Chapter 984: Chapter 984: Little Baobao, You’re Amazing
It is quite difficult to teach someone as seasoned in hooliganism as Bingdisi to sit quietly and not cause trouble, especially after the only person who could keep her in check, Father God, has wandered off to the edge of the universe. The female hooligan is like a monster emerging from hibernation, just when we’re discussing serious matters, she starts teaching Bubbles how to be shameless with a series of rhetorical questions…
The only way we handle this is to ignore her, otherwise, the more attention she gets, the more havoc she wreaks.
“If these six mainframes can all evolve into Mother Machines…” Looking at the row of six mass-produced Bubbles sitting like dolls on the sofa, my imagination began to run wild. On their vacant little faces, I could vaguely see a curious expression. Maybe they were curious about their surroundings: the place where the Emperor resides. For ordinary Angel Envoys, this is like another dimension’s X domain, just one visit is enough for months of boasting. Moreover, these visitors are newly self-aware, mass-produced Bubbles. Although they lack emotions, they also lack the ability to hide their inner thoughts. A bit of careful observation can easily reveal the emotions of these little ones, something I just hadn’t noticed until now. Of course, they might also be curious about the Emperor’s family. I guess these little ones never knew what their Emperor and Mistresses were like in their daily lives, only seeing us in command mode at the officer’s seat. I suppose even the lowest Imperial Soldiers haven’t seen the Emperor chomping on a street-side pancake…
“That must be an amazing moment, right,” Bubbles nodded in agreement with me, having shaken off Bingdisi’s entanglement, “Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s possible. Their inherent physical limitations are the first reason—this can be easily solved by changing a set of new components. The biggest problem lies in the essence of soul and life. Mass production machines and Mother Machines are two different kinds of life. If I’m equivalent to an entire database including both hardware and software, these mass production machines at best are like USB drives copying a directory from the database. You can expand a USB’s capacity to match the database, but it still can’t have querying capabilities: structurally, it’s not supported. A drive with billions of megabytes of storage still can’t run programs, that’s why I guess these mainframes will eventually evolve into a state between Mother Machines and mass production machines, possessing their own consciousness and some creativity, optimizing their work programs, but probably unable to produce another generation of Mother Machines themselves, at most manufacturing the most basic mass production machines. Moreover, their functional optimization should also have a limit I guess, I fear even at their strongest they can’t compare to Mother Machines—innate limitations, no matter how big Schwarzenegger’s fists are, he can’t beat Optimus Prime; even if you fill a new electric scooter with Helium-3, it can’t outrun an Audi, right.”
I involuntarily looked at Little Baobao, who was comparing height with the XL34 beside her: “So, you can spawn a Mother Machine like Little Baobao, while they cannot, at most replicating a mass-produced mainframe with the same strength as before evolution. They count as copying, only you count as giving birth…”
Before the words were finished, Bubbles shyly bumped into my stomach, her face flushed with red: “Oh stop it, gosh, save the talk for tonight, will you…”
Bingdisi’s mouthful of iced black tea came out straight from her nose.
“Holy crap… you two are really playing wild, Chen, have you any humanity left? Is she even as tall as your belly button?”
Bubbles turned her head and threw a line: “There are kids that go shopping soon—Little Baobao, go get some soy sauce!”
Upon hearing this, Little Baobao immediately disappeared from our sight, then returned empty-handed, a few moments later Anwina floated out from the kitchen to tell us that Little Baobao had suddenly appeared before her and slapped each of the soy sauce bottles in the house…
“You better explain to her that she’s supposed to ‘buy’ soy sauce, not ‘get’ it.” Bingdisi sincerely advised, Bubbles: “…”
Eventually, it was Sandora who had to drag us back from the increasingly weird tangent. She slapped Bubbles and then pushed Bingdisi off the sofa: “Ah Jun, now we should best find the reason for this evolution happening—As for how far they can eventually evolve, that can only be observed, no matter what, it’s a good thing. The key issue is whether this evolution can be replicated?”
I scratched my chin: “Do these six little guys have anything in common?”
Bubbles lined up the mass production machines and pointed at them one by one: “You see, from left to right, isn’t that a common point? They all have the same amount of hair—oh right, you guys don’t shed hair, right?”
“I analyzed the birth dates of these mass production machines, their task execution before evolving, the positions they held, and the situation of interaction with the outside world before evolving, but found nothing of value in any of them. Their birth dates are irregular, not from the same batch, task execution is similar, mass production machine’s daily tasks are just those few, no difference from other mainframes, the positions they held were all around, no reference value, only the last point, I found a piece of information that may or may not be counted as a clue:
All evolved mass production machines, including other individual mainframes aside from these six that have super-evolved, had considerable long-term interaction with Little Baobao, among them, these six had the most frequent and prolonged interaction. Little Baobao liked to play with them the most.”
