HD Chapter 32

Xu Zhi has never been so speechless.

It seems his birthday gift, given just a few days ago when he turned 20, has lost its freshness as it has already broken.

The artificial intelligence robot that never followed the program irritated him early in the morning again.

“Xu Zhi,” the artificial intelligence said, “I think you should get out of bed now and go to the restaurant to have something to eat.”

“How many times have I told you!” Xu Zhi kicked the quilt and sat up angrily, “I haven’t woken up yet! Don’t call me so early in the future!”

The corner of the artificial intelligence’s mouth moved, as if he wanted to say something, and Xu Zhi pulled him to the bed.

He pressed his hand up and down on the robot that obviously did not follow the instructions, trying to find his external interface so that he could change his program.

Zhou Mu sighed and said nothing more.

Ever since a few days ago, when Xu Zhi woke up early to inspect his internal hard drive, he knew there would be another Doc2 in the laptop.

The problem must have arisen from the movie they watched a few days ago.

A few days ago, a series of films directed by a well-known director about the invasion of artificial intelligence into human life was aired. Xu Zhi showed unprecedented interest and pulled Zhou Mu to watch it several times. After watching it, he searched for many movies with similar themes. Even when dreaming at night, muttering about wanting a robot.

So, the next day, Xu Zhi lived his life in a highly technologically advanced society, while Zhou Mu reluctantly played the role of the robot.

Different from what is shown in the film, the first thing Xu Zhi did was ask Zhou Mu to take off his clothes and stand in front of him.

“I want to check the material of your skin,” Xu Zhi sat cross-legged on the sofa with a laptop on his lap, “I think this is an invention that transcends the times.”

Under Xu Zhi’s gaze, Zhou Mu helplessly closed the curtains and then undressed in front of him, “Check it out then.”

Xu Zhi swallowed hard, feigning composure. “Um, nothing special. It’s probably silicone. This technology is quite common now.”

Xu Zhi swallowed and forced himself to calm down, “Yes, it’s nothing special. It should be silicone. This technology is very common now.”

“Yeah,” Zhou Mu said, “it’s really nothing special.”

So, Xu Zhi’s mood, which was unpredictable due to his illness, immediately turned stormy. “Is your main built-in function that of a parrot?” he retorted.

The room fell silent for a moment. After speaking, Xu Zhi seemed to realize that his words were a bit harsh. He muttered a few self-directed comments and then fell silent, not saying anything more.

At 21, Zhou Mu’s temper was still not entirely under control, and he was a bit displeased now.

“No.” Zhou Mu’s expression darkened slightly, and his lips pressed into a thin line. “The main program is for sexual pleasure or toys.”

“What…” Xu Zhi looked at him dumbfounded, and it took him a long time to find his voice, “What?”

Seeing him like this, Zhou Mu felt soft in his heart; half of his anger was gone, and he even started to tease him.

“Yes,” Zhou Mu said without changing his expression, “The most common ones on the market are inflatable dolls like me, which have independent thinking and perfect hardware facilities.”

After he finished speaking, he glanced down at himself, intentionally or unintentionally, looking quite proud.

However, the subsequent conversation overturned the understanding they had built during their time together.

Xu Zhi blushed and stammered, “Then…then turn around and let me take a look.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Mu’s face turned dark.

Seeing that he didn’t move, Xu Zhi put away his laptop and stood up from the sofa. He reached out, pushed his shoulder, and said shyly, “Hurry up.”

Zhou Mu shot himself in the foot, but he didn’t want to turn around anyway, so he chose to remain silent.

“What?” Xu Zhi was very dissatisfied, “Why are you so disobedient?”

Zhou Mu explained to him as if he had a toothache on his face, “I am an active model.”

“Huh?” Xu Zhi didn’t understand and was a little confused, “What does that mean?”

Zhou Mu continued talking, revealing a bit about himself. He stared at Xu Zhi and licked his lips, “I’m the top.”

“Ah,” Xu Zhi was shocked and pale, accidentally falling back into the sofa. “Is… is that so?”

“Yeah,” Zhou Mu responded, taking a step forward and leaning towards him, like a salesperson enticing a customer in a supermarket, “Would you like to try?”

Xu Zhi looked at him, took a long time before making up his mind, and took out his phone, saying, “I’ll refund you.”

Zhou Mu: “…”

Zhou Mu: “No.”

“Why?” Xu Zhi was very unhappy, “You’re forcing me to buy something against my will!”

“Because you have already activated it,” Zhou Mu vowed, “the artificial intelligence that has been activated will not be returned or exchanged.”

“Why don’t I remember?” Xu Zhi squinted his eyes, a little doubtful.

