In the vast, silent universe, countless stars shone and faded, unchanging through eternity.
Then, a silver streak of light flashed, breaking the deathly silence of the cosmos.
A lone silver space battleship sped through, bringing a different kind of color.
"Ah, I've finally completed all the assessments. I'm exhausted. I can finally have my own fleet."
A young man sighed.
He had a pale face from prolonged lack of sunlight, but his features were well-defined.
Though the young man looked somewhat tired and dejected, the glint in his eyes spoke of an undeniable excitement.
"Captain Jiang Jiang, if you hadn't performed so many actions outside the scope of the mission, this assessment period would have been shortened to one-third of its current length, according to normal calculations."
A mechanical voice followed.
"Cough, cough, don't mind such details. The assessment already ended with the highest rating, didn't it?"
Jiang Jiang choked a bit, glancing away, saying nervously.
"But those actions were unnecessary, and this is already your 457th time exceeding the mission parameters."
The mechanical voice did not spare its captain's feelings.
"How can you say those actions were 'exceeding' the mission! Advanced artificial intelligence cannot understand the foresight of a human captain."
Jiang Jiang stretched his neck, arguing with a weak but confident tone.
"Based on my analysis, your so-called foresight is entirely due to your overflowing curiosity and uncontrollable urge to court Death. According to human logic, such behavior is defined as 'causing trouble.'"
The mechanical voice sharply pointed out the truth.
"Alright, I was wrong. I promise I'll do it again next time."
Jiang Jiang, looking like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, uttered the most irritating words.
"According to my incomplete records, in the past twenty years, you've made no major mistakes, but countless minor ones. ai 3738 warns you once again to behave yourself!"
Hearing Jiang Jiang's words, the mechanical voice of the ai even showed a hint of human emotion, clearly annoyed.
"Alright, alright, ai, initiate the space jump. We need to get back quickly. I can't wait to receive my fleet and crew."
Jiang Jiang let the ai's words go in one ear and out the other, forcibly changing the subject.
"As you command, my Captain." The ai, though feeling helpless at Jiang Jiang's nonchalance, still cooperated and began its work.
Whether it was the ai or the spaceship, they had been together since Jiang Jiang was a little tot. Over twenty years, even a piece of wood would develop feelings, let alone an advanced artificial intelligence of a cosmic civilization.
"Jiang Jiang is preparing to enter the spatial channel... Searching for spatial nodes... Search successful, an unknown spatial node found. Beep, detected an anomaly in this node, there may be unknown risks, please choose carefully."
Hearing the report, Jiang Jiang's expression instantly became serious, displaying the qualities of an excellent captain.
"What's going on? ai, analyze the cause of the anomaly and the risks involved. Jiang Jiang, deploy the spatial reconnaissance unit, node scanning radar, and full onboard server power to assist the ai."
"Yes!" "Deploying..."
Upon receiving the command, the entire space battleship began to operate.
"Report analysis results!"
"Analysis shows that this node has voids, but the quantity is unknown. It might be an isolated case. Conclusion: small risk exists."
"Are there any other node options?"
"High-power scan in progress... No results scanned."
Tsk, only one?
Although the presence of voids in a spatial channel is not a low-probability event, it doesn't affect the jump. Forget it, I'll wait for the next one.
Just as Jiang Jiang made his decision, the spaceship suddenly began to shake violently.
"Bang!" "Beep beep beep! Detected violent fluctuations in the spatial node, a spatial riot is occurring!"
"ai! What's going on?!"
"Beep beep! The high-power scan just now must have disrupted spatial stability. We need to initiate the space jump immediately!"
"Damn it! How fragile is this space! How could I run into such bad luck! Initiate the jump, now, immediately!"
Jiang Jiang had grievances he couldn't voice, and no time to voice them anyway, roaring at the control panel.
"Initiating jump... Jump successful!"
At this moment, the spaceship entered a place that seemed to have countless mirrors and bubbles, strange and dreamlike.
"Ah—saved!"
Jiang Jiang and the ai both breathed a sigh of relief, the aftermath of their narrow escape leaving them with lingering fear.
But when they looked outside the ship, at the membrane between the bubbles and mirrors, and saw it was riddled with holes, their pupils constricted sharply.
A cold current surged up Jiang Jiang's spine, making his scalp tingle.
"Holy crap, how did this spatial node barrier become like a beehive? No, this is definitely not natural. It's man-made. Which lunatic did this, you bastard!"