I was surprised, rubbing my face with the non-talkative Little Baobao, the little girl was thrilled, patting my back head, and Dingdang squeezed himself out of the pocket on my chest in panic, wings curling: “Every day, every day, few times a day, how’s Dingdang supposed to sleep!”
Have you even looked at what kind of place you stay in!
“Are you saying Little Baobao can facilitate the evolution of mass production mainframes? She’s modifying her sisters?” As I helped Dingdang straighten her wings that were folded by Little Baobao, I asked in amazement.
“That’s the part that isn’t scientific,” Bubbles was pulling her hair, looking distressed, “Don’t you think I know my daughter? She never applied for similar data services, she usually just messes around with these copies, eating, playing, that’s all, just spending time together like that could upgrade a mass production machine to half a Mother Machine? Do you find that plausible?”
Whatever Xyrin Host does, it’s always data-based, to them, without a solid foundation of detailed data description, anything is unreliable, including the super evolution of one’s own daughter. Though she might usually indulge in being a neet with all five poisons, when it comes to her actual job, she doesn’t cut corners. Bubbles would not accept such vague claims that Little Baobao “possibly” might have “some method” to modify mass production machines.
Sandora glanced at the two of us and then continued to fiddle with the data terminal, moments later, she showed us a holographic image: “If the argument is not yet sufficient, then take a look at this.”
In the holographic image, a glowing white gourd-shaped thing was flamboyantly dancing figure eights in the air, extolling youth.
“We have an equally inexplicably weird Prison Host, which suddenly developed an interest in online novels—just as some mass-produced Bubbles suddenly liked sweets. This Host called itself Main God, even wanted to apply for the role at one point; now it declares itself a new generation of philosophy master, extolling youth and good times, and has repeatedly attempted to flirt with Bieberu’s sister—though it was politely declined by the latter who said you are not round enough. You might want to take a look at the rhythm poems and social research papers this boring guy wrote if you have the time. Oh, by the way, its improvements to the Imperial Prison system shouldn’t be overlooked either.”
Has this peculiar Prison Host’s shenanigans almost overshadowed the contributions it’s made?
“Little Baobao hasn’t contacted this Host, but the latest components used in this Host’s comprehensive upgrade process mostly manufactured by Little Baobao,” Sandora glanced at Little Baobao biting the coffee table, “Yeah, practice works, this child seems clumsier than normal mainframes in manufacturing things, even now can only produce some small-scale components.”
“Don’t tell me that crazy gourd went bonkers after that upgrade.” I was dumbfounded.
Sandora nodded: “That’s exactly what happened.”
I picked up Little Baobao again, studying this peculiar little girl as if examining a treasured item. Every few minutes, she would jump out of my arms and start chewing on the coffee table and the sofa, possibly teething. After being picked up, she’d gaze curiously at her dad, then suddenly poke my nostril with a great deal of amusement.
“Your daughter seems to have a knack for giving her dad a hard time,” Bingdisi commented ungraciously, seeing my twitching face.
“Hey, your kid’s dad, I gave birth to a treasure for you,” Bubbles said after a lengthy contemplation, then lowered her head, appearing thoughtful again. “But how did this happen? And not every Mass-produced Machine that has interacted with her undergoes evolution. You know, Little Baobao runs around all day, nearly several hundred Mass-produced Machines have had contact with her, but only a few dozen have shown signs of evolution, and only six have had significant evolution. And this doesn’t seem related to the contact time or frequency: XL935 only interacted with her twice, totaling two hours of play, yet XL935 is one of those six super-evolved individuals. What’s going on here?”
“Evolution is not just about the external environment; it’s also related to one’s own quality,” Sandora thought for a moment. “If someone is chasing you, you’ll naturally run faster, but you need to have legs first, right?”
Various facts suggest that Little Baobao possesses a talent we previously were unaware of. She can influence other types of hosts, causing intelligent mutations. Currently, this influence is reflected in medium and low-level logic hosts. It seems she lacks the ability to enhance advanced hosts—like an Eternal Level onboard host. The conditions for her catalytic ability to take effect are still unclear. Every host that experienced evolution has had contact with her, but not every host that had contact with her changes. Currently, the statistics show she has catalyzed fourteen mass-produced hosts (six of which are almost becoming refined), one prison host, and three building smart cores whose changes are not yet confirmed. Bubbles decided to maintain data connectivity with this peculiar daughter of hers for some time, to observe how she rewrites the cognitive models of her targets.
Yet as the central figure of all this, Little Baobao herself is completely unaware. She is inviting six little sisters to share her toys, while Sister Jier is enclosed by Little Baobao X7’s circle, full of despair as she recalls her empire’s past. Bubbles is reluctantly checking over a dozen other mass-produced hosts in the living room. They are likely also evolved individuals, but their extraordinary performances are mostly just flashes of brilliance. Bubbles has been drilling them at home for about an hour, still playing to no avail. It seems she’ll have to keep going for a while.
