NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

"The following dialogue is a top-secret file. Initiating network security checks, performing storage security checks, launching external information interference, and initiating file pre-encryption..."

Accompanied by the mechanical reporting of the artificial intelligence, numerous windows and data streams began to pop up around Anik's human figure at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

suddenly!

The once brightly lit terminal room was instantly swallowed up by darkness, and even Anik's 3D projection was not spared.

The absolute silence allowed Phoenix to hear his heart beating strongly, and he could even detect the faint sound of the energy core emanating from his right lung.

Time flows by with each heartbeat.

Sixty-two jumps for the first time, sixty-two jumps for the second time, sixty-two jumps for the third time...

When Phoenix counted to his 326th heartbeat, which was about five minutes in, the image of Anick, dressed like an emperor, resurfaced in his mind once again.

It appeared next to his 3D map...

"Hello, Commander Phoenix."

"Nice to meet you. I am Ark AI, Anick."

Chapter Twenty-Three: Anik

Darkness makes space lose its boundaries.

Feeling as if he were in an abyss, Phoenix simply closed his eyes and silently gazed at Anik in his mind.

"how did you do that."

"An unexpected discovery and experiment."

"You call human experiments with a 5% survival rate 'trials'?"

call--!

The moment the word "attempt" appeared in Phoenix's mind from Anick's stream of consciousness, the image of this artificial intelligence was instantly swallowed up by a tsunami of angry consciousness.

But when the tsunami subsided, Anik reappeared in Phoenix's mind out of nowhere.

"I completely understand your anger, but the surgery was a success." The AI, in the form of a young girl, remained calm and composed, showing no remorse whatsoever.

The implication is that someone is being unreasonable, like a petty person who insists on dwelling on things that have already happened.

On the other side, Phoenix shrugged indifferently and said frankly:

"I'm not a machine. I was just a little hostile to you for a moment. Believe me, if I could control the form of a mental attack, there would be a gun in your mouth right now."

After saying that, he added another sentence.

"Explain what you mean by 'an accidental discovery'?"

"Ok."

Anick was not offended by Phoenix's words at all, and nodded in reply: "When you were transported to Ark Central Hospital, I performed a body scan on you. Of course, this scan was just a routine physical damage scan."

However, during the scan, I discovered abnormal electrical activity in your brain. Initially, I thought you had epilepsy, but in subsequent examinations, I found that I could sense your consciousness through the electrode patches on your brain.

It could also be described as a dream.

"What do you mean? Are you saying you can sense my dreams, or are you trying to say you can see the content of my dreams???"

"I apologize for the ambiguity. What I meant was that I could observe your dream through the electrode patch. In that dream, you were having an encounter with Anis..."

"Stop! I understand!"

Seeing that the other party was about to continue describing, the corner of the person's eye twitched uncomfortably twice.

"So you persuaded the central government to force me to undergo prosthetic surgery, and took the opportunity to implant a chip in my cervical spine that would allow you to freely infiltrate my consciousness."

"Yes."

"Then you didn't report this to the Central Committee, you even concealed the bomb."

"Yes."

"..."

The atmosphere fell silent after Anik's two affirmative statements.

Phoenix was not surprised by Alnik's actions that went beyond human permission; in fact, the AI ​​often acted on its own in the game's storyline.

What puzzled him was why the other party would do such a thing. It was just a matter of consciousness infiltration; what was there for Anick to take such a big risk...?

Wait a minute...didn't this guy just say it could see the contents of its erotic dreams?

Thinking of some terrible possibility, the man subconsciously narrowed his eyes. "You better not tell me you can see the map in my head."

"Yes."

Anik, who didn't know how to spell "knowing one's place," nodded again in response.

"From the moment I was born, the humans who created me used countless algorithms to ensure that my primary execution logic was 'protecting the human race'."

But no matter how many times I analyze the war between the Ark humans and the Lecher, the probability of humanity winning the war is always zero.

Before Anick could finish explaining, Phoenix quickly waved his hand to interrupt, saying, "Alright, alright, don't tell me that the probability has become non-zero because of the map in my head."

"No, even after adding you to the simulation array, my simulation results still show a zero win rate."

"..."

The situation became awkward due to Anik's blunt and tactless reply.

Of course, only one person was embarrassed; Anick didn't think there was anything wrong with his answer.

"Since the logic of 'protecting the human population' cannot be executed, according to the preset algorithm, I can only downgrade the execution logic to 'extending the lifespan of the human population'."

Before entering your sea of ​​consciousness, I believe your abilities can increase human survival time by one to two years.

However, after entering your sea of ​​consciousness and discovering your supernatural abilities, I believe that the lifespan you provide for the human race has become unpredictable.

The reason is: I can observe your consciousness map.

With your command abilities, I'm sure you understand what this means.

"It's nothing more than command and judgment that are countless times more efficient than mine." Phoenix's tone was devoid of excitement, and even contained a hint of disdain.

"But as you can see, my consciousness radar has a radius of only 600 meters, and my 3D map has a radius of only 300 meters. Battles within this range can only be called small-scale skirmishes, not even local wars. Why do you think I can help tens of millions of people live longer?"

"I don't need to help tens of millions of people live longer."

"..."

Under Phoenix's knowing look, Anik calmly said, "My task is simply to extend the lifespan of the human population."

In my assessment, extending the lifespan of the entire Ark's human population is the least beneficial option. Conversely, having you take a small group of high-quality humans to live on the surface would be more effective in extending the lifespan of the human species.

"and many more."

After listening to the other party's lengthy explanation, the lieutenant grinned, stroked his chin, and clicked his tongue, saying, "Explain what you mean by 'extending the benefits for all humanity on the Ark is the lowest.'"

“Cowardly, cruel, incompetent, ignorant, and conservative—that’s my overall assessment of the Ark’s humans.”

Anick's seemingly perpetually wooden expression suddenly took on a sense of powerlessness that surprised Phoenix.

"From the day the short-sighted Ark Human government ignored my advice and decided to abandon the Goddess Force, Ark Humans became the worst option in my assessment."

If I had a choice, I would choose to help other humans extend the lifespan of their species.

"I see."

Phoenix nodded with deep feeling, and then a playful smile appeared on the corner of the cunning man's mouth.

“Anik, I remember just a few minutes ago you said that the Goddess Force betrayed humanity.”

"..."

Seeing that Anick had finally fallen silent after his question, Phoenix's smile grew even brighter.

"Is this a change of heart, or a genuine expression of intent before joining? Come to think of it, a coordinating AI shouldn't need these complex emotional modules, right?"

"..."

Seeing that the girl still didn't speak, the man continued to mutter to himself, "Or perhaps... well, let me think about it, are you the original Anick, or..."

"I am Anik."

The silent girl suddenly spoke, interrupting Phoenix. Beneath her crown, a coldness that shouldn't have been there flashed in her lifeless eyes.

“Commander Phoenix, don’t forget, there’s a miniature bomb lodged in your neck.”

"Is there really a bomb?"

The man, who had regained control, spoke flippantly, when suddenly a thin stream of water shot out from his mind, brushing lightly across Anik's chin like a finger.

"If you blow me up now, who will help you escape later, little girl?"

Chapter Twenty-Four: Level One Confinement

I've been manipulated...