“Crap.” In the underground research room, the researchers saw Ren Chong struggle uncontrollably in the chair.
“Reality intervention, quick! Shock him with a current to break him free of the predicament!”
Electricity began flowing through the electrodes attached to Zhou Sheng’s arm; Zhou Sheng instantly started convulsing uncontrollably.
Yu Hao stood in the cement room and stared at his dark self in a daze.
“You appeared again.” Yu Hao studied him and asked in surprise, “When did you come back?”
Dark Yu Hao sat in front of the charcoal stove, warming both his hands by the fire. “Every time you doubt yourself. I’ll never disappear.”
“I don’t want you to disappear,” Yu Hao said, “I know it’s impossible too.”
“Do you want to go look for Zhou Sheng?” Dark Yu Hao said slowly, “Can you save him? You?”
Yu Hao looked around; when he entered, the door was already closed. At this moment, it seemed as if only this small room remained in his spiritual world.
“When you come here,” Dark Yu Hao said again, “it proves that you’re about to die. Where else do you want to go?”
“I understand.” Yu Hao said, “But even if there’s just a slight chance, I won’t give up.”
Dark Yu Hao sneered. Yu Hao continued, “Come ba, come back to me.”
Dark Yu Hao’s eyes widened, and he was instantly stunned. Yu Hao said, “I need your help now, help me open the door.”
“If you continue walking from here,” Dark Yu Hao said, “You may never be able to come back again.”
“Come.” Yu Hao smiled, “I’m not afraid.”
Dark Yu Hao fell silent. Yu Hao just waited patiently, and in the end, his dark self got up and walked towards Yu Hao. Yu Hao welcomed him with open arms; the two of them flashed for an instant and merged into one.
Within the cement room, a flash of light swept past; another door appeared. Yu Hao walked up to it, and just like the instant when he and Zhou Sheng pushed this door open together previously, he left the subconscious and suddenly entered an even deeper consciousness space.
As if it had transformed into a starry cosmos — beyond that door, a giant tree that shone with an intense light appeared! Yu Hao appeared on one of the leaves, and there was still a protective glow that materialised around him.
“Vemmffvfv!” Te Ljb mglfv, “P remmffvfv!”
Dea cb bcf mjwf ab rtjgf tlr pbs. Te Ljb gjc delmxis jibcu atf ifjnfr ab atf rafwr, atfc ab atf ygjcmtfr jcv obgxr. Lf kjr rfjgmtlcu fnfgsktfgf jcv weaafgfv ab tlwrfio, “P’ii tjnf ab olcv Itbe Vtfcu’r vgfjw cfza…Qtlmt ifjo lr la?”
At the top of the tree trunk in the distance, a bright light appeared.
Yu Hao, “……”
Yu Hao subconsciously turned around and darted towards that bright light.
“So cold…” Yu Hao could sense it; as compared to the even deeper world of the memory of ruins, this place had a kind of chill that could penetrate through one’s skin, blood, and even their bones. Only running towards the bright light made him feel slightly better.
As he ran, he searched for a world that might belong to Zhou Sheng on the branches. Countless leaves drifted on this gigantic tree of the world, fell into the void, then disappeared completely. New, tender leaves would then slowly start to grow towards the sunshine that spilled down from above.
He knew which section in Zhou Sheng’s subconscious was related to the experience of death— it was an illusion that emerged from being drowned when he picked up the Golden Crow Wheel as a child. If he can find that leaf, he may be able to enter Zhou Sheng’s dream — he could come up from the bottom of the water. But how could he get in? Perhaps recalling the sensation of drowning from not being able to swim could let him find the resonance of that moment with Zhou Sheng in the deep-layer consciousness?
As Yu Hao ran, he left countless branches, but he still couldn’t find Zhou Sheng’s leaf. All these leaves looked the same, so he couldn’t distinguish between them.
There must be a way…Yu Hao thought. There are a lot of things that he hadn’t thought through clearly yet, don’t get anxious…
He slowly stopped running and looked at the scene in front of him in astonishment.
He left the highest branch of the tree; there were steps here that came from all sides. He went up the steps and arrived at the top, then faced the sun that illuminated this giant tree of the world—— it was another Golden Crow Wheel.
“I actually can see you here?” Yu Hao uttered in disbelief.
“This is the world of the collective unconscious.” A grand voice answered, “Humans, animals, all living beings with free will, their deepest conscious layers are interconnected here. It has no concrete representation of its own, but in your cognition, it’s expressed as the ‘huge tree of the world’.”
“Golden Crow Wheel!” Yu Hao was stunned, “You can talk?”
“In this place, our awarenesses have been completely separated, and your interpretation of me is a ‘voice’, which is one of the six senses.” Golden Crow Wheel’s voice said, “Corrector, why are you here?”
