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nChen Chen used a microscope to analyze the powdered remnants of the shattered black crystal.

nThe results were not surprising. Among the remnants were countless shattered single-layer carbonic atoms. There were no other substances found.

nThis meant that the black crystal was merely an artificial gem constructed by stacking together countless layers of single-layer graphene material.

nThough the material composition of the black crystal was similar to a gemstone, the value of gemstones could hardly be compared to it.

nThe so-called graphene material was the same as ordinary graphite. The only distinct difference was it being far thinner than graphite. It was an allotrope of carbon of a single layer of atoms arranged in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice.

nIt was first discovered by Britain’s Manchester University in 2004. Graphene material had excellent optical, electrical, and mechanical properties. It was considered to be a revolutionary material.

nOne millimeter of graphite alone could be stripped into three million layers of graphene.

nThe term single-layer graphene referred to the thickness of its atomic layer. As it was so thin that its thickness was measured at just one atom, many people had assumed that it was two-dimensional.

nThe black crystal consisted of millions of layers of graphene stacked together. Delicate circuits were etched onto every layer, leading to the formation of billions of transistor structures.

nAs a result of the stable structure of the graphene, the transistor structures were able to operate smoothly even on an atom-length layer. Its efficiency was vastly superior to a regular transistor structure. The computing efficiency of the graphene processors at this mass proved to be a million times to that of a modern-age computer processor.

nAt the same time, graphene possessed the flexibility, biocompatibility, and electrical conductivity needed to act as an excellent neural interface electrode. Implanted into the body, the graphene electrode was far more stable than tungsten electrode or silicone electrode.

nIn that case, the modification of the chip could not be accomplished via conventional methods.

nChen Chen pondered for a moment. He turned off the signal cloaking device and made a call.

n…

nHalf a month had passed. Chen Chen looked at the gigantic data center standing before him. He shook the hands of a blonde-haired man with pleasure.

n“Congratulations, Mr. Chen. From here on, you’re the owner of this data center.”

nThe blonde-haired man gripped Chen Chen’s hands firmly and smiled heartily.

n“Thank you for your blessings. I wish you well in your other ventures as well,” Chen Chen responded kindly.

nAfter exchanging pleasantries with the previous owner of the data center, Chen Chen bade farewell to the other party and headed in by himself.

nUpon entering the main control room, Chen Chen took out the keys and locked the door. He isolated himself in a small, dark room filled with wires and steel.

nAfter that, he took out his phone and opened the Little X Translation Assistant app.

nThis one was unlike the Little X Translation Assistant app on the market. After passing the fingerprint and facial recognition, a child-like voice came from the phone.

n“Is there anything I can help you with, Dad?”

n“I bought a service center in Switzerland. I want you to make a duplicated version of yourself and install it here. I’ll then connect you with another artificial intelligence. Your goal is very simple. Kill your enemy at all costs and replace it.”

nChen Chen continued. “I’ll provide physical assistance.”

n“Understood, Dad.”

nLittle X answered sweetly and tenderly. Chen Chen then turned on the power of the main control room and let the data center connect to the Internet. Little X began duplicating its core program and transferred itself inside.

nAs Little X continued to evolve, the size of its core program went from several gigabytes of data to terabytes. It could no longer fit inside regular computers. Only venues like a data center such as this could fit its ever-expanding body.

nThe duplication process took a great deal of time. Chen Chen decided to just take a nap in the main control room. By the time Little X informed Chen Chen the completion of the duplication process, it was already midnight.

n“Dad, I’ve completed the duplication process. Little X.2 officially reporting for duty!”

nThe voice of another version of Little X came directly from the sound systems in the main control room.

n“Alright, get ready to begin.”

nChen Chen rubbed his sleepy eyes. To avoid any unforeseen accidents, he made sure to take an NZT-48 before unplugging the optical fiber in the data center.

nAfter that, Chen Chen turned on the signal cloaking device to ensure the data center was entirely disconnected from the Internet network. Finally, he instantiated a piece of STEM chip from the USB drive, just like he did previously.

nAfter all of that had been done, he took out a USB data cable he had prepared beforehand.

nUnlike a regular data cable, one end of this cable was a USB port while the other end was a plastic board the size of a fingernail.

nThere was a small notch on the plastic board. Sixteen small round holes could be seen on the inside of the notch.

nThis was a port he had specifically made for the STEM chip.

nChen Chen held the chip and fitted it accordingly into the port.

nIn an instant, the computer screen flashed twice. The excited voice of Little X.2 rang from the sound systems. “Dad, I see it!”

n“Has the battle begun?” Chen Chen asked.

n“No, its algorithm is strange. I’ll need some time to decipher it…” Little X.2 explained, “It’s observing me, it appears to be very cautious of me.

n“It seems to be upset at my attempts at deciphering it…

n“It’s attacking me!” Little X.2 alerted. What followed after was a wave of silence.

nOn the host screen, Chen Chen could see countless streams of code pouring out at such a high rate as if the screen was constantly being refreshed. After nearly five minutes, Little X.2 warned again, “The opponent is about to break through the firewall I had set up. My computing speed is no match for it!”

n“Nevermind.”

nChen Chen immediately yanked out the chip from the USB cable. He pried out the chip and crushed the core processor into pieces.

n“…”

nLittle X.2 fell silent when it witnessed what had happened. “Is this what you meant by physical assistance?”

n“It’s pretty effective, no?”

nChen Chen continued. “How was it? Do you think you can find out the opponent’s weakness based on that encounter?”

n“It can be done. But considering how much faster the opponent’s processing speed is, I could barely exploit its weakness.”

n“It’s alright, we have plenty of attempts.”

nBefore Chen Chen finished his sentence, he took out the USB drive again to instantiate another piece of STEM chip. He connected it.

nThis time, Little X.2 put up a fight that lasted several minutes longer.

n“Dad, it’s about to break through the new firewall I set up. This firewall specifically constructed to counter it isn’t working!”

nWhen Chen Chen heard this, he cut off the connection again and crushed the STEM chip…

n“An entire data center facility and tens of thousands of servers, still unable to match this opponent…”

nAfter several hours had passed, Chen Chen found himself at a loss for words when he saw dozens of crushed up chips piled under his feet.

nPut it this way; in this duel between the two artificial intelligence, Little X.2 was able to take something from each encounter and strategize accordingly for future encounters. The opponent, on the other hand, was a brand new artificial intelligence each time with no recollection of past encounters whatsoever.

nStill, Little X.2 was no match for the STEM chip.

nApart from the differences in processing speed, there was also a significant intellectual gap.

nIf Little X’s intellectual scope was portrayed as the IQ level of a regular person, which was around 105, then the artificial intelligence within the STEM chip could be labeled as a genius with an IQ level of 140.

nOf course, even a regular person could catch up to a genius with enough hard work!

nChen Chen smiled faintly. Once again, he instantiated a piece of STEM chip and connected it to the data cable…

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