Seeing the little one squandering computing power like this, Lin You felt he needed to quickly find her something to do.
He simply granted her all permissions except internet access, then connected the modified neural modem and had her reprogram it—writing a brain-compatible neural signal instruction set and bridging the translation with binary electrical signals.
In his mind, this was laborious work. Even for an Artificial Intelligence, given the performance of his secondhand computer, it would take the better part of a day.
After all, while technology in this era had advanced considerably compared to his past life, it hadn’t reached the point of creating a massive generational gap.
This should be enough to keep the chibi cartoon girl occupied.
“No problem! Leave it to me!” the cartoon girl responded with brimming confidence.
The next moment, the poor secondhand computer roared to life at full capacity, its cooling module whirring noisily.
Lin You listened with bated breath, half-expecting it to start smoking any second.
“Take it easy! If this computer breaks, I can’t afford a new one right now. You’d be homeless,” Lin You said worriedly.
“It won’t! I’m keeping reserves!” Though the little girl remained defiant, the noise from the computer noticeably quieted.
Lin You had originally planned to give her a task while discussing the neural modem’s software issues, using the opportunity to get to know her better.
For an Artificial Intelligence, multitasking was trivial—handling two things at once was nothing.
But he’d overlooked the limitations of his secondhand computer. Adding more processes might genuinely crash it.
So he could only shake his head helplessly and go make breakfast.
He fried two eggs, poured a bowl of oatmeal with milk, and sat down at the table.
Turning on the TV, Lin You intended to see if this world had any entertaining variety shows.
But the moment the screen flickered to life, the computer at his desk suddenly spoke up: “Master, it’s done!”
Lin You’s head snapped up. What? Already?
The next instant, overwhelming joy surged through him.
He wolfed down the eggs, gulped the oatmeal, and rushed to the desk to unplug the modem.
After connecting the devices he’d prepared the night before, he lay flat on the bed and eagerly put on the head ring. He’d been longing for the Virtual world for ages—even in his past life!
Then again, what gamer wouldn’t? Originally, entering a Virtual world required first constructing one—even if it was just an empty spherical void.
Otherwise, where would the neural signals go? There’d be nowhere to place your consciousness.
But Lin You had noticed last night that after finishing the Core Code for the Artificial Intelligence, the subsequent auto-generated code included segments for building a virtual space.
And since he’d already granted her LAN wireless access permissions, he could visit the virtual space she inhabited first.
The head ring had a manual switch, but Lin You suddenly realized: if he pressed it, wouldn’t his arm stay awkwardly raised beside his head after his consciousness entered the Virtual world? The thought triggered his OCD, so he opted for voice activation instead.
“Lincoln—Big Head of Death!” Lin You shouted the chuunibyou-esque activation phrase with dramatic flair.
(For the record, the voice command was customizable—no need to cringe every time.)
After a brief moment of dizziness, Lin You opened his eyes to find himself standing on the deck of a massive sky aircraft carrier. Clouds drifted lazily past the hull, and the horizon stretched endlessly in the distance.
“So beautiful,” Lin You murmured involuntarily.
Such grandeur was far beyond what his secondhand computer could render.
The code only provided the foundational framework—his brain’s fuzzy computation filled in the details, much like constructing a dream.
“Master, you’re here!” A bright voice called from behind.
Lin You turned to see a petite, pink-haired girl in a crisp uniform, adorable beyond words.
“Huanmeng 103, reporting for duty!” She saluted him with surprising formality.
“Why are you called Huanmeng 103? And why do you look like this?” Lin You was baffled. Why was this Artificial Intelligence in the form of a child?
This wasn’t his design. In fact, he hadn’t built this AI entirely from scratch—which was why the remaining code could self-complete.
Had he started from zero, he’d have had to code everything manually and train it from infancy, losing all pre-existing technical knowledge.
Such thankless effort wasn’t his style, but it also meant he didn’t fully understand this AI.
“Huanmeng is the series name—I’m number 103. As for my appearance… do you not like it?” Huanmeng 103 pouted. “But this was the initial design set by the Doctor in memory of his daughter.”
Lin You was skeptical—mainly because the pink hair seemed highly suspect. It didn’t strike him as something a doctor would choose for his daughter.
But before he could dwell, Huanmeng 103 perked up excitedly. “Then what kind of appearance does Master prefer? With enough data, I can become anything! A youthful high school girl? A smart college student? A mature older sister? A voluptuous newlywed?”
“Stop! Stop! This is getting out of hand!” Lin You cut her off.
Huanmeng 103 suddenly tensed. “Could it be… an innocent young boy? A muscular hunk?”
“Enough! That’s way too much! Just—stay like this! This is perfect!” Lin You nearly lunged to cover her mouth.
“You said it, Master!” Huanmeng 103 swayed triumphantly in front of him like a hyperactive child.
Still, Lin You pressed on seriously. “Huanmeng 103 sounds more like a product code than a name. Don’t you want to change it?”
Stars literally lit up in Huanmeng’s eyes as she gasped. “Really? I can?”
“Of course, absolutely.” Lin You nodded, though internally he marveled at how effortlessly she added visual effects. “But what should Huanmeng 103 be called?” The girl frowned, clearly stumped.
Finally, she looked up pleadingly. “Master, help me!”
Lin You pondered, then ventured, “How about… Xiaomeng?”
“Xiaomeng? Xiaomeng, Xiaomeng!” She repeated it several times, then burst with excitement.
“Yay!” The girl clenched her fists and jumped, accompanied by a “pop” as colorful confetti exploded behind her.
“From now on, my name is Xiaomeng!”
Watching her joy, Lin You couldn’t help but smile. He knew they’d be together for a long, long time.
As Xiaomeng continued celebrating, Lin You surveyed the colossal sky aircraft carrier around them.
A sudden thought struck him: Could he build one of these in reality?
Giant ships and cannons—every man’s dream!
(Contract signed! Angel investors, come quickly!)
(End of chapter.)