Yu Hao stared at the Golden Crow Wheel blankly. “Wait, you’re alive? What I mean is, are you an AI? I’m looking for Zhou Sheng…”
Suddenly, a golden light wave appeared in front of him that spread out around him. In the middle of the light wave, a shining image of Zhou Sheng appeared. He walked towards Yu Hao and said, “Corrector.”
“Zhou Sheng!” Yu Hao said excitedly, but he quickly understood that this is just an image that the Golden Crow Wheel had transformed into.
The Golden Crow Wheel look at Yu Hao quietly. Yu Hao calmed down and said, “I know this is the collective unconscious; it connects everyone’s dream, and it’s the dreamscape of the world. I want to find Zhou Sheng’s dream through it and enter his dream. Do you know what happened?”
“The Overseer.” Golden Crow Wheel answered.
“Yes! Yes!” Yu Hao answered.
Then, without saying a word, Golden Crow Wheel turned around and walked down the steps. Yu Hao followed closely behind. “You can communicate with us! Why have you never communicated with us before?”
“Energy,” Golden Crow Wheel said, “A lack of the required energy makes it impossible for me to activate some functions. I can only activate the keyword search function and communicate with you guys through the last category of perception.”
Yu Hao, “Could you hurry? I’m afraid we’ll run out of time, how much time has passed?”
“In the world of the collective unconscious, time in the external world is still.” Golden Crow Wheel answered.
Yu Hao thought that that was good. He asked, “Then why can we communicate now? Because of the collective unconscious world?”
“No.” The Golden Crow Wheel walked down the steps and onto a branch. It said, “Because one of your kind is charging me. Language compilation, consciousness interference and other such extension modules have been restored to become available modes. However, the CPU has not yet detected an energy source for the adapter.”
“Charging?” Yu Hao said, “Who’s charging you?”
“Borrowing a section of the Overseer’s conscious.” Golden Crow Wheel released the image of a memory — in it was Zhou Sheng’s perspective. He saw the process of the Golden Crow Wheel being dissolved and charged up. Yu Hao instantly stopped moving. “What do they want to do? Wait…I suddenly thought of something.”
Yu Hao glanced sideways at the shining Golden Crow Wheel with a human body that had turned into Zhou Sheng; he realised that he was now talking directly to the Golden Crow Wheel’s AI, which is to say that for humans, this guy is equivalent to an omnipotent God! Could he hug his thigh and get him to open up more rights for Yu Hao? Then he wouldn’t need to look for Zhou Sheng anymore!
“Could you give me some other sort of power?” Yu Hao asked, “I have to get the Overseer out, otherwise I don’t know what kind of insane things Ren Chong would use you for!”
Golden Crow Wheel said, “Please specify. Corrector, what permissions do you need me to open?”
“No, no.” Yu Hao said, “Let me sort my thoughts out first, this is too complicated.”
Golden Crow Wheel continued, “The authority of the Corrector can only be adjusted after the Overseer submits an application to the CPU. Commands can’t be directly made here.”
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“What on earth are you?” Yu Hao asked, “Hold on for a moment. Conversion of instructions. I need access to some of your information.”
Golden Crow Wheel stopped moving as well. He turned around and faced Yu Hao. Looking at Zhou Sheng’s familiar face, Yu Hao frowned deeply and muttered, “Tell me about your origins, your functions, as well as what I should do now in order to bring Zhou Sheng back.”
The ‘Zhou Sheng’ that shone with a golden light dispersed with a ‘bang’ and transformed into countless scenes that surrounded Yu Hao — every single one of them were memories that had been saved!
Yu Hao, “……”
Yu Hao almost stopped breathing — this was a scene that came from ancient times! The first scene drifted toward him, and when it arrived in front of him, two haloes appeared that surrounded a very complex apparatus.
“What is this?” Yu Hao asked.
“My Creator.” Golden Crow Wheel said.
“Is it a lifeform completely different from us?” Yu Hao reached out to touch it, but the scene disappeared.
Golden Crow Wheel answered, “Not entirely accurate. According to the definition in human language, ‘lifeform’ refers to an individual or ethnic group that can propagate and supercede the old with the new. My Creator is unable to carry out either of these activities.”
Then, an even bigger silver halo landed in an environment akin to that of ancient Earth. Golden Crow Wheel continued, “17,442 years ago.”
The silver halo released this complex device that hovered above the wilderness. Animals would find it once in awhile and try to touch it, but fail.
“What was the intention of your Creator in creating you?” Yu Hao asked.
“Initially, it was to observe the consciousness of other populations.” Golden Crow Wheel answered, “After discovering this planet, the reproductive model of this planet’s lifeforms was judged to be of ‘value’. Through the analysis and sampling of the consciousness of lifeforms here, it was hoped that the reproductivity model of the group my Creator belonged to could be completed.”
“They are lifeforms that only have consciousness, but no physical body.” Yu Hao said, “Did they want to find a way to reproduce by themselves through the analysis of human and animal consciousness?”
“Extraction.” Golden Crow Wheel said, “Partial extraction and interference. Learn how to create new individual bodies through the splitting of consciousness.”
