41: Chapter 41 The Storm Is Coming

The heavy blast-proof door closed silently behind Academician Zheng, completely sealing off the tranquil room filled with natural light.

The space he was in now was entirely different.

It was cold and somber, with a massive circular conference table occupying the center, while the surrounding walls were lined with sound-absorbing materials and giant screens displaying real-time dynamic encryption.

A dozen men and women of varying ages, all exuding a composed and solemn aura, were already seated; they were the pillars of the Republic's scientific community—experts in information, mathematics, physics, engineering... every name was enough to cause waves in their respective fields.

At this moment, however, their faces bore a faint, imperceptible sense of gravity and confusion, their gazes unanimously fixed on Academician Zheng, who had just walked in, and even more so on the small, inconspicuous black USB drive in his hand.

"Old Zheng, you summoned us so urgently, without even a buffer, what on earth is this earth-shattering thing?"

A gray-haired, energetic Academician from the Physics Institute couldn't help but speak up, his voice booming with the habitual authority of someone long accustomed to giving orders, though a hint of curiosity was hidden deep within his eyes.

Academician Zheng did not speak; he merely walked to the main console and solemnly inserted the USB drive into the specialized terminal interface, which was physically isolated from the external network.

He operated it a few times, and instantly, a dense list of document titles was projected onto the giant circular screen.

"Topological Constraint Model of Information Entropy in High-Dimensional Non-Euclidean Space"

"Construction of Cognitive Logical Closed-Loops Based on Recursive Paradox Chains"

"Application of Directional Collapse of Quantum Uncertainty in Consciousness Simulation"

The title of the final document struck every person's retina like a cold, heavy hammer:

"On the Creation of Strong Artificial Intelligence (electronic life) and Its Multi-Dimensional Physical-Logical Compound Shackles"

You could hear a pin drop in the conference room.

The slight murmurs from moments ago vanished completely.

The gazes of all the Academicians were instantly and firmly seized by the characters on the screen.

Academician Zheng clicked on the abstract of the first mathematical model.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

There were no exclamations, no discussions; only a growing, suffocating silence permeated the cold air.

At first, several Academicians with mathematics backgrounds leaned forward slightly, brows furrowed, fingers unconsciously tracing on the tabletop as if attempting futile calculations to keep up with the torrential flood of symbols pouring from the screen like an undecipherable script.

Next was the leading authority in information engineering; he abruptly took off his glasses, wiped them repeatedly with the corner of his clothing, put them back on, and leaned close to the screen, his nose almost touching it, while a faint, strangled "huff, huff" sound escaped his throat.

A young Academician known for his sharp mind turned pale at a visible speed, with fine beads of cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

He tried to follow the proof logic regarding "Self-Organized Emergence of Dynamic Graph Entropy in Consciousness Networks," but after just three lines, he felt as if his brain were an overloaded CPU; a sharp wave of dizziness struck him, and he had to lean back abruptly, close his eyes, and press hard against his throbbing temples.

The sound of breathing.

Heavy, oppressive breathing, as if carrying a thousand-pound burden, became clearly audible in the dead silence.

Accompanying it was the sound of hearts accelerating to their limits within their chests, the violent thumping almost piercing through ribs to beat against the cold tabletop.

They were all figures standing at the pinnacle of human knowledge, having read countless top-tier achievements throughout their lives, long accustomed to overlooking the landscape of academia.

But at this moment, the things flowing on the screen were like a torrent of knowledge from another dimension, violently collapsing the cognitive dams they were so proud of.

They could recognize those familiar mathematical symbols.

∑, ∫, ∇, ∈... just like they knew the alphabet.

They could even barely follow certain local calculation steps and understand the application of a lemma.

But!

When these symbols and steps combined, leaped, and constructed themselves into a brand-new, subversive logical system in ways they had never imagined—baffling ways—they felt as if they were standing on the edge of a cliff, facing a bottomless mathematical abyss churning with unknown laws.

That abyss radiated a heart-palpitating light of wisdom, yet it was coldly aloof, rejecting anyone from getting close.

They were not understanding; they were peeking.

Peeking at a blueprint for a creation that far exceeded their era, and perhaps even far exceeded the limits of their imagination.

That final treatise on electronic life and shackles was like a flash of lightning piercing the darkness, instantly illuminating the terrifying potential contained within—enough to send human civilization instantly soaring to heaven or plunging into hell!

