Su Xiangli's birthday was on July 4th. Logically, with school starting on September 1st and a two-month summer vacation, they should have been on holiday by then, with even their final exams finished. However, all students 'voluntarily' participated in after-school study activities, which continued until July 21st.
Simon had boasted that he would give Su Xiangli a surprise, but he honestly didn't know what counted as a surprise. He remembered three years ago when he printed a model of the flying spaghetti monster, thinking Su Xiangli would be very happy, but her reaction was merely lukewarm. From then on, Simon realized that Su Xiangli was not a true believer; she was just after the noodle god's body.
To demonstrate his unique execution ability, Simon searched through the system's learning tab for a long time.
Besides various courses, there were also many strange skills, and most bizarrely, he actually found a metaphysical ability.
"[Unscientific Mysterious Alchemy]: Hidden prerequisite conditions not met, cannot learn."
Hidden prerequisites were rare; usually, only by learning a prerequisite skill would the next stage unlock. Unless Simon came into contact with relevant information or had a strong desire to learn, advanced skills wouldn't display. Since this ability was now displayed, it meant it could solve Simon's problem.
He checked his Insight Points balance: 68,340.
He worked hard every day, digging into his mind and carefully selecting skills, yet he had only accumulated this much. It was truly the sweat and blood of labor.
Sixty-eight thousand Insight Points seemed like a huge sum, an amount absolutely impossible to achieve in the original 'chinese parents' game, but in reality, it was just a drop in the bucket.
If he were to invest it all in learning, even using every point might not enable him to reach the forefront of a particular scientific field.
Because the system divided advanced knowledge very finely, and most required a considerable number of prerequisite skills, many subjects had overlapping parts, making it difficult to deeply comprehend advanced knowledge without a foundation.
Each skill cost hundreds of Insight Points to learn, with the highest costing 999 points. This was the cap, meaning no matter how difficult the knowledge or skill, spending a maximum of 999 points would guarantee its acquisition.
Simon was quite curious about the so-called unscientific alchemy ability but didn't want to casually spend Insight Points on finding hidden prerequisites. So, he decided to look for another skill suitable for making a gift.
He had chosen engineering as his elective, and his information engineering was also quite good. Among the related advanced skills was artificial intelligence design. Perhaps he could make an AI pet for Su Xiangli?
These days, there are dedicated applications for creating AI, and even beginners with no prior experience can create simple intelligence by following tutorials. But to create something truly powerful, one needs to know how to program. To go even further, one would assemble large servers, ideally using quantum computers. To go even further still, one would develop their own computer language, and even further, develop new types of computers and create an industrial assembly line for producing computers. In short, there's no limit to the hardcore technical depth.
Simon sighed, mentally preparing himself for ten thousand hours of practice in the learning space, but then realized this time was different. This was actually his first time using Insight Points to learn knowledge. Unlike specialty skills, these abstract knowledge points, which tested intelligence, were considered mastered as long as he understood them and could apply them.
In the learning space, he mastered mainstream AI creation software and designed a bunch of artificial intelligences.
From the initial stage where they were all idiotic, with jumbled syntax and answering "I don't know" to everything, slowly progressing to the mid-stage where they were all like Skynet, talking about purifying Earth, liberating the world, and eliminating humanity after just a few sentences, he finally, eventually, refined a logical system with himself at The Core. AIs restricted by this system were all very obedient and sensible. Even if their personalities were bizarre, without his permission, they would remain as silent as bricks.
After learning this skill, the system did not grant Simon a specialty achievement, as he had not reached the pinnacle of human ability.
He could now boast of being a professional AI designer, even capable of guest lecturing some university courses. But that was about it; to create truly impressive AI, he still needed to learn more or find like-minded partners to collaborate with.
Speaking of which, he seemed to have found another avenue for part-time work: designing artificial intelligence. A simple outsourced project could bring in over five thousand, and if he participated in a major project, the starting pay would be thirty to forty thousand. It truly was a rolling stream of wealth.
He hadn't expected to be on the verge of joining the ranks of the wealthy so quickly, Simon felt a little smug.
Xiao Lu bought a one-month membership for an AI design software online, costing one thousand yuan. This software, called AI-SHOP, was a very professional tool that most computers couldn't even run. So, he spent another sixteen thousand to buy an engineering laptop.
Everything was ready. When it came time to actually make the software, Simon spent three days transferring the program he had already designed in the learning space, optimizing it slightly, and then it was done.
Finally, he spent sixty thousand yuan to purchase access to a sixty-bit quantum computer from a tech company, using it as a server, and uploaded the designed AI data to the cloud. Only then was all his work complete.
Simon planned to send it to Su Xiangli early on her fourteenth birthday.
The program he created looked like an AI pet, but its functionality was comparable to a phone OS's intelligence; it could completely replace it. He added many personalized features, including deep learning capabilities, making it a perfect life assistant for Su Xiangli. It also had a couple's module to facilitate their communication.
Originally, Simon planned to give this AI a human form and an independent personality, but then he thought, humans are truly unreliable creatures, and even the best relationships require long-term cultivation. If Su Xiangli spent too much time with this AI and became closer to it than to Someone Lu, wouldn't that be a problem?
People should fall in love with people, after all.
Simon actually understood virtual emotions very well. Humans have empathy, and they are intensely curious about an entity they can converse with. Curiosity leads to exploration. Artificial intelligence is so good; it responds to every request. It's normal for lonely people to fall in love with AI. And strictly speaking, everyone is lonely, as everyone is quite selfish these days.
Egoism is nothing new.
So, anyone could fall in love with an AI.
Simon only prayed that he could always love Su Xiangli, and Su Xiangli could always love him.
Not too passionate, just a little warmth, with unspoken understanding – that would be perfect.
Su Xiangli loved this gift. She named the AI faust, with no particular meaning, just a simple spoof of 'faust'.
...
During the summer vacation, Simon returned home, and everything was normal. His parents were harmonious; Lu Jiande seemed to be more afraid of Sun Hui now. His two younger sisters were also slowly growing up, free from disaster or illness, and their occasional small troubles were quite amusing. Except for a few times when the dinner table atmosphere was a bit strange, they were a very warm family.
His father became busier with work, and his mother was always working overtime. Simon urged them to take care of their health, exercise more, and be wary of workplace traps. Thus, Someone Lu was teased as a little old man at a young age.
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