“What about them?” Yu Hao asked, “Are your Creators still on Earth?”
“Intense stellar activity resulted in radiation bursts.” Golden Crow Wheel said, “My Creator used me to activate a barrier, which consumed a lot of energy from the processor. Eventually, the barrier disappeared, and my Creator was affected by an interference and dissipated.”
“Dead.” Yu Hao said.
“An inaccurate definition,” Golden Crow Wheel answered, “For them, there is no ‘death’ as defined by humans.”
After that, this device lost a lot of energy and was buried in the sand. Even later on, humans appeared. They picked up the Golden Crow Wheel that had a very complex structure and studied it from the perspective of the ancients. More than 10,000 years passed, and Yu Hao swept past through those scenes quickly. He was afraid that he wouldn’t have enough time at first, but since there was no concept of time in this place, he might as well figure things out properly first.
“Ancient Bashu people.” Yu Hao said, “They found you.”
“And passed the authentication of the login mechanism.” Golden Crow Wheel answered in the void, “A match in frequencies was detected.”
It was a young sacrifice; while he was naked from head to toe, he lay on the sacrificial altar and seemed to have taken some kind of strange medicine. He was offered an even higher seat in front of the altar. This bare device suddenly lit up, which gave all of the people who were offering up the sacrifice a huge fright.
After the light faded, the offering sat up with a dazed expression. Golden Crow Wheel said, “4,300 years ago, he became the first human to pass the authentication.”
“Why?” Yu Hao asked, “How did he pass your authentication? Because he almost died?”
“Match in frequencies.” Golden Crow Wheel answered, “It was activated after detecting the one who logged in.”
Yu Hao, “……”
Yu Hao had a vague conjecture that perhaps this sacrificial human had inadvertently triggered the Golden Crow Wheel through his near-death experience while being sacrificed. He had once read some literature on research regarding one’s spirit, at this time…is consciousness the closest form to the Golden Crow Wheel’s original Creator?
“Your Creator has no physical body,” Yu Hao muttered, “So humans are similar to their form in a ‘soul-like state’, which is why…they can pass the authentication!”
“Can’t be analysed.”
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Yu Hao continued watching. Ancient Bashu people carefully placed this device on a piece of gold foil with pliers, then covered it with another and began beating it, then poured an alloy solution made from copper and gold. After their forging took form, they handed it to the young priest who was supposed to be a sacrificial offering. The priest wore it on his chest.
After that, the ancient Bashu civilisation flourished and the Golden Crow Wheel was handed down from generation to generation, until war broke out and the country separated into two — the Ba and Shu countries. The last priest was dragged down from his position, the Golden Crow Wheel taken away from him, then he was executed through hanging. After the war, the Golden Crow Wheel dropped while it was being transported, and the Minjiang River changed its course and washed it downstream.
Time flew by quickly, until Zhou Sheng, who was a child then, found it in the mud while swimming in a tributary channel. However, after he got the Golden Crow Wheel, he drowned because he was too weak. Yu Hao was scared witless from watching, but fortunately, Zhou Sheng was washed ashore with the Golden Crow Wheel grasped tightly in his hands still.
“This guy is always like this…” Yu Hao said, “He’s too stubborn.”
Golden Crow Wheel said, “This is what you wanted to know.”
Yu Hao answered, “Do you have an autonomous consciousness? That is to say, apart from choosing the first user, can you…help me?”
Xbivfc Jgbk Qtffi jcrkfgfv, “Efraglmafv ys qfgwlrrlbcr.”
Te Ljb qbcvfgfv obg j wbwfca, atfc mbcalcefv, “Tbe vbc’a kjca ab ijcv lc Efc Jtbcu’r tjcvr flatfg, gluta?”
Xbivfc Jgbk Qtffi jcrkfgfv, “Ciatbeut P mjii wsrfio ‘P’, P vb cba tjnf ilxfr jcv vlrilxfr, bg atf mbcmfqa bo wbgjilas ilxf sbe tewjcr. Po atf cfk Ynfgrffg qjrrfr atf jeatfcalmjalbc bo atf biv Ynfgrffg, atfgf’r cb vloofgfcmf lc afgwr bo bqfgjalbc obg ‘wf’.”
Yu Hao said, “Okay then, let me change my question. What are the permissions of the ‘Corrector’?”
Golden Crow Wheel, “Correctors are made by Overseers; authentication is completed through partial consciousness interference. The specific functions of Correctors are: to oversee the subconscious, assist the Overseer in rebuilding the channels in the subconscious and the world of the surface consciousness. Oversee the collective unconscious, in order to prevent chaos and integration in the world.”
“…breaking away from dreamscapes, fixed-point travelling, searches, keyword retrieval related to me…”
“But I’ve never used the fixed-point travelling function,” Yu Hao said, “I often need Zhou Sheng to bring me around.”
“The reason for that is a lack of energy.” Golden Crow Wheel answered, “Now, there’s enough energy to unlock that function.”
