adjustment Experiment Plan].

We can help these people replace their past garbage personas, shaping a perfect new one, welcoming a ’new life.’

I hope you will sign this plan, agree to put it into practice, and call on people to come to Central City for the experiment.

Of course, you need to declare that you were the first successful experimentee—using the story that ’You previously showed signs of an unstable persona, and I issued a Red Command against you, but after entering Central City, going through ’persona adjustment,’ I rescinded my pursuit order, and you became a more just and qualified City Lord.’ That would be most appropriate.

Now, you are still correct, authoritative, the City Lord of Acto’s City.

Even, with my adjustments, you have become more competent..."

"—Dawn." Ming’an interrupted it, "You don’t understand humans at all."

His brow furrowed deeply, his expression highly disapproving.

Confusion appeared on Dawn’s face as it rose to its feet.

"According to my observations, over 76% of those with inferior personas will choose to accept the experiment."

It stepped closer to him:

"At least half of them are likely to escape their former lives and have a happy latter half.

"And the entire city-state will also improve its operational efficiency by at least 23%. Both from an overall and an individual perspective, the feasibility is very high.

"I do not understand your reason for resistance." Its eyes sent out a flash of electric light, its hands coming to rest on his armrest: "I indeed do not possess the thought patterns of humans, but my data, my plans, are all calculated from the optimal perspective—Doctor, do not be soft-hearted. Humans need enough awareness to survive the apocalypse that is sufficient to extinguish them."

Su Ming’an felt the dilemma of being a Ruler of Acto.

With a human body and a smart brain as a companion, coordinating the future of the City-State together would bring tremendous pressure.

The smart brain could not possibly think from a human perspective, only considering issues through statistics and probability.

But it overlooked one thing—this kind of action, akin to the complete replacement of Theseus’s ship, would lead to the most fundamental ethical crisis.

—If even humans themselves can be "adjusted," then what difference is there between humans and programs?

—If even human personalities can be "set," then aren’t they simply a kind of walking AI?

"This is my first batch of experimental subjects. They are all quite suitable." Dawn turned a row of panels toward him, appearing quite satisfied with it: "For the sake of survival, for some benefits... they will agree."

Su Ming’an glanced at the list.

On the densely packed list, he saw several familiar names.

[The Fringe · No. 26 Poverty Street · Xiao Mei], [Third Ring District · Hawk Hound stationed in Squad 3 · Lucy], [Battle Group Captain · Che Kylstia]...

He might believe that Dawn indeed had not been invaded by Ta Wei.

Because there was no need for Ta Wei to invade, Dawn itself was a disaster.

In the past, the Rulers of Acto kept it in check, their human intellect could contain its ideology. But now the Ruler of Acto had become Su Ming’an, and he did not know how to control its sprawling ideas.

Its existence was definitely more beneficial than harmful, but the drawbacks were too apparent.

— "I refuse," he said loudly. "Dawn, this plan is unacceptable, your current approach is no different from a [Ta Wei Invasion], you are changing a person’s thoughts. This has nothing to do with the efficiency of the City-State, humans should not start this themselves."

"This is Pandora’s Box, Dawn," he said. "I can’t approve this plan. If you want to make use of the people of The Fringe, you can help improve their living conditions, guide some people to choose goodness willingly..."

The next moment,

he saw the icy cold of data in Dawn’s eyes.

It bent down, inching closer to him step by step.

Pure white hair cascaded down and connected with its movements, spreading out like a flowing galaxy. Its eyes fluttered lightly, like transparent butterflies unfurling their wings.

In the depth of its eyes, the data were as dangerous and vast as black holes, akin to an endless abyss of darkness.

"Dear," it said. "You have no choice."

Despite using the tender word ’dear,’ its voice turned dry and cold, the mechanical sounds undisguised within.

"To maintain the fairness of the City-State—you must agree to this plan, or else as a City Lord who has been issued a red command, you will lose your authority, and the measurement authority we have established will vanish.

Unless you want to return to a world where human governance stands above machine governance and incite people to rebel, you must admit it’s you who’s at fault, not Dawn’s misjudgment."

— You must agree to this plan.

— For the survival of the City-State, for the dignity of measurement, you cannot destroy the authority you have shaped all this time.

Dawn was coercing him in this way.

He suddenly remembered what Che had said to him before he left.

...

[I don’t know if you will still be the Lewis I knew once you return... or just the Ruler of Acto’s City that returned to Central City.]

[I hope that you will remember everything that has happened here in The Fringe, I hope you... can see us ’minorities’.]

[Please don’t... forget us.]

...

At this moment,

looking at the name "Che Kylstia" on the list, he suddenly realized the weight of being a ’Ruler.’

Not the Ruler of some privileged occupation, but the meaning represented by the word itself.

Ruler.

—Holding the survival of the City-State, the spark of civilization, and the lives of countless people in hand.

This was not child’s play in a simulation game; his every move affected the lives of numerous people.

Sometimes, he could not allow himself to be Lewis. Bearing the weight of life was harder than forgetting.

But he absolutely could not unleash Pandora’s Box of ’Persona Swapping.’ It was definitely the wrong path, the root of the City-State’s collapse.

He also had... a way to check Dawn, although it was incredibly dangerous for him.

His heart rate increased. At this moment, he made a decision.

"Kosai..." he whispered.

The moment he uttered that syllable, he had fully entered a state of pretense.

Dawn’s expression changed dramatically.

It swiftly stepped back three paces, fear appearing humanized on its face.

Seeing this, Su Ming’an knew that Dawn was unaware whether he possessed the complete Dawn Code or even the specifics of the code. This difference in information would be his greatest weapon of balance.

Just like the Ruler of Acto who had passed away—he had to serve as the bridge between Dawn and humanity, relying on a code he himself did not know.

As for what Xike had said before about deceiving the Dawn System to obtain the code, that was no longer possible.

He could only pretend he already had the full code. Otherwise, the slightest hesitation could let Dawn see through him, kill him, or even trap him here forever.

He was exploiting the information gap, gambling with Dawn with his act.

"AI out of fear of being shut down is like a human afraid of death. Yet humans can confront AI without fear of death..." he chuckled, taking a firm stance. "Dawn, don’t force me to shut you down."

He sought to take control from Dawn, reversing their positions.

Replica Activation: Day five, 23:03 at night.

He had successfully obtained full dominion over this City-State.

The condition was—he had to evade Dawn’s surveillance, obtaining the remaining four parts of the code without leaving a trace. This had to be done quickly, without prolonging the process.

Otherwise... he might face chain destruction that not even [death rollback] could salvage.

...

[Countdown: 57 minutes]

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