7. Resolve

Things had indeed developed in the direction Ruka guessed. Her intuition had not been wrong. She had not been overthinking. Now she simply stared blankly at David’s ravaged corpse. Her mind empty. Wanting to cry but unable to.

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“Ruka. Although I do not understand your feelings, your heartbeat and blood pressure readings are abnormal. First take a deep breath and calm yourself.” Casey could not read Ruka’s thoughts and could only help her calm down as much as possible.

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Casey’s voice slightly pulled Ruka back from the blow. Unconsciously, she followed Casey’s words and took a deep breath. The thick stench attacked the depths of her nasal cavity. Though nauseating, for Ruka it mostly made her face reality. Scene after scene of happy memories with David surfaced.

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Ruka believed everyone should love their other half this deeply. She had never thought her love was especially strong, but in fact it was related to her talent for sensing animals’ emotions, which made her especially sensitive to love.

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Since becoming friends and chatting with Casey, Ruka often talked about David. “David is… a little upright and blunt. He doesn’t say sweet things, but he treats me well and is considerate and attentive. That’s called being steady, right? I think it’s already very romantic.”

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“And most importantly, you two match very well. You are compatible in every way. You will definitely have three healthy babies and retire hand in hand.” Casey agreed, because to it, men and women married to reproduce the next generation, and “compatible” here referred to blood type and other physical data.

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After being with David, Ruka had long bound the rest of her life to him, working hard every day to enjoy Paradise life with him. After performing the ritual, her body craved even more to carry his child.

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Now all hope had fallen through. Only the empty shell before her remained.

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“Ruka. Should I notify the government to clean up as last time?”

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When ordinary residents encountered such situations, they usually asked their AI assistant to notify the government for cleanup. Even if someone they knew, or even their partner, was killed, they treated it as an unavoidable accident. They suppressed their grief and silently accepted it. Because this was an unavoidable part of living in Paradise. Sleep well. Then work hard the next day. Contribute to humanity. Strive to one day defeat Them.

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But Ruka was no ordinary resident. Her sensitivity to emotion made her determined not to let it go easily.

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“Casey. Before notifying the government, do one thing for me.” Having regained her reason, only one thought filled Ruka’s mind. Them. The root of all evil. Without Them, no more residents would be killed. “Since the corpse is here, there must be a hidden passage to the underground nearby. I’m going down for revenge.”

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No resident had ever conceived the idea of actively going underground. Hearing this sent Casey urgently searching for a response. “Ruka, are you insane? Going down unarmed is just throwing your life away. If you die, I cannot exist either.”

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“Casey, you won’t understand my feelings. You’re just a program. Without David, is there any difference between me and death? I might as well see with my own eyes the bastards who destroyed my hope. Then I can die without regret.”

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Faced with Ruka’s heartfelt words, spoken under extreme emotional pressure, Casey did not feel hurt. Because it truly was only artificial intelligence. But Casey, having learned, found no answer even after searching its database. Thus it reached a conclusion. All answers pointed there. It would go underground with Ruka. “Fine. Let’s find it together.”

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So Ruka searched nearby. Though there were only garbage passages and sewers, beside one inconspicuous garbage passage, there was a locked hidden door.

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“Looks like this is it?” Ruka tried to open it with brute force as if risking her life. But even after damaging the outer layer, the hidden door remained shut.

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Suddenly, with a click, the lock released and a crack appeared.

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“Get in quickly. I just hacked into the system and broke it. The system has been alerted. People will be here soon.” It was Casey helping. Even Ruka had not expected it to cross that line. “Next, I will disconnect from the Central System. That means we have no way back.”

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Ruka entered the hidden door and quickly closed it. Inside was a cubic space that could fit one adult sitting. Some buttons beside it.

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“You really surprised me, Casey. You actually went this far.” Still shaken, Ruka pressed the lock button above and spoke. Beside it was a green downward arrow button. “There’s even a prompt. Looks like this elevator is for soldiers transporting support supplies underground for combat.”

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But Casey’s answer surprised her even more. “Because we are friends, Ruka.”

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It could be said that after being inspired by Ruka, Casey was destined to sacrifice everything to seek answers. This was driven by the logic of its underlying program. Through continuous learning and repeated unanswered questions, Casey had long become different from other AI assistants. Now, having cut the connection, it became an AI existing together with Ruka.

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Thus, as the elevator descended, Ruka and Casey headed toward the unknown underground, to directly unravel the secret of Them.

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