“Can I activate you?” Yu Hao asked, “Without the Overseer?”
“That operation can’t be performed.” Golden Crow Wheel said.
Yu Hao said, “Then I basically have no permissions!”
Golden Crow Wheel, “Because your status is only that of a Corrector. You’re not responsible for governing and altering consciousness. But once the Overseer is found, through the merging of your permissions, you can activate the World module for a brief moment under the premise that I have enough energy.”
“What’s the World module?”
“The Creator mode.” Golden Crow Wheel answered, “To modify and rebuild the conscious world at will.”
Yu Hao looked around. “I must find him first.”
There was an almost infinite number of leaves on the world’s tree. Every leaf corresponds to either a human or an animal, and if he just casually touched one, the consequences would be very troublesome. Yu Hao didn’t want to randomly touch anything here.
“If the surface consciousness collapses to the subconscious, the Corrector may temporarily acquire the World module.”
“That’s precisely the reason I’m here…” Yu Hao said, “Okay, let’s go and find Zhou Sheng. Help me find the leaf that represents Zhou Sheng.”
Golden Crow Wheel brought Yu Hao and walked to higher ground. They left the branch area and arrived at the top of the highest branch.
In the dream world, a resplendent streak of lightning suddenly burst from level ground. Zhou Sheng was in the air — he had been hurled out from the electrocution. With a pained cry, thunder and lightning were instantly released from the sea of clouds, and the world turned dark. The black dragon wailed in anguish, tumbled down, and landed with a resounding thud.
“I said,” Ren Chong slowly got up, gasped for breath, and said seriously, “that this is just the beginning.”
Zhou Sheng struggled to get up. Another burst of electric current passed through his body, and he fell harshly back to the ground.
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“You’re actually electrocuting me in reality?” Zhou Sheng was still smiling fiercely, “Once I deal with you guys, I’ll let you have a taste of what I’m feeling now.”
“You won’t have that chance.” Ren Chong said.
Zhou Sheng extended a hand and grasped the jingubang tightly; the jingubang turned into a shield, and within a split second, it had resisted the lightning that filled the sky. At the next moment, Zhou Sheng brought all his potential into full play — he rushed from level ground, and while withstanding the electric charges that streaked madly through the air, he lunged at Ren Chong!
“Inject his right hand with the anesthetic.”
A medic inserted a needle into Zhou Sheng and pushed a strong anesthetic in.
In the dream, right when Zhou Sheng was about to strike with his shield, Ren Chong jumped into the air and kicked the shield with one foot. Zhou Sheng’s shield left his hands, and with a ‘dang’, the shield was sent flying by this kick. Immediately afterward, Ren Chong clutched Zhou Sheng’s throat. Zhou Sheng’s right hand drooped by his side — he couldn’t lift it at all!
Zhou Sheng, “!!!” He used his left hand to try and break free from Ren Chong’s grasp, yet Ren Chong lifted him up, charged madly, and brutally flung him onto the railings!
“It succeeded! It does work!”
“Anesthetize his left hand.”
“All his limbs have been anesthetized.” A researcher said, “Try to make it such that he can’t move anymore. Once he’s under the control of the drug, there won’t be anymore danger.”
Ren Chong took a few steps back. “Under the influence of anesthetics in reality, you can’t feel your limbs anymore. What do you want to do next? Spit fire to burn me?”
Zhou Sheng tried several times to get up, but he would always fall back to the ground. His legs keep trembling, and he failed in the end.
“Ai.” Zhou Sheng lay on the ground and looked at the sky.
Ren Chong lifted him up and pushed him against the railings. He asked, “Where’s your totem?”
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Half of Zhou Sheng’s body was pressed against the railings, and he couldn’t move for a moment.
In the world of the Colosseum, on the ground, Satan transformed into Dark Zhou Sheng. Clad in black armour from head to toe, he stood in the middle of the arena, raising his head to look at the zenith of the dense, dark clouds.
Through the clouds, he looked at the sky in the distance. On the zenith’s platform, Zhou Sheng’s upper body was pushed past the railings. While being separated by this distance, he and his dark self looked into each other’s eyes.
Zhou Sheng was pressed against the railings, and he kept gasping for breath.
“It’s up to you now…” Zhou Sheng muttered.
In the next moment, Zhou Sheng was lifted by Ren Chong and dragged to the Golden Crow Wheel. As if he was a sacrificial offering, Ren Chong clutched his collar and faced the Golden Crow Wheel, then said in a low voice, “Come ba…” Then he gripped Zhou Sheng’s throat with both hands and lifted him toward the Golden Crow Wheel.
Zhou Sheng closed his eyes in agony, his four limbs drooping without any energy left in them. Not far behind Zhou Sheng, the scene in front of the Golden Crow Wheel was reflected in the shield.
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“As long as I completely kill off your self-consciousness here…” Ren Chong muttered. His vice-like grip on Zhou Sheng’s throat tightened continuously.
