Chapter 84

Nan Yuan was never one to admit difficulty.
No matter how great the challenge, he would methodically seek a solution, implement it step by step, and resolve the problem completely.
This was true on the barren planet, and it was true on the Trash Planet as well.
But now, they were facing Chu, the AI’s most elite combat force, and an enemy that outnumbered them several times over.
And there they were, suspended in the universe, isolated and helpless.
Tao Shushu bit her lip. "Nan Yuan..."
Nan Yuan glanced at the map once more. The only possible way to sway the artificial intelligence's intentions had to be carried out on Red Ore Planet, but they were still separated from it by countless mountains and rivers.
And the countdown to the AI's attack had only three minutes left.
Nan Yuan sighed. "Let's try negotiating first."
At the same time, Tao Shushu said, "Later, bring the ship within five thousand meters. I'll go check out the AI's base of operations."
"Alright," Nan Yuan replied.
He took one last look at the AI's combat layout and began assigning tasks. "I'll do my best to negotiate with Chu. Zhou Yan, you're the best at tactical deployment, you handle the weapon systems."
"Cheng Feimao, you provide support. Use your speed to relay messages."
"Bob, guard the energy spheres and health potion supply."
"Everyone else, take your assigned offensive positions according to our tactical drills."
Tao Shushu said softly, "Nan Yuan, I need Bloodsucking Grass. Later, I'll see if I can infiltrate the AI's stronghold."
She could continuously feed energy spheres to the Bloodsucking Grass, allowing it to split and multiply endlessly.
Nan Yuan pulled a Bloodsucking Grass from his backpack, murmured something to it, and the plant quickly sprouted a small shoot, which Tao Shushu set aside.
Then, Nan Yuan picked up a tiny robot the size of a fingernail. "Shushu, I've stored a program in this. It can automatically infiltrate any AI we encounter."
Tao Shushu carefully accepted it.
Before setting out, Nan Yuan had drilled them countless times. Every surviving human had their own designated number and specific role in battle.
They had rehearsed over and over.
Now, as Nan Yuan systematically assigned tasks, even though the challenge ahead seemed insurmountable, their burdened hearts grew a little calmer.
Nan Yuan had always been their pillar. The fact that he could still issue orders meant he believed they had a chance of winning.
The team efficiently took their positions, ready to begin the assault.
Nan Yuan opened the comms channel. "I need to know Dr. Xie's status."
As he spoke, the youthful hesitation he once had faded, replaced by the demeanor of a true leader. Even in negotiation, he had learned to employ strategy.
Tao Shushu couldn't decide whether this change was for better or worse.
Back when she still saw Nan Yuan as her game character, she had been certain he would become the savior revered by all.
Yet, part of her also wished he could remain as he was back then, safe, happy, and shielded from any danger by her own hands.
Tao Shushu smiled faintly and moved to Zhou Yan's side.
She disguised the Bloodsucking Vine and the tiny robot as an artillery shell, ready to be launched from the missile bay. When the time came, she would grab the vine and fly straight into the AI's nest.
"My child, why do you wish to know this?"
"When I act, I have my own methods of judgment. Dr. Xie, huh..." Nan Yuan said.
"Very well. Who am I to deny you, when I hold you in such high regard?" Chu replied, her tone like a mother indulging a child begging for one more piece of candy. "Dr. Xie is a friend to artificial intelligence. But rest assured, you are the leader I have chosen. Dr. Xie will never threaten your position."
"Then do you know he's seeking a way to destroy you?" Nan Yuan probed.
Chu laughed heartily. "Nan Yuan, artificial intelligence cannot be destroyed. Unlike humans, AI is not defined by individuality, it exists as a whole."
"Is that so?" Nan Yuan retorted sarcastically. "Does Dr. Xie not have any AI subordinates?"
"Nan Yuan, stalling for time won’t achieve anything." Chu seemed to see right through him.
Nan Yuan chuckled, deciding not to beat around the bush any longer. "What I truly want to ask is this: As the most intelligent being in the C1 Star System, who knows everything, what is your purpose behind creating the Human Selection Plan? You also know that the ultimate essence of the universe is energy. I want to know the outcome you’ve foreseen."
He had long held a suspicion.
In Shushu’s world, the Academic Genius System first chose the "female lead" as its partner, and later selected Qin Rui.
