A medium-sized sailing ship sailed into the harbor of Ereber.

It's not an elven ship, it's a human ship - it's easy to tell by this, the elven ships are almost all schooners, while the humans are all schooners, and they're big, stupid, and simple.

It was a spring morning and the sun was shining. As usual, the human ship docked at a dedicated location in the port of Iribo. As several humans stepped off the boat, they found that someone was already waiting for them.

"Lord Dinethor," the human in the lead immediately recognized the other's identity. "Nice to meet you. ”

"It's also a pleasure to meet you. Dinethor kept smiling, his elongated, oval eyes shining with a transcendent sparkle of wisdom that somehow unnerved the humans. "Mr. Sarit. This is your first time in Erebor, right?"

"An impressive city. The man, Sarit, replied a little crampedly. "Yes, this is my first time here. ”

"Please follow me. Dinethor said. "You must be tired and thirsty after such a long voyage. We have prepared the room. By the way......" He hesitated. "What is Mr. Cosbody...... Didn't come?"

"He's no longer in charge of it. Sarith said quickly. "The last time he introduced me to you, it was to explain the matter. Now, I'm in charge of the trade work. ”

He looked at the elf in front of him, for fear that he would show displeasure with it. But there was no indication on Dinethor's face, for him, these humans were all the same, the same vulgar and barbaric anyway, so it really didn't matter who he did business with, as long as someone came out to take charge, it didn't make any difference whether it was Cosbody or anyone.

"Let's talk about a year's trade quota......" Sarit said, but Dinethor interrupted him. "Mr. Sarit, it's not convenient to talk here, so I'd better take you to your room for a short rest before we discuss. I remind you that in Irib there are not many Azuls who know your language. In case you get separated, you might run into some trouble. ”

He waited a few minutes for Sarit and the others to arrange the crew, and then led them to the house outside the palace for ordinary guests. After they had walked a short distance, Dinethor noticed that his guests had stopped and looked at something in front of them.

"What is this?" asked Sarit. He was referring to a larger building in front of him, on which a flag was flying in the air.

"It's just a sentry post...... A small unit was stationed. Dinether explained. "...... in charge of policing," he realized, and the humans weren't referring to the building itself, but to the flag. "That banner, you say? it's the banner of Prince Ashrufat, the ruler of Iribo. It's a tradition...... In fact, similar to the coat of arms of your humans, our princes of Azur often use a pattern to represent themselves. ”

"I've seen this flag......" Sarrico whispered. "Blood Dragon Banner!"

"Oh, I really didn't know that Prince Ishrufat was so famous in the Anthropocene realm. Dinether didn't care, and replied casually.

"That's the vampire flag!" Sarriko said suddenly. "I've seen this banner in the southern region of West Vania, the region dominated by the vampire Duke Blood. ”

"Oh, exactly the same?" asked Dinethor, a little curious.

"This ...... It's not exactly the same. Dragon's Mouth...... The position of the claws, as well as the angle of the tail...... There is a slight difference. But there is only a small difference. ”

"Dear Mr. Sarrico. Dinethor replied with a smile. "I don't know if you've heard that the use of dragons as banners is a common thing among our Yasur people. If you have the opportunity to travel in our land, in the many territories in the north, west and even in the center, you will find many princes and nobles who use the dragon form as their banner. This is in line with our traditions, and there is nothing strange about it. ”

"But this blood dragon ...... Blood-red ......"

"Well, I can only say that it is unfortunate, there are only nine colors in this world, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and black and white. Our poor princes have to choose a color, right? So in this game of one out of nine, our Prince Ashrufat chose red. In my opinion, it's as simple as that. After saying this in human language, Dinethor cursed in a low voice in Elven language.

It must be said that Dinether's words were completely logical, there was nothing to fault with them, and several humans were silent.

"By the way, I would like to ask about the trade agreement that Mr. Cosbodi signed with us...... What about the unfinished parts?" asked Dinethor suddenly.

"Void. Several humans exchanged glances with each other, and then Sarrico replied.

"Void?, I really don't understand you humans. The Phoenix King had intended to make amendits to Mr. Cosbodi, after all, because of the war, we unilaterally terminated the agreement with him...... If he wanted to, he would have received quite good compensation. ”

"It's okay to void. Sarico replied. "We also know that you were forced to terminate the agreement. How can we claim compensation from our business partners for such a thing?"

"That's for the best, of course. Dinether replied.