A prominence-like intense light burst out of the Golden Crow Wheel; flares flew over and enveloped Zhou Sheng and Ren Chong, its light and flames forming a storm. Zhou Sheng’s consciousness was gradually disappearing, and what took its place was Ren Chong’s ferocious grin. The flames on the Golden Crow Wheel was slowly transiting toward Ren Chong through Zhou Sheng’s body.
“Crap.” In the underground research room, the researchers saw Ren Chong struggle uncontrollably in the chair.
“Reality intervention, quick! Shock him with a current to break him free of the predicament!”
Electricity began flowing through the electrodes attached to Zhou Sheng’s arm; Zhou Sheng instantly started convulsing uncontrollably.
Yu Hao stood in the cement room and stared at his dark self in a daze.
“You appeared again.” Yu Hao studied him and asked in surprise, “When did you come back?”
Dark Yu Hao sat in front of the charcoal stove, warming both his hands by the fire. “Every time you doubt yourself. I’ll never disappear.”
“I don’t want you to disappear,” Yu Hao said, “I know it’s impossible too.”
“Do you want to go look for Zhou Sheng?” Dark Yu Hao said slowly, “Can you save him? You?”
Yu Hao looked around; when he entered, the door was already closed. At this moment, it seemed as if only this small room remained in his spiritual world.
“When you come here,” Dark Yu Hao said again, “it proves that you’re about to die. Where else do you want to go?”
“I understand.” Yu Hao said, “But even if there’s just a slight chance, I won’t give up.”
Dark Yu Hao sneered. Yu Hao continued, “Come ba, come back to me.”
Dark Yu Hao’s eyes widened, and he was instantly stunned. Yu Hao said, “I need your help now, help me open the door.”
“If you continue walking from here,” Dark Yu Hao said, “You may never be able to come back again.”
“Come.” Yu Hao smiled, “I’m not afraid.”
Dark Yu Hao fell silent. Yu Hao just waited patiently, and in the end, his dark self got up and walked towards Yu Hao. Yu Hao welcomed him with open arms; the two of them flashed for an instant and merged into one.
Within the cement room, a flash of light swept past; another door appeared. Yu Hao walked up to it, and just like the instant when he and Zhou Sheng pushed this door open together previously, he left the subconscious and suddenly entered an even deeper consciousness space.
As if it had transformed into a starry cosmos — beyond that door, a giant tree that shone with an intense light appeared! Yu Hao appeared on one of the leaves, and there was still a protective glow that materialised around him.
“Vemmffvfv!” Te Ljb mglfv, “P remmffvfv!”
Dea cb bcf mjwf ab rtjgf tlr pbs. Te Ljb gjc delmxis jibcu atf ifjnfr ab atf rafwr, atfc ab atf ygjcmtfr jcv obgxr. Lf kjr rfjgmtlcu fnfgsktfgf jcv weaafgfv ab tlwrfio, “P’ii tjnf ab olcv Itbe Vtfcu’r vgfjw cfza…Qtlmt ifjo lr la?”
At the top of the tree trunk in the distance, a bright light appeared.
Yu Hao, “……”
Yu Hao subconsciously turned around and darted towards that bright light.
“So cold…” Yu Hao could sense it; as compared to the even deeper world of the memory of ruins, this place had a kind of chill that could penetrate through one’s skin, blood, and even their bones. Only running towards the bright light made him feel slightly better.
As he ran, he searched for a world that might belong to Zhou Sheng on the branches. Countless leaves drifted on this gigantic tree of the world, fell into the void, then disappeared completely. New, tender leaves would then slowly start to grow towards the sunshine that spilled down from above.
He knew which section in Zhou Sheng’s subconscious was related to the experience of death— it was an illusion that emerged from being drowned when he picked up the Golden Crow Wheel as a child. If he can find that leaf, he may be able to enter Zhou Sheng’s dream — he could come up from the bottom of the water. But how could he get in? Perhaps recalling the sensation of drowning from not being able to swim could let him find the resonance of that moment with Zhou Sheng in the deep-layer consciousness?
As Yu Hao ran, he left countless branches, but he still couldn’t find Zhou Sheng’s leaf. All these leaves looked the same, so he couldn’t distinguish between them.
There must be a way…Yu Hao thought. There are a lot of things that he hadn’t thought through clearly yet, don’t get anxious…
He slowly stopped running and looked at the scene in front of him in astonishment.
He left the highest branch of the tree; there were steps here that came from all sides. He went up the steps and arrived at the top, then faced the sun that illuminated this giant tree of the world—— it was another Golden Crow Wheel.
“I actually can see you here?” Yu Hao uttered in disbelief.
“This is the world of the collective unconscious.” A grand voice answered, “Humans, animals, all living beings with free will, their deepest conscious layers are interconnected here. It has no concrete representation of its own, but in your cognition, it’s expressed as the ‘huge tree of the world’.”
