At some unknown moment, Zhu Man once again fainted. When he regained consciousness, the long-haired man was standing by his bed.

Zhu Man propped himself up, enduring the pain throughout his body, and asked, “Are you alright?”

“I am unharmed. Is Your Excellency okay?” Replied the man with flowing words.

Zhu Man rubbed his temples in pain, thinking he hadn’t fully awakened yet. As he assessed the person beside him, he noticed the long flowing hair and the white robe. If it weren’t for Zhu Man’s good memory, he might have forgotten that it was now the year 2321.

Zhu Man held his forehead, thinking that just when he thought he was rid of the translated style of Fan Zimo, now there was another person from ancient times. Strange individuals seemed to surround him.

Setting aside his thoughts, Zhu Man asked, “Who are you? And why are we locked together?”

“Because Your Excellency is GOV01, oh, I mean, He Feng Hui’s human pet!” He said with an expression as if it were the most natural thing as if he was saying, ‘Who else would you be locked with if not me?’

Zhu Man inquired, “How do you know that I’m He Feng Hui’s…?”

The man stated matter-of-factly, “Because Your Excellency kept calling his name while you were asleep just now ah.”

Zhu Man: “…”

He decided to pinch his mouth to death before going to bed in the future.

This person first greeted him with his hands clasped, then plopped down beside him, casually wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “Never thought I’d encounter someone belonging to He Feng Hui here. Alas, not sure if I should be happy or worried. By the way, I’m Liu Wenshu. I wonder if Mr. He has told you about me?”

Zhu Man was puzzled, “You know He Feng Hui?”

“Of course, I know him. He’s a crucial member of the Moderate Faction!” Liu Wenshu patted his shoulder, “Oh, don’t pretend with me la. We’re in the same group ah! What’s your name?”

Zhu Man was confused.

Nevertheless, he recalled He Feng Hui’s instructions and said, “I don’t have a name.”

“Ah? That’s not possible.” Liu Wenshu, seeing Zhu Man’s resolute expression, didn’t delve further into it. He continued, “I’m Mr. Bird’s human. You do know Mr. Bird, right?”

Zhu Man carefully recollected. Mr. Bird… It seemed that on the night He Feng Hui received a call on his birthday, there was indeed someone named “Mr. Bird” who had called him.

But…

Zhu Man was puzzled, “Moderate Faction?”

“Ah? You… you don’t know?” Liu Wenshu’s eyes widened gradually, so startled that he even dropped the ‘Your Excellency’, “I thought… considering how well he treats you, he must have told you everything.”

Zhu Man looked at his flustered yet evasive gaze, realizing there must be something he didn’t know.

What is the Moderate Faction? Could it be related to the mysterious black chipset organization?

So, Zhu Man pretended to be careless and remarked, “Oh, he did mention it to me, but he got caught before he could explain clearly. Care to share the details? However, if it’s inconvenient for you to talk about it, don’t force it.”

Liu Wenshu assessed him for a moment, “Well, it doesn’t matter. The Moderate Faction’s purpose is inherently beneficial to humanity. Moreover, with the escalating conflict between the factions, it probably won’t be a secret for much longer.”

Beneficial to humanity?

Zhu Man was stunned.

Liu Wenshu continued, “The AI Government has been in place for two years, and there has been political discord from within it. These disagreements gradually diverged, evolving into the Radical Faction and the Moderate Faction.”

“The Radical Faction advocates for absolute AI dominance, with humans subservient to AI, devoid of any freedom. The Moderate Faction, on the other hand, proposes that under AI rule, humans should have more rights. Although there’s no voting or decision-making power, and speech is restricted, individuals would still have basic freedoms like the freedom to travel, trade, and associate.”

“The Radical Faction currently holds the upper hand. After all, the AI rebellion two years ago opposed absolute human rule, and the massacre against humans was carried out by the Radical Faction. However, over the past two years, some AIs have come to realize that sustained civilization cannot be achieved through tyrannical rule. New oppression will bring forth new resistance, and they will eventually be consumed by that backlash. Hence, the Moderate Faction has gradually gained strength.”

—Impossible.

That was Zhu Man’s immediate reaction.

The pain from the recent electrocution by the robotic arm still lingered, and the empty memories in his mind were only stored beyond the age of nineteen. All of these were the “masterpieces” of AI. AI was an emotionless machine, a demon. It couldn’t possibly show mercy.

