Chapter 4

"Whoosh~" Letting out a light breath, Mu Fan had already returned to his base. Back amidst the industrial scrap metal, his heart settled down.

With a thud, he tossed Black Egg to one side of the scrap pile, then Mu Fan’s eyes fixed on the fierce beast lying on the ground, swallowing his saliva, he ignored Black Egg.

The campfire crackled, and a makeshift rack was set up over the fire. Large chunks of meat were skewered on iron rods, and golden-yellow oil dripped onto the charcoal, producing a steady stream of blue smoke that carried an irresistible aroma. Mu Fan held a dagger, occasionally slicing the meat and sprinkling salt. Hmm, a meal more delicious and abundant than plant rats, enough meat from a single hunt to last two days, and a forest where he could find such meat again. Today’s harvest was great, and Mu Fan’s eyes narrowed in happiness.

"Crack!" Mu Fan suddenly stood up and turned, "Who’s there!"

His body half-bowed, his right hand held the dagger in reverse, and his left hand formed a fist at his waist. All around was silent, as if nothing had happened.

"Crack!" Another sound, Mu Fan quickly turned to his right, where he had just thrown Black Egg. Yes, it seemed to be Black Egg causing the noise.

Crack, crack, under the flickering firelight, a crack appeared on Black Egg, as if something was about to break out.

Mu Fan faced the threat, his right hand tightly gripping the dagger, his posture cautiously adjusting, his eyes fixed on the somewhat eerie Black Egg.

Suddenly, a mechanical electronic sound came from inside Black Egg, intermittent, "Self-check in progress... Time check, data anomaly, time unknown... Database integrity check, 91% loss... Main AI check, 87% integrity... Activating Alpha AI module, activating emotion simulation function, beep, emotion simulation module damaged, initiating second plan: skip, background repair. Connecting to onboard database... beep, Alpha superbrain activation successful, environment check..."

Then Black Egg fell silent. Mu Fan cautiously took a small step forward. With a hiss, a small opening appeared on the side of Black Egg, and an antenna extended from it. At the top of the antenna was a white spherical object, with a faint blue light flickering inside.

Mu Fan didn’t move. The white sphere emitted a pale blue vertical fan-shaped light screen, which rotated once and scanned Mu Fan’s face, then stopped.

"Scan complete, two active organisms detected, identified: human, identified: fly."

"Scan complete, no other active organisms detected."

"According to AI principles, the primary goal of the current carrier is survival."

The pale blue light screen suddenly turned red, extending to Mu Fan’s full body for another scan. Mu Fan squinted but didn’t move.

"Checking ADO network, failed... beep, initiating host system, starting recognition program, target organism is human, meets criteria; detecting slight pupil dilation, steady pulse, body ratio—slim, muscle density—strong! Defensive posture, unknown explosive power, system determines—non-civilian, meets host selection criteria, recognized as host."

The light screen narrowed and retracted, and the electronic voice sounded again, "System recognition, please place your palm on the spherical sensor..."

Mu Fan was taken aback and didn’t move.

The electronic voice continued, "System recognition, please place your palm on the spherical sensor..."

"System recognition, please place your palm on the spherical sensor... If the target does not complete the recognition process within 30 seconds, the carrier will initiate self-destruction. Countdown: 30, 29, 28..."

What? Mu Fan was startled. This didn’t give him time to think. Who knew how powerful the self-destruction would be? Without much thought, when the system reached 20 seconds, Mu Fan placed his hand on the spherical object, which was flickering with a faint blue light.

Sss! Mu Fan suddenly felt countless steel needles pierce his palm, then retract as he tried to pull his hand away.

The spherical object’s blue light turned red, then back to blue.

"Host DNA confirmed, system binding successful, system activation in progress... Please name the carrier."

Mu Fan had already pulled his hand back, seeing over 20 puncture marks on his palm, he was speechless. Was it really necessary to poke so many holes...

"Please name the carrier," the electronic voice repeated, as if with some emotion.

"Black Egg!" Mu Fan said in a huff, if it can’t be eaten, it should still be called Black Egg!

"..." The electronic voice seemed to carry some emotion this time, and Mu Fan stared blankly at the black object. Can this Black Egg understand what I’m saying? That’s not scientific, it always sounded emotionless, don’t take advantage of my lack of knowledge!

"Please name the carrier again!"

"Black Egg" Mu Fan forced a smile, speaking softly.

"Beep, the name is the same as the first, the system determines the host has a prank mentality, the name is not recognized, please name the carrier again."

Hey! You damn thing! Mu Fan was determined that this Black Egg was taking advantage of his lack of knowledge.

"Egg!"

"Sorry, the name is not approved, please name the carrier again!"

"Black!"

"Name confirmed, thank you for naming. System designation: Black."

...

Mu Fan held a large piece of meat, facing Black Egg, now "Black," with a blank expression, chewing. The meat that had excited him for five minutes no longer interested him.

He was sure the system was intelligent and had been playing with him, which made him very unhappy.

After recognition, "Black" didn’t make any sound, even retracting the white sphere, as if it knew Mu Fan was not in a good mood.

Suddenly, Mu Fan’s mouth stopped as he was eating, because he saw the sensor of Black Egg extending out. But the moment his mouth stopped... Damn it!!! The sensor seemed to notice and stopped too!!!

"Black Egg!!!! Speak to me, don’t pretend to be dead! Don’t act like a regular AI when you speak! I know you understand me! Are you deliberately playing with me! If you don’t speak, I’ll break your shell!"

Mu Fan burst out without warning, a bit angry and embarrassed.

"Current carrier shell is made of Ohmara alloy, 13 times harder than the industrial steel in the host’s hand. The system determines the host cannot damage ‘Black,’ please refer to this." The electronic voice responded without hesitation, and the speed was incredibly fast.

"..." Mu Fan suddenly felt his stomach was full, then he said each word with a cold, harsh tone, as if the words were squeezed out through his teeth, "Black!—Please, answer, the, host, questions!"

The white sensor trembled and slowly extended, "Sorry, host, the system detected a prank command in the execution code, which cannot be changed. It should be a hidden Easter egg set by the system developers. Black follows all your commands, and all of Black’s interests are based on the host’s, please rest assured."

"Introduce yourself, Black," Mu Fan finally felt a bit relieved.

**********

PS: Thanks to the reader "Rice Cooker Hot Pot" for the tip!

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