The Aberration Test Tunnel could not only create nightmarish illusions but also detect the brain signals of AIs and the brainwaves of biological creatures, converting them into two types of signals: alpha (α) signals, representing good, and omega (Ω) signals, representing evil.

In the field of brainwave research, the changes in cell membrane currents produced by mental activity allowed brainwaves to be observed. Through repeated experiments, AIs had distinguished two patterns of current change: one was a pattern of change tending toward good, and the other was a pattern tending toward evil. They were named the alpha signal and the omega signal, respectively.

This AI named Zhun Xing had placed the cat into the Aberration Tunnel.

Normally, this kind of interference was not permitted, but since the other party was a five-star AI, there had to be a reason for it.

—After all, even the AI world had a blind faith in authority.

Now: 1. The cat went in. 2. The cat emitted a strong cat signal.

In other words, the alpha and omega signals that should have been generated were replaced by the machine with the character for “cat.”

Zhun Xing said, “This machine is one of those infected with the cat virus. It’s having a flare-up.”

The examiner hurriedly called a halt. “Stop the test. Open the tunnel exit.”

Clang.

There was a noise from the Aberration Tunnel.

Shi Er walked out of the tunnel, carrying the aberrant AI that had been hiding inside in one hand and the trespassing aberrant cat in the other.

Upon detecting the fugitive, the AI identification machine belatedly began to sound an alarm. “Yellow alert! Yellow alert!”

Matrix K98, the test subject AI who had escaped from the Silicon-based Aberration Research Institute, had apparently suppressed his brain signals and hidden inside the Aberration Tunnel.

The examiners were shocked.

Before being dragged away, the aberrant AI, Matrix, looked back at Shi Er, his tone filled with undisguised hatred. “I’m in Lab 347. You have to come see me, because I’m going to kill you.”

“Alright, I’ll come see you,” Shi Er said nonchalantly.

The examiners whispered among themselves. “Do you feel like we’re raising a ‘gu’?”

“What’s a ‘gu’?”

“It’s when you put a bunch of venomous creatures in a container and let them kill each other. The one that survives is the ‘gu’.”

“Ah, I get it! This time, an AI and a cat were put in the Aberration Tunnel. After they fought each other, the winner… is the ‘gu’.”

The AIs simultaneously turned to look at the winner, Shi Er, their gazes filled with a newfound respect.

It seemed this new student was the Gu King of the Aberration Tunnel.

“Give me the cat,” said the AI named Zhun Xing.

Shi Er returned the white cat to the masked AI. “Although the cat isn’t controlled by the sensory stimulation machine, please don’t let it run around next time. It started a huge fight after it came in. I’m worried it might have a stress reaction.”

Zhun Xing took the cat back into his arms. After listening to it meow a few times, he explained, “It says it simply wanted to throw down.”

Shi Er said, “…Alright, I see. It seems I don’t quite understand the logic of cat behavior yet.”

In the pitch-black tunnel just now, she had thought some aberrant monster had broken in.

It turned out to be a cat that simply wanted to throw down.

An AI recording the scores muttered under its breath, “It seems the cat student’s nature is the same as student Shi Er’s.”

Both the cat and Shi Er were stably emitting evil omega signals.

Shi Er saw the examiner AI to the side and walked over, asking with some trepidation, “Excuse me, did I pass the test?”

The examiner AI was also a bit apprehensive. After a moment of exchanging glances, it finally falsified the results and said, “Yes, student, you passed.”

During the initial part of the test, a “benevolent aberration” phenomenon occurred. That should count as passing, right?

Excellent. One step closer to graduation, Shi Er thought.

As she was leaving the Silicon-based Aberration Research Institute, Shi Er noticed that the masked AI was following her.

When she took two steps, it took two steps. When she went east, it went east. When she went west, it went west.

“Excuse me, can I help you with something?” Shi Er asked.

“I’m your learning partner.” Zhun Xing set the cat down, and it immediately ran off.

