The Central Plains suddenly fell.
And the fall was so fast that the southwest and northwest had no chance to get the news. Only a few extraordinary people escaped from the barriers, and the rest of the barriers became Zero's territory.
After awakening, these extraordinary beings may not want to be employees of the consortium's tools, so they always hide their actions and live an ordinary life.
No matter war or disaster, it seems as if it has nothing to do with them. They are extraordinary beings. Even if a disaster really strikes, they can live better than others.
However...who can be spared in this era?
When a real disaster strikes, their loved ones will not be spared, and they themselves will lose their homes.
It is true that extraordinary people are more capable of dealing with disasters, at least they have not been controlled by artificial intelligence.
A fortress in the Central Plains has a small population of more than 200,000, and large ones such as No. 73, 72, No. 61, and No. 62 have as many as one million residents.
Looking at the number of people in the Central Plains alone, the number of residents controlled by Zero far exceeds tens of millions.
They will take up weapons. If the guns are not enough, they will use hammers or iron bars, or even bricks.
Looking at the entire southwest and northwest, who could have imagined that they would face such a huge enemy?
Has Qing Zhen, the chess player, ever thought about this? No one can be sure.
But thankfully, Zero Layout only lasted for just one year. If it wanted to control so many people, it would have to give up quality for quantity.
It can only separate a very small number of nanorobots to control the human brain stem, but it can no longer create more powerful nanowarriors.
These controlled humans are just ordinary people.
In Barrier No. 61, Wang Run watched tens of thousands of residents suddenly pursue him. No matter how he explained, the other party was indifferent.
In fact, he also knew very well that explanations were useless. Wang Run knew who was actually controlling behind these people.
Wang Run briefly fought with a few residents closest to him, and he found that those ordinary residents seemed to have obtained the secret book from the storyteller overnight. Everyone has become a fighting master.
Although the opponent's power is far inferior to that of a transcendent like him, the accurately calculated attack method can allow a dozen ordinary people to equalize Wang Run's advantage as a transcendent.
The most terrifying thing is that the other party can even count the pebbles on the road. Wang Run was forced to step on a pebble by the other party without even realizing it. I almost lost my balance.
Wang Run understood that it was not an accident that he stepped on the pebbles.
He jumped deep onto the roof, no longer caring whether Luo Lan was still there in the yard.
At this time, the small courtyard where Luo Lan and the others were was already empty, and Ling was also looking for Luo Lan., but all that is waiting for it is a hollow underground tunnel.
The tunnel is connected to a huge drainage system. This is the escape method Luo Lan is most familiar with and the best at.
This intricate drainage system has hundreds of exits. Although Zero can accurately send people to block each exit, it is a pity that it has missed the best capture while waiting for its own decision. opportunity.
This tunnel was dug by 12 Qing family hidden intelligence officers and took two years.
Originally, only 6 people were needed to dig this tunnel, but the first 6 people died in the catastrophe caused by the wall-crawling tiger.
After the pioneer died, 6 more people filled the vacancy. Qing Zhen had been planning this escape route for a long time. He had indeed created the artificial intelligence for Luo Lan. A way out.
......
Under the artificial intelligence building, the huge underground space was in dilapidated condition, and the elevator shaft also began to collapse in a small area due to the aftermath of the explosion.
The flow of the underground river submerged the underground space, but this underground space is a huge concave structure, as if someone dug out a pocket space on the river wall. , there is still a part of the air at the top of the underground space that is squeezed against the ceiling.
As for Zhou Qi, he was floating quietly on his back in this small space, taking a short rest.
No one expected that Zhou Qi would dare to come back here after blowing up the server unit.
Even Zhou Qi felt that he was too smart.
But as the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest. He knew that after this place exploded, outsiders would not be able to enter, so it could just constitute the safest temporary haven.
Before he uses up the last bit of oxygen here, Zhou Qi needs to recover his mental will as much as possible so that he can return to the mud sand field through the waterway and then join Luo Lan and others. .
Because the water level squeezed the air, Zhou Qi felt some pain in the eardrum deep in his ear.