“Of course you don’t remember,” Zhou Mu said seriously, using a scene from a movie to deceive him, “the artificial intelligence will be automatically activated within two minutes after being claimed.”

In order to increase credibility, Zhou Mu skillfully used a rhetorical question, “You brought me back from the Artificial Intelligence Management Bureau yesterday, don’t you remember?”

Wen Shuyao mentioned that a significant characteristic of delusional disorder patients is their unwavering belief in their delusions, regardless of what others believe or the presence of clear and undeniable evidence. Even when all evidence points to the contrary, delusional patients will persist in their beliefs.

As expected, in order to maintain the integrity of his worldview, Xu Zhi would adhere to a rigorous logic, even if it wasn’t accurate.

Sure enough, Xu Zhi stumbled a bit and exclaimed, “Of course, I remember!”

Zhou Mu smiled and moved closer to seduce him, “If you don’t use me for a long time, the performance will decrease.”

Xu Zhi glanced at him uncomfortably, quickly ran back to the room, and locked him out.

Zhou Mu’s deception plan failed. He sighed, picked up his clothes, put them on, and called Wen Shuyao.

Wen Shuyao took it seriously and immediately asked his teacher for advice. However, since he was still abroad, he told Zhou Mu several types of medicine that Xu Zhi had and asked him to take them to Xu Zhi.

Zhou Mu stayed in the living room until very late before Xu Zhi came out. He seemed to have slept in the bedroom carelessly. As soon as he came out, he asked Zhou Mu to prepare dinner for him.

Zhou Mu glanced at him a few times and brought out the dinner he had just prepared. Xu Zhi sat at the dining table, very satisfied.

But when Zhou Mu was about to serve dinner, Xu Zhi said with great interest, “Artificial intelligence also eats?”

Zhou Mu paused with his chopsticks and said angrily, “I have an artificial digestive system.”

“Oh,” Xu Zhi asked curiously, “can you let me have a look?”

Zhou Mu definitely couldn’t let him see it, because as soon as he opened his abdominal cavity, his intestines and internal organs would fill the living room.

“No,” Zhou Mu said, “The silicone on my body is one piece and cannot be opened.”

“What about your energy source?” Xu Zhi asked again.

“There are microlight-sensing devices on the skin,” Zhou Mu said with a sullen face, “which can convert light to energy.”

“It’s like that then.” Xu Zhi nodded and suddenly realized.

Zhou Mu was very glad that he didn’t fall asleep while watching the movie that day. Although he missed some parts because of his kiss with Xu Zhi, he still saw the general content.

Who knew Xu Zhi would ask again, “What happens if it’s cloudy?”

Zhou Mu glanced at him but did not answer. He had never missed Wen Shuyao so much.

When Xu Zhi didn’t get an answer, he said to himself, “You must have an energy storage device in your body.”

Zhou Mu sneered, “Yes, not only does it exist, but it also lasts a long time.”

Xu Zhi blinked and accidentally blushed again.

They had a peaceful time at home for a few days, but Xu Zhi’s curiosity began to wane, and Zhou Mu was quite dissatisfied, always wanting to be around him.

Wen Shuyao advised that even with medication, Xu Zhi shouldn’t sleep all the time. Exercise and ensuring nutritional intake were essential.

At this stage, Wen Shuyao’s words were like royal decrees to him, but Xu Zhi clearly didn’t allow for another king in this household. When Zhou Mu tried to wake him up, as expected, Xu Zhi became angry.

Pressed down by Xu Zhi on the bed, Zhou Mu endured Xu Zhi’s rough touches, and his mood inexplicably became a bit downcast.

“Where is it?” Xu Zhi straddled Zhou Mu, holding his chin and carefully searching.

Looking at him, Zhou Mu reached out and held his hand.

“Xu Zhi,” Zhou Mu said, “the external interface is right here.”

As he spoke, he put his hand on Xu Zhi’s back, pulled him down, and pressed a short kiss on Xu Zhi’s lips.

Xu Zhi was kissed by him in a daze, and his cat eyes widened again.

Zhou Mu didn’t go too far. After asking Xu Zhi, he helped him sit up and looked at him gently, “What program do you want to change?”

Xu Zhi came to his senses and slowly climbed off Zhou Mu, “Let’s talk about it later.”

After saying that, he left the bedroom.

Zhou Mu’s Doc2 recorded a lot of information, and Xu Zhi still showed no signs of improvement. However, life had to go on, and Zhou Mu stayed by his side every day, taking care of him in every possible way.

And he added a “program” for himself on his own initiative. When he looked at Xu Zhi, he would say lovingly, “Xu Zhi, I’m in love with you.”

