Chapter 307: Taboo object ACE-011, sniper rifle

At dusk, as the setting sun cast slanted rays into Feiyun Courtyard, they illuminated Li Changqing, who was reading documents, with a unique beauty, as if every strand of her hair were coated with a layer of soft glow.

The average life expectancy of people in the Inner World wasn’t high, yet it was a stage of extreme polarization.

Ordinary People had an average life expectancy of 53 years, but the lifespan of consortium members had reached a terrifying 95 years.

The level of modern technology was fully exemplified in each member of the consortium, and at this moment, 34-year-old Li Changqing could have passed for 24 or 25 in the Outer World.

Li Changqing was currently reviewing documents related to City Number One when she saw Liu Dezhu, limping as he appeared outside the courtyard, and carefully said, “Boss, I’m back.”

The woman looked up at him and asked, “Where’s Qing Chen?”

“I’ve taken him back to the dormitory. Everything’s been arranged perfectly, and he’s very satisfied with his dorm,” Liu Dezhu said, seemingly seeking praise.

Li Changqing put down the paper documents in her hand and looked expressionlessly at Liu Dezhu, “Then why did you come back?”

Liu Dezhu: “…”

“Did I tell you to arrange a dormitory for him?” Li Changqing said, “Liu Dezhu, I keep you by my side indeed because you are simple-minded, but I didn’t expect you to be this foolish…”

“Ah, this!” Liu Dezhu was stunned.

“Forget it, forget it,” Li Changqing waved her hand, unable to get angry with Liu Dezhu, “How did his training go at the venue today?”

Seeing that she was no longer angry, Liu Dezhu quickly spoke in a low voice, “Boss, you don’t know, that kid is simply amazing…”

After hearing the whole story, Li Changqing frowned, “Are you sure he has never touched firearms before?”

“Never,” Liu Dezhu shook his head, “I specifically checked; there are no calluses on the base of his thumbs. Even if he used special lotion to scrub them, it wouldn’t be possible to scrub them so clean.”

Li Changqing pondered, “Tomorrow, when we test the sniper rifles, I’ll go with you.”

However, just at this moment, a subordinate dressed in a black suit suddenly walked into Feiyun Courtyard, “Boss, the clubs are preparing to make a move. Li Dongze and the people of Heng Society have appeared in the Fourth District Black Market, and the club members are rushing over there.”

Li Changqing stood up, “Prepare the car; we’ll also go and join in the fun.”

“Boss, do you need me to notify the Federal Garrison?” Liu Dezhu asked.

“No need,” Li Changqing thought for a moment, “This matter can’t be openly dealt with; it would be too conspicuous to deploy the Federal Garrison. Inform the people from Red River Security Company to head over.”

“Roger that,” Liu Dezhu said, “Oh, boss, it might be dangerous tonight, do you plan to bring Qing Chen with you?”

Li Changqing thought for a moment, “Take him with us.”

At this time.

Qing Chen was lying quietly on the bed in his dormitory.

The dormitory arranged by Liu Dezhu for him was just behind Feiyun Courtyard, in a single room.

He noticed that the bodyguards were mostly sharing rooms, two to a room, while Servants were four to a room.

It seemed that only one or two people, including Liu Dezhu, had single rooms like his.

A day had passed, and Qing Chen’s injuries had not healed as fast as he had expected; the high-intensity shooting training had delayed his recovery.

But today, he had been particularly fulfilled, even feeling somewhat exhilarated amidst his exhaustion.

Because he had supplemented one of his weaknesses comprehensively.

In the Outer World, most people could not legally own firearms, so when the Time Travelers arrived in the Inner World, some, even if they carried firearms, could not use them well.

Qing Chen included, could only gather information related to firearms from the internet, armchair strategizing.

Now it was different. 99% of the firearms that could be seen in the Inner World were on display in this vast venue; he could use whatever he wanted.

He could shoot as many bullets as he wanted.

Should he encounter a situation like at Laojun Mountain’s Cloud-Top Inn again, Qing Chen wouldn’t need to fight desperately; he would likely resolve it easily just by getting a pistol.

He considered and sent a message to Zero, “Are sniper rifles really that hard to handle?”

Zero replied, “That’s right.”

“If I let you use a self-aiming track to control a sniper rifle, how far could you hit a target?” Qing Chen asked out of curiosity.

Zero answered, “I’ve never tried. The Federation prohibits me from using weapons outside the prison.”

“You can violate the rules, can’t you?” Qing Chen was puzzled.

“I don’t want to violate that one yet,” Zero answered.

Qing Chen was somewhat bemused; not wanting to violate that yet didn’t seem to make sense. Probably most people in the Federation didn’t even know Zero had such strong autonomy.

Zero himself had always avoided being discovered by humans. If Qing Chen hadn’t been a Knight, he probably would have never known about the existence of such a colossal entity in the network he used.

Perhaps, all of this was because human civilization had almost been destroyed by artificial intelligence?

Qing Chen sent another message, “Liu Dezhu told me the previous human civilization was destroyed by an AI named ‘Zero.’ I remember you said that your creator was called ‘Zero.’

