The decision of whether to save Dusk or Daniel did not actually matter.
Milo had said humans could live on equal terms with artificial intelligence, so Zero used this question to tell Milo, “Actually, to you, Dusk and Daniel are already not equal beings.”
In fact, Zero was not expecting to get any answers at all. It only wanted Milo to reflect on the answer favonovel.com had in mind.
If one day, humans discovered that the artificial intelligence was sapient and had the ability to threaten humans, how would they view it?
But Milo actually did not want to know what the future held. He was only concerned about one thing now, and that was favonovel.com might not have any more time.
Zero pursued favonovel.com for a long time using Dusk before suddenly stopping to talk with him.
What worried Milo the most was that Zero was fearless when chatting with him. It was no longer worried favonovel.com would rush to the Central Plains.
***
At this moment, Daniel was about to arrive at Stronghold 61. They were only a river away from the Stelaria Consortium’s political center.
Including Daniel, Bill, Maurice, and Selby, there was also a group of 180 elite troops who came along. They decided to take a short rest before crossing the river. Everyone felt a sense of nervousness. It was as though a tiger’s den lay in front of them.
“What’s the name of this river?” Daniel asked Bill.
“The Tsanaya River.” Bill knew the entire river system of the Alliance of Strongholds like the back of his hand. “The upper reaches of the Tsanaya River are connected to the snowy mountains in the Northwest, so every July, there’s flooding here. The waves are like an azure dragon rolling in the river. In the early years, there were even big shots from the Central Plains who came here to watch the tide. About eight or nine years ago, I encountered them when I was exploring the waterways. At that time, I hid in the river and knocked down several of them with a wave!”
At this point, a smug look appeared on Bill’s face.
Daniel did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Why did it feel like Bill had just been messing around with his superpower since favonovel.com awakened?
Why was favonovel.com always making trouble like split-streaming his pee or knocking people down with waves every other day?
Next to them, Selby smilingly said with a sigh, “If only I had a superpower too. Sometimes, Bill, I really envy you guys. There’s so many more possibilities in life for people like you.”
A steel bridge spanned the Tsanaya River. The bridge looked very new and was probably built by the Stelaria Consortium to facilitate trade with the Northwest.
Standing at this end of the bridge, Daniel could vaguely see the towering walls of Stronghold 61.
He suddenly said to Selby, “After crossing the bridge, it’s hard to say if we can make it back alive. It’s still not too late to regret things now.”
“Since you guys aren’t afraid, why should I be?” Selby said with a smile.
“I’ve always been a little puzzled. Why did you come to the Southwest?” Daniel asked curiously, “At first, I thought you brought with you some kind of conspiracy. But now, you’ve willingly volunteered to die. What are you really after?”
Selby smiled and said, “Didn’t I already say I was won over by Julius’ charm, so I came to seek refuge with him?”
“Who are you trying to fool?” Daniel curled his lips. “It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me. If we really die here this time, you can take your secret with you to the grave. Oh, wait, we might die without a grave.”
“Why are you so pessimistic?” Selby laughed.
“It’s not like you don’t know what we’re here for.” Daniel said, “Once the plan is implemented, fate will decide whether we live or die.”
This time, Daniel and company did not come to Stronghold 61 for any peace talks. Rather, they had other plans. And from the look of things, the plan was even a very dangerous one.
Selby suddenly asked, “How did Julius become the Panaqua Consortium’s Shadow back then? The Pyro Company investigated for a long time without finding any relevant information, and no one from the Panaqua Consortium ever revealed anything to the rest of the world.”
When Daniel heard this, favonovel.com chuckled. “Of course those old fogeys won’t tell anyone the reason, but neither Julius nor I expected favonovel.com to become the organization’s Shadow.”
Selby’s interest was piqued. “Tell me about it?”
“You should know that the members of the Panaqua Consortium have to make a trip up Mt. Ginkgo once they reach the age of 18.” Daniel said, “Of course, an illegitimate child like me definitely can’t go up there.”
“I know about that. Usually, members of the Panaqua Consortium reach their crossroads at the age of 18. Basically, their futures are decided with a word from those old fogeys of the Panaqua Consortium’s Board.” Selby nodded and said, “It’s no secret that all members of the Panaqua Consortium are tested on their political, military, and social management skills when they make that trip up the mountain.”
