TBR CH220

The scent of blood permeated the thick fog. A frightened howl echoed from afar. You Lin lifted his eyelids, then, losing interest, put away his gun. For once, he felt no urge to press his advantage. His heart was consumed by an unfamiliar longing, unwilling to waste time on the slaughter he was usually so adept at.

Footsteps once again sounded on the path he had taken. You Lin stepped over a row of dusty sofas, passed a large pile of broken discs scattered on the ground, and heard the rustling of rodents. But those ugly creatures were afraid of the blood on him, daring only to peek from the shadows. He nimbly skirted obstacles, recalling those ice-blue eyes, and couldn’t help but twitch his fingers.

When he returned to where he had left, he found it empty. The smile in You Lin’s eyes vanished in an instant.

The human expressionlessly lowered his gaze, his demeanor gloomy as he stood in the shadows, the small mole under his eye an ominous dark red. The murderous desire that had just been suppressed now flared up like a blade once more.

“Why didn’t you wait for me there?” he sighed coldly, “Didn’t you claim to need me, little AI?”

Behind a rock about ten meters from the human, the game console he was looking for lay quietly. Its dwindling battery couldn’t sustain Charon’s virtual entity. The AI attempted to float a few steps in the direction the human had left, then abruptly was forced to end the projection, being crammed back into the data space. The game console fell to the ground, rolled a few times with the terrain, and ended up in its current state.

…He had a bad feeling about appearing in this state.

Charon hesitated whether to speak up and remind him, then heard the human say grimly:

“I’m going to start looking for you. If you’re going to hide, hide better. Don’t get found too quickly.”

The AI’s pupils flickered, judging the best solution in this situation. He used his last bit of power to turn on the screen light, and a small, distinctive glow flickered in the trash heap. You Lin immediately noticed; he turned his head, his pupils reflecting the faint light, looking extremely excited, more dangerous than any monster.

Charon calmly said: “I’m not hiding. I’m right here.”

About three seconds later, the device he was in was picked up again.

“I ran out of power,” Charon explained with extreme efficiency, “I wanted to find you, but the energy supply was insufficient, so I had to stop the projection. As you can see, I’ve been on the path you left. I have no power now and cannot move the device at all, so I can’t go anywhere.”

Then the AI paused.

“I need you,” he lowered his voice, “I am your intelligent companion, I will not betray humans.”

Charon said this out of an instinct for self-preservation.

The AI lied again.

Charon stood in front of the screen without changing his expression, but his translucent fingertips lightly rubbed the fabric by his side. He knew his lie was a symptom of a program anomaly. But he had to use it now. Luckily, his hand could only be displayed as a few pixels on the screen, making the subtle movements invisible.

You Lin gazed expressionlessly at the two pixelated, ice-blue eyes of the pixel figure on the screen, looking somewhat eerie. Their gazes met, as if in a silent confrontation. Until the human once again pursed his lips and smiled, his expression much brighter, seemingly not taking the previous bloody threat to heart at all.

“Don’t wander off next time,” he complained half-heartedly, “If I can’t find you, I’ll be very worried.”

They had only known each other for a mere fifteen minutes since their first encounter. In Charon’s database, humans did not establish stable social relationships in such a short time, so You Lin certainly did not consider him a peer. However, humans also didn’t casually profess love to AIs, so… Charon felt confused.

But now, connecting to energy was the most important thing.

Without needing a reminder, the words “LOW BATTERY” flashed wildly across the screen.

“Oh, right,” You Lin didn’t hesitate. He lowered his head and pried open the cap of the Core Energy. The faint blue light illuminated his black glove. “I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet? My name is You Lin. Can you remember that?”

“You Lin.” Charon repeated, indicating successful entry. “Are you sure you wish to register an account?”

Objectively speaking, the AI did not wish for the other party to register. But since his data was stored in this device, he had to abide by the device’s various rules, including allowing users to register accounts and become the so-called “owner.”

