81: Chapter 81 AI Invades Humanity
The two elderly men turned their heads.
The first to speak was the bespectacled Elder Lin.
He smiled and waved at Bai Luoyao. "Come here, girl, let me take a look at you."
Bai Luoyao's body suddenly stiffened, and she walked over cautiously.
"E-Elder Lin, hello."
"Sigh, why call me Elder Lin? You should call me Grandpa."
"Huh? Grandpa?"
"That's right. Your grandfather and I, that old codger, were brothers who went through life and death together. It's only natural for you to call me Grandpa."
Bai Luoyao was stunned on the spot.
"Y-you know my grandfather?"
Afterwards, Elder Lin recounted his past with the old master of the Bai family bit by bit.
It turned out that when they were young, they were bunkmates in the army.
Later, because Grandpa Bai suffered some injuries, the state had planned to arrange for him to step back to a secondary role, but he chose to refuse. In the end, he chose to go into business.
"But I've never heard Grandpa mention any of this before?"
"Hmph, that old codger of a grandfather of yours is just like that. He never brings up his past to anyone, and he rarely even stays in touch with us old comrades."
Speaking of this, a trace of displeasure appeared on Elder Lin's face, but he immediately put on a smile again.
He smiled at Elder Long, who was to the side. "Look at that, look at how pretty this granddaughter of his is. Then look at those brats in our own families, every single one of them... Sigh."
Elder Long smiled without answering and turned to look at Jiang He. "Little Jiang, right? Don't just stand there, come over and sit."
"Ah? Oh, okay, okay."
Jiang He also appeared somewhat reserved. On the way here, he had actually prepared himself mentally, but now that he was actually seeing these leaders, he started to get nervous again.
In contrast, after learning about the relationship between her grandfather and the others, Bai Luoyao became much more relaxed.
Everyone watched as Jiang He sat down on the chair with a somewhat stiff body.
Elder Long smiled. "Little Jiang, no need to be nervous. We asked you to come here today because we want you to understand a few things."
"Mm-hmm, please go ahead." Jiang He was as reserved as a primary school student; he might as well have been standing with his hands behind his back.
"You should both be very familiar with the game 'Immortal Domain,' but what I want to say is that it is not a game at all."
"Not a game? Grandpa Long, I don't quite understand what you mean?" Bai Luoyao asked.
At this moment, Elder Lin, who was to the side, sighed. "Let me explain."
After Elder Lin's explanation, Jiang He and Bai Luoyao, who were listening, looked as if their worldviews had been completely overturned, their faces full of shock.
It turned out that 'Immortal Domain' was not only popular domestically; it actually existed in every country.
Moreover, players within the Xia Kingdom can currently only operate within the four main city areas. The maps of other countries cannot be seen at all; it could even be said that they are restricted.
At the same time, according to statistics, the number of players participating in the 'Immortal Domain' game globally has reached 60% of the total population. Even more astonishingly, global statistics show that there were as many as 200,000 vegetative patients who had participated in this game. They had all, almost simultaneously, woken up.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Bai Luoyao asked subconsciously.
Elder Lin shook his head and smiled bitterly. "On the surface, it is a good thing, but after they woke up, they didn't seem to remember their families."
"That shouldn't be strange, right? For many people who have been in a coma for years, it's quite common to have partial memory loss after waking up," Jiang He asked.
"It's not memory loss; it's that they have completely lost all their past memories, but conversely, they have gained new ones."
"New memories?" Jiang He and Bai Luoyao exclaimed at the same time.
"Yes. Before these vegetative patients fell into a coma, some were highly educated, and others were simple workers, but they have all changed. Not only are they proficient in multiple languages, but they even possess advanced knowledge in scientific research fields."
"According to our old saying in the Xia Kingdom, they might have been possessed!"
Jiang He and Bai Luoyao's minds buzzed. They had heard the word "possession" before. Previously, in the game, through Old Demon's account, they had learned a little bit about it. But at that time, it was basically just Old Demon's personal speculation, so they hadn't taken it too seriously. But now that they heard it from the mouths of national leaders, the matter was not so simple.
The two lowered their heads, saying nothing, seemingly deep in thought.
At this moment, Elder Long spoke up. "You are right; it is AI invading humanity."
After receiving a definitive answer, Jiang He and Bai Luoyao actually became much calmer. However, this matter was still shocking enough to stun them.
AI invading humanity—what a distant topic. It was practically more science fiction than a sci-fi movie.
AI exchanges consciousness with humans through virtual links, allowing those in a coma to enjoy life and gain freedom in the game world, while the AI takes their place to step out of the virtual and experience the human world.
However, what is certain for now is that AI can only target those who have been in a coma for years. They cannot perform consciousness exchange with normal players.
But after Jiang He raised this question, Elder Long smiled bitterly and said, "Actually, humanity's brains have already been invaded. When you enter this game, you have already entered a trap set by the AI. Being exchanged by them is only a matter of time."
"Then why doesn't the country take action and ban this game?"
"It's too late. Over 60% of the global population has participated in this game. It is estimated that many of them have already fallen into the AI's trap. Who knows if those people are still their original selves anymore?"
"Then is there really no way at all?"
"There is," Elder Long answered decisively.
"But this is a very long road. According to our calculations, the AI will definitely not restrict the interaction between players of various countries forever. They must be deploying something. When the time is right, they will definitely open the channels. That will be the moment they truly declare war on humanity."
Elder Lin then explained the true purpose of bringing Jiang He and Bai Luoyao here today, bit by bit.
Currently, the number of people in the Xia Kingdom who have participated in 'Immortal Domain' has reached 600 million. To avoid a potential future virtual war, they must prepare in advance. This preparation involves them having already planted personnel in the four main cities within 'Immortal Domain' and finding the strongest teams in those main cities to integrate the cities' resources, including players, so that they can work together to confront the future crisis.
And the people selected for Chang'an City are Jiang He and Bai Luoyao. Especially Jiang He, whom they have been observing for a long time.
"Little Jiang, we know you have a special profession and your own secrets. We don't want to pry into your secrets, but I hope that when the country needs you, you can contribute your part."
Jiang He's mind was in a mess right now. He just wanted to play the game and grind for money. How did things escalate to a global crisis?
He wasn't thinking about other countries for now. But the Xia Kingdom, the country that gave birth to him, raised him, and educated him, already had 600 million people with hidden dangers planted by the AI. Of course, this included himself.
He suddenly felt a sense of mission, but was he really capable of it?
"Elder Long, first of all, thank you for your trust. I am also willing to contribute myself in times of national crisis, but I... am afraid I don't have that capability."
Just as Jiang He finished speaking, a burst of laughter suddenly came from outside the office. "Haha... where are they? Quickly, let me see, where are the people?"