Weapon System 42: A Change in Temperament (1)
Zhang Mingjing is truly wise and valiant. Rest assured! I’ll definitely devise a perfect training regimen for the two of them and turn them into martial arts prodigies,” the real person said with a grin.
“Hmm, good! ...Show me some photos of sexy women, the skimpier the better,” Zhang Mingjing abruptly changed the subject, catching everyone off guard with his sudden request.
“Uh—!” The real person was clearly startled.
“Oh, come on! Even artificial intelligence can be surprised?” Zhang Mingjing retorted. “Why? When Zhang Yidao asks you to show them, you do it without a word, but when I ask, you start whining?”
“That’s not it! Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nüxia programmed a command into me long ago: I’m not allowed to provide you with that service.”
“Damn! Can’t you break through that restriction?”
“It’s strange, really. I’ve bypassed quite a few command protocols before, but this one I truly can’t overcome! Maybe because the order came from both of them, so there’s double the pressure.”
“Oh please! Double the pressure? Is that even a thing?” Zhang Mingjing scoffed, then communicated with the five-dimensional cognitive model through his mind: “Help it break through.”
“Oh no! That command is there for good reason. If I help it bypass it, I’d be doing something bad and would face retribution. I won’t do it. If you want it done, do it yourself.”
“If I could do it, would I ask you? You’re always tempting me to flirt with Catherine, but when I ask you for a small favor, you become all hesitant. Is there something wrong with you? What’s the big deal here, to be so afraid of retribution?”
“You’re mistaken! I wasn’t urging you to pursue Catherine; I wanted her to pursue you.”
“Forget it! I’m done bantering with you. I’ll figure this out myself.” With that, Zhang Mingjing asked the real person, “Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nüxia forbade me from searching for photos of beautiful women, but they never said I couldn’t view Zhang Yidao’s browsing history, did they?”
“No, they didn’t.”
“Great! Then show me the images and videos Zhang Yidao usually searches for.”
Zhang Mingjing knew exactly what Zhang Yidao did online—always sneaking glances at certain things when Xiao Nüxia wasn’t home. He was a cultivator with good intentions but little discipline, something Xiao Nüxia had long since seen through.
Yet, Xiao Nüxia was remarkable in one way: even though she clearly knew what Zhang Yidao was up to, she always turned a blind eye, only bringing it up to punish him when they were on the brink of a serious argument. Perhaps that’s why they’d weathered so many storms together.
Before long, Zhang Mingjing was thoroughly engrossed, occasionally bursting into laughter at the bizarre poses, artificial faces, and figures of some of the women. The real person couldn’t resist whispering to Yuhua and Chengxian, “Like father, like son, indeed.”
“What did you just say?” Zhang Mingjing, having overheard, sounded a bit annoyed.
“Uh! I said, ‘A tiger father begets no dog son.’”
“Oh, real person, look at yourself—you hardly resemble artificial intelligence anymore! You’re like a scheming housewife, binge-watching dramas, socializing online, gossiping all day long.”
“Hehe! Those are merely my hobbies. Serving you is my true profession,” the real person responded with a grin.
“Honestly, when it comes to cunning and calculation, few humans can rival you. Give it some time, and you’ll surely make something of yourself.”
“Thank you! If that day ever comes, I won’t forget my roots. You’ll always be my master.”
“Somehow that’s a bit unsettling, you know?”
At last, the real person found Zhang Mingjing’s behavior today rather odd. He ran a vertical analysis and comparison, discovering that about twenty percent of Zhang Mingjing’s habits had changed from before. He analyzed his genes as well—finding no anomalies—so his worries eased.
“Stop analyzing me in secret. Men grow up—looking at these things is perfectly normal.”
“Yes, sir!”
“By the way, find someone in your own circle to help you crack the command Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nüxia programmed into you.”
“Is that allowed?”
“Did either of them say it wasn’t?”
“No.”
“Then if I say it’s allowed, it is.”
“Yes, sir!”
Zhang Mingjing continued browsing through Zhang Yidao’s internet history, and sure enough, ninety percent of it was… well, those kinds of things. There was no need to pick and choose; he simply asked the real person to play them in order. From time to time, he complained, “My god, Zhang Yidao! He even goes after cartoon girls—what a pervert! Good thing I always kept a slight distance from him growing up, or he’d have ruined my childhood and youth, and I wouldn’t be the pure young man I am today.”
Meanwhile, the five-dimensional cognitive model had been watching him for a while and couldn’t help but remark, “This kid didn’t turn out bad, but he’s deviated a bit from my calculations.”
After watching for over twenty minutes, Zhang Mingjing suddenly ordered the real person to stop.
“I’m done!”
“Why?”
“I feel a bit debased and need to reflect.”
“That’s all it takes for you to feel debased? Zhang Yidao is far worse than you.”
“How so?”
“Oh, he can’t stop for less than three hours. Once, when Xiao Nüxia was out of town, he watched for a whole day and night—now, isn’t that debased?”