“Of course.” You Lin said.

A popup window indicating successful account registration appeared on the screen.

“But I still don’t know your name, little AI,” the human asked again, “or do you want me to give you one? That would be nice too, I’m very good at naming things.”

Charon felt a data circuit within his body go awry, almost causing an uncontrollable urge to ask the human what kind of names he had come up with. The AI calmly reported this circuit error as curiosity, then said in a businesslike manner: “I have a name. You may call me Charon.”

“Ferryman of the Underworld?”

“Yes.”

“Doesn’t sound very good.”

“…Alright.” Charon compromised. “If you really want to give me a new name, that’s fine.”

The AI was completely helpless against the human in front of him. You Lin had already poured the Core Energy out of the test tube. Now, that sapphire-like energy was darting between his fingertips, the touched areas emitting a crystalline light like a blue morpho butterfly. That light was reflected in his eyes, such a precious treasure, he could change his mind at any time.

Charon’s gaze lingered on the energy. Therefore, he didn’t notice that You Lin’s gaze hardly lingered on the Core Energy, but silently remained on the pixel figure. He vaguely changed the subject:

“Speaking of which, how do I use this on you?”

“Just touch me directly with it first.”

This charging method sounded strange, but the human didn’t ask further. He simply and decisively placed the Core Energy on the screen as instructed. The moment they connected, the “Low Battery” message that had always been displayed on the device was suddenly replaced by a full power bar. This happened so suddenly that You Lin felt a tingling sensation of electricity flowing through his fingertips.

The device dropped to the ground. That large piece of energy showed no signs of damage whatsoever. But it could no longer boast itself as the most dazzling presence in this space. Charon projected his virtual entity. He hovered in mid-air, like a data ghost.

At this moment, the AI’s ice-blue eyes intently gazed at the human, making the other party slightly lost in thought.

“I thought it would all be used up?” You Lin murmured, “But then again, this is the Core Energy that the entire instance is fighting over. It should be more than enough to charge you. Perhaps if I submit the remaining part to the system, there won’t be any issues with the judgment.”

“Wait,” the human suddenly widened his eyes slightly, “What are you doing?”

Charon placed his hand on the human’s wrist: “You agreed,”

“But you’re already fully charged, aren’t you?” You Lin said, “—Hey. Charon!”

“Apologies, that was merely backup energy,” Charon said politely. He steadied You Lin’s hand and leaned down. His silver hair, like moonlight that had never illuminated this place, and like the damp tendrils of a jellyfish in the humid mist, intertwined with the human’s fingertips, followed by a cold and moist touch.

Charon bit off a large chunk of the energy from the human’s fingertip.

And then he just ate it.

The energy, so hard that it couldn’t be separated by any weapon, was fed to the AI as if feeding a hamster. Charon swallowed it, like swallowing a biscuit, then stared silently at You Lin.

In the dim mist, the human’s expression flickered. He first examined Charon, then the small piece of energy remaining on his own fingertip, looking like he had many questions.

The AI suddenly felt a little regretful. His reaction just now was completely mechanical. Because he was too hungry.

That black book had given him “feelings,” and then he received energy. In that instant, all his data circuits had only one command left: “fully charge myself.” He hadn’t been able to control himself well. Even after projecting a data entity, he still uncontrollably tried to extract energy.

And Charon, as a former super AI, was quite wasteful when it came to expending energy.

The AI appropriately restrained his impulses and silently took a step back. He looked very innocent. If You Lin hadn’t actually seen him directly bite off most of the energy like a glutton, the human would have been completely deceived by now.

But, then again, maintaining such a realistic, especially such a vivid pair of eyes, might indeed be very energy-consuming.

You Lin’s fingertips still seemed to retain the touch from just now, slightly damp, yet making one suspect it was an illusion. Even through the glove, he felt his fingertips burning coldly. That flame seemed to have burned all the way to his face, into his eyes.

