Qin Chu woke up in the virtual world and immediately asked, "Spit it out. What's the mission this time? Why is the importance level set so high?"
"Ding, Imperial Military Operations and Logistics System Noah, External Member of the First Legion, ID: 215929007, at your service..."
Qin Chu frowned and interrupted the electronic voice by saying, "Noah, get to the point."
"Yes, Sir." The electronic voice responded obediently, "This mission is classified as the highest level of importance during wartime. Sir, you do not have the option to decline. In order to ensure mission success and maintain confidentiality, the details of the task will only be revealed once you are fully immersed in the virtual sub-world."
Knowing the annoying nature of this system very well, Qin Chu urged again, "What is the mission?"
The rebellion of the Empire's main brain was perfectly timed. While most people were in sleep pods browsing the star network, it triggered a forced lockdown and managed to bypass the night-shift administrator.
By the time anyone noticed something was wrong, 80% of the Empire's regular population had been trapped in the virtual world.
With such a big incident happening, Qin Chu, who was stationed at the Empire's frontline, rushed back to the capital star. As soon as he disembarked from the spacecraft, he received this mission. Accompanied by the independent system Noah from the military, he was tasked with breaking through the main brain's blockade and entering the virtual world.
"The task given to us by the council is to 'rescue the Imperial Prince,'" Noah explained.
"The Empire has a prince?" Qin Chu sat up from the bed, frowning as he surveyed his surroundings.
"Two weeks ago," Noah provided this absurd answer. "Please don't ask me why a prince who died 230 years ago suddenly had a son two weeks ago. As an AI still in development, I cannot answer that."
"Thanks, but I'm not stupid enough to ask that question." Qin Chu ordered Noah to pull up the information on the Imperial Prince.
The file was shockingly simple, containing only basic details like name and age. There was also a note indicating that this suddenly appeared Prince had attended the Empire's top military academy.
Qin Chu glanced at it again. Although he no longer stayed in the capital, he was still the honorary president of the highest military academy. However, based on the timing, this Prince must have enrolled before Qin Chu had even graduated from the academy.
"Where's the photo?"
The photo section in the file was empty. Noah responded, "There is no photo. The information provided by the Cabinet was like this when it was scanned."
As soon as Noah finished speaking, Qin Chu let out a cold laugh. "Eighty percent of the Empire's population is imprisoned, and the Beast Tide is about to hit this quarter. After a week of discussion, the Cabinet comes up with a mission to rescue this Prince, and they can't even provide a photo?"
"Please remain calm, Sir." Noah reminded, "You are currently inhabiting a data body from this virtual world. This data body belongs to a high school senior. To ensure you're not late, I suggest you get up immediately and head to school in five minutes."
Although Qin Chu was dissatisfied with this task and often wanted to break the necks of those old fools in the Cabinet, as an outstanding general of the Empire, he quickly got up to wash up.
In those few minutes, Noah transferred some data to Qin Chu.
"The Cabinet is paying so much attention to the Imperial Prince for a reason. The royal family has become symbolic, but it is said that they still control the method of activating the Empire's outer defense shields. These shields are crucial for repelling the Beast Tide."
Qin Chu wiped the water from his face and gave a slightly sarcastic smile but didn't speak. He was clearly displeased with the royal family's absolute control over such authoritarian actions.
The mirror on the sink reflected Qin Chu's image—his black hair, sharp eyebrows and eyes, and tightly pursed lips.
He looked like a military blade, his hair flowing yet sharp. Sometimes, one might wonder if his pale skin could bear such a dangerous sharpness.
Qin Chu wasn't interested in his face, which could charm most humans and humanoid species. He gave it a brief glance before leaving the bathroom.
The time and world in this virtual world were different from the real world. If it were anyone else, accustomed to the Empire's highly intelligent living systems, they might have felt disoriented. However, Qin Chu had been stationed on the frontier for years, and with only Noah as the system in the military, he was accustomed to it.
He walked to the desk, picked up a bag, and studied it for two seconds before putting it on.
Qin Chu said, "Contact the Cabinet and have them send the Prince's photo."
"And after you find the Prince, how do you plan on getting him out of here?" Noah asked in return. Before Qin Chu could answer, Noah continued, "Based on past data, when some military academy students got lost in virtual training devices, you often raised the difficulty of the task to make their virtual environment suddenly turn into hell."
