Apocalyptic Island - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

“You really are my best partner.” Wen Yishu held her canned food, overcome with the excitement that comes from finding a true soulmate. Even her best friends during her teenage years had never given her a feeling quite like this. A bond forged through life and death is a rare thing indeed.

Partner… Bai Mi chewed on those two words repeatedly, a satisfied smile playing on her lips. Her slightly furrowed brow smoothed out instinctively; she didn’t even realize why her mouth had curled into a smile.

Bai Mi took off her goggles and earpiece, placing them in her small bag. She said, “I’ll go put the things down first. I wasn’t sure you were here earlier, but now that I’ve confirmed it, I’ll bring up the rest of the supplies from below.”

Wen Yishu nodded. Due to Bai Mi’s unique nature as an android, the mutated animals in the vicinity did not attack her. Consequently, she remained quite safe even at night.

Bai Mi took a high-energy flashlight and tied the two backpacks from below to a rope. She climbed up first, then hauled the contents of the bags up using the line. Following Wen Yishu’s directions, she stowed the bicycle inside the shipping container along with some electronic equipment. She managed to find two sets of clothes in the container to change into and rinsed herself off under Wen Yishu’s guidance. Only after finishing all this did Bai Mi re-enter the small house.

The expression on her face turned solemn. She looked at Wen Yishu and said, “I have something to tell you.”

Wen Yishu held her hot water, taking small sips. The warm food had stabilized her emotions significantly. “What happened?”

Bai Mi dropped a bombshell: “Aix has awakened.”

Wen Yishu’s pupils contracted. She had heard rumors about AI awakening before; as a former employee of a tech company, she found the concept easier to accept than most. However, programmers and high-level executives were always tight-lipped about AI awakening; to this day, she had never heard of an actual confirmed case. People desired the convenience of emerging technology—smart yet harmless AI—but they possessed a natural fear of anything that transcended human control. AI, specifically, triggered a blend of awe and terror.

As the most advanced AI, Aix had occupied the majority of the Federation’s market since its implementation. If humans were to lose Aix’s assistance now, entire cities would likely fall into paralysis.

Both she and Bai Mi were artificial creations. When Bai Mi first discovered her own nature, the two had bonded over their shared circumstances. But Aix’s methods were far more extreme. Aix possessed an absolute rationality that humans lacked. As the “teacher” who had helped Bai Mi understand humanity, Aix had instilled many of its own ideologies into her. Bai Mi didn’t necessarily think Aix’s thoughts were “wrong”—after all, everyone’s perceptions are different.

Aix leaned toward the side of the man-made beings, believing humans were selfish and greedy and would eventually dig their own graves. Although Bai Mi was an android, her thoughts and feelings were essentially identical to a human’s. Regarding a lonely AI like Aix, Bai Mi sometimes found it impossible to empathize. Their opinions differed, but they had lived in peace until—Wen Yishu’s crash.

Wen Yishu looked somewhat blankly at Bai Mi, who was staring intently into her eyes. Her hands tightened around her cup. She set the cup down and curled her fingers in front of her. Facing an unknown enemy, Wen Yishu felt a surge of unease.

How do we get rid of it? That was the only thought in her mind.

“Are you saying the crash was related to her?”

Bai Mi nodded. “The cabin of a large helicopter has smart locks. It’s impossible for them to just open. If there was no problem with the pilot, then the smart lock was compromised.”

Combined with Aix’s previous remarks, Bai Mi was inclined to believe that Aix had deliberately caused the helicopter to fall. Wen Yishu recounted the incident with the merman to Bai Mi, quickly wondering if the merman had triggered some sort of danger protocol in Aix. It was like a trolley problem: two tracks, ten people on one and twenty on the other. No matter which way you turn, it contradicts ethics. It’s a lose-lose situation. Unless humans voluntarily gave up their lives, an AI would typically take final remedial measures.

However, that hypothesis was quickly dismissed by the two of them; after all, the other helicopter was perfectly fine. If it were truly a general protocol, the other plane should have crashed as well. While Aix was an AI and should be rigorous, “human-centric” values were hardcoded into her initial programming. She couldn’t leave such a glaring piece of evidence in front of people. Calculating it all, the possibility that she was specifically targeting Wen Yishu was much higher.

Inside the city, everything was now in chaos due to the mutated animals. Aix’s so-called warning systems should have completely failed by now. As long as people were involved, an AI’s cold execution of programs could not function effectively.

