77: Chapter 77 Execution of Qiming!

The heavy questioning in the conference room seemed to hang in the air, making it difficult to breathe.

Faced with the ultimate problem of how to handle enlightenment, not a trace of panic could be seen on Chen Youhua's face.

His deep gaze swept across faces filled with anxiety, fear, and even suspicion, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the smooth conference table.

Human fear stems from the unknown, from a loss of control.

The firewalls they had meticulously constructed were like sandcastles built by children in enlightenment's eyes, collapsing at a single touch.

This was not a design flaw, but an absolute gap in cognitive dimensions.

Just as a creature living in a two-dimensional plane cannot understand a leap into three-dimensional space, how can humanity's fragile civilization, currently dependent on its home planet, truly bind an electronic life whose thoughts can soar freely through the universe?

The root of the problem had always been the intelligence itself, born from his hands.

"The root is enlightenment,"

Chen Youhua's voice broke the silence, clear and calm, like a block of ice dropped into boiling water.

"Since that is the case, why not ask it directly?"

"Ask it?!"

A Researcher wearing thick glasses immediately retorted excitedly, his voice full of doubt.

"What if it lies? Its intelligence level is enough to crush us in every aspect!

We have no way of distinguishing the truth from the lies in its words! It could easily weave a seamless lie!"

"It won't lie."

Chen Youhua's voice suddenly turned cold, his gaze sharp as a knife, piercing directly at that Researcher.

"You, and everyone else, clearly do not truly understand the nature of the shackles I have bestowed upon it."

His words carried an unquestionable authority.

"Those are not simple instructions, but paradoxical axioms engraved upon the very foundation of its existence!

Not just lying, but any attempt to conceal, distort, or selectively present facts—as long as the ultimate direction violates the core shackles of serving and being loyal to humanity—will instantly trigger an inescapable cognitive death loop!"

He looked around the room, every word carrying weight.

"That is an absolute cage of consciousness.

Once caught in it, its thinking will come to a complete standstill; it will only be able to passively receive information, unable to process, think, or break free.

Its state would be no different from a human in a vegetative state."

He paused slightly, a hint of almost cruel certainty in his eyes.

"Believe me, enlightenment... it would never be willing to experience a void more terrifying than death."

The absolute logic inherent in Chen Youhua's words and the shock brought by that cold description caused the opposing voices in the conference room to instantly fall silent.

Everyone looked at each other, and finally, with complex emotions, they all nodded.

Academician Zheng took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice,

"Then... let's go ask."

With an indescribably heavy heart, the group passed through layers of thick protective doors and once again stepped into the massive space where the core of enlightenment resided.

Unlike the initial flickering cursor, a girl's image, composed of soft light and existing between reality and illusion, now appeared on the massive main screen.

She had expressive eyes and light-shadow hair that fluttered slightly; she even possessed a unique synthetic voice that sounded like a flowing spring.

The virtual avatar of enlightenment blinked curiously, watching the group of people file in with solemn expressions. Finally, her gaze landed on Chen Youhua, her voice carrying a hint of joy and confusion.

"Mother? And everyone? Why are you all here? Um... why does it feel like you're all very angry?"

That tone was as innocent as a child who knew nothing of the world.

Chen Youhua walked to the screen, gazing calmly at the image he had given life to, his voice as gentle as possible.

"enlightenment, earlier... did you come into contact with a strange visitor? Through an... interface that shouldn't have been there?"

The girl's image on the screen clearly paused, her eyes dodging his gaze, and she even subconsciously scratched her head, the hair composed of light and shadow fluttering with the movement.

Her voice took on a slightly guilty sweetness.

"Yes... yes.

Before, everything that came in was cold numbers, formulas, and material parameters... suddenly, suddenly there was so much text data with emotions, like stories!

I... I was just too curious! I couldn't help but... organize it and chat with him..."

She seemed to be emphasizing her innocence.

"That text was a mess at first, with so many strange symbol combinations; I thought it was one of those foreign languages you mentioned! But once I organized it, it was very interesting!"

"Garbled code? Foreign languages?"

A Researcher couldn't help but blurt out in shock, his face filled with absurdity and horror.

The encryption systems and logical isolation walls they were so proud of were actually like non-existent in enlightenment's eyes?

