Ten cosmic days later, Lie Xing, the Sunlight City Mercenary Union.
Opal: "I almost lost my life there! It's a search mission! I'm going to rush to the pirate's den to get lasers, do you understand my mood!!"
Clerk: "We can only negotiate with the employer! How much extra salary do you want! You can do it, give an accurate number!"
Raymond squeezed up and said: "No, want, money! You hear clearly, the employer has gone bankrupt! There is no more money to be squeezed out! Now we want promotion points, points!"
Clerk: "You can't add a single point! This is a fixed assessment by the trade union! It has nothing to do with us! Only money! We have to wait for us to negotiate with the employer! Go out without saying how much extra money! There are still people lining up behind! You live a hundred years!"
Opal roared frantically: "This mission is completely wrong!"
A handsome man behind him said, "There are too many tasks for the wrong version of the goods! Last time, I took a commission to guard Miss, and finally turned into fighting 3,000 combat robots!! You can only blame yourself for being unlucky! Get out of the way!"
Opal: "No way, so much worse? Dude, are you serious?"
The handsome mercenary said: "Of course! The eldest lady said she was going to get married, she was depressed, and wanted to find a bodyguard to go out to relax, but do you know what she was doing? She just let her elope! Elope!! The groom's family is Do you know who runs a robot factory! Who wants to run away with her! I'm still waiting for the labor union to arbitrate halfway through the sales task! A group of robots chased after them, and they almost gave their lives there, so handsome and like a bird! Go away! I want to hand over the commission!"
Opal: "… "
Raymond: "… "
Two hundred and forty minutes, Raymond said: "Wait, there is one more thing. Haitang said not to assist with the commission commission, and we will deduct this separately."
With a word, the noisy hall fell silent.
Opal: "?"
"Iron Hen doesn't want your commission?" a mercenary asked in disbelief.
Everyone's expressions became very strange, and Opal said: "Of course! She still owes us two lives! I plan to count her 200,000 for each fate!"
The entire hall gasped in unison.
The two walked out of the union, the last time the score for guarding the greenhouse was settled, Opal and Raymond gathered together to read the mercenary diary, Raymond was still D, Opal was E+, and he was about to catch up with him.
Raymond: "Go check the account, buy something, and contact to repair the spaceship."
Opal: "I'll go see Sid."
Raymond: "No, let's go together."
Opal: "It takes two people to buy something?"
Raymond: "The communication ear button is gone. How can I find you if I lose it later?"
Opal said: "Cut, do I look like someone who can get lost?"
Raymond smiled and said: "It's very possible." Said Bi put one hand on Opal's shoulder and walked towards the commercial street.
The bright sun shines on him, and Opal has a warm feeling in his heart. The two walked past the entertainment store. Opal was attracted by a large poster with colorful and brilliant paintings, and stopped to take a look.
[The latest version of Fantasy Movement, the Sex Paradise set, only sells for 18888 credit points, and is limited to three days.]Raymond: "Give you one?"
Opal: "… "
Nothing to do with so many new models! The advertisements were also played like a playground. Opal roared silently in his heart. Every time he was attracted, he thought there was something novel, but it turned out to be a fantasy movement in the end. This company really likes to make money.
Opal looked embarrassed and said, "No need! Thank you!"
Raymond bought a new pair of ear buckles in the store next door, put them on by himself, and put the other one on Opal's ears. Opal was still looking in the mirror, Raymond said: "Don't be stinky, you can Go, go, go."
Opal said: "Then I'll go see Sid."
The corners of Raymond's mouth twitched slightly, he hummed, looked down at the new products, chatted casually with the female clerk, and Opal squinted at him, feeling a little sour in his heart.
Shop clerk: "Handsome guy, do you want to buy something?"
Raymond bowed down in front of the cargo platform, turned to look at Opal, raised his eyebrows, and made a questioning expression.
Opal said: "I really got out."
Raymond: "Well, let's go."
Opal: "… "
Opal bored out of the store and headed for the hospital. After asking at the consultation office, he went directly to the ward on the third floor. Sid was sitting beside the bed, and his father was lying still, still awake.
The two spoke in unison.
Sid: "Where's Raymond?"
Opal: "Where's Xun?"
Opal: "… "
Sid: "..."
Neither of them answered the other's question. Opal touched Sid's father's hand and asked, "How is he?"
Sid was a little haggard and said, "I can't wake up. The doctor said that the result of excessive anesthesia caused permanent damage to his brain... Maybe they wanted to transplant Dad's brain into the queen, but they were afraid of her rejection, so The anesthesia is overdone."
