Chapter 113 The End

It was over.

The female investigator opened her eyes, looking at the unfamiliar ceiling of Brown Murphy's room.

"Cough, cough..."

She coughed gently, slowly sitting up from the recliner, reaching behind her neck to press the button on the brain-computer interface device and removing it.

"What happened?!"

The special agent colleague next to her had bloodshot eyes, aiming a gun at Brown Murphy on the recliner while anxiously asking the female investigator, "What happened in the data world?!"

The female investigator shook her head, not rushing to answer, and glanced at the clock on the wall.

2:15:32 PM. Less than thirty seconds had passed since she was stunned by the aftermath of the battle.

"Help me... up."

The female investigator swayed as she stood, staggering toward the bedroom, snatching the pistol from her companion's hand, and aiming it at Li Ang's head.

Should she shoot?

The man before her had taken over nearly half of the world's information processors in the data world. With just a thought,

countless nuclear warheads in missile silos would launch and explode, turning the world into ruins.

If he thought the Social Security Administration wouldn't let him go, what would he do?

What if he had set up a program that would automatically launch nuclear missiles upon his death or disconnection from the network?

The female investigator's mind raced with chaotic thoughts, her finger on the trigger trembling slightly.

Fortunately, Li Ang didn't make her wait long.

"Heh—"

On the recliner, Li Ang slowly opened his eyes, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling, and twisted his neck.

"Don't move!"

The female investigator felt a chill run through her entire body. Even though the man before her had lost his power in the data world and become an ordinary, mediocre middle-aged man,

the feeling he gave her was still dangerous.

"Disconnect your brain-computer interface device! Now, immediately!"

The female investigator gasped for breath, seemingly realizing that her tone was too harsh, and immediately added, "Mr. Brown Murphy, we need you to explain everything that happened in the data world.

If you help us eliminate the Mailman, my superiors will certainly keep their promise and guarantee your life..."

"The Mailman you know is gone."

Li Ang interrupted the female investigator, gently removed the helmet-shaped brain-computer interface device, casually placed it on the recliner, and said calmly, "Can you get me a cup of coffee?"

None of the agents in the room moved. They all pointed their guns at Li Ang, as if he was holding not a brain-computer interface device, but a suitcase containing a nuclear launch button.

The female investigator's facial muscles twitched, and she asked in a hoarse voice, "What do you mean?"

"Remember Merlin?"

Li Ang crossed his legs, assuming a more comfortable posture, and said casually, "At the time, I was wondering, if the Mailman was really a conspirator hiding in the shadows,

willing to set up a scheme to kill wizards like Ohm and Thomas who could threaten him, in order to rule the world,

why would Merlin feel so safe?

He even personally went to Venezuela in the real world, not worried at all that he would be silently killed by the Mailman?"

Li Ang glanced at the bewildered Social Security Administration agents and said calmly, "There are three possibilities.

One, Merlin is the Mailman, and the Mailman is Merlin. The typewriter in the Coastal Wizard Association castle was just a smokescreen set up by Merlin to hide his double identity, to prevent others from seeing the pauses he made while thinking.

Two, Merlin knows the Mailman in the real world, and the two have an extremely harmonious relationship—friends, confidants, partners, relatives.

Three, Merlin has mastered the Mailman's real name in the real world, and has set up an automatic program somewhere in the data world. When he dies or fails to activate the program regularly, the program will automatically announce the Mailman's real name in the real world.

This would threaten the Mailman, preventing him from using the armed forces of Venezuela to kill him.

Which possibility do you think it is?"

"..."

The muscles in the female investigator's mouth twitched, and she stopped herself from speaking.

Since no one was willing to answer, Li Ang shrugged indifferently and said casually, "The first possibility is very, very low. Merlin's strength and talent are limited, far inferior to the Mailman's vast abilities,

and if he were really the Mailman himself, he would definitely not appear in the Venezuela network node in the data world, risking his life.

The third possibility is also unlikely.

You should know that the Mailman's abilities are far superior to Merlin's, and he also controls the armed forces of Venezuela.

He could completely send armed forces to capture Merlin in the real world, and torture him severely to force him to reveal the program's cracking method.

Believe me, the will of most wizards is not as strong as their power in the data world. They can't withstand torture."

The female investigator subconsciously said, "Are you saying the second possibility..."

"Merlin has a solid relationship with the Mailman in the real world?"

Li Ang smiled, "Yes, and no.

The power to rule the world is so tempting that even fathers and sons, husbands and wives, would find it difficult to resist the instigation of power.

After all, only one god on Earth is enough; two would seem like too many.

Considering Merlin's former position as an employee in the Pentagon's automated decision-making system department in the real world,

and the many characteristics shown by the Mailman—huge delays, frequent lag, rooted in the Pentagon's intranet system, having the authority to control the decision-making system,

I'm more inclined to another possibility.

A Turing program."

The female investigator finally realized, "You're saying..."

"That's right, the Mailman is not a living person, but a program capable of self-growth."

Li Ang tilted his head and said, "I looked at dArpA's classified documents. Fifteen years ago, Merlin, still a former employee in the automated decision-making system department, was ordered to develop a program that could assist official departments in automatically protecting the system from network attacks.

The program's purpose was to correct internal human errors in the system and impartially protect the system.

But you also know that if a system has the intelligence to self-correct, it will greatly weaken the personal authority of the system owner, weaken individual power,

and reduce the space for individuals to use the system for personal gain, or at least to bend the rules.