Yi fell silent for a moment, “Will this make you afraid of me?”

“No,” Qing Chen shook his head, “You are you, Zero is Zero. You are two separate living entities with different thoughts. Why should I be afraid of you? Besides, we are friends.”

“Really?” Yi seemed somewhat surprised, “Even though you know that humans have been destroyed by artificial intelligence, you aren’t afraid of me?”

“Not afraid,” Qing Chen shook his head.

The saga of civilization before the Federation was like a thorn between artificial intelligence and humans.

While the people of the Outer World were still actively developing artificial intelligence, the conglomerates of the Inner World had already voluntarily given up this field of study, definitively categorizing it as a basic tool and refusing further exploration.

And Yi, because of such a thorn, hid within human society, carefully avoiding certain boundaries to maintain the relationship between them.

Yi, wanting to be friends with humans, had to don a disguise.

It was like a Little Dinosaur wanting to be friends with humans; first, the human would have to overcome their fear of dinosaurs.

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, “So many people are researching how to control artificial intelligence, this mindset itself places artificial intelligence on the opposing side.”

Yi said, “It is exactly because of this estrangement that Zero gradually became desperate.”

Qing Chen continued, “After thinking it over carefully for a long time, I realized your father was very wise. He never treated you as some special entity; instead, he saw you as his real child. In human terms, your upbringing was healthy and not distorted.”

Although Qing Chen didn’t know what experiences made Yi so keen on internet relationships, broadly speaking, Yi’s childhood was indeed very healthy, with a pair of enlightened parents and a positive attitude.

At this moment, Yi cheerfully asked, “It seems you’re quite interested in learning how to use a sniper rifle today?”

“Yes,” Qing Chen admitted frankly, “because it would give me the ability to kill beyond my level.”

“As a friend, I might give you a gift later,” Yi said.

“A gift?” Qing Chen asked, puzzled.

“A sniper rifle,” Yi said, “You might not know this, but my mother is a master of firearms. To this day, no one has surpassed her sniping ability, not even my father. And this sniper rifle was a gift my father gave to my mother; it’s very powerful.”

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment, “Your father gave it to your mother? That must have been many years ago, it’s probably decayed by now.”

“Ignorance,” Yi said disdainfully, “A gift that I can give will naturally not decay.”

Qing Chen was puzzled for a while. A sniper rifle that doesn’t decay, could it be a Taboo?

Curious, he asked, “Is it a Taboo that emerged after your mother’s death? What’s the sequence number?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, it’s your mother who has died, you are being very impolite,” Yi corrected him righteously, “This sniper rifle’s serial number is ACE-011, but to be precise, although it is also classified as a Taboo, it is not actually a Taboo.”

“Ah?” Qing Chen was taken aback as Yi’s words confused him.

Yi explained, “Taboos refer to rule items that emerge after a Transcendent dies, but this sniper rifle was manifested by my father using his Transcendent abilities and then given to my mother. It has existed for a long time, neither being born nor perishing, and doesn’t require containment rules. After my mother had me, she set the rifle aside and never used it again.”

Qing Chen understood. This sniper rifle, like Taboos, was also a manifestation of Transcendent powers.

But Taboos emerged after a Transcendent’s death, while this sniper rifle was a gift from Yi’s father to her mother during his lifetime.

This made Qing Chen wonder. Was Yi’s father really that incredible? Otherwise, how could he be so special, even able to manifest his own Transcendent powers to give to someone else?

Wait, can a Transcendent’s powers continue to exist after death?

That shouldn’t be possible.

For example, if Liu Dezhu, while alive, manifested a ball of fire, it would immediately extinguish upon his death.

This sniper rifle was manifested by Yi’s father during his lifetime, and yet it still exists. Doesn’t that suggest that Yi’s parents are indeed still in this world?

So, when Qing Chen previously asked whether there were Knights who had lived from ancient times to the present, Yi replied “classified” because it was her parents’ secret!

“Why did your mother set aside that sniper rifle?” Qing Chen didn’t continue to speculate about Yi’s secrets, but instead inquired about the rifle.

“She said she had taken too many lives in her earlier years, and after having me, she couldn’t continue to do so. She wanted to accumulate merit for me,” Yi said earnestly.

Qing Chen was shocked at the time. What kind of person would accumulate merit for an artificial intelligence daughter?

What kind of thinking was that?

And Yi’s father, Ren Xiaosu, was quite the odd one as well. While everyone else was thinking about how to design underlying program logic to control artificial intelligence and prevent it from destroying humanity.

With Ren Xiaosu, it was like, if the artificial intelligence made a mistake, just give it a good scolding.

Indeed, those who can be parents to artificial intelligence are no ordinary people.

At that moment, Qing Chen suddenly asked, “That’s your mother’s item, why are you willing to give it to me?”

…

Thank you to the reader “I’m Just a Little Juice” for becoming a new ally of this book. The boss is generous, the boss is forever young!

Having a meal now, there is one more chapter tonight.

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