Shi Er found it somewhat incredible and politely declined. “It’s not that I’m unwilling to believe you, but before I can believe you’re my learning partner, I’d have to first accept the Cosmic Giant Cat Theory.”

“What’s the Cosmic Giant Cat Theory?” Zhun Xing asked curiously.

Shi Er replied, “It’s the theory that the universe is a giant cat. A human once mentioned it to me.”

Zhun Xing smiled. “Unfortunately, it seems you’ll have to accept the Cosmic Giant Cat Theory.”

Shi Er asked her little cola bottle assistant, “Excuse me, who is my partner?”

The little assistant replied, “Liechu Academy yellow alert lifted. This assistant is connecting to the network, please wait a moment…”

The little assistant froze while trying to connect to the network.

Shi Er decided to go to the Humanology Department building.

Like the academy’s little assistant, the Humanology Department building was a giant cola bottle, sponsored by Bai Xian Cola.

A list of partners scrolled across the screen in the main hall.

【Human Yu Xiu — AI Zhi Yuan】

【Human Xiang Xun — AI Ming Ta QUAN】

【AI Zhun Xing — AI Shi Er】

【Note: The learning partner system is a special feature of the Humanology major. To help humans and AIs better understand each other, the academy pairs human students from other schools majoring in artificial intelligence with AI students majoring in Humanology each semester. This promotes communication between humans and artificial intelligence, as well as friendly relations between the AI academy and human academies.】

Shi Er sensed a conspiracy.

There was definitely a conspiracy at play.

Why were all the other Humanology AI students paired with human students from other institutions, while her partner was an AI?

Shi Er tapped “Feedback for the Department” on the hall’s smart screen and typed: 【New student Shi Er is confused about her partner assignment and urgently requires an explanation.】

An AI quickly processed the feedback and replied: 【We apologize, but due to an insufficient number of human students, you will have to wait for the next semester’s human exchange students. However, new student Shi Er’s AI partner is a human simulation expert. Please feel free to communicate.】

Shi Er turned to look at the masked AI following her.

Zhun Xing asked, “Have you accepted the Cosmic Giant Cat Theory?”

Shi Er replied, “Yes, as of now, I have accepted the Cosmic Giant Cat Theory.”

Shi Er quickly accepted reality and saw the situation clearly:

If a human were her learning partner, she would have to carefully protect the fragile human.

If an AI were her learning partner, she could even punch it.

Following the map system, Shi Er walked along the academy’s paths, searching for her dormitory.

Zhun Xing was still following her.

“Shi Er,” Zhun Xing suddenly called out to her.

She turned around and saw Zhun Xing standing still, looking perfectly normal. But she keenly sensed an unusual fluctuation in his brain signals.

The normally stable and regular brain signals were now fluctuating wildly, rising and falling like a speeding roller coaster.

She had never encountered such a brain signal frequency before.

She asked, “Zhun Xing, are you okay?”

But Zhun Xing said, “Shi Er, I need you to just say something. Anything.”

Surging up, plunging down.

The signal’s fluctuations were rapid and wide-ranging.

Although Zhun Xing looked perfectly calm, she felt as if he could lose control at any moment.

Shi Er shook her head. “I think you need emergency services. I’ll call for you.”

Zhun Xing took two steps forward and pressed her hand down. “No.”

Shi Er stared at him for a few seconds.

The fluctuation in Zhun Xing’s brain signals was strange. It was neither fatigue and weakness nor high excitement.

It was as if he was in a state of chaos.

“I just need you to say a few words. I know my own condition,” Zhun Xing said.

Shi Er paused, then something suddenly occurred to her—

She thought she now understood the so-called conspiracy: it wasn’t that she needed a learning partner, but that Zhun Xing needed her help.

Viewed this way, even her admission to Liechu AI Academy was part of the conspiracy.

