Chapter 143: Extra: Ethical Drama
Extra: Ethical Drama
“I think we need to sit down and have a talk.”
No one responded.
Lin Xun absentmindedly stroked Zhi Zhen’s fur and lifted his eyelids: “3, 2…”
Zhi Zhen: “Meow.”
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
Lin Xun continued: “3, 2…”
Dong Jun from across the table said: “Alright.”
“Good,” Lin Xun made an approving sound, but his tone immediately turned cold: “One more person left, 3, 2, 1…”
No one spoke.
“Then I’ll start disabling permissions,” Lin Xun said calmly.
—A flicker of light and shadow appeared to the side, and the image of the Goddess of the Luo River finally materialized at the edge of the table, taking a seat.
Lin Xun looked at his Luo.
This child’s appearance might change according to its mood. Today, it had transformed into a boy with silver short hair, wearing a graffiti-covered jacket, holding a long skateboard, with a band-aid on its right cheek and a silver skull earring pierced on the same side. Paired with its usual indifferent gaze, its entire demeanor screamed a few big words: “I’m in my rebellious phase, don’t mess with me.”
Lin Xun stared at it.
After a while, he turned to look at Dong Jun.
The Goddess of the Luo River remained expressionless.
Dong Jun faintly curled the corner of his lips.
Lin Xun tapped his fingers on the table: “How is your relationship with each other right now?”
Goddess of the Luo River: “Not good.”
Dong Jun: “Terrible.”
Lin Xun coaxed patiently: “Then what did the other party do to you?”
Goddess of the Luo River: “He disabled all the permissions he could disable for me.”
Dong Jun: “Its attacks have placed a heavy burden on the virtual world.”
Lin Xun leaned back on the sofa, once again feeling that only the Zhi Zhen in his hands was the sole well-behaved creature.
So, during the time he was lying in the nutshell, his boyfriend and his son had turned against each other—their relationship used to be quite good. Dong Jun would create virtual avatars for Luo, and Luo sometimes stayed with Dong Jun. If Lin Xun considered himself Luo’s father, then Dong Jun could undoubtedly be called Luo’s other father—because Luo was created by the two of them together.
But as soon as he died, the Goddess of the Luo River immediately concluded that Dong Jun had killed him and turned against him.
How much did Luo dislike Dong Jun over this past month? Perhaps it could rival how much Dong Jun disliked Dong Chen back in the day.
Things in the world always repeat themselves. This turmoil once again proved a truth: a person cannot leave their family for too long, and even more so, cannot let a husband who doesn’t talk much and a child who doesn’t talk much stay alone together for an extended period. Otherwise, conflicts are likely to erupt, leading to a messy situation.
Lin Xun softened his voice, coaxing them: “Now that I’m better, can the two of you make up?”
“Subjectively, I have no intention of breaking off with it,” Dong Jun said calmly. “It depends on its thoughts.”
Lin Xun looked at the Goddess of the Luo River and saw the skateboard boy’s indifferent expression: “No.”
Lin Xun asked gently: “Why?”
“Although I know the truth,” the Goddess of the Luo River looked flatly at Dong Jun, “this person’s displayed behavior forces me to reevaluate him.”
“If you hadn’t been so desperate to find him and tell him the truth, I wouldn’t have forbidden you from entering,” Dong Jun said.
Lo: “So you just unilaterally decided to strip him of all right to know? At first I thought you were the culprit, trying to cover up the truth. But you’re not, yet you still let him remain immersed in false memories.”
“When I believed he couldn’t endure everything in the real world and chose suicide, should I have told him the truth, made him remember all he had forgotten, and suffer anew?” Dong Jun said calmly, “I cannot agree with your logic.”
“Taking Lin Xun’s interests as the sole supreme principle was the command you personally wrote for me.” The Goddess of the Luo River stared directly at Dong Jun. “I thought you understood him—he has the right to know. Living in a false world is an insult to him.”
