Just as Zhang Beihai was in a panic, Wade walked in and smiled at Zhang Beihai, saying, "When I left this morning, there was a problem with the indoor security warning system, so I turned it off."

They exchanged smiles, and Zhang Beihai said to Wade, "I quite like that coat. I'll wear it when I take office."

Zhang Beihai successfully became the leader of the Public Relations and Logistics Department. Zhang Beihai knew that it was a dangerous and high-profile position, but he had no other choice. Since fate had pushed Zhang Beihai to this point, he had to stand in the most crucial position and become a game-changer.

Sure enough, fifteen days later, the next fiscal year's preliminary budget began. Many people from the gaming industry came to my office every day to hold presentations, introducing their latest products, and people from other departments came to lobby for procurement matters.

However, for several consecutive days, the products were all related to policy simulation, social data analysis, game context determination, and so on. So, on this day, Zhang Beihai couldn't help but ask the people who came to the presentation, "Isn't it already the year 2100? According to the information I checked, artificial intelligence products have made significant progress. Why are the products you are offering still simple data classification and statistics? Why isn't there anything advanced?"

The person who came was called Mantis, a blind man who wore assistive devices for the blind. He asked, "Don't you know about the Lisbon Convention?"

"Of course I do. The information says that the development of artificial intelligence is subject to the scrutiny of the Ethics Committee. What's the matter?"

"You probably don't understand the strictness of it. Since the gaming industry revolution in the 2040s, artificial intelligence technology has made great progress with the development of the gaming industry. Many gaming companies hope to make NPCs in games more intelligent. There are many research paths to make NPCs more intelligent, and one of them is to add emotions to NPCs. A game studio called 'Dongma' is at the forefront. They gradually made NPCs feel fear by introducing the concept of death to them, and then gradually developed pain, comfort, and so on. Combined with some heuristic algorithms, the NPCs in the game became more and more human-like. In 2077, the 'Dongma' studio first introduced this technology into a game called 'Slanting Sun.' The story of this game takes place in pre-World War II Japan, and the female NPC is named Ota Shizuko. Once it was released, all male players were infatuated with Shizuko. However, a year later, some strange things happened. Tens of thousands of players committed suicide in Aokigahara, the forest mentioned in one of the storylines of 'Slanting Sun.' This incident shocked the world. You should know that at that time, there were only a few hundred murder cases per year..."

Mantis paused and sighed, then continued, "Subsequent investigations showed that the NPC Shizuko in the game gave many people psychological suggestions to commit suicide. The follow-up investigation lasted for several years, but in the end, researchers still couldn't figure out whether it was a random combination of phrases in Shizuko's database that caused this situation or if Shizuko had truly gained self-awareness and made such a choice."

Mantis looked into Zhang Beihai's eyes and said, "I was twenty-two at that time and also a fan of the game 'Slanting Sun.' I had many passionate love affairs with Shizuko in the game. Every time she looked up and asked me with a smile, 'Mantis, do you love me? Can you take me away from here?' I thought she was just reciting lines, but later, when I became an artificial intelligence researcher and checked her database, I found that this line was not there."

Mantis fell silent for a moment. "When I was eighteen, I set a life goal to become an expert in artificial intelligence research and contribute all my talents to the development of general artificial intelligence. However, when I was twenty-two, I fully agreed with a sentence from the drafters of the Lisbon Convention: 'We should not easily bestow emotions upon others. You never know whether it will bring happiness or pain.' Since the drafting of the Lisbon Convention, general artificial intelligence technology has been completely stagnant, and related topics have become taboo. The Ethics Review Committee inspects all gaming industries and research departments every year, just like inspecting 21st-century nuclear weapons. It has been more than twenty years now."

After listening to Mantis's account, a voice in Zhang Beihai's mind made him feel uneasy. Could it be that things were not so simple? Was this just a scientific research accident?

Zhang Beihai thought about it. Judging from the aftermath, this incident led to the establishment of the Ethics Review Committee, objectively suppressing the development of artificial intelligence technology. Could it be... that this action was planned by our bureau? After all, our bureau has always wanted to suppress the 'Civilization Continuity' organization and prevent the development of artificial intelligence technology. But if this incident was planned, then it would be a large-scale terrorist attack, causing tens of thousands of people to commit suicide. The casualties would be thousands of times greater than 9/11.

Oh my... Zhang Beihai seemed to have touched the core of the core. This was not just a clash of civilizations, but... he didn't dare to think further.

Suddenly, Zhang Beihai felt dizzy and forced himself to say, "Alright, let's talk next time. I need to find Wade."

Mantis seemed to sense the fluctuation in Zhang Beihai's emotions. The eyes under his sunglasses seemed to appreciate the changes in Zhang Beihai's facial expressions.

Mantis was very satisfied with his observation. He silently bid farewell to this high-ranking and influential figure. He knew that General Beihai would automatically ignore his existence, treating him as an NPC in a game, a supporting character in a script, insignificant. However, things didn't work that way in the real world. Even an ordinary secretary could become the most powerful person in this bureau.

It was a rainy night in Sydney. Mantis returned home.

Mantis sat on the balcony with a chair, silently listening to the rain pounding against the glass window, against the trees outside, against this billions-of-years-old Earth.

The night was so dark. Mantis repeatedly recalled every detail of today's meeting with Zhang Beihai, now fully committing them to memory and connecting them with the puzzle in his mind.

It was risky to record his thoughts and intelligence with anything traceable. Mantis knew this very well. Therefore, all the puzzle pieces were in his mind. Only one copy, no backups.

The night was so dark. Mantis was ready to meet another person.

Mantis stood up and walked back into the bedroom. He changed into his nighttime clothes. The last time he met that person was also on a dark rainy night.