Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

As a rising light novel author whose books have sold over 500,000 copies, she has an extremely negative impression of the company.

Because this is not a traditional media company at all—in her opinion, apart from the several multimedia platforms it has acquired and monopolized, this company is essentially an IT company at its core!

As a media company, they do not sell any literary works, or rather—almost all of their literary and artistic works are 'free'.

Aside from requiring viewers to watch ads after clicking through, almost all of their products, whether novels, comics, or games, are free.

They only sell one product—an artificial intelligence software called VOX-Genesis AI!

Like a nuclear bomb that appeared out of nowhere, this groundbreaking AI software caused a sensation worldwide!

Yes, that's exactly why Kasumigaoka Utaha felt melancholy, upset, and even angry!

The website produces an almost endless stream of free online novels, like a flood, updating almost every hour, or even every minute. In Kasumigaoka Utaha's opinion, most of these novels rely on titles and AI-generated covers and illustrations to attract readers, and cannot be considered original works at all.

However, these works attracted a massive number of clicks by relying on their sheer quantity, precise targeting of user pain points, and big data-driven filtering and recommendation methods.

Moreover, strictly speaking, these AI-generated novels cannot be considered garbage.

Ironically, AI-generated works are actually better than 95% of those written by traditional light novel authors, whether in terms of word choice, sentence structure, allusions, or plot arrangement.

Writing novels may seem like a very difficult task, but if you break it down, you can analyze the structure of most novels into a very standard formula.

Computers cannot generate coherent content because simple logic cannot weave a coherent storyline. However, VOX's AI software, as an unprecedented new product, perfectly solves this problem.

You don't need to make any adjustments. You just need to input the reference work, and it can output a product that is 90% similar to the input work within half an hour, but it can't find any evidence to prove that it is plagiarism.

After all, plagiarism is a particularly difficult issue to define in the literary world. Unless it's a complete copy of fixed sentence structures and general plot lines, you simply can't convict the other party!

And without a doubt—she, Kasumigaoka Utaha, is also a victim of VOX!

Dragging through the Narou webpage, Kasumigaoka Utaha's gaze fell upon a novel titled "A Secret Game with My Step-Sister in the Midsummer," which had dominated the weekly click chart for seven days.

Her face paled as she clicked on the clichéd and erotic title. The familiar, all-too-familiar writing style hit her like a ton of bricks. That slightly pretentious, ornate language; that delicate psychological description interspersed within everyday conversation; that portrayal of young boys and girls…

Every word, every punctuation mark, seemed to be typed out from her own keyboard, yet somehow it made her feel uncomfortable looking at it.

But she knew that this was just a problem because she, as the 'original author,' had already brought her own perspective into the story. If she set aside her own perspective... at least judging from the comments, they even doubted whether this was a test piece for her own online novel.

She even saw a unique metaphor from her unpublished draft in a passage describing a girl taking a bath. The sentence she had carefully prepared for the next volume, "Love Metronome," was now being used in a completely different, but essentially identical, way.

"..."

A low curse escaped from her full lips, which usually uttered only elegant words. A sense of bewilderment, a mixture of nausea, helplessness, and anger, spread through her heart, her full chest heaving with difficulty, making her breathing rapid and painful.

Her works, her proud talent, the palace of words she painstakingly built, were broken into by an unseen thief who looted all the treasures within, then shattered them and reassembled them into cheap glass beads, which were then scattered to the world for free.

Her value is being devalued in the most cruel and thorough way by this monster called VOX. She can neither legally accuse it, nor can she morally prevail against it.

This feeling of being left behind by the times made her feel suffocated.

P.S.: There are fewer kills in the daily chapters; the focus is more on character development.

Having transmigrated, my only purpose is to kill, kill, kill! : 12. Crush the AI ​​of the entertainment industry

Before the advent of AI, countless literary writers had used their imaginations to create numerous works on this subject.

Literature works that depict uncontrolled, destructive iron armies, out-of-control machine servants that feed and ruin humanity, or the emergence of AI that squeezes out the low-end labor market and causes social unrest.

But very few, if any, writers would create works that depict AI beating them up after its emergence.

On the one hand, it's probably because there's a lack of sensational elements; on the other hand, it's probably also their pride as intellectuals.

But ironically, the reality gave literary creators a resounding slap in the face. The sudden emergence of Vox-Genesis AI was like a nuclear bomb dropped into deep water, and the first thing to be destroyed was the field of literary creation!

Before Vox-Genesis AI, the artificial intelligence that humans saw was nothing more than an exhaustive machine, but Vox-Genesis AI, with its terrifying content generation, makes people feel as if they have traveled to the future!

