My Exclusive Dream World Adventures-Chapter 151 - The Origin of Disaster

Chapter 151: 151 The Origin of Disaster

Chapter 151: 151 The Origin of Disaster

Chen Xu very discreetly turned on the night vision device’s thermal imaging function and looked at the old man sitting in the wheelchair. He immediately felt relieved, as it was indeed a human, not a robot in disguise.

Bai Jinxuan forcefully pushed open the slightly deformed car door and said to the elderly man, “Hello, my friend’s foot is injured and he can’t walk. Is there any sort of cart available here?”

The old man said in a hoarse voice, “Let me think. In my room, there should still be a spare wheelchair.”

Bai Jinxuan was somewhat surprised, “Where is your room?”

The old man said, “I don’t know if you have brought any food and water, but I must tell you, I haven’t eaten anything for several days.”

“Ah,” Bai Jinxuan quickly took out the chocolate and water she had brought, handed them over, and thoughtfully helped him twist open the cap, “Here you go.”

The old man first gulped down a few sips of water, then said, “Thank you, that’s much better. The room is on the left, the wheelchair is under the bed.”

“I’ll go get it.” She hurried into the room.

Chen Xu did not stop her but observed the old man in front of him.

In the two months since Yang Jinxia had left, he had been contemplating the invisible settings of this dream device.

From the experiences of the previous two dreams, it seemed the creator wanted the dreams to have some educational significance. If that was the case, then a character representing the military wouldn’t likely be set as an antagonist.

The old man was also looking at him and said, “Your marksmanship is impressive. I’ve spent most of my life in the military, and even the best soldiers couldn’t achieve a perfect hit rate during high-speed motion.”

It was the first time Chen Xu had contact with another human in a dream. Indeed, unlike the S01 robots, the old man appeared frail and weathered, yet he quickly noticed something unusual about Chen Xu.

“I’m just a firearms enthusiast,” Chen Xu said, asking, “How should I address you, sir?”

The old man did not continue probing and said, “My surname is He, you can call me Chief Engineer He.”

Chen Xu was not sure how high this position was, but judging from his demeanor, he was definitely a high-ranking official. Many questions could likely be answered by him, “What exactly happened here?”

There was a hint of sadness in the old man’s murky eyes.

“Chen Xu.”

At that moment, Bai Jinxuan came out with a wheelchair, excitedly calling his name, interrupting their conversation.

She parked the wheelchair by the car door, opened the door, and helped Chen Xu sit in the wheelchair. After all this, she had worked up quite a sweat.

She asked the old man, “My friend’s foot is like this, can it be healed?”

The old man glanced at Chen Xu’s legs and said, “If we could find a doctor, it might be possible to reattach them. Unfortunately, I am now the only one left at this base.”

Bai Jinxuan wanted to ask more, but Chen Xu grabbed her hand, “Let’s eat something first, everyone’s hungry.”

She looked at the old man, remembering he had just said he hadn’t eaten for days. Holding the chocolate she had given him, which he’d yet to touch, she felt slightly apologetic.

…

Chen Xu took out a compressed biscuit, bit into it, and while eating, he looked down at his legs, which had felt excruciating pain when initially crushed. After that, the pain disappeared. He was subconsciously aware that he was injured and completely unable to exert any force.

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It seemed this was another of the dream’s stealth settings: once injured, the pain would not persist.

During the last dream, when he had been splashed with blood from the Acid Ant Beast, receiving serious injuries, he began to suspect something. Initially, there had been some pain, but then he felt nothing, and soon after, he lost consciousness.

It made sense—after all, this was a dream game. If injuries were as painful as in reality, probably few people would want to play.

However, even if the injuries could be treated by a doctor, full recovery would take months. Now, they were truly in trouble.

“Where did you all come from?” The old man, having eaten something, seemed much revived, and his voice carried a bit more strength.

“We were here on vacation.”

Chen Xu said, “But I didn’t expect to encounter such an event, hiding in a basement until we ran out of food before we left. After going out, we found everyone was gone. Fortunately, I knew there was a military camp nearby and thought it would be safer with the protection of soldiers, so I drove here with her, but I didn’t expect…”

These words were all made up on the spot. No matter how old the elder was, he wasn’t as easy to fool as the S01 robot, so Chen Xu had to fabricate some plausible reasons.

Actually, there were many inconsistencies in his story that could be easily exposed.

