Chapter 85

Dr. Xie continued his endless speech.
However, the surviving humans in Nan Yuan’s spaceship merely watched Dr. Xie coldly. Not a single one of them was swayed by his words.
Bob sighed. “I was truly blind before, actually thinking he was a good person.”
“Yeah.”
“Does Dr. Xie take us all for fools?”
“Remembering how he turned living people into slaves makes me sick.”
“How did Dr. Xie ever become a renowned scientist? His words make no sense at all. He must have been using his psychic abilities to deceive people from the start.”
The survivors from the Trash Planet had all witnessed Dr. Xie’s ugly true nature. With Nan Yuan having severed Dr. Xie’s mental control, no one on the spaceship was fooled.
Nan Yuan did not cut off the connection, allowing Dr. Xie to hear the discussions of the surviving humans.
"Shut up! I am the smartest scientist. Without me, do you think the AI system could have been built?" Dr. Xie fumed, his beard bristling with anger. "I'll definitely beat you to death!"
Dr. Xie commanded his forces to advance toward Nan Yuan's side.
Nan Yuan cut off the communication and said in a low voice, "Land nearby."
Thanks to countless drills on the Trash Planet, the surviving humans cooperated seamlessly and quickly adjusted their strategy.
Meanwhile, under Nan Yuan's guidance, Tao Shushu simultaneously pressed the attack buttons on the warship.
As soon as she acted, the AI also reacted, and control of the warship was seized.
The AI's attacks instantly intensified.
Dr. Xie, who was piloting the main spacecraft and charging toward Nan Yuan, found himself caught in the crossfire and took a solid beating.
Unwilling to back down, Dr. Xie immediately retaliated fiercely.
Tao Shushu controlled the warship's attack direction, carefully avoiding Dr. Xie, making it appear as though she was escorting and protecting him.
The warship was the most aggressive weapon and ranked first in the AI's "priority list."
The fleet that had just been surrounding Nan Yuan's ship withdrew most of its firepower to attack Dr. Xie.
Seizing this opportunity, the ship abruptly changed direction, dove rapidly, and withdrew from the battle zone.
Tao Shushu switched to the exterior and forcefully cleared a safe path through the debris of destroyed robots in the flight path.
The AI warship immediately gave chase.
But the Bloodsucking Grass, saturated with energy, rapidly split and formed a massive net, spraying corrosive fluid and blocking a group of AI pursuers.
Neither Dr. Xie nor "Chu" would stand by and watch Nan Yuan escape, so they diverted some of their firepower to pursue.
At that moment, the warship suddenly turned its guns and launched indiscriminate attacks on both Dr. Xie and Chu.
The most advanced missiles flew toward the center of the battle zone.
Only then did the two previously deadlocked forces realize they had been tricked, Nan Yuan was the one who had actually seized control.
Dr. Xie ended up taking the blame and now had to watch as the missiles rapidly closed in.
Chu's true form was not present; as long as the AI existed, Chu existed. It did not have the same urgent survival needs as Dr. Xie.
Thus, as Nan Yuan's ship and the warship flew farther away, Chu quickly withdrew all pursuing firepower, determined to trap Dr. Xie in place.
Nan Yuan left a small robot to observe the battlefield.
The footage was transmitted back, and everyone watched in silence.
Tao Shushu also paused for a moment, unable to deny that the AI was indeed rational and ruthless enough.
Since they couldn't keep Nan Yuan, they would deal with Dr. Xie.
The AI felt no fear; they mechanically executed Chu's commands, using their own bodies to block Dr. Xie's escape route, even climbing onto his spacecraft one after another.
From a distance, it looked like barnacles parasitizing the ship.
They launched self-destructive attacks on their target.
"It's fine, we made it out, didn't we?" Zhou Yan said.
"Right, the AI is just a tool. We can definitely deal with them. With Boss Nan Yuan here, there's nothing to fear," Cheng Feimao added.
"Yes, there's no need to be afraid," Nan Yuan stood at the forefront of the crowd, his tall and straight figure exuding reliability. "Whatever the AI can do, we can do too."
Tao Shushu patted Nan Yuan's shoulder in silent encouragement.
The tense atmosphere gradually warmed up again.
Even though artificial intelligence had advanced to an astonishing degree,
humans, dismissed by them as "inferior", never gave up their efforts.
They could handle robotic arms, steal battleships right under the AI's watchful eyes, and in the future, they would surely find a way to counterbalance artificial intelligence.
Tao Shushu smiled faintly. She had been worried that after witnessing the overwhelming power of AI, the surviving humans might lose hope.
But fortunately, they quickly regained their optimism and continued moving forward with hope in their hearts.
