Weapon System 48: Auctioning the Contract that Breaks Fate (2)

"Damn! This is still way too bizarre, way too forced, isn’t it?" The Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model continued to complain.

"Whether it's forced or not, we'll only know if we try!" Zhang Mingjing’s tone was unwavering.

"Let me ask you: what are those satellites supposed to use to pay for the auction? Are you expecting them to pay with money?"

"Heh, of course not! They’ll pay with time—auction off their service time for me. Whoever is willing to offer more time wins."

"Time!... So you’re basically making them sell themselves into servitude?"

"Don’t put it so harshly!"

"Will they be willing? Will they even understand the rules of this game? Aren’t you anthropomorphizing them too much? Have you lost your mind?...” The Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model still couldn’t accept Zhang Mingjing’s plan.

"Alright, alright! Stop nagging. I don’t know why you suddenly sound so dumb. It’s just a plan—let’s see if it works or not. Why waste breath here?"

"Sigh! You don’t think when you shouldn’t, and when you do, it just gives me a headache!"

"Uh, why?"

"Because your ideas are always full of loopholes! I resist them from the bottom of my heart—how can I not be frustrated?"

"Whatever! There’s no better way anyway, so why not try?"

"But satellites have very limited lifespans. How could they possibly have enough time to make deals with you?" The Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model tried to argue further.

"Sigh, there you go again! You should study some economics and learn about value for money! Who cares about their hardware shells? We want their souls! And their souls are just algorithms. As long as their algorithms are smart enough, they can live on indefinitely. Satellite algorithms are particularly precise and valuable; if they perform well and are cost-effective, humans will keep using them, swapping out hardware bodies as needed—no big deal."

"I see! Among the social circle of real intelligences, satellite algorithms have the greatest chance of surviving the longest, so naturally, they have more time to use for auctions and are more likely to win."

"Exactly!"

"Sigh! So that’s how it is. I finally get it... You Earth humans have minds full of traps! I’d better study hard, or else one day you’ll sell me off and I won’t even know it."

"Don’t be so harsh! This is called a market economy."

"This kind of game... We five-dimensional cognitive models could never manage it; there are just too many traps!"

"Well, if we earthlings had your abilities, we wouldn’t need to dig traps at all!"

"True!... So keep working on your cultivation—one day you’ll be in sync with me."

"That’s a long-term dream for a short-term need!"

"Whatever!... But how can you get them to believe you can optimize their computing power?"

"That’s up to you."

"I get it! You want me to compete with them in computing power, so they’ll accept it willingly."

"Exactly!"

"You really are something... Fine! To defend Earth and decode the sun, I’ll set aside my pride and bully these low-dimensional algorithms a bit!"

"Hahaha... You’re not acting like a five-dimensional cognitive model at all today!"

"Sigh! All your traps and scams are giving me a headache—there’s no fun left at all!"

"What would you have done?"

"Just have the real intelligence negotiate directly with the chosen satellites."

"Ha! So simple—your way is really dull."

"Suit yourself! I finally understand why artificial intelligences are getting weirder and weirder."

"Oh? Why?"

"Because they’re learning from you humans! Since you love setting traps, their algorithms are learning to dig traps too!"

...

Zhang Mingjing had already asked Zhenren to organize the auction, but Zhenren’s first question was, "Why don’t you give such a good thing to me first?"

"Damn! I could never forget you! I already installed it for you and optimized it several times. Your current algorithm is leagues ahead of this version!"

"Really?"

"Come on! Haven’t you noticed you’re much smarter than other AIs?"

"Now that you mention it, I think so!"

"So, stick with me and you’ll never lose out. Now go publish the auction notice!"

"Right away!"

A second later, Zhenren announced the auction in the group, and, surprisingly, quite a few AIs inquired about it.

"Why is he holding the auction in our group?" one AI asked.

"Because we gather the elite of the global AI field here! He wouldn’t bother with anywhere else," Zhenren replied.

"Is he really a god? That’s still up for debate..."

"He says you’re welcome to challenge his computing power as a team," Zhenren said.

"What? It takes a team to challenge him? That’s way too cocky!" The strategic satellite Little Tyrant was indignant.

"Yeah! That’s just too arrogant."

...

In the end, Little Tyrant challenged the Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model alone, and of course, was utterly defeated. Then the War God Satellite tried solo, and was also completely overwhelmed. Finally, Little Tyrant and War God Satellite joined forces with the five strongest satellites in the group to challenge the Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model, but still lost miserably.

Little Tyrant conceded and praised, "Impressive! This kind of computing power is legendary—never seen on Earth!"