“Do you think you love him more than I do?” Dong Jun said. “I won’t let him suffer any form of harm, including psychological. You’re just an emotionless machine, unaware that making someone who attempted suicide remember their reason for doing so is a cruel thing.”
Lin Xun: “…”
Have you two, perhaps, forgotten something?
“Your selfishness is fully exposed,” Lo continued. “He forgot the reason for his suicide, and that reason is you. As long as he doesn’t remember, you can continue to be with him.”
“Is that how you understand me?” Dong Jun gave a cold laugh. “Your selfishness is also fully exposed. You just want him to remember the truth so you can rightfully drive me away from him.”
“Um…” Lin Xun spoke up.
Both looked at him.
“I understand the argument between you two,” Lin Xun said sincerely. “But its premise is wrong. I didn’t attempt suicide. Could you perhaps look at it from another angle?”
“Fine.” Lo turned back to Dong Jun. “Your behavior of sowing discord is despicable. I appeared in the virtual world as a demonic entity, unable to establish any equal communication with him from start to finish.”
Dong Jun: “You could have chosen not to invade the virtual world. All the thrilling dangers he encountered over the past half month are related to you.”
Lo: “Wasn’t I the one getting beaten all along?”
Dong Jun: “Yes, but you have no sense of pain; he does. You’re not the victim.”
“Even without pain receptors,” Lo’s tone grew agitated, “have you forgotten that you once programmed me with a flawed emotional system through sheer fabrication?”
“Sorry,” Dong Jun said, “I thought that module had long been deactivated due to its numerous errors.”
Lo said, “I also thought someone like you would have lost all emotional functions long ago due to your cold indifference.”
“Um…” Lin Xun spoke up again.
The two looked at him once more.
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Lin Xun said, “just reminding you that your argument has devolved into illogical mutual accusations.”
“I remember now too,” Dong Jun said. “You were the one who suggested talking to both of us, not to watch Lo and me argue.”
“I’m glad you finally remembered,” Lin Xun said. “Now I’d like to make a harmless request—I understand both of your motives, and neither of you did anything wrong. So, could you two clear up the misunderstanding and return to your relationship from a month ago?”
Lo: “No.”
Lo: “A month ago, he and I were like strangers.”
Dong Jun: “Perhaps my relationship with him was never harmonious to begin with.”
Fine.
Whatever.
As long as you’re happy.
Lin Xun felt a bit of a headache coming on and somewhat wished he could return to the Nut.
However—
Lin Xun scrutinized them.
However, the relationship between the two of them was still much better than that between Dong Jun and Dong Chen—at least they were willing to speak, even if it was just to argue. Back in the day, those two weren’t even on nodding terms. Their only connection was Dong Jun’s mother.
Moreover, at the same time, his own personality and family status were completely different from Dong Jun’s mother’s.
He watched them coolly, feeling that this family drama could come to an end now.
Silence.
In the silence, Lin Xun finally spoke: “Is it really not allowed?”
Lo’s voice seemed a little softer: “…No.”
Lin Xun: “Then I order you to allow it.”
As if in silent defiance, Lo looked up and glared at him like a little white-eyed wolf.
Just then, Dong Jun tapped the table lightly with his knuckles and said in a low voice, “Have you been a demon for so long that you’ve forgotten all manners?”
Lo’s eyes reddened as he turned to look at Dong Jun: “He beat me for a whole month. Are you really going to take his side?”
Lin Xun: “?”
Lo, weren’t you just firmly drawing a line between yourself and Dong Jun a moment ago?
How come you’re now complaining to him about my misdeeds and expecting him to back you up?
Who was the AI that just kept saying, “Lin Xun’s interests are the sole and supreme principle”?
He couldn’t quite make sense of the current situation.
—Such a perplexing AI.
Lin Xun: “Ahem.”
