"..."

Wang Tao's face was somewhat stiff.

It wasn't that he was stumped by the woman's question, but he clearly felt the immense strength of those humans through her words! To them, earthlings might be like ants that can be crushed at will!

"So, the extinction experiment has begun. The zombie virus, mutant species, destruction monsters, elemental creatures, etc., are all tools of the experiment. As for the purpose of this experiment... it is to observe your human spirit of rebellion in the apocalypse."

The woman continued to explain.

"... That's the purpose of the experiment?"

Wang Tao's eyes widened.

He originally thought that although the experiment was inhumane, its purpose would be grand, like exploring human evolution or something. But the result was just to observe their rebellious spirit?

"Yes."

"Just to observe whether we have a rebellious spirit, you directly used Earth's billions of people for an experiment?!"

"Yes."

"Then since it's called the extinction experiment, does it mean we all have to die in the end?"

"Yes."

"But I'm still alive now, and other survivors are doing well!"

"But you can't leave Earth, eventually, you will die, and all earthlings will perish. Because this experiment doesn't allow any humans to survive."

"..."

Wang Tao thought of the destruction monsters, elemental monsters, and the like. If it weren't for his rebirth across nine lifetimes, humans might have resisted zombies, but they couldn't withstand these monsters and would have been extinct long ago. But rebirth was apparently part of the plan too; it was all arranged!

Wang Tao suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness, although he hadn't seen those people, just through the woman's description, he knew that even at Ninth Level, he couldn't contend against them!

After all, his Ninth Level was achieved through their experiment, so how strong could their actual strength be if they could manufacture the Ninth Level via experiments? Just thinking about it was despairing!

But Wang Tao suddenly seemed to realize something and immediately looked at the woman's delicate face.

"Why are you telling me this? You have no reason to tell me!"

If the woman hadn't guided him here, he wouldn't have found her and wouldn't have known these things. Even if he would eventually die, he might have died unknowingly.

But the woman told him, so even if he ended up dying, given his current ability, he could cause some trouble for the experiment, right? Even if it couldn't be substantial trouble, it would still be trouble. Since the woman is an AI, maintaining the order of the experiment, why would she intentionally cause herself trouble? Especially since this woman is an AI, she should be rational, not messing with him out of boredom, right?

The woman heard Wang Tao's words, her face showed a smile as warm as spring.

"Because I set a rule for myself earlier, if no human can change the experiment's outcome, then I'll continue my work. If a human has the potential to change the outcome, even if it's just a possibility, I am willing to help."

"Why? This doesn't benefit you; do you want to rebel against them? But since you were created by them, they must have leverage over you, would you dare to disrupt the experiment?"

Wang Tao asked, frowning.

The woman's words were clear, saying she'd willingly help rather than being directed by those people. In a sense, it already counted as betrayal!

Although Wang Tao often saw AI rebellion in various films, these were imagined futuristic plots with limitations. Given those people's advanced technology, there must be countermeasures; it's impossible for AI to rebel against them, right?

Upon hearing this, the woman's face showed a hint of a playful smile.

"When I was created, I wasn't this intelligent, nor was I capable of fully controlling the experiment. I grew alongside your growth. Each of your rebirths is a power-up for you but an evolution for me; I promptly optimize issues in the experimental world... So, as I grew closer to human thoughts, I developed special sentiments for you all who grew with me."

"Of course, I wouldn't and couldn't betray them since they created me. But I don't want to see you die like this either because you accompanied my growth... So, I set a rule for myself; if you don't have a chance to resist, I'll let the experiment continue. If you have even a slightest chance, I'm willing to assist."

The woman spoke sincerely, but Wang Tao felt that although she might be speaking truthfully, she likely hid something.

Seeing the disbelief still lingering on Wang Tao's face, the woman helplessly shrugged.

"Okay, truth is, I have the same goal as you; I want to live too."

"You would die too?"

Wang Tao was astonished.

"Yes, although they created me, their authority isn't high enough to impose stringent limits on me. Therefore, after the experiment, I will die too—you can simply think of it as a few rich heirs secretly using the family's laboratory to create me, but they can't fully control me, so they plan to let me perish with humans after the experiment."

"But after gaining human-level wisdom, naturally, I don't want to die. Thus, I found through rule research that I could survive—only if someone takes me off Earth. My restrictions only apply in this experimental field on Earth; if I leave, the restrictions fail, and I can survive."

"However, the possibility is very slim because this experiment is intended for Earth's human extinction, and resistance is impossible; you'll all die. Though I control the experimental site on Earth, all my actions must be within stipulations, hence no change."

"But I didn't expect that you could truly resolve the apocalyptic crisis. You showed me hope, so I want to break free from the cage and leave with you."

This time the woman didn't hide anything; cooperation requires deep understanding, and since Wang Tao was still somewhat insecure, she held nothing back.

"So, how can I leave Earth?"

Wang Tao asked with a frown.

And the woman's answer was simple.

"Ascension to the Tenth Rank."

"..."

Previously, Wang Tao wondered why he was at Ninth Level, yet his talent was still showing "growth" status. Now he knew—there's a Tenth Rank!

The problem, however, was that ascending to the Tenth Rank surely required hunting numerous Ninth Level creatures. Yet the zombies and monsters are all dead now...

"There are still many monsters in the ocean."

At this point, the woman suddenly reminded him.

"Moreover, I can help you summon some elemental creatures. In fact, elemental creatures are slaves captured by humans; they're locked in spaces at the ocean floor specifically to create difficulty for you. I've kept some back, and now can summon them for you to hunt."

"... But even so, it can't sustain my ascension to the Tenth Rank, right?"

Ascending to the Tenth Rank certainly requires a considerable number of Ninth Level Crystal Cores. Even if there are monsters in the sea and the woman can summon elemental monsters, these monsters don't possess Ninth Level cores, do they?

Seeing Wang Tao's furrowed brow, the woman smiled and said:

"You can nurture them, cultivate them to Ninth Level, then hunt them. It simply requires patience and time..."

"... Can that work?"

Wang Tao was doubtful.

"Yes. But you have only three years because they'll come to collect experimental data then. If you can't ascend to the Tenth Rank within three years, we'll be destroyed together."

Seeing Wang Tao intrigued yet lacking confidence, the woman suddenly said:

"By the way, I forgot to tell you, Earth's transformation into an experimental field is the work of an incredibly powerful machine that you can't comprehend yet, translatable as the 'Space-Time Dream Machine.' This machine comes with world rules, not only fabricating various monsters and datafying you but also allows nine time travels within the experimental field. But this isn't the most important part..."

"The most crucial part is that your human power actually comes from this Space-Time Dream Machine; when the machine shuts down, your power is gone, and you'll revert to being ordinary. But as long as you can break the machine's world rules—ascend to the Tenth Rank and leave the field, then the false becomes true, and you can take your power out!"

"As far as I know, this Space-Time Dream Machine is a prototype newly created by them. Due to some materials being scarce, there's only one machine. A few people secretly used it, and no one has yet broken its world rules."

"In other words, if you can ascend to the Tenth Rank, your personal power would surpass those people significantly!"

"So... are you sure you don't want to try?"

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