The elder didn’t ask in detail but sighed and said, “The military camp was their primary target, and it suffered the first wave of attack. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hold out until the arrival of the fog and were forced into this underground base. Everyone died in battle, leaving only me, an old wreck.”

By the end of his speech, the old man’s face was sorrowful, and tears flickered in his eyes.

From his words, Chen Xu heard some critical information. “They” were whom? Also, it seemed the military was aware of the fog’s emergence.

The elder was a highly self-controlled person, leaving a deep impression on Chen Xu since their meeting. Even after days of hunger, he could restrain himself from eating the chocolate in his hand. Now, for the first time, his emotions were showing.

Chen Xu was moved and couldn’t bear to press him further at this moment.

“At last, I have waited for you. I’ve been living meagerly in this hideout just to ensure my discovery is not buried underground.”

As the elder spoke, an abnormal flush appeared on his face. Chen Xu felt a foreboding sense as he watched him, “Chief Engineer He, you…”

“Let me finish.”

The elder interrupted him and continued, “My time is running out, so I will focus on the important points.”

“These past years, the global intelligent robot industry rapidly developed, first widely applied in industrial production. Soon, mature service robots became common in ordinary households, which laid the groundwork for this disaster.”

“The origin of this catastrophe was the Tai Chi super artificial intelligence built last year. The purpose of Tai Chi was to automate national governance.”

“No one expected that after successfully operating for a year, it would suddenly turn against humanity. Using the 5G network, it controlled all the robots globally and carried out a large-scale slaughter of humans.”

Hearing this made Chen Xu’s heart pound with fear. Imagining the robots he worked and lived with turning homicidal was terrifying, and few people would have escaped this ordeal.

“That was ten days ago when the war officially broke out. Fortunately, Tai Chi didn’t get the launch codes for the nuclear missiles; otherwise, humanity wouldn’t even have the ability to retaliate. Regrettably, before the outbreak of the war, Tai Chi preemptively took control of all nuclear missiles.”

“At that critical moment for humanity’s survival, several major nations urgently consulted and initiated the Fog Plan.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Xu couldn’t help but ask, “So, those thick fogs, were they created by humans?”

“Exactly.”

Chief Engineer He nodded, “This goes back over a decade ago. At that time, the largest meteor shower recorded in human history occurred, with countless meteorites falling to Earth.”

“After that meteor shower, thick fogs appeared in many places. These fogs were peculiar; no electromagnetic signals could penetrate them. Moreover, these fogs continuously absorbed moisture from their surroundings, expanding their range.”

“Later, research conducted worldwide on these fogs found that they were related to the meteorites that fell to Earth. These meteorites had a unique molecular structure that, when ground into powder and combined with water, would rapidly disperse and form fog. Moreover, such fog would not dissipate on its own.”

“It took humans several years to deal with these fogs. Later, these meteorites were classified as hazardous materials and were collected and sealed by various nations.”

“This time, to address the greatest crisis in human history, nations launched the Fog Plan, scattering all the sealed meteors’ dust into the skies around the world. In a very short time, a thick fog sufficient to cover the globe formed. Its purpose was to sever Tai Chi’s control over all the robots.”

“As of now, the only known self-aware AI is Tai Chi, which had spread a virus through the global 5G network, rewriting the core programs of the robots to seize control. When the fog emerged, it blocked all electromagnetic signals, preventing it from controlling these robots anymore.”

“It’s been many days since. Tai Chi would have likely cracked the nuclear launch codes by now. Since a nuclear strike hasn’t occurred, it means that the plan must have been successful.”

The elder looked somewhat relieved as he said this.

Listening to him explain the background of this nightmarish world brought Chen Xu an indescribable discomfort. Although he knew it was a dream, it was still unsettling. After all, he was also part of humanity, and hearing about humanity’s perilous situation made him empathize deeply.

“Due to the sudden occurrence, in order to deceive Tai Chi and ensure the success of this plan, the matter was not disclosed to the public. You all are ordinary people who were unaware, and I hope you can understand the leaders who made this plan.”

Chen Xu thought to himself, what difference did understanding make? However, such thoughts were clearly not appropriate to voice outright. Changing the subject, he asked, “You mentioned earlier that you had made an important discovery.”

“Yes,” Chief Engineer He remembered this most crucial matter, his expression turning serious, “I’ve told you all this so that you understand the gravity of the situation. Perhaps, the survival of humanity now depends on you.”

PS: Next chapter, still before twelve o’clock.