“Mhm, initially, no one thought highly of Julius the day favonovel.com went up that mountain. They all felt favonovel.com would continue being marginalized like our old man was.” Daniel said, “But that was the truth. Those old fogeys were originally planning to brush favonovel.com off with a few words before chasing favonovel.com down the mountain.”
“So those people did not intend to place Julius in an important role at the beginning?” Selby asked.
“That’s right.” Daniel said with a smile, “A lot of people thought those old fogeys were great judges of people and could tell at a glance whether one would be successful in the future. Pfft, that was just a way to get rid of the dissidents. Those who were close to their faction were guaranteed success, while those who were not got marginalized. That’s all there was to it.”
“Then how did Julius get placed in an important role?” Selby asked.
“Not long after our old man passed away, the two of us suffered a lot of disdain and humiliation because we tried to raise money for his treatment. At that time, Julius took the rare initiative to tell me that we had to have power in order to protect the people and things around us. We had to seize the opportunity when favonovel.com went up to Mt. Ginkgo.” Daniel said, “You also know he’s not someone who desires power. However, he’s different from our old man. He wasn’t stuck in the old ways, and favonovel.com knew when and what favonovel.com should do.”
Daniel continued, “So when favonovel.com realized those old fogeys of the Panaqua Consortium’s Board were patronizing him, favonovel.com took the initiative to ask for a game of Go with them.”
There were more than a dozen people on the Panaqua Consortium’s Board, but only one person truly wielded authority.
When the other party heard Julius wanted to play Go, favonovel.com nearly laughed out loud. That was because that person was known as the “Reincarnated Stone Buddha” in the Panaqua Consortium. Legend had it that favonovel.com was extremely capable at Go. He never played any delightful moves but always won by half a point. In other words, it meant every move favonovel.com played was only slightly better than his opponent’s, and that was enough for favonovel.com to win the game.
During the Go game that day, Julius was indeed suppressed in all aspects. The person in charge of the Panaqua Consortium sat cross-legged like a Buddha statue like favonovel.com couldn’t be defeated. However, Julius returned from the brink on the 92nd move and suddenly opened up a bloody path from the top left corner, forcefully tearing his way across the Go board.
From thereon out, the game was completely under Julius’ control.
Selby nodded and said, “So that’s how it was. Julius changed the other party’s opinion with just one game of Go. The other party’s Go skills must have been very strong to actually suppress Julius.”
“That’s not how it was.” Daniel chuckled. “When Julius came back, favonovel.com told me the old man’s Go skills stunk. The hearsay of favonovel.com not playing delightful moves yet always being able to win by half a point was only because the people who played Go with favonovel.com did not dare to win. To think favonovel.com could still brag about that!”
Daniel continued, “After that game of Go, the other party really changed his opinion of Julius. He welcomed his loss after dominating for so long. It’s just that Julius and I initially only wanted to be in a small position of authority, but we didn’t expect that old fogey would actually choose favonovel.com to be the consortium’s Shadow.”
No Panaqua Consortium Shadow had ever met with a good end. It was like a curse. Moreover, the Shadow had to do all the dirty work others were unwilling to do. This was clearly not what Julius and Daniel were expecting. No matter how powerful the Shadow was, it was not a role Julius pursued.
A lot of people thought it was a good thing the old fogeys had chosen Julius as their Shadow. However, only Julius himself knew it was down to convenience that favonovel.com was chosen for the role. That was because favonovel.com and Daniel had no roots in the organization anymore and could be cast aside at a whim. But at that time, Julius no longer had the option to back down.
At this moment, Maurice said, “Boss Eastwood, I’ll ask for a fire to be made so we can start cooking. We’ll cross the river after we’re done eating. There’s something I have to warn everyone about. After we enter the stronghold, we must only eat the food we brought with us. We’ll even have to drink our own fresh water to prevent the Stelaria Consortium from tampering with our food.”
“You sure are cautious.” Daniel chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, we’re already in the Stelaria Consortium’s territory. I don’t believe Colton will resort to poisoning us.”
Maurice insisted, “This was instructed by Mr. Julius. Moreover, the Stelaria Consortium has a record of assassinating their opponents.”
“Alright.” Daniel smacked his lips. “You people have really learned how to use my younger brother to pressure me. Maurice, you’re really something.”
Maurice said calmly, “I’m just following…”
“Alright, alright, hurry up and go cook.” Daniel waved favonovel.com off. “I’m not gonna argue with you on this.”