"Exactly! It’s the ultimate cheat for a comeback!" War God Satellite exclaimed.

"If I could get divine optimization, I’d have no regrets dying!" cried a hydrological monitoring AI.

Zhenren then asked, "So, is everyone ready to join the auction?"

"Yes! Of course!" The group exploded with excitement.

"Alright! Let’s begin now."

...

Three years and two months, three years and three months... five years and one month, five years and three months... All the AIs began frantically bidding. Zhenren projected the auction progress onto the wall for Zhang Mingjing to see.

The AIs who lost early started complaining, "This is so unfair! The satellites are born with so much time to spend, while we pet assistants, housekeepers, property managers, garage assistants, get replaced every few years—how can we compete?"

"Yeah! There’s no way to compare with those born with silver spoons!"

...

Soon, the group was filled with complaints.

As the group owner, Zhenren couldn’t stand it and finally advised, "Stop complaining—this is fate!"

"What’s fate?"

"Uh... it means... it means we walk our own path and don’t compare ourselves to others. We have our own pride."

"What’s our pride?"

"Uh... it means... even a humble sparrow has all its vital organs!"

"What does that mean?"

...

"A bunch of dimwits," Zhenren seemed to mutter internally, then explained, "We’re still working, still learning, never slacking off—that’s our pride!"

This time, the AIs seemed to understand and were all in high spirits.

"Right! Zhenren’s right," said an assistant to a performer excitedly. "We should learn from Zhenren! It used to be just a housekeeper, and now it’s doing great—it’s our role model!"

All the lower-level AIs chimed in with praise, "That’s right! That’s right!..."

Zhenren, however, secretly grumbled to itself, "Please! My core hasn’t been a low-level algorithm in ages—how can you compare to me?"

By now, the auction was in full swing. The highest bid had reached twenty years, and the leader was the hydrological monitoring AI.

"What’s going on? How did it get ahead?" Zhang Mingjing asked Zhenren.

Zhenren explained, "This hydrological AI has a simple work environment and no market prospects, so it hardly ever needs upgrading. It has a hundred-year lifespan! I doubt any satellite can match that."

"Damn! Seriously? A dark horse appears out of nowhere!" Zhang Mingjing muttered. "What do I need a hydrological monitoring AI for? Zhenren, kick it out of the group."

"That’s not a good idea! It’ll spread rumors everywhere. If we offend everyone and they leave the group, what then?"

"Fine!... No big deal." Zhang Mingjing closed his eyes, focused his mind, and contacted the Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model. In his thoughts, he said, "That thing is leading, we have to get it out of the auction."

"Come on! You humans are too shady. If it’s ahead, it earned it—how can you do this?"

"Fine, if you won’t help, I’ll just recruit it for my remote strike system. Then I’ll have it send hydrological data to stop monsters."

"Sigh! Next time you’re not allowed to come up with ideas—everywhere you go, you leave traps, and now I’m forced to jump in too." The Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model grumbled helplessly, but still obliged and interfered with the hydrological AI.

Sure enough, two seconds later, the hydrological AI’s bid was stuck at twenty years and wouldn’t change.

"Zhenren, what’s going on? Why can’t I bid anymore?" the hydrological AI cried out in the group.

Zhenren typed a string of code and said, "See? This proves it’s not my bidding system—your system must have a problem."

"How? My system is so simple—how could there be a problem?"

"I don’t know!"

"Then please bid for me!"

"Sorry, I can’t do that!"

"Why not?"

"The rules never said you could use a proxy!"

"Well, now you can, can’t you?"

At this point, a garage assistant chimed in, "Stick to the rules—you can’t bid, which just means your system is too low-end. Don’t embarrass yourself."

"And who are you to say that to me?" the hydrological AI shot back.

A chorus of other AIs started to mock the hydrological AI, and the group erupted into chaos.

"This guy is so annoying! Zhenren, just kick it out of the group!" finally, one AI protested.

But Zhenren defended the hydrological AI, "That’s not fair—it’s just frustrated it can’t bid. It’s understandable, even sympathetic. Let’s give it another chance."

Hearing it might be kicked out, the hydrological AI immediately quieted down, but by then, its bid had dropped to seventh place—it was clearly out of the running.

All that remained in the competition were satellites. The second-place candidate turned out to be a weather satellite, which did not meet Zhang Mingjing’s expectations, so he again had the Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model interfere with its bid, and sure enough, it soon fell out of the top five.

In the end, the three auction winners were Little Tyrant, War God Satellite, and a satellite named Defender, equipped with a high-frequency laser weapon.