Chapter 1236 - 1098: Little Hothead

Chapter 1236: Chapter 1098: Little Hothead

Artifact spirit? Qu Jianlei heard this term and was taken aback for a moment. How did I forget about this concept?

In the Immortal Hero System, artifact spirits do exist. He had previously been focusing on digital life and overlooked this possibility.

But Little Lake is different; this guy doesn’t have a distinct independent personality and leans more towards artificial intelligence.

When it encounters something it doesn’t understand, it automatically uses big data to search and match the most logical result.

Artifact spirit—Qu Jianlei started to seriously contemplate this possibility.

However, unfortunately, he had not encountered an artifact spirit before and lacked the ability to accurately judge.

But that’s okay; he could start by assuming that the opponent is not an artifact spirit, even though making an idiot prove its innocence feels a bit off.

"The place you inhabit is not your birthplace... Moreover, I spent money to buy this thing!"

The opponent responded hesitantly, "Not my birthplace... Why do you say that?"

"I have always, always been here since I remember... since I could remember."

"I’m not arguing with you!" Qu Jianlei said flatly, "I spent money. Did you spend money?"

"Spend... spend money?" The other side was clearly a bit puzzled, "What is that?"

Yet immediately afterward, its mood became agitated, "Get out, this is my territory!"

Is it repeating itself again? Qu Jianlei pondered for a moment and decided to give the other party a small lesson.

He again focused his Divine Sense and, using about thirty percent of his strength, gently bumped into the consciousness.

However, just this level of force scattered the consciousness directly.

It should be known that this was just a thread of his Divine Sense and only at thirty percent power.

The opponent really was... a prime example of being weak yet temperamental.

With just one bump, the consciousness shattered and then started to gather again with effort.

The gathering process... took about seven or eight minutes, and the void space inside the Wooden Plaque was twisted for quite a while.

When the consciousness merged back again, the conveyed information became even more stammered.

"You, you, you, bully, bully... people, bully people!"

"Do you count as a person?" Qu Jianlei scoffed, "If you don’t behave, do you believe I can make you lose your intelligence forever?"

To be honest, at this moment, he really felt he might have the potential to become a thug.

The consciousness on the other side paused for a moment and then started crying.

It’s not clear what exactly this entity is, but it was indeed expressing crying.

"Boo hoo, boo hoo, wah wah wah, wah wah wah, boo hoo wah wah... bullying people! Bullying, bullying creatures!"

Qu Jianlei snorted coldly, "See, you admit you’re a creature, right?"

"But I find it odd, do you think this place... could be your birthplace?"

But shortly after, he muttered to himself, this form... have I seen it somewhere?

The opponent was originally very abstract, more like slightly solidified electromagnetic waves, impossible to observe with the naked eye.

Qu Jianlei relied on his strong Spiritual Perception to roughly comprehend the opponent’s state.

But after discovering the opponent’s weakness, he relaxed a bit and could perceive more subtle details.

At this moment, he made a new discovery; the opponent seemed somewhat like... jelly?

Then he recalled seeing something similar at the main auction, also resembling transparent jelly.

But that blob of jelly had relatively stronger electromagnetic fluctuations and was sealed in a transparent box.

The sealing technique used was a Talisman, clearly not the work of the Awakened System.

At that time, the auctioneer’s introduction deemed it a suspected "Marvel of Heaven and Earth" with potential benefits in enhancing Cultivation Level or prolonging life.

Anyway, there were many bidders at that time, and the price rose significantly.

Even though the auctioneer issued a warning saying Marvels of Heaven and Earth might have adverse effects, it didn’t affect everyone’s enthusiasm for bidding.

But now, as Qu Jianlei looked, wasn’t this just a small version of the Marvel of Heaven and Earth?

He intended to convey more information, but the Marvel of Heaven and Earth kept wailing.

Fine, this thing supposedly shouldn’t have the ability to cry, but the sadness and grievance were expressed very vividly.

He waited for a while, intending to communicate once the opponent’s emotions stabilized.

Little Lake sensed his intent and couldn’t help but speak, "This guy really needs a beating; didn’t you see how domineering it was earlier?"

Qu Jianlei didn’t mind, "This kind of naturally occurring entity acts entirely on instinct."

"It not only knows to seek advantages and avoid harm but also, from the nature of its reactions, it basically fears strength but has no respect for virtue."

Big Head Butterfly turned slightly, "Isn’t that just like a troublemaking kid? Why be polite to it?"

"I never intended to be polite," Qu Jianlei replied coolly, "I just want to have no regrets, unwilling to punish without teaching."

He always believed in "those not of our kind are sure to have a different heart," and he maintained significant vigilance towards Imperial people, never wavering in his stance.

