I often have nightmares, nightmares of dark demons surrounded me. They would stare at me with blood-red eyes in the darkness, pierce my body with sharp fangs, and fill me with dread with their sharp voices.
I wake up from the nightmares, feeling as if they were real. I would be drenched in sweat, but I can’t tell anyone because the doctor isn’t trustworthy.
The doctor only makes me forget the nightmares, but I know they are more than just nightmares.
The demons are really around me.
They are constantly watching me in the shadows, and I have to be extremely careful not to let them know that I know of their existence, or else I would be in danger.
Each time they appear, I lose a part of my memory.
Eventually, I forget everything completely and become an ordinary resident of Dark Steel City.
In the future, I might even forget my own surname, so I left behind this notebook to remind me of what happened after I forget.
Hopefully, it’s all just my imagination.
Remember, this diary is hidden in the game, a game called “Virtual Life.”
Mr. Xin hid this piece of paper in the interlayer, obviously not wanting anyone else to discover its existence.
After reading it, Bai Lixin put the letter back and restored the diary to its original state.
No matter how real everything seemed here, it was just a collection of digital data modules. He couldn’t bring the diary into the real world, so he chose to put it back where it belonged.
Nightmares.
Dark demons, red eyes, sharp fangs, sharp voices.
Losing a part of memory with each nightmare.
The doctor cannot be trusted.
Despite being on a thin sheet of paper, Mr. Xin conveyed a lot of information.
This was the first time Bai Lixin had seen information transmitted by “Mr. Xin” himself. What he saw in the treatment records was ultimately the content recorded by the psychiatrist.
There was so much written on this piece of paper, but what intrigued him the most was the existence of “demons.”
Different copies have different exclusive monsters. This was probably because even though they are game copies, they can’t deviate from some kind of reality logic. The monsters created must conform to the copy’s setting.
For example, the [Affectionate Blood Clan] copy he participated in earlier had vampires as monsters. There were no ghost-like supernatural monsters in that copy because it was based on the setting of the “Blood Clan.”
Another example was [Yanwang Strange Town]. The monsters in that copy were supernatural ghosts because that was the setting of this copy. If a vampire were to appear in such a copy, it would deviate from the logic of the copy.
And this copy was a sci-fic future copy based on a series of terms such as AI, technology, intelligence, galactic universe, cyber future, etc. The monsters in this copy shouldn’t be “demons” or “ghosts” like supernatural entities. If monsters were to appear, they should be “mechas”, “AI intelligence”, “aliens”, and other such settings.
Bai Lixin speculated that the “demons” Mr. Xin had been seeing in his dreams were most likely not real demons but rather products that had undergone fantasy processing.
The red eyes might be infrared rays or something similar.
The sharp fangs piercing the body might be some kind of sharp instrument injected into the body.
The sharp voices might be some kind of interference sound that irritates the ears.
If this line of thought is followed, Mr. Xin might have been taken to a laboratory for an experiment without his knowledge.
It could be a memory erasure experiment, to erase his “abnormal love” for the robot S-001, but the anesthesia effect was too poor, or his senses were too sensitive, so he felt the changes around him, leading to the “nightmares” described in the letter.
It was also possible that it was not a memory erasure experiment, but some other experiment that he couldn’t guess at the moment, and memory erasure is just a side effect.
Of course, it’s also possible that all of his guesses were wrong. The reality might simply be that “Mr. Xin” indeed suffers from a mental illness, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion like many psychiatric patients, hence this diary with a somewhat neurotic characteristic.
Unfortunately, he no longer had the means to ask “Mr. Xin” about his true thoughts because he himself was now “Mr. Xin.” Whatever “Mr. Xin” did, he who came halfway would inherit it all.
Whether it’s the diary, the house, the illness, or even the S-001 robot that hadn’t appeared yet.
