"No need to eavesdrop to figure it out, especially since you care so much about your mother," 0810 said frankly.
"Give me a few minutes, I'll go back and have my mother sign a confidentiality agreement," Zhang Chenyin decided immediately.
0810 shook her head. "Her activity range has already had character filtering applied. There's no need to rush with the confidentiality agreement."
Zhang Chenyin agreed that 0810 made sense but still felt guilty about his professionalism. Indeed, concern leads to confusion.
"For now, let's see if there's anything we can investigate here. I have a feeling something's odd about this place," 0810 gestured to Zhang Chenyin.
He quickly realized this was an area within City R. As the architect of City R, he had been to every inch of this city, and this place was no exception. While people here had always seemed despondent, there hadn't been this many of them before.
Today, the streets were unusually crowded. Was everyone recently in a bad mood?
Alright, Zhang Chenyin admitted that people might have different troubles each day, unspoken burdens. As an old Chinese saying goes, "Life is full of setbacks; nine out of ten things won't go as you wish, and there's hardly anyone to talk to."
But… this was too much suffering, wasn't it?
"When was the last time you came here?" Zhang Chenyin asked 0810.
"Half a month ago, when a lunatic appeared here," 0810 replied while keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.
Usually, when people see a judge, they become anxious, wondering if they or someone around them did something wrong. But here, everyone seemed utterly indifferent. Zhang Chenyin even suspected that if 0810 fought with someone, the others would merely move aside to avoid getting involved.
This indifference and coldness might be their way of resting, not caring about the outside world or anything else.
"What's the story with that lunatic?" Zhang Chenyin was curious. For someone as rational as 0810 to describe someone as a lunatic, it must have been quite an incident.
0810 sighed in frustration, recalling the event. "He claimed to be a mushroom and demanded that people eat him."
"What?" Zhang Chenyin was so surprised that he inadvertently spoke in a northeastern Chinese dialect.
"Yes, a human avatar using a low-level template. He went around saying he was a mushroom and insisted that people eat him. He even dragged another avatar, describing in detail how to cook him and the best way to enjoy him. The other person didn't want to engage, but he wouldn't let go, eventually leading to a physical altercation. When I arrived, he was still telling me that their plant-based kind recovered quickly and I shouldn't worry."
"Um…" Zhang Chenyin didn't know what to say. After a moment, he said, "Maybe he was under a lot of stress, or he really liked mushrooms."
As soon as Zhang Chenyin finished speaking, 0810 continued, "Aren't you also fond of mushrooms? You were complaining about work stress a few days ago... Let's hope you don't turn out like that. After all, I can't handle plant-based men. My punishment for him was merely to lock him up for a few days, with walls covered in signs saying, 'You are not a mushroom!'"
Hearing this, Zhang Chenyin fell into deep silence. This was considered having no options? Denying a mushroom's identity was possibly the worst punishment for it, causing it to question its existence!
Of course, Zhang Chenyin didn't dare to say this out loud. If he did, 0810 might lock him up in the digital prison as another lunatic.
They continued walking, constantly observing their surroundings. "There are more people here, but behavior-wise, they all seem equally apathetic."
"Should we check their IDs one by one? There are too many people to do it all," Zhang Chenyin remarked.
"Those with nothing to hide won't mind our checks. Those with something to hide will avoid us. If we start indiscriminately, we might alert them," 0810 analyzed.
As Zhang Chenyin was about to continue his thoughts, he noticed someone acting strangely in an alley corner.
"Are people in City R having mental issues recently?" Zhang Chenyin said as he moved closer to the person. 0810 followed.
The avatar looked normal but behaved oddly—he was trying to walk through a wall, not in a frustrated manner but as if genuinely expecting to pass through it.
"From a city planning perspective, this is a solid barrier. No matter how advanced your avatar, you can't pass through it," Zhang Chenyin said kindly. As he wasn't a judge, he approached the situation from a bystander's perspective.
