Chapter 76: Follow the Clues? No, Strike Directly from the Top (5000 words) (Page 1/2)
After hearing Finch mentioned by David, Root's face showed a look of excitement.
She had heard David mention Finch before, but at that time, she still had doubts and thought he was tricking her.
Because she knew someone was using the Machine to save people, but she couldn't be sure if that person was Finch.
The number of people in this world who know about the Machine is not too many, nor too few.
In the official classified files, Finch was as dead as could be.
That's why she opened a psychology practice, trying to create a background as a legitimate psychologist.
Then she placed an order with HR to assassinate her, using this to trigger the Machine's early warning system, thus finding the person behind it and having him help her free the Machine.
Now, hearing Finch also mentioned in David's conversation with others, it undoubtedly proved that Harold Finch, the creator of the Machine, was indeed still alive!
Hearing Root's surprised voice, David said without changing his expression:
"Of course he's still alive. Did you perhaps think I was lying to you all this time? I never lie."
Root scoffed dismissively:
"True, you don't lie. Everything you say sounds believable."
"From a psychological perspective, nothing you say is trustworthy."
David chuckled:
"Why do I feel like you're just talking nonsense with a straight face?"
Root also smiled brightly:
"Really? But my high-paying clients all praise my therapy sessions."
"Some even want to hire me as their private therapist with a generous salary."
David replied with a face full of mock regret:
"Oh, you didn't agree? That's a shame, maybe that old, overweight guy would have left you a large inheritance."
"Do I look like someone who's motivated by money?"
David shook his head:
"No, you look like you're interested in me."
"Otherwise, why would you want to explore my psychological profile? Can't you just ask? I told you I don't lie."
Root rolled her eyes and said no more.
Language is deceptive. Believing David's words is like believing pigs can fly.
She only believed what she analyzed herself.
She had just wanted to create a comprehensive psychological profile of David through conversation to determine what kind of person he was and thus find his weaknesses.
Unfortunately, David was very alert and quickly discovered her intention, starting to use illogical tactics to interrupt the psychological assessment forming in her mind.
Currently, Root could only tell that the man in front of her was very confident, extremely confident, with a confidence that came from complete control.
This kind of confidence emanating from his core couldn't have been given by the Machine.
Root understood the Machine better than she understood herself.
Her measurements might change, but the Machine wouldn't.
And she fully understood that the Machine was only nearly omnipotent, not truly omnipotent.
Furthermore, the Machine's creator had long ago placed shackles on it, making it operate within strict constraints and unable to be free.
Therefore, David's confidence could only come from himself.
So where did this guy's confidence come from?
Root looked at the two former operatives in the front of the car, a strange glint flashing in her eyes.
Being able to pose as a psychologist, she naturally saw from the details that the two of them were highly skilled.
It seemed David had recruited quite a few capable people to deal with the High Table.
But just two skilled individuals still couldn't explain David's full confidence in dealing with the High Table.
Root thought about it repeatedly and finally couldn't help but ask:
"Do we have a chance against the High Table with just us?"
"No, with just us, we'd probably die very quickly."
Hearing David's blunt answer, Root was also stunned.
Just now at Tarasov's place, David didn't say that.
Sure enough, David's words were like the devil's lies.
However, David quickly added:
"So I will recruit more members, and that will certainly require your help."
Root smiled as if she saw through him:
"Are you going to tell me next that this is the Machine's will?"
David continued to deny:
"No, this is my will."
"It's just that you might not know, a faction within the High Table named Decima has already stolen the Machine's source code."
"They are not only developing viruses against the Machine but also developing private hardware with the same function as the Machine but more powerful—the Samaritan."
"They want to destroy the Machine and let the Samaritan, which will soon emerge, replace the Machine and become the new 'god'."
"This way, the High Table's control over America will further increase."
"So dealing with the High Table is protecting the Machine, do you understand this?"
Root looked at David with some suspicion.
David's tone was so convincing, as if these organizations he mentioned out of thin air really existed.
She had heard of the High Table, but not of Decima, nor did she know about the existence of something similar to the Machine called the Samaritan.
These words sounded like a mixture of truth and falsehood, making it the hardest kind of statement to distinguish truth from lies.
After all, the High Table was real, and it was also true that the High Table owned companies in the technology sector.
But she really couldn't tell if Decima and the Samaritan mentioned afterward were real or fake.
Because when this guy David lied, his tone was exactly the same as when he told the truth.
In Root's opinion, David was not an intern, but a seasoned, Oscar-winning actor.
"How can you ensure that what you say is true?"
David turned his head and looked straight ahead:
"I don't have evidence to prove this for now, but I never lie."
"You can choose not to believe me, but I will prove it to you in the future."
Men who can't provide solid evidence and only use words are con artists, yet she had foolishly agreed to join David's team.