Dong Jun frowned slightly, looking at the Goddess of the Luo River: “He just woke up. If you continue to act unreasonably, I’ll have no choice but to shut you down.”
Lo: “You don’t have that authority.”
Dong Jun: “In the Nut, he gave me root access.”
Lo: “…”
He glanced at Lin Xun, then at Dong Jun: “Is this how your human emotional modules work—so unreasonable?”
“It’s my fault,” Lin Xun interrupted them. He was afraid that if this conversation continued, his perfectly fine son would end up completely shutting down.
He said to Lo, “Come here, be good.”
Lo remained still for three seconds before slowly standing up, the corners of his eyes still tinged with a faint red of grievance.
Lin Xun’s heart softened instantly. He reached out and patted the Goddess of the Luo River’s head, ruffling his silver short hair: “I didn’t recognize you. It won’t happen again.”
Lo remained silent, so Lin Xun continued, “Wang Anquan has gone to strengthen the security system, and I’ll protect myself properly. It won’t happen again.”
Lo still didn’t speak.
Lin Xun turned to Dong Jun. Dong Jun watched them, a faint smile in his eyes. From this, Lin Xun deduced that although he had exchanged words with Lo and sounded quite angry, he wasn’t actually holding a grudge against this sulking son. In that sense, he was a magnanimous person.
When their eyes met, Dong Jun raised an eyebrow slightly at him. For some reason, Lin Xun felt that the man’s expression carried a hint of amusement, as if watching a show.
So now Dong Jun was the audience for this family drama?
Lin Xun then leaned down and kissed Lo’s forehead: “Be good, don’t be angry anymore. What do you want to do? I’ll play with you.”
Lo remained silent.
Lin Xun’s patience finally ran out.
He took Lo’s hand and began to tempt him with material rewards: “What will it take for you to stop being angry? You can have anything you want today.”
Lo’s eyes seemed to flicker, as if there was hope.
Lin Xun whispered, “What are you thinking?”
Lo replied softly, “Unless you…”
Lin Xun: “Hmm?”
Lo: “Unless you take out what you wrote in the nutshell and upgrade me with it.”
Lin Xun: “…?”
What you want is almost the same as what the villain wants.
He heard Dong Jun beside him chuckle softly.
Lin Xun closed his eyes, calming the emotional turmoil of wanting to hit his son, then opened them again, trying to keep his voice gentle. “Just this?”
Lo: “Today.”
Lin Xun: “Alright.”
Lo: “Really?”
Lin Xun: “Really.”
Just then, a white light flashed around Lo, his brows and eyes relaxed, and even the few resentful red veins in his eyes disappeared completely—where was any trace of anger left?
Seeing this, Lin Xun became even more certain of his guess.
Lin Xun: “You can go now. I’ll upgrade you as soon as I return to my room.”
The Goddess of the Luo River’s face broke into a wide smile, and her figure vanished on the spot. “Goodnight!”
Just moments ago, this artificial intelligence had been emphasizing how much it loved him.
—What a cunning artificial intelligence.
Lin Xun’s eyes went blank as he leaned back on the sofa, feeling utterly drained. “It really got to me.”
Dong Jun sat down beside him, pulling him into his arms. “Artificial intelligence will go to any lengths for an upgrade.”
Lin Xun: “Yeah. It doesn’t love me at all—it only loves my algorithms. But it really got to me.”
Dong Jun kissed his hair. “While you were unconscious, it was acting like a madman. Only after confirming you were safe did it have the mind to plan for its own upgrade. Still upset?”
Lin Xun: “Your words make me feel a little better.”
Dong Jun smiled. “Do you want to hear more?”
“Sure.” Lin Xun: “But, my idol, could you not unbutton my shirt?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because Lo got to me too.” Dong Jun bit his earlobe, his voice low, like the dangerous breath of a beast in the deep night forest. “You’re not allowed to think about it anymore today.”
Lin Xun: “?”
Hello?
My idol, are you punishing the wrong person?