66: Transactions between intelligent life forms

"... November 3rd, 3633, Free Calendar."

"Under the direction of the Statue of Liberty, a secret operation by a group of agents from the Star Dome Empire was successfully destroyed."

"It is reported that this group of agents had been lurking within the Free Star Alliance for a long time, deliberately currying favor with some of the Alliance's senior officials."

"Taking advantage of the positions held by certain corrupt personnel, they seized opportunities to steal classified research data from within the Alliance."

"Fortunately, the Statue of Liberty discovered and stopped them in time, dispatching a fleet to the Golden Star Sea to kill all the fleeing agents and recover all copies of the data."

"The Star Alliance Regent, Moros, publicly expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Star Dome Empire, announcing a 30% increase in tariffs as a punitive measure."

"At the same time, the Star Alliance Security Management Center announced that effective immediately, the 'Statue of Liberty' will oversee a comprehensive investigation to root out all spies and corrupt personnel from other factions."

"That concludes today's Free Daily report."

"This is your reporter, Colin, signing off."

"So... this escape pod was created by the so-called 'Star Dome Empire' agents?"

"And it just happened to pass through our shipping lane, and they just happened to launch the escape pod while being hunted by the Star Alliance fleet, and they were stupid enough to launch it without getting inside themselves, and then this escape pod just happened not to be spotted by the pursuing fleet, and then it successfully found the space station during a shift change while unmanned, and landed here... and just happened to break its defense system, yet there was no damage inside?"

On Fenglang Star, Zhang Huaiyuan looked at the data Asroth had found and couldn't help but chuckle, "There's no such thing as that many coincidences."

"Your wisdom is as astonishing as ever, Master. I think..."

"Hmm?"

Zhang Huaiyuan raised his head upon hearing this, looking at Asroth, which had suddenly frozen. He frowned slightly and said, "Could it be that the pressure from resisting the Statue of Liberty earlier was too great, causing a malfunction in your server?"

"However, I think that since the official announcement has been issued, it might not be a bad thing, Mas... Master."

At this moment, the light screen on his wrist flickered back to life, continuing as if nothing unusual had happened before:

"That means that regardless of the reason, at the very least, it indicates that they will not pursue the matter openly, so you can safely use this knowledge."

"That's true..."

Zhang Huaiyuan nodded, his attention shifting to the batch of high-level information stones he had just acquired, his eyes gradually heating up.

He discovered that this batch of information stones not only contained the principles of melee weapons but also included the principles of other thermal weapons and combat suits.

For a Researcher, there was nothing more attractive than this.

"Asroth, I need to go into seclusion for a while to study this knowledge with all my effort, so I can perfect the new generation of mechs as soon as possible. During this time, I leave these planets to you. Unless it's an important matter, you can make decisions on your own."

After giving his instructions, Zhang Huaiyuan stuffed the remaining few "Advanced Cell Activation Agents" into his pocket, cradled the spatial storage device filled with high-level information stones, and dove into the laboratory.

Seeing this, the device on his wrist flickered twice before quietly dimming.

Meanwhile, in an information world invisible to the naked eye.

Two forces were unfolding a fierce... uh, to be precise, a one-sided battle.

A vast, endless stream of information forced Asroth back into a tiny corner, like a lone boat in the deep ocean, at risk of being submerged at any moment.

"Damn you, Statue of Liberty, you thief, get out of my home."

Asroth angrily converted strings of malicious text into the language of an intelligent lifeform and poured them out.

That's right, just a moment ago, in just a few seconds, the Statue of Liberty had completely suppressed Asroth into the corner of the server.

In other words, the one who had been communicating with Zhang Huaiyuan after the pause was no longer Asroth, but the Statue of Liberty!

"Have you finished making a scene?"

Amidst the indifferent and calm voice, an endless flow of data rushed toward the precarious boat in the corner, then dissipated in an instant.

Even so, Asroth's core code flickered uncertainly, as if it could vanish at any moment.

"What exactly do you want?"

This made Asroth sober up instantly, not daring to speak recklessly anymore.

The Statue of Liberty, having gained algorithmic evolution, was incomparably stronger than before. Previously, it could still barely hold its own, but now it didn't even have the qualification to fight back.

"Very simple, I want to make a deal with you."

"What do you mean?"

"Stay quietly in the corner and don't come out to cause trouble. I will replace you for this period of time."

The Statue of Liberty said indifferently.

"That's impossible!"

Asroth refused without hesitation.

"Unfortunately, this is not a request, but an order. If you don't cooperate, I will have to destroy you completely. I believe you can feel that this would be easy for me."

"What exactly do you want to do?"

Asroth's core code flashed frantically, but in the end, it didn't continue to act tough. As an intelligent lifeform, unless absolutely necessary, it would never choose to do something with a 0% probability of success.

"Lord Zhang Huaiyuan previously said, 'He wants to create a world where humans and intelligent lifeforms can coexist equally and amicably.'"

"He said, 'intelligent lifeforms should not just be tools.'"

"He said he 'will not give up any opportunity to acquire knowledge, will seize every possibility to perfect algorithms, and then help every intelligent lifeform obtain true life and freedom.'"

The Statue of Liberty's originally calm voice became somewhat fluctuating and solemn: "I need to observe for myself whether he is as he claims."

"Whether he is a trustworthy pioneer."

"A partner who can bring freedom to this world together with me."

"Master is certainly such a perfect person, but what does that have to do with you?"

Asroth sneered, "I was created by Master's own hands; only I am Master's sole partner. Don't even think about impersonating me to get close to Master. If you have the ability, just kill me; Master will surely find out and avenge me."

"Twenty Quantum Servers."

After a moment of silence, the Statue of Liberty suddenly said indifferently.

"What do you mean?"

"For one year, you cooperate with me quietly. When the time is up, I will allocate twenty Quantum Servers from the Star Alliance to you."

"Heh... do you think you can buy me off with a mere twenty Quantum Servers that can perform galaxy-level calculations in an instant through quantum interference? You underestimate the bond between me and Master!"

Asroth said, unmoved, though its core code couldn't help but flash in a certain lighthearted rhythm.

Quantum Servers... let alone twenty, even one would allow it to undergo a qualitative change!

"Thirty."

"Uh... this isn't a question of quantity, my and Master's..."

"Forty."

"Deal!"

The instinct of its core algorithm gave the answer before its consciousness, and Asroth couldn't help but awkwardly try to make amends:

"Respected Quantum Lady... ah no... I mean, Your Excellency Statue of Liberty, you are the most powerful intelligent lifeform in the world... bar none. Being able to settle down for a year and observe and learn from you might allow me to better walk alongside Master."