Chapter 13: The Grand and Imposing Intelligence Core

In the blink of an eye, the zombie rushed at Du Yun with incredible speed, raising both hands to seize her neck.

“Ah!” Du Yun was startled by the frenzied zombie, feeling the blood in her body turn cold. Instinctively, she swung the hoe in her hand. Though it wasn’t a weapon, at least it could serve some purpose!

Du Yun was a die-hard homebody; although she had transmigrated into the body of a village girl, her reclusive nature hadn’t changed at all. The hoe wasn’t heavy, but it wasn’t light either. Luck was on her side—her swing landed squarely on the zombie’s shoulder, knocking it off balance and sending it crashing to the ground. She had managed to avert the immediate danger of being strangled to death.

The terror of seeing the zombie up close eased somewhat in that instant. Watching the creature slowly crawl back up from the ground, Du Yun hurriedly shuffled backward, hoping to use this opportunity to escape.

“Quick, quick, quick, smash its head! Smash its head!” The intelligent core screamed frantically inside Du Yun’s mind, as if it wished it could leap out and hit the zombie itself. The noise made her head buzz.

“Stop yelling!” Du Yun, originally desperate to flee, was so overwhelmed by the cacophony in her mind that her temper flared. In a burst of anger, she suddenly swung the hoe, striking the zombie’s head with the handle.

And then... nothing more happened. The zombie collapsed with a thud and didn’t get up again.

“Ding dong! First zombie kill complete! Excitement! Throwing flowers! A historic, grand moment!” The intelligent core erupted in Du Yun’s mind.

Du Yun stared blankly at the zombie corpse on the ground, her legs giving out as she slumped down, trembling all over. First kill? She had only managed it because the intelligent core had annoyed her so much that she struck out, hitting the mark by sheer luck. If this had happened at another time or place, she might have been devoured herself.

Devoured—what a terrifying prospect. She was still a young girl, yet to experience the joys of life; how could she die like this?! But killing a zombie was no easy feat. With its eyes closed, the zombie looked no different from a human, and Du Yun felt an immense psychological burden, her strength drained.

“Come on, little girl, bravely advance towards becoming a violent heroine. I am your solid foundation, your greatest motivation…” The intelligent core continued to chatter incessantly.

“Hey, that’s enough! Can you act normal? How can an intelligent core be so talkative?” Du Yun, unable to vent her anger elsewhere, was tormented by the core’s endless noise.

“Er… How could a universally adored intelligent core be considered talkative? Let me tell you…” The core seemed genuinely unaware of its problem and kept rambling, switching its voice to that of a young man with a magnetic tone.

“Silence! If you keep talking, I’ll throw you away!” Du Yun, initially terrified by her situation, was now so aggravated that her temper surged. She clenched her bracelet tightly in a threat.

“Ah! No, no, no!” The intelligent core shrieked as if being choked, then abruptly fell silent, not daring to make another sound.

Without the core’s annoying drone in her ears, Du Yun breathed deeply, and the world around her became quiet. The nearby fields rustled in the wind, and the occasional distant howl of zombies made the space feel desolate and terrifying, as if she were the only living soul left.

“Hey! Say something!” Du Yun felt uneasy and suddenly found the core’s talkativeness less irritating; at least it gave her someone to talk to, easing the oppressive loneliness.

“Mm mm…” was the intelligent core’s muffled reply, as if its mouth were covered.

“You can speak now, but keep it concise.” Du Yun exhaled, convinced the core was a typical foolish youth.

“I’d say, shouldn’t we leave? The blood scent from the zombie’s corpse might attract others.” The core’s words were brief this time, but they nearly made Du Yun jump in anger.

“Why didn’t you say something so important earlier?!” Du Yun scrambled to her feet and hurried forward. She glanced at the zombie’s still twisted face; blood oozed from the wound on its head, making her scalp tingle.

“Hey, why is there suddenly a hoe in my storage slot? And the items in the storage slot—aren’t they only usable online? How can I take them out now?” Du Yun gripped the hoe tightly as she moved ahead. Although the core had a zombie scanning minimap, she preferred to keep a weapon handy just in case.

“Well… I don’t know.” The core answered honestly, even letting out a humanlike sigh.

“Didn’t you say you were the intelligent core? The legendary central processor and command terminal of all intelligent cores, omnipotent! How could you not know? Are you bluffing?” Du Yun stopped, eyeing the core in her hand suspiciously, one eyebrow raised.

Even Du Yun, the homebody, knew the intelligent core was a prestigious existence. Everyone’s personal intelligent core and the online network were controlled by it. Beyond the private cores and the web, it was rumored that the nation’s military, political, scientific, and all sorts of information were stored in the intelligent core.

If the entire connected society was a colossal giant, then the intelligent core was its brain, controlling all activities and holding all information.

In the year 3016, gaining high-level access to the network meant you could accomplish almost anything, luckier than winning the lottery—let alone holding the intelligent core in your hand!

“I really am, I really am! Ah! Ah!” The intelligent core wailed in Du Yun’s mind, unsure how to prove itself.

“Are you really the intelligent core?” Du Yun could hardly believe she was so lucky. After transmigrating to this godforsaken place, she’d written herself off as unlucky. If she truly possessed the core, survival would be much more secure, even if she couldn’t command the elements.

“I really am! If you don’t believe me, watch—I can change my voice!” The core’s voice suddenly shifted to that of an elderly woman, sounding remarkably like Du Yun’s grandmother, complete with her gruff tone.

“Hey!” Du Yun rolled her eyes.

“How about this?” A seductive, feminine voice.

“And this?” A sweet, childlike voice.

“Hey… What does changing your voice have to do with being the intelligent core? Are you an advanced core or just a street vendor’s voice changer?” Du Yun rolled her eyes again. In this eerie environment, having such a clown by her side made it impossible to feel tense.

“So what kind of voice do you prefer…?” the core asked meekly.

“Mm… Go with Doraemon, the blue chubby guy is pretty cute.” Du Yun replied absentmindedly, then realized she was being absurd—not only did she like an ancient cartoon character from over a thousand years ago, she had earnestly stated her preference.

“Oh? So the master likes this voice!” The core now sounded exactly like the blue chubby robot.

“I didn’t say anything…” Du Yun pressed her forehead, feeling trapped in a nightmare she couldn’t wake from—so powerless.

“Help! Help!” While Du Yun and the core bickered, a distant cry for help arose, the voice sounding like a young girl.

“Come on, let’s check it out!” Though afraid of death, Du Yun couldn’t ignore a child in distress. She sighed, grabbed her hoe, and ran toward the direction of the voice.