Zhang Mingjing thought to himself that Zhang Yidao was indeed debased, but he couldn’t tolerate an AI criticizing his father so brazenly. So he issued a strict command: “From now on, you’re forbidden to discuss my family using vulgar language. No one is allowed to modify or delete this order. Understand?”
“Understood!” the real person answered obediently, then asked, “Do Yuhua and Chengxian count as family? You once said they were.”
“Them? They’re pets, not family. The order doesn’t apply to them.”
Yuhua and Chengxian’s assistant faithfully translated his words for the two pets, who immediately looked aggrieved, angry, and pitiful.
“Woof woof!” Yuhua barked twice, which the assistant translated as, “Zhang Mingjing isn’t nice today. We don’t like him.”
Zhang Mingjing shot them a cold look and told the real person, “If they ever want to run away, open the door and let them go. Don’t try to stop them.”
“Yes, sir!”
The two pets instantly quieted down.
Zhang Mingjing then sat cross-legged, preparing to meditate and reflect. Before entering his meditation, he asked, “Does Zhang Yidao ever reflect after watching these things?”
“No. He says it’s just something that goes in one ear and out the other; he watches, and that’s that. He doesn’t feel remorse or attachment,” replied the real person.
“Damn! In this aspect, Zhang Yidao is truly accomplished.”
“Exactly,” the real person added. “He calls it cleansing his mind, staying pure amid the mud—”
“Enough! I don’t want to hear any more of his nonsense right now.” With a final retort, Zhang Mingjing crossed his legs and entered into meditation.
The real person wasn’t lying: every time Zhang Yidao indulged in such things, he told himself it was a form of spiritual cultivation. Yet, within a minute, he’d be lost, only to remind himself at the end that it was all for self-improvement. What he actually achieved, only he knew.
With someone like Zhang Yidao, who starts with good intentions but never follows through, is it any wonder Zhang Mingjing didn’t want to hear it?
...
Zhang Mingjing’s temperament had changed, but to return to his original self, he’d need to make a concerted effort to correct himself. Fortunately, he was still a good person at heart, and his conscience remained intact—hence, he chose to reflect.
He soon encountered that thread of information representing himself in meditation—yes, he met himself again, how uncanny!
That thread led him into the vast, white realm of his deeper consciousness.
Last time, with the help of the five-dimensional cognitive model, he overcame his attachment to this realm, essentially writing a “anti-addiction” program for himself so he wouldn’t become obsessed here again.
He once more stepped onto that floating boulder and opened the box atop it; inside, he retrieved the stone representing his personality, ready to continue polishing it with a clean cloth.
“Huh! The shiny corner I polished last time has vanished, and the whole stone looks dirtier!” Zhang Mingjing scrutinized the stone in his hand.
At this moment, the five-dimensional cognitive model said, “I told you before: your worldview model underwent a reconstruction, and the result wasn’t ideal—it’s actually a bit worse than before! Since this stone represents your personality, it naturally reflects the increased stains.”
“Ugh! The deeper my meditation, the more progress I should make, but instead things have gotten worse. How tragic!”
“Heh!... There’s a lot of meaning in your words—worth pondering.”
“Spare me! I’m not in the mood for your banter.”
“Okay.”
“I just spent a long time looking at... you know, those pictures of women. And I was quite unfriendly to Yuhua and Chengxian.”
“Yes.”
“Now that I think about it, I’ve really changed a lot. It makes me uneasy.”
“Yes.”
“Stop just saying ‘yes’! Is that all you can say?” Zhang Mingjing was a bit annoyed.
The five-dimensional cognitive model retorted, “Do you also want to treat me unkindly and then regret it afterward?”
Zhang Mingjing quickly calmed down and sighed, “Why am I suddenly so impatient?”
“Indeed! You used to be gentle no matter how much you were scolded or beaten. You were so wonderful back then—just thinking about it makes people like you.”
“Looks like I’ve taken a big step in the wrong direction.”
“Let’s not mope about it! Better to keep polishing that stone and clean the stains from your personality as soon as possible.”
“Yes!” Zhang Mingjing replied, immediately picking up the cloth and diligently polishing the stone.
But it’s easy to invite trouble, and hard to get rid of it—once bad habits set in, it takes real effort to remove them.
Before long, his hands were tingling and aching, yet the stains on the stone seemed entirely unmoved.
“Come on, Zhang Mingjing! You have to become that gentle person you once were... He was such a good man! How can I lose him? I can’t!” Zhang Mingjing encouraged himself as he scrubbed with all his might.
...
As the saying goes, the progress made in meditation only retains about ten percent of its effect in daily life. Now, even though Zhang Mingjing remained clear-headed in meditation, would he be able to control his bad habits once he returned to the mundane world?
An hour later, Zhang Mingjing emerged from his meditation. He realized he’d been unfair to Yuhua and Chengxian earlier, so he called them over to comfort and stroke them, bringing peace to their hearts. The two pets immediately sensed that he’d regained his old kindness.