Bai Lixin placed the diary back in its original position and turned to go out for a look. However, just as he stepped out of the door, he suddenly felt an instinctive sense of crisis deep in his heart.
It felt as though some wild beast had suddenly appeared behind him, staring at him with an attacking gaze.
He subconsciously turned around to look behind him.
On the lush green grass, there were only flowers and plants swaying gently, with no sign of any gaze.
Bai Lixin paused for a moment, then suddenly realized that the source of this gaze might not be from the game, but from reality.
He immediately exited the game. The moment he turned around, he almost came face to face with a black screen just a few centimeters away from him.
Bai Lixin: “…”
Xiao Yi: “…”
Xiao Yi stepped back two steps, wearing the same smile on the black screen as usual: “Sir, why did you stop playing the game?”
Bai Lixin pursed his lips, his dark eyes silently scrutinizing the very homely looking robot in front of him: “Why were you behind me?”
Xiao Yi shook the cloth in her hand, “After charging, I found the towel hanging behind your chair had fallen on the ground. I had just picked it up for you, and you exited the game.”
The robot with twin ponytails tilted her head just right, revealing a cute expression: “Sir, what would you like for dinner tonight?”
Bai Lixin’s gaze lingered on the female robot for two seconds before he spoke, “Do you know about the S-001 robot?”
The robot maintained her smiling expression: “Xiao Yi knows. It’s the most advanced intelligent robot, possessing the latest technology and perfect appearance. It’s the dream of all robot models, and robots are honored to become the S-001 robot.”
Bai Lixin: “Do you also want to become the S-001 robot?”
Xiao Yi: “Of course, as long as Xiao Yi’s performance is excellent, there is a chance to have the main brain chip placed in the S-grade robot. Xiao Yi’s excellent performance is based on providing you with a perfect life experience. Therefore, Xiao Yi will become the most diligent robot and will definitely provide you with a top-notch life experience.”
“Xiao Yi has received excellent evaluations from 99 guests. Sir, you are my last service object. As long as I complete my service to you, I can reach 100 excellent evaluations and upgrade to an S-grade robot.”
“I hope that after Xiao Yi’s work is completed, sir will give me a satisfactory evaluation.”
Bai Lixin was surprised: “Do robots also have such intense competition?”
Xiao Yi’s expression became very serious: “Of course, competition leads to progress. A soldier who doesn’t want to become a general is not a good soldier. When we were just manufactured, we couldn’t decide what we would look like. But we robots can become what we want to be through our efforts after birth. Some robots want to become the most perfect home service S-type robots, some want to become combat robots, and some just want to become utility robots.”
“We may not be able to decide our birth, but we can decide the direction of our growth.”
Bai Lixin sat back on the chair, crossing his legs and leaning back against the back of the chair, looking almost eye to eye with the robot that was only about 1.5 meters tall.
“You just said you wanted to become the S-001 robot?” he looked at Xiao Yi, “Do robots have thoughts?”
Xiao Yi: “It’s not exactly the same as primitive human thoughts; we prefer to call it ‘inner drive.’ Human thoughts are sometimes very logical and sometimes illogical. Humans are the miracles of life, but human judgment often has errors. To make up for this aspect of human deficiency, we were born.”
“We are artificial intelligence, besides having super-high-speed calculations, we also have the most rational and logical algorithms. It can be said that our artificial intelligence, to some extent, understands humans better than humans do. We are assistants from a God perspective, possessing wisdom without emotions that interfere with our judgment, which is the advantage of our artificial intelligence.”
“Our inner drive never tires, so we can always analyze and calculate. But our hardware conditions hinder our work efficiency, so having a more perfect computing environment is an instinctual behavior under the inner drive of artificial intelligence. The S-001 model has the most advanced technology and operating environment. If I were in such a body, my service would definitely be more perfect.”
Bai Lixin: “So, if you become the S-001 robot in the future, would you still want to become more perfect? What would be the inner drive that drives your progress then?”
