"You keep saying inferior creatures. Just how superior are you?"
She immediately became unhappy with his words. Tense, she argued, "Me? I'm a digitalized human being. Do you understand what that is? My brain is developed up to twenty percent, and my brain capacity is twelve times yours. The amount of knowledge in my head scares me. Do you know what that means—"
"It means that you're my captive," Jiang Chen said casually. It did surprise him that the girl had so much technology in her head. The most precious commodity on the wasteland was exactly this.
Lin Lin's face paled again, but just as she was about to retort, her pupils became a distinct, crimson color.
A shiver went through his mind, an instinctual sense of danger making him immediately raise his pistol and aim at her head.
The red pupils stared blankly at him. No, rather than blank, it was better to say that it was an emotion that he could not understand.
He recalled that the bug's brain had been implanted into Lin Lin's body.
"Lin Lin" gazed at him in silence, then slowly raised her head. Jiang Chen tensed.
Shoot? But she wasn't attacking. Don't shoot? But this is what controlled the zombies.
She didn't seem to understand what the pistol was. Her face came closer to the weapon in Jiang Chen's hand before she gently placed her mouth on the metallic muzzle.
She was kissing it?
Jiang Chen was completely lost.
It was at this moment that the storm of crimson washed away. Lin Lin, who regained control of her thoughts, looked up at the gun barrel in her mouth, completely at a loss.
Hmm? Was she back now?
Jiang Chen gave her a friendly smile, which from her perspective, seemed psychotic.
Her frail shoulders began to tremble, and her dark eyes were shaken with fear.
Finally, her fear forced out a high-pitched scream.
"No, don't kill me! I-I'll be your slave. You can do whatever you want to me. You must be thinking about it anyway! Maybe in the game! Now that you finally see my pure body, you're thinking evil thoughts. I-I'm going to be—"
"Shut up!" Jiang Chen shouted.
Lin Lin finally settled down, but partially due to fear. On the surface, she was defiant and aggressive, but in the face of danger, she was a coward.
"I have a question for you, so answer truthfully," Jiang Chen said in a deadpan voice, his grip maintaining the gun's aim.
Lin Lin gulped and rapidly nodded, but her vision remained on the pistol.
"The bug is in your body, right?"
"Yes!" Lin Lin said, but upon feeling a chill creep up on her, she immediately added, "but only in the brain!"
"Is there a difference?"
"Yes, it can no longer produce the x2 bacteria," Lin Lin quickly explained.
"X2 bacteria... so that's what it's called. And then?" Jiang Chen stare bored into her eyes.
"And?" Lin Lin didn't understand.
"I'll be honest with you. My purpose here was not for the artificial intelligence, but rather to kill that bug." Jiang Chen smiled with a hint of hostility.
Lin Lin stared at him with vacant eyes. To his surprise, she didn't cry this time.
Jiang Chen sniffed, then frowned.
What was this smell?
He then noticed something flowing out of her.
[What? She peed?]
Jiang Chen was shocked all over again. He didn't expect this girl to be so scared that she'd lose control like that.
As far as he knew, it was nothing too excessive; it was a slight threat.
"No, don't kill me. I-I'm afraid of pain," the tiny mouth stuttered listlessly as her tears rolled down in silence.
"Ahem, don't be like this. I'll take into consideration the fact that you spent such a long time in the virtual world, and therefore have some mental problems. But for your safety, you have to calm down and answer my questions.
"The next question is, where did you hide the bug?"
Lin Lin paused and then slowly pointed at her chest.
"Heart?"
"Mhmm. It's attached to the surface of my mechanical heart. It seems to be attached to my nervous system." Lin Lin nodded. She sensed that Jiang Chen didn't plan to kill her, so she finally calmed down.
"Mechanical heart? Speaking of this, if you're a digitized human being, then could you remove your heart and then reinstall it?" Jiang Chen pointed a mischievous look at her raised chest.
Like a cat with its tail stomped, she curled back and hugged her clothes.
"No, I will die. I don't want to!"
Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows. It was going to be problematic now.
"To be fair, you don't have to kill it," Lin Lin carefully said.
Of course, she said this not because she was a benevolent person; she also hated the bug inside her, but she was more afraid of the devil dissecting her.
"Oh?"
"It's not dangerous right now; the only thing remaining is its brain. And, it seems to really like you?"
"Pshh! What?"
Jiang Chen was completely dumbfounded.
[Could my charm have surpassed the limitation of species?]
"Mhmm, because whenever you approach me, my heart beats faster. Ew, ew, ew! Its heart beats faster. Also, it is also a creature that possesses some intelligence, so the secret teller forced it into the game." Lin Lin then carefully continued, "The character it played... seems to have been Yao Tingting."
"..." The silent girl with the books was played by a bug?!
Jiang Chen was speechless.
[What is this? Did I fu*k a bug?]
There seemed to have been a few endings where that actually happened.
"So why don't you let it go? It has positive feelings for you. It won't hurt you," Lin Lin cautiously said.
Jiang Chen's eyes rolled around for a moment before he said as if he had given up, "It's really not dangerous?
"No, no!" Lin Lin quickly waved her hands. "Under normal circumstances, I control the body. It occasionally fights for control, but it doesn't seem aggressive."
