Chapter 97: Chapter 91: 21st Century Sci-Fi Holy Bible: Star Sea
"Wait..." Chu Bamboo suddenly frowned. He had the feeling he’d forgotten something. He looked around, thinking hard, when suddenly, his pupils contracted.
’This... doesn’t seem to have any connection to the changes in the Nuwa Base, does it?’
’It can’t be. The artificial intelligence Z nearly brought human civilization to its knees... And later, the Celestial Net probably stirred up trouble too... Under such dire circumstances, how could the Nuwa Base have been built bigger and stronger?’
’Does that even make sense?!’
Frankly, based on his deductions, Chu Bamboo felt it was a miracle the Nuwa Base even existed, let alone expanded. ’With a visible portion of industry destroyed and a massive loss of population, the normal outcome should have been for the base to be wiped out by the butterfly effect!’
"Nuwa No. 17," Chu Bamboo asked, his expression grim as he posed the ultimate question. "Who was your creator? Or, to put it another way, which organization, which company, built you? Who built your base?"
"Civilization Continuity Artificial Intelligence, codenamed Nuwa! Constructors: Shen Zhou Kingdom State-Owned Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd.! Z Intelligence Co., Ltd."
"Base Construction Planners: Fourth Bureau of National Construction! Eighth Bureau of National Construction! Z Intelligence Co., Ltd."
"Nuwa Construction Time: Two-one..."
Chu Bamboo: "..."
Chu Bamboo ignored the "system busy" message that appeared after the previous information was retracted. He just stared blankly at the name: Z Intelligence Co., Ltd.
’This damn company is still alive in the twenty-second century? That’s insane!’
Chu Bamboo’s scalp tingled. ’It shouldered the immense blame for creating a world-ending artificial intelligence, and its largest shareholder was a traitor to humanity. How could it possibly survive until the year twenty-one-something?’
’And it was even able to get involved in the construction of the Nuwa Base, a project for the very continuation of humanity...’
"Nuwa No. 17," Chu Bamboo said, having suddenly realized something. "Tell me about the changes in Z Company’s shareholding over different periods! Focus on the changes after Zhao Shao’s death."
And then...
Chu Bamboo saw.
Zhao Shao (21% ownership) → Zhao Qianqian (21% ownership) → Chen Buqun (1.2% ownership / exercising the voting rights of the company’s second-largest shareholder, Zhao Qianqian) → State-Owned Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd.
Chu Bamboo (36% ownership) → Lin Xia (36% ownership) → State-Owned Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd.
"So that’s how it is..." Chu Bamboo understood completely. ’Judging by the name, Zhao Qianqian is most likely Zhao Shao’s daughter, right? Or some other relative?’
’As for Lin Xia... that goes without saying!’
’The only way he could have gotten my shares is if I either wrote a will beforehand, or I gave them to him before I went off with Z to... carry out our big plan. As for why... maybe Z Company was no longer needed at that point?’
’Of course, it’s also possible that the "other me" was executing some kind of scheme. As for why he’d give the shares to his best friend instead of having a child of his own... that, I can understand. For one, with Z causing such a huge mess, a child’s fate would likely be grim. Besides, it’s unlikely they would ever receive official recognition to inherit Z Company!’
’On the other hand, even ignoring all that, I now know the world is ending. Humanity faces a high probability of extinction, and it’s right around the corner. Under these circumstances, bringing a child into the world would just be making them suffer.’
"This is such a headache!" Chu Bamboo thought, mulling it over. The information he had was just too scarce. He understood that his other self had probably done a lot... but he had no idea what any of it was!
"So, just how many years have passed?!" Chu Bamboo was starting to feel hopeless. If he couldn’t even determine the time gap, trying to send a message across such a vast expanse of time was just... It was too difficult.
Although Chu Bamboo didn’t know what Lin Xia had done, it was probably related to the Nuwa Base. In the end, Z Company was even completely nationalized.
’No wonder Z Company was ultimately able to participate in the construction of the base and the Nuwa Artificial Intelligence.’
"Nuwa No. 17, display information on Lin Xia!"
"Name: Lin Xia! Date of Birth: April 3, 20**!"
"Summary: The closest friend of the human traitor, Chu Bamboo. At a critical moment, he decisively used the authority granted by Chu Bamboo to steer Z Company to side with humanity. In accordance with a share agreement written by Chu Bamboo, he subsequently acquired all of Chu Bamboo’s shares. He unconditionally supported the development of the Divine Continent’s civilization, and at the end of his life, donated all his shares in Z Company to the state."
"His sole dying request was to plead that if the future Divine Continent decided to build the Jinghai City Civilization Continuity Base, they should make the construction standards as high as possible. He also pleaded for the restoration of Chu Bamboo’s honor and citizenship... and for Chu Bamboo to be buried in his ancestral grave."
"This request was denied."
"...Lin Xia, you magnificent bastard," Chu Bamboo muttered, pursing his lips. Even though the records called it a betrayal, he wasn’t angry. He wasn’t an idiot; he could see that this was all part of the plan. Just from Lin Xia’s dying request, he knew his other self must have told him about the base in Jinghai City.
’The only problem was... what the hell was the plan?’
’It seems that according to the original plan, my authority level with Nuwa No. 17 should be extremely high. There must be a lot of useful information hidden inside for me... It’s a shame. If Lin Xia had lived until the day the Nuwa project was truly complete, things might have been different. After all, for someone who lived that long and controlled Z Company, his influence among the top brass must have been significant!’
