Time rewound. The twelfth cycle, reset complete.
The three of them returned to their starting point.
Sophia, brimming with questions, immediately grabbed Li Andy by the collar, asking face-to-face, "She actually remembers you! Why? Are you...are you really her father?"
"How could that be..."
Li Andy pinched her face and pushed her away, explaining, "This is a loophole, I guess? I didn't expect it to actually work. I just thought Meilin's behavior was a bit like neural network reasoning and training, so I decided to try injecting data into the loophole to corrupt her memory source."
"Huh?"
Sophia was confused again.
"Brother, what is a neural network?" Youxi also didn't quite understand.
"Uh..."
Li Andy scratched his head awkwardly,
"I'll explain that to you later, if there's a chance. Anyway...this Meilin isn't human. It's just a template, refining a more human-like model through countless cycles."
" ? "
Sophia blinked, even more puzzled.
Youxi pondered for a few seconds, then nodded gently.
Although there was still much she didn't understand, being obedient, she didn't press further.
Since Brother didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't press...
Anna had said that delving into fundamental knowledge in the field of mysticism was extremely dangerous.
"In short..." Li Andy paused, "No matter how much something resembles a human, it's not human. At critical moments...don't empathize too much."
The two girls silently nodded.
"Then Brother, what do you plan to do with this...loophole?" Youxi asked.
Li Andy thought for a moment and said,
"We can't kill Meilin in her shadow state, but perhaps we can use this loophole to make her kill herself."
"How do we do that?" Sophia asked.
"Give her love."
"Hmm??" The two girls' eyes widened.
Li Andy quickly explained:
"It's about giving her the logic of loving someone, making her learn to sacrifice herself for love. This also aligns with her underlying logic of risking entry into the mine for her father, and it will most likely bypass other conditional constraints."
I don't understand...Sophia's mouth slightly agape, her mind began to wander.
Yuquan Youxi pursed her lips, and the image of Li Andy holding a knife to her neck flashed in her mind. She hesitated for a few seconds and asked,
"Will this work?
People...are very complex. Fear of death is a biological instinct."
"Indeed,"
Li Andy nodded,
"But this 'Meilin' isn't a real human; she's much simpler than a human. Although the probability of failure is quite high, it's worth a try."
"How exactly do we do it?"
"In the next few cycles, we'll try to make her completely remember 'father,' then design a script to strengthen her love for 'father.' Once her love approaches the level of deep affection...we'll close the deal!"
...
Time flew, and with each cycle, Meilin became more animated.
She could cry, laugh, feel lost, and grieve, just like a real person.
But the gunshots still echoed repeatedly.
"Bang!"
The twenty-ninth cycle, ended.
The thirtieth cycle, began.
Starting point.
The three slightly tired individuals opened their eyes, exchanged glances, and nodded without needing to say more, getting up together.
But this time, they didn't go looking for the living Meilin; instead, they headed straight for the end of the fork in the road.
There, a humanoid shadow squatted alone in the corner, like a lost soul.
"Meilin..."
Li Andy softly called out.
The shadow twisted its neck, its voice trembling slightly:
"Fa...father...?"
"It's me." Li Andy replied.
"That's great, Father...."
The shadow rose, wanting to touch its father, but its arm scattered under the light.
"Why?"
It looked at the black specks drifting away like dandelions, asking this question for the first time.
"Meilin."
Li Andy spoke,
"Can you tell me how to leave here?"
"Leave..."
The shadow looked up, chaotic lines slowly twisting on its face.
"I...I want to be with Father."
After a long silence, it answered irrelevantly.