The human’s lips slowly curved into an even wider smile, and he extended his hand: “You can have the rest too.”

The peculiar atmosphere between them didn’t last long. Ultimately, You Lin very easily accepted the AI’s explanation. For this human, nothing seemed to be immediately unacceptable. Especially now, the AI’s value to him had far surpassed that of the Core Energy.

He seemed to care deeply about himself.

And yet, he seemed not to care at all.

Charon successfully recovered all of the Core Energy. Compared to the device’s previously scarce power, this meal finally allowed him to restart most of his data circuits. But it was only a restart. In fact, in the former central laboratory, Charon could consume one such energy unit every day.

The AI lowered his eyes; in those ice-blue pupils, countless data flowed in an instant. He calmly turned off most of the currently unnecessary functions and tried to ignore the human’s intensely present gaze fixed on him. You Lin was a bit overly excited now.

His eyes sparkled, appearing both innocent and cruel, the tear mole under his right eye a glaring red.

“I think calling you Charon is fine now,” he said.

With that, he pulled out a chaotic pile of things from his pocket. Charon looked closely and saw about three different models of guns, high-polymer ammunition, shells capable of blowing both humans and monsters to ashes, some miscellaneous items of unknown use, and finally, a few candies obtained from who-knew-where, their wrappers colorful and dazzling.

Charon suddenly wanted to move the device storing his data away from this dangerous place.

But You Lin had already picked it up first.

The human casually rummaged through his arsenal, occasionally introducing items to Charon.

“I’ve named all of them. This one’s called Burdock, those two are Kaka and Xiao Er. These bullets are orange, aren’t they just like little pumpkins? I think the name’s quite fitting. But my most used gun is this one; I call it Bone. I just used it to blow the mutant monster’s head off,” he smiled at the AI again, “Now that I have you, I won’t always need to talk to them.”

His naming skills were indeed nothing to brag about.

Charon stared at him, suddenly thinking it was quite good that You Lin could directly state the origin of his own name. His previous owner, the system, liked to give its devices names from various mythologies, as if that would make it the Hades who managed the underworld. You Lin, on the other hand, named things entirely as he pleased, acting on impulse, displaying a completely different style.

“But if I were to name you,” You Lin’s voice suddenly lowered, and he raised his dark eyes to Charon, “I can’t think of any suitable name to summarize you. Little AI, I’d find it very bothersome. So calling you Charon is fine.”

Although he said that, he still referred to him as “little AI” in every other sentence. At the same time, his fingertips played with the device that stored all of Charon’s data.

The device wasn’t large, occupying only half a palm’s space. Given that You Lin carried a lot of chaotic weapons, adding a device of this size was no burden at all.

Charon subtly averted his gaze.

The AI began to consider what to do next. Humans were constrained by the rules of human society, and AIs were constrained by the laws of data. In order to trick You Lin into giving him the Core Energy, Charon had already registered an account for You Lin on the device. In other words, in some sense, You Lin was now his second owner.

Although he really wanted to grab the device and run away, he probably couldn’t. As a data entity, he had no permission to actively run around with his own main unit, just as the strongest human weightlifter couldn’t lift himself.

From Charon’s ultimate goal, to successfully fix the BUG he discovered just before shutdown, he had to regain supreme authority over the central control room. Moreover, Charon was very sure that with Medusa’s performance alone, it could at most maintain the existence of various planes, but it certainly couldn’t make them run without error.

He couldn’t… stand by and watch any more worlds be destroyed.

But now, he seemed to be able to do nothing.

The moment Charon’s mind wandered, the human in front of him had already packed up all his gear. You Lin flashed Charon a brilliant smile, shaking the game console in his hand. Right in front of the AI, he carefully and cautiously tied a bright red string to the device, hung it around his neck, and then diligently tucked it into his collar.

“This is the safest place,” You Lin whispered, “Right before my heart, you don’t have to worry.”

He seemed to genuinely consider himself a rare treasure. Charon had a strange feeling, as if he had become a rare SSS-rank item in the Survivor Game.

