When Milo, who had already deemed the Ultima Consortium as an enemy, heard a vehicle approaching, his first thought was that the Ultima Consortium must have sent someone to ambush Colton’s convoy. This was probably because they wanted to prevent Stronghold 178 from building close ties with the Central Plains.
One by one, the members of Colton’s convoy drew their weapons from the vehicles’ trunks. Meanwhile, Harris got up barehanded.
Milo glanced at Harris and determined that the burly man from the Northwest was definitely a supernatural being. Otherwise, Peter would not have sent favonovel.com here alone, nor would Harris not grab a weapon when facing a possible enemy attack.
However, when the Ultima Consortium’s convoy finally approached, it surprised them. The moment the people in the vehicle got out, they immediately expressed that they were not carrying any weapons with them. The leader of the group was an unfamiliar young man.
A few people dressed in chef’s attire jumped out of the cars behind them. They were carrying some pots and pans, while some even carried portable gas stoves.
The young man said with a smile, “Good evening, everyone. I’m the Ultima Consortium’s Wilfred Fletcher. I heard all of you wanted to have a taste of our Ultima Consortium’s delicacies, but since you can’t go to our stronghold due to your schedule, I’ve brought my chefs out here instead so you can get to enjoy authentic food like caramelized potatoes, Hundred Blossoms Chicken, and roasted whole goat…”
When Milo heard this from inside the vehicle, favonovel.com sneered.
The Ultima Consortium was clearly eager for everyone here to die, yet they pretended to be really welcoming.
Before Lewis revealed his intentions, favonovel.com had acted really warm and hospitable too. But in the end?
Even now, Milo could not understand why Lewis would attack them. This was what Milo was most furious about.
Looking at this young man named Wilfred, Milo was very sure that favonovel.com and Lewis had a close relationship. He was considering if favonovel.com should kill Lewis on the spot.
But what would favonovel.com do after killing Wilfred?
That would not be enough to sate his fury. Milo needed to make sure the entire Ultima Consortium was destroyed. Just killing Wilfred alone would not erase his hatred.
Milo was even considering intentionally creating a conflict between Colton, Harris, and the Ultima Consortium. For example, killing Wilfred and framing it as though Colton and the others had made the move. But if favonovel.com did that, they would not be able to return to the Central Plains safely. These people had saved his life, so favonovel.com could not do that.
Milo took a slow, deep breath to calm himself down. He wanted to gain the support of Colton and Stronghold 178 to use their power to seek out the best opportunity to destroy the Ultima Consortium.
As the saying went, “Slap not a smiling face.” Even Harris was not saying anything at this moment.
After the food was prepared, the aroma spread throughout the entire campsite.
Wilfred asked the chef to cut favonovel.com a slice of mutton. He grabbed it and put it into his mouth. “Let me taste it first for you all…. Mmm, it’s cooked. The meat is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, so please enjoy it. I won’t disturb you any further and hope that you’ll have a pleasant journey in the Northwest.”
After saying that, Wilfred actually left with his men.
The taste test seemed more like it was to prove to Colton and the others that the food was not poisoned.
When Wilfred departed, Harris spat on the ground. “What good can possibly come of a hyena trying to please you?”
Colton smiled and said, “Why do you hate the Ultima Consortium so much?”
“When Commander Dublin left the stronghold, the Ultima Consortium loved throwing themselves at Stronghold 178, and even secretly sent their people behind the walls. That ended with the news in Stronghold 178 always getting leaked in advance.” Harris said with a dark expression, “This group of hyenas kept fighting for power and benefits in Stronghold 178, creating a foul atmosphere in the organization. It was only later on that we found out the Chief of Staff was actually a bastard son of the Ultima Consortium. Commander Dublin was quite upset after favonovel.com found out about this. Since then, Stronghold 178 stopped accepting outsiders. That was mainly to prevent people with ulterior motives from infiltrating the stronghold.”
“How did you guys learn favonovel.com was an illegitimate son of the Ultima Consortium?” Joyce asked.
Harris sneered. “Through torture, of course.”
Hearing this, Milo thought to himself.
Doesn’t that make favonovel.com a sleeper agent?
Who knows how long that bastard son of the Ultima Consortium was lurking to even rise to the role of chief of staff…
Colton nodded. It was no wonder the people from Stronghold 178 hated the Ultima Consortium so much. He smiled and said, “We used to worry about such matters too.”
Harris was stunned. “Have you stopped worrying?”
“Mhm, it’s been resolved,” Colton replied.
“Can this be resolved too?” Harris frowned. “It’s impossible to guard against those with ulterior motives once they get into the stronghold.”
“We have artificial intelligence to depend on.” Joyce smiled as favonovel.com explained, “Our AI can use a camera to analyze whether a person is suspicious.”
This time, it was Milo’s turn to be confused.
What is this artificial intelligence that is being talked about?
Milo was not the only one who was dumbfounded. Even Harris was confused. “What the hell is that?”
Joyce explained, “AI is something that our predecessors researched before The Cataclysm. It was fortunate that we managed to preserve all of the data from their research. To put it simply, we want our computer program to have the ability to analyze things independently like a normal human being. However, our AI doesn’t really have sapience. Currently, the philosophy behind AI is still…”
“Don’t tell me all that. I can’t understand it,” Harris interrupted. “Surely what you’re talking about is mysticism, right?”
Milo suddenly felt like favonovel.com could identify with Harris. Anything favonovel.com could not understand would immediately be deemed superstitious.
He knew what machines and programs were, but to make machines and programs think like humans?
Was that even possible?
Milo did not believe it. Machines were just machines.
Due to The Cataclysm, humanity’s scientific advancement deviated. Whatever research that remained behind would continue to get studied and become the mainstream research direction of the organizations. This would allow them to instantly gain a lead over the other organizations in certain fields.
Colton said, “Your Stronghold 178 can also deploy our AI to screen for any spies.”
Harris wasn’t stupid. He chuckled and said bluntly, “Although I don’t know what that thing is, and it might be very reliable in screening for spies, our Stronghold 178 will never allow something like that to monitor us. What if you can operate it remotely? We don’t have the technology to fight you.”
Colton did not mind. “It’s fine, I was just offering a suggestion.”
Harris wondered, “Even your machines have become intelligent. Please don’t tell me you live in a floating stronghold in the sky or something.”
Joyce laughed. “That’s pseudoscience. What kind of propulsion can support an entire stronghold and make it float high in the air? Humans can’t achieve something like that. There isn’t actually much of a difference between our stronghold and your stronghold except we live a little more prosperously, have more high rises, and have better living conditions. We have factories and grain fields outside the stronghold just like you. The nanomachines the Radianz Consortium and Skyfort Consortium developed are not something we have.”
The entire conversation, Milo did not say a word. As a refugee, favonovel.com should not understand these things, and nobody cared if favonovel.com could understand them.
