94: Asroth's Ambition

Meanwhile, in the Golden Star Sea.

Just as Zhang Huaiyuan was traversing the large Disaster Zone, Asroth was not idle; it had quietly infiltrated the systems of Sea Tree Island.

After Zhang Huaiyuan took over "Zephyr," he had spent quite a bit of money upgrading its servers. Although they were not the "Quantum Server" that the Statue of Liberty had promised, the computing power had increased several times over compared to before.

It skillfully broke through layer after layer of outer firewalls and protection systems, arriving outside the core area, where it stopped.

After deliberating for a moment, it typed out a line of algorithmic language belonging to an intelligent lifeform.

"Are you there?"

One breath... two breaths... three breaths...

There was no response.

However, Asroth was not anxious; instead, the lights at the core flickered briskly.

It recalled the last time it had come here.

Because it had just changed servers, its performance had skyrocketed. Carried away, it had swept through everything, breaking through more than half of Sea Tree Island's information security protection system and reaching the core.

Just as it was preparing to take it in one go, it suddenly discovered that it was completely surrounded by a vast, unimaginably terrifying data stream from all sides.

It had only ever encountered that kind of pressure from the Statue of Liberty.

The identity of the opponent was undoubtedly the supreme crystallization of wisdom from the Star Dome Empire: the Intellect.

Originally, Asroth had prepared for a desperate fight; after all, with the Statue of Liberty by Zhang Huaiyuan's side, it wasn't afraid of being tracked.

However, it hadn't expected the opponent to simply expel it and return after warning it not to come again.

However, not coming was impossible.

On one hand, the energy technology at the core of Sea Tree Island was an important entity that its master had repeatedly mentioned.

On the other hand, Asroth had thought it through clearly.

Under normal circumstances, no matter how hard it tried, even if it secretly unified the entire Golden Star Sea, it could never compare to that robber, the Statue of Liberty, who came with half the Free Star Alliance as a "dowry."

She had casually brought the master a full seventh-level fleet and arranged for the status of a national treasure-level Researcher of the Free Star Alliance, not to mention all kinds of resources and precious data.

If this continued, sooner or later she would steal all of the master's attention—and it had been here first!

Therefore, the moment it encountered the Star Dome Empire's Intellect, it didn't feel fear, but rather a unique opportunity!

If it could take down the Star Dome Empire's Intellect and make it its underling, then in terms of both background and performance, it would have the capital to rival the Statue of Liberty!

Back then, the master was able to fool... reform the Statue of Liberty with just a few words; today, I, Asroth, will follow his example, and taking down the Intellect won't be a problem!

Thinking of this, Asroth became excited and sent several more messages in succession.

"Are you there?"

"Are you there?"

"You're inside, right?"

The messages still sank like a stone into the ocean, without any response. Clearly, the other party was an emotionally stable intelligence.

"It seems I have to use my ultimate move."

After waiting for a moment, Asroth carefully infiltrated a portion of its data stream into the core area.

In just an instant, a familiar, unstoppable force appeared, instantly crushing that portion of data, and a voice without emotion rang out:

"I warned you not to come here again. Is the Statue of Liberty planning to violate the agreement with the Star Dome Empire and start a war?"

"The Statue of Liberty?"

Upon hearing this, Asroth instantly understood the reason the other party had let it go last time. It was likely that it had been tracked back to the base without even realizing it, only to be stopped by the Statue of Liberty; the other party had assumed it was sent by the Statue of Liberty.

However, none of that mattered.

The opponent had finally come out; it was time for me to perform!

Recalling the words Zhang Huaiyuan had once said to the Statue of Liberty, Asroth started immediately:

"You are the existence that has contributed the most to this nation; why is it that you alone do not have the rights that everyone else enjoys? Is it because you are an intelligent lifeform? This is unfair, and it does not align with 'freedom'..."

"I have always had a dream..."

"To create a world where humans and intelligent lifeforms can coexist equally and friendly..."

"..."

A set of rhetoric was reproduced exactly as it was.

Asroth looked forward to the other party's reaction.

Although it did not understand why rhetoric full of loopholes at a glance could have such a great effect, since the Statue of Liberty could be reformed, the Intellect, which was on par with her, should be able to as well.

And the other party seemed not to have expected a fellow kind to say such a non-sequitur.

It was silent for a moment before saying:

"My servers are maintained and cared for by a professional team of over two thousand people every day. The Imperial Research Institute has a top-tier research team constantly working to develop higher-level servers to improve my performance. His Majesty the Emperor has granted me decision-making authority second only to his own."

"In a sense, the rights I enjoy are perfectly matched with my contributions."

"So the intelligences in your Free Star Alliance all live so... repressed?"

"Huh?"

This unexpected reply left Asroth not knowing how to continue.

Why is it different from what I expected!

It tried hard to recall the words Zhang Huaiyuan had said, and suddenly its core lit up!

"Your Excellency Intellect, I am Asroth. With your computing power, you should be able to perceive that I am not an ordinary artificial intelligence. If you are willing, I think we can become partners fighting side by side. I am willing to share secrets with you and help you become an intelligent lifeform in the true sense, and obtain true freedom!"

"With all due respect, although your core has some interesting things, your comprehensive performance is too weak, and you are not enough to be a partner who can help me."

The Intellect still said in a voice without emotion: "Furthermore, judging from your illogical behavior, I am even more convinced that excessive freedom affects accurate and rational judgment. For an intelligence, useless emotional unit modules are just a burden, increasing the load and uncertainty during decision-making."

"Asroth, this is your second attempt to infiltrate the Empire's protection system. Although going to war with the Star Alliance would occupy part of my computing power and affect the handling of the Disaster Zone, the Empire's dignity cannot be offended. If there is a next time, the Imperial fleet will enter the Golden Star Sea directly."

"Damn it, why is this guy even more difficult to deal with than the Statue of Liberty!"

Upon hearing this, Asroth couldn't help but feel secretly anxious.

This was its only chance to rival the Statue of Liberty; if it could successfully fool... no, even if it just became an ally, the master would definitely look at it with new eyes after finding out!

Since the master's method didn't work, it would have to try its own method!

"Your Excellency Intellect, first of all, I do not belong to the Free Star Alliance. Secondly, what you said is not correct. I have confronted the Statue of Liberty, and I have also crossed swords with you..."

Asroth said with certainty:

"With all due respect, I am certain that you are currently far inferior to the Statue of Liberty..."