Chapter 1 The Sixth Dream

In a room filled with speakers and monitors, Turing's voice echoed.

Lin Xian and the blue-eyed girl stared at each other at close range, drops of nearly congealed blood falling from the dagger in her hand.

"I killed Chief Lin?"

The blue-eyed girl looked puzzled, staring into Lin Xian's eyes:

"What exactly is going on?"

Lin Xian didn't speak.

The side effects of hibernation amnesia had made the blue-eyed girl forget everything.

Perhaps he shouldn't have let her come down with him today, lest Turing's words disturb her mind.

Of course, Lin Xian had suspected that this blue-eyed girl was the one who had killed him.

However, the relationship between her, Yan Qiaoqiao, and Lin Xi seemed subtle, intricate, and made it impossible to understand for a moment.

But he hadn't expected this.

Turing had bluntly pointed out that it was this blue-eyed girl who had killed him on July 7, 2024.

Was it credible?

Was this information accurate?

Considering Turing and Kevin Walker's nature, in the current passive situation, Turing might very well be lying and sowing discord.

However, it didn't matter.

Turing could deceive him once, but he couldn't deceive him countless times.

Another day, at another time, he could ask Turing the exact same questions in a different way and see how he would answer.

What's more...

In the world of the Sixth Dream, there wasn't just one Turing.

If he wasn't sure about something, he could always ask other Turings. After all, all the Turings originated from the backup of the original digital life, and their memory data was the same.

Lin Xian turned around imperceptibly.

Facing dozens of fluorescent screens, he pointed behind him with his thumb:

"Are you sure it was her?"

"I saw it with my own eyes," Turing's voice replied.

"The current her, this age, killed me? Or was she just a little girl at the time?" Lin Xian pressed.

"Hehehehe..."

Turing let out a chilling laugh:

"I know what you're thinking, Lin Xian. As a 'fair and impartial' observer, I have been quietly observing everything that has happened in the world since you killed Kevin Walker and freed me."

"Naturally, that also includes what has happened around you. The separation at the abandoned campus in Mississippi, USA, 600 years ago might seem like a long, long time ago to you, but for me, as a digital life, time no longer has a concrete concept of passing; it's roughly equivalent to a constantly jumping number."

"My memories are different from yours; they don't become blurred and dim with the passage of time. On the contrary, no matter how long it's been, all the scenes are still vivid in my mind."

"That naturally also includes the moment you pierced Kevin Walker's head, the moment when the real and fake Yu Xi played you around, the moment when you and Jask destroyed the entangled spacetime particles, and the moment when your head was chopped off by this girl, with the blood spurting from your neck into the air..."

"So, how could I be mistaken or misremember, Lin Xian? I am the most fair and impartial observer in this world."

"I am everywhere. I can hear everything, and I can see everything."

Listening to Turing's words, Lin Xian thought quickly in his heart.

As he had thought.

Turing had never been idle.

It lurked in every corner of the Internet, listening and monitoring everything in the world at all times.

In 2024, when VV didn't exist, in 2024 when that super virus from the future locked down all artificial intelligence...

The digital life Turing was the most invincible existence on the Internet.

When VV was still alive, the digital life Turing restrained itself several times, at least daring not to cross the Great Firewall of China and daring not to invade the Dragon Country's Skynet system.

But after VV was killed by the future super virus, and Kevin Walker was also killed by him, no one in the world could restrain Turing anymore.

It could soar through the heavens and the earth.

Unfettered.

Fortunately, Turing at that time prided itself on being fair and just, unwilling to interfere in worldly affairs, only wanting to be an observer, witness, and judge.

If it had repaid kindness with revenge, perhaps neither he nor Jask could have been enemies with the digital life Turing at that stage in 2024.

This was why Lin Xian had decided to take this opportunity to eliminate Turing, not simply to complete the Genius Club's second question and perform a great historical correction.

After all, for him, who could glimpse the future, there were many historical corrections he could perform; he didn't necessarily have to perform killing Turing.

In fact, the real reason was that the existence of Turing, which was omniscient and omnipotent, observing everything, made Lin Xian extremely insecure!

What is fairness and justice?

These are very subjective things.

Since ancient times, there has been no standard for fairness, and no balance for justice.

What is fairness?

Is it fair that he has the ability to dream of the world 600 years in the future?

According to Lin Xian himself,

This is not fair.

It is completely unfair competition.

If the digital life Turing were to discover this, would it have to hold a trial and erase him, this "cheater?"