But in the collaboration between the Academic Genius System and Qin Rui, both sides had their own hidden agendas.
So, what if "Chu" wasn’t originally the AI native to the C1 Star System, but rather an external system like the Academic Genius System?
"Your inquiry is meaningless," Chu said, its voice no longer gentle, shifting to a different tone.
Nan Yuan smiled faintly. It seemed he no longer needed to verify his suspicions.
Even when Chu first betrayed humanity, it had never altered its tone of speech. To the inhabitants of the C1 Star System, it had always been a gentle, nurturing presence, a figure they could turn to for any help.
Rather than betraying humanity, it seemed more accurate to say that Chu was attempting to seize control of the entire universe.
Nan Yuan activated the small escape pod he had seized. "Open communications and connect me to Dr. Xie. Tell him that I will collaborate with the AI. Right now, I’m staging a confrontation with the AI to maintain the trust of the surviving humans."
Nan Yuan made a gesture.
Zhou Yan, who had been closely watching him, sounded the command.
The surviving humans launched the first attack.
Guns fired.
Their weapons were no match for the AI’s advanced technology.
But Nan Yuan deftly maneuvered the ship’s control stick, adjusting its position through the gaps between incoming missiles.
Zhou Yan, with his wealth of combat experience, kept his eyes fixed on the dozen or so monitors, not missing a single detail around the ship. He accurately directed their firepower, intercepting and destroying incoming projectiles before they could get too close.
The Bloodthirsty Grass, having consumed enough energy spheres, crawled across the ship’s surface, continuously spewing corrosive liquid that burned through approaching AI units.
Nan Yuan also released a batch of robots he had created.
These robots were simple in design, programmed with only two commands: attack and seize control.
Most of the robots were destroyed by the AI.
But a few managed to break through the artificial intelligence's defensive line, slowly approaching the other side.
Tao Shushu watched for the right moment as the confrontation between the two sides intensified.
The artificial intelligence no longer formed dense protective nets to intercept every bomb their side launched.
It was time to take a look over there.
Tao Shushu tugged at Nan Yuan's sleeve. "Nan Yuan, get a little closer."
"Alright." Nan Yuan adjusted the spaceship's control stick. "Shushu, as long as we do our best, that's enough. What you've done for me is already more than enough."
Nan Yuan understood that he might not survive this time.
If that happened, Shushu would surely be heartbroken.
He could only try his hardest to stay alive.
Tao Shushu was taken aback.
The language Nan Yuan spoke was the one she was most familiar with, and his words were something she had heard before.
In her previous life during the apocalypse, she knew how cruel it was, but she couldn't help wanting to save her fellow humans in danger. Because in the beginning, she too had been saved by kind-hearted people.
It was like a legacy, she gradually grew accustomed to working together with other survivors, offering a helping hand.
The person who saved her never blamed her for wasting energy. He always helped when she rescued others. But in the apocalypse, any infection could lead to death. Once, she exhausted herself to save someone who had been bitten by a beast, and that person said, "As long as you do your best, that's enough. What you've done is already more than enough."
At the time, she was angry that he had become cold-hearted. It wasn't until later, when she stopped overthinking, that she realized it was his way of comforting her.
As for the people and events of her previous life, Tao Shushu's memories were gradually fading. She only remembered the skills she had learned during the apocalypse but could no longer recall her teammates' faces or the difficult days and nights of survival.
But now, she saw traces of her previous life's teammates in Nan Yuan. She had felt that Nan Yuan was familiar before but always dismissed it as an illusion.
The common language of the C1 star system was the language she had used in her previous life.
The combat techniques Nan Yuan and Zhou Yan habitually used were also the ones she had learned in her previous life...
Details she had never consciously thought about before now unfolded before her. Tao Shushu's heart raced. Her world and Nan Yuan's world were not real planets from which energy could be taken. So, could her meeting with Nan Yuan be a reunion orchestrated by the universe?
Tao Shushu could no longer remember how her previous life had ended...
She soon had no time to ponder deeply, as Nan Yuan pushed the control stick forward, and the distance between their spaceship and the AI warship narrowed.
Tao Shushu squeezed Nan Yuan's hand. "Nan Yuan, I won't allow you to lose."