The first time he said it, Xu Zhi was startled, but Zhou Mu did not give up and still persisted.

Until one day, when the two of them were watching a classic love movie together, Zhou Mu suddenly discovered that Xu Zhi, who had never been interested in such movies, had red ears.

He turned down the volume of the movie, turned his head, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Zhi hesitated and refused to speak. He picked up a glass of water and drank it, “It’s nothing.”

Zhou Mu stopped asking him and pretended to continue watching the movie.

A few seconds later, Xu Zhi put down the glass and licked his lips unnaturally, “Why did you say you were in love with me?”

“There is no reason,” Zhou Mu said, “There is no reason why I love you.”

“But you,” Xu Zhi paused, unable to think of any euphemistic words, and still said, “you are just an artificial intelligence.”

“No matter who I am,” Zhou Mu said without any hesitation, “I will always love you.”

Xu Zhi’s response was to stand up without saying a word, leaving Zhou Mu with a somewhat flustered back.

It wasn’t until the end of the film that Xu Zhi poked his head out of the bedroom.

Xu Zhi said, “Zhou Mu, come here.”

Zhou Mu turned off the device and walked over. He saw two laptops on Xu Zhi’s bed. There were dense codes on the computers.

“I also plan to design a program,” Xu Zhi said shyly. He looked at Zhou Mu with burning eyes, hoping that he would continue to ask.

“What program?” Zhou Mu asked calmly.

“A…” Xu Zhi was about to say, but seemed to be afraid that Zhou Mu would laugh at him, so he said it in advance, “But I haven’t finished coding it yet.”

Zhou Mu nodded and motioned for him to continue.

“A program that may help artificial intelligence restore factory settings,” Xu Zhi continued.

“Huh?” Zhou Mu asked.

“Artificial intelligence should not be destroyed when the owner’s life ends,” Xu Zhi said. “That’s not fair.”

Zhou Mu’s Adam’s apple twitched and he asked Xu Zhi, “What do you mean?”

“If one day this program can run,” Xu Zhi said, “when I die, you can find a new owner. I…”

“No.” Zhou Mu interrupted him.

“Why?” Xu Zhi was surprised.

“Because I only want to be with you,” Zhou Mu said seriously, “changing the master doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“But it doesn’t make any sense for you to love me.” Xu Zhi was a little angry.

Faced with such Xu Zhi, Zhou Mu couldn’t explain clearly, and his love, which was too overwhelming to be measured, was completely impossible to describe.

If he tells Xu Zhi that he has been determined to have Xu Zhi since they first met when they were teenagers, Xu Zhi may be frightened or may think that his programs are malfunctioning.

So, Zhou Mu remained silent for a long time, only saying, “Xu Zhi, the fact that I love you is meaningful in itself.”

Xu Zhi took a breath and fell silent.

No one has told Xu Zhi that I love you so many times, so he thought about it for a long time and didn’t know what it was about him that was worthy of being loved.

It has been heard about artificial intelligence and humans falling in love before, but Xu Zhi often doesn’t think much about it.

Because human emotions are very complex, sometimes the warmth of some kindness can give birth to love, but sometimes years of companionship can’t even create a spark.

Therefore, how to obtain wholehearted love remains an unresolved problem across various fields, and now this challenge seems to be shifting towards the field of artificial intelligence.

Some time ago, a scientist also said that he had mastered a method to make artificial intelligence fall in love with his employer and would soon put it into production.

Xu Zhi glanced at Zhou Mu, and the corners of his mouth moved, but he didn’t say anything.

Zhou Mu didn’t know why; he just guessed what Xu Zhi was thinking. Xu Zhi’s life experience and sensitive emotions made him never dare to accept any sincere confession.

“Xu Zhi.” Zhou Mu raised his chin and asked him to look directly at him. He said, “There is something you need to know.”

“What is it?” Xu Zhi asked.

Zhou Mu smiled and rubbed the side of his face with his fingertips, “I love you is not a set program.”

He said, “Just because you are Xu Zhi, you can always make my heart move.”

“Human beings call it a last resort; I call it the Xu Zhi effect.”

Zhou Mu’s Doc2: If Zhou Mu is really an artificial intelligence, then the Xu Zhi effect is the scientific law for the operation of all his programs, and it applies to any situation without exception.

==End==

 

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t/n: Yes, I made it! This is the final, last chapter guys; we are officially done!!! Thank you for reading along with me, it was nice seeing your comments ^^. I hope you enjoyed the series as much as I did and have a good rest of the day!

edit: JK there’s still 2 more chapters, sorry guys.