Since the emergence of AI, it has neither shattered the manufacturing industry nor rendered low-end labor completely worthless.

—Perhaps they could, but the government, for the sake of social stability, would never allow it to happen.

And the entertainment industry?

Haha, all I can say is that when it comes to social stability, the lives of those employed in the tertiary sector are not taken seriously by the government, which is trying to maintain stability.

Even the government believes that an entertainment industry that consistently produces more fast-moving consumer goods is better positioned to serve as a source of entertainment for all and stabilize the existing class structure in society.

And what about those working in the entertainment industry?

It's just growing pains during the reform period!

Thus, after the emergence of VOX-Genesis AI, the entertainment industry, which worked the hardest to create AI-related works, became the primary target most severely impacted by AI!

The first field AI crushed was painting.

Is painting art? Of course, but ultimately, art is a definition given by humans. Whether it's appreciating art itself or interpreting it, it's all limited to the results of human imagination and speculation.

But in the eyes of AI, it is nothing more than a simple combination of color blocks and lines.

With the massive amount of drawings being fed and the algorithms constantly improving, the low-end and mid-range markets in the art world have been completely crushed by AI output. Practitioners have almost only two paths: embrace progress or be eliminated!

As for the high-end market? That's irrelevant to most people.

Some entertainment companies have retaliated by restricting AI-generated works from appearing on their platforms and by using AI to determine whether other works are AI-generated, thereby limiting their access.

But in the end, it's just a case of locking the barn door after the horse has bolted. When AI truly evolves to the point where it's indistinguishable from real people, the public will simply embrace the cheaper option with similar quality without hesitation.

Moreover, VOX-Genesis AI's iteration speed is too fast. As an almost unique AI product on the market, websites are almost not qualified to identify whether the other party is an AI product. In addition, VOX Technology's aggressive acquisition spree over the past few months has caused almost all domestic entertainment websites to surrender to AI.

Kasumigaoka Utaha is a smart person, and she knows this without a doubt.

She can condemn such atrocities. In fact, it's not just him; countless netizens on 4CH say that this software is a shameless thief, only knowing how to swallow real people's works, chew them up, and then synthesize them into a corpse and spit them out.

But what good does it do to scold them?

Remember to spend money after you've finished criticizing.

Technological advancements are unstoppable in their crushing impact on traditional practitioners. They must either keep up with the rapid pace of technology or be left behind and completely forgotten by this fast-paced era.

Kasumigaoka Utaha is just such a remnant of the old era who can't catch the fast train of the new era.

Dudu lulu lulu~~~

The phone screen on the corner of the table lit up, displaying a push notification from the banking app. Kasumigaoka Utaha picked it up somewhat numbly; the latest royalty payment figure was thirty percent less than the previous quarter.

The publisher's editors have been calling and texting more and more frequently lately, and the respect and flattery they used to express have now been replaced by an undisguised urging.

"Ms. Xia Shizi, readers are complaining that you're publishing books too infrequently, and the popularity of your works has dropped significantly recently. Do you think you should consider using some tools...?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha turned off her phone, the black screen reflecting her pale and expressionless face.

More than a month ago, her editor was no longer the Ms. Machida Sonoko she knew, but a graduate of a prestigious university who had previously worked in the IT department of a large company.

They only care about KPI results, data from books, and traffic. They completely disregard anything beyond these cold, hard numbers.

This is also why Machida Sonoko was dismissed. When VOX Technology aggressively entered the Shinazugawa Fantastic Bunko, she vehemently opposed the inclusion of AI works in the bunko, and as a result, she naturally became dust under the wheels of time.

One by one, authors were forced to embrace VOX's AI, and many of them went from initially disliking it to loving it. Even Kasumigaoka Utaha had to admit, the AI ​​is just too good to be true!

But she just couldn't give in. In her view, creation should be an art, an art in which people use beautiful words and correct language to build palaces in their minds.

AI creation is essentially a gluttonous beast, devouring all publicly available text and images on the internet, and then excreting digital garbage that is highly similar in style to the original but devoid of any soul at a despairing speed.

Her anger burned within her, yet she found no outlet. Sue? How could she sue an algorithm? Faced with VOX's powerful legal team and its evasion of relevant laws, any lawsuit would only become a protracted farce.

Moreover—VOX's AI is simply too powerful.

This upstart company and its products suddenly appeared in this country, which was originally an IT desert, and became the world's most watched company and darling with almost supernatural technology!

