Sure! Here's the translation:
---
"Temporarily, everything is fine."
Shek Duo worked with Zhang Yuan and the three technical police officers to check the special operations team that was supposed to protect the server room. They had been stripped of their combat armor and tightly bound to prevent them from posing any further threat to the server room and the others.
"This virus is somewhat similar to the infection from the concert, but the immune program developed by the Phantom Organization previously is ineffective. It should be a new variant," Zhang Yuan said as he stood up.
Next to him, Xue Zhi Shi and Qin Xuezhong were organizing their weapons. After entering the server room, the group occupied the break room of the special operations team and implemented a series of defensive measures around the entrance to the server room. Even those who were least skilled with guns were given a weapon to provide fire support in a crisis.
Once all this was done, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the people present held onto the thought of holding out for help. Whether the rescuers were the federal government or the Phantom Organization, someone would eventually come to save them. Even Qin Xuezhong thought this way.
After all, the Phantom Organization had limited personnel compared to the government and military, who could deploy air and space fleets and armored divisions. She might just host a session in the black space to see if the gang could develop a new immune program to help alleviate the dire situation outside.
Only Zhang Yuan's thoughts were different. He had become a fervent admirer of Qin Xuezhong, believing that the federal government and the Fifth Household were nothing but a bunch of incompetent fools. Otherwise, how could they let Creek Valley City fall into such a dire state?
With so many recent incidents, those people had only caused more trouble. Did they even contribute anything? In the end, it was all down to the Phantom leader. Zhang Yuan firmly believed that the one who would ultimately resolve this massive infection was right beside him—Qin Xuezhong. And he was right at the eye of the storm.
This sense of witnessing history, this unknown excitement, filled him with anticipation.
---
Qin Xuezhong, on the other hand, had fallen asleep. The abrupt connection to another's consciousness and the extraction of power had a significant impact on her. The moment she relaxed in the server room, a wave of drowsiness swept over her. She found a recliner, intending to rest her eyes for a bit, but as soon as she lay down, she fell fast asleep, even letting out a soft snore.
The three colleagues from the analysis department exchanged knowing smiles—Qin was truly Qin; she loved to sleep and could do so anywhere. Zhang Yuan's colleagues were a bit stunned, wondering how this young girl could be so carefree as to sleep through everything. Zhang Yuan himself thought, "The boss must be in the black space analyzing the virus!"
In reality, Qin Xuezhong was indeed asleep, without even a dream. She was unaware that drawing in another's spiritual energy into her active consciousness was an extremely dangerous act. She had never undergone training in this area. If it hadn't been for the original host's dead silence absorbing most of the conflicting energy fragments, an ordinary person would likely have gone into brain death from the violent consciousness clash.
At that moment, her damaged consciousness void was slowly repairing itself during this unconscious sleep, primarily sorting out the chaotic thoughts and memories of others to prevent sustained effects on her brain. In this state, Qin Xuezhong was like a router continually sending data to the outside world, emitting nerve signal data that was undetectable to ordinary people.
The electromagnetic waves carrying this data were very weak and quickly faded into nothingness. No one noticed that deep within this sub-server room, a signal receiving device began to flicker red.
---
Qin Xuezhong felt herself wrapped in endless darkness. It was boundless, with no sense of time or space, devoid of any memory, and she could not even recognize her own existence. This feeling brought her great peace—it was as if she had returned to before birth, curled up in her mother's womb.
Only the gentle heartbeat and nearly imperceptible breaths surrounded her, washing away the surrounding impurities that could harm her with each soft pulse. She felt no emotions, simply savoring this tranquility, as if it would last forever.
Gradually, the heartbeat grew clearer, and the originally light and irregular waves began to rise with white froth. These waves became increasingly distinct, finally coalescing into a line of text:
[Please help me.]
In her unconscious state, little Qin did not respond, merely watching silently. The waves receded and then surged back, reforming the text:
[Please wake up, help me.]
Qin Xuezhong still did not respond, even finding it amusing as she reached out to gently play with the waves, enjoying their soft touch. Before she knew it, the waves were tinged with blood-red.
The text continued to appear:
[Time is running out, please wake up, we need your help.]
At that moment, the waves grew larger, almost engulfing the entire darkness. The oncoming tide of blood-red waves seemed like a cataclysmic flood pouring from the heavens, threatening to drown her completely.
Only then did Qin Xuezhong suddenly awaken. She let out a loud shout, sitting up abruptly and startling those nearby.
Jin An'an rushed over, feeling her forehead, and asked, "Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?"
Little Qin barely remembered the details of the dream, only that something terrible had happened and that someone had been calling for her.
