Chapter 131: Life-and-Death Marathon (22)

◎ Lin Youyou’s wish (End of Competition Arc) ◎“Next stop, Rongzhou or Reshufu?”

Lu Xiaoyu somehow managed to get a rare amphibious vehicle in District D and, after a series of operations on the control panel, switched the off-road mode to floating mode. A nimble speedboat glided over the river surface, leaving behind several sparkling water trails as it raced away with full horsepower.

After asking the question, there was no response from anyone behind.

Lu Xiaoyu turned around to see Fang Zhixu and Xu Xing in the back seat, sprawled out, lightly snoring intermittently.

One elderly and one young. The old one, with his energy depleted, immediately lay down upon boarding. The young one had experienced great ups and downs in a short period, undergoing a breakthrough and farewell to a friend, experiencing intense emotional fluctuations. It was understandable for them to relax and fall asleep now.

The remaining four young and strong individuals, however, were lost in their own worlds, paying no attention to his words.

“Where are we going?” Lu Xiaoyu asked again.

Still, no one paid attention. All four were immersed in their own thoughts.

Lu Xiaoyu didn’t tolerate this behavior. He swiftly accelerated and made a sharp turn in the speedboat. The turbine spun fiercely, creating intense eddies, and the boat, skimming close to the river surface, seemed to fly low. He casually opened the skylight, splashing river water onto a few people’s faces.

“Ptui! Ptui! Lu Xiaoyu, could you please follow some traffic rules!”

Song Ke and Lin Youyou were jolted awake as if from a dream, rushing to the window to vomit. How disgusting! Who knows how many zombies died in this water!

“Awake? Then tell me where we’re going,” Lu Xiaoyu snorted lightly.

Zhuang Qingyan silently handed over a lit screen. Lu Xiaoyu reached out and took it. The next route had already been marked on it.

Song Ke closed the car window and stole a glance at Zhuang Qingyan’s face through the glass. He was resting his chin on his hand, browsing through data with lowered eyelashes that cast shadows, concealing all emotions. It was impossible to discern who he was angry with, his profile frozen like an ice sculpture.

After Yin Xiao uttered that mind-blowing “I like you,” he and Jennifer returned to the hover car, supposedly hurrying to meet with others from “Tustan” and submit the commissioned objective above.

“Life is unpredictable. What if he disappears at Haimen…”

Song Ke turned back to support Zhuang Qingyan. His eyes narrowed dangerously, his tone carrying a chilling seriousness.

Song Ke stared expressionlessly at him, pointing to the ubiquitous drones around, making her meaning clear.

“…Just kidding,” Zhuang Qingyan responded with a faint smile, slowly retracting his mental ability.

“He’s gone. What do you want to talk about?” Song Ke didn’t forget what had been interrupted earlier.

Zhuang Qingyan looked down at the seemingly indifferent Song Ke, his brow gradually furrowing.

“He just confessed his feelings to you.”

“Yeah.”

“What do you think about it?”

“I was a bit surprised,” Song Ke admitted truthfully.

“Besides surprise?”

“…Nothing else.”

This response left Zhuang Qingyan in a more difficult position.

“He said he likes you, yet you have no reaction.” Zhuang Qingyan began to realize something, his expression turning serious.

Song Ke blinked, humbly seeking advice: “…Should I have had one?”

Zhuang Qingyan silently gazed at Song Ke, suddenly pondering a question he had never seriously considered before.

“Song Keke, do you know what ‘liking someone’ means?”

This time, Song Ke seriously contemplated for a while, shook her head, her grandpa hadn’t taught her that.

Then Zhuang Qingyan fell silent.

Zhuang Qingyan, who could calculate without a change in expression even facing the cunning and sly Zombie King, was now sitting in the speedboat, seemingly encountering some complicated puzzle of the century, rarely lost in thought.

Song Ke stole glances at him for a long time before silently retracting her gaze.

In fact, she could realize that, apart from being a bit slow, she was quite obtuse in terms of emotional memory. This was a problem she had since she was very young.