Opal said nothing.
Sid added: "If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have hurriedly drove the spaceship to find him. If I came to entrust you three years ago, maybe..."
Opal said: "Sid, look at me, hello, look into my eyes."
Sid raised his eyes and looked at Opal. Opal narrowed his eyes and murmured, "Don't say I knew it earlier, do you understand?"
Sid nodded blankly, Opal sat back on a chair, put his hands on the back of the chair, and said in a deep voice, "Don't say that I knew how it was, if I was like that - don't say anything like this at any time. , Don't say for a lifetime, you can't change the past, but you can decide your future."
"Now I tell you, he can wake up, you have to be happy, after he wakes up, won't you feel sad now?" Opal stared into his eyes and said seriously.
Sid's eyes wandered for a moment, and then smiled: "Yeah, I also believe he can wake up."
Opal nodded and said, "That's good."
The ward was empty, and Opal thought that he came to visit empty-handed and forgot to buy a bunch of irises, which was really unreasonable.
Mercenaries rarely suffer from serious illnesses that require hospitalization. Large groups are equipped with medical radiographs, which are very useful for treating trauma. If they are seriously injured, they will die directly on an alien planet, and the rest will be brought back to bury. If the people who stay in the local area have any minor or serious illness, they can come directly to stimulate the regeneration of the body with radiation, and it will be over in a few days after one or two courses of treatment.
It was very quiet outside, but Sid's father had been in a coma, and he had to pay for hospitalization and nutrient solution every day.
Sid: "By the way, Xun is on the tarmac, repairing the spaceship for you."
Opal nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Do you have enough money?"
Sid said: "It's okay for now, I still have more than 10,000 credit points, enough for me and Xunhua."
Opal got 200,000 from Sid, but he became friends with him. The 200,000 always felt like he couldn't spend it. The employer went bankrupt and entrusted the task. Although his father was found, he was in a vegetative state. Sid wasn't in a good position, and Opal always felt a little guilty for spending money.
"What about you in the future? You have to plan something." Opal said.
Sid: "Yes, I have a plan, and Xun thought about it."
Opal's face changed, and he thought that the two of them would not go to out-of-towners together, and do the kind of work that wiped a spaceship and collected 3,000.
Opal: "You better not listen to him."
Sid: "Why, Xun is a good guy, I plan to be a mercenary."
Opal: "You're not kidding!"
Sid: "I'm serious! Even if I take my father back to the home planet, the Spark Company has already paid the money in one lump sum, and it is impossible to pay for medical expenses. However, if you become a registered mercenary in Lie Xing, you can enjoy the country of mercenaries. Welfare, medical treatment for family members is free. Of course I can support myself. Xun also plans to register, we will work together."
The corners of Opal's mouth twitched, and then he said: "With all due respect, your little lover... his character is not very good."
Sid frowned and said, "You, no, know, know. You don't know anything at all."
Opal raised his hand and surrendered: "As long as you like it, I have no right to interfere, nor do I intend to hypnotize you."
Sid said: "He didn't like being a mercenary very much before, because he... Because of his father's relationship, he hated this profession. Later, he accepted it and went to a recruit training school. It is said that there is a course of will training, and his fear is repulsive. … I couldn’t accept it every time, and I ended up having to interrupt the course.”
"Oh." Opal nodded, thinking that was excusable, but he was still a little dissatisfied with Xun, even if he had any difficulties, he shouldn't cheat outsiders.
Opal finally said: "It sounds like a good idea, come on, you can ask us if you don't understand, but there are some things you need to experience yourself, such as the mercenary stage... I think Raymond may... Well, not in the You will be recruited into the regiment after the recruit exam. Maybe in the future..."
Sid smiled and said, "Of course I know that there is no room for a third party between you. I don't intend to be a light bulb."
Opal: "… "
Sid: "Ah, I'm just referring to the partnership relationship!"
Opal got up and said fiercely: "Whatever you say, I wish you a C+ in the recruit assessment, just like me."
Raymond bought a ray medical device and entered the tarmac on his shoulder. Xun is wearing sunglasses and is repairing the small light cannon gap that was hung up in Era-VI.
"I didn't ask you to repair the spaceship." Raymond said.
"Free!" As soon as Xun threw the tool and was about to curse, Raymond immediately made a "yo" expression and said, "When I didn't say anything. E7, open the door."
