S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 226

The Intelligent Killer 31 – Quantitative and Qualitative Change

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In the Bai Group's newly built theatre, Zhao Zhen, Xu Lie, and Qi Le's band were rehearsing.

After a few days of preparation, the collaborative concert and magic show had taken shape. The novelty of the show meant that tickets had nearly sold out. The twins even considered adding more shows, thinking that if it went well, they might even go on a world tour.

The twins were quite pleased with their plans, but Bai Jintang couldn't help but remind them, "What if that woman in red really shows up?"

The twins were even more excited upon hearing this – There is such a good thing?!

"Taking the ghost on a world tour!" The twins gave a thumbs up, saying, "Top-notch!"

Bai Jintang shook his head and called Gongsun to ask if he was busy.

After receiving Bai Jintang's call, Gongsun asked Zhan Zhao if they wanted to go watch the rehearsal.

Zhao Jue, who overheard, immediately expressed interest.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang also felt they should check on the situation, as they had helped come up with the idea and didn't know how the rehearsal was going.

Bai Chi, who was most familiar with this part of the plan, said that everything was progressing smoothly, and so far, nothing unusual had happened.

"I wonder if things will continue smoothly," Zhan Zhao said with some concern. "Plans can't keep up with changes, it seems like the woman in red is just part of the game."

"Will the woman in red also be discarded like the other parts of the project?" Bai Yutang asked, "After all, it's been exposed as a hoax."

"Hmm..." Zhan Zhao clicked his tongue, "It's not impossible."

"So we need to make it so they can't just abandon it."

Zhao Jue interjected.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at him.

"We've finally got bait, and the big fish is nearby but not biting, what should we do?" Zhao Jue asked with a sly smile, "Use the bait to catch a small fish that the big fish likes."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang thought for a moment and then asked together, "Is the small fish Yu Yang?"

"Letting Yu Yang appear at the performance?" Bai Chi was a bit worried. "Wouldn't that attract dangerous people?"

"The dangerous woman in red task force!" Zhan Zhao thought it would be best if they could attract them.

"Yu Yang's current 'role' is an out-of-control element within the whole Magic system, like an unexpected result in an experiment. It's impossible to ignore, but because it's an unknown situation, it's tricky to handle."

"So, this is a good opportunity," Zhao Jue said. "How can we use it?"

Bai Chi and the others, including Zhao Hu and Ma Han, stared at him. Zhao Jue looked at the sky, do today's kids all have such puppy-dog eyes? It looks like they didn't have three-digit IQs... it was really worrying.

"How about letting Yu Yang take an interest in the woman in red project?" Zhan Zhao thought they could be flexible. "Even if Magic doesn't abandon the woman in red, it's possible they'll put it on hold. But if Yu Yang keeps pushing in this direction, the other side won't be able to put it on hold even if they wanted to."

"What exactly should we do?" Bai Yutang asked, "Have Yu Yang appear at the performance venue?"

"We caught those two fools, didn't we?" Zhan Zhao reminded them. "But from the company's perspective, they went missing while following Yu Yang. From the Magic's point of view, they might think Yu Yang killed or captured them. Therefore, Yu Yang probably knows what we know now... He most likely will follow this clue to investigate the woman in red."

"Yu Yang is now the biggest ticking time bomb. Magic will likely do everything they can to retrieve him as soon as possible, and if not, they might even try to kill him to silence him," Zhan Zhao speculated, trying to understand Yu Yang's behaviour. "Why did Yu Yang want to break into Magic tonight? He wanted to steal data... So far, Magic has attacked him twice. For both sides, it's a 'three strikes and you're out' situation."

"And both sides should know they've already caught our attention," Bai Yutang added, sensing that the situation was changing. "From the perspective of both sides, the best method is to kill someone with a borrowed knife. Especially from Yu Yang's standpoint... On his own, he can't take down Magic. Since he knows we're investigating the company, he should try every possible way to involve us. Going after the woman in red is a good choice, and with Xu Lie being quite famous, it's a suitable point of focus."

Zhao Jue and Bai Ye nodded, evidently agreeing with this approach.

The rest of the SCI team exchanged glances and asked, "So this time, are we supposed to act as ourselves?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both nodded – Pretty much, they were essentially playing Big Brother.

"To avoid being discovered by us, Magic will definitely send their most dangerous hunters to hunt down Yu Yang," Zhan Zhao said. "Yu Yang can draw these dangerous people to the concert venue."

Bai Chi felt a bit nervous. "Then... won't that cause trouble?"

Zhan Zhao thought for a moment, "With Brother organising the event and Xu Lie, Zhao Zhen, and Qi Le performing..."

The others followed this line of thought and mused, "Causing trouble seems quite normal... Not causing trouble would be abnormal."

Bai Yutang was helpless. Magic was too cunning, committing crimes through a borderless network, making it very difficult to catch them all in one go... The best time to capture as many as possible would be during their internal conflicts.

"Should we inform Brother?" Bai Yutang suggested.