“Golden Crow Wheel!” Yu Hao was stunned, “You can talk?”
“In this place, our awarenesses have been completely separated, and your interpretation of me is a ‘voice’, which is one of the six senses.” Golden Crow Wheel’s voice said, “Corrector, why are you here?”
Yu Hao stared at the Golden Crow Wheel blankly. “Wait, you’re alive? What I mean is, are you an AI? I’m looking for Zhou Sheng…”
Suddenly, a golden light wave appeared in front of him that spread out around him. In the middle of the light wave, a shining image of Zhou Sheng appeared. He walked towards Yu Hao and said, “Corrector.”
“Zhou Sheng!” Yu Hao said excitedly, but he quickly understood that this is just an image that the Golden Crow Wheel had transformed into.
The Golden Crow Wheel look at Yu Hao quietly. Yu Hao calmed down and said, “I know this is the collective unconscious; it connects everyone’s dream, and it’s the dreamscape of the world. I want to find Zhou Sheng’s dream through it and enter his dream. Do you know what happened?”
“The Overseer.” Golden Crow Wheel answered.
“Yes! Yes!” Yu Hao answered.
Then, without saying a word, Golden Crow Wheel turned around and walked down the steps. Yu Hao followed closely behind. “You can communicate with us! Why have you never communicated with us before?”
“Energy,” Golden Crow Wheel said, “A lack of the required energy makes it impossible for me to activate some functions. I can only activate the keyword search function and communicate with you guys through the last category of perception.”
Yu Hao, “Could you hurry? I’m afraid we’ll run out of time, how much time has passed?”
“In the world of the collective unconscious, time in the external world is still.” Golden Crow Wheel answered.
Yu Hao thought that that was good. He asked, “Then why can we communicate now? Because of the collective unconscious world?”
“No.” The Golden Crow Wheel walked down the steps and onto a branch. It said, “Because one of your kind is charging me. Language compilation, consciousness interference and other such extension modules have been restored to become available modes. However, the CPU has not yet detected an energy source for the adapter.”
“Charging?” Yu Hao said, “Who’s charging you?”
“Borrowing a section of the Overseer’s conscious.” Golden Crow Wheel released the image of a memory — in it was Zhou Sheng’s perspective. He saw the process of the Golden Crow Wheel being dissolved and charged up. Yu Hao instantly stopped moving. “What do they want to do? Wait…I suddenly thought of something.”
Yu Hao glanced sideways at the shining Golden Crow Wheel with a human body that had turned into Zhou Sheng; he realised that he was now talking directly to the Golden Crow Wheel’s AI, which is to say that for humans, this guy is equivalent to an omnipotent God! Could he hug his thigh and get him to open up more rights for Yu Hao? Then he wouldn’t need to look for Zhou Sheng anymore!
“Could you give me some other sort of power?” Yu Hao asked, “I have to get the Overseer out, otherwise I don’t know what kind of insane things Ren Chong would use you for!”
Golden Crow Wheel said, “Please specify. Corrector, what permissions do you need me to open?”
“No, no.” Yu Hao said, “Let me sort my thoughts out first, this is too complicated.”
Golden Crow Wheel continued, “The authority of the Corrector can only be adjusted after the Overseer submits an application to the CPU. Commands can’t be directly made here.”
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“What on earth are you?” Yu Hao asked, “Hold on for a moment. Conversion of instructions. I need access to some of your information.”
Golden Crow Wheel stopped moving as well. He turned around and faced Yu Hao. Looking at Zhou Sheng’s familiar face, Yu Hao frowned deeply and muttered, “Tell me about your origins, your functions, as well as what I should do now in order to bring Zhou Sheng back.”
The ‘Zhou Sheng’ that shone with a golden light dispersed with a ‘bang’ and transformed into countless scenes that surrounded Yu Hao — every single one of them were memories that had been saved!
Yu Hao, “……”
Yu Hao almost stopped breathing — this was a scene that came from ancient times! The first scene drifted toward him, and when it arrived in front of him, two haloes appeared that surrounded a very complex apparatus.
“What is this?” Yu Hao asked.
“My Creator.” Golden Crow Wheel said.
“Is it a lifeform completely different from us?” Yu Hao reached out to touch it, but the scene disappeared.
Golden Crow Wheel answered, “Not entirely accurate. According to the definition in human language, ‘lifeform’ refers to an individual or ethnic group that can propagate and supercede the old with the new. My Creator is unable to carry out either of these activities.”
Then, an even bigger silver halo landed in an environment akin to that of ancient Earth. Golden Crow Wheel continued, “17,442 years ago.”
The silver halo released this complex device that hovered above the wilderness. Animals would find it once in awhile and try to touch it, but fail.
“What was the intention of your Creator in creating you?” Yu Hao asked.
“Initially, it was to observe the consciousness of other populations.” Golden Crow Wheel answered, “After discovering this planet, the reproductive model of this planet’s lifeforms was judged to be of ‘value’. Through the analysis and sampling of the consciousness of lifeforms here, it was hoped that the reproductivity model of the group my Creator belonged to could be completed.”
