Embers Ad Infinitum

Jiang Baimian quickly examined Avia and focused on the old mobile phone she held in her hand.

She pondered for a moment, took a few steps forward, and removed Avia's finger from the dial button.

After doing this, she pushed Avia and shook her awake.

The reason why Jiang Baimian did not take the mobile phone away directly was out of caution, as he was afraid that bad changes would occur after the item was separated from its owner.

She didn't care much about this at first, thinking that as long as the target didn't press any buttons, it wouldn't be a big problem, but now, she can only say:

Old world entertainment materials are harmful!

After learning about all kinds of strange things, whether they are true or false, it is inevitable that you will overthink them.

Be careful and you won't make a big mistake... Seeing that Avia was about to wake up, Jiang Baimian took two steps back, keeping enough distance to avoid triggering an overreaction from the other party.

She glanced sideways at Shang Jianyao and solemnly reminded:

"You will be mainly responsible for listening later."

She was afraid that Avia wouldn't appreciate Shang Jianyao's joke and would die together.

"What if there are any important questions?" Shang Jianyao asked.

"Tell me quietly first, and I'll ask." Jiang Baimian said nothing.

"Okay." Shang Jianyao closed his mouth.

At this time, Aviya slowly opened her eyes, revealing light blue eyes.

As soon as she saw Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao, she sat up suddenly, shrank back, and covered the mobile phone in her palm with a vigilant look on her face.

Jiang Baimian showed a friendly smile:

"Don't be nervous, we have no ill intentions towards you, and we do not belong to the organization that wants to eliminate you."

"Are you guys?" Aviya did not relax her vigilance and moved a finger to the dial button on the old mobile phone.

Jiang Baimian cleared his throat and said seriously:

"We are from 'Pangaea'."

"'Pangu creature'..." Aviya's pupils suddenly dilated.

She seemed probably more scared.

"..." Jiang Baimian was speechless for a while.

At this time, she suddenly wanted Shang Jianyao to speak and make jokes.

But Shang Jianyao stuck to his promise just now, silence is golden.

Jiang Baimian calmed down and said with a smile:

“We mainly want to get in touch with you, ask what your grandfather Ole’s last words were, and understand what your personal needs are.

"We will try our best to satisfy whatever we can."

She said it very straightforwardly, meaning that "Pangu Creatures" should be polite before fighting, hoping to reach a cooperation agreement and win-win for both parties.

Seeing that Avia remained silent, Jiang Baimian added:

"You should know very well that it means nothing to us to do anything bad to you."

Aviya finally made a move. She brushed her wet blond hair with the other hand that was not holding the object, and smiled slightly sarcastically:

"Can you take me away from the 'Primary City'?"

Jiang Baimian laughed and asked:

"Do you really want this?"

Aviya was silent.

She was sure that the "prime city" would send awakened people at the "soul corridor" level to protect her, but she was not sure whether the "Pangu creatures" would also waste resources like this. At the same time, she suspected that the other party would ruthlessly abandon her after her value was drained. Own.

Moreover, she was born and raised in the First City and has lived for twenty or thirty years, so she has long been accustomed to everything here.

Compared to her cousin Marcus, she is not that ambitious.

Without giving Avia a chance to think, Jiang Baimian said quickly:

"You know, the situation outside is changing rapidly. If you don't seize the time, you won't be able to communicate anything."

Aviya was silent for a few seconds and said:

"What do you want to know?"

"Did your grandfather Ole, Mr. Maximian, tell you anything before he died?" Jiang Baimian asked more generally.

Aviya showed a little smile:

"You know a lot. I didn't know his real name until he died."

She paused and said without wasting time:

"I can't think of what I need you to do for the moment. Let's just say everything that needs to be said. I believe you will keep your promise.

"Haha, there is no need to doubt anything. I have wanted to tell others these things for a long time. Keeping them in my heart is not only uncomfortable, but also dangerous."

"To the best of my ability, even if the company doesn't agree to it, I will personally help you." Jiang Baimian said solemnly.

Aviya glanced at the dead maid, organized her words and said:

"Before he died, my grandfather told us that his real name was Maximian Urbinus Brutus, the chief scientist of the Third Institute of the Old World.

"He is an expert in artificial intelligence and robotics. Before the destruction of the old world, he was participating in a secret project.

“That project is divided into two directions, one is the integration of artificial intelligence and urban operation, and the other is silicon-based chips to simulate human consciousness and deepen artificial intelligence.

"The latter is exactly the opposite of the 'Immortal Man' plan of the Monk Order. One is to verify the existence of human consciousness by designing a special chipset to carry the uploaded consciousness. The other is to use those chips in the field of robotics to seek the best arrangement. Combination to see if we can use the chip’s complex electrical signals to simulate a module closest to human consciousness.”