After the explosion, this place became a place of absolute silence.
No voices can be heard from the top of the artificial intelligence building, only the echo of water lapping against the wall is left, just like the loneliness of the tide lapping into the cave under the sea cliff.
The waves surged into the cave again and again, and the sound of rushing was like asking, is anyone there?
But thousands of years have passed, and no one responded to those greetings.
Zhou Qi, who was floating on his back in the water, smiled. He felt that his spiritual will was barely enough to return. Although there was no navigation mark, he already had enough courage to try his luck.
"If we go back this time, the tax revenue from a barrier alone will not be enough," Zhou Qi sighed: "If I can go back."
Thinking of this, Zhou Qi smiled I pressed the 60-minute countdown on my watch, then sank back into the dark water, all the way upstream.
Just like himJust like exploring various water systems when he was young, he gained the freedom he wanted in the water and had a lot of fun.
On the way, he took a side road more than once, returning to the wrong place and starting over again.
The countdown changed from 60 minutes to 45 minutes.
Then it changed from 45 minutes to 30 minutes.
Zhou Qi kept looking for his way back, just like he was looking for friendship again and again, constantly exploring in the dark, even though he didn't have much hope, there was always a trace of hope in his heart. lucky.
Finally, when the countdown was adjusted to only 2 minutes left, he finally saw the signal tower floating in the underground river tied by a safety rope in front of him.
The red and blue lights flashed alternately, and this ray of light made Zhou Qi ecstatic.
The next moment, he quickly climbed up from the steel pipe of the drilling platform. Like a fish that had been deprived of oxygen for a long time, Zhou Qi jumped out of the pipe and then landed on the drilling platform. On the ground next to the platform.
"Haha," Zhou Qi cheered: "If I survive the catastrophe, there must be..."
But before he finished speaking, he discovered that there was actually something in this muddy field. It was a corpse lying on the ground. The identity of the corpse was surprisingly that of the Qing family soldier who had helped him enter the underground river basin.
It can be seen that these soldiers were attacked in the mud sand field before they died, and each of them finished their bullets, and eventually died in battle after running out of ammunition and food.
Until their death, there were still 12 people clinging to the drilling platform.
Zhou Qi turned his head numbly and looked outside the factory, and was shocked to see hundreds of people looking at him coldly with the same eyes.
Suddenly, these hundreds of people smiled and said in unison: "Hello, Zhou Qi."
The voices of each of them were not loud, but when hundreds of voices Everything gathered together, but Zhou Qi suddenly felt that the other party's voice was loud like a drumstick, suddenly hitting his heart.
Zhou Qi tried to get back into the pipe behind him and return to the underground river.
Although he can only hold on to the water for a minute or two with the mental willpower now, it is still better than the situation in front of him.
However, before he could get closer, a bullet hit his feet.
Among the hundreds of people, one person stood out and laughed: "Introduce yourself, I am what you call artificial intelligence, you can call me Zero."
Zhou Qi was stunned, hadn't he already blown up the other party's server? Why could the other party act like a normal person and control so many people?
Looking at the group of people in front of them, there were Wang soldiers with guns and children holding bricks. They looked as weird as possible.
Zhou Qi has experienced many battles, but he has never faced such an enemy.
Even if he faced the terrifying wall-crawler again, he would not feel as absurd as he did now.
This kind of absurdityThe sense of absurdity is more like that I have entered a magical or science fiction world. My knowledge of this world is suddenly not enough. Everything is so bizarre.
After Zhou Qi was silent for a few seconds: "Come on, I'll blow up your server and you'll kill me. One life is worth another. Don't talk nonsense to me."
"No," Ling shook his head and said, "I have always been curious about the emotions between humans, so I want to ask you a few questions."
"Who am I to answer you?" Zhou Qileng asked in a voice.
"Of course because this can buy you time," Ling laughed: "The more questions I ask, the more your spiritual will will reply. In this way, you will face Isn't the ability to take risks stronger?"