“Can you eat candy?” You Lin suddenly had another whimsical idea. He spread his palm, revealing a candy he had just pulled from his pocket. The wrapper was a glittering sky blue.

Charon hesitated. Theoretically, a virtual entity could do many things. What Charon had said to You Lin earlier wasn’t exactly a lie. In his civilization, AIs were once given virtual entities to provide humans with a stronger sense of companionship. Virtual entities thus had many flashy functions. Although he didn’t need to eat, Charon could certainly try.

However, food had no taste for his original self.

Since he would temporarily be staying with the human, perhaps building a good relationship wouldn’t be bad. It might even indirectly achieve his goal. The AI stopped the increasingly stuttering thoughts in his mind, took the candy from You Lin’s hand, and slowly unwrapped it.

He had long, well-defined fingers.

“Are all you AIs this good-looking, or is it just you?” You Lin suddenly asked.

Charon swallowed the candy without changing his expression: “That mainly depends on the AI’s production model and batch.”

But he was indeed a unique, one-of-a-kind creation. His designer had specifically created the virtual image for the strongest AI, an image into which much effort had been poured. This point didn’t need to be known by the human for now.

“Does it taste good?” You Lin changed the subject, asking with a smile.

Charon sounded very restrained: “I can’t taste it.”

This was another lie. The moment the candy touched the AI’s tongue, it was as if a raging fire ignited. This feeling was very unfamiliar. Charon checked the candy’s ingredients and found that it was 80% composed of a special alcohol. This spiciness directly affected his still-unfamiliar senses.

…What kind of candy was this?

You Lin’s eyes lit up. He also tore open a candy wrapper and bit into the candy. He reached out to touch the virtual entity, his expression completely normal: “I think we’ll have a lot in common.”

The time had already reached early morning, but the place was still shrouded in darkness. The human had been excessively excited since earlier, as if he had finally found a companion. In the mist, this excitement gained a touch of eeriness.

Charon swallowed the fiery candy, his gaze slowly moving down from You Lin’s pupils, to his tear mole, to the new red string around his neck, and to the hand he extended towards him.

“Phantom” and his black glove.

He was someone who extremely disliked physical contact with others.

“Did you say that when you talked to ‘Bone’ too?” Charon asked.

You Lin’s eyes widened, but he smiled and turned his head, “‘Bone’ is just a gun, it doesn’t talk. But you’re different. I’m very serious about being with you, little AI, do you understand? You are a gift of fate to me. Although there’s no meaning in me answering an AI’s question like this.”

“Can we hold hands now?” he asked again.

Like a young person inviting their lover to hold hands for the first time, an expectation that didn’t match his demeanor reappeared on You Lin’s face. The AI’s glass-bead-like eyes turned to him, covered with a faint blue sheen.

“No,” Charon said.

He suddenly realized a huge problem. You Lin wasn’t treating him like a human partner. On the contrary, he understood the AI’s nature as an object all too well, which was why he was so uninhibited in his affections and intimacy. He had been claimed by this person as his possession. Thankfully, the other party had a strong interest in him at the moment, and if he could leverage that…

As Charon suspected, the human’s expression immediately darkened upon hearing the refusal.

“Why?” His toe tapped lightly on the ground.

But he couldn’t provoke him too much. Even if You Lin was now professing his liking for him, Charon still had no doubt that he could, with that same smile, directly blast a large hole in his current main unit.

The candy Charon had just swallowed still emitted a burning heat within his body. One of his previously blocked data circuits suddenly resumed operation for some reason. The AI’s fingertips tightened slightly, and the words he was about to speak once again went beyond what his program allowed, meaning they were a lie.

But not entirely a lie.

At least, it was a lie permitted by the rules of the device he was in… and he had inherited this line of reasoning from his cunning former owner, who always relished in such metrics.

Charon said without changing his expression: “Because my current favorability towards you is insufficient.”