Chapter 89: Self-Awareness

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Tapping on his phone screen, Bochang activated his pet with a single command—Wangcai.

The large figure before him shuddered momentarily, and its four front eyes lit up with a red glow as Wangcai's body began to move.

"System rebooting..."

"Connecting logic language center... complete..."

"Monitoring confirmed: all modules functioning normally, establishing connections... complete."

"Astral Express Defense Robot No. 1 - Wangcai, at your service."

As the electronic voice sounded, Bochang thought his modifications on the little robot had been a great success. However, unexpectedly, the robot spoke words beyond what he had programmed:

"Master? Wangcai... Rivet Town... Waited... Repaired... Mission... accomplished successfully, happy! Happy!"

Slowly typing out a question mark, Bochang immediately realized its significance. He exclaimed, "This little guy... seems to have developed self-awareness."

Ever since acquiring the technology for repairing and upgrading robots, Bochang had harbored this suspicion.

Bochang had harbored this vague feeling before but assumed it was due to damage in the little robot's mechanical modules.

Hence why it behaved that way.

Now, Bochang has completely repaired the small robot. Not only did he fix it, but he also spent several hours thoroughly maintaining and upgrading it.

The current major modules are undoubtedly functioning without issue.

So there could be only one explanation.

This little robot, using its computational power, developed an emotional module on its own.

In other words, what is commonly understood as self-awareness.

"Isn't that... similar to Mr. Svarog?" Clara's eyes widened as she looked at the tall, ancient-looking robot beside her, reminiscent of her father, "Has something like this occurred within Mr. Svarog's mechanical network?"

"No, automatons connected to the network undergo periodic cleaning of information noise from their core modules."

"Based on data analysis, the probability of an individual developing uncontrollable self-awareness is 0.12%. However, for those not linked to the base network, the probability increases to 3.23%."

"Warning: This probability is merely a theoretical estimation. In the past seven hundred years of the Underworld, no actual cases have been observed."

Svarog provided a wealth of explanation all at once.

Given such low probability events, he was skeptical and thus offered his suggestion.

"Sometimes, these improbable occurrences can lead to disasters. Therefore, my recommendation is... to initialize Wangcai's mechanical unit core and perform comprehensive maintenance on its core module, repairing its hardware structure."

If applied to humans, this method would be akin to hypnotic brainwashing.

For a small robot with self-awareness,

it undoubtedly seemed cruel. From the database implanted by Bochang, Wangcai effortlessly discerned Svarog's intentions.

"Initialization... Refused... Forgetting... Hate it! Hate it! Wangcai... requesting activation of combat protocol."

Highly dissatisfied, Wangcai spread its legs apart, revealing six robust barrels that Bochang had just equipped moments ago.

These contained twelve homing missiles.

Through its camera, Wangcai could lock onto enemies, providing it with formidable firepower.

Additionally, there was the laser cannon in its left palm, while the gears in its right hand began spinning, emitting a buzzing sound.

A red gleam flashed in Svarog's eyes.

"Mechanical fault detected, assessing status—threat level increasing. Bochang, please control your machine... or I will initiate the extermination protocol."

"Hold on, Wangcai." Bochang raised his hand, rejecting the combat agreement.

Although this automaton possessed self-awareness, after Bochang's maintenance and upgrades, he added an additional lock to it.

Now, supreme command authority rested with Bochang.

Unless Wangcai could use its computational power to crack the lock set by the black-haired youth, it would absolutely be unable to defy Bochang's orders.

"Combat protocol... terminated. Why, Master?" Wangcai retracted all its weapons but expressed confusion.

"Svarog is a friend," Bochang explained. "He's actually quite similar to you, except... your self-awareness hasn't yet reached his level, and naturally... neither has your strength."

Bochang had spent only a few hours maintaining and upgrading Wangcai. As a result, compared to an ordinary Automaton Grizzly, Wangcai was undoubtedly much more powerful. However, when measured against Svarog, there was still a significant gap.

"Furthermore... considering this era, why did you request a traditional duel? Couldn't you have engaged in verbal combat with Svarog instead?"

"Traditional duel, verbal combat... searching now..."

Wangcai connected to Bochang's phone network and could directly search for information using his interstellar smartphone. It was akin to carrying a comprehensive encyclopedia at all times.

Whenever encountering data not present in Bochang's implanted central archive, Wangcai could simply query the internet.

This feature gave him a slight advantage over Svarog.

Of course... if Svarog also connected to external networks via his phone, he could achieve the same capability. However, Svarog would never do that.

Accessing unfamiliar networks is highly risky for robots; a single misstep could lead to their underlying logic being compromised or manipulated, effectively infecting them like a virus and allowing others to control them.

"Understood... Target... Svarog, Wangcai... refutes your claim. According to the data... inorganic life forms do exist... Wangcai... possesses... the right to maintain its selfhood..."

"Refutation, based on the Architects' directives, emotions are burdensome for machines and can only hinder task execution. Moreover, according to diagnostics, your core module contains numerous logic faults and significant amounts of unidentified information noise. Without prompt cleaning, there is a risk of further loss of control..."

"Refutation, based on..."

At this disagreement, the two robots embarked on a heated debate.

Unaware of how long their discussion might continue, Dan Heng started eating his noodles. March 7th remarked, "Hey, Teacher Dan Heng, why didn't you call us over before digging in? That's not very fair."

Bochang spent considerable time repairing and upgrading the little robot.

By now, it was already nighttime.

During lunchtime, everyone had simply eaten some dry rations to fill their stomachs.

In the evening, they all preferred something warm to eat.

So...

Dan Heng sent for robots from the Robot Settlement to bring back bowls of steaming noodles.

"Go ahead and eat. I ordered portions for you too," said Dan Heng, addressing everyone present. "Clara, would you like some noodles as well?"

Dan Heng took care of each person's needs.

Clara gently shook her head and replied, "No, thank you, Big Brother Dan Heng."

Since there was nothing else to do, Bochang ate his noodles while watching the two robots debate.

Each robot held firmly onto its stance, neither able to persuade the other.

Ultimately, it was only after Clara intervened with a few words that Svarog relinquished further futile argumentation.

He decided not to interfere anymore, since this robot wasn't his responsibility anyway. Any future incidents would be headaches for Bochang and the others to handle.

Clara then asked, "Big Brother Bochang, does it really have to be called Wangcai? I think... I think Pascal is a better name."