Chapter 95

Nan Yuan created a model and carefully analyzed it, concluding that Dr. Xie's blood contained sufficient regenerative herb components.
If processed correctly, it would be enough to revive a planet of zombies. He needed to quickly accumulate enough influence to counter Chu.
Chu would not allow the surviving humans to take root within the gravitational field barrier indefinitely, a major conflict was inevitable sooner or later.
Two hours later, Nan Yuan made all preparations and sent a communication to the AI faction, requesting a face-to-face negotiation with Dr. Xie. The reason given was their inability to trust the AIs, placing faith only in Dr. Xie as a human.
Initially, Chu gave no response.
Nan Yuan said, "Chu will think we're testing the waters. However, we're certain Dr. Xie survived the intense attacks, and Chu will have guessed some of our situation."
Tao Shushu patted Nan Yuan's shoulder. "If it doesn't take the bait, we'll think of another way."
Nan Yuan's calls continued for two full days.
He hadn't pinned all his hopes on Dr. Xie and wasn't disheartened by the lack of response.
Two days later, Chu responded but demanded the meeting take place on Central Star, allowing Nan Yuan to bring personal guards.
None of the surviving humans agreed to such terms.
The area around Central Star was entirely under AI control. Even if Nan Yuan brought all his combat forces, the numerical disparity would still make it like sending a lamb into a tiger's den.
Tao Shushu couldn't agree either.
She was indignantly cursing Chu for its cunning.
Nan Yuan suddenly said, "Shushu, go back to your dorm."
He sensed a violent surge of energy.
The training accommodation was arranged in double rooms. To avoid disturbing the class monitor’s studies, Tao Shushu would go to the end of the corridor every night to chat with Nan Yuan.
Tonight was no different.
The corridor was empty except for Tao Shushu.
Suddenly, all the lights and cameras began acting strangely.
Tao Shushu had always been brave and wasn’t frightened.
[System?] she asked.
[The system is currently engaged in full-scale offense and defense.] The system replied briefly.
A few seconds stretched into an eternity.
Although Tao Shushu was attending the school training camp, she had still managed to disrupt many of the Academic Genius System’s schemes through the system and Xun.
Today, perhaps the Academic Genius System had been pushed to its limits.
Tao Shushu stood up, her back pressed against the wall, grabbed a broom, and warily scanned her surroundings.
The lights flickered, and in the blink of an eye, a bolt of electricity shot straight toward her arm.
Tao Shushu instinctively dashed away. The wooden broom, being an insulator, blocked the first wave of attack.
But light was the fastest, in an instant, it struck Tao Shushu.
Her mind went numb, and her phone slipped from her hand, its screen going black.
On Nan Yuan’s end, he channeled energy to divert the deadly electric current, enough to kill an elephant, into the ground. Still, a beam of light managed to harm Tao Shushu.
"Communication is being jammed. Full restoration expected in 30 seconds. 30, 29…"
001’s voice was cold as it counted down.
On Nan Yuan’s side, the screen was gradually fading. In that moment, his fingers flew at an unprecedented speed, transferring all control of Xun to Shushu in the smoothest motion of his life. He then wrote a command into Xun’s core program to protect Tao Shushu forever. The final command was for Xun to sound the alarm on his behalf.
"Shushu…" Nan Yuan called her name one last time.
"Nan Yuan, I want you dead," the Academic Genius System’s voice snarled viciously.
It was the first time Nan Yuan had heard the Academic Genius System’s voice.
The Academic Genius System moved swiftly toward the gravitational field barrier.
Nan Yuan detected the energy fluctuation, pulled out his particle gun, aimed coldly at the so-called Academic Genius System, and pulled the trigger.
"Why…" the Academic Genius System roared hoarsely before dissipating.
Nan Yuan completely destroyed the Academic Genius System. Only when he heard 001 announce that the system had been reclaimed did he say coldly, "You were clever enough to exploit my connection with Shushu to come to the C1 Star System. Unfortunately, in a higher-dimensional world, the energy fluctuations of lower dimensions are as slow as ants." This was a rule of energy that had long been established.