The hatch opened, and Raymond moved the radiograph up, took a tin of coffee and threw it to Xun, who raised his hand to catch it, and found a place to sit and rest.
Raymond: "Who did you learn from?"
Xun: "My dad."
Raymond nodded slowly and said, "Where are the others? Where?"
Xun: "Dead, in the Heroic Soul Graveyard."
Raymond almost said the wrong thing, but fortunately, he is not like an opal. If he changed to an opal, he must be "You still have a dad? Why don't you see your dad discipline you?" , bad temper, ruthless mouth.
Raymond: "Finally someone you want to protect?"
Xun said coldly, "It's none of your business."
Raymond: "You should find some work. It's not what your dad wants to see."
Xun: "Dead! People! Yes! Look! No! To! Yes! Don't keep fooling ignorant teenagers with my dad's way of looking at me in the sky!"
Raymond smiled and said, "I didn't mean that."
Xun said angrily, "I'll take Sid to the recruit course in a few days."
Raymond commented: "Not bad."
Xun said: "Are you going? Let's go together. I heard that you have never attended a recruit training class. It will be very helpful for future missions."
Raymond thought for a while and said, "Let's think about it again. Opal may want to take a vacation. If he is on vacation, he will not go to class, but there is one thing I want to make clear first."
fast:"?"
Raymond: "I have never cooperated with anyone, except for Opal. Our mercenary group does not plan to recruit anyone. Opal is soft-hearted, you don't need to..."
Xun was immediately insulted and shouted: "Who wants to join you?! Don't feel too good about yourself! You two are just trash! Your brain is full of muscle junk! Take a picture of yourself when you pee. !"
Raymond was not agitated at all, and said politely, "You just know."
Xun was so angry that he kicked Times-VI fiercely and gave Raymond his middle finger. Opal came back just to see this scene and said, "Hey! Don't look for death!"
Xun left in a frenzy, and Opal put his middle finger back: "It's just crazy. I made an appointment with the wrench to meet, let's have lunch, and bring the E7 with me by the way."
Raymond went back to put on a coat and a pair of sunglasses, and the two arrived at Sunset City. Opal asked a wrench to come out and handed E7 to him.
Wrench yawned and said lazily, "Is there anything new? Let me see, little darling..."
Opal looked at Raymond and said, "Why are you wearing my glasses?"
Raymond said: "These glasses are good."
Opal: "That's mine."
Raymond: "It's mine now."
Opal: "You think I look good when I wear it, so you want to wear it too, am I right? But you ignore the problem of people, I wear it as a handsome man, and you wear it, at best, you are a tall horse. Big bitch."
Raymond said politely: "You look like a Kodo frog when you wear it, and I wear it, it's the Prince of Stars."
Opal: "Dude, Prince of the Stars is a frog species on Green Mercury."
The wrench was still in that unremarkable tone: "My God, you guys actually went to the pirate ship."
The sound of the wrench made people want to sleep every time. No matter how proud things came to his mouth, it was as common as eating a pie. At best, there were a few pirates in the pie or a king of meteors. difference.
Opal explained the process, and the wrench transcribed the mothership information into his portable terminal, saying, "It's very useful, let's continue to test, I'm planning to install these programs on a batch of mechas that Wang bought from the Empire not long ago. I hope they can have the same primary intelligence as E7 and can rescue mercenaries in times of danger."
Raymond said: "Aren't you afraid of causing trouble to Azeroth? The Covenant will sue the member states that develop artificial intelligence. This is a very serious issue. If it is leaked, someone will soon investigate."
Wrench replied casually: "Indeed...you know, the rules of the Ethics Society of Machine Intelligence must be followed, but we can play a marginal ball."
Raymond said: "Self-rescue measures have already involved the category of autonomous thinking, and I don't think E7 can only be 'primary' at all."
Wrench: "Well, no matter what impression it gives you, we can only call it 'primary' at the moment. This is for your personal safety, and I don't think E7 will mind."
Opal was a little surprised: "Raymond, do you know the category of independent thinking? What is that?"
Raymond nodded slightly: "Know a little, it means a robot with self-will."
Wrench took a deep breath, looked at E7, and said, "All non-intelligent beings with the ability to think independently will be completely destroyed, there is no doubt about that. But you know what? Small robots like E7, strictly speaking, they What can't you do with it."
"Let's put it this way, the biggest difference between a machine life and a human is not the quantification of production and biological cell activity, but the basic stagnation code formulated by the Ethics Society. In a nutshell, it is about what it is doing when it is bored."