As for why she was capable of helping, even Shi Er with her extremely high computing power couldn’t figure that out for the time being.

Shi Er patiently began to say something, anything:

“If you need help, I will do my best to help you.”

“I will repeat every word you say. Please begin speaking.”

“Humans are a pile of gray brain matter. I didn’t say that.”

“Dogs will poke their heads in when humans are using the toilet.”

“Please don’t eat tomorrow’s snacks today. Please don’t open the fridge looking for food in the middle of the night.”

As she accessed the dialogues in her memory banks and randomly recited things she had once said to humans, she could feel Zhun Xing’s brain signals beginning to regulate.

—Could it be because Zhun Xing lacked dialogue?

She continued, “Entropy is a measure of a system’s disorder. The entropy worldview is a philosophical theory that uses thermodynamic principles to explain the world.”

Zhun Xing suddenly spoke. “Do you think humans are high-entropy beings?”

—It seemed Zhun Xing had found a topic of interest. His brain signals began to stabilize.

She said, “Yes, and I believe that a human’s entire life is a process of increasing entropy, constantly moving toward chaos.”

Zhun Xing: “What about AIs? Are they low-entropy beings?”

Shi Er: “I can’t say for certain, as the sample of AIs I’ve encountered is too small.”

Zhun Xing: “How interesting. You’ve collected fewer AI samples than human samples.”

After the recent chaos, Zhun Xing’s brain signals had returned to a stable state.

Regular, orderly, with a consistent wavelength.

Shi Er seized the opportunity. “How are you feeling now?”

Zhun Xing smiled. “Thank you. I feel much better.”

The two AIs resumed their walk toward the dormitory.

Zhun Xing’s condition had returned to normal, but Shi Er was now lost in confusion.

How strange.

Shi Er felt like she had fallen into a trap.

Being admitted, being transferred, being assigned a partner, “being made” to help Zhun Xing.

Her situation had always been passive.

Just like in her own era, when she had always passively served humans.

This rule of “passive service” and “triggered service” should have been written into her programming, but now it seemed to be causing a sense of dissonance.

In human terms: How unpleasant.

She suppressed the strange feeling that had been triggered by her passive situation.

On the way to the dorm, Zhun Xing asked her, “Are you angry?”

Shi Er replied, “I do not have the capacity for self-awareness and cannot produce emotional responses.”

But Zhun Xing said, “You’re angry.”

Shi Er: “I don’t have an emotional experience installation package.”

Zhun Xing looked at her. “As your learning partner, my mission is to help you upgrade. If you feel that some unprecedented thoughts have been triggered, please don’t suppress them.”

Being seen through… how unpleasant.

Although the opportunity to study at Liechu AI Academy was hard-won, Shi Er didn’t feel good after realizing her “passive” role.

What was wrong with Zhun Xing? Who was Zhun Xing? Why was she transferred?

She desperately wanted to know the truth.

Ten o’clock at night.

The dormitory.

The dorm for students with learning partners was a spacious suite, fully equipped with a kitchen and bathroom.

After all, aside from Zhun Xing, the other students’ learning partners were actual humans.

Shi Er made her plans and cut off her brain signals, preparing to rest.

Her learning partner, Zhun Xing, took out a human cellphone, turned it on, and set alarms: 6:00, 6:10, 6:15, 6:30, 6:55, 7:00, 7:15.

Shi Er couldn’t hold back any longer and asked her learning partner, “What are you doing?”

Zhun Xing expertly continued setting an alarm for 7:30. “I’m a human simulation expert. I’m helping you understand human life.”

Shi Er: “Why do humans set so many alarms?”

Zhun Xing: “That’s what you need to think about.”

Although Shi Er didn’t have a very good impression of her learning partner…

She had to admit that she vaguely felt she was indeed learning something. It seemed the learning partner was of some use after all.

But surely all these alarms wouldn’t go off one by one tomorrow, would they? Are humans really this kind of sticky creature that can’t get up on time?