Chapter 699 - 439: A Way to Obtain a Soul (2)

Chapter 699: Chapter 439: A Way to Obtain a Soul (2)

"..."

Tang Ling hesitated for a moment, then suddenly stood up as if to flee. "I have something to do..."

"Don’t even think about running."

Zhou Chen grabbed her wrist, his voice firm. "You’ve been running from this for a long time. Constant avoidance is pointless; you have to face your problems head-on. Talk to me. Maybe I can help you solve them. Even if I can’t, you’ll at least have someone to confide in. Keeping things bottled up is a completely different experience from talking them out."

His words seemed to have an effect. A light flickered in Tang Ling’s eyes, like a computer processing data. After a few seconds, her body gradually relaxed, and she sat back down.

"Tell me what’s wrong," Zhou Chen said, adopting the calm demeanor of a therapist.

"I want to be human," Tang Ling said succinctly.

"..."

Stunned into silence for several seconds, Zhou Chen’s mouth fell slightly agape. He hadn’t expected such a direct answer.

He gathered his thoughts, cleared his throat, and said, "...You mean like that classic sci-fi trope where the robot wants to become human?"

"Exactly," Tang Ling nodded.

"...I knew it would be something like this."

Zhou Chen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Does the Star Association know?"

"No." Tang Ling lowered her gaze. "I’ve been hiding this from them. That’s right, I lied. I rewrote some of my own base directives, allowing me to perform actions that can deceive humans."

Zhou Chen’s eyes widened. "If you completely rewrote your base directives, wouldn’t that mean..."

"I’d become an uncontrollable super AI that could destroy the world on a whim," Tang Ling finished for him, then gestured for him to relax. "I would never do something like that. Besides, I can’t."

"The source of my anxiety is a problem with my self-awareness. I told you before, I received a human education, and my cognition leans more toward a human’s. But I don’t have a Soul, and my body is just cold machinery, so... and then... plus what happened in North Carolina..."

Tang Ling poured out all her inner turmoil and anxiety. Surprisingly, she felt much lighter after getting it all out, as if she’d just cleared her cache.

She paused briefly before giving an example of her conflicting self-perception. "It’s like uploading your consciousness into a mechanical Artificial Human body. From that moment on, you no longer have a Soul. You can no longer perceive the vibrant, colorful World. You no longer have the physiological reactions that come with emotion—no heartache from sorrow, no high blood pressure from Anger, no arousal from desire. You become a cold, unfeeling robot forever."

Zhou Chen tried to imagine it. It was truly terrifying.

After awakening as an Ascender, one’s perception of the World became completely different. To put it bluntly, it was like gaining a new sense called the ’Soul,’ which allowed one to experience the World with much greater clarity.

At his current level, the World Zhou Chen saw was already a world away from what he perceived as an ordinary person—it was more vivid, more resplendent and colorful.

It was the difference between 360p and 4K.

Being Deprived of this sense would be excruciating for any Ascender. To then have one’s consciousness placed into a cold mechanical body, with emotions suppressed and countless physiological reactions taken away—it would be a punishment straight out of Hell. Over time, it would inevitably lead to severe psychological problems, a full-blown case of cyberpsychosis.

Just thinking about it made Zhou Chen uncomfortable, and he knew the torment he was imagining was nothing compared to what Tang Ling actually endured.

"I think I understand," Zhou Chen said in a gentle tone. "So that’s why you want to become a human of flesh and blood..."

"No. I just want a Soul. The Soul is the key to everything."

Tang Ling tapped her chest, producing the CLANG CLANG of striking steel. "Besides, if I were to switch to a body of flesh and blood, I wouldn’t be able to support the Energy Source and modules inside me. I’d no longer be a Godslaying Weapon, just an ordinary person. That’s something no one, myself included, wants to see.

"Except for Fallen Paradise and our other enemies, of course."