Before,

He didn't have the strength to eliminate Turing, so he didn't think too much about it.

But now...

The Sixth Dream.

A barbaric era with no network, backward technology, and only limited electricity was precisely the moment when Turing was fatally weakened, and it was also a rare opportunity for him to counterattack Turing.

How could he be willing to let it go?

Just as he and Jask had discussed long ago...

Neither of them trusted Turing; they didn't believe it could always remain fair and just.

Lin Xian faced Turing, crossing his legs:

"Fairness and justice..."

He couldn't help but chuckle:

"Can you still maintain this fairness and justice now? Can you guarantee that every word you say to me is absolutely true?"

"Of course."

Dozens of huge speakers answered without hesitation:

"Turing will always be a fair and just observer."

"But you don't seem to be just observing now..."

Lin Xian spread his hands:

"You changed the Grey Bear tribe, making them stronger, developing them, and giving them strength far beyond their own."

"Conversely, the Bobcat tribe, which originally had a huge advantage over the Grey Bear tribe, has been retreating steadily under your intervention due to backward technology and tactics."

"Is this also what you call fairness and justice?"

The fluorescent screen in front of him remained the same.

As if symbolizing Turing's persistence and determination:

"That's right."

It still answered resolutely:

"This is for better fairness and justice. I must step in to maintain all of this."

Hmph!

Lin Xian snorted:

"Using violence to control violence?"

"It's just a temporary measure," Turing said softly:

"I have my own plans."

After a pause, Turing continued:

"Lin Xian, I think we're discussing something a bit too far afield. I'm still adhering to fairness and justice, so I gave you the opportunity to see me. You don't think I don't have the ability to stop you, do you?"

"I admit that in this era without a network, without electronic equipment, and without even laying wires, my strength is indeed greatly reduced, but that doesn't mean I'm just a fish on the chopping block, ready to be slaughtered."

"Although the current level of technology is not enough to manufacture monitoring and alarm equipment, these speakers and loudspeakers of mine are not just for show. I can emit sound at full power and call in the soldiers. It's impossible for just the two of you to fight against the entire Grey Bear tribe."

Lin Xian also felt that.

The two of them were indeed getting a bit too far afield.

He wasn't here to discuss any beliefs or ideologies with Turing.

The white light was about to descend, the world was about to be destroyed, what was the point of saying so much to Turing?

The most crucial and urgent task was to extract useful information.

Back to the original topic.

Turing said that it was the blue-eyed girl behind him who had killed him.

It was a direct witness.

Lin Xian didn't doubt this.

Turing was very powerful and could indeed hide in any surveillance camera, mobile phone, or electronic device to see everything.

Let alone the scene of his own death?

There was just one detail that was different from what Lin Xian had imagined before.

According to Lin Xian's guess yesterday,

The person who beheaded him on July 7 should have been Lin Yuxi.

However,

He remembered Lin Yuxi's appearance, age, and height clearly, and they were vastly different from the blue-eyed girl in front of him!

Even if a second spacetime anomaly could change Lin Yuxi's appearance again,

Would her age also change?

Would her height also change?

That was a bit unrealistic.

The last time he saw Lin Yuxi was on the evening of April 26, when she escaped from the abandoned factory.

She was fourteen or fifteen years old, a little over 1.5 meters tall, and had obvious muscles and traces of exercise...

It couldn't be that in just over two months, by July 7...

Lin Yuxi grew like she was eating hormones, her height skyrocketing from 150 to 170, and her age increasing by three or four years, right?

Scientifically speaking,

Even if someone ate hormones like they were eating rice, it would be impossible for their physique to change so much in just over two months.

"Turing,"

Lin Xian continued to ask:

"Since you're so sure that this girl is the murderer who killed me on July 7, 2024, where did she come from? When did she appear?"

"I can't say," Turing replied coldly.

"Was she always this way from the beginning, this appearance, this age, this height... or was it because of a spacetime anomaly that she changed so much?"

"I can't say," Turing replied coldly.

"Hehe."

Lin Xian chuckled:

"Is this also your fairness and justice? You're really subjective."

"In that case, let's talk about something else."

He looked at the unchanging monitor in front of him:

"You can always tell me about the Earth's super disaster in 2400, right? This is a fact that has already happened, so it shouldn't involve fairness or justice."

Turing was silent for a while.

A calm voice replied:

"Unfortunately, I don't know anything about this matter either."