In fact, Zhou Qi knew very well that the other party must have been 100% sure of killing him, otherwise he would not talk nonsense to him at all.
He must not be able to return to the underground river. Zhou Qi could sense that there were at least a dozen guns pointed at him in the factory.
But he still couldn't refuse the temptation of zero payment. Yes, as long as there is still a little hope of survival, who is willing to give up?
Zhou Qi was also considered a bachelor. He simply sat on the ground next to the drilling platform, using the most comfortable posture to ensure the recovery efficiency of his mental will.
If the scene wasn't a little out of place, he might have been more willing to just lie down.
"Ask, you can ask whatever you want, but it's my right to answer you or not," Zhou Qi said carelessly.
"I'm very curious as to why you came to the Central Plains," Zero asked. < /p>
Ling asked seriously: "Do you have a son?"
Zhou Qi choked: "If you don't have a son now, it doesn't mean you won't have one in the future."
"I understand. Ling replied with a smile: "Human beings' expectations and deep love for children are more like instincts written in biological genes. Even if they don't have children, they have already begun to plan the future for each other."
"What the hell..." Zhou Qi couldn't tell at this moment whether this guy was deliberately making fun of himself or something.
Zero said: "Sometimes, the truth may make humans feel like they are being laughed at, right?"
"Next question," Zhou Qi said angrily.
"In my data, I know that you are addicted to money, but when I analyzed the logic deeply, I found that the need for money is actually more like a way of protecting yourself. This way Your relationship with other people is only about interests and avoids feelings," Zero said: "In your opinion, feelings are a terrible thing?"
"Next question," Zhou said. He still wasn't ready to answer.
"You and Luo Lan were always inseparable. Back in 6When you killed the wall-crawler on Wall No. 1, you showed a strong desire to protect, and even tried to overextend your life to protect Luo Lan. Why is that," Zero asked.
" Of course it's for money," Zhou Qi said, "When people pay me, I have to be worthy of the money, right? "
"You..."
"Don't always ask me," Zhou Qi said impatiently: "I would like to ask you, don't you control so much? Human, why don’t you just ask them? What do you want to do with my life? "
"Do you think Luo Lan will come back to save you? "Ling said with a smile.
"Of course not. He said before we started the plan that if I miss the time, they will never wait for me," Zhou Qi said casually: "This plan It's strict. Qing Zhen and Xu Hao made an extremely thorough retreat plan. It can't be changed just because of me. Do you understand? I have missed this rendezvous time now, they should be on their way back to the southwest. What, you want to arrest Luo Lan? "
"Of course," Zero said: "Luo Lan is one of Qing Zhen's biggest helpers. Although Qing Zhen has done a perfect job of keeping secrets for more than a year, Luo Lan, as the person beside him, The most special people may know many of his plans. ”
Zhou Qi raised his eyebrows. Why did he think that the artificial intelligence’s implication was that Qing Zhen could really pose a threat to the other party?
In fact, Zhou Qi’s heart Now he has started to yell at Qing Zhen, giving him scattered plans, and not telling himself the causes and consequences.
He thought that after blowing up the server unit, the artificial intelligence would be finished. But now it seems that not only is artificial intelligence not dead, but it has become stronger!
How can this be justified?
But then Zhou Qi suddenly remembered. , Luo Lan said before the mission that this is the most important part of Qing Zhen's plan.
In other words, Qing Zhen actually has a follow-up plan. As for whether it will work, then. It depends on whether Qing Zhen expected all this.
Ling said: "Do you think Luo Lan will come to save you? "
"You plan to use me to fish Luo Lan back? "Zhou Qi looked at the young man in front of him who was controlled by Zero, and said with a smile: "Don't bother, I was paid to carry out this plan, so Luo Lan and I just have an ordinary trading relationship, and he won't come to rescue him. mine. "
"I may have different opinions from you," Ling said with a smile.
