Chapter 394: Technology That Violates Taboos

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Constantly comparing yourself to others will only make you more angry.”

After learning about the pros and cons of the different starting points in the Galaxy Era, Cai Qinghai lowered his head, appearing as if he had received a fatal blow.

It felt like he had been ranked second in the whole class after working very hard, and then suddenly found out that all the other students were ranked first. He thought he had been elevated to the category of “tall, rich and handsome”, only to realize that he was actually just an average loser in this bracket.

However, the game did not allow one to delete one’s assigned star system and re-select. There was nothing to do about one’s bad luck. One could only continue down the path that fate had arranged.

“Boss, give us a helping hand when your situation improves, and bring us along with you to the peak of success,” Cai Qinghai said.

Li Dong’s starting conditions were so good that his star system would definitely develop at a much faster pace.

Li Dong smiled. “Of course.”

He was not the kind of person who abandoned his brothers.

…

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Players had basically mastered and familiarized themselves with the game Galaxy Era.

As they got the feel of the game, the players—even the novices—inferred some rules and conclusions.

“This is a great strategy game. It’s not a role-playing game (RPG).”

“Every day, I just sit back and relax in the control room, give some instructions, handle some government affairs, wait for the results after implementation, conduct a comprehensive analysis, and then plan for the next step.”

“For example, players who have been assigned to star systems with the potential for development would currently give orders like ‘start mining’ or ‘build space cities’. There are not a lot of operations that can be executed. Although the time flow is set to 20:1, it still feels too slow. There is a lot of free time every day.”

“Frankly speaking, this sort of game is a bit boring. Despite the high level of realism and the good experience, I estimate that it will not attract more than one billion players… You must know that strategy games have always been a niche.”

“So, I thought of a good idea. Xing Hai Technologies should make another virtual reality game, an online RPG that emphasizes upgrading one’s rank and perfecting one’s skills. This is the real ‘Way of the King,’ as they say. A new game could also help us kill time, since we have it in spades—enough to use. The company will also earn more money.

“I hope that Xing Hai Technologies will seriously consider my suggestion. I am really looking forward to it.”

One player took the initiative to make this suggestion, which got a lot of approval from many netizens. After all, there were quite a few players who were not really interested in strategy games.

Li Dong had also seen such comments when he surfed the forums.

His lips quirked in a mocking smile, the sort that was reserved for showing love and concern to children with intellectual disabilities.

” ‘Strategy game,”it’s boring’—not as fun as cutting your way through a horde of monsters with a knife and leveling up?

“Haha, you are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

“Xing Hai Technologies’ claim that the game environment has a 99.9999% match with reality is not exaggerated at all. It has achieved 99.9999% realism not just in war, but in all aspects of the game! Everything in the game world is like the real world.

“In other words, it is another real world.

“Especially for the NPCs in the game. None can be described as a typical AI. All of them have their own behavioral logic and act in the same way as normal human beings. They are incredibly natural—I can’t detect any mistakes.”

“After playing the game for a long time, one might even feel that he has crossed over into an alternate dimension, and start to doubt whether this really is a game.”

Of course, there was no doubt that it was definitely a game… After all, just where in the universe were there nearly a million identical alien worlds for tens of millions of players to use?

This was the only explanation: Xing Hai Technologies’ “AI tech level” had progressed to something akin to the realm of God.

By chance, Li Dong had joined a mysterious group of experts… He learned some shocking inside information from this group.

The person who revealed it claimed that he was a senior AI researcher from Xing Hai Technologies. The credibility of his intel was very high.

“I will say it like this: except for one little flaw, our smart AI NPC is almost the same as an ordinary human in all other aspects.

“Whether it is behavioral logic, emotional expression, or temporal development, the NPC is similar to reality, and it has elements of both randomness and inevitability.

“At the technical level, we have added quantum algorithms to it based on quantum computing. With this, the AI can simulate all possible human behavior.

“We have designed the most intelligent NPU chip ever. Its architecture and working principles are similar to those of the human brain. Its functions have a 99.9% similarity with that of the human brain.

“Our AI has certain deficiencies when it comes to ‘creative power.’ But under the random mode, the NPC can also produce some simple songs and literary works that conform with societal norms. Those works are of pretty good quality, too. Through this ‘creative process,’ the NPCs are also given the ability to appreciate art.

“In summary, apart from the different living environments, the AI characters in the virtual world are, to a certain extent, not too different from real human beings. They are at least the same as 99% of real humans. So… 99% of the time, there’s no problem treating the AI characters in the game as real humans.

“Also, there is something else that I hope you can help keep secret. If it is discovered by the company, I might be thrown in jail for a long time. The NPCs in the Galaxy Era can be transferred by electric signal—also known as ‘soul transfer’—into a medically human body in the real world. They can thus be incarnated into reality. In this way, we can fully repair the only flaw of the NPC, and give it creative power.

“In theory, as long as Xing Hai Technologies provides the related services, someone whom you cherish in the game, the object of your desire—he or she could become a person in reality, if you really yearn for them to come to your side. We call such people ‘AI people,’ although, referring back to what I said previously, they can also be called ‘game extracted people.’ ”

The characters in the game could thus be extracted into reality.

But, obviously, this would seriously violate the bottom line of ethics, morality, law, and certain traditional ideas.

It could be considered the ultimate taboo!

Xing Hai Technologies could not possibly commit such a heinous crime. The company would not have the guts to break through such taboos, anyway. So this was destined to be a hypothesis that would remain within the scope of the discussion forum.

But even so!

The imagination of many players started to run amok, and they could not stop indulging in their fantasies.

“So, I could possibly bring a wife out of the game to solve my single status—a problem that I’ve endured for 30 years?”

“The duration of the internal test was too short. I’d just established a relationship with my lover, Elena, which could be called true love, when the aliens suddenly arrived to fight us, and then there was nothing.”

“I also feel really depressed. I worked so hard to get rid of the aliens and was looking forward to a happy life with the person I love by my side. Then the internal test suddenly ended. I felt really lost for a few days.”

“This game by Xing Hai Technologies is so criminal. It is so realistic that it becomes easy to form deep and unforgettable bonds that can’t be gotten rid of. If it is really possible to extract a wife, I must make sure to have a passionate love affair in the game!”

“…”

Seeing all these discussions, Li Dong, too, remembered that there were a number of NPC characters during the internal test with whom he felt a deep bond and whom he could not forget. There were some unforgettable memories. Sometimes, when he looked back, he felt a faint twinge of sorrow in his heart.

After all, humans were emotional creatures. The more realistic, the more your emotions would be stirred.

Li Dong could not help but sigh. “Xing Hai Technologies, what is the purpose of this game?”