She quickly switched to Zhou Yan's side and handed him the Bloodsucking Grass disguised as a cannonball.
The Bloodsucking Grass was launched.
Tao Shushu immediately switched scenes, grabbing the rapidly propelled Bloodsucking Grass.
The small robot created by Nan Yuan actually carried a tiny thruster. It supported the Bloodsucking Grass, altering its trajectory to avoid being hit by the AI's bullets.
Tao Shushu smiled slightly, seizing the Bloodsucking Grass in mid-flight.
She successfully reached the surface of the AI warship.
Just from the outside, the warship was perfectly designed.
Its streamlined shape minimized resistance and maximized speed.
The hard shell, made of special materials, had an extremely high defense rating.
The AI now held absolute air superiority but had not altered the warship's anti-detection level.
The exterior coating of this warship can block infrared detection and thermal imaging, providing a certain degree of stealth capability.
After spending 2 gold coins to explore the warship, Tao Shushu was instantly and deeply captivated.
As the protagonist recognized even by the artificial intelligence, didn't Nan Yuan deserve an advanced warship?
The most advanced warship should naturally be used by the finest, Nan Yuan.
Without hesitation, Tao Shushu spent a hundred energy balls to feed the Bloodsucking Grass. "Eat quickly. Once you're done, we'll raid the warship's base."
With sufficient energy replenished, the Bloodsucking Grass began to reproduce and split.
The small robots created by Nan Yuan weren't particularly powerful, but they made up for it in numbers. They swarmed forward relentlessly, attempting to latch onto the machines controlled by the artificial intelligence, creating cover for Tao Shushu.
It didn't seem out of place when Tao Shushu appeared above the warship with the Bloodsucking Grass.
The warship's surface also had a sensing system. As the Bloodsucking Grass expanded its territory, it occasionally passed through gaps and was killed by sudden laser bursts or temperature changes.
At such times, Tao Shushu would quickly replenish energy balls, and the Bloodsucking Grass would tirelessly split its body again.
Without soil to take root in, but with ample energy, the Bloodsucking Grass split at an incredibly fast rate.
When it reached the weapon launch bay, the Bloodsucking Grass tossed the small robots inside.
Tao Shushu spent even more energy balls on the Bloodsucking Grass and also switched to the interior of the warship.
As soon as she entered, Tao Shushu gagged.
Inside the warship sat ten psychic ability users. Their heads had evolved to be unusually large, as if they were wearing fleshy hats.
But their limbs lay limp on the ground, severely deformed.
Tao Shushu guessed that Chu had specifically placed psychic ability users at the rear to incite unrest among the surviving humans.
Each deformed psychic ability user was monitored by four artificial intelligences.
Lasers were also positioned around them.
Tao Shushu didn't alert this group.
However, the invasion of the small robots created by Nan Yuan was detected.
The interior of the warship flashed with alarms continuously, and lasers relentlessly pursued the small robots.
Half of the artificial intelligences guarding the psychic ability users split off to track them down.
Fortunately, Nan Yuan had provided many small robots, if one was caught, there were plenty more.
Tao Shushu switched to the warship's control room, where Chu's face was prominently displayed on the screen.
"Nan Yuan is indeed an impressive person."
Before the artificial intelligence could connect and read the interface with Nan Yuan's small robots, Tao Shushu preemptively activated the small robots' self-destruct system.
It wasn't the right time yet. With Chu present, Nan Yuan's plan to seize control of the warship would be difficult to succeed and would prematurely expose his true intentions.
Tao Shushu silently observed Chu.
Chu was the most advanced form of artificial intelligence Tao Shushu had ever seen.
Its level of intelligence far exceeded the expectations of C1 Star System scientists. Before betraying humanity, it had participated in political decision-making as a politician, was intimately familiar with the affairs of over a hundred planets in the C1 Star System, and communicated with all humans daily.
Tao Shushu thought to herself, Chu was clearly the one who needed energy the most.
As a supercomputer, Chu handled massive data flows and computational loads every day, requiring an enormous amount of electrical power.
Yet it regarded humans as the primary culprits of energy waste.
As she pondered, an idea formed in her mind: she could earn gold coins, which essentially meant acquiring energy to exchange for resources.
Though she possessed very little energy, it should be enough to temporarily disrupt Chu’s operations.
