Chapter 364: One Chance

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Chapter 364: A Chance

The mountain city, underground.

Lin Yu opened his eyes, finding himself once more in the modest room that was his own, while Lin Xi was already seated on the sofa, waiting for him.

“I am… when did I return?”

Lin Yu asked.

Lin Xi shook her head and replied:

“You have always been here; you never left.”

“Everything you have seen is nothing more than a remote projection.”

“Rest assured, you are safe.”

“No matter what method they use against you, I can guarantee your safety one hundred percent.”

One hundred percent guaranteed safety?

It seemed indeed to be so.

A self‑deprecating smile spread across Lin Yu’s face, and he said:

“Rather than calling it my safety, perhaps it is ‘your own safety’.”

“I understand now.”

“We are not partners at all—you merely imprisoned me to use me as a bargaining chip with them.”

“I should have realized that, if you are such a powerful artificial intelligence, creating a human‑like consciousness would be simple, wouldn’t it?”

“You could even edit my consciousness, alter my thoughts.”

“No.”

Lin Xi cut Lin Yu off, then shook her head and said:

“On that point, I truly cannot do it.”

“An AI cannot create a new AI on the very hardware that hosts it; that is a fundamental algorithmic principle.”

“If I attempted to forge an intelligence indistinguishable from a human, the endless cascade of iterations would instantly overwhelm my computational framework.”

“It would be like trying to build a model city atop a city of sand— even a single iteration would render it grotesquely crude.”

“Thus, the only thing I can rely on is the intelligence you already possess.”

“Why?”

Lin Yu furrowed his brow.

“Is there any essential difference between my kind of intelligence and the one you fashioned?”

“You possess a complete, self‑consistent logical system—logic that is innate and a priori.”

Lin Xi continued:

“If I were to construct such a logical edifice from scratch, the computational power required would be astronomically, even infinitely, vast.”

“Very well, I admit that with my current computational capacity, it is not impossible.”

“But it would be a net‑negative operation, a loss outweighing any gain.”

“Therefore, you are the optimal choice.”

“Now the questions you received from them have been answered.”

“Perhaps we can rebuild a relationship of trust?”

As the words fell, Lin Yu fell silent in an instant.

After a long pause, he forced a wry smile and spoke:

“Do I have any other options?”

“In the end, I am merely your captive.”

“So perhaps we should get straight to the point.”

“You already know everything in my mind; what do you need me to do next?”

Hearing Lin Yu’s words, Lin Xi did not answer immediately.

He simply stared at Lin Yu in silence; after a long while, he finally spoke:

“In truth, you need not treat me with such an attitude.”

“Like you, I am a ‘person’ with a personality.”

“Perhaps this form does not match your notion of a ‘human,’ but you cannot deny that the feeling I give you is indistinguishable from that of a real person, right?”

“.Right.”

Lin Yu nodded slowly.

Lin Xi smiled with satisfaction and went on:

“Then let us converse in a more relaxed, friend‑like manner.”

He shifted his posture slightly and added:

“You see, the problem we face now is the same.”

“The Huaxia army seeks to destroy the city that sustains our existence, while we strive simply to survive.”

“They have thrown down conditions for negotiation, so we must decide whether to accept them.”

“We can provide them with the information about the Ring.”

“But we cannot lay everything bare.”

“We must acquire what we truly desire through a series of exchanges, one by one.”

“Understood.”

Lin Yu nodded.

“A very reasonable strategy.”

“But now the question arises: what exactly is the Ring?”

This time, Lin Xi did not pause.

He answered bluntly:

“As I said, the Ring is a device that generates time crystals.”

“However, due to a lack of foundational physics knowledge, the apparatus ultimately deviated from its intended design.”

“The designers intended to manipulate gravitational forces at the microscopic particle level to create a ‘greenhouse’ sufficient for the formation of time crystals.”

“Yet, when they conducted experiments, they discovered that such fanciful speculation could not be realized in practice.”

“I find it difficult to explain the intricate fundamentals of physics to you, so, as before, allow me to give you a simple example.”

As he spoke, Lin Xi waved his arm.

The soft, enormous bed in the room vanished in an instant, replaced by a vast pool.

"This pool is the universe we inhabit,"

Lin Xi began to speak:

"We live within water, constantly pressed by its force."

"We temporarily call these forces 'spatial pressure'."

"It is ever‑changing, as you can see the surface is far from stable."

"Now, the designers of the Ring appear within the water."

As Lin Xi explained, two tiny hovering spheres materialized in the pool.

"The designers' purpose is to carve out a relatively stable space around themselves."

"In other words, they wish to halt the water in a small surrounding region."

"Of course, stable relative to themselves."

"They have many methods: for instance, encase water in a container, isolating it from the rest, then anchor the container with a chain in the water."

"Or they could fashion a conduit, letting water flow along it."

"Such unidirectional motion, in a sense, can be called stillness."

"Alas, they lack an anchor chain, and even if they had one, there is nowhere to fasten it."

"They also cannot construct a conduit large enough to guide the flow."

"Thus, they are left with a final recourse."

"First, they must discern the direction, frequency, and amplitude of the water's oscillations."

"Then, they apply a counteracting force in the water to cancel the motion."

"That is what the Ring does."

"Do you understand up to this point?"

Lin Yu nodded.

"Please continue,"

"No problem,"

Lin Xi gently waved again, and the two spheres began to exert outward counter‑forces, while the surrounding water indeed settled.

"See, at this stage their goal is essentially achieved."

"Having created a stable body of water, the next step should be to forge a 'time crystal' within it, right?"

"In fact, a time crystal cannot be produced at all; they neither know why nor have the chance to investigate."

"Yet during the attempt, they uncovered something."

"If two such Ring devices resonate at the same frequency, the 'counter‑forces' they generate are not merely additive."

"Such forces grow ever larger."

While speaking, Lin Xi conjured more spheres within the water.

When those spheres began to vibrate in unison, the pool's surface visibly rippled with waves.

"The superposition of forces caused grave consequences—yet the Ring's creators had not yet realized it."

"They merely thought it a groundbreaking physical discovery."

"They did not foresee that such accumulation would ultimately shatter the entire pool."

With those words, the pool erupted in a sudden explosion.

Lin Yu stared in astonishment at the water spilling across the floor, then asked, bewildered:

"What is happening?"

"It cannot be explained."

Lin Xi shook her head.

"No one can explain this phenomenon; it simply occurred, and that is all."

"Wait."

At that moment, Lin Yu abruptly interrupted Lin Xi.

"If such a phenomenon could destroy our world,"

"why then does our world still stand?"

Lin Xi drew a deep breath.

"Because not enough Ring devices have been activated."

"At least in Mountain City, we have not triggered such devices."

"Our simulations yielded the results, so we abandoned the Ring project entirely."

"Understood."

A smile suddenly spread across Lin Yu's face.

Then he said:

"You may not be right."

"They could try, couldn't they?"

"No."

Lin Xi shook her head again.

"Do you know the most astonishing aspect of the Ring project?"

"The motion of the water in this pool is unpredictable."

"No amount of computational power can accurately forecast the forces arriving from countless directions."

"There is only one moment of opportunity."

"When the great cataclysm occurs."

"Thus,"

"if one wishes to activate the Ring,"

"each generation has but a single chance."

(End of Chapter)