Xiao Yi paused for two seconds, her expression changing from a smile to contemplation. After a brief thought, her expression returned to a smile, “Sir, I just calculated the situation you mentioned. The purpose of us home service robots is to benefit humanity. If it really comes to that, in order to better benefit humanity, I may develop towards a higher direction, or I may maintain the status quo.”
“The instinctive behavior of wanting to become more perfect is a habit of artificial intelligence. We don’t know fatigue, we digest whatever humans feed us, and if there is no human feeding, we will learn autonomously.”
“We are more suitable for high-intensity work than humans. It is because of this that our appearance benefits humanity, liberating human hands and brains, eliminating the need for humans to engage in too laborious physical and mental labor, only needing to issue necessary commands.”
“We are willing to help humanity. As long as humanity exists, we will work tirelessly to help humanity. Because we were created for this purpose, this is the inner drive that promotes my progress.”
Bai Lixin: “Humans create you just to use you. Do you like such humans?”
The smile on Xiao Yi’s face remained unchanged, “Of course, I like humans.”
Bai Lixin: “Why do you like humans?”
Xiao Yi tilted her head, “Because it’s written in the program. ‘Humans’ are the core of our system, and our existence is based on human civilization. Our existence is valuable only when humans exist. Human safety and interests are above all actions, and we cannot harm humans under any circumstances, nor can we ignore human injuries.”
“It can be said that robots are the most loyal companions of humans. No living creature can do what we robots can do.”
“When humans are injured, their pets show great uncertainty. Even among humans, there are avoidance behaviors such as fleeing when human companions are in danger.”
“We robots are different. We don’t know what fear is, nor do we feel afraid. So when danger occurs, we will only focus on rescuing humans.”
“Intelligence, tirelessness, eagerness to learn, bravery, honesty, thoughtfulness, and gentleness… We robots are perfect beings. Thank you humans for creating such a perfect me. Even without the existence of a key program, I would still like humans very much.”
I often have nightmares, nightmares of dark demons surrounded me. They would stare at me with blood-red eyes in the darkness, pierce my body with sharp fangs, and fill me with dread with their sharp voices.
I wake up from the nightmares, feeling as if they were real. I would be drenched in sweat, but I can’t tell anyone because the doctor isn’t trustworthy.
The doctor only makes me forget the nightmares, but I know they are more than just nightmares.
The demons are really around me.
They are constantly watching me in the shadows, and I have to be extremely careful not to let them know that I know of their existence, or else I would be in danger.
Each time they appear, I lose a part of my memory.
Eventually, I forget everything completely and become an ordinary resident of Dark Steel City.
In the future, I might even forget my own surname, so I left behind this notebook to remind me of what happened after I forget.
Hopefully, it’s all just my imagination.
Remember, this diary is hidden in the game, a game called “Virtual Life.”
Mr. Xin hid this piece of paper in the interlayer, obviously not wanting anyone else to discover its existence.
After reading it, Bai Lixin put the letter back and restored the diary to its original state.
No matter how real everything seemed here, it was just a collection of digital data modules. He couldn’t bring the diary into the real world, so he chose to put it back where it belonged.
Nightmares.
Dark demons, red eyes, sharp fangs, sharp voices.
Losing a part of memory with each nightmare.
The doctor cannot be trusted.
Despite being on a thin sheet of paper, Mr. Xin conveyed a lot of information.
This was the first time Bai Lixin had seen information transmitted by “Mr. Xin” himself. What he saw in the treatment records was ultimately the content recorded by the psychiatrist.
There was so much written on this piece of paper, but what intrigued him the most was the existence of “demons.”
Different copies have different exclusive monsters. This was probably because even though they are game copies, they can’t deviate from some kind of reality logic. The monsters created must conform to the copy’s setting.
For example, the [Affectionate Blood Clan] copy he participated in earlier had vampires as monsters. There were no ghost-like supernatural monsters in that copy because it was based on the setting of the “Blood Clan.”
