[Model: Yunting Universal Type III Energy Core · Youth Edition]
[Status: Complete]
[Integrity: 100%]
[Remaining Energy: 99.999%]
[Power Supply Rating: Civilian Grade S]
[Detailed Parameters…]
Looking at the metallic sphere before him, sleek and brimming with sci-fi flair, Jiang Qi let out a long breath.
This was the energy core he had synthesized from low-grade energy cores through two rounds of five-into-one synthesis. It was also, in all likelihood, the best energy core he could currently produce.
During the synthesis process, he had very clearly felt his mind being pushed past its limits, to the point where he had nearly failed to hold on.
And the instant the synthesis was completed, he had felt as drained as though he had just run three thousand meters flat out.
Thankfully, it had succeeded in the end.
The most common low-grade energy cores in the Wasteland had a Civilian Grade D power supply rating. After one five-into-one synthesis, they could be turned into a Civilian Grade B energy core. Then, after another five-into-one synthesis, he had finally produced a Civilian Grade S power core.
That also met the minimum compatibility requirement for Glaxia's main energy core.
"And this is only barely enough to meet the minimum requirement... no idea how long it'll actually last," Jiang Qi muttered with a sigh.
If he wanted to synthesize an even higher-grade energy core, he figured he'd need to learn much more relevant knowledge first.
But knowledge about advanced energy cores clearly wasn't easy to come by. Even Homa's understanding of cores above Civilian Grade B seemed to be very limited.
Shaking his head, Jiang Qi pulled his attention back to the present.
More important than anything else, he first needed to determine whether this mechanical humanoid before him could actually become an asset to him.
Opening Glaxia's energy bay, Jiang Qi carefully placed the energy core inside.
The bay slowly closed, and at once, a prompt popped up on the tablet beside him.
[Main energy core detected]
[Current remaining energy in main energy core: 99.999%]
[Replenishing secondary energy cores]
[…]
[Replenishment complete]
[Current remaining energy in main energy core: 68.581%]
[Replenishing auxiliary energy cores]
[…]
[Replenishment complete]
[Current remaining energy in main energy core: 41.723%]
[Intelligent core initializing]
[Warning · Main energy core consumption rate is excessively high]
[Intelligent core has recovered. Running self-check and status assessment]
[…]
[Low-power mode enabled]
[Attempting to seek outside assistance]
Then, all at once, the display on the tablet went dark.
Every fault alert and UI panel vanished, replaced by a black screen and a blinking cursor in the upper-left corner.
The cursor flashed for a few moments.
Then it typed out two words:
[Hello]
A virtual keyboard then appeared on the screen.
"So it really can communicate..." Jiang Qi swallowed.
Only...
He glanced at the information window showing the state of the main energy core.
Every ten seconds or so, the remaining energy dropped by 0.001%. At first glance, that didn't seem particularly fast, but a rough calculation made it obvious: at this rate, the remaining power in the core would only last a few days.
And that was with low-power mode already enabled.
Just as he had guessed—this intelligent core was a monstrous power hog.
Not wasting any time, Jiang Qi immediately typed "Hello" in return.
After a short pause, a response appeared.
[My condition is extremely poor. Perhaps a Yunting Repair Center can help me. Are you able to send me there? Yunting Technology should be able to pay you a considerable reward.]
"Unfortunately, probably not."
Jiang Qi typed his reply.
"This is the Wasteland. I found you in a garbage dump. Do you remember what happened to you?"
The moment he sent it, Jiang Qi felt a little regretful.
It suddenly occurred to him that he might have put that a little too bluntly.
But then again, the other party was an AI.
The fact that he had instinctively worried about hurting an AI's feelings was ridiculous in itself.
That said...
Jiang Qi looked at the blinking cursor, which continued to flash without giving any reply, and frowned.
Did it freeze?
Could this level of black technology really freeze?
His gaze drifted unconsciously to the appraisal window at the side, and his eyelid twitched.
The remaining energy in the main core was dropping at a visibly accelerated rate. In just this short time, it had already fallen by nearly half a percent.
Just as Jiang Qi was wondering what to do, a burst of harsh static suddenly crackled from the tablet, and then a video window abruptly popped up on the screen.
Jiang Qi instinctively looked over.
The video file seemed to be severely corrupted and extremely unstable. The image was full of static, noise, distortion, and frequent screen tearing. The edges of the frame were badly warped, giving it an almost fisheye-lens effect that made his eyes ache. It didn't seem to be a video format meant for an ordinary flat screen at all.
Even so, Jiang Qi could still barely make out what was happening.
The earliest segment seemed to show the interior of an enormous arena filled with futuristic, commercial-style architecture.
A little later, the image shifted. A gigantic black metal robot appeared in the center of the frame out of nowhere.
Then the footage began to strobe wildly. Jiang Qi could barely tell what was happening anymore. From the tablet's speaker came a constant flood of harsh noise that sounded like explosions and violent metal impacts.
Jiang Qi frowned hard and unconsciously took half a step back.
Then, suddenly, the image went black.
After flickering several times, a pair of red-glowing mechanical eyes appeared dead center on the screen.
And then, just like that, the video cut off.
The video window vanished with it.
The stalled cursor finally began blinking again and typed out a new line of text.
[Part of the data is missing. Based on the fragments that remain, it appears that I was defeated in the arena, and because my body was damaged too severely, I was abandoned.]
[This does not match standard decommissioning procedure.]
[No preset response plan for the current situation was found. All subsequent action will be decided autonomously by the Personality Core.]
[…]
[Um... can you help me?]
Looking at the question on the screen, Jiang Qi hesitated briefly before typing his response.
"In the Wasteland, repairing you won't be easy."
After a short delay, new text appeared.
[Then... could you please help me?]
Jiang Qi's mouth twitched.
That was... a very unexpected response.
But before he could fully process it, something even more unexpected happened.
That line of text was suddenly retracted.
In its place, a new line appeared.
[In exchange, once my mobility is restored, I can fight for you for a period of time.]
Mm...
That was much more normal.
But what had that first line been about?
Jiang Qi increasingly felt that this AI was rather different from the kind of AI he had imagined.
After thinking for a moment, he typed out another question.
"Let's not talk about how long for now. First I need to know whether you're trustworthy. How can I be sure you won't deceive or betray me?"
The cursor blinked.
But this time, Jiang Qi didn't get a reply right away.
"It froze again?" Jiang Qi muttered, bewildered. He reflexively glanced at the appraisal window beside him and found that, this time, there was no abnormal spike in energy consumption.
So...
This time, was it simply that the other party genuinely didn't know how to answer him?
Could an AI really end up in that situation?
Jiang Qi thought of the AIs he had used in his previous life. They had frozen plenty of times too, sure, but this felt somehow different.
Exactly how it was different, though, he couldn't quite put into words.
Just as he was still thinking it over, new text finally appeared on the screen.
[How about... a pinky swear?]
Jiang Qi fell silent as he stared at the words before him.
At this point, he was sure of it.
There was definitely something wrong with this AI.
Join here to read ahead.
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Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 105)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter99)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter91)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter65)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter80)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 58
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 62
From Junkman to Wasteland 45
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 32
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 35
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 31
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