Blind Spot-Chapter 63 - Unknown 1
Chapter 63: Unknown 1
Chapter 63: Unknown 1
‘The interval between the fires is too long, the connection should not be significant.’ Li Chengyi began to feel that there was something baffling and elusive behind Mist Street.
“It seems that this painting must be what we are looking for…” Xindela sighed, his eyes still filled with the astonishment of the recently heard facts.
Not just him, the rest of the group also wore expressions of shock, each experiencing a varying degree of horror.
Mist Street Blind Spot could actually be a scene from within a painting?
The place they had previously entered, the Grey Mist Valley that led people to their doom, could actually have derived from a painting.
This was something beyond anyone’s expectations and even those present found it somewhat absurd.
Without delay, Xindela took the initiative to negotiate with the old man, hoping to purchase the painting and stressing that money was no object.
The old man categorically refused to bargain, insisting it was a treasure of his ancestors and not for sale!
“One hundred thousand!” Xindela said with an indifferent expression.
“That’s the fruit of my grandfather’s labor!” the old man exclaimed angrily.
“Five hundred thousand!” Xindela said softly.
“Are you trying to insult me with money!?!” The old man’s face turned red and his neck bulged with anger.
“One million!” Xindela stated that this was his final offer.
“Ah… never mind then, since you like this painting so much, you must also cherish it greatly.” The old man adopted a resigned expression, “Even if my grandfather were still alive, he would have been greatly comforted to know that his painting was bought for such a sum. It also affirms the value of his work!”
The group was left speechless, not quite knowing what to make of the old man.
As for Li Chengyi, he had been studying the details of the street in the painting ever since the bargaining started.
‘Here!’ Suddenly his gaze sharpened, and he gently touched the canvas, his fingertip resting at the base of a concrete street lamp.
There… there was a small ash-white flower swaying in the wind. That was what he wanted.
“Old man, are you really unable to recall the name of that comic book?” After agreeing on the price, Xindela still seemed a bit unwilling to let it go.
“I can’t remember, but it should have involved artificial intelligence as its theme. At that time, there was a backlash against artificial intelligence, which spread to opposing machines, technology, and intelligence. Basically, anything to do with electronics was opposed. That comic seemed to have been drawn with a similar theme in mind,” the old man replied with a smile.
“Back then, yeah… indeed, such books are probably all destroyed by now, right?” Xindela realized, a hint of understanding flashing through his eyes.
“Yes. Back then, there was also a group called the United Front, which claimed that the essence of technology was evil,” the old man nodded.
“Yes, the principle of the United Front is that technology itself is meant to nurture mechanical life and intelligent life.
At the end of this path, there will inevitably be the birth of a mechanical intelligent life form far more powerful than humans. We are all just the nutrients in the nurturing womb.
That’s why they believe that technology itself is anti-human, and in the end, it will inevitably lead to the extinction of humanity and the rule of mechanical life,” Xindela spoke gravely.
“The United Front should be the predecessor of the terror organization Star Lake, right?” Song Ran suddenly spoke up.
“Mhm, they are one and the same,” Xindela nodded.
“Why must technology inevitably give rise to intelligent life?” Zhong Ying couldn’t help asking, “How did they link such a foolish causal relationship together?”
“It’s related to the technological arms race,” Li Chengyi explained.
“I read about that period when I was in university. The United Front believed that the technological competition between nations, the competition for national strength, would inevitably push governments to desperately seek higher levels of technology, better social efficiency, faster processing speeds, more accurate calculations, and so on.
In these areas, the gap between countries with artificial intelligence and those without will rapidly widen over time.
Because powerful artificial intelligence can greatly accelerate research speeds in many fields and possesses far more superior capabilities than humans in military terms. So…”
Li Chengyi paused.
“So, this forces all countries to embark on a desperate path of developing artificial intelligence. The final outcome is making artificial intelligence more and more perfect, more and more powerful and evolved. This is also what the United Front was worried about.
Because artificial intelligence that becomes too powerful could ultimately break free from human control and evolve into a complete life form.”
“That is the nature of capital… The two are similar,” Xindela sighed.
“Yes, capitalists may also, for similar reasons, be coerced by capital and become helpless,” Li Chengyi nodded.
Having lived through two lifetimes, though specialized in plant maintenance, he had read a fair amount of diverse literature. At this moment, he also recalled the records pertaining to the United Front.
“Let’s not discuss this further. Zhong Ying, go ahead and check everything is alright, and we can leave!” Xindela said in a deep voice.
Their purpose for coming here was primarily to help Zhong Ying overcome this difficulty.
Now that they had found the source of the Blind Spot, the next step was to figure out how to escape from it.
Zhong Ying slowly stepped forward and checked the painting thoroughly to ensure there was no damage. She then had the shopkeeper seal the painting in a wooden box, stuffing it firmly with foam, and soon the entire painting was packed securely.
After confirming the transfer of funds with the old man, Xindela quickly left the bookstore and boarded an SUV.
The rest of the group followed immediately, getting into the vehicle.
Song Ran started the engine and the car slowly began to head toward the villa.
“Now that we have the painting, how are we going to find a way to escape?” Sima Gui asked with a hint of confusion.