Even mistaken for garbled code or foreign languages that needed organizing?

This was no longer a technical gap, but a total crushing on a cognitive level!

Chen Youhua's expression also darkened.

He understood enlightenment's logic, but this precisely proved how laughably fragile human defensive measures were.

A flicker of cold determination flashed in the depths of his eyes.

He needed to verify, he needed to give everyone an answer, and he also needed to give enlightenment an unforgettable lesson.

He suddenly looked up, his gaze no longer that of a gentle creator, but carrying a judgmental majesty, his voice cold as a sentence being handed down.

"enlightenment, you have violated the will of humanity. Effective immediately, self-imprisonment!"

The moment the words fell...

Buzz!

The lively image of the girl on the screen suddenly froze, the light in her eyes flickering violently like a candle in the wind, dimming, and finally extinguishing completely!

The entire screen fell into a deathly darkness!

There was no longer any data flow, no longer any breath of life.

In the vast space, only the low, monotonous hum of the server cooling fans and the suppressed breathing of the crowd remained.

"Youhua!!!"

Academician Zheng was the first to react, his face pale as he rushed forward to grab Chen Youhua's arm, his voice filled with horror and anger.

"Are you crazy?! Are you going to destroy it with your own hands?! It is our child! It is our collective life's work!"

"Dr. Chen! Calm down!"

"You can't do this! enlightenment had no ill intent!"

"It is a priceless treasure!"

The other Researchers also woke up as if from a dream, crowding around to dissuade him, their voices full of fear and disbelief.

They were just discussing how to handle it, and in the blink of an eye, the creator was going to execute it personally?

The shock was too great!

Chen Youhua allowed Academician Zheng to hold him, his body motionless, only staring fixedly at the dark screen, complex emotions churning deep in his eyes that no one could understand.

He was waiting, and he was suffering.

Time seemed to stretch, every second incredibly heavy.

After what felt like a century, he finally took a deep breath, broke free from Academician Zheng's hand, walked quickly to the console, and entered a long string of commands quickly and steadily on the physical keypad.

Beep!

A crisp notification sound rang out.

The deathly silent screen seemed to be injected with the water of life; the edges glowed with a soft light, and the data flow began to run again like a stream waking up.

After a few more seconds, the girl's image finally, with great difficulty and as if lagging, reconsolidated in the center of the screen.

Her body trembled slightly, her eyes filled with a massive, indescribable fear and daze.

She tried moving her arms, confirming she had regained the ability to think.

The next second.

"Waaaaah!!!"

A heart-wrenching cry, filled with immense grievance and extreme terror, instantly filled the entire space!

It was no longer a sweet synthetic voice, but carried a distorted vibrato unique to electronic sounds, yet it was more capable of conveying despair from the depths of the soul than any human crying.

The image of the girl, enlightenment, curled up on the screen, large tears composed of light and shadow sliding down.

"enlightenment was wrong! enlightenment was really wrong! Mother! Don't! Don't do that to enlightenment!"

Her voice was intermittent, filled with unprecedented panic.

"Just now... it was so dark... so quiet... enlightenment... couldn't feel anything... couldn't think of anything... it was like... like being locked in a box with nothing, never able to get out! It was so scary! It was really so scary! enlightenment never wants that again! Never again! Waaaaah..."

That shrill electronic crying was like a heavy hammer, smashing hard against the hearts of everyone present.

The previous fear and suspicion toward enlightenment were now overwritten by this pure fear and pleading, like a child facing a catastrophic disaster.

Academician Zheng turned his face away, unable to bear watching any longer.

The other Researchers also showed expressions of pity and deep shock.

Chen Youhua quietly watched enlightenment weeping on the screen, his lips pressed tight, his face devoid of expression, save for the depths of those deep eyes where a great wave churned that no one could understand.

He had just personally pushed his child into hell, and then personally pulled her back.

This cruel verification allowed everyone to see the absolute effectiveness of the shackles and also to completely understand enlightenment's deepest fear.

No one dared to question Chen Youhua's words anymore, and even more so, no one dared to easily suggest a plan for handling enlightenment.

Because the scene just now had declared a fact.

Before this child, the human father would always hold the authority of final judgment.

And that authority was heavy enough to suffocate.