“They are lifeforms that only have consciousness, but no physical body.” Yu Hao said, “Did they want to find a way to reproduce by themselves through the analysis of human and animal consciousness?”
“Extraction.” Golden Crow Wheel said, “Partial extraction and interference. Learn how to create new individual bodies through the splitting of consciousness.”
“What about them?” Yu Hao asked, “Are your Creators still on Earth?”
“Intense stellar activity resulted in radiation bursts.” Golden Crow Wheel said, “My Creator used me to activate a barrier, which consumed a lot of energy from the processor. Eventually, the barrier disappeared, and my Creator was affected by an interference and dissipated.”
“Dead.” Yu Hao said.
“An inaccurate definition,” Golden Crow Wheel answered, “For them, there is no ‘death’ as defined by humans.”
After that, this device lost a lot of energy and was buried in the sand. Even later on, humans appeared. They picked up the Golden Crow Wheel that had a very complex structure and studied it from the perspective of the ancients. More than 10,000 years passed, and Yu Hao swept past through those scenes quickly. He was afraid that he wouldn’t have enough time at first, but since there was no concept of time in this place, he might as well figure things out properly first.
“Ancient Bashu people.” Yu Hao said, “They found you.”
“And passed the authentication of the login mechanism.” Golden Crow Wheel answered in the void, “A match in frequencies was detected.”
It was a young sacrifice; while he was naked from head to toe, he lay on the sacrificial altar and seemed to have taken some kind of strange medicine. He was offered an even higher seat in front of the altar. This bare device suddenly lit up, which gave all of the people who were offering up the sacrifice a huge fright.
After the light faded, the offering sat up with a dazed expression. Golden Crow Wheel said, “4,300 years ago, he became the first human to pass the authentication.”
“Why?” Yu Hao asked, “How did he pass your authentication? Because he almost died?”
“Match in frequencies.” Golden Crow Wheel answered, “It was activated after detecting the one who logged in.”
Yu Hao, “……”
Yu Hao had a vague conjecture that perhaps this sacrificial human had inadvertently triggered the Golden Crow Wheel through his near-death experience while being sacrificed. He had once read some literature on research regarding one’s spirit, at this time…is consciousness the closest form to the Golden Crow Wheel’s original Creator?
“Your Creator has no physical body,” Yu Hao muttered, “So humans are similar to their form in a ‘soul-like state’, which is why…they can pass the authentication!”
“Can’t be analysed.”
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Yu Hao continued watching. Ancient Bashu people carefully placed this device on a piece of gold foil with pliers, then covered it with another and began beating it, then poured an alloy solution made from copper and gold. After their forging took form, they handed it to the young priest who was supposed to be a sacrificial offering. The priest wore it on his chest.
After that, the ancient Bashu civilisation flourished and the Golden Crow Wheel was handed down from generation to generation, until war broke out and the country separated into two — the Ba and Shu countries. The last priest was dragged down from his position, the Golden Crow Wheel taken away from him, then he was executed through hanging. After the war, the Golden Crow Wheel dropped while it was being transported, and the Minjiang River changed its course and washed it downstream.
Time flew by quickly, until Zhou Sheng, who was a child then, found it in the mud while swimming in a tributary channel. However, after he got the Golden Crow Wheel, he drowned because he was too weak. Yu Hao was scared witless from watching, but fortunately, Zhou Sheng was washed ashore with the Golden Crow Wheel grasped tightly in his hands still.
“This guy is always like this…” Yu Hao said, “He’s too stubborn.”
Golden Crow Wheel said, “This is what you wanted to know.”
Yu Hao answered, “Do you have an autonomous consciousness? That is to say, apart from choosing the first user, can you…help me?”
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Yu Hao said, “Okay then, let me change my question. What are the permissions of the ‘Corrector’?”
Golden Crow Wheel, “Correctors are made by Overseers; authentication is completed through partial consciousness interference. The specific functions of Correctors are: to oversee the subconscious, assist the Overseer in rebuilding the channels in the subconscious and the world of the surface consciousness. Oversee the collective unconscious, in order to prevent chaos and integration in the world.”
“…breaking away from dreamscapes, fixed-point travelling, searches, keyword retrieval related to me…”
“But I’ve never used the fixed-point travelling function,” Yu Hao said, “I often need Zhou Sheng to bring me around.”
“The reason for that is a lack of energy.” Golden Crow Wheel answered, “Now, there’s enough energy to unlock that function.”
“Can I activate you?” Yu Hao asked, “Without the Overseer?”
“That operation can’t be performed.” Golden Crow Wheel said.
Yu Hao said, “Then I basically have no permissions!”
Golden Crow Wheel, “Because your status is only that of a Corrector. You’re not responsible for governing and altering consciousness. But once the Overseer is found, through the merging of your permissions, you can activate the World module for a brief moment under the premise that I have enough energy.”
