In the entrance hall of the three-story building of Huasen Building, elevators No. 1 and No. 2 are showing that they are faulty and are being repaired. The remaining elevators were already crowded with people waiting. Because it is a centralized placement building, the number of elevators is far lower than the use of fast access, and there are often problems in the operation process, and congestion has become the norm in the hall. Monk had had enough of the pain of queuing today, picked up Bane, and chose to take the stairs.

The elevator hall is located in the center of the Huasen Building, with two thick reinforced concrete walls, rising close to the elevator hall, and the cavity formed in the middle of the wall is designed as an evacuation staircase. Above the fourth floor are concentrated and centered units, and each floor has a traffic corridor extending into the cavity, which is evenly spread along the circle to form an organic whole.

Munch lives on the twelfth floor, which is not too tall. I opened the security door and looked up, and there was a small skylight on the top of the high and narrow wall. The alternating arrangement of lights on both sides illuminates the steps, which by the way stimulates a sour and rotten smell. Munch put Bane down and let him lead the way while he followed.

There are very few people walking on the evacuation staircase, and the space on both sides is covered with household garbage and daily sundries, Munch covers his nose, he can't ask everyone to be as high-quality and polite as him, so he can only bury his head silently. In the overhead light, the shadow behind him moved from the dirty ground to the moldy wall on the left.

Bain was so excited that he made a roundabout run at the exit of Munch's traffic corridor to each floor. As Munch reached the 11th floor, Bane ran towards him with a dilapidated simulated mechanical puppy in his mouth. The puppy's hind leg junction had broken and oil was oozing out. Before Munch could react, Bane turned and continued to run forward, his limbs just stepping on the oil on the ground, the soles of his feet slipping, and rolling towards the 11th floor platform.

Iron balustrades are erected on both sides of the platform, and in order to save costs, the simplest cut-out style is adopted. The horizontal and vertical compartments are relatively safe for humans, but for Bane, who is not very large, it does not act as a barrier at all. Once you pass through the railing, you fall straight onto the glass roof of the entrance hall. The height of more than twenty meters was fatal for Bane.

Bane's terrified screams echoed through the stairwell, and Munch rushed over it, leaping forward to catch it, but still a few centimeters short, brushing Munch's fingertips and flying towards the gap in the railing. Bane was churning in the air, his eyes closed in weightlessness.

Munch felt gasping for breath in his throat, desperate. Suddenly, the shadow under Munch's feet passed behind him, quickly flew under Bane, formed a black net, held it steadily, hovered in the air for a few seconds, and was safely delivered to Munch's side. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and picked up Bane, unwilling to let go.

Munch lives in room 23 in Block A on the 12th floor, around the corner of the hallway. After identification, Munch pushed the door open and entered. The room is small in size and simply furnished. Open the door to see two large area of glass curtain wall, outside the curtain wall is a circle of high-density commercial buildings, the reflected light illuminates the room brightly, noisy windows from time to time to hear the mechanical roar of drones and aircraft.

On the right-hand side of the door, near the glass curtain wall, there is a FL-2 suspension bed that is facing obsolescence. On the opposite side of the bed is a full-height bookshelf filled with books of all kinds, most of which are related to the keywords of biology, mechanics, modification, and energy. In front of the bookshelf is a workbench made of lightweight mixed materials, with a non-stained top. On the wall next to it, there is also a robotic arm. That's all the furnishings in Munch's room.

He walked over to the window, pulled up the curtains on either side, and collapsed on the bed, the parts of the levitating bed squeaking against each other. Thinking back to what happened on the traffic corridor just now, he was still a little afraid, if it weren't for the shadow under his feet, Bane would have ...... at this moment, Munch didn't dare to think about it, and Bane seemed to be completely unaffected, and once again fell asleep.

After a short rest, Munch got up gently and walked to the bookshelf. In the second column from bottom to top, in the third column from left to right, stands a book with a white cover. There is no text on the cover, only a hand-drawn painting: two stick figures stand opposite each other in a mirror relationship, and a golden flower blooms in the middle of the villain. Next to this book, there is a red copy of the "Revelation of the Upper and Lower Realms", straight and hard.

With the development of technology today, few people can use the pen to record and depict, and this traditional way has been replaced by various faster and more advanced methods, but Munch still insists on writing with the pen, and he likes the touch and sound of the pen rubbing against the paper.

Munch took out the book with the white cover, sat down at the workbench, took out the pen, and turned a new page. The record is as follows:

"When: Evening of August 25, 2075.

Location: 19 Sick Street, Nord District

Unusual Details: Without warning, Shadow sneaks into the pants pocket of a young man named Beverly Andrew, and steals a black X-03 memory card. The latter was confirmed by the police and disappeared that night.