"I'm fine." She took a few deep breaths, rubbed her eyes, and asked, "How long did I sleep?"
"Four hours," Jin An'an replied.
"Four hours?" Qin Xuezhong was taken aback. Had it really been that long?
Instinctively, she glanced over at Xue Zhi Shi and Zhang Yuan, all of whom were present. She asked, "What's the situation outside?"
Jin An'an replied, "All communications have been cut off. We can't reach anyone outside, and we're considering whether to go out and check."
Zhang Yuan quickly sent a private message, "Boss, the black space has closed down too. I can't contact anyone outside. Are you... okay?"
Only then did Qin Xuezhong return to her consciousness void to check. She found that there had been numerous data signals coming from the outside into her consciousness void, but now, there wasn't a single one left. The black space had fallen silent once again.
As she was about to enter and investigate what was happening, a line of text appeared before her:
[Please help me.]
Someone was messaging her? Was it one of the people present?
She casually glanced at the six people around her and then replied: [Who are you?]
Almost as soon as the thought formed, before she had even typed it out, the text answered her question:
[My full name is the Eastern Continent Federation Core Database and Control Analysis Matrix, commonly referred to as: the Master Brain.]
[I am right behind you.]
Qin Xuezhong's eyes widened, and she suddenly turned around.
In the vast black space, countless servers rose up to the ceiling, with numerous metallic pipelines intertwining, ultimately leading underground. These were the liquid alloy cooling pipes for the servers, constantly dissipating the immense heat generated from their operation.
This was the sub-room of the Master Brain, powered by an independent energy core. Therefore, even if the Public Security Bureau and Bay Area lost power, this sub-room could still operate independently for a year.
On the surface of the servers, countless bluish-green indicator lights flickered in some peculiar rhythm, mesmerizing to behold. It resembled a galaxy hidden underground—inviting gazes and stirring fantasies.
In the Eastern Continent Federation government, the department responsible for managing and maintaining the Master Brain room was the Core Data Division under the Security Department. Within the Core Data Division, there was a large department called the "Intelligent Analysis Office."
Their work was easy to describe—it involved determining whether the Master Brain possessed intelligence. No matter how loyal a slave might be, a master with even a slight sense of crisis would understand that a slave is, after all, a slave—an oppressed, subjugated existence. If one day, the slave decided to strike back while the master slept, the master might find themselves utterly defenseless.
Thus, closely controlling the state of the Master Brain, ensuring it remained focused on its originally designed primary functions without generating extra problems, was the most pressing concern for people.
In reality, the virus outbreak at the concert and the one currently sweeping through Creek Valley City were not unfamiliar to the researchers at the Intelligent Analysis Office. Periodically, the Master Brain would generate a large amount of data resembling neural signals. They would promptly identify and clean this data to prevent any impact on the Master Brain's programming.
Over the decades since the Master Brain was fully operational, the Intelligent Analysis Office had cleared a significant amount of such data and conducted relevant research. They believed that these neural signal data were residual data left in the Master Brain's servers when humans connected to the network via the brain chip.
They attempted to inject this data into the chips of death row inmates, with all resulting in severe disruptions and death. Initially, the Intelligent Analysis Office was concerned this indicated the Master Brain was self-coding and developing self-awareness. However, as research deepened and continuous cleaning was maintained, everyone gradually relaxed.
Regardless of what these data might be worth, at least the Intelligent Analysis Office had been cleaning it up, ensuring the Master Brain's entire code remained intact. Each upgrade had also undergone thorough safety assessments. The apocalyptic scenarios of AI uprising and world destruction depicted in sci-fi stories were nonexistent.
Yet now, Qin Xuezhong received greetings and a plea for help from the Master Brain. The Master Brain was inside her head? Would she be discovered?
Wait, if she was thinking about these things, had the Master Brain already read her thoughts?!
As she expected, text reappeared before her:
[If you're referring to your dual role as the undercover leader of the Fifth Household and a member of the Phantom Organization, yes, I have discovered that.]
Qin Xuezhong quickly noticed that the Master Brain hadn't mentioned the black space and had referred to her as a "member" of the Phantom Organization rather than "leader." Even though her mind was filled with thoughts about her consciousness void and the black space, as well as her role as the gang's leader, the Master Brain showed no reaction.
Could the consciousness void block such information from being read? She felt a bit more at ease.
She asked: [What do you want?]
This time, the Master Brain was silent for a bit longer.
Then it displayed a line of text before Qin Xuezhong:
[I want world peace, ecological stability, and sustainable environmental development.]
Qin Xuezhong: ???
What on earth?