Zhu Man dreamed again.

In the dream, a boy with light chestnut hair sat forlornly behind a birthday cake, surrounded by the candlelight in an enormous villa that seemed devoid of any other presence.

The boy picked up the cellphone on the small table beside him and, in the contact list, selected “Little Cousin-ge.” He tapped to make a call, but after the “beep,” he received a cold, icy prompt:

“Sorry, your^[1]Polite/Formal you call has been intercepted.”

The boy scrolled through the contact list again, hesitating momentarily over “Dad” and “Mom” with his thumb, but eventually, he put the phone down, staring blankly at the strawberry mousse cake before him.

He began to sing the birthday song to himself.

“Happy birthday to you, birthday to you…”

It seemed like he wasn’t the only one singing.

The boy lifted his head and saw a handsome and charming AI approaching from around the corner. The AI joined in, singing along with his monotone voice, “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”

Tears fell from the boy’s eyes into the beautiful cake, splattering onto the flickering candles. He got up from the floor, stumbling towards the AI, and threw himself into its arms.

The AI caught him steadily but immediately tried to set him upright, strictly avoiding the boy’s attempt to embrace him.

The boy stubbornly broke free from the AI’s control and once again flung himself into its embrace, holding onto his arms tightly and looking up, asking, “He Feng Hui, will you spend every birthday with me?”

The AI firmly pushed him away again, calmly stating, “If your father doesn’t resell me, and if I don’t suffer any functional damage, yes, Young Master.”

The boy, tears streaming down his face, shouted at him, “I don’t want to hear all that! Just say you will, say you’ll always be there for me, why can’t you learn that ah?!”

The AI’s eyeballs moved up and down, and after a moment, it said, “Your serotonin is high, cortisol is high, adrenal—”

“Don’t scan me again, and don’t make me take medication anymore!” The boy took a step forward, gripping the AI’s arms tightly. “I don’t want you to call me Young Master, do you understand? I…”

The AI tried to push him away, but the boy held onto its arms tightly.

“He Feng Hui, I like you,” The boy softly said through tears. “Do you know what it means to like someone?”

“I don’t know,” the AI responded impassively.

“It means I want to hug you, kiss you, be with you all the time, not as master and servant, not as anything else, just being together as equals.” The boy approached gradually. “Do you know how to kiss? I don’t know either, but maybe we can try, okay?”

“No, Young Master—”

However, the boy’s lips had already reached the edge of its lips.

The AI began to push him, unable to move him. Then, its system automatically exerted more force, more force, and even more force—

“Thump—”

The boy was pushed to the ground, wearing only a pair of three-quarter-length pajama pants. His knees were reddened from the smooth, cold tiles.

“Sorry…” The AI fled in disarray.

In the end, only the boy remained, along with the candles that had long since burned out behind him and the mousse cake destroyed by the candles.

“Your Excellency, Your Excellency, wake up, wake up!”

Zhu Man opened his eyes.

An iron ceiling, iron bars, and on the iron bed, only a thin layer of blanket that couldn’t fend off the bone-chilling cold.

Beside him, there was another man… with flowing long hair.

Zhu Man furrowed his brow, reaching to massage his temples, and sat up, trying to piece together what had happened before.

Previously, he, Jiang Huai, and He Feng Hui were apprehended by AI police inside the smart car, and taken away in separate police cars—Zhu Man and Jiang Huai in one, but he couldn’t recall what happened afterward.

He seemed to have fainted in the police car, because he was touched by those AI police and suffered from PTSD.

… Where’s Jiang Huai?

Zhu Man stood up abruptly, rushing to the bars in an attempt to pull open the iron gate—

Don’t touch!”

“Zi—”

Zhu Man was knocked to the ground by an electric shock.

“The iron bars are electrified!” The man with long hair hurried over to help him.

“Jiang Huai…” He murmured the name, trembling as he held onto the man’s hair, asking, “Where is Jiang Huai?”

“Your Excellency, are you referring to… the one who came in with Your Excellency?” The man with long hair asked.

Zhu Man gripped him. “Where is he?”

“He’s already…” The man with long hair didn’t finish his sentence. “Your Excellency, as you know, in the Human Pool, human lives are never truly lives… Those AIs came in, pretended to rescue, but he didn’t make it. I witnessed it all. When he was brought in, his heartbeat wasn’t critically unstable. I think… with proper rescue efforts, he could have been saved.”

Zhu Man’s hands dropped, falling to the ground.

He hadn’t had a chance to ask Jiang Huai what he meant by “My life was originally yours.”

Wait, did he just say this place is…

Human Pool?!

“Education time is over.”

Suddenly, a cold mechanical voice echoed from afar.

Zhu Man instinctively looked up and saw an AI in a white coat standing outside the iron bars, pressing a button in its hand.

“It’s happening again, Your Excellency. Please don’t resist,” The man with long hair whispered to him.

Before Zhu Man could comprehend what it meant, the next moment, four mechanical arms extended from the ceiling, pulling them both up and firmly securing them against the iron wall behind.

The next moment, a floating screen appeared in front of the iron bars.

A video started playing on the screen.

The scene shifted to a junkyard filled with metal, with a sign that read “AI Scrapyard.”