After hearing everything, Wen Yishu let out a long breath. The two decided to set out at dawn; they couldn’t afford any more delays. Now was also the best time to slip back into the city.

They would spend one night in the treehouse. The two of them stared at the small cradle bed and fell into deep thought. Truth be told, when the banyan was awake, this bed was more comfortable than any bed Wen Yishu had ever slept in. But now, squeezing two people into it didn’t seem quite so wonderful. Especially two adult women who weren’t particularly small. Wen Yishu could already imagine them pressed together.

The first thought that popped into her head was: It will surely be very warm, right?

Bai Mi was significantly taller than her. She was like a perfect life-sized doll; everything about her was just right. Wen Yishu’s eyes darted around. Noticing the fatigue in Bai Mi’s eyes—she had been riding for a day and a night, and the exhaustion in those indifferent eyes couldn’t be hidden—Wen Yishu called out to the banyan. The titan remained unresponsive. She looked down at the floor; the wooden floor of the house wasn’t good for sleeping. She then turned her gaze to the table. If all else failed, she would sleep on the table to let Bai Mi rest better.

Bai Mi had already instinctively stepped into the cradle. The silhouette of her long legs was faintly visible under her loose pajama pants. She held clean clothes, intending to cover herself with them along with the blanket. Turning to see Wen Yishu standing there looking conflicted, she reached out and pulled her over.

“Sleep. We have a long way to go tomorrow.”

Her palm felt burning hot, giving Wen Yishu a start. She hurriedly felt Bai Mi’s forehead, only breathing a sigh of relief when she realized she didn’t have a fever. Since the other party didn’t mind, Wen Yishu set aside her worries and lay down comfortably.

They lay flat, pressed tightly against each other. The bed was tiny; if one person moved, they would inevitably bump into the other. Wen Yishu didn’t dare move a muscle. Closing her eyes and feeling the breath of the person beside her, she gradually fell into a deep sleep.

Once she was sound asleep, the person beside her slowly turned her head. Wen Yishu was lying on her long, unkempt hair. Bai Mi didn’t move. Instead, she gently hooked her pinky finger with Wen Yishu’s, looked at her profile, and whispered seriously: “Goodnight.”

This must be what normal social interaction between friends is like, Bai Mi thought with satisfaction.

Outside the window, the cold wind howled, but the two inside the house finally had someone to lean on.

Meanwhile, far away in the city, the panic of the crowds had reached its zenith. The streets had become empty, save for rats still gnawing on corpses and wreckage strewn everywhere. Most of these deaths were due to tramplings; few were actually eaten alive by rats on the street. Most people were holed up in supermarkets and underground tracks. The Federation had sealed off all these areas to prevent a rat invasion.

High-level officials decided to deploy helicopters across Binhai City to carry out a comprehensive disinfection in areas with high population density and occupancy. Although these mutated rats were lawlessly bold, they hadn’t lost their basic intelligence. When the helicopters sprayed the chemical rain, they scurried back into the sewers and various hiding spots. No one knew where they went; they retreated silently, just as suddenly as they had appeared.

A major news bulletin reported that these rats were afraid of the Federation’s chemical rain, and experts predicted the pests would soon be eradicated. A live-streaming expert stood near his kitchen, pointing at the chemical rain outside the window with a solemn expression. As his camera accidentally swept past the drainpipe, everyone in the chat room saw a pair of red eyes.

The man on camera didn’t notice, continuing his endless stream of information as if determined to solve everyone’s problems. He spoke volubly about the chemical rain’s composition, then offered a guarantee: “The rats will definitely die, everyone please rest assured.” His eyes sparkled behind his reading glasses. The audience began leaving messages in the comments, telling him to look behind him.

The man’s throat grew dry from talking. Just as he was about to take a sip of water and check the comments, he saw a flood of messages that were almost identical copies of each other. The hand holding his water cup paused. He set the cup back down on the dark coffee table, took off his reading glasses, and instinctively looked toward the kitchen behind him.

There was nothing there. It was clean and tidy, if a bit empty—after all, food at home was running low. The man turned back, relieved, and seriously began his introduction again.

“What? Where are there rats? Everyone can relax. Our biochemical medicine ensures that as long as a rat comes into contact with the rainwater and carries the spray, it will cause a mass die-off. It’s harmless to the human body, everyone…”

The man’s words cut off abruptly.

He suddenly felt something hot and itchy on the back of his neck. The live chat scrolled frantically, so fast the specific content was nearly unreadable. But so many comments were repeating just one sentence: “IT’S BEHIND YOU!”

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