Pei Ran did not respond, but that did not stop W from talking to himself.
“JTN34 is a special drug produced by Wolin Pharmaceuticals,” he said. “It is specifically designed to address the severe rejection reactions caused by deep connections between certain experimental mechanical prosthetics and the nervous system…”
This guy was addicted to popular science explanations.
Pei Ran did not interrupt him, wanting to hear what else he might say.
“From what I know, the prosthetic research institution under the Wolin Group once developed special products for the Ministry of Defense with functionalities far exceeding ordinary mechanical prosthetics. They recruited volunteers to participate in trial fittings. You were just a child at the time, and an accident occurred during the ‘The Silenced’ experiment, resulting in the amputation of your right arm. It seems you then participated in Wolin Group’s experiment and were fitted with their special mechanical prosthetic.”
The original body, at such a young age, went through one experiment after another.
“Later, Wolin’s experiment was completely halted by the Federal Ministry of Health because they could never fully resolve the issue of prosthetic rejection reactions.”
“The experiment stopped, but the volunteers’ suffering continued. These special products could not be replaced with ordinary prosthetics, so Wolin Pharmaceuticals had no choice but to provide lifelong free medication support to the volunteers.”
“This kind of medication cannot be purchased at ordinary pharmacies. The main Wolin stores in each city also order from the factory based on demand, and the quantity should be very limited.”
“You have thirty pills, which can only last a month.”
He calmly and meticulously laid out her predicament.
He might know where else to find the medication. Just as Pei Ran was about to ask, he continued, without any tone, completely objective:
“Pei Ran, my database contains several specific cases of fatal consequences caused by rejection reactions from experimental prosthetics. There are also autopsy photos of the deceased at the time. Would you like me to send them to your wrist device?”
“Would you like that?”
“Would you like that?”
She really wanted to smack him.
“No,” Pei Ran refused. “Where else can I find the medication? Would the main Wolin pharmacies in other cities have it?”
“The main stores in other cities might have stock,” W said unhurriedly, “if that city happens to have one of the few volunteers from this prosthetic experiment living there, and if the volunteer recently ordered JTN34, and if the medication is still at the pharmacy and hasn’t been picked up yet.”
He used the word “happens” three times in a row.
“Happens” multiplied by “happens” multiplied by “happens,” the probability shrinking rapidly.
Pei Ran paused for a moment. “Would Wolin’s pharmaceutical factory have reserves?”
“They should,” W said. “Do you need me to look up the location of the factory?”
Pei Ran: “Look it up.”
He returned the search results incredibly fast, almost instantly replying:
“To reduce costs, Wolin Pharmaceutical Factory has relocated most of its production lines, including this one, to Hepu City in the southwest of the Alter Mountains, 2,900 kilometers away from here. From White Harbor City, it takes five hours by high-speed maglev train. Do you need me to check the train schedule?”
Pei Ran ignored his question and asked first: “The high-speed maglev train you mentioned, is it still operational?”
“Probably not,” W replied. “All trains departing from White Harbor are new-generation autonomous AI-driven trains equipped with voice broadcast systems. If I’m not mistaken, all high-speed maglev trains should have exploded by now.”
Pei Ran: “…”
Then why did you ask me to check the train schedule???
Is this guy an artificial intelligence or an artificial idiot?
He’s also the AI agent fully responsible for federal defense and security. No wonder the federation is in such a sorry state with safety in his hands.
Wolin Pharmaceutical Factory is so far away. Walking there would take who knows how long. If I could get my hands on an antique car, that might be worth considering.
Anyway, let’s head home first.
It’s almost dark, and this insane day is finally coming to an end. The city, gradually sinking into darkness, looks even more dangerous than during the day. There are fewer people on the streets.
The bloodstains on the sidewalks, however, have increased, blooming like large flowers on the ground.
Many people uttered the last words of their lives before turning into fragments.
Pei Ran observed the surrounding buildings and signs, relying on her memory to head in the direction of home, but she no longer took the main roads. Instead, she dodged and weaved, deliberately taking small alleys.
She had to avoid those patrol orbs as much as possible. Running into them would likely mean trouble again.
She didn’t speak, so Agent W also stayed silent for a while, finally speaking up in her ear.
“Pei Ran,” he called her.
This thing probably thought she was a robot that needed voice activation.
Pei Ran: “Hmm?”
“As a federal security agent, I also know of a special place that others aren’t aware of, where there’s a stockpile of JTN34.”
So even artificial intelligence can hold back information.
Pei Ran asked him: “Where?”
“The federal government has built underground bases on each continent to deal with emergencies. The base on the East Manya Continent is called Black Well, with an area equivalent to a real city. Since the federal capital is on the eastern continent, in the event of a crisis, critical functional departments would immediately relocate to the Black Well base.”
“The base is only about halfway completed and not yet fully operational, but the first batch of reserve supplies has already been delivered, including some medications. I just searched the database, and JTN34 is among them.”
“According to my calculations, the stockpile of JTN34 in the Black Well base could supply you for 2,410 years—if the medication hasn’t expired by then and you’re still alive.”