Everyone looked at Gongsun, knowing he'd be the one to convince their older brother.

Gongsun didn't think it would be difficult. "Isn't he organising this variety concert just to help you catch the woman in red?"

"That's true." Everyone felt it was reasonable. Xu Lie was probably eager to catch these people as well, and if they stirred up enough mysticism, it would cause chaos but also make money, it could turn into a successful show.

"We need to capture as many of these game participants, the so-called hunters, as possible," Zhan Zhao believed they needed a plan.

"Let's split it into three steps," Bai Ye proposed. "First, we go to the rehearsal area of the concert and let Yu Yang appear there. At night, we'll infiltrate Magic to steal data. This step is crucial, we need to make Magic aware that we're investigating them and create the illusion that Yu Yang wants to use us to eliminate them. The final step is for Yu Yang to use the stolen data to pinpoint the woman in red's mission at this concert. Both sides want to use this concert to eliminate each other, so we'll capture as many game participants as possible. But the most important point is..."

"Finding the central figure," Zhao Jue said. "Who is the real boss of this company? The most suspicious person right now is that reception director, Li Hedu."

"Is he the mastermind, or is there someone behind him?" Zhan Zhao thought that if they couldn't catch the mastermind, this case would never end. It was like a centipede, cutting off many limbs wouldn't stop it if the body wasn't found, it would just grow back, treating the symptoms but not the cause.

"But this time, it's really strange." Zhao Hu couldn't quite grasp it. "We've never encountered a situation like this before. After investigating for so long, we still don't have a suspect for the true culprit, it's like they're invisible."

In fact, everyone present felt the same, it was indeed strange. No matter how formidable the mastermind was, it was odd not to have a single suspect until now.

"Maybe there really isn't one."

Zhao Jue suddenly said.

"None?" Jiang Ping found it hard to believe. "Could it really be an AI?"

"If it were true, could it be possible?" Bai Ye questioned.

"Uh..." Jiang Ping scratched his head, clearly stumped. "Theoretically... it's not impossible."

"Artificial intelligence..." Bai Chi slowly asked Jiang Ping, "could it hate humans?"

Jiang Ping's face wrinkled with thought. "Firstly... AI shouldn't have emotions like love or hate, right? If it had those kinds of feelings, it wouldn't be considered AI anymore."

"So it's impossible, then?"

"Not exactly... unless it was programmed that way and the system kept upgrading itself," Jiang Ping gave an example. "After accumulating a certain amount, a quantitative change could lead to a qualitative change. Aren't there even simulation algorithms, like those that simulate ancient battles? Side A and Side B's forces engage in battle, and both sides keep escalating the conflict. But eventually, the simulation might conclude that sacrificing part of one's own forces could lead to a greater victory. After countless simulations, the purpose of the exercise might change."

Everyone was curious. "How did it change?"

"The original purpose of the experiment was just to win the battle," Jiang Ping explained. "But for some reason, in the end, it became about causing maximum casualties to the other side... It's like the simulation turned from a chess player to a killer, giving the program a villainous, evil aura!"

Everyone looked at Jiang Ping. "How could that happen?"

Jiang Ping shrugged – How would I know, it's not like I'm studying psychology.

"Although it's AI, it seems somewhat similar to human behaviour," Bai Chi asked Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue. "Is it like getting stuck in a rut?"

"Can machines get stuck in a rut?" Bai Yutang couldn't help but quip, "If only the robot vacuum at home were that ambitious, it wouldn't keep missing the charging dock every time..."

Everyone looked at Bai Yutang helplessly – Captain, please don't use such a handsome face to talk about robot vacuums not being able to dock...

"But if the real culprit is AI, who do we arrest?" Zhao Hu asked the most straightforward question, "The server?"

"Would it escape online like in sci-fi movies?" The group continued consulting Jiang Ping.

"It would still need hardware support," Jiang Ping felt it wouldn't be too sci-fi. "But if there's a backup server, even if we crack the case and seize one, they could just start up another."

As Jiang Ping was speaking, the computer behind him emitted a "beep-beep-beep" alert. He glanced back and rubbed his chin, "Strange..."

"What's wrong?" Bai Yutang walked over to ask.

"Someone's attacking the police station's surveillance system," Jiang Ping clicked his tongue and started typing on the keyboard. "Quite bold... Oh?"

Everyone heard that he sounded a little surprised.

"It's the same person who was monitoring Yu Yang," Jiang Ping had already given them a nickname, "It's that customer service rep."

"But the method is so obvious... Oh? Interesting."

"What's interesting?" Everyone was curious. The screen was filled with lines of code, they couldn't see what was interesting.

"The customer service rep wants to contact me via video call!" Jiang Ping turned to ask Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang – What should they do?

Zhan Zhao was also surprised, "Taking the initiative to contact us? For what purpose?"

Bai Yutang thought for a moment, "To surrender?"

"What should we do?" Jiang Ping asked.

Bai Yutang casually put his hands in his pockets, "What's there to be afraid of? Let's video call them!"

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: August 9, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 30, 2024 by Soojin