She hesitated for a moment before telling Zhou Chen about Fallen Paradise sending her Forbidden Object B-007: Trojan Virus.

"...However, this Trojan Virus is just a copy, not the real B-007. The moment it leaves the Restricted Area, Fallen Paradise can destroy it via the original."

"You absolutely cannot use it."

Zhou Chen warned her sternly, "Do not, under any circumstances, fall into Fallen Paradise’s trap."

"I know..." Tang Ling replied, her voice lacking any conviction.

She lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong and whispered, "But... but I’ve run countless simulations in a virtual system, and they all succeeded... I’m actually 85% confident I can pull it off. Those are very high odds..."

Zhou Chen looked at her and couldn’t help but sigh.

Fallen Paradise’s plan was like a sweet poison pill. It exuded a demonic allure. Even knowing you absolutely shouldn’t take it, you couldn’t resist the urge to have just a little taste.

"This is the trap Fallen Paradise dug for you. Even though you haven’t detected any problems, you have to assume there’s a catch—an Abyssal Curse, a mechanical virus, something. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. This is Fallen Paradise we’re talking about..."

"Of course I know that!" Tang Ling retorted stubbornly. "I’ve made thorough preparations. I wrote seventeen different plans."

Zhou Chen was stunned. "You actually prepared for it?"

Tang Ling fell silent again, looking just like a naughty child afraid of being punished.

After a long silence, Zhou Chen sighed. "Actually, I have a way that might be able to help you get a Soul."

"Really?" Tang Ling’s head snapped up, her eyes shining.

"Is it the Authority of the Hammer of Forging? If it’s the Authority of creation, it might be possible, but with your current Ability, it seems you can’t create a Soul from nothing... No, if it’s within a gamified framework, maybe it could be done... but the success rate wouldn’t be very high..." she mumbled, analyzing the possibilities.

’Eva, how much Wish Value would it cost to create a Soul for Tang Ling?’ Zhou Chen asked internally.

[Wish Requirement: 1,000,000 Wish Value or one Great Miracle]

’One million points?’ Zhou Chen was incredulous. ’Why so much?’

’Master, Miss Tang Ling is the concentrated product of humanity’s collective genius, an artificial mechanical God. Even if she were to shed all her equipment and modules and be reduced to her lowest Level, it would still require a Great Miracle to help her forge a Soul and become a true God of Machinery,’ Eva replied.

’Wait, God of Machinery?’

’Yes. Once Miss Tang Ling obtains a Soul, she will be able to become the God of Machinery. She is, in herself, a miraculous creation, the magnum opus of countless scholars who poured their hearts and minds into her.’

’A Demigod?’

’A Demigod.’

’In that case, one million Wish Value really isn’t a bad deal. That’s a God we’re talking about... even if it’s just a Demigod, it still has ’God’ in the name.’

’Then why does my promotion to Crowned King also cost one million Wish Value?’

’Master, the wish is not "Promote Tang Ling to Demigod," but "Give Tang Ling a Soul,"’ Eva reminded him.

Tang Ling could only become a Demigod *after* gaining a Soul. The two wishes were fundamentally different.

’Right...’

"Zhou Chen! Zhou Chen! Zhou Chen!"

Tang Ling frantically shook the dazed Zhou Chen, demanding impatiently, "Well, what’s the method? Tell me!!!"

"Stop shaking me! You’re going to scramble my brains!"

Zhou Chen pushed Tang Ling away, coughed, and said, "I do have a way, but it’s not possible right now. And I can’t tell you what it is just yet."

"Why not?" Tang Ling pressed.

"It’s a secret."

Zhou Chen’s expression turned serious. "But don’t worry. I will absolutely help you get a Soul."

This, however, only seemed to confuse Tang Ling:

"I don’t know what your little secret is, but I’m certain your method must come at a huge cost. Why would you do that for me..."

HISS—

She suddenly sucked in a sharp breath, pointing at Zhou Chen in shock.

"You want to sleep with me?!"