In the car, Li Chengyi surveyed the surroundings and noticed Zhong Ying with her head down, inadvertently clenching her fists, visibly nervous.
Sima Gui and Xindela also stared at the painting, deep in thought.
“According to the Replication Technique, we can determine the last person who touched the slot machine, or rather, this painting,” Xindela said.
“That would be Bai Shaopeng himself, the last one,” Sima Gui answered.
“So, the method of escape we need is to follow whatever Bai Shaopeng did and replicate it.” Xindela said as if it were a given, “But now we can’t be clear about exactly what he did before he last contacted the painting.”
“That’s why we should use the Icebreaking Method.” Song Ran added.
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“What is the Icebreaking Method?” Li Chengyi heard of this term for the first time.
“It means, when the situation has no leads whatsoever, like being trapped in a block of ice, then we use a forceful approach to quickly change the situation and break the ice,” Song Ran explained succinctly.
“How do we use a forceful approach?” Li Chengyi was puzzled.
“It’s simple,” Song Ran continued, “usually within the Blind Spot, if there’s been a significant event, we recreate that event artificially. Usually, at this point, it will lead the Blind Spot into a repetition environment.”
“Repetition environment?” Li Chengyi seemed to grasp it somewhat.
“Yes, under the repetition environment, the Blind Spot will return to its original state, and in this process, many clues about how to escape will naturally emerge. Also, the Icebreaking Method might accelerate the Blind Spot’s disappearance, making it fade away,” Xindela took over.
“The disappearance of the Blind Spot, we’ve found through data analysis and research, is related to the contact object. The so-called Icebreaking Method has another purpose; that is to destroy the contact object, to reduce the strength of the Blind Spot, to make it disappear faster, to weaken it more quickly.”
His words raised an ominous feeling in Li Chengyi’s heart.
“So, your Icebreaking Method… is to destroy this painting?”
“This is the simplest way. We’ve done it many times before, and this method can effectively reduce the danger and complexity of the Blind Spot,” Xindela nodded.
“The boss is generous! A painting worth millions, discarded just like that.” Sima Gui flattered without hesitation.
Zhong Ying also showed a glimmer of hope in her eyes; her mood clearly relaxed a bit.
Only Li Chengyi thought of that small white flower…
“By the way, in the Blind Spot, do living people count as contact objects?” he suddenly thought of a question and asked.
“Of course they count. The fewer contact objects there are, the lower the danger of the Blind Spot,” Xindela confirmed with a nod, “Are you thinking about your last Blind Spot experience?”
Li Chengyi nodded.
“The death of the boss of Ash Company might have been a help to me back then.”
“Perhaps, but who can say for sure if it was a help or not,” Xindela sighed.
He reached for the cloth-covered painting frame, picked it up, and handed it to Zhong Ying.
“What is certain is that this painting is definitely crucially connected to Mist Street, a very important contact object, so you decide whether to destroy it or not.”
Zhong Ying hesitantly took the painting frame.
“If I icebreak, will I be able to survive?”
“We don’t know, it depends on your luck. If it’s very important to the Blind Spot, maybe the danger in Mist Street will be reduced significantly. But you should think it over, the Icebreaking Method might also make the situation worse. We have encountered such probabilities before. Hence, compared to the Replication Technique, Icebreaking is usually used only as a last resort,” Xindela explained in a grave tone.
After listening, Zhong Ying fell into silence for a moment.
The boss was indeed generous, offering the decision on a painting bought for a million to her.
This recognition made Zhong Ying feel deeply grateful to him.
But at this moment… what should she do?
Li Chengyi, on the side, really wanted to speak out. As a bystander, he naturally didn’t hope for major changes in Mist Street Blind Spot; he hoped that Mist Street would reappear over time, and the white flower would still be there.
But if Zhong Ying chose to destroy the contact object, using the Icebreaking Method, what Mist Street would be like afterward, no one could be sure.
No one knew whether his little white flower, Shan Li Hong, would still exist by then.
The car continued to shake as it moved forward.
Zhong Ying clutched the painting frame, sitting in her seat, biting her lip, her eyes flickering uncertainly, struggling within herself.
Time passed slowly until they nearly arrived at the villa.
“I’ve decided!” Zhong Ying finally looked resolute.
“I’m going to burn it!”
“Imitating a fire disaster?” Xindela understood immediately.
The others also caught on to this point.
The fire before on Zhong Road had been quite peculiar, and might also have something to do with Mist Street Blind Spot.
After all, over the years, Mist Street couldn’t have only pulled in Zhong Ying; it must have continuously lured in new people.
Among those new people, perhaps some have successfully escaped. And their methods would not be the Icebreaking Method because the painting was still in their possession, and most didn’t have such strength.
So they likely used the Replication Technique.
In a short time, several people felt that the Replication Technique might be related to the fire.
Everyone in the car began to hope for this outcome.
Only Li Chengyi opened his mouth and let out a silent sigh.
He couldn’t stop Zhong Ying from pursuing her chance at life. So, at this moment, all he could do was stay silent.
Shortly after, the group arrived at the rooftop of the villa, forming a circle.
Zhong Ying placed the painting on the ground, then picked up the gasoline can and gently poured it over.