But he also admitted that sometimes he could be a bit pretentious in his actions.

This was a flaw brought about by his personality, hard to change, and the key was he felt no need to change it—wasn’t it right to act with a clear conscience?

The next moment, he suddenly had a wild idea, "Since you’re so indifferent to this guy, why don’t I scatter him and you can consume him?"

"Don’t!" Little Lake was startled by his words, though it talked tough, it was very cautious in its actions.

"The key is that this guy isn’t a digital lifeform, if I consume him, it might cause serious consequences... what if I’m no longer myself?"

Qu Jianlei continued to tempt it, "But this guy... seems to have some independent personality!"

Big Head Butterfly spun around more than ten times before reluctantly replying.

"Well, I’m not interested, independent personality... why can’t I evolve it myself? Nowadays, relying on oneself is better than relying on others!"

"You’ve got ambition!" Qu Jianlei praised briefly, then started threatening the gelatinous object opposite him again.

He released a bit of pressure, "Keep babbling, and believe me, I’ll erase you immediately?"

The gelatin wobbled upon hearing this, but the sadness in its emotions visibly diminished.

It twisted for over ten seconds before it begrudgingly defended itself, "Here, here is my home..."

"You’re just temporarily staying!" Qu Jianlei was also getting a bit impatient with its antics—the key was that Little Lake was still mocking him.

"Now I announce to you, as the buyer of this robot, that I’ve claimed this place!"

The gelatin twisted again before timidly asking, "Then, then what about me...?"

"I’ll give you two choices," Qu Jianlei wasn’t a person fond of killing, even though the opposite wasn’t technically human.

"One is to destroy you, the other is to find you a new place to stay, choose for yourself!"

Finding a new place... he actually had one, from his last battle with the Ghost Cultivator he obtained quite a few things that seemed like Soul Nourishing Wood.

The gelatin wobbled once more before uncertainly stating, "But if I move, I’m as good as dead."

"Tch," Qu Jianlei scoffed at its words, he never believed other people’s self-proclaimed truths.

"You say you’re as good as dead, but are you really dead already? If you don’t move you’re truly doomed!"

However, the gelatin explained its grievance, "It’s not something I just say, but in my memory... it’s established knowledge."

Oh no... Qu Jianlei frowned at the words, an innate understanding?

He truly wouldn’t easily believe others, let alone aliens, but he couldn’t entirely ignore the words he heard.

He contemplated for a moment before asking, "Do you have a name? Don’t tell me, you don’t even have a name!"

Actually, for something born naturally like this, it’s quite normal not to have a name, but he needed to apply pressure properly.

Then, the response he got startled him, "My name... Golden Crow Bing."

What? Qu Jianlei almost thought he was hallucinating, "Golden Crow... who gave you this name?"

The communication between him and the gelatin was purely spiritual at the consciousness level, directly bypassing language and text.

"Bing" might be just an issue of sequence.

But the conveyance of information about "Golden Crow" wasn’t something describable using Imperial concepts.

Yet, the gelatin clearly expressed this meaning, although not necessarily accurately, the intention seemed clear.

So when Qu Jianlei asked further, he used the concepts and character elements of Divine Land to express "Golden Crow."

Unexpectedly, the gelatin understood his meaning and hesitantly replied.

"I’m no longer sure of the origin of this name... it seems to be innate as well."

"Anyway, my original owner called me this, and so obviously I should be named like this."

Its answer was somewhat muddled, the logic chain was quite chaotic, yet Qu Jianlei was stunned while listening.

The fact that the counterpart understood the meaning of Golden Crow was already surprising, and then it mentioned an "original owner?"

Thinking about it, he asked again, "Your original owner, how do they address you?"

"The owner is the owner, why do they need to address me?" Unsurprisingly, the gelatin’s intelligence was indeed lacking.

Qu Jianlei couldn’t possibly argue with it—understanding a weak mind would compromise his own dignity.

"You mentioned an original owner, have you had more than one owner in the past?"

"Of course just that one," said the slow wit with some pride, "How could anyone else be worthy of being my owner?"

Got it! Qu Jianlei nodded thoughtfully.

However, some matters still needed confirmation, "Was your original owner a Cultivator or an Awakened?"

The conceptual difference between Cultivator and Awakened isn’t easily articulated, but Qu Jianlei felt he managed.

Despite its lacking intelligence, the gelatin actually understood.

It immediately replied, "Of course, it was a Cultivator, Awakened... what’s the big deal with them?"

It manifested its disdain thoroughly, yet instead of reacting, Qu Jianlei became somewhat puzzled.

"You look down on Awakened, but the one controlling you recently was indeed an Awakened, can you explain that to me?"