0810, however, acted decisively, pinning the person against the wall and demanding, "State your ID."
The avatar looked at 0810 blankly, his lips moving but no sound coming out, though he seemed to be trying hard to speak.
"He's not resisting. Maybe you should ease up and give him space to talk," Zhang Chenyin suggested, knowing 0810's restraint but considering the person might be too stressed to speak.
Even when 0810 loosened her grip, the person still moved his lips without making a sound.
"Didn't download the voice pack?" Zhang Chenyin joked, realizing how absurd it sounded since voice capability was built-in.
0810 didn't hesitate, revealing the person's ID. "R75395184," she reported through her communication device. "Check this ID for me."
Clearly, 0810 was determined to investigate this person thoroughly. Normally, if the person were guilty, he would show signs of panic, but he remained blank.
After releasing him, he resumed trying to walk through the wall.
Because avatars share sensory feedback with their users, his behavior would cause him actual pain.
"Doesn't he seem like he's bugged?" Zhang Chenyin asked 0810.
He had suspected it earlier, but now it seemed evident.
"Like an AI glitch," he added quickly, "He might be a defective or substandard duplicate."
"You're thinking along the same lines as I am," 0810 said. "I've had this idea before, but we need confirmation."
The response from the other end came quickly, stating the person had no criminal record and was an ordinary employee. They seemed puzzled why 0810 was investigating him.
0810 didn't answer directly but asked for the person's current location.
Soon, she received the coordinates, showing the real person was also in City R, currently working late at the office.
It was clear the person before them was not the original.
In the digital world, tracking someone's location is simple, especially for judges or those tasked with digital security.
Privacy is essential but secondary to safety.
0810 shared the information with Zhang Chenyin, who felt a thrill. "So, we've caught a live specimen?"
"You could say that, and I suspect he hasn't connected with the original yet," 0810 replied.
"The original?" Zhang Chenyin asked, confused.
"The person he's duplicating," 0810 explained.
"So he's fresh off the assembly line, not yet sold," Zhang Chenyin suggested.
"Something like that, though whether there's a transaction involved is unclear," 0810 said.
"What now? Do we take this wall-banging guy back?" Zhang Chenyin asked pragmatically.
"Of course. Analyzing him might provide useful information," 0810 agreed.
Handling a bugged machine proved no easier than a bugged human.
The man seemed obsessed with the wall, and it took both of them to prevent him from repeatedly trying to walk through it.
Finally, they reached the interrogation room, a special area where movement is restricted, ensuring no one can escape, not even avatars.
Given his current state, interrogation wasn't possible, so the process was swift and quiet.
After standard procedures, they waited for technical experts.
During the wait, Zhang Chenyin asked, "How should we define such avatars? Human or AI?"
"Probably more like AI, though they bear human identities," 0810 replied.
Curious, Zhang Chenyin asked, "These duplicate IDs target humans but not AI. Why is that?"
He expected 0810 to ponder but she responded immediately, "Low-level AIs don't mind duplicates—they have thousands. High-level AIs value individuality, striving to be unique like humans. It's ironic in this context, but it was true in the past."
Zhang Chenyin nodded, understanding her point.
As he considered another topic, he noticed something terrifying—the duplicate calmed down and was now scrutinizing them.
He could swear being stared at like that was unnerving, a feeling of being analyzed.
"Human…" the duplicate said clearly for the first time. The tone and voice were eerily familiar, but Zhang Chenyin couldn't place it.
"He's mimicking you," 0810 pointed out, "Or learning from you."
"What? Can these duplicates switch targets at will?" Zhang Chenyin's scalp tingled.
"Unknown until further research, but I suspect he's more advanced than we thought. It's not just simple copying; there might be more surprises," 0810 said.
As she finished, the duplicate echoed, "Surprises," with the same intonation as 0810.
His expression and tone were identical to hers.