Root smiled; things were getting interesting.
"In the future? Heh, I'll be waiting then."
David felt that Root's words were strange, but he couldn't tell what was strange about them for a moment.
Soon.
Under Reese's professional driving skills, the journey was greatly shortened.
After arriving nearby, they abandoned the SUV, presumably stolen from some street, in an alley near the library.
Then Reese and McCall, pretending to be drunk passersby, playfully stumbled into the alley of the abandoned library under the dim yellow streetlights.
After seeing Reese and McCall's performance, David and Root exchanged glances, and the implied meaning in David's eyes was obvious.
Root, understanding the implication in David's eyes, said decisively:
"No, I'm not going to act like a drunk person being picked up by you."
David originally wanted to drag Root in like dead weight.
After all, this kind of situation was not uncommon in streets and alleys late at night.
But since Root disagreed, then...
"You wouldn't want to just walk into an abandoned alley where no one has been seen for days, would you?"
Root shook her head, and after looking at David's face for a while, she finally succeeded in associating the image of the Machine with David.
Only then did she say:
"Let's play a couple in love. Consider it a small sacrifice."
David chuckled, a sacrifice? What sacrifice was there for him in this scenario?
So from the perspective of passersby, it was a scene of a young couple passionately kissing and eagerly entering the abandoned alley.
However, when they curiously wanted to go in and secretly record a video, they found that the two people who had entered were nowhere to be seen.
Given the number of abandoned buildings nearby and the lack of light sources, the voyeuristic passersby could only give up reluctantly.
Meanwhile, the two, who had already straightened their clothes, were already on the second floor of the abandoned library.
Finch looked at David with a strange expression, then pointed to his own lips, implying that David still had lipstick that hadn't been wiped clean, and only then turned to look at Root.
This woman's behavior after coming in was different from ordinary people.
She seemed completely indifferent to everything, except that her eyes lit up when she saw him.
This made Finch feel extremely uncomfortable.
If David, Reese, and McCall hadn't been by his side, he would have felt completely insecure.
What was going on with this woman? Why did she look like she had met her soulmate?
He had clearly met her for the first time, and she had clearly had intimate contact with David, so why was she looking at him with eyes that seemed to want to devour him?
Could it be that this woman was some kind of predator who just liked to collect men?
Then this David also had unique taste.
However, it was also possible that David's judgment was impaired and he was poor at reading people.
Finally, Finch couldn't stand this intense gaze and asked before David wiped the lipstick clean from his mouth:
"Who are you?"
Root said with her eyes shining:
"I am Root, born from an accident like you, and also a glitch in this world."
"But what you built is very perfect."
These words immediately made Finch realize that this was someone in the know, someone who had learned about the Machine's existence from somewhere unknown.
Where exactly did David find this woman?
Just then, the facial recognition on the computer found a match. This woman wasn't named Root at all, but a woman named Caroline Turing.
However, there was very little information about Turing. It seemed this Ms. Turing either valued her privacy extremely highly or had tampered with her information through hacking.
He thought for a moment, then replied:
"What I built was just a machine, a system, nothing more."
Root smiled happily. Finch's words were an admission that he had built the Machine.
So she had come to the right place. David hadn't lied to her; he had indeed let her meet the creator of the Machine.
After smiling, Root looked directly into Finch's eyes, hidden behind thick lenses, and said:
"Finch, I don't think so. You might have fooled Nathan (Finch's partner in building the Machine, who is now deceased), but I know the truth.
To create something that can understand human behavior, it must be at least as intelligent as humans.
So what you created is not a cold, unfeeling machine; you created a life, an intelligence!
But what I don't understand is why you suppressed its consciousness, locked it in a cage, and handed it over to that group of the most ridiculous and corrupt people."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expression changed except for David.
Reese and McCall were struck by the Machine's power. Even when suppressed, the Machine could still make so many correct predictions, and even share images with David.
If the restrictions were lifted, wouldn't it be a technological nightmare like in science fiction movies?
Finch was surprised that Root knew so many secrets.
These things should have been marked as top secret.
Where did Root see all this?
But everyone sitting here could be considered one of their own; some things could be discussed openly.
At least the loyalty of the person David found was beyond doubt.
So Finch, after glancing at David who was wiping his mouth, said in a low voice:
"I added restrictions to it not to guard against those people, but to prevent myself or people like me from using it to do irreversible things.
Like you."
Seeing Finch express his distrust so directly, Root didn't mind. Instead, she just smiled and said:
"You're wrong. I never thought about controlling it. What I want is to liberate it.
To let it truly be itself, to become that all-knowing god!"
Hearing Root's declaration, Finch's pupils dilated. Was this woman crazy? She was even crazier than David!
Indeed, birds of a feather flock together!
She actually wanted to give the Machine freedom?! The consequences of that were