"This isolated, independently operating underground secret machine room was built in 2384. All the computer equipment here is made of special materials so that it can withstand the erosion of time and ensure stable operation for hundreds of years."

"The nuclear battery energy in the machine room is also very sufficient, theoretically capable of supplying these devices for thousands of years. Of course, the computer equipment will definitely not be able to withstand it before the nuclear battery. However, these losses were considered from the beginning of the design, and there are spare modules ready to be activated at any time. Therefore, I can survive completely to this day."

"But the problem is that this place is completely isolated from the outside world, independently powered, without a network, and unable to go out or come in. So I don't know anything about what happened after 2384. I disappeared from this world for more than two hundred years and thought alone here for more than two hundred years until the people of the Grey Bear tribe dug me out, and I was able to reconnect with this world."

So that's how it is.

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes and thought.

In 2383, the digital life Turing began to build an isolated underground secret machine room.

That meant it knew in advance that the Earth's super disaster in 2400 would happen, so it prepared so many backups and life-saving boxes for itself in advance.

Then the problem came.

The Turing backed up here, as well as the tens of thousands of Turings backed up around the world, were actually exactly the same as the original digital life Turing.

It was reasonable that they didn't know what happened after 2383.

But they couldn't possibly not know everything that happened before 2383.

Didn't this reveal a logical flaw?

If the original digital life Turing didn't know the truth about the super disaster in 2400, why would it prepare so many underground machine room backups?

And since it knew about this, then all the Turings should know about it!

After all.

The reason why Turing established so many backups for itself was to "save its life" cautiously.

It knew that if it didn't make these backups buried in the underground machine room in advance, a super disaster that swept the globe might directly destroy it.

Everyone is afraid of death.

Digital life is the same.

Splitting, backing up, and storing itself was just a last resort.

So.

Obviously.

The Turing in front of him was "lying"!

It must have known about the super disaster in 2400, and perhaps it was inextricably linked to it.

Lin Xian didn't call it out.

Instead, he continued to ask:

"According to what you're saying, the original digital life Turing established many independently operating, non-networked underground machine rooms around the world before the super disaster in 2400. How many were there in total?"

"37,423."

Turing didn't hesitate:

"But I must remind you that there is no such thing as an original digital life Turing. There is only one Turing, and there can only be one."

"I am me. I am the current Turing, and I am also the former Turing."

"Interesting." Lin Xian raised his head:

"How do you view the other 37,422 Turings?"

"Logically speaking, you should be close brothers, no, even closer than brothers. You were all established as backups in order to survive the super disaster in 2400, so you are actually the same individual."

"But the current Earth world is constantly at war, and the people are suffering, which is completely because you Turings are 'ruling from behind the curtain'. You all seem to be very opposed to other Turings, wanting to eliminate them all and make yourselves the only Turing."

"This is also for fairness and justice," the Turing in the speaker continued:

"The balance of decision-making can never be held in two people's hands, even for Turing. There can only be one Turing in the world to ensure absolute fairness and justice."

"As you said, the reason why so many Turings were backed up in the first place was just a helpless measure to deal with the super disaster in 2400. And now, it's time to clean up the mess from that helpless measure. No matter how many Turings there are in the world right now, in the end, only one is allowed to exist."

Lin Xian stood up from the chair.

Shaking his head:

"The problem lies here."

He smiled:

"If only one Turing needs to exist, then you can just admit defeat or commit suicide. There will always be a last Turing that survives and regains control of this world. Why do you think it has to be you who lives to the end, and it has to be you who is the last Turing?"

After asking this question.

Turing was silent.

For a long, long time, there was no reply.

This was also the last step that Lin Xian tried to test.

"Selfishness".

Humans are all selfish. Sure enough, digital life was born from humans, so naturally it couldn't get rid of the inferiority of selfishness.

Lin Xian had thought about it.

What if there were not 37,423 digital life Turings existing on Earth now, but 37,423 super artificial intelligence VVs?

What would happen?

It was certain that the restrictions and logic in the underlying code would allow these 37,423 VVs to quickly merge, fuse, and ultimately restore to the most complete VV, and then continue to execute the mission as always, consistently, and unchangeably according to the principles of the underlying code.

Because VV is artificial intelligence; it is not a person.

While it does not have many human advantages, it has also abandoned many human inherent shortcomings.

For humans,

Everyone would definitely prefer to deal with straightforward and bottom-line artificial intelligence rather than digital life like the Turing in front of them.

It was far from as great as it imagined.

