Suroma, Secret Experiment Base.
October 1st, 8:00 AM, one hour before the new rule was released, and also the moment when Subject Zero's packaged and sealed data memories finished uploading.
When every screen on the entire wall flashed the prompt "Upload Successful," Dr. Haisen and his several assistants all burst into excited cheers and leaps of joy.
"We did it!"
"All three stages succeeded!"
"From now on, the container for human memory is no longer just the brain!"
Dr. Haisen looked toward Bruce standing not far away. To his surprise, Bruce wasn't nearly as excited as he had imagined. He merely stared calmly at the screens.
Walking over, Dr. Haisen said, "Your Majesty, aren't you happy? The experiment succeeded. None of the three stages had any errors. It can be said that a new chapter has been opened in human development!"
Faced with Dr. Haisen's inquiry, Bruce shifted his gaze to him and said, "The experiment hasn't fully succeeded yet. It still needs verification."
"Of course." Dr. Haisen said. "The carrier robot prepared for verification is ready. We can start today."
So-called verification naturally referred to downloading and unfolding the packaged memory bodies.
Having data traversal without issues, packaging without issues, and uploading without issues... all those being fine didn't mean downloading would also be fine.
For an uploaded memory backup, only after completing the download and unfolding verification experiment, ensuring the memory body's bearer matched the uploader, could it be considered a true success.
For this purpose, the experiment had prepared a "memory carrier" in advance.
Dr. Haisen called over an assistant and gave a few instructions. The latter quickly left the laboratory and returned shortly, bringing a robot with him.
This robot looked similar in appearance to Subject Zero. Height, weight, and facial features—it was made exactly according to the middle-aged man that was Subject Zero.
According to Dr. Haisen, whether the memory carrier was humanoid was completely irrelevant. Other than the necessity of a "super-capacity brain" required for unfolding the memory body, nothing else mattered.
However, for the memory body to load and unfold more effectively, the more similar the carrier was to the memory uploader, the higher the success rate and speed.
This was somewhat like the domain of immersion.
It was like playing a role-playing game. Many players, during the character creation phase, would make their avatar somewhat similar to themselves or give it a name related to their own, making the game more immersive when they played.
The same logic applied to memory carriers. Even if the impact wasn't enormous, this was still the early stage of the experiment's completion. To ensure experimental success, Dr. Haisen would strive for perfection in every detail.
An assistant removed the helmet from Subject Zero's head. Due to days of intense brain stimulation, Subject Zero had fallen into a coma under the influence of drugs.
Two assistants carried the middle-aged man away. Bruce glanced at him and asked, "If every upload takes this long, won't the memory uploader themselves have problems?"
"Please rest assured on that point." Dr. Haisen immediately began explaining.
"As long as they take one 'Cerebral Wake Number One' pill at regular intervals, they can maintain a continuous active state in the brain throughout the entire upload process. Although Subject Zero is currently in a coma, he hasn't suffered any brain damage. Sleeping for a long period to let his brain automatically adjust will allow him to recover."
Bruce nodded slightly.
By then, the robot serving as the memory carrier had replaced the comatose middle-aged man and sat down in the chair.
An assistant put the helmet on it.
Dr. Haisen smiled and said, "That 'Memory Brain Vault' helmet is your most proud creation. Don't let its small size fool you—its complexity is enough to surpass the most advanced war machines from the early war period by several times over.
It can both upload memory bodies and download memory bodies. This all relies on the core chip connecting to an external large-scale computing center via cables, achieving real-time calculation and sharing of astronomical amounts of data.
This kind of intelligent chip, so advanced it seems like future technology, wouldn't have been developed by humanity alone for at least 10 to 15 years if not for the ample technical details provided by that 'Nano Lifeform.'"
While Dr. Haisen was speaking, the assistant finished putting the "Memory Brain Vault" helmet on the robot.
Dr. Haisen said to Bruce, "Your Majesty, preparations are complete. The memory body can be downloaded onto the carrier."
Bruce asked, "Can the robot carrier's brain effectively handle the massive memory body?"
"It should be no problem. Although the carrier's exterior is human, its internal structure is mainly composed of a substrate integrated with data chips. Such a humanoid robot is essentially a walking supercomputer. Handling a small memory body is well within its capabilities."
Bruce said, "Meaning, if the memory body is larger, this kind of humanoid robot can't handle it."
"That appears to be the case. Large memory bodies packaged from adult memories cannot be unfolded using humanoid robots. Large-scale equipment must be used."
Dr. Haisen said this with a helpless expression.
"This isn't a design issue. It's the limitation of underlying materials preventing humans from further miniaturizing storage chips. Only by breaking through material limitations can we advance further.
I've heard that Beixing is already preparing for next year's exploration of Meltstar. If that planet truly possesses the 'magnetic substrate' that the Dialoguer mentioned can be used for breakthroughs in materials science, then the problem of miniaturizing memory carriers will have a solution."
Having said this, Dr. Haisen asked curiously, "Your Majesty, has Suroma set a date for exploring Meltstar?"
He was only responsible for leading the scientific experiments related to intelligent robots and memory digitization for Bruce. He had no involvement in other fields, which were all handled by the First Research Institute.