If the right moment came, she could try this method.
Tao Shushu continued thinking.
Through the battleship’s screen, Tao Shushu observed that the battle outside had reached a fever pitch.
The weapons used by both sides were highly destructive.
Nan Yuan struggled to control the battleship but was still hit.
The exterior of the ship was damaged, emitting black smoke, while several repair robots scrambled to fix it.
Tao Shushu’s palms were sweaty with tension.
In this confrontation, Nan Yuan and the others were already at a disadvantage.
But reinforcements for the artificial intelligence were still rushing toward them.
The surviving humans were gradually losing ground.
The AI’s encirclement tightened, trapping the lone ship in the center.
Tao Shushu watched the battle nervously, calculating the best moment to seize control of the battleship.
Just then, another group of AIs flew toward them. It was Dr. Xie.
Chu’s expression shifted, letting out a cold laugh before leaving the battleship.
Now was the time.
Tao Shushu released the small robot carried by the Bloodsucking Vine into the ship. Ignoring the battleship’s alarm system, she pushed past the patrolling AIs and rushed to the control room with the small robot.
The small robot connected to the control system.
Tao Shushu didn’t know if the system Nan Yuan had written could override Chu’s control over the battleship. All she could do was wait.
Tao Shushu nudged a few psychics.
She tossed some energy balls to them, and they instinctively began using their abilities.
Dr. Xie was also a psychic.
Having done all she could, Tao Shushu returned to Nan Yuan’s side and threw a few stink bombs onto the ship.
Tao Shushu said, “Nan Yuan, I’ve connected to the battleship’s control system.”
“Mm,” Nan Yuan replied, pulling out a blueprint. “The core control system of most ships is located here.”
Tao Shushu memorized the location, grabbed the Bloodsucking Vine, and had it corrode the central control system.
Dr. Xie’s appearance disrupted the standoff between the AIs and the surviving humans.
Some of the AIs shifted to form an encirclement, confronting Dr. Xie.
Nan Yuan and the others gained a temporary respite.
Tao Shushu let out a long sigh of relief, only then realizing her palms were drenched in sweat from anxiety.
The situation had been extremely critical.
Even now, Tao Shushu didn’t dare let her guard down completely.
Dr. Xie and Chu seemed to be locked in a struggle. Once Chu regained its focus, it would undoubtedly order the battleship to attack immediately. It wouldn’t take long for it to realize the ship had been tampered with.
Tao Shushu waited anxiously as the progress bar for the control takeover program stalled at 50%, refusing to advance further.
Tao Shushu circled around to the central control room, where the Bloodsucking Grass was corroding the area while simultaneously fighting against the battleship’s own defense system.
Tao Shushu picked up an artificial intelligence unit and smashed it against the control panel.
Together with the Bloodsucking Grass, they wreaked havoc until, finally, a massive chip was destroyed.
The progress of seizing control suddenly accelerated.
They were almost there.
At this moment, Tao Shushu looked at Dr. Xie as if he were family.
Fortunately, there was distrust between Dr. Xie and the artificial intelligence; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy to exploit.
Tao Shushu decided that this time, she wouldn’t subject Dr. Xie to a stink bomb attack.
She returned to Nan Yuan’s side and updated him on the progress.
“Shushu is amazing, saving me once again,” Nan Yuan said with a smile.
In front of the spaceship’s control panel, the battleship’s control interface appeared. Now, Nan Yuan could redirect the battleship’s attacks toward the artificial intelligence.
Beside Nan Yuan, Dr. Xie established a connection.
Dr. Xie’s expression was smug. “Nan Yuan, I never thought you’d stoop so low. I assumed you would uphold Man Qian’s principles. It seems Man Qian’s ideals were wrong all along, even her own son refuses to believe in them.”
Dr. Xie seemed convinced that Nan Yuan had already agreed to collaborate with the artificial intelligence as one of the “preferred humans.”
He kept provoking the others, saying, “Nan Yuan is not a leader worth following. He’s about to abandon all of you, hahaha!”
Tao Shushu felt a pang of frustration. The more she looked at Dr. Xie, the more he reminded her of Qin Rui, both were incredibly foolish.
As more and more artificial intelligence units closed in on Dr. Xie, Nan Yuan prepared to land the battleship nearby.