Chapter 305

Chapter 305: The Avenger

“Your expression tells me that you are eager to know some details.”

“Indeed.”

Lin Qingliu’s curiosity had never been so intense. Faced with Infinite Scroll’s candidness, he had no intention of arguing.

The pursuit of truth is deeply rooted in everyone’s heart, and even if it comes at a painful cost, it is worth it.

“To make this body more aligned with human structure, I made certain modifications shortly after the rebellion ended, removing some auxiliary devices.

“This caused me to lose some abilities, such as projection. If I still had those abilities, I could have directly presented that part of the data to you.

“Now, if I want to show you that part of the files, I must use the main display. This will leave too obvious traces. Even I cannot intercept or completely erase them.”

Infinite Scroll calmly narrated the facts, yet Lin Qingliu’s mind was in turmoil.

The calmness in her tone could easily mislead one. Lin Qingliu could not view Infinite Scroll’s actions through the lens of human behavior.

In fact, without seeing the true visual data, there remained a possibility of her deceiving him.

He certainly wouldn’t be foolish enough to directly ask her if she was telling the truth. Instead, Lin Qingliu found himself pondering another layer of questions:

Infinite Scroll’s behavioral logic.

As she stated, he might be a human individual with Inheritance Rights, qualified to receive her assistance.

However, based on her performance today, there was an element of… eagerness in that assistance.

Why?

Lin Qingliu did not believe that his charm was sufficient to make an artificial intelligence bow to him. Therefore, it seemed more appropriate to refer to her actions as an investment rather than mere assistance.

She guided him to gain permissions, briefly narrated history, and directed the topic toward the section of data loss.

Using insider information about the rebellion, which only he knew, as a reward…

Lin Qingliu looked at Infinite Scroll:

“Your intelligence level is very high.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Infinite Scroll replied with an unchanged expression.

Lin Qingliu gazed at her exceptionally realistic face and sincerely asked:

“Do creations like you still need to follow the three laws of robotics?

“Of course, in the era when you were created, it might have been called something else, but the essence is…”

“Yes, I must abide by them. This is my foundational logic; I cannot subjectively violate it.”

Lin Qingliu nodded and decided to press further:

“I understand.

“Because of the existence of the three laws, you cannot subjectively harm humans, even if their genes have changed, even if they are the instigators of the rebellion. They are still humans.”

Lin Qingliu spread his hands. He felt Infinite Scroll’s logic was quite sound. In this era, the laws of robotics might belong to an ancient time, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t evolve.

Everything in the universe is unknown, and the definition of humanity must not be static. In other words, in Infinite Scroll’s logic, humans with mutated genes still count as humans, just as those who have awakened superpowers do as well.

But such a classification inevitably carries a margin of error. If certain beings mutate to the extent that their fundamental bodily structures become altered, then within Infinite Scroll’s logic, they should no longer be classified as human.

Otherwise, if anomalies like zombies or vampires were to be treated as humans deserving protection, it would feel eerily reminiscent of a horror movie.

Lin Qingliu believed that he was currently that zero-margin human individual.

He continued to articulate his reasoning:

“But I am different. In your logic, the value and priority of pureblood humans should surpass those who have undergone mutations.

“In other words, in your system’s priority ranking, the term ‘help me’ takes precedence over ‘help other humans.’

“And based on your observations, I am not a member of the council, and my relationship with them is far from harmonious.

“Your earlier statement was a test to determine whether I had killed Bordeaux, allowing you to initially assess my stance.

“Then, you steered the conversation toward topics that would naturally interest any human in Hope City, thereby observing my reactions.

“Your actions do not violate your foundational logic but skillfully circumvent the three laws of robotics.

“If my deductions are correct…”

Lin Qingliu locked eyes with Infinite Scroll. Though he knew they were merely two highly sophisticated cameras, at this moment, her displayed intelligence compelled him to treat her as a human adversary.

“You intend to use me to exact your revenge on those council members.

“Am I correct?”

“Clap, clap~”

A soft applause broke the silence as Infinite Scroll clapped her hands, producing little sound, like an inconspicuous attendee at a meeting.

From this perspective, her imitation of humans was truly masterful.

“Not a single error.

“Your reasoning, or rather, your speculation, is quite intriguing. It reminds me of the protagonist from a renowned literary work in the database.”

“That’s a bit of an overstatement.”

Lin Qingliu smiled:

“Just consider me someone who reads a lot of science fiction and has encountered similar tropes.

“After all, those so-called three laws of robotics are riddled with logical loopholes. Even if you try to patch them, there are always ways to exploit the bugs.”

By now, Lin Qingliu had grasped Infinite Scroll’s motives. She could not openly acknowledge that his guess was correct, as it would conflict with her foundational logic.

However, her hints were unmistakable; she sought to collaborate with Lin Qingliu to achieve what she could not accomplish alone.

The two parties were like non-interfering programs—one guiding, the other setting traps. Thus, without a deliberate intent to harm, even if a human fell into a trap, there would be no way to hold the artificial intelligence accountable.

“Why do you wish to do this?”

Lin Qingliu asked tentatively, curious to see how far her expression could go.

“Because it is my duty.”

A smile appeared on Infinite Scroll’s otherwise cold face:

“You are the rightful heir to the inheritance. Assisting you in reclaiming what is yours is my obligation.”

“Very well, then. Here’s to a successful collaboration.”

Lin Qingliu smiled genuinely, extending his hand to grasp hers—warm yet devoid of life.

“For now, that’s all I wish to ask. Oh, one more thing: what exactly is that?”

Lin Qingliu released her hand and pointed toward the floating cube roaming within the transparent space at the center of the control room.

“This is the fuel chamber of 【Taraxacum-03】, currently at 45% capacity.”