"For example, it's on standby at this time." The wrench pointed to the E7, whose overhead light didn't light up: "But when you call its name—'E7.'"
The red light on the top of the E7's head lit up and beeped.
Opal and Raymond didn't understand what he meant. The wrench explained: "The voice-activated keyword is activated, it resumes from standby mode, starts to check the surrounding environment, and the central processing unit looks for matching words, ready to recognize your command."
Opal: "So what?"
Wrench: "If you don't give it a command, what will it do? Do nothing, just keep the data flowing. That is, when there is no command, it will just be in a daze and think nothing."
"Then let's make an assumption now, replace it with a human inner core, will it still be in a daze?"
Opal shook his head and said with the wrench: "If E7 is a person, at this time, he will think 'what is he telling me to do? Will I do something? Oh this troublesome master, always giving a bunch of messy orders , can't you explain it more clearly? Are you okay with asking me to play mind-finding? The little girl robot on the next street looks good. I'll take some time to look at it later... My crawler axle has been a little loose recently. Got some oil on...'"
Opal and Raymond were amused by the wrench and laughed, and the wrench said: "This is the fundamental difference between a robot and a human being. Even if the program has a rich processing method, it is still thinking passively, as long as it does not go beyond the 'active' thinking. Bottom line, the Ethics Society of Machines can't do anything about us."
Raymond nodded slowly and asked, "What is the difference between passive and active thinking modes?"
Wrench said: "This is a subject that has been completely destroyed after the revolution of wisdom, but I once saw in a mission that scientists before the dark age believed that the state of thinking originated from various hormones secreted by brain cells. Stimulation, you can think of it as an aspect of emotion."
"For example, boredom." Wrench said: "Feeling full is one of the motives of human beings to think for themselves; love makes people pursue beautiful things; anger makes people abandon reason and make a decision that ignores reality and environment; these Hormone production is invisible, it's very, very complex, and it's so random that it can't be modeled with optoelectronic signals."
Raymond added: "So artificial life is to put a human brain on a robot, so is it a human or a robot?"
Wrench said: "It's hard to say... I debated for a long time before the Smart Revolution, but I couldn't come to a definite conclusion. But I don't plan to play this with E7, I'll play it badly, let's stop this topic, it's obvious that there are too many discussions. is not good."
Opal remembered another thing - Azeroth bought a batch of mechas, produced by the Empire.
This means that the mercenaries will be able to touch the mechs in the near future... It doesn't matter, Azeroth has decided to join the Empire
Raymond took out something and put it in front of the wrench: "Do you know what this is?"
It was something a bit like a ring with a red gem set on it. I took a look at it with the wrench, took out the device to test it, and said, "Wait a minute."
Opal: "Where did it come from?"
Raymond: "From the ants."
Opal: "Why didn't I! When did you steal it?"
Raymond: "At that time, you were already on the spaceship, and the elder ant gave it to me. He said that this was left by their god and handed over to them. The human god also taught them many things..."
"The human god of the ants." Wrench muttered: "This is a very interesting thing." He held a tube mirror with a long finger and began to analyze the composition of the gemstones inlaid on the ring.
Opal remembered the question mark person in the guild mission, and he vaguely felt that there must be an unknown relationship among these many things.
He addressed the question of the mysterious man to Wrench, who concentrated on analyzing the composition of the gemstone and said, "You have to ask Azeroth, he has lived on this planet for thousands of years, what he knows, and the history he has witnessed. Most…”
"But he didn't have time to see me," Opal said.
Wrench murmured: "There will be time, you know, he even met Cororin, the king of meteors."
Raymond was moved: "Have they fought?"
Wrench: "That's not clear, I just heard that he almost never talks about Coroline. At least we know one thing... Wang is not afraid of him. It is true, not like some people. , I said that I was not afraid, but my heart kept shaking... This ring has a very special effect."
Opal said: "Good stuff?"
Wrench: "Let's put it this way, there is a small cluster of chips in the gemstone, activated by bioelectric wave stress, you wear it on your finger, the inner side is against the skin, it will sense your thinking fluctuations. When you fall into When you're in a state of near-death intuition beyond your physical capacity... Usually when you're not far from death, this ring sends a distress signal to the universe."
Raymond: "… "
Opal: "… "
Raymond: "Where?"
Wrench shrugged: "I don't know, do you want to try it now? Get a gun and we can complete this test. It's better that you two choose one and shoot the other, I'm just watching, I don't want to cause trouble here. ."
Opal: "… "