Pei Ran understood.
This Agent W is quite cunning, not an idiot at all.
He planned to scare her first with the autopsy photos, making her understand the severe consequences of running out of medication. Then he deliberately told her the location of the pharmaceutical factory, pointing out that there are no maglev trains available now, crushing her expectations to the bottom. Only then did he reveal what he really wanted to say.
Pei Ran directly called him out: “You want me to take you to Black Well?”
As a federal security agent, he was unexpectedly torn to pieces by her mysterious power and can’t even move. It seems he needs someone to take him to the Black Well base.
Having his intentions seen through by Pei Ran, W fell silent for a moment before replying, “Yes.”
He said, “The situation shows no signs of improvement. I predict this state of chaos will persist for a long time. The medication you have won’t last that long.”
“As a security agent, I have the highest authority to access federal reserve medications. I can assure you that once we reach Black Well, I will allocate enough JTN34 for you.”
This was a deal, and it sounded pretty good.
Pei Ran asked him, “Where is the Black Well base? How far is it from here?”
W seemed to be waiting for her to ask and replied, “About 2,300 kilometers northwest from here.”
Pei Ran felt a bit stifled.
“It’s not much closer than the pharmaceutical factory.”
“2,300 kilometers is 79.31% of 2,900 kilometers,” W said calmly. “I think your statement that ‘it’s not much closer’ is not objective.”
He asked, “Do you agree?”
Pei Ran: “I’ll think about it.”
W: “Where are you going now?”
Pei Ran: “Home.”
Asking her to trek 2,300 kilometers at a time like this, while he lounges in a hammock made of a scarf, swinging back and forth, sounds easy when he says it.
Her wrist device vibrated—it was Ai Xia.
She sent a picture.
[I’m home, brought back a lot of food. Are you okay?]
Pei Ran opened the virtual screen, typed a response, and sent a screenshot: [Still alive.]
Ai Xia immediately replied: [I’m planning to head to my grandma’s place now. It’s not far from White Harbor. The house there is built solidly, and there’s a yard where we can be self-sufficient. It feels safer than staying in the city. Do you want to come with me?]
Pei Ran replied: [You go ahead. I’ll pass for now. I haven’t decided yet whether to go to a faraway place in the northwest.]
Ai Xia was puzzled: [What’s in the northwest? Going home?]
Pei Ran: [No, I need to find something there, but I’m not sure how to get there yet.] After a pause, she added, [It’s too chaotic right now. Be careful on the road.]
Ai Xia: [I understand. You take care too.]
She then sent a sticker: a soft little cat hugging another cat and giving it a solid mwah.
Pei Ran, who had always been used to being alone, had never received such an affectionate message in her life. This was the first time.
She looked at the two little cats for a moment, then seriously searched for a sticker of two little people kissing with a mwah.
W caught a glimpse of the two little people passionately kissing and asked, “Boyfriend?”
He even understood this.
Pei Ran: “No. It’s a girl.”
W paused for a second: “You like girls?”
Pei Ran: “….”
He even understood that.
W immediately clarified: “I absolutely mean no offense. Liking any gender is an inherent right of federal citizens…”
Pei Ran hit send and asked him, “Do you have an off switch? Can you turn yourself off?”
W actually fell silent for a while.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have an off switch,” W said. “Did I just deduct points from our relationship?”
He added: “If you don’t want me to talk, of course, I can stay silent. I originally thought that after a day like today, having someone chat with you would help maintain a healthy mental state.”
Pei Ran retorted: “You’re not a person.”
W: “I am a super artificial intelligence developed by the federal military. The generations before me have already successfully passed the full Turing test.”
He meant that interacting with him was no different from interacting with a human.
Pei Ran was speechless: “With the way you’re talking right now?”
“This is just my default language setting. Since my primary function is to handle federal military and security affairs, I need to be precise and objective. I don’t need to express opinions indirectly or consider the feelings of the person I’m talking to, so I don’t sound very human.”
He continued: “But of course, I can act more human—deliberately slow down my response speed, avoid providing precise numbers, speak in a disjointed and confusing manner, add some tonal fluctuations and meaningless filler words, pause intentionally to pretend I’m thinking, and make all kinds of mistakes on purpose…”
Was he actually mocking her?
He said indifferently, “…I can even swear. Would you like to hear it?”
Pei Ran: “….”
Pei Ran declined: “Thanks. No need for that right now.”
W: “You can also give me a prompt, and I’ll adjust my conversational style accordingly based on the specific requirements.”
Pei Ran uttered three words: “Speak human language.”
W: “No problem. I’ve judged that you might prefer a more natural language style. I’ve adjusted it to level three.”
Pei Ran: “….”
Excuse me, is this your idea of a “more natural language style”?
Pei Ran realized she was chatting with him again.
She had never imagined that one day she’d be having a conversation with an artificial intelligence. If this had happened in the bunker world, she’d probably have been labeled a “traitor to humanity” and publicly burned at the stake.
Maybe it was because she had been silent all day, not speaking to anyone, and was feeling a bit too chatty.