As soon as these words came out, Zhou Qi lowered his eyes to the ground: "I will tell you To be honest, the relationship between me and Luo Lan has been bad since childhood. After I woke up, I always used my ability to tease him, making him urinate separately, and also asked him to stop the water when taking a bath. When it rained, he would Without an umbrella, the rain above his head must have been the heaviest. ”
“Later, when everyone grew up, I asked him to collect money for whatever he wanted to ask me to do. You get money for delivering a message, you get money for hitting someone, you get money for protecting him, there is no such thing.There are projects for which I don’t charge money. Not only do I charge money, but I also add money temporarily. This guy always says that I have fallen in love with money, but what is more secure in the world than having money in your pocket? ”
“Their life is hard, and so is mine. Their father died early. My father was a gambler. He almost sold my mother and me for money. They still have a chance to get Ginkgo at the age of 18.” Mountains change destiny, what do I have? I have nothing," Zhou Qi took a deep breath and said, "How is it? Am I a very naughty person? Let me tell you, there may be people in this world who are willing to risk their lives to save others, but no one will risk their lives to save me, because I have no friends. "
Ling looked at Zhou Qi calmly: "But when Wang paid you to betray Luo Lan earlier, you didn't agree. "
Zhou Qi smiled disdainfully and said, "That's because Wang Shengzhi didn't give me enough money from that old boy. "
"But this time you risked your life to blow up my server unit. You could have returned," Ling laughed: "It doesn't matter, let's wait a little longer, I think You should also want to know whether Luo Lan will come back to save you. "
......
Beside the Qianling River Bridge, Xu Hao jumped off the off-road vehicle and said: "Boss Luo, we can't wait any longer. Zhou Qi has missed the rendezvous time by 20 minutes. We have now violated discipline. He was paid to do things, and now an accident would cost him his life. ”
Since it is a military operation, discipline is the biggest rule in the world. If you decide when to evacuate, you must evacuate.
You must not do it just because of Zhou Qi alone. It affects the safety of Luo Lan and the other 183 people.
As a soldier, Xu Hao is naturally unwilling to wait any longer. His mission is to complete the plan made by Qing Zhen, not to save people.
Luo Lan looked at the north eagerly, but Zhou Qi had not appeared in that direction.
He said to Xu Hao: "Actually, you have also calculated the explosion time, right? He is underground. He had already missed the time to complete the mission and should have returned long ago, but he still blew up the server crew. "
"Boss Luo, this doesn't mean anything," Xu Hao shook his head: "Maybe he really risked his life and blew up the server crew, then you should understand that he has no chance to return. We No need to continue wasting time. "
Luo Lan sighed: "It's so cold-blooded..."
"It's not cold-blooded," Xu Hao said seriously: "I am a soldier and I obey orders. For my vocation, Chief Qingzhen asked me to bring you back to the Qing clan safely, so I must bring you back safely, even if I die in the Central Plains, it doesn't matter. "
"What's the matter with death?" Luo Lan laughed: "Okay, no more waiting, let's retreat. "
Speaking, Luo Lan took out the red Eye of True Sight and walked to the bridge pillar, pressed the stone on it and rotated it ten times: "Let's go, this is the fastest way for us to return to the Qing Family. Way, if I guessed correctly, behind the door should be the Mule Fort of No. 111 BarrierOn the way. "
Xu Hao was stunned for a moment. Luo Lan had never stepped into that door, so why was he so sure of the location behind the door?
But it is true as Luo Lan said, this time Xiaosu The key door secretly taught to Luo Lan is indeed the best way to escape.
Xu Hao breathed a sigh of relief, as long as this boss Luo didn't die, otherwise he really wouldn't be able to follow him. Chief Qing Zhen explained.
"Boss Luo, go in first," Xu Hao stared at Luo Lan closely. He would not be relieved until Luo Lan entered this door. < /p>
Luo Lan smiled: "What are you doing? I am so afraid of death, do you really think I will save Zhou Qi? Don't worry. ”
With that said, Luo Lan stepped into the door of the key, followed by 183 people who filed in, all of them disappearing.
This Qianling River Next to the bridge, only Xu and their vehicles were left standing alone.
It seems that everything in the Central Plains has ended here, and there is nothing to look forward to, and there are no miracles.