The international capital markets and technology sectors have conducted countless studies and analyses of this software and code, yet its evolution speed is nothing short of phenomenal. And domestically... Japan's IT industry? Are you kidding me?

As for underhanded tactics, at least so far, no one has threatened VOX Technology's position.

Countless people extended olive branches to VOX Technology, especially to the mysterious boss and key developer, Tsugumi. But just like their attempts to reach into the company, without exception, they received no response whatsoever.

Sometimes, people can't even go back.

If even the capital companies that were fighting against them felt powerless, how much more so would ordinary people like Kasumigaoka Utaha, who were powerless to do anything about it?

She buried her pale face in her knees, and just as she was feeling extremely sad, her phone suddenly rang, the screen flashing the name "Aki Tomoya." Shiyu's brows furrowed even more. She took several deep breaths before answering the phone, trying her best to speak in a polite and gentle tone.

"...Rinri-kun, is there something you need?"

"Wow! That's amazing! It's a miracle! Senpai! I did it! I've finally found the ultimate weapon to realize our dreams!" Aki Tomoya's excited shouts, full of his usual fanatical otaku vibe, came from the other end of the phone, with the faint sound of game background music in the background.

"If you're trying to say you finally maxed out that gacha pool, then congratulations, and please don't bother me again." Kasumigaoka Utaha interrupted him rather irritably; she really wasn't in the mood to deal with him and his guild game.

"No, no, no! Not that! It's our game! Our Galgame! Cherry Blessing! I've found the ultimate way to make it surpass all masterpieces! You and Eriri, come here quickly! Same place! I'm waiting for you! This is a historic moment for the future of our club!"

Aki Tomoya spoke at a speed like a machine gun, giving Shiho no chance to interrupt, and then slammed the phone down.

Hearing the busy tone on her phone, Kasumigaoka Utaha's face showed a puzzled expression. She glanced at the bright red 'Trust us' logo of VOX Technology on the screen, and suddenly an ominous premonition rose in her heart.

......

Meanwhile, on the other side of Tokyo, in Eriri Sawamura's room, the atmosphere was equally oppressive, like the calm before a storm.

This blonde, twin-tailed, mixed-race beauty, the bestselling doujinshi artist "Eri Kashiwagi," is frantically scribbling on the screen with a digital pen. The expensive tablet is making a screeching sound under its strain, and the lines on the screen are chaotic and disordered, like a tangled mess of yarn, just like her current mood.

Her room was a complete mess, with sketches, reference books, comics, game discs, and half-eaten snack wrappers piled up everywhere. But at this moment, in the heart of this chaos, the image displayed on that huge professional-grade monitor was the source of all her frustration.

It was an illustration-sharing website similar to Pixiv, but the homepage's featured section was almost entirely dominated by "AI-generated" works. One particular piece, in particular, made her blood boil.

The image depicts a black-haired girl in a school uniform, striking a seductive pose. The way her face is painted, her large, watery eyes, the unique coloring technique that uses highlights to accentuate the delicate texture of her skin, and the signature, slightly rough yet dynamic way of handling the folds in her skirt…

Everything seems to have been born from her "Eri Kashiwagi" pen, and even some of her unique attention to detail is perfectly reflected in this painting.

But this is not her work. Even though it looks like it was drawn by her in many ways, and is even better and more detailed than her work, it is definitely not her work.

There's no doubt about that, since the bottom of the painting clearly states "Generated by VOX-Genesis AI".

This set of drawings contains over seventy images, each of roughly the same quality, and its number of clicks and saves has already exceeded the total number of all the works she posted on her homepage last month...

Eriri tossed aside her digital pen, grabbed her golden twin tails, and vigorously rubbed them, as if trying to squeeze out all the humiliation and anger from her mind. She muttered under her breath, her voice filled with resentment.

"Thief, robber, shameless!"

She growled through gritted teeth, her emerald eyes burning with rage—not for livelihood or profit, but for the fact that her skills had been almost completely stolen.

Her prized drawing skills, the talent she had accumulated bit by bit since childhood, were easily copied and pasted, and turned into a cheap product that anyone could easily produce.

While countless people may point to these AI images and utter numerous "soulless" comments, in reality, if a passerby were to scramble them and try to identify them, they would be unable to distinguish between the real and fake.

As a well-known illustrator and doujinshi artist, Eriri Sawamura watched almost step by step as VOX-Genesis AI completely devoured her territory and living space.

At first, she could scoff and nitpick the composition of VOX-Genesis AI's outputs. But a week later, she could only point out problems with the details, and a month later, she could only criticize the work on its creative aspects.