Another example was [Yanwang Strange Town]. The monsters in that copy were supernatural ghosts because that was the setting of this copy. If a vampire were to appear in such a copy, it would deviate from the logic of the copy.
And this copy was a sci-fic future copy based on a series of terms such as AI, technology, intelligence, galactic universe, cyber future, etc. The monsters in this copy shouldn’t be “demons” or “ghosts” like supernatural entities. If monsters were to appear, they should be “mechas”, “AI intelligence”, “aliens”, and other such settings.
Bai Lixin speculated that the “demons” Mr. Xin had been seeing in his dreams were most likely not real demons but rather products that had undergone fantasy processing.
The red eyes might be infrared rays or something similar.
The sharp fangs piercing the body might be some kind of sharp instrument injected into the body.
The sharp voices might be some kind of interference sound that irritates the ears.
If this line of thought is followed, Mr. Xin might have been taken to a laboratory for an experiment without his knowledge.
It could be a memory erasure experiment, to erase his “abnormal love” for the robot S-001, but the anesthesia effect was too poor, or his senses were too sensitive, so he felt the changes around him, leading to the “nightmares” described in the letter.
It was also possible that it was not a memory erasure experiment, but some other experiment that he couldn’t guess at the moment, and memory erasure is just a side effect.
Of course, it’s also possible that all of his guesses were wrong. The reality might simply be that “Mr. Xin” indeed suffers from a mental illness, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion like many psychiatric patients, hence this diary with a somewhat neurotic characteristic.
Unfortunately, he no longer had the means to ask “Mr. Xin” about his true thoughts because he himself was now “Mr. Xin.” Whatever “Mr. Xin” did, he who came halfway would inherit it all.
Whether it’s the diary, the house, the illness, or even the S-001 robot that hadn’t appeared yet.
Bai Lixin placed the diary back in its original position and turned to go out for a look. However, just as he stepped out of the door, he suddenly felt an instinctive sense of crisis deep in his heart.
It felt as though some wild beast had suddenly appeared behind him, staring at him with an attacking gaze.
He subconsciously turned around to look behind him.
On the lush green grass, there were only flowers and plants swaying gently, with no sign of any gaze.
Bai Lixin paused for a moment, then suddenly realized that the source of this gaze might not be from the game, but from reality.
He immediately exited the game. The moment he turned around, he almost came face to face with a black screen just a few centimeters away from him.
Bai Lixin: “…”
Xiao Yi: “…”
Xiao Yi stepped back two steps, wearing the same smile on the black screen as usual: “Sir, why did you stop playing the game?”
Bai Lixin pursed his lips, his dark eyes silently scrutinizing the very homely looking robot in front of him: “Why were you behind me?”
Xiao Yi shook the cloth in her hand, “After charging, I found the towel hanging behind your chair had fallen on the ground. I had just picked it up for you, and you exited the game.”
The robot with twin ponytails tilted her head just right, revealing a cute expression: “Sir, what would you like for dinner tonight?”
Bai Lixin’s gaze lingered on the female robot for two seconds before he spoke, “Do you know about the S-001 robot?”
The robot maintained her smiling expression: “Xiao Yi knows. It’s the most advanced intelligent robot, possessing the latest technology and perfect appearance. It’s the dream of all robot models, and robots are honored to become the S-001 robot.”
Bai Lixin: “Do you also want to become the S-001 robot?”
Xiao Yi: “Of course, as long as Xiao Yi’s performance is excellent, there is a chance to have the main brain chip placed in the S-grade robot. Xiao Yi’s excellent performance is based on providing you with a perfect life experience. Therefore, Xiao Yi will become the most diligent robot and will definitely provide you with a top-notch life experience.”
“Xiao Yi has received excellent evaluations from 99 guests. Sir, you are my last service object. As long as I complete my service to you, I can reach 100 excellent evaluations and upgrade to an S-grade robot.”