But the Academic Genius System hadn’t known.
System 001 advised against reopening the connection between the two universes. "Chu could also use the same link to find Tao Shushu."
Nan Yuan couldn’t risk Tao Shushu’s safety.

Tao Shushu was found by the class monitor.
The monitor said she suddenly received a message on her phone stating that Shushu had fainted in the corridor. Rushing out, she found shattered light bulbs everywhere and immediately called the police.
Fortunately, Tao Shushu only suffered minor injuries.
Tao Shushu picked up her phone and found it broken, it wouldn’t turn on no matter what.
Frowning, she called out to the system, which replied timidly, [I can no longer initiate connections on my own.]
Tao Shushu’s parents hurried over and brought her a new phone.
Teacher Zhang, Li Xin, and the school authorities all rushed to the scene as well.
No one could explain why the light bulb suddenly shattered and why the surveillance system happened to malfunction at the same time.
Tao Shushu knew it was due to her conflict with the Academic Genius System and had nothing to do with the dormitory facilities. She shook her head, "I'm fine. Really, I'm fine."
Only after repeatedly ensuring that the popular championship contender Tao Shushu was unharmed did the teachers leave.
Tao Shushu's parents were uneasy about her staying at school any longer and insisted on picking her up and dropping her off every day. Given the circumstances, the teachers quickly agreed.
Tao Shushu thought it over, staying at home wasn’t a bad idea, especially since the training camp only had a few days left.
She handed her phone to her father, who opened it up and said, "The motherboard is damaged. The data can’t be recovered."
Tao Shushu called out, "Nan Yuan, Nan Yuan..."
There was no response, only silence filling the air.
Tao Shushu bit her lip tightly. She had never imagined a situation where she couldn’t reach Nan Yuan.
Her father brought her a new phone.
Tao Shushu quickly logged into her account, but no matter how many times she refreshed, the familiar game app didn’t appear on the screen.
Seeing how upset Tao Shushu was, her parents left her alone to rest.
Finally, Tao Shushu opened Xun.
"Master," Xun crouched in the corner of the phone screen, a small icon radiating immense grievance.
Tao Shushu patted Xun. "What are you upset about? I can’t even contact your creator now."
She knew Xun wouldn’t have a solution either, after all, this involved two different universes. All she could do was hope the system would keep trying.
[System, is there nothing you can do?] Tao Shushu asked. [Also, will Nan Yuan’s body in this world be okay?]
The system replied weakly, [Although dimensions can connect, Nan Yuan’s world is of a higher dimension. I can’t actively open a channel to it.]
[Nan Yuan will be fine.]
Tao Shushu pouted. [What about the Academic Genius System?]
[Most of its energy has been transferred. Only a small part remains in this world.]
[Then you should be able to handle that, right?] Tao Shushu said.
[Okay. I’ll take care of it right away.]
Tao Shushu opened Xun again. She had a strong intuition that if she wanted to contact Nan Yuan again, the key lay with Lu Nan Yuan.
She sent a message to Shen Yichen: "Can I visit Lu Nan Yuan?"
Shen Yichen’s reply was full of resentment. "Now Xun is no longer my decision-making tool. Do whatever you want, I can’t judge anymore."
"What’s wrong?" Tao Shushu asked.
Shen Yichen sent a photo. "Xun suddenly changed its program and set you as its master. As a 'stinky man,' I’ve been rejected and abandoned by it. I don’t even know when Lu Nan Yuan set up this timed program change, I had no idea he knew you all along."
Tao Shushu suddenly understood.
It wasn't Xun who wrote the analysis reports, nor was it Xun analyzing the movements of the Academic Genius System every day. It wasn't even Xun who gave her calculus materials.
It was all Nan Yuan.
It was Nan Yuan who was thoughtful, Nan Yuan who always kept her in mind.
He also knew that the person she liked was Nan Yuan, that in her world, he had an identity called Lu Nan Yuan.
When she joked about it, he had already known the truth.