“What’s the World module?”
“The Creator mode.” Golden Crow Wheel answered, “To modify and rebuild the conscious world at will.”
Yu Hao looked around. “I must find him first.”
There was an almost infinite number of leaves on the world’s tree. Every leaf corresponds to either a human or an animal, and if he just casually touched one, the consequences would be very troublesome. Yu Hao didn’t want to randomly touch anything here.
“If the surface consciousness collapses to the subconscious, the Corrector may temporarily acquire the World module.”
“That’s precisely the reason I’m here…” Yu Hao said, “Okay, let’s go and find Zhou Sheng. Help me find the leaf that represents Zhou Sheng.”
Golden Crow Wheel brought Yu Hao and walked to higher ground. They left the branch area and arrived at the top of the highest branch.
In the dream world, a resplendent streak of lightning suddenly burst from level ground. Zhou Sheng was in the air — he had been hurled out from the electrocution. With a pained cry, thunder and lightning were instantly released from the sea of clouds, and the world turned dark. The black dragon wailed in anguish, tumbled down, and landed with a resounding thud.
“I said,” Ren Chong slowly got up, gasped for breath, and said seriously, “that this is just the beginning.”
Zhou Sheng struggled to get up. Another burst of electric current passed through his body, and he fell harshly back to the ground.
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“You’re actually electrocuting me in reality?” Zhou Sheng was still smiling fiercely, “Once I deal with you guys, I’ll let you have a taste of what I’m feeling now.”
“You won’t have that chance.” Ren Chong said.
Zhou Sheng extended a hand and grasped the jingubang tightly; the jingubang turned into a shield, and within a split second, it had resisted the lightning that filled the sky. At the next moment, Zhou Sheng brought all his potential into full play — he rushed from level ground, and while withstanding the electric charges that streaked madly through the air, he lunged at Ren Chong!
“Inject his right hand with the anesthetic.”
A medic inserted a needle into Zhou Sheng and pushed a strong anesthetic in.
In the dream, right when Zhou Sheng was about to strike with his shield, Ren Chong jumped into the air and kicked the shield with one foot. Zhou Sheng’s shield left his hands, and with a ‘dang’, the shield was sent flying by this kick. Immediately afterward, Ren Chong clutched Zhou Sheng’s throat. Zhou Sheng’s right hand drooped by his side — he couldn’t lift it at all!
Zhou Sheng, “!!!” He used his left hand to try and break free from Ren Chong’s grasp, yet Ren Chong lifted him up, charged madly, and brutally flung him onto the railings!
“It succeeded! It does work!”
“Anesthetize his left hand.”
“All his limbs have been anesthetized.” A researcher said, “Try to make it such that he can’t move anymore. Once he’s under the control of the drug, there won’t be anymore danger.”
Ren Chong took a few steps back. “Under the influence of anesthetics in reality, you can’t feel your limbs anymore. What do you want to do next? Spit fire to burn me?”
Zhou Sheng tried several times to get up, but he would always fall back to the ground. His legs keep trembling, and he failed in the end.
“Ai.” Zhou Sheng lay on the ground and looked at the sky.
Ren Chong lifted him up and pushed him against the railings. He asked, “Where’s your totem?”
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Half of Zhou Sheng’s body was pressed against the railings, and he couldn’t move for a moment.
In the world of the Colosseum, on the ground, Satan transformed into Dark Zhou Sheng. Clad in black armour from head to toe, he stood in the middle of the arena, raising his head to look at the zenith of the dense, dark clouds.
Through the clouds, he looked at the sky in the distance. On the zenith’s platform, Zhou Sheng’s upper body was pushed past the railings. While being separated by this distance, he and his dark self looked into each other’s eyes.
Zhou Sheng was pressed against the railings, and he kept gasping for breath.
“It’s up to you now…” Zhou Sheng muttered.
In the next moment, Zhou Sheng was lifted by Ren Chong and dragged to the Golden Crow Wheel. As if he was a sacrificial offering, Ren Chong clutched his collar and faced the Golden Crow Wheel, then said in a low voice, “Come ba…” Then he gripped Zhou Sheng’s throat with both hands and lifted him toward the Golden Crow Wheel.
Zhou Sheng closed his eyes in agony, his four limbs drooping without any energy left in them. Not far behind Zhou Sheng, the scene in front of the Golden Crow Wheel was reflected in the shield.
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“As long as I completely kill off your self-consciousness here…” Ren Chong muttered. His vice-like grip on Zhou Sheng’s throat tightened continuously.
A prominence-like intense light burst out of the Golden Crow Wheel; flares flew over and enveloped Zhou Sheng and Ren Chong, its light and flames forming a storm. Zhou Sheng’s consciousness was gradually disappearing, and what took its place was Ren Chong’s ferocious grin. The flames on the Golden Crow Wheel was slowly transiting toward Ren Chong through Zhou Sheng’s body.