Regular kids would display various emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, but Song Ke didn’t know how to express them properly. When others laughed heartily, she would end up in tears, and when others cried loudly, Song Ke’s eyebrows would knot, her little face turning red, appearing particularly angry.

So, people who didn’t understand her, like Aunt Qing, would find her gloomy and unpleasant.

Song Ke had once asked her grandfather why she was different from others. Her grandfather told her to observe and learn more, starting with imitating people of her age around her. He said Song Ke was a very, very smart child who would surely learn well.

Encouraged, Song Ke studied hard. As she grew older, gradually she became like others: she cried when she needed to, laughed when it was appropriate, and never had untimely actions. Expressing “normal” emotions became her instinct.

But there was one thing Song Ke never learned—how to like someone.

She didn’t have parents, and her grandfather didn’t have a wife. In her lonely journey of growing up, there was no reference around to tell her what two people who liked each other should be like. Song Ke liked her grandfather and also the member of Team V587, but she felt that what Zhuang Qingyan meant wasn’t this kind of liking.

“I have a question for you all,” Song Ke, who couldn’t figure it out, straightforwardly asked, “What does it feel like to like someone?”

Lin Youyou instantly became spirited and leaned in, gossiping, “Who! Who likes you? Did someone confess to you?”

“Yeah,” Song Ke nodded honestly.

“Huh, someone can’t sit still anymore?” Lu Xiaoyu’s mechanical arm clapped lightly.

“If you like each other, you should be together!” Lin Youyou glanced at Zhuang Qingyan, deliberately raising her voice decisively.

“Together?” Song Ke became more confused.

“Start dating first, then get engaged, married, and then…” Lu Xiaoyu paused for a moment, lacking practical experience, and rigorously flipped through the data. “The book ‘Analysis of Old Civilization’s Customs and Ethics’ says so.”

Lin Youyou immediately objected, “It’s the end of the world now, let’s skip engagement and just get married!”

Lu Xiaoyu was more concerned about another point, “What about the crystallization of love? If we divide the responsibilities, I suggest making a schedule. Where should the household registration be? What about schooling in the future? Staying in Liuboni or maybe Askar? I highly recommend these two institutions.”

Lin Youyou nodded, “Household registration indeed needs careful consideration. Ferrara and Tongwan are also options. I think the boy should study medicine and the girl should study art.”

Lu Xiaoyu started looking through the information again, “If the birth parents are genetically selected, the baby’s gender can be autonomously—”

“Shut up,” Zhuang Qingyan spoke coldly.

“?” Lu Xiaoyu opened his mouth, about to protest.

“Shut up,” Zhuang Qingyan interrupted him again, his expression as cold as frost.

“…Yin Xiao,” he spoke through gritted teeth, “the one who confessed, it’s a jerk named Yin Xiao.”

“….what?” Lin Youyou said, confused.

“…Ah,” Lu Xiaoyu stayed quiet for a few seconds then unexpectedly spoke, “Who’s Yin Xiao? Do we have someone in our team with that name? Is it a new nickname for you?”

“Yin Xiao is the captain of ‘Tustan,'” Lin Youyou said and wilted, then glanced at the co-pilot seat, lacking interest, and sat back.

Hearing Tustan’s name, Su Cha, who was curled up in his seat like a saw-mouthed gourd, slightly moved his shoulders in an imperceptible way.

Song Ke, completely clueless throughout the whole situation, asked, “What is the ‘crystallization of love’?”

“There’s no crystallization,” Zhuang Qingyan sneered, “except for fragments, he shouldn’t expect anything.”

Until they reached the next check-in city, except for snoring, the airship remained deathly silent.

…

After the Zombie King’s death, the threat from the zombie tide weakened, the situation of the refugee influx eased, and surviving cities got a chance to catch their breath.

The latter part of the competition proceeded smoothly, at least on V587’s side, it could be described as “extremely boring.”

The audience in Ferrara sought thrills and excitement, but after V587’s stunning operation in killing the Zombie King, they swiftly returned to their nonchalant attitude, leisurely following other teams to check in, occasionally strolling through the live broadcast room designated for the presumed champions. Either Song Ke held the terminal, seemingly counting money (though actually doing something else), or Xu Xing and Fang Zhixu put on a show of deep sleep for everyone. Only Su Cha went diligently for the check-in alone, while the rest of the team rarely appeared on camera.