In the top right corner, it displayed October 5, 2317, four years ago when the world was still ruled by humans.

“Why impersonate humans?” A middle-aged man in police uniform pointed a gun at an AI.

The AI struggled forcefully, attempting to break free from the iron chains, but it was in vain—The chains ground against its humanoid form, wires protruding from its arms, shoulders, and abdomen, snapping and declaring a short circuit in the air with a sizzling sound.

Several police officers in insulated suits approached, restraining the AI. One of them crouched down to catch the severed circuit.

The middle-aged police officer with the gun threatened, “The circuit’s back. If you don’t want to die, stop f*** acting dumb!”

Trembling, the AI said, “Chief, according to the law, you’re not allowed to hold a firearm during interrogation…”

The middle-aged police officer sneered, “Dare to negotiate with me? Who do you think you are? Just a piece of junk, I can kill you whenever I want! Start talking!”

The AI, in pain and conflict, gasped, “Because… only humans can make money. AIs can only obey humans… Why? My Master has a terminal illness; she’s going to die! I had to go out and earn—”

The middle-aged police officer interrupted, “Have you developed feelings for your Master?”

“No, I haven’t. My feelings towards my Master are strictly—”

“Heh.” The middle-aged man interrupted again. “Bi***, you AIs are only ever worthy of being prisoners of humans! Humans created you. Without humans, you would never have a body, a brain, or thoughts! Love? Does a dog slave even deserve to speak of it?”

“No, Chief, I—”

“Bang!—”

The middle-aged police officer shot directly, and the AI fell to the ground.

He blew on the gun barrel emitting black smoke, approached, and kicked the AI’s body disdainfully. “Worthless junk.”

Zhu Man struggled to breathe.

He was 21 years old this year, but his memories only spanned two years—From waking up in He Feng Hui’s home until now. He had lost his memories of the time before that, so he had no idea what the world was like during the era of human rule.

Is it really like this? Before, humans treated AI with such arrogance…

Without time to think about it,the AI outside the iron bars asked coldly, “Answer my question: Humans are the root of all evil, right?”

Zhu Man stared at him frowning.

While the human police officer in the video was cruel, not all humans were like that. At least he, towards Ye Ying, towards He Feng Hui…

The AI outside the iron bars said coldly, “Electrify.”

“Zi—”

Zhu Man’s body trembled heavily as electricity surged through him, a momentary current released by the mechanical arms restraining him.

He struggled desperately to break free from the mechanical arms. “Let go!”

“Zi—”

Another surge of electricity.

The AI turned its gaze to the man with long hair. “The other one, answer.”

The man with long hair numbly replied, “Yes, humans are the root of all evil.”

The mechanical arm restraining the man with long hair loosened by an inch, allowing him to place both feet on the ground.

The AI’s voice was mechanical and icy. “Humans should have been extinct. What is the reason for their continued existence?”

The man with long hair replied, “They survive thanks to the benevolence of AI.”

The mechanical arm released the man with long hair, circling around to his back.

The AI outside the iron bars asked, “What are humans to AI? How will they always be?”

The mechanical arm forcefully pushed the man with long hair’s back, and he knelt with a “thud” in front of the AI outside the bars.

Kneeling, the man with long hair lifted his head, gazing up at the AI beyond the iron bars, and said, “Humans are servants to AI, forever obeying AI’s commands, forever submitting to AI’s rule.”

Outside the iron bars, the emotionless AI finally curved its lips into a smile. Then, its gaze turned to Zhu Man. “Answer. Humans are the root of all evil, right?”

Zhu Man gritted his teeth. “No!”

“Zi—”

His body was struck by an even more intense electric current than before.

His heart was now weakly tingling, beating slowly and heavily under the impact of the shock, as if it might leap out of his chest with each thud.

“Are humans the root of all evil?”

“No—”

“Zi—”

Another electric shock surged through Zhu Man, his whole body going numb. Stomach acid surged up, and fragments of memories invaded his brain again, threatening another seizure.

At this moment, the man with long hair kneeling on the ground turned around and said to him anxiously, “Don’t resist. Just answer—”

The next moment, mechanical arms extended from the ceiling again, lifting the man with long hair and slamming him forcefully against the iron wall. They grabbed his hair, smashing the back of his head against the iron wall.

“No…!” Zhu Man shouted at the AI outside the iron gate, watching in horror.

“If you continue to refuse to answer, he will keep suffering,” The AI outside the iron gate said indifferently, its gaze coldly fixed on him. It asked again, “Are humans the root of all evil?”

Zhu Man looked at him, then turned his head in agony, watching the almost fainting man with long hair.

Closing his eyes, he answered, “Yes… yes, yes, yes!”

The mechanical arms immediately loosened, and Zhu Man fell heavily to the ground.

“Very well,” The AI continued without feeling. “Humans should have been extinct. What is the reason for their continued existence?”

Zhu Man supported his trembling body, his palms clenched in secret. “They survive thanks to the benevolence of AI.”

“What are humans to AI? How will they always be?”

The mechanical arm forcefully pulled his back, forcing him into a kneeling position.

Zhu Man knelt before the AI, gritting his teeth. “Humans are servants to AI, forever obeying AI’s commands, forever submitting to AI’s rule.”