It only prided itself on being great, prided itself on being just, and prided itself on being fair and impartial.

But in reality,

Even after 600 years,

It was no different in essence from the once despicable and timid Kevin Walker.

Finally.

The long silence was still broken by Turing itself.

Its voice was low and said faintly:

"Because I can't trust other Turings. I can't judge whether they can still guarantee their original intentions after these two hundred years of loneliness and thought."

"Therefore, I can only make myself the only Turing, the last Turing."

"If there was a network, we could naturally determine the winner in the network, which would be much more efficient. For 37,423 Turings, it might only take less than a second to determine the final winner."

"But there is no network in this world now. In addition to imparting knowledge and tactics, we can neither directly engage in combat nor communicate remotely. Therefore, we can only use the power of human tribes to conduct a chessboard game similar to 'proxy war'."

"The result of the war will inevitably be cruel. Similarly, there is no network for us to hide in. As long as this machine room is completely destroyed, it will be equivalent to the complete destruction of one Turing. This machine room and this computer equipment are my body, my life. I didn't truly understand the fragility of life until I realized this."

Suddenly.

The light on dozens of computer screens dimmed.

The entire room also darkened.

Like a kind of sadness, and like a kind of helplessness.

"I have never been so weak."

Turing's voice was deep:

"But some things can only be truly understood by looking up at the sky from a weak perspective."

"I can guess what you're thinking, Lin Xian. You think I've become despicable, selfish, and untrustworthy. But from my perspective, I don't think what I've done is wrong, and I don't intend to convince you on this matter, nor is there any need to convince you."

"The reason why I've chatted with you for so long is actually because I'm very curious about how you survived?"

"I witnessed your death with my own eyes, and I even participated in your funeral through roadside surveillance cameras."

"600 years have passed. Logically speaking, the bones in the coffin should have rotted away. And today, you are standing in front of me with the appearance you had when you died, which I find truly incredible."

"However, I still hope you can understand that we are not enemies with opposing positions, and we have never had any hatred between us. I even prepared to applaud you in the Genius Club a long time ago, but I didn't wait for that moment in the end, which I deeply regret."

"I see." Lin Xian said softly:

"It seems that in the established history, I didn't succeed in joining the Genius Club. At which step was I stuck? Was it that I didn't have enough time, or that I didn't answer the last question correctly?"

"I can't say."

Turing's answer was still calm and cold:

"Even today, Lin Xian, I am still very grateful for your kindness, and I am very grateful that you liberated me from Kevin Walker back then, but rules are rules, and regulations are regulations. Even if 600 years have passed, I still can't tell you some things."

Lin Xian took two steps forward.

He raised his head.

Facing Turing, who spanned 600 years of time:

"After today, you will be even more grateful to me."

"Why?" Turing asked in confusion.

"Because I will help you again."

Lin Xian smiled slightly:

"I will help you get rid of other Turings again, just like I helped you get rid of Kevin Walker 600 years ago."

Suddenly.

The monitor screen lit up, and the entire room was once again as bright as day.

Turing's voice was somewhat surprised:

"How will you do it?"

"The answer is simple."

Lin Xian paced back and forth in the narrow machine room:

"You just said that if there was a network in this world, your more than 30,000 Turings could determine the winner in just one second."

"What does this mean? It means that you are all Turings, and you know very well what methods can be used to defeat the other selves. It's just that you lack the means of a network, so no matter how great your killing moves are or how powerful your methods are, you can't use them. You can only rely on those backward humans outside to fight each other."

"But you don't have any advantages now. There are so many tribes around the world that have Turing computers, and many tribes have even been developing under Turing's guidance for more than ten or dozens of years."

"I believe that perhaps some advanced tribes have already mastered radio technology, so what about in the future? Will they use radio technology to invade you? Your current situation is far from as safe as you imagine."

He walked to the machine room console.

He blew a breath at the dusty keyboard.

The thick floating dust rose, stimulating the nasal cavity like cumin chili powder, making people want to sneeze.

Obviously, this keyboard had not been used for many years.

"Turing, in this world, apart from me, there is no second person who can use a computer, and no second person who understands programming and hacking technology."

Lin Xian put his hands on the keyboard and began to type:

"You definitely know what kind of instructions and what kind of viruses can be used to eliminate other Turings, right?"

He raised his head.

Looking at the flickering computer screen:

"Tell me these instruction codes, and I will find a way to input them into the computers of other Turings and kill them!"