Chapter 485: 473: Regaining Humanity
Chapter 485: Chapter 473: Regaining Humanity
[Warning! Commander, your Humanity Value has dropped to 61.4%! Only 1.4 percentage points away from the 60% safety threshold. Once it falls below this point, the ’Mechanical Mind’ will enter a stage of irreversible deep solidification. At that time, any external emotional stimuli and internal logical interventions will completely fail, and you will be utterly reduced to a machine of pure rationality!]
Jarvis sounded the highest-level alarm within Allen’s Sea of Spirit. However, Allen, sitting upright on the throne, remained expressionless, not even twitching a brow. He was now gradually losing the ability to even experience emotions like worry and urgency.
After advancing to a Second-level Wizard, every increase in his Spiritual Power and every split of his cognitive sub-threads accelerated the assimilation of the [Mechanical Mind Modification Skill]. The recovery of his Humanity Value brought about by observing game data was, after all, just “second-hand data,” treating the symptoms rather than the root cause. Soon, as he rapidly advanced toward the Morning Star, that faint increase was quickly erased and even began to plummet at an accelerated rate.
“How is the organization of the experimental data coming along?” Allen’s voice was as calm as the deep sea.
[A sufficient amount of data has been collected and categorized.] Jarvis immediately brought up several screens of light.
On the light screens were the highest-quality emotional samples contributed by countless players in Sword Art Online over the past period of time. There were the complex emotional fluctuations—a mixture of vigilance, pity, and a desire to protect—revealed by the retired veteran Cole when he mentored Zero; the pure, ecstatic joy of creation experienced by Professor Karl as he overcame technical difficulties in the virtual workshop; and the unwillingness and determination bursting forth from countless players when facing impossibly strong enemies.
Under the massive computing power of the [Allen Network], these real, vivid emotions were stripped, analyzed, and encoded one by one, ultimately turning into lines of “emotional code.” In the game, it was disguised as a hidden “Incarnation System” that allowed players to unleash extra damage in desperate situations. But in reality, it was a massive emotional collection and compilation array.
“Excellent.” Allen raised his hand and gave the empty air a gentle squeeze.
The data streams from all the light screens instantly converged in his palm, forming a spherical matrix of light composed of thousands of Will Runes. This was the antidote he had prepared for himself. A “Humanity Algorithm” compiled based on a massive amount of humanity samples—or rather, a “Humanity Cheat.”
“Jarvis, set the ’Humanity Origin.’”
[Please define the time coordinates.]
“Lock it to the period when I first became an Advanced Apprentice.” That point in time was the optimal psychological state he had settled on after careful consideration. Before that, he was merely a transmigrator struggling to survive, with an immature mindset. After that, the influence of the [Mechanical Mind Modification Skill] began to manifest, and the underlying tone of his emotions had already undergone irreversible changes. Only Allen Wesren of that specific period possessed both a vigorous curiosity and thirst for knowledge, while still retaining the thought processes of an Earthling and his final trace of warmth. A perfect balance point.
[’Humanity Origin’ locked. The core logic of the ’Humanity Operator’ is beginning to construct…]
Allen closed his eyes, his Sea of Spirit opening completely. What he needed to do was forcibly engrave this permanent consciousness Rune Matrix—which could correct his emotions—into his nearly completely digitized ocean of spirit. This matrix would occupy one of his Permanent Sorcery Slots and would not bring any increase in combat power.
“Engraving, begin.”
The spherical rune light in his palm transformed into a streak of light and rushed into the center of Allen’s brow. His Sea of Spirit instantly surged with monstrous waves. Countless Runes began to automatically arrange, combine, and link deep within his Sea of Spirit. A massive, precise matrix, resembling a chain of stars, began to forcibly brand itself upon it. The process was devoid of pain; there was not even any sensation. The [Mechanical Mind], acting as a dutiful antivirus software, completely shielded all negative feedback. Allen was like a cold bystander watching a plugin being installed into his own brain. Everything was under control.
Until… the very last Rune at the core of the matrix perfectly closed with the first Rune.
[Consciousness Rune Matrix engraving complete.]
[“Humanity” is beginning to connect.]
Allen braced himself for the impact. He thought it would be ecstasy, an overflowing bleeding heart, or a sense of guilt from a complete reset of his worldview regarding his past actions. But this top-tier master of calculation had miscalculated just one thing. The most massive and deep-rooted emotion was not an intense outburst between life and death. It was the underlying tone, seeping into the marrow day after day.
DRIP.
Like a drop of ink silently falling into a basin of clear water, then slowly and unstoppably bleeding outward. A feeling seeped out from the very bottom of his soul, without any warning. An emotion he hadn’t comprehended in a long time. Loneliness. Overwhelming and inescapable.
Allen’s entire body shuddered. Those hands, which had conducted countless precise experiments and were normally as steady as a mountain, now trembled uncontrollably. His brain, functioning like a supercomputer, slowed its processing speed at this moment to slowly savor the feeling. He saw a rented apartment filled with clutter, with the never-ending neon lights of the city outside the window. The faint blue light reflecting from the computer screen illuminated a young and exhausted face. On the table, there was a half-eaten, cold takeout meal, with red chili oil congealing around the edges. The monotonous hum of the computer case’s fan was all that remained in the entire world. That person, in the dead of the silent night, sat alone in front of the screen, sometimes smiling, sometimes silent. Those were the images of his past life, memories he had long since buried, now surfacing with crystal clarity.
“Ugh…”
Sitting on the throne, Allen gripped the armrests with both hands, leaving deep finger marks in the hard metal. This was the first time since he transmigrated that he had lost control. The shell of absolute rationality was violently torn apart, revealing the mortal soul within—exiled in a foreign land and driven mad by loneliness. He had intended to use the emotions of the masses to save himself, but he never expected that the sharpest knife lay hidden within these very visages of humanity. The masses could redeem one from myriad sufferings, yet this cross-dimensional loneliness, resonating with millions of people, was magnified hundreds of millions of times and came crashing solidly right back down on him! He had once controlled everything, yet his dam was completely washed away by the flood of his own emotions that had been suppressed for years.
“So… this is what loneliness feels like.” Upon the throne, Allen slowly opened his eyes. Data no longer flowed in the depths of his gaze; instead, it reflected the thick, impenetrable darkness of the night outside. “I thought I had forgotten long ago.”
He thought he was used to it. From the first day he transmigrated into this world, he had been entirely alone. But being used to something didn’t mean it ceased to exist. The [Mechanical Mind] had merely subjected it to absolute suppression, shielding it and burying it in the deepest recesses of his soul. And now, the “Humanity Operator” he created with his own hands had dug it all back up. At this moment, he was no longer the aloof and supreme Allen Wesren. He was an amalgamation of millions of souls feeling lonely in the dead of night.
The algorithm was a success. It was operating perfectly, exactly according to his design. Allen… had a late-night emo moment.