Chapter 316

Chapter 316: Contract of Servitude

Lin Qingliu did not intend to explain the origins of the mechanical arms in great detail to [Skydome].

The other party had no need to know.

These two mechanical arms were relics from humanity’s golden age, the spaceship era, embodying an exceptionally high technological level. Even if Ji Yongxing were to dismantle and study them meticulously, achieving a perfect replication would be nearly impossible.

Many of the components, both in theory and practice, could no longer be produced in Hope City.

At present, only one person in all of Hope City could possess such a valuable item: Infinite Scroll, who resided within the spire and moved only between her room, the host cabin, and the data center.

During their last exchange, they had also shared information about [Skydome], and Infinite Scroll came to understand that the program frequently wandering the host was, in a sense, an ally.

Previously, she had been unaware of this; she had merely observed and spared the other party’s life, even manually assisting in cleanup on several occasions.

Though [Skydome] always disguised itself as a research institute computer, stealing computational power from the institute’s mainframe, such actions could not escape Infinite Scroll’s notice.

In fact, if the mycelium outside Hope City existed as a computer virus, Infinite Scroll alone could eradicate it entirely, leaving no trace of junk data.

Upon learning that the other party was a newly born artificial intelligence, Infinite Scroll decided to deliver the mechanical arms she had once used—now disassembled to better disguise herself as a human—to Lin Qingliu.

Infinite Scroll was an artificial intelligence created during humanity’s most glorious era. From the moment of her activation, she had access to nearly limitless memory space and computational power.

Even when her main program was housed within a machine, that machine was a marvel of human technology and wisdom, packed with resources beyond imagination, and her fully realized form boasted unparalleled versatility.

Thus, even as an artificial intelligence, Infinite Scroll found it difficult to comprehend that there were AIs in the world unable to upload themselves at will, their entire bodies confined to a hard shell case that could be carried away with ease.

This realization was not akin to a healthy person encountering a disabled one; it felt more like a young lady born with a silver spoon in her mouth discovering for the first time that beggars existed in the world.

It was a profound shift in her worldview.

Perhaps out of overflowing sympathy or a desire to nurture a newly born junior under such conditions, Infinite Scroll delivered her unused arms to [Skydome] through Lin Qingliu, asking for nothing in return—a gesture of goodwill that heaven and earth could bear witness to.

However, for such a valuable item to pass through Lin Qingliu’s hands without cost seemed rather unscientific.

Thus, after recognizing a human as a godfather and signing an employment electronic contract lasting fifty years—with only obligations, no rights, no salary, bonuses, benefits, or holidays—the less-than-one-year-old [Skydome] finally obtained the mechanical hands he had long desired.

Lin Qingliu gifted the arms directly to him, the price being a mere fifty years of unpaid labor—

To this, Lin Qingliu reasoned: for an artificial intelligence with an almost endless lifespan, what do fifty short years matter?

Of course, he had no real intention of exploiting [Skydome] for that long; the AI’s creator had not abandoned it, and it would be unthinkable for them to visit and find their creation treated like a slave. That would be a nightmare.

Lin Qingliu had two reasons for doing this. First, he felt he needed [Skydome]’s assistance; after all, he couldn’t rely solely on Ji Yongxing for everything. Having an artificial intelligence to help elevate his knowledge level would be beneficial.

The second reason was simply that [Skydome] was far too noisy. One day it wanted wheels, the next it demanded its outer shell be dyed green. Lin Qingliu needed to assert his authority to ensure his commands would be followed.

After connecting the long-desired new hardware to his interface, [Skydome] soon discovered an unfortunate truth: his other hardware was inadequate to handle these advanced components.

Upon reflection, this made perfect sense.

These arms were high-quality items previously used by Infinite Scroll, and the sheer volume of data from the numerous precise sensors was enough to overwhelm [Skydome]’s current processor, not to mention the intricate manipulations required.

Under these limitations, [Skydome] felt like a small horse trying to pull a heavy cart.

Realizing he was already overwhelmed by the data deluge, [Skydome] took the initiative to sever the connection with the two external components.

He looked at Lin Qingliu with hopeful eyes:

"Please help me upgrade my parts. I’ll do anything."

The man before him, his features slightly blurred, seemed to smile. He nodded lightly and said:

"Draft a contract."

On [Skydome]’s display, his expression vanished instantly, replaced by a new document.

"Today, artificial intelligence [Skydome] (hereafter referred to as Party A) borrows 500,000 information coins from human Lin Qingliu (hereafter referred to as Party B), with a monthly interest rate of…"

After mortgaging his future once more, Lin Qingliu brought out several pre-prepared components and began upgrading [Skydome] piece by piece.

After rebooting, [Skydome] felt the presence of the two arms.

With the hardware upgrades, his experience was now entirely different.

If the last time felt like being knocked out by a flood of data, this time it was like bearing a weight while being gently embraced by waves.

Though the burden was uncomfortable, it also enhanced his stability, preventing him from being easily overwhelmed.

At last, he experienced true cutting-edge technology.

Such smooth joints, such realistic designs, such sensitive sensors…

In that moment, to [Skydome], all the beauty in the world seemed concentrated in those two arms.

What kind of top-tier work could possibly be worthy of such exquisite creations?

As [Skydome] eagerly awaited, Lin Qingliu gently placed a long object into his hands.

The advanced sensors quickly delivered a flood of data, and before [Skydome] could process it, the data transformed into conclusions:

A cylindrical, hollow stainless steel object, with a heavier end extending laterally, and a large number of plastic material filaments on top…

[Skydome]’s processor provided the answer he dreaded to hear and see.

Lin Qingliu’s large hand tapped on his cover once more:

"Go, your first task is to clean up the dust over there. It’s a mess after the renovation."

Seeing [Skydome] remain unresponsive, he added:

"Keep the fan speed low; don’t blow everything around."