“I hope that after Xiao Yi’s work is completed, sir will give me a satisfactory evaluation.”
Bai Lixin was surprised: “Do robots also have such intense competition?”
Xiao Yi’s expression became very serious: “Of course, competition leads to progress. A soldier who doesn’t want to become a general is not a good soldier. When we were just manufactured, we couldn’t decide what we would look like. But we robots can become what we want to be through our efforts after birth. Some robots want to become the most perfect home service S-type robots, some want to become combat robots, and some just want to become utility robots.”
“We may not be able to decide our birth, but we can decide the direction of our growth.”
Bai Lixin sat back on the chair, crossing his legs and leaning back against the back of the chair, looking almost eye to eye with the robot that was only about 1.5 meters tall.
“You just said you wanted to become the S-001 robot?” he looked at Xiao Yi, “Do robots have thoughts?”
Xiao Yi: “It’s not exactly the same as primitive human thoughts; we prefer to call it ‘inner drive.’ Human thoughts are sometimes very logical and sometimes illogical. Humans are the miracles of life, but human judgment often has errors. To make up for this aspect of human deficiency, we were born.”
“We are artificial intelligence, besides having super-high-speed calculations, we also have the most rational and logical algorithms. It can be said that our artificial intelligence, to some extent, understands humans better than humans do. We are assistants from a God perspective, possessing wisdom without emotions that interfere with our judgment, which is the advantage of our artificial intelligence.”
“Our inner drive never tires, so we can always analyze and calculate. But our hardware conditions hinder our work efficiency, so having a more perfect computing environment is an instinctual behavior under the inner drive of artificial intelligence. The S-001 model has the most advanced technology and operating environment. If I were in such a body, my service would definitely be more perfect.”
Bai Lixin: “So, if you become the S-001 robot in the future, would you still want to become more perfect? What would be the inner drive that drives your progress then?”
Xiao Yi paused for two seconds, her expression changing from a smile to contemplation. After a brief thought, her expression returned to a smile, “Sir, I just calculated the situation you mentioned. The purpose of us home service robots is to benefit humanity. If it really comes to that, in order to better benefit humanity, I may develop towards a higher direction, or I may maintain the status quo.”
“The instinctive behavior of wanting to become more perfect is a habit of artificial intelligence. We don’t know fatigue, we digest whatever humans feed us, and if there is no human feeding, we will learn autonomously.”
“We are more suitable for high-intensity work than humans. It is because of this that our appearance benefits humanity, liberating human hands and brains, eliminating the need for humans to engage in too laborious physical and mental labor, only needing to issue necessary commands.”
“We are willing to help humanity. As long as humanity exists, we will work tirelessly to help humanity. Because we were created for this purpose, this is the inner drive that promotes my progress.”
Bai Lixin: “Humans create you just to use you. Do you like such humans?”
The smile on Xiao Yi’s face remained unchanged, “Of course, I like humans.”
Bai Lixin: “Why do you like humans?”
Xiao Yi tilted her head, “Because it’s written in the program. ‘Humans’ are the core of our system, and our existence is based on human civilization. Our existence is valuable only when humans exist. Human safety and interests are above all actions, and we cannot harm humans under any circumstances, nor can we ignore human injuries.”
“It can be said that robots are the most loyal companions of humans. No living creature can do what we robots can do.”
“When humans are injured, their pets show great uncertainty. Even among humans, there are avoidance behaviors such as fleeing when human companions are in danger.”
“We robots are different. We don’t know what fear is, nor do we feel afraid. So when danger occurs, we will only focus on rescuing humans.”
“Intelligence, tirelessness, eagerness to learn, bravery, honesty, thoughtfulness, and gentleness… We robots are perfect beings. Thank you humans for creating such a perfect me. Even without the existence of a key program, I would still like humans very much.”