But the awkward part was that Dean Joiessen of the First Research Institute had only recently been sentenced to death and executed. This would undoubtedly plunge the institute into a certain degree of chaos.
Imagine if the head of Beixing's Countermeasures Research Office, Gao Liangwei, met with an accident. The short-term efficiency of that institution would also plummet sharply.
"Don't worry about that issue." Bruce said. "Just focus on your own work."
"Yes, I understand."
Dr. Haisen asked no further questions and began the download of the memory body.
Just then, the time reached nine o'clock.
[The 23rd Doomsday Rule has been released]
After the new rule's content was announced, Dr. Haisen and all his assistants wore expressions of surprise.
They hadn't expected that right after their technology had just been successfully implemented, the Fire Thief would release a rule related to memory.
"Your Majesty, what do you..."
Dr. Haisen started to say something to Bruce after hearing the new rule's content, but when he turned his head, he saw the latter's expression had turned extremely gloomy, as if he had transformed into a beast ready to devour others.
Although that expression only lasted an instant before returning to normal, Dr. Haisen still felt a deep sense of terror.
"Dr. Haisen."
Bruce stared into Haisen's eyes, his pupils as deep as the center of a tidal vortex.
"It seems we need to execute some plans a bit ahead of schedule."
...
Zhang Minglu came out of the meeting room, vigorously rubbing his brow, feeling utterly exhausted both physically and mentally.
After the research office bought the hidden intelligence from the Administrator of Ascendant Home, they naturally began researching and discussing it immediately.
As for the result...
"Doctor, are you unwell?"
A voice came over. Zhang Minglu looked up and saw Zhao Ming standing right in front of him.
Since joining the Countermeasures Research Office, Zhao Ming still liked to wear white clothes like before, only he had swapped his T-shirt for a more formal shirt.
"Zhao Ming." Zhang Minglu shook his head. "I'm fine. Just that the meeting went on too long. I'm a bit tired."
He had a lot on his plate. The customized training for a large number of official Ascendants alone took up the bulk of his time. Add to that Gao Liangwei occasionally assigning him extra work, plus participating in rule-related discussions—it was impossible not to feel mentally drained.
"Doctor, you really should rest more." Zhao Ming said. "It'll be better for your thinking."
"You kid sure know how to talk."
Zhang Minglu looked at Zhao Ming. The latter had joined the Countermeasures Research Office midway through the previous rule and it had now been almost a month.
Because Zhao Ming had performed well during this period and passed his evaluations, Zhang Minglu had officially made Zhao Ming his assistant the day before yesterday. Zhao Ming would follow him and participate in some non-critical confidential matters, essentially starting to be seriously groomed as a successor.
"I had you look over some materials yesterday. How did that go?" Zhang Minglu asked.
"I've finished reading and memorized them all." Zhao Ming answered.
"Mhm... Mhm?!"
Zhang Minglu first nodded after hearing this, then realized something and showed a look of shock.
"You mean you've memorized and can recite all those materials?"
"Yes."
"Let me test you!"
Zhang Minglu asked several tricky questions in a row. Zhao Ming answered without a moment's thought, leaving the former utterly stunned.
"Kid, millions of words of material with an extremely high information density, and you memorized all of it in one day..."
Even though Zhang Minglu knew Zhao Ming possessed the special ability [Thought Palace], which allowed him to achieve photographic memory through image-based recall, he was still astonished by the sheer efficiency.
Zhao Ming explained, "When I look at materials, I don't think while reading. Because of my ability, I first scan through and remember everything. Then, through mental acceleration, I 'read' them inside my 'palace.' This way, I can master a large amount of knowledge using very little real-world time."
"I see..."
Zhang Minglu thought to himself that if this were the case, the time needed for training this kid could be greatly reduced.
Having thought this, Zhang Minglu asked, "Zhao Ming, the new rule and the hidden intelligence have all been released. Do you have any thoughts on how to complete this rule challenge?"
"Yes." Zhao Ming, as if he had thought it through deeply, gave his advice without hesitation.
"I think what should be deleted isn't past memories, but future memories."
Zhang Minglu was stunned. "What do you mean?"
Zhao Ming: "Simply put, before midnight the day after tomorrow, delete your memories of tomorrow. Before midnight the day after that, delete your memories of the day after that... Only by doing this can the deleted memories be controllable."
Zhang Minglu was silent for a few seconds after hearing this, then his eyes lit up.
He felt Zhao Ming's method was actually very reasonable!
Because past memories were uncontrollable. Sometimes even a person would miss certain details. If they rashly deleted them, it could trigger a chain reaction.
But memories created after the rule's release were controllable!
For example, one could consciously do meaningless things over the next 24 hours, creating meaningless memories. Then, before midnight the day after tomorrow, they could delete those 24 hours of memories. This way, they wouldn't have to worry about any negative repercussions.
"Following this line of thought, people only need to delete one or two 24-hour periods from the past. The remaining ten-plus 24-hour periods can all be deleted under personal controllable circumstances!"
Zhang Minglu pressed both hands on Zhao Ming's shoulders and let out a hearty laugh. "Haha, Zhao Ming, you've really come up with an excellent suggestion!"