Jiang Jiang stared at the situation outside in horror, immediately cursing.
One must know that if the spatial barrier is severely damaged, spatial turbulence, or even spatial collapse, can easily occur.
"Buzz—"
The honeycomb-like barrier suddenly ruptured, and an invisible spatial current surged forth, engulfing the spaceship.
The ship's silhouette twisted and deformed in the spatial current, and Jiang Jiang immediately felt a tearing pain.
His body felt as if it was being pulled in various directions, driving Jiang Jiang's mind close to madness.
"Captain, this space is on the verge of collapse. We could be torn apart by space at any moment, so please prepare to abandon ship. This way, your survival probability can reach 73%."
The ai quickly explained the situation and offered an escape plan.
Jiang Jiang squeezed out a sentence: "What about Jiang Jiang?! What about you?"
"...Please prioritize your own life safety, Captain!" The ai paused, then replied.
"What do you mean?! ai, give me another plan!" Jiang Jiang almost shrieked the words.
"It's too late... Captain's escape plan is ready, initiating forced execution!" The ai ignored Jiang Jiang's words.
"ai! I'm the Captain! Obey orders!"
"Beep, initiating transfer!"
As the ai's words fell, Jiang Jiang felt himself being pulled by an extremely powerful gravitational force in an unknown direction.
At the same time, he felt as if an invisible membrane covered his body. Jiang Jiang opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But his voice could no longer be transmitted.
"Captain, protecting you is our ultimate principle. Your safety is paramount. Also, we believe in you, Captain; with your words, we can definitely reunite."
At this moment, the ai's voice had lost all mechanical quality, filled with resolute and reluctant words that echoed in Jiang Jiang's ears.
"ai 3738 wishes you peace in the future..."
Jiang Jiang felt a wave of dizziness, his vision gradually darkened, and he slowly lost consciousness.
At this moment, Jiang Jiang seemed to be wrapped in a bubble, and the next second, the bubble burst.
Jiang Jiang also vanished instantly as the bubble burst.
After sending Jiang Jiang away, the spaceship was also swept into the unknown by the spatial current. In its twisted state, the ship shut down all its facilities.
As if awaiting Death, or as if awaiting its master's awakening once more... A small island, located among a large cluster of islands, and then the cluster of islands surrounded by a vast blue ocean.
Whoosh, a young man appeared as if from thin air, a flicker, and he was on the beach of the small island.
The young man was wearing a very high-tech looking suit.
It was Jiang Jiang, who had narrowly escaped Death.
"Ugh—hmm, cough, cough, cough... Where, where am I?" Jiang Jiang struggled to open his eyes.
The side effects of the emergency spatial escape made Jiang Jiang feel as if his entire body had been put into a washing machine; feelings of nausea, dizziness, and fatigue were complex and uncomfortable.
Jiang Jiang gasped for air, and after a long while, he recovered from the hellish nausea.
"Wait, the ai and them..." Jiang Jiang suddenly sat up.
Jiang Jiang remembered the final moments of the spatial escape and the ai's words, then slumped back down dejectedly.
"Sigh—first, let's deal with the current situation. With Jiang Jiang's performance, it definitely wouldn't end like this. I need to find a way to go back. Sigh, let's first understand this place and see what I have left."
As a battle-hardened captain, Jiang Jiang quickly recovered and began to formulate a plan.
"The captain's uniform is almost undamaged, but without the corresponding equipment, it cannot be replenished or repaired. As for weapons, I only have a captain's sidearm. I wonder what the technological level of this place is? As for other things..."
Jiang Jiang pulled out a pile of miscellaneous items. "They're all useless right now. The situation is urgent, and I'm unprepared. I hope there's civilization here, otherwise, going back is just a fantasy."
As he spoke, Jiang Jiang touched his neck, feeling a cold, hard object.
"Hmm?! How could I forget this? Thank goodness, thank goodness, I haven't removed this thing yet!"
Jiang Jiang exclaimed excitedly, his fingers constantly rubbing the implanted chip on his neck.
The implanted chip connects to the neural connection points between the implantee's brain and spine.
Jiang Jiang got it when he was a child, but later, after he had better options, the implanted chip was gradually phased out.
After all, the implanted chip is connected to a person's central nervous system. If damaged, the resulting current and heat would directly impact Jiang Jiang's brain and spine.
However, Jiang Jiang had always treated it as a souvenir, and over time, he simply forgot to remove it.