Motivation speculation: the street lights failed that night, the light was dim, the moonlight was mainly illuminated when the abnormal movement occurred, and the alley was in closed construction, and the space was narrow...... Perhaps the dark, confined environment can have a negative impact on the shadows, which in turn can lead to uncontrollable theft? Not sure, pending more cases to verify.

Date: Evening of August 26, 2075.

Location: Evacuation stairwell, 11th floor traffic corridor of Watson Building.

Abnormal Details: Bane almost fell off the railing due to his foot on the engine oil, rolling down the stairs. The shadow flew out, forming a net under Bane's body, rescuing him and sending him safely to the platform, where he returned to his normal state.

Motivation Guess: Suddenly, my heart rate was extremely high at the time, and it was expected to reach 120. Shortness of breath and tightness in the chest. There is only one thing on his mind, and that is to save Bane. Perhaps the shadow can sense the state of my mind and body and make decisions that are in line with my thinking. It is more likely to be verified by more cases. ”

Munch put down his pen, glanced at the shadow in his normal state at this time, and continued to write in the blank space below the content just recorded: "In order to commemorate the shadow's act of saving the dog, it has been decided to give it a name from today to make it easier to call it, my new partner." Well, I've decided to name it ...... from today" Munch stopped writing again, remembering the various books he had read, the heroes of various myths and legends, and at the same time looking up and scanning the full bookshelves. "Well, since it's a shadow, it's the embodiment of darkness, so I'll call you...... Little black. Meng Ke solemnly wrote Xiao Hei's name on the white paper.

Munch flipped through the previous record, and it had been two years since the shadow anomaly occurred. From the first time to today, every time an anomaly occurs, Munch will record it in detail in this white paper, Munch turned to the first page, and before he could read it, he heard a sound in the room "Update completed", and then, a glass of warm water was handed to Munch through the robotic arm. "Xiaomeng, welcome back, you have been monitored for serious water loss, please replenish it as soon as possible." Munch took the glass of water and said with a smile, "Bobo, I miss you to death." ”

Munch is talking to a voice AI assistant that is the result of research left behind by his father, Anthony. When Ovid gave it to Munch, it was contained in a ring-shaped ring of storage. After Munch activated it, it was found that it was equipped with an intelligent core driver that was not available on the market, and according to the pronunciation rules of the letters, it was roughly pronounced "Polito". That's why Munch named it Bobo.

It can self-update and evolve according to the objects used, the operating environment, data analysis, etc. Since Munch activated the program at the age of 10, Bobo has completed hundreds of iterative updates, and is now an intelligent assistant with both supercomputer computing power and adult human thinking.

Munch took a sip of the water glass, and the temperature was just right. Say to a face made up of complex code on the workbench, "What's changed in your update?" "Since last year, Munch has rarely added updated code to Bobo's program, trying to let him develop freely in order to stimulate his thinking consciousness to the greatest extent. Bobo pulls up the changelog, and text and code fill the entire workbench.

"This is the 123rd update, in addition to fixing the previous security vulnerabilities and strengthening the identification of logic and ethics. The main thing is that I can fit perfectly with your implant, and not only that, where there is a network, there can be my existence. Where there is a screen, there can be my image! ”

The coded face travels across the workbench, passes Munch's arm, instantaneously transfers to the implant's screen, and then disappears. It appears again on the mode selection window of the suspended bed, and then disappears. The room fell silent. Until Munch's ears rang with Bobo's voice: "You open the curtains." Look at the other side. Munch walked to the curtain wall in a few steps and pulled the blackout curtains to the sides. In the commercial building opposite, the giant advertising screen is playing the advertising screen of the new life 5.0, and the code face of Bobo's incarnation appears on the writhing model, turning the display product she is holding into a golden flower that Munch likes, and then quickly returns to his side.

Munch was so shocked by the scene just now that he couldn't close his mouth, and said for a long time: "How did you do it when you spoke in my ear just now?" "It's easy, I can get into your implant and use it to conduct sound signals to your eardrum." Munch is emotional, which means that he can wake up Bobo anytime and anywhere, ask for help, and completely break the limitations of space.

"If your heart rate is detected to be too fast, it is recommended that you calm down immediately, as you still have important work to do." Munch nodded, closed the curtains again, and returned to the workbench. When you see the white paper on the side of the workbench, press the corners of the books in turn and put them back in their place.

After Bobo's reminder, Munch remembered something important, and pressed the hidden button under the workbench on the right-hand side, and the workbench immediately flipped as a whole, revealing a pure black dynamic LCD screen, the lights around it turned on, and a half-meter-high hologram operation area rose in front of Munch. There are two countdowns in the top area with different colors: one is 67 days in blue font, and the associated event is "Shangyu Vocational Qualification Exam Registration". The other is displayed in red font for 2 hours and 37 minutes, and the associated event is "Accept task invitation".