[Not aggressive? That's strange. Then what are the x2 bacteria?]
Jiang Chen's eyebrows locked. He had a feeling that the bug was not as simple as it seemed. If it was simply a radiation mutant, then there was no reason for it to possess intelligence.
Especially since even the existing mutants could be infected by the bacteria.
He remembered the Death Claw he met on the surface.
"Oh, since you know the name of the x2 bacteria, do you know what it is?"
"From the DNA analysis, it is similar to the radiation purification bacteria. Almost as if it's an improved version of the x1 radiation purification bacteria—so I took the liberty of calling it x2. Although it's an improved variant, its infection on creatures was not removed but rather enhanced. It can also do what the x1 could never, such as charging the zombies and coordinating them."
Jiang Chen could feel that he was close to understanding something as his forehead began to tighten.
"Can you communicate with it?"
"It's a bit difficult. Although it can establish mental communication, it seems to be repulsed by me."
Lin Lin's pupils slightly contracted, almost like mechanical equipment.
"Then you can chat with her. I'll take you to my newly established survival camp. I've wasted too much time here, and my companions are probably nervous by now."
He looked at the time on the EP; there was only half an hour left before the two hour mark.
"Are... are you going to imprison me?" Lin Lin's eyes were fearful. She originally thought that she'd been freed, but the man in front of her didn't seem to want to let her go.
"You can interpret it that way since you're paranoid and delusional," Jiang Chen said unscrupulously.
Lin Lin stared at him coldly, her lips turning white.
"Don't look at me like that. If I have time one day, I'll show you around Sixth Street, or maybe even closer. You'll realize what's happening outside in a few days."
Jiang Chen was uncaring of her humiliated expression. She reminded him of himself when he first came to the apocalypse, naively thinking the world was the same as before.
Although the apocalypse happened in 2174, the Spaceship of Hope left in 2176. Therefore, survival base 005 was closed sometime between the two points. There was no way for Lin Lin to be unaware of the zombies and mutants that occupied most of the land, but she ignored the more cruel variable that had changed in the apocalypse.
Human nature.
Disregarding the apocalypse, even if he left her in the "harmonious" Sixth Street, she would be picked to the bones in a few days.
He trusted that even if he didn't explain, it wouldn't be long before she appreciated his intention.
Just like she said, she did save him by providing the key clue in breaking through the game.
"Turn around."
Jiang Chen courteously backed away and turned around.
The sound of clothes shuffling around came from behind him as Lin Lin finally wore the clothes.
"Okay."
Jiang Chen turned around. When he saw Lin Lin wrapped in orange cloth, he couldn't resist laughing.
"Although there's no radiation here and the bacteria's been burned clean, you better put the helmet on since we'll be leaving."
Lin Lin ignored him as she stumbled into the shambles. It was evident that she was still not used to walking. After staying so long in the vial, she had yet to regain control of her body coordination.
"What are you looking for?" Jiang Chen slightly frowned as he watched Lin Lin searching the junk.
"I found it." Lin Lin happily raised a metal box.
"If that is artificial intelligence data, please put it down."
The monotonous voice made Lin Lin quiver. She turned around trembling to see Jiang Chen raise the pistol.
The meaning in his eyes was clear.
"Wait! No, don't shoot. Don't overreact. This isn't artificial intelligence data." Lin Lin quickly waved her hands.
"Oh, what is it then."
"It's a great thing." Lin Lin smiled delightfully and held the metal box up. "The artificial intelligence data was all destroyed. Such a massive amount of data can't be stored in a box like this, so you don't have to worry. Have you heard of Project Garden of Eden?"
Seeing Lin Lin's uplifted spirits, Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows again.
This was his first time hearing about it.
"It's part of the planet transformation plan." Lin Lin was a different person when talking about science. She said excitedly, "After the planet transformation plan met some setbacks, the project developer proposed a simpler alternative, which was Project Garden of Eden.
"This method will work by establishing partial biological circles instead of transforming the entire earth. This sub-project was re-categorized into the higher-priority space colonization project."
"Just tell me what it can do." Jiang Chen impatiently interrupted her long speech. After hearing that the artificial intelligence was destroyed, he put the gun away.
"It's the plan to establish an artificial biosphere in a closed environment without the need to exchange materials with the outside. Without radiation, you can see the earth's atmosphere even from Mars. Project Garden of Eden's completely database... I always wanted to take a look at this thing. My dad used to lock it into the database hehe." Lin Lin ecstatically pressed the switch on the box and aimed her eyes at the blue light.
The data was obtained from the hard drive by using a laser to scan.
So, was this like the failed biosphere projects two and three in the modern world UA?
"Will there be arable land?" Jiang Chen said after some thought.
"Of course. You'll be able to grow whatever you want in this environment," Lin Lin mocked him. She missed the odd tone in his voice.
[If it's possible to produce arable land, then the possibility of farming becomes a reality. If it's possible to farm on the wasteland, then what's my purpose?]
As he turned the matter over in his mind, his eyes began to gleam. He observed the joyous girl, his finger continuously rubbing the trigger of the gun in his pocket.
[What should I do?]
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