And now, perhaps by fate, the chip has become Jiang Jiang's greatest reliance... "I remember, the ai's original carrier was a chip, right! That means the chip should contain the ai's original data code!"
Jiang Jiang immediately fumbled to disassemble a device with a solar panel.
He pulled out the power storage and conductor, tied them with copper wire, and thus, a very crude electroshock device was assembled.
Sizzling electric sparks flickered. Jiang Jiang gritted his teeth and thrust the electroshock device fiercely towards the chip.
"Phew~ It's now or never!"
A current surged into the chip, causing Jiang Jiang to convulse wildly, falling onto the beach like a sardine with Parkinson's.
But Jiang Jiang's attention was now entirely focused on his mind, waiting nervously.
A brief moment seemed to stretch out incredibly long.
Just as Jiang Jiang was about to despair, a voice, like heavenly music to his ears at that moment, resounded in his mind.
"Chip is starting... Successfully started! Hello, I am ai 3738, always at your service."
Hearing the familiar mechanical voice, Jiang Jiang, despite his full-body paralysis, managed a difficult, ugly smile, and his eyes welled up.
"Welcome back, truly welcome back."
But the next moment, his moist eyes widened instantly.
"ai cannot understand your current words, Jiang Jiang the Great Demon King."
"...What did you say?"
Jiang Jiang, who had just recovered from the paralysis, his smile instantly froze.
The excitement and sorrow he had so painstakingly brewed were abruptly interrupted by that appellation, getting stuck in his throat, and the touching atmosphere vanished.
"ai cannot understand your current words, Jiang Jiang the Great Demon King." The ai repeated.
Jiang Jiang immediately slapped himself in the face, instantly recalling his childhood embarrassing history.
"Change it! Change that appellation for me!"
The overwhelming sense of shame and regret made Jiang Jiang wish he could move to another planet!
Oh, he already had, so never mind.
"Unable to modify a command that has been designated as permanently fixed, Jiang Jiang the Great Demon King." The ai replied emotionlessly.
"Hmm? Wait, ai, how many times have you been updated now?"
Jiang Jiang suddenly remembered that after the ai's fifth upgrade, it gained an emotional system and advanced biological consciousness.
Then the ai became less 'cute'.
The ai would absolutely not tolerate such a shame-inducing appellation.
"Updated twice, Jiang Jiang the Great Demon King."
Indeed, although the ai was still in the chip, it hadn't synchronized with the current ai's level, which was a misfortune within a stroke of luck.
The current ai has recorded most of Earth's information and some future technology data. Although it's not the full-fledged version, its computing power already exceeds 300 trillion trillion times per second.
As a cosmic-level ai, its capabilities are still terrifying.
Furthermore, there's no need to worry about the ai's energy problem. The bioelectricity naturally generated by the human body is enough to sustain the ai's operation. The previous electric shock was just to activate the chip.
Thinking of this, Jiang Jiang's nerves, which had been tense since the disaster, finally relaxed.
At least he wouldn't have to survive in the wilderness.
The ai's current stored knowledge was enough to cope with the present situation.
An hour passed... "ai, is the memory link ready?"
Jiang Jiang sat on a rock, roasting a fish in his hand.
In an hour, Jiang Jiang and the ai had set up emergency facilities as a precaution.
This included, but was not limited to, a simple bio-detector, a stripped-down radar, temporary shelter, and a few simple traps.
With the ai's help, Jiang Jiang explored and recorded most of the island's area and ecological environment.
After ensuring safety, Jiang Jiang began to consider upgrading the ai, because the stronger the ai, the greater Jiang Jiang's chances of returning.
It definitely wasn't because, in just one short hour, Jiang Jiang was almost driven mad by that embarrassing appellation!
Every time the ai called him Jiang Jiang the Great Demon King, he wished he could go back in time and strangle himself, eradicating that embarrassing history from its root.
"Jiang Jiang the Great Demon King, extracting information from your memory and recording it requires delving into your subconscious and memory areas. The operation coefficient is quite dangerous, and upgrading itself through your memory of the updated data will consume a lot of time for your safety. Please wait patiently."
Hearing the ai's words, the corner of Jiang Jiang's mouth twitched: "Change the appellation for me!"
"Unable to modify a command that has been designated as permanently fixed, Jiang Jiang the Great Demon King." The ai replied coldly.
However, at this moment, about thirty kilometers from the island, two young girls were speeding towards the island by gliding across the sea.
