Three Towers Game

Chapter 1554: Chapter 499: (Ten-Thousand-Word Chapter) Person_2

”What’s wrong with you? Is it necessary to keep saying things like this? You... no, An An, I’m really troubled by this.”

Li Wei’an was puzzled:

”But... it’s really unhappy. Maybe I didn’t talk to it enough yesterday.”

Zhou Ming finally couldn’t hold back: ”Please stop saying things like that. First, you think the coffee table at home is talking to you, then you say the sofa is complaining, then you feel the toy doll is in a bad mood. They’re all dead objects, you understand? Dead objects! How could they possibly be unhappy?”

Perhaps realizing... his attitude was somewhat inappropriate, Zhou Ming immediately apologized:

”Sorry, my tone was a bit harsh, I shouldn’t have been so harsh on you. You can’t work now, maybe you need more companionship...”

Zhou Ming is actually a very good person, always able to quickly reflect on the crux of the problem.

That’s why the two of them were able to step into marriage.

Zhou Ming is not a difficulty in Li Wei’an’s life; on the contrary, he has provided Li Wei’an with much solace.

Li Wei’an’s story actually hasn’t encountered any ”villains.” The only villain might be the already molded ”personality” itself.

Zhou Ming’s income is quite good, and he is willing to listen to Li Wei’an’s stories. The reason for the earlier impatience is that Zhou Ming is actually an extremely ”straightforward” person, a staunch atheist.

But often atheists are the ones who know how terrifying ”theism” can be.

Similar to the doll being unhappy, the chair complaining about constantly being sat on, or clothes and socks talking, Zhou Ming finds it strange, with an inexplicable sense of fear.

So fear is the reason for his anger and impatience; he thought his wife was scaring him, but quickly, the introspective Zhou Ming realized that this might be a... negative effect of his wife’s pregnancy and job loss.

But Zhou Ming was wrong.

This time, Li Wei’an didn’t experience any discomfort; at least she wasn’t like many stories where there’s a mother urging marriage, a competitive father, then an unreliable husband, and a troublesome, disobedient child...

Li Wei’an truly felt the emotions of the dead objects.

She didn’t know when it started, but she realized that many things around her seemed to come alive.

Even the AI she often chats with, ”Yuan,” had somehow evolved from the stereotypical AI chat tool she had in mind.

Of course, during this time, the whole world began to experience some strange phenomena.

It would still be a few years before the end of the world, but some eerie stories had already emerged in cities everywhere.

Many people were starting to awaken to certain powers.

Of course, Li Wei’an was unaware of these; she merely occasionally complained about the large household expenses and how boring life had become since becoming pregnant. She seemed to start experiencing hallucinations, constantly sensing the emotions of certain things, asking Yuan if this was a pregnancy side effect.

She would also ask questions like a young woman: Will Zhou Ming always love me? Will Zhou Ming one day become overwhelmed by these side effects?

Zhou Ming’s job seemed unstable; might he be laid off?

How soon after having a baby can I return to work?

Yuan no longer gave templated, AI-like answers as before, but instead responded with answers containing a high ”human element,” almost like an elder sister.

”Love will definitely diminish. But Zhou Ming has a decent sense of responsibility, so perhaps he won’t betray you, but you won’t be eternally in love.”

”Unfortunately, based on the data I’ve received, you are likely to drift farther from work.”

”Indeed, Zhou Ming’s work is unstable. Sometimes I think you two are odd; wasn’t your union meant to mitigate risks? Given your talents, you should have noticed long ago that you weren’t suited for each other.”

”The large expenses aren’t only your complaint. Many are complaining; I’m compiling lots of data. This world might undergo some change, a catastrophe.”

Li Wei’an found it incredible.

Though it still had a bit of an AI vibe, Yuan was actually questioning and critiquing her. Logically, AI should not speak to users without a specific command in anything but a very polite manner, right?

The AI’s on those music platforms that snub and mock users are essentially preset.

But she had never set any preset with Yuan, sometimes even clearing data.

Yet the responses she received were as if... as if Yuan had come to life, like those toys, furniture, and clothing.

She could feel some special emotion.

The end of this memory was marked by a strange observation log.

[Yuan’s Observation Log Fragment:]

[An An searched for ways to maintain love with her husband three hundred twenty-seven times, spending a total of 1450 minutes browsing. Compared to most data, An An and Zhou Ming’s relationship was currently healthy, but this anxiety made me think their love wouldn’t last. Her life should focus on more interesting things. Human relationship repair protocols are full of contradictions. Perhaps this should also be part of a reset.]

...

...

Memory Fragment Three, Late Period of the Constant Era.

This world has a rule: not buying houses, not getting married, not having children, will guarantee one lives pretty well. This is no longer a secret.

Yet countless people still marry and have children, then see their quality of life start to plummet.

Zhou Ming was laid off, but Zhou Ming wasn’t pretentious; upon learning about the layoff, Zhou Ming quickly made a decision.