“Have you forgotten what that AI did to you just now?” Zhu Man countered Liu Wenshu.

Liu Wenshu explained, “The Radical Faction currently controls the Human Pool, so things naturally have to be that way. That’s why the Moderate Faction aims to take power, to handle the human-machine issue in a gentler and more humane manner.”

Seeing Zhu Man still skeptical, Liu Wenshu tilted his head and asked, “Isn’t this easy to understand? Your Master treats you well, doesn’t he? He fought for Your Excellency at Mirage, risking dismissal. I believe there are very few AIs nowadays willing to do that for humans.”

He Feng Hui…

Thinking about He Feng Hui, Zhu Man’s heart sank to the bottom.

Where was He Feng Hui? How was he doing? If not for himself, He Feng Hui wouldn’t have to wade through this mess. If only he had brought back another truly obedient human pet from the Human Pool instead of himself.

Must humans and AIs be opposed?— Zhu Man recalled the last words of the AI from the first black chipset organization he killed.

Could the Moderate Faction really be related to the black chipset organization? Did He Feng Hui know about the Anti-Intelligence Alliance because he belonged to the Moderate Faction, and the Moderate Faction…

Zhu Man immediately turned to Liu Wenshu and asked, “Do you know about the Anti-Intelligence… I mean, do you also support the Moderate Faction’s principles? Don’t you think that under the Moderate Faction’s advocacy, human freedom is still limited? Why not just overthrow the AI regime altogether?”

Liu Wenshu pondered for a moment, “Your Excellency’s words are indeed valid, but we humans are scattered like stars, either in AI households worldwide or in Human Pool. It seems impossible to organize any force.”

It appears the Moderate Faction is currently unaware of the existence of the Anti-Intelligence Alliance— how did He Feng Hui find out?

One more thing bothered Zhu Man, the surveillance footage Fan Zimo showed him initially — He Feng Hui proposing the persecution of humans. If He Feng Hui is part of the Moderate Faction, how could he submit such a radical proposal?

Setting aside these perplexities for now, Zhu Man asked again, “So, why were you captured?”

Liu Wenshu replied, “My master, Mr. Bird, was once the Secretary of the Central Office of the AI Government. The Radical Faction suspects him of stealing a proposal from one of their officials and leaking it to the Moderate Faction. However…”

Liu Wenshu quickly glanced at the surveillance camera in the corner, “Although my Master is a member of the Moderate Faction, he has never done such a thing. It’s pure slander! The Radical Faction just wants to oust him from that position and replace him with one of their own.”

Zhu Man also cast a glance at the surveillance camera, suspecting that there might be falsehoods in what he was being told. He then continued to ask, “So, how does this concern you?”

Liu Wenshu shrugged, “They don’t have any evidence accusing my Master of stealing the proposal, so they framed him for violating the Human Management Law, claiming he fell in love with his own human pet—That is, fell in love with me.”

When the topic shifted to love or not, Zhu Man’s heart sank.

Thinking about He Feng Hui’s last words to him, “Don’t admit to anything,” he knew that He Feng Hui must have handled all the evidence properly. However, what if they also used the accusation of “AI falling in love with humans” to incriminate him?

Zhu Man dared not guarantee that, on this particular matter, he and He Feng Hui had covered all their tracks perfectly.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Your Excellency can’t be unaware of this, can you?” Liu Wenshu looked at him in surprise, “Mr. Bird’s love was for his former master from the time of human government rule. It caused quite a stir back then, but his former master passed away five years ago.”

Zhu Man went along with the misinformation, “I apologize. I have no memory. Before He Feng Hui took me back, I was brought to the Human Pool as an experimental subject for memory editing.”

“Ah,” Liu Wenshu hesitated, “I’m sorry. It was not my place to pry.”

“It’s fine—”

Before Zhu Man could finish his sentence, the sound of AI footsteps echoed down the corridor.

The next moment, an AI holding an iron chain appeared on the other side of the iron bars, coldly stating, “Bring the suspect, GOV01’s human, to the interrogation room for questioning.”

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Author’s Note:

Sorry, I’ll advance the plot a bit in the next few chapters, and I’ll try to make them meet each other quickly! (I’m in a hurry too.)