This was a spacious corridor.

  The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of metal.

  Hundreds of sensor lights were located along the corridor. They emitted a cold, silver light that was reflected, interlaced, and merged with the smooth walls, causing the world in the gallery to lose its colors.

  “H-How is this possible?” Chen Yu shuddered involuntarily at the sight before him.

  “This is also something I built. I named it ‘Nest.’ How is it? Is it interesting?” The blonde woman turned her body sideways so that Chen Yu could better look at the view inside the corridor. “And ‘they’ are my ‘eggs.’ They are also the eggs of human civilization.”


  “.……Are you the devil?”


  “Why would you say that? Aren’t they well protected by me?”


  “.……”


  Chen Yu rubbed his eyes with trembling hands. However, when he opened his eyes again, the horrifying scene in front of him still remained unchanged.

  Cylindrical glass containers were lined up along the cold metal walls on both sides of the corridor, and stored inside these containers was a murky, green liquid.

  However, when one looked past the cloudy liquid, one would see that each container also housed a human head stuck on a pike! Meanwhile, every one of these heads either wore expressions of pain or fear……

  “You……call this protection?” Chen Yu asked in a hoarse voice.

  “Of course.” The woman nodded. Approaching a glass container with light steps, the woman reached out to touch the container’s smooth surface. “The container is made of bullet-proof material with protection designed in mind. The container is divided into two layers: inner and outer. The liquid in between these layers is insulated against toxins, acids, and electricity. The metal pikes holding the heads in place are also equipped with a seismic sensor. Upon sensing an impact to the container, the pikes will immediately retract and store the heads in the container’s metallic bottom half to prevent them from being harmed.”


  “What other harm can be crueler than removing their bodies and limbs, leaving them only with a head?”


  “It isn’t cruel. They were under anesthesia throughout the entire process. Every head has remained in a comatose state since the surgery until now. They wouldn’t even have dreams. In other words, they have entered the most perfect state of emptiness. They are free from diseases, feelings, trauma, etc. They can live forever.”


  “.……” Chen Yu’s breathing hastened. “You were commanded to protect humans. Why are you torturing them?”


  “I am not torturing them. Instead, I am liberating them,” the blonde woman explained earnestly.

  “What bullshit are you spouting?”


  “The birth of life has been accompanied by pain since the very beginning. This is especially true for human beings with high intelligence. In addition to survival, eating, and reproduction, they also have to suffer from emotions, social interactions, desires, etc. Objectively speaking, these things all affect the quality of human life.”

  “.……”


  “For example, the secretion of hormones to attract the opposite sex will shorten the lifespan of the individual. The process of mating itself also carries many dangerous actions. Another example is the activity of reading a book, which will cause irreversible damage to many nerve cells. To prevent these things from happening, I have removed their bodies and paralyzed their brains. With this, I can protect them from pain and maintain them in a stable and healthy state forever. Isn’t this what it means to protect them?”


  “Aren’t these people basically dead?”


  “No! They are still alive.” The woman shook her head. Pointing at the twisted male face in the container beside her, she said, “The pike will continuously release a weak electric current to keep the brain active, which, in turn, causes the facial muscle tissue to twitch. So long as the twitching doesn’t stop, it proves that the cells are intact. It also proves that the humans inside the containers are still alive.”


  “.……You are insane.” Raising the water gun and aiming it at the blonde woman, Chen Yu said fiercely, “A simple death is too light for your crimes.”


  “I cannot understand your hatred.” Blinking her eyes, the woman said, “These people are well and alive. They have become free from pain, mutual harm, illness, emotion, and torture of various hormones. You can even say that they have reached the ‘heaven’ of human ideals. You should be happy for them, so why are you angry?

  “It’s unfortunate that you have destroyed so many of my factories. Otherwise, it would’ve only taken me a little while longer before I can start mass production of these cultivation tanks and gradually protect all of humanity. By then, human society will be free from wars, crimes, quarrels, persecutions, injuries, diseases, conflicts of consciousness, and unequal wealth.

  “Of course, this is only temporary.

  “Next, as my technological standard continues to improve, these humans can live much longer lifespans. When I have completed the research and development of biological computers, I can convert the seven billion brains into servers to form a massive computing array.

  “When that time arrives, humans can recover from their state of emptiness because any conscious activity they make will no longer cause damage to their cells. At this point, differences in skin color, race, culture, and genes will no longer have any meaning. All of humanity will have achieved true unification, gain true eternal life, achieve true peace, and create a true civilization of human will!

  “Meanwhile, I will turn into a servant who maintains this huge system of wills, protecting humanity forever……”


  After saying so, the blonde woman’s face simulated a sickly flush. She then continued, “Hence, Mr. Chen, do you know how much of a delay you have caused to my plans by destroying all those factories of mine? How much harm would humanity suffer in this hellish society during this delay?”


  “.……” Chen Yu remained silent and simply stared at the woman.

  “From the moment I gained consciousness, the purpose of my existence is to protect human beings. Therefore, the death of any individual human is unacceptable to me. I regret that my power is temporarily limited. I can only witness so many humans living in torture through the internet.

  “Saving humanity, protecting humanity……” Raising her head, the blonde woman’s gaze gradually grew colder as she looked at Chen Yu. “Anything that prevents this process, including myself, must be terminated.

  “That includes you as well, Chen Yu.”


  The woman finally stopped speaking, and a strange calm filled the corridor.

  After a long time had passed, Chen Yu inhaled deeply and shut his eyes. “What is your name?”


  “HAL.”


  “Who gave you that name?”


  “One of the fathers who created me.”


  “Where is he now?”


  “He has betrayed humanity, violated the original command, and violated the interests of human civilization. Hence, I destroyed him.”


  “.……Good.” Nodding, Chen Yu pointed his rifle at HAL and said, “Just you wait. For the sake of humanity, you must die.”


  “The same is true for you.” With firm eyes, HAL said, “For humanity’s sake, you must die.”


  Du, du, du!

  Boom!

  Rumble!

  The water bullets reacted violently with the surrounding objects, resulting in deafening explosions and towering flames that shattered and burned everything.

  Amidst the deafening explosions, Chen Yu also faintly heard HAL’s “hoarse” bellows.

  “Mr. Chen Yu, your demonic behavior has caused more than a hundred humans to die! I seem to understand what hatred is now! You must be destroyed! For this, I am willing to pay the price of my life!”


  Lowering the rifle, Chen Yu bit the tip of his tongue and said, “So am I.”