It was not a weapon, yet it was more lethal than any weapon; it was not a god, yet it possessed the ultimate authority of creation and destruction.

Academician Zheng himself was watching with rapt attention, or rather, he had fallen into a kind of cognitive rigidity.

His brows were knitted into a deep frown, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, yet filled with a near-desperate focus.

He tried to grasp a straw in that torrent of thought, but every time he was about to touch it, it turned into an even more surging wave and drifted away.

He did not know how much time had passed; perhaps an hour, perhaps an eternity.

He leaned back abruptly against the chair, letting out an extremely weary, long sigh as if he had exhausted all his mental energy.

He raised his hand and rubbed his throbbing temples hard; his fingertips were icy cold.

This movement broke the suffocating silence.

"Everyone..."

Academician Zheng's voice was unusually hoarse, carrying a sense of exhaustion like someone who had just survived a catastrophe.

"You have all seen it, right?"

No one answered.

Everyone was still immersed in the dizziness and fear of being crushed by absolute knowledge.

A highly respected old Academician's lips moved a few times, but in the end, he only nodded powerlessly, his eyes staring blankly at the screen, as if he had not yet crawled out of that mathematical abyss.

Academician Zheng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging emotions, his eyes becoming sharp and heavy once again, with an unquestionable decisiveness:

"This matter must be reported. Immediately! Right now!"

His voice was resolute.

"This is not something we can evaluate, and certainly not something we can handle! Its weight... is too heavy!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, emphasizing his tone.

"From now on, this place is under total lockdown! Please hand over all communication devices to the guards for safekeeping immediately!"

"Report it?"

The previously booming voice of the Physics Academician was now low and hoarse, carrying a hint of doubt.

"Old Zheng, this... this is too inconceivable! We can't even... even fully confirm the authenticity of these theoretical models! To initiate the highest level of... just based on a USB drive..."

"Authenticity?"

Academician Zheng interrupted him abruptly; his voice was not loud, but it pierced like an ice pick.

He pointed to the symbols on the screen that looked like an undecipherable script, yet radiated a cold, logical light.

"Old Wang, look at these! Look at the way these cognitive models are constructed! Look at the logical closed-loop of these shackle designs! It might not be a real finished product, but the direction it points to, the possibilities it contains! This possibility itself is a bomb capable of detonating human cognition! We cannot afford to bet on the 'what if'!"

His eyes were burning, carrying a kind of desperate resolve.

"I, Zheng, stake my entire academic reputation and this head on my shoulders: this matter is of utmost importance! It must be reported!"

"I agree with Old Zheng!"

Another Academician in the field of information security, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, his voice low and urgent, carrying unprecedented tension.

"Reporting it is necessary! But Old Zheng, have you thought about it? This thing..."

He pointed at the USB drive as if pointing at Pandora's box.

"Absolutely! It must absolutely not spread any further! Not a single word can be leaked! Once it spreads to the outside world, even just a small part of it, if it falls into the hands of some madmen or ambitious schemers... the consequences will be unimaginable! This is ten thousand times more terrifying than leaking one hundred nuclear weapon blueprints! This is... this is the key to opening the gates of hell!"

Academician Zheng shuddered, as if awakened, his expression instantly becoming even more grave, even carrying a hint of lingering fear.

He looked at that information security Academician and nodded firmly, his eyes filled with gratitude and agreement.

"Right! Old Zhao, you are right! Secrecy! The highest level, absolute secrecy! That is the only bottom line we can maintain right now!"

He turned to everyone, his tone carrying an unquestionable command.

"Everyone present, for the sake of the country, for the sake of... all of humanity. I am afraid I must ask you to endure some inconvenience for the next few days. Please cooperate and stay here temporarily. Please hand over your communication devices immediately. Everything will wait until the people from above arrive to make the decision."

There was no opposition, no complaints. All the Academicians nodded silently.

They exchanged glances, filled with unprecedented gravity.

They had once been the masters of knowledge, but now they had become its prisoners, guarding a shocking secret they could not even fully understand—one capable of determining the fate of humanity.

The small USB drive remained quietly inserted in the terminal, silently emitting a cold light, as if the abyss were gazing back at them.

Inside the conference room, only the low hum of the central air conditioning and the heavy beating of hearts remained.

The real storm was only just beginning to brew.