Without any exciting content, the viewership in the live room rapidly declined, and gradually, the audience lost interest.

How lazy was V587? They were lazy enough to specifically choose cities that other teams had already checked in to, just trailing behind them—picking up the scraps.

Even the barrage comments started saying, “This isn’t a championship team, it’s clearly the king of slacking off,” “V587’s slacker behavior award…”

The next day, the most discussed topic became the feud between “Three Grandsons and One Grandpa” and “Shunxing Teahouse.”

The two teams clashed three times, concluding with Xiao Chen sustaining an abdominal injury and Mr. Xiang being seriously injured and comatose.

“Xiao Chen’s pretty ruthless, huh?”

“Mr. Xiang is pretty ruthless toward Duanmu Qi! He could even commit assassination. Deserves retribution.”

“The old man might not make it through this time, given his age.”

As expected, a day later, Mr. Xiang died at the check-in point just before the finish line, Rongzhou.

Due to severe internal conflicts, “Shunxing Teahouse” didn’t manage to complete the competition.

However, these had nothing to do with V587. Two days later, V587, having completed the check in, smoothly returned to the final destination—Ferrara.

Each time they arrived in this city, it always gave a completely different feeling from the apocalypse, and this time, they were welcomed with an unparalleled grand celebration.

Amidst enthusiastic cheers, Song Ke and Xu Xing lifted the trophy representing the champions. Although the other members cited “inconvenience” and refused to appear publicly, the name V587 had long been known throughout the entire eastern Alliance.

Ferrara, Tongwan, Mu City, Rongzhou…

Liuli Port, Greenwater City, Shaye, Haimen…

Different C and D-grade cities held legends about them.

Compared to the 5 million Alliance coins awarded for winning the championship, the additional 1000 points were like a drop in the bucket.

Considering the completion of the S-level commission in Haimen, which earned them double the reward, V587’s current points had reached a terrifying 700,000, far exceeding the 500,000 threshold to enter the District B.

After the celebration, V587 arrived at the top floor of the tower, meeting a person, or rather, an artificial intelligence.

Apart from points and Alliance coins, the most important reward in the Throne Race Competition was the chance for Lord Ilya to fulfill one wish.

As per the agreement, this opportunity was handed over by Song Ke to Lin Youyou.

The ice-blue data streams formed a gorgeous carpet, and a slender figure leaned quietly on the couch, waiting for them. No longer the ethereal hologram when they first met, the present Ilya, after half a year of transformation, was solid, a flesh-and-blood human.

Looking at Ilya, Song Ke couldn’t help but recall her question to Zhuang Qingyan.

If an artificial intelligence had an independent consciousness and a body to freely control, was it still an artificial intelligence?

Did that mean Ilya was already human? There was a hint of depth in Zhuang Qingyan’s eyes back then, but that person might not have wanted to be human.

“Good evening, my champions,” Ilya greeted proactively.

Lin Youyou removed her mask, and Ilya didn’t show any surprise, as if she had known all along she wasn’t “Zhang San.”

Song Ke noticed the trembling breath of the person beside her and squeezed her hand as a form of encouragement.

Lin Youyou took a deep breath, her clear words echoing in the spacious top floor:

“—Ilya, I want you to help me save someone.”

“Save someone?” Ilya cocked his head, a spark of interest lighting up in his eyes. “As far as I know, your team has an outstanding healer with exceptional abilities. If it’s about saving someone, he should be better than me.” S~ᴇaʀᴄh the ɴøᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“I know,” Lin Youyou nodded. “As long as they haven’t died, or are not on the brink of death, Old Fang can bring them back.”

“But the person I want to save… is someone who’s already dead.”

Ilya showed a hint of surprise, even V587 was taken aback. Though they knew Lin Youyou wanted to save someone, they weren’t aware of the specifics.