Tao Shushu smiled, "We've known each other for a long time."
Even though it seemed lost now, she would definitely find Nan Yuan again.
Tao Shushu tapped on Xun again, "Hey, as your master, I want to ask you, did your creator leave any message for me?"
Xun didn't respond.
So Tao Shushu kept poking Xun's head.
She poked and poked.
Suddenly, she noticed a line of text on Xun's head.
It was written in the language Tao Shushu was familiar with in her previous life, meaning: "Shushu, I like you. May you always be safe and lucky, and meet wonderful people."
Tao Shushu froze for a moment, then closed Xun, "The best person I've met is you."
Perhaps he thought she could only read the language, so he boldly wrote his hidden feelings on the surface.
But Tao Shushu had already understood.
They had always admired each other.
Tao Shushu looked at her phone screen, where Xun was setting off fireworks in the corner.
He might have thought she would lose her memories, yet deliberately left traces, like the fireworks he loved to set off for her.
Tao Shushu chuckled, "I'm not taking the tragic romance script. If you won't come to me, I'll go to you."
She convinced herself to fall asleep quickly to ensure she had enough energy for the training camp the next day.
But Tao Shushu couldn't sleep peacefully that night.
Because she hadn't said goodnight to Nan Yuan yet.
It wasn't until midnight that Tao Shushu finally fell into a deep sleep.

In the C1 Star System, Nan Yuan's expression was stern as he wrote a virus program.
"What are you planning?" 001 asked.
After finishing the program, Nan Yuan began inventorying weapons, "Yes. Artificial intelligence counts as part of the power value, right?"
"Yes. But I recommend saving the zombies. The existence of humans is one of the criteria for judging the reality of the world," 001 said.
Nan Yuan shook his head, "What you want seems to be for me to fight a great battle with Chu, but you're unwilling to see humans achieve victory in the most efficient way."
001 was left speechless.
"I've heard Shushu recite ancient texts, 'The Dao begets One.' One also carries the meaning of 'the beginning,'" Nan Yuan said calmly as he inventoried weapons, gathered surviving humans, and prepared to launch an attack. "You are the orderly One. It is the chaotic Beginning. Isn't that right?"
001 remained silent.
But Nan Yuan didn't care much about the answer.
He had already rehearsed the battle with Chu countless times in his mind, knowing every detail. He whispered, "I will extract Dr. Xie's blood while simultaneously deploying the virus program."
As Nan Yuan ordered the war horn to be blown, 001 replied, "I will transfer the completed serum to the planet you designated and help your virus program spread to control Chu."
"Thank you."
The preparations for battle were lengthy. Nan Yuan had prepared a large quantity of semi-finished serum, waiting only for the addition of the extracted regenerative herb to complete a successful serum.
Zhou Yan and several survivors from the military had already donated some blood, proving its feasibility.
And the virus program was ready.
"You have one more task," Nan Yuan said. "When I give the order, activate the Red Ore Planet program."
Departing from Red Ore Planet, the complete set of procedures capable of rewriting the core directives of the artificial intelligence was now fully prepared.
Nan Yuan had modified the complex access control system, placing it under the control of Unit 001. Zhou Yan was also assigned to guard Red Ore Planet to prevent attacks from the artificial intelligence.
Once everything was in place, Nan Yuan boarded the battleship.
The remaining human survivors accompanied him.
Nan Yuan glanced around. In the past, whenever he undertook a major task, Shushu would always be by his side, helping him review whether everything was fully prepared, constantly worrying if he had enough energy spheres and Health Potions.
Nan Yuan gently stroked the golden-maned lion, a pet he had raised with Shushu.
He must, absolutely must, find Shushu.
All he had to do was kill Chu.
The surviving humans were filled with fighting spirit. They had waited a long time, always searching for the right moment to wage war against the artificial intelligence.
No one believed that hiding within the gravitational field was truly safe.
As long as the conflict remained unresolved, the battle between artificial intelligence and humanity would continue.
This time, they were fighting to retrieve more companions and for their own future.