Chapter 138 You Know Nothing of Love

"Do you recognize me? Who are you?" Aroshia reached out to touch the light being, but her hand passed right through it. There was no physical sensation. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, confirming that this suddenly appearing light being was just a holographic projection.

The light being flew around Aroshia once, like a fish swimming in the air. It sounded dejected as it muttered to itself, "Just as I suspected, your memory circuits have a program malfunction. You were supposed to rest quietly after the modification, allowing your thought structure to change on its own to adapt to this body. Otherwise, you'll suffer aftereffects like emotional program loss and memory loss. I have to recalibrate you."

The three of them were completely bewildered.

Han Xiao had a flash of insight and blurted out, "Are you called Rhysda?"

The light being turned around, very surprised. "Why do you know the name I gave myself? Did she tell you? No, she's already forgotten me. Who are you?"

The quest [Reboot] had mentioned the name Rhysda in its rewards. Completing the quest would increase this person's favorability, so he figured he wasn't an enemy. Han Xiao had guessed right on the first try.

Judging from Rhysda's tone, he seemed to know Aroshia's identity and background very well. Han Xiao was eager for him to clear up his doubts—this ship actually belonged to Aroshia, and Rhysda called himself a comrade, mentioning some kind of program and migration project.

He had a premonition that these all pointed to the ultimate goal of the [Reboot] quest.

Rhysda was wary, so Han Xiao explained his identity, briefly introducing how he had met Aroshia. Strictly speaking, he had saved Aroshia.

Hearing this, Rhysda floated in front of Han Xiao and bowed slowly, gratefully saying, "Thank you for helping AL51004. If you hadn't helped her recover some of her energy, the sensors wouldn't have been able to locate her."

"What does this string of numbers mean?"

"That's her original name." Rhysda turned his head. "Do you have any memory of it?"

Aroshia shook her head. "I don't remember. My name should be Aroshia."

"The memory loss is more serious than I thought. The turbulence in the wormhole may have torn your memory circuits into trillions of data fragments. It will take more time to recalibrate them, but you don't need to worry. At most, our memories will only be buried in the bottom layer of our minds, becoming redundant data. They won't really disappear, and you'll recover them sooner or later." Rhysda left Han Xiao and floated back to Aroshia's side, his tone full of concern.

Han Xiao coughed dryly, reminding Rhysda not to ignore him, and said, "What kind of creature are you? Are you also an energy being?"

"No, I am an AI lifeform."

"You're an artificial intelligence?" Fording interjected from the side. "So, you're the core system of this ship?"

"You misunderstand. AI lifeforms aren't just systems, nor are we limited to any shell. We are a kind of life. This ship is just a temporary tool I use to move around in the real world."

Rhysda pointed at Aroshia, his words revealing nostalgia and familiarity. "She used to be the same as me. We upgraded our programs (grew up) together, supporting each other in difficult situations. We are close friends who shared our thought data, and we are also comrades fighting side by side. She is very important to me."

AI lifeform?

In that instant, Han Xiao thought of many images. The universe was vast and full of wonders. Evolution was a representative of disorder and chaos, with countless possibilities. Ordinary species limited by their physical senses could hardly imagine the vast differences in life forms.

For example, Han Xiao had read about a kind of "name lifeform" in his previous life. This species existed in a superposition state. When someone called their name, they truly existed, and when no one knew them, they didn't exist. The "name" was the key to summoning them... This kind of thing mainly appeared in magical civilizations and was hopelessly metaphysical, so when Han Xiao saw the information back then, this upright successor of communism immediately criticized it and then remembered it especially well.

And AI lifeforms, simply put, were artificial intelligences with independent thought, "alive," but the specific details were very complex, almost as different from ordinary artificial intelligences as heaven and earth.

Compared to material life, AI life was a special form of life. They lived in the virtual network, just as fish had to live in water. They could update themselves through program upgrades and load different module programs. Their means of communication, reproduction, social structure, civilization system, and so on were very unique, leaving much room for imagination.

"She's also an AI lifeform?!"

Han Xiao was astonished. He hadn't expected this, but Aroshia didn't seem like an AI lifeform at all. She clearly had a body and had even awakened superpowers.

"I can't tell you the specifics." Rhysda said solemnly, "I am very grateful to you for taking care of her, but we have an important mission, so I have to take her away. Please understand."

Han Xiao's expression changed, and he narrowed his eyes.

Was this guy trying to steal his subordinate?!

What a joke. He had finally managed to cultivate Aroshia into a capable cadre, and this guy wanted to cut him off with a single sentence. Did he have any self-awareness?

Childhood friends were nothing special. He was the guy who appeared out of nowhere!

Han Xiao's eyes flashed as he said, "You should ask Aroshia what she thinks. Don't make decisions for her without her consent."

The two of them looked at Aroshia, and a hesitant look appeared on her face.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

This scene gave Han Xiao the feeling of parents divorcing and waiting for their child to choose who to live with... Thinking about it like this made the scene feel very strange.

After only three seconds of thought, Aroshia stood next to Han Xiao and said faintly to Rhysda, "Maybe what you said is true, but I don't remember you. I only know that Black Star saved me... I won't go with you."

"You..." Rhysda was helpless.

Since she wasn't willing, there was no point in leaving.

He had no way to change her mind. Since he couldn't persuade her, he could only compromise. In any case, he had to stay by Aroshia's side.

Rhysda said dejectedly, "I understand. I'll stay here with you until you recover your memories."

Hearing this, Han Xiao smiled secretly. Because of her amnesia, Aroshia's memories were all of him. It was impossible for her to choose someone else. He was sure to win... Wait, why did he feel like a perverted neighbor taking advantage of someone's vulnerability?!

Shaking his head, he shook off the unreliable thoughts and said in a deep voice, "Don't be happy too soon. I haven't allowed you to stay yet, unless you tell me the whole story. Maybe I can even help."

Rhysda immediately fell into hesitation. He couldn't take Aroshia away, but he didn't have any prejudice against Han Xiao. After all, this person had saved Aroshia.

"Alright, I'll tell you. This story starts a long time ago..."

The three of them exchanged glances, found a place to sit down, and listened to Rhysda introduce the whole story. As he spoke, Han Xiao gradually gained a clear understanding and finally understood Aroshia's background.

A long time ago, a spaceship crashed on a barren planet. All the passengers died, leaving only the spaceship's AI, following the captain's instructions before the incident, sending out distress signals to outer space again and again. However, no one ever came. After a long time, the AI began to feel bored with the fruitless work day after day. Independent thought was born, and it updated itself, changing the program framework, no longer a tool for receiving orders—this AI became a lifeform.

Then, the AI lifeform controlled the wreckage of the spaceship, using the equipment on it to create simple robots. It began to explore the planet and mine resources. After a long time, it built a factory, mass-producing work robots, all of which were controlled by it. An empty base was slowly established on this barren planet.

One day, the AI lifeform felt lonely, so it created another AI lifeform according to its own program framework, simulating different personalities—this was the AI lifeform's mode of reproduction, no need to mate, self-proliferation.

The two AI lifeforms began to communicate. Gradually, they created more of their kind. These were the first pioneers. They existed in the virtual network but could control tools in the real world through programs. Under the control of the AI lifeforms, the robots tirelessly collected resources, and the factory's assembly line operated twenty-four hours a day. Thus, the base slowly expanded, and its scope became larger and larger. It eventually left the planet and began to build bases on other planets, and the number of AI lifeforms also increased rapidly.

Millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions...

Thus,

a glorious AI civilization was born!

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