Lin Youyou opened her terminal and played a recorded video she took before heading to the Sin City. The location was the Fifth Hospital in Tongwan. On a hospital bed lay a person covered in various instruments. Well, calling this person a patient wasn’t accurate—the level of decay had surpassed a Stage Three mutation, more exaggerated than a Fallen. Their appearance was almost indistinguishable from a zombie, lying there lifelessly, like a corpse.

“This is my sister, Lin Xiu. She underwent irreversible zombification due to radiation. Her body is beyond salvage.”

Lin Youyou’s fingertips curled, her gaze firm as she spoke, “So… I want you to turn her into an artificial intelligence.”

“An artificial intelligence?” Ilya chuckled softly. “Interesting, but as I said before, this isn’t something I need to handle.”

He raised his hand slightly, a tiny stream of data pointing towards Lu Xiaoyu. “It seems like you don’t know your companion very well. Do you need me to recommend someone? For instance… this exceptional talent from the Lu family. Transforming a person into an artificial intelligence, he’s equally capable.”

Lu Xiaoyu was staring at a supercomputer, even though the screen displayed nothing, he was completely absorbed.

However, Lin Youyou slowly shook her head. “What I want is an artificial intelligence named ‘Lin Xiu.'”

Lu Xiaoyu could fill in memories, like in Sin City, where he restored the fragmented consciousness of Lord Hades, enabling him to become ‘Hu Yong.’ But the restored Hu Yong wasn’t the same as the original Lord Hades. Lin Youyou desired an AI that fully possessed her sister Lin Xiu’s memories.

“My sister, Lin Xiu, was declared brain-dead in the Loake Accident fourteen years ago.”

Upon hearing a familiar keyword, Zhuang Qingyan subtly lifted his eyelids.

Lin Youyou’s parents passed away early, and she was raised by Lin Xiu, who was a generation older. When Lin Xiu graduated from Tongwan Medical University, she became involved in a secret project. From then on, the chances for the sisters to meet decreased. Ultimately, Lin Youyou received news of her sister’s death due to nuclear leakage.

For fourteen years, under Tongwan’s top medical conditions, Lin Xiu, despite brain death, maintained a controllable level of radiation. However, when the apocalypse erupted, her zombification accelerated drastically. Even though doctors had concluded Lin Xiu was irreversibly a zombie, Lin Youyou refused to give up.

Unable to accept seeing Lin Xiu fully zombified, during that time, Lin Youyou desperately collected crystals, sought experts, participated anonymously in competitions, trying every possible means, despite the hope being faint.

Later, Lin Youyou met Song Ke, Fang Zhixu, Lu Xiaoyu… Hu Yong’s experience opened up new possibilities for her. She conceived the idea of allowing Lin Xiu to continue existing in another life form.

But a crucial piece was missing.

This piece could only be provided by Ilya.

“Lin Xiu, she underwent memory storage,” Lin Youyou said, each word deliberate.

“She had the habit of regularly updating that memo.”

“I want to retrieve her memories from you. I want a complete Lin Xiu.”

“I also want to know what happened fourteen years ago in Loake.”

Memory storage was a secret known only to the locals of Ferrara.

Ferrara’s AI was highly advanced, and even before Ilya became the city’s magistrate, this unique service had emerged. As humans aged, their memory ability gradually declined, forgetting many things. But computers didn’t. Therefore, the people of Ferrara could archive and backup memories in AI.

By merging brainwaves and neurons with a fixed AI port through weak electric stimulation, they linked it with the storage module in the AI’s memory. This action formed a synchronous “memoir” in the cloud. If humans lost certain memories due to accidents, aging, or forgetfulness, they could retrieve them through a “rollback” function.

After Ilya emerged as a super AI and Ferrara’s ultimate authority, he naturally connected to all intelligent terminals, including the part used to record the “memoir.” This was why Ilya knew everything—the memories of all Ferrara citizens.

Lin Xiu was among the first volunteers in the project, depositing all memories since birth into the AI.

In the silent stillness, Ilya smiled.

“If this is your wish, I can fulfill it for you.”

**TN

This arc ends here. (~‾⌣‾)~ Also, I’ll be taking a break for the holidays and will be back next year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance~

Health and happiness to you and yours in the new year ahead. :٩( ᗒᗨᗕ )۶