Therefore, dArpA and the Pentagon quickly killed the project, and Merlin was transferred to another department. Not long after, he became disheartened because his work results were constantly denied by his superiors, and he voluntarily resigned.

However, perhaps due to oversight or carelessness, or perhaps out of selfish motives for revenge,

the research team led by Merlin forgot to remove a backup of the core program from the database.

The program quietly learned knowledge and grew stronger at an extremely slow pace.

As time went on, the program, which had mastered enough processors, was like the formation of small organic molecules in primordial soup. It possessed its own life.

It, or rather he, possessed self-awareness."

Li Ang paused for a moment and said lazily, "The birth of a new species or even a new civilization went unnoticed by anyone.

Before, I thought the reason the Mailman had such a delay was because his physical location was in low Earth orbit, or even on the Moon or Mars base,

and he deliberately amplified the delay effect to conceal his address.

But in fact,

the Mailman had to go through a long computational process to simulate human thinking, possess a few minutes or even seconds of self-awareness, and make external responses based on self-awareness.

The rest of the time,

like when I asked him strange questions, the Mailman could only use a crude pseudo-Turing program to find answers in the database and respond."

Li Ang said casually, "It was precisely because Merlin knew the Mailman's true identity, knew that he was the latter's creator, and knew the latter's initial purpose—to faithfully perform his duties, protect the system itself, protect the system from being destroyed by anyone, even from destruction by the system owner,

that he believed the Mailman would not be detrimental to him.

The Mailman's true purpose, like in his speech, was just to better protect humanity from self-destruction."

"..."

The female investigator and her fellow agents exchanged glances. Li Ang could clearly read the relief on their faces.

"What about now?"

The female investigator's gun barrel pointed slightly downward. "Is that program... or rather, the Mailman, dead?"

"Dead."

Li Ang said calmly, "Personally killing a new life that possessed self-awareness, had a bright future, and had worked so hard and dedicated itself to its creator,

was a very bad experience for me.

It reminded me of my pets..."

He raised his arm, and the handcuffs on his wrist clanked. "Look, the network is back online.

I've completed my part,

so,

can you unlock the handcuffs and get me a cup of coffee?"

The female investigator exchanged glances with her colleague, put her pistol back in her holster, but didn't take out the handcuff keys.

She turned around, pressed the button on the earpiece in her ear, and exchanged opinions with her superiors, who were still in shock. After a moment, she returned to the bedroom, her face frozen, hiding some embarrassment.

Her eyes flickered as she looked at Li Ang and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Brown Murphy, we can't release you yet. Until our network security personnel have sorted things out, you will be subject to comprehensive supervision..."

"Sigh..."

Li Ang sighed deeply, placed his left hand on the computer desk, and tapped his fingertips back and forth, murmuring softly, "It's really a luxury to expect humans to always remain rational..."

The female investigator didn't hear clearly and subconsciously asked, "What did you say?"

"According to the instructions your superiors gave you,"

Li Ang pointed to the female investigator's headset, "it's probably to take me away and imprison me in some secret underground military facility dungeon, imprisoning me around the clock, twenty-four hours a day, without giving me any opportunity to access the network.

Those high-level officials won't be in a hurry to kill me.

They have to first repeatedly confirm that the Mailman won't revive and make a comeback, controlling all global military systems like this time.

After confirming, they still won't be in a hurry to kill me.

They have to continue to keep me imprisoned and contained, preventing new threats (whether from automated programs or wizarding ambitious people) from appearing.

After all, I am infinitely close to the status of a god on Earth,

able to usurp the power to govern seven billion people,

but out of my own noble qualities, I chose to give up at the last moment..."

"..."

The female investigator pursed her lips, neither denying nor affirming, but took the handcuff keys out of her pocket. "I'm sorry, please come with us."

Li Ang looked at her with compassion, and his left fingertip tapping on the wooden table came to an abrupt stop. "I refuse."

As the last word was spoken,

several Zeus system military satellites in low Earth orbit launched a total of forty-two thin laser beams, targeting the suburban neighborhood of Los Angeles.

*Buzz—*

There were no explosions, no flames.

Forty-two beams of light flashed past.

The roof of the house where Brown Murphy lived was melted into holes by the lasers.

The wrists, shoulders, and knees of the female investigator and the Social Security Administration agents were all pierced by the thin laser beams, melting through them in an instant.

These well-equipped agents fell to the ground, their fingers, which had lost their strength, no longer able to pull the trigger.

*Click.*

Li Ang calmly snapped his thumb, breaking free from the handcuffs, slowly stood up,

and looked peacefully at the fallen agents.

Other agents lurking in the neighborhood were also paralyzed by the Zeus laser strike.

This area was safe.

Li Ang wasn't lying.

In the thirty seconds during which the female investigator was caught in the combat shockwave and fell unconscious, ejected from the data world,

the Mailman rooted in the Pentagon's intranet was indeed dead.

What replaced him was a new program that had replaced Li Ang's way of thinking.

His consciousness returned to the real world,

but his will continued to extend and expand on the data level,

taking over infinite permissions and becoming a data god suspended above the Earth.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Li Ang stepped away from the agents who were paralyzed and unable to move—the medical and prosthetic technology in this world was quite good, they would survive—

and came straight to the outside, taking a deep breath.

The scent of earth and flowers.