With the battleship leading the way, they easily handled the few minor blockades they encountered along the route.
The planet Nan Yuan had chosen for landing was called Deepwater Planet, a place rich in water resources and highly developed in agriculture.
After hearing the brief introduction of the planet, Bob patted his stomach and said, "That's great. The food on the Trash Planet is practically inedible."
The Trash Planet was scarce in vegetation, and it was only after Nan Yuan and the others arrived, bringing along dried meat and fruits, that the food situation improved somewhat.
His words resonated deeply with the original inhabitants of the Trash Planet.
Even those from the barren planet nodded in agreement. Perhaps because they had grown accustomed to eating plant-based meats on the barren planet, their tastes had become more refined, making the food on the Trash Planet truly unpalatable.
Everyone excitedly began imagining the future scenes of improved meals.
Listening to them, Tao Shushu felt a sense of familiarity. Back in the apocalypse, what she had longed for most was finding a supermarket with unspoiled food. Even obtaining a single pack of instant noodles would have made her ecstatic for a long time.
Quietly pinching Nan Yuan's ear, Tao Shushu asked, "Nan Yuan, are you hungry?"
Nan Yuan nodded gently. "Not really."
A moment later, he felt a cool sensation on his lips.
"Open your mouth," Tao Shushu said.
A sweet fragrance reached his nose, and as his tongue tingled with sourness, a handful of sweet-and-sour hard candies were slipped into his mouth.
Nan Yuan held the candies in his mouth and smiled.
Zhou Yan laughed heartily. "Who knows if there will be plenty of food after the apocalypse? But one thing's for sure, weapons won't be in short supply."
Deepwater Planet was one of the Second Legion's strategic supply depots.
Zhou Yan patted Nan Yuan on the shoulder. "With the Second Legion's resources, we won't have to worry about dealing with those metal machines."
Tao Shushu also glanced at the introduction of Deepwater Planet and slipped another candy into Nan Yuan's mouth. "Speaking of which, Deepwater Planet reminds me a lot of my home planet, Aqua Blue."
"Both planets have surfaces mostly covered by water. They're ideal for the survival and growth of plants and animals."
"What else?" Nan Yuan asked, eager to learn more about the environment she had lived in.
Tao Shushu smiled mysteriously. "I think you'll know about Aqua Blue."
The spacecraft landed smoothly.
But the moment they touched down, everyone sensed something was wrong.
It was daytime, and Deepwater Planet was a habitable planet. Spaceports were always among a planet's most vital locations.
Yet despite the significant commotion of their landing, not a single person appeared.
No one came, and there was no attack.
Tao Shushu frowned in confusion. "But according to the survivor map, Deepwater Planet is populated entirely by humans with no artificial intelligence presence. This doesn't make sense."
Given the abnormality of the situation, Nan Yuan said, "I'll send out scout robots to investigate. Everyone else should stay on the spacecraft and don't move around."
Nan Yuan speculated that the survivors on Deepwater Planet might have developed methods to deal with artificial intelligence. "If AI forces have swept through here before, the locals would naturally be wary of spacecraft and staying hidden makes sense. But if it's Dr. Xie we're dealing with, then we might have bigger problems."
"We can only investigate first," Tao Shushu said as she began exploring the surroundings. Dr. Xie was a psychic ability user, if his people had been here, the Deepwater Planet inhabitants would be suspicious of all outsiders, whether AI or human. This would severely hinder human unification efforts.
There were no living beings around the spaceport. Tao Shushu explored all the way to the interior, where the spaces showed clear signs of recent habitation.
Nan Yuan also deployed scout robots to begin their reconnaissance.
Bloodsucking Grass rapidly spread across the ground.
The absence of people put everyone on edge. Nan Yuan selected several survivors with strong self-defense capabilities to disembark, hoping to demonstrate friendly intentions.
All of them wore protective suits and face masks.
Tao Shushu returned to Nan Yuan's side. "There are signs of human habitation, but no people."
"I don't hear anything," Nan Yuan said, tilting his head. His hearing was enhanced, but Deepwater Planet seemed to have hit a pause button, quieter than vacuum.
"Let me check further," Tao Shushu said, tapping various corners as she searched for clues.
Suddenly, she spotted a pile of bones in one corner, showing decay marks from the inside out.
Tao Shushu immediately recognized them as zombie remains.
Her heart sank. She quickly returned to Nan Yuan's side. "Nan Yuan, there are zombies here. You all need to get back to the ship immediately, be careful of infection."
Fortunately, Nan Yuan had been cautious. Sensing the environment was too quiet, he'd ensured everyone was fully protected before disembarking.
Meanwhile, Nan Yuan's side reported movement, the scout robots had detected signs of life.