Sandora crossed her hands under her chin, looking over the coffee table in this direction: “Intelligent mutation sometimes doesn’t manifest at the physical level. The ‘spiritual form’ is a miraculous thing that can exhibit countless patterns on the exact same physical structure. We shouldn’t limit our thinking because of the functional constraints of mass-produced hosts. I actually have a hypothesis. Little Baobao might not be any known type of Mother Machine. Perhaps… she was mutated at birth. But just like those evolving mass-produced hosts, her mutation is unrelated to her bodily structure, but rather her soul form has issues.”
“I feel like what you’re saying is quite creepy.” I mirrored Sandora’s posture, and the two of us critically stared at each other. “You’re saying Little Baobao is a… new model?”
I awkwardly used the term “new model”—for a Xyrin Host, this was a very common adjective, but it felt uncomfortable using it on my own daughter.
“Ah Jun, you forget, you’re a Void Creature, and the probability of anomalies around you is quite high. Because of you, Qianqian and the others turned into super beings, Gaia was activated by you with a dream, Abyss Creatures gradually regain sanity just from your aura, I always felt it made no sense for Little Baobao born in such an environment to be a normal child…”
Xiao Xue suddenly appeared out of nowhere, looking at the two of us with wide eyes: “Hey, Dad, Sandora Mom, why are you being so serious? Wow, so many Sister Pao’ers! Aunt Pao’er, are you aiming for the World Cup?”
“Call me Bubble Mother! Hey, child’s dad, come and manage your daughter!”
Sandora looked grave: “See, I really don’t think any child born around you could be normal…”
Me: “…” Indeed, Abyss Creatures possess a halo for creating naughty kids.
“Little Baobao still can’t accurately express her thoughts. She lacks complete logic and her cognitive development of things is slow. The typical Xyrin Host—speaking of Bubbles of this model—after two years of development and learning period, should possess the ability to manufacture large-scale facilities. In terms of basic work skills, they wouldn’t be inferior to any type of mass-produced machine. But Little Baobao can’t do it. She is still practicing assembling autonomous robots, and she doesn’t know how to connect to the secondary host network: this network is used for the collaboration of Copy Bodies and Mother Machines. By Xyrin Mother Machine standards, these are defects. Bubbles adjusted her countless times for Little Baobao, yet she couldn’t fix these flaws. You haven’t noticed it, but often Little Baobao behaves like a faulty unit. Bubbles has always been worried about her.”
I frowned: “But she can evolve other hosts and has an elusive activeness that even gives you a headache. To this day, no one can keep an eye on this little girl. These are definitely not defects.”
Sandora let out a light sigh: “So I think we should classify Little Baobao as a separate type: she’s not a Mother Machine, but a more valuable… Incubator?”
Me: “…Could you use another term?”
“Ahem, well, a Catalytic Machine then,” Sandora coughed awkwardly. “Anyway, let’s not discuss the detailed issues. If Little Baobao is treated as a Mother Machine, there are definitely functional defects with her, but we might have had it wrong from the start. We shouldn’t have set expectations from the Mother Machine standard. Her role should be as a unit coordinating and catalyzing among mass-produced machines. Now we still can’t ascertain whether she possesses the same self-differentiating ability as Mother Machines, but it is most likely not to be doubted. In that sense, we have an overwhelmingly strong host unit. Currently, all sorts of data are lacking. We don’t know how long Little Baobao’s genuine growth cycle takes. It seems this new unit grows very slowly; its juvenile state work efficiency is very low, catalyzing only a two-digit number of hosts in two years. This could also mean we haven’t yet discovered how to correctly use her abilities. I recommend letting her frequently contact all sorts of hosts in Shadow City in the future. Whether it’s mass-produced Xyrin hosts, building smart cores, or spaceship hosts, give it a try. This child is at a critical developmental period, and we should be grateful this talent was discovered early. There’s still time to fully develop her strength.”
For me, the fact that Little Baobao is a mutated unit, possesses some magical power, or has strategic value all doesn’t matter much. As long as this child can happily live each day and grow up healthily, that alone is very satisfying. But if she indeed harbors special powers and wishes to use them, I naturally wouldn’t refuse to tailor some training programs for her. As for whether Little Baobao wishes to use these powers—
I turned my head to see Little Baobao playing with a large group of mass-produced machines in a chaotic mess, letting Xiao Xue identify each one of them, seemingly having immense fun.
If using her power means playing, then the child would undoubtedly be in agreement.
Once in agreement, Sandora was somewhat emotional, as she quietly looked at Bubbles, who was sitting not far away with a look of a gratified mother watching her daughters play. She said softly: “Bubbles has always been worried, but she never told you. She always felt Little Baobao could be a child with deficiencies. This issue oppressed her for a long time, but today should be her happiest day: the child she thought had disabilities unexpectedly became a treasure. Nothing can make a mother happier than that.”
I involuntarily shuddered: Well, a mother who stands only 1.1 meters tall, how does one react to that? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast recommendations and monthly votes on Qidian (), your support is my greatest motivation.)