They walked a little further, and because Dinether was leading the way, the soldiers at the post did not interrogate them at all.

"Excuse me, is Prince Essrubat in the city, and shall we see him tomorrow?" asked Sariko suddenly.

"His Royal Highness the Prince is not in the city. Dinether replied. "And he's not coming back anytime soon. But rest assured, there is a plenipotentiary in the city, and the agreement he signs is as valid as the prince himself. ”

By the time they had said this, they had already walked up the stairs towards the higher ground of the city center. Dinethor casually turned his head and looked at the harbor by the sea.

There are not a few warships in the port now, and almost all of them are merchant ships, cargo ships, and the like. He remembered that Prince Ashrufat had commanded a fleet and set sail from here, bringing great glory to Iribo.

It was like yesterday.

......

In some mysterious hall, a rather large round table was placed in the center of the room. Numerous figures are already in place. In the center of the round table, an illusory image is suspended in the air. If there is a veteran of the battlefield, or a doctor who believes that surgery is more important than magic, it can be seen that this is an image of a human brain.

Attendees are whispering.

"This is the legacy that Ylang left us. The speaker was cloaked in a gray and white cloak, and it was clear from his movements and tone of voice that he was the presiding officer of the meeting. "Look, this is an artificial intelligence that she scanned up close. ”

There was more whispering.

"We can see that the entire artificial intelligence is divided into four parts, the core chip, the personality control device, the database chip, and the small energy storage device. The whole artificial intelligence comes with a biological interface, so that it can be perfectly integrated with the brain. It can be speculated that the personality chip has a logic bomb attached to it, and once detonated, the small energy storage device will inevitably explode with it. In other words, once that happens, there is absolutely no hope for AI to survive...... Not a single part will remain. ”

"This is really important news...... But about this, we have long guessed. Someone said to the gray cloak. "Didn't Ylang succeed? Did she succeed in shutting down the AI?"

"I don't know what to do. The gray cloak replied. "I'm not sure...... The most sturdy video she sent back...... The picture is a complete mess. We can only guess that Ylang activated the vibrator, but as for whether it was successfully shut down, I can't be sure. At the moment I can only guess that the probability is only half to half. ”

"What did you say? Didn't you send a detector? Just probe that guy named Ashrufat. ”

"Undetectable. Because something unexpected happened. The gray cloak cleared his throat. "According to my estimates, it must have been when the energy device of Ylan-ylang's body exploded out of control, because of the accident that triggered that ancient portal. The location of the battle between the Scarlet Duke and Ylang is right in the center of the portal, and I believe that is what triggered the portal to activate. I'm sure you've all seen the video, the portal chip has been taken away by the Scarlet Duke at this time, so what is activated by the energy of the explosion is a portal that has lost control. The question of where its space links is probably an unanswerable one. ”

Someone let out an expletive. The gray cloak perfectly understands this mood - to get such a result at such a great price. Ylang Ylang is dead, and the AI is taken to unknowable realms—nine times out of ten floating into the universe, or the hot core.

"It was a complete accident. Someone said. "Uncontrollable accidents. I'm afraid about the thing about artificial intelligence...... We're going to stop there. From now on, I will be at ease with construction, and I will never think about artificial intelligence again. We have a lot of jobs that need to be ......"

The gray cloak shook his head. "Unfortunately, folks, I don't think so. He exclaimed.

Everyone was staring at him.

"From the perspective of probability, the Scarlet Duke Ashrufate has a fourteen percent chance of being teleported to a safe place. The gray cloak replied.

"The probability is too low. ”

"It's still something to look forward to, isn't it? And I believe in Ylan, I believe she's turned off the AI...... Or at least a part of it was closed. ”

"Why are you so sure?" someone asked dissatisfied.

"Because she's Ylang. The voice of the gray cloak suddenly became cold. "She died for us, for all of us, twice. I'm sure everyone understands that Ylang still has many years to live, and if she chooses to freeze herself, she may be able to sustain herself long enough, even until we build a spaceship and fly to a highly developed planet. But she chose to sacrifice for us. There is a logic bomb on the AI, and if you want to turn it off, you have to turn it off under certain conditions, if the AI determines that it is absolutely safe. The only way to do this is for one of us to send one of us to death, to die under the sword of Ashrufat, to use the vibrator at the moment of death, and only then can it be turned off...... How can we doubt a companion who has done such a noble act, a companion who has saved all of our lives!

He paused. "I want me to take over the work that Ylang left behind. ”

There was silence in the room.