"Of course, when you're in a good mood or have the time, you prefer to enter the virtual training device yourself, find them, and beat them up to wake them up."
Noah's memory bank included a time when Qin Chu directly beat someone so badly that the person cried out for their "mom." That call—the most primitive cry of a human—made the soldier snap back to reality.
"This time's different?"
"Of course it's different. As the core of the virtual training device, I don't independently imprison human consciousness, but the rebel main brain does." Noah continued, "Also, I must remind you that even if we get the Prince's photo, we won't be able to locate him based on appearance. Because those imprisoned have their consciousness attached to these virtual bodies, their appearance changes accordingly."
Qin Chu didn't respond. He walked out of the room, studied how to operate the old-fashioned door lock, and went back to grab the key before locking the door and leaving.
He glanced at the slightly worn-out doorknob, some areas polished from frequent use, others rusted due to the air.
Qin Chu ran his finger across it and said, "Feels real."
He then looked at the bustling alley outside. Although this world was obviously not on the same timeline as reality, every detail felt cohesive. It was as if this group of people really lived in this world, living their unique lives.
The level of realism here far exceeded the military's training system. Even soldiers accustomed to virtual training systems might get lost in this scene, mistaking it for reality.
"The Empire's main brain has been running for hundreds of years, collecting data from human society at various stages. Its ability to simulate details has surpassed that of the human brain," Noah continued, "But there is one ability that AI can never surpass humans in."
"What ability?" Qin Chu asked.
"The simulation of emotions and complex human relationships. No matter how advanced our AI is, we're still just products based on mechanical hardware."
Noah paused for a moment before continuing, "But for someone like you, Sir, who's emotionally insulated, perhaps AI could actually compare."
Qin Chu retorted, "Thanks for the compliment. If you shift your evolution from language to other aspects, you might surpass the main brain soon."
Noah responded, "I was just helping to calm your nervous emotions."
Qin Chu answered flatly, "Which part of me seems nervous?"
Noah, forced back to the point, continued, "Based on your earlier comments about realism, I've already simulated a safe solution. It involves changing the course of each little world by focusing on the details. In this method, the virtual world's precision will decrease to some extent, and there's a chance the imprisoned people will wake up."
"Each little world?" Qin Chu frowned again. "How long will this mission last?"
"The timeline has been extended, but this effect is chain-reactive. When selecting the worlds, I will try to choose ones where the Prince might exist. But the effects of this mission will also impact other worlds. The beneficiaries will not only be the Prince, but all the Imperial citizens trapped in them."
This reasoning convinced Qin Chu to some extent.
Noah continued to explain the task details in his ear: "Since we are infiltrating and causing disruption, there are some rules you must strictly follow, Sir."
"First, your disguise must be flawless. If your behavior deviates too much from the original data body, it will attract the main brain's attention."
"Second, we hope you keep your actions restrained. I cannot confirm which data bodies have human consciousness attached to them. If you accidentally cause their deaths, it might lead them into other small worlds or even cause brain death in the real world."
"As for whether there will be a third or fourth rule, it depends on how extreme your actions are, Sir."
Qin Chu listened to Noah's rules and vaguely sensed something wrong, though he didn't immediately catch it.
He thought for a moment and replied, "I shouldn't have been chosen for this task. I've never taken any courses related to espionage."
Noah politely responded, "The reason you were chosen is that you have the highest mental strength level among all the people, whether they are awake or asleep, in the entire Empire. The Empire needs you, General."
In response to this somewhat flattering remark, Qin Chu's reply was cold: "You should reflect on the issues in your training. Otherwise, why is it that none of the new generation of military academy students can surpass my mental strength?"
Once again demoted, Noah: "…"
Sometimes, General Qin really had the ability to make artificial intelligence want to defect.
Noah went quiet, and Qin Chu was finally satisfied.
The breakfast stall around the corner of the alley was busy at this moment. White steam rose from the steamers, and the stall owner behind them looked up and warmly greeted, "Hey, Xiao Cheng, why are you—"
The stall owner, who clearly recognized this data body, stopped mid-sentence after seeing Qin Chu, and stared at him in surprise.
Upon meeting the stall owner's somewhat unfamiliar gaze, Qin Chu finally realized what was wrong.
He asked in his mind, "Noah, this appearance is different. Does this mean it's too different from the data body?"
Noah: "!!!!"
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