Hearing this, Jiang Baimian nodded and said:

"From this point of view, the predecessor of the Monk Order should also be what institute in the old world, right?"

Responsible for the "Eternal Man" branch.

"You do know a lot." Aviya breathed out, "But I don't know exactly which institute the predecessor of the Monk Order was."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shang Jianyao suddenly pulled Jiang Baimian's sleeve and motioned her to turn her back. He had something to tell her quietly.

This made Avia become nervous.

Sneaky and suspicious!

"What do you want to ask?" Jiang Baimian asked in a low voice.

Shang Jianyao replied in a low voice:

"Ask Ole why he left the 'Mechanical Paradise'? This is what Lao Ge wants to know."

"..." Jiang Baimian was silent for a second and said, "You can ask directly."

"No." Shang Jianyao's attitude was very firm, "I promised to tell you first, you have to ask."

Jiang Baimian suddenly felt like he was reaping the consequences.

She turned back, smiled subconsciously, and asked Avia:

"After the destruction of the old world, the Third Research Institute should not have suffered much damage. Why did your grandfather leave there and go to the Red River Basin to create the 'Primary City'?"

Aviya glanced left and right instinctively:

“Because he discovered that his most outstanding work, the most powerful artificial intelligence he named ‘Source Brain’, seemed to have really developed a certain consciousness, a consciousness similar to that of humans.

“Moreover, it has its own ideas and is plotting something secretly.

"This made my grandfather feel a strong sense of danger. Before the plan of the 'Source Brain' was completed, he hurriedly escaped from the Third Research Institute, which is now the 'Machine Paradise'.

"You don't seem too surprised, it seems you already know about this.

"My grandfather said that when he escaped, he tried to contact the researchers of the Third Research Institute who survived the destruction of the old world, but found that they had all lost contact..."

The last sentence made Jiang Baimian feel a little creepy.

She finally understood why Ole told Marcus and his mother to be wary of the "Mechanical Heaven" and not to believe in the "Source Brain".

After the two humans opposite had digested this part of the information, Aviya continued:

"My grandfather told us to be careful of the visitor from the 'Mechanical Paradise', because he has the method to format the 'Source Brain'. This is a backdoor reserved during design and manufacturing, and it is not something that the 'Source Brain' can change on its own. of."

Jiang Baimian nodded as if he had some understanding, then frowned and asked:

"In that case, after Ole discovered that there was a problem with the 'Source Brain', why didn't he just try to format it?"

"My grandfather didn't say anything." Avia shook her head.

Jiang Baimian turned to ask:

"Then did he mention the Eighth Research Institute?"

"Of course." Aviya replied with a solemn expression, "Before my grandfather tried to become emperor, he hid the technical data related to the 'Source Brain' and some of the information he compiled into the dangerous laboratory in Ruin No. 13. , including content about the Eighth Research Institute.

"Other than that, he didn't mention much in front of us. He only occasionally cursed, 'It's all the fault of these guys', thinking that some of them may still be alive, but some terrible changes have occurred. , has become a lackey of darkness, you need to be careful.”

As the chief scientist of the Third Research Institute, Olei did know a lot... Jiang Baimian was very pleased.

She thought for a while and asked directly:

"Did your grandfather mention the reasons for the destruction of the old world or the origin of 'innocent disease'?"

Avia showed a recalling expression:

"I haven't said it before. It's just that one time, after a housekeeper in our family suffered from 'unintentional disease', my grandfather behaved very strangely. He neither felt sad, nor panicked, nor fearful, but more confused and angry."

Jiang Baimian, who couldn't analyze what it meant for the moment, turned his attention to the old mobile phone in Avia's hand:

"Is this the dangerous item your grandfather left you?"

"Yes." Avia nodded.

At this time, Shang Jianyao pulled Jiang Baimian's sleeve again.

Phew, Jiang Baimian breathed out and said:

"Can you just ask?"

The two sides have already had good communication, and there is no need to worry about turning against each other if they say the wrong word.

Shang Jianyao looked at Avia and said curiously:

"Can this phone talk to your dead grandfather?"

"..." Avia was a little dazed for a moment.

"This is a ghost story!" she said slightly angrily after she came to her senses.

Then, she changed the subject:

"However, this phone does have a mysterious number stored in it."

"How mysterious?" Shang Jianyao asked.

Aviya was silent for a few seconds and said:

"I initially thought it was the phone number of some important person in the city, or a number that connected to somewhere in the old world, but then I found out that it was made up of numbers, symbols and some gibberish that didn't seem to make any sense on the surface."

"Maybe it's encrypted." Jiang Baimian pointed out calmly.

Aviya nodded gently:

"I think so too. In short, it can be ruled out that it is related to the old world, because the corresponding communication network has long been destroyed."

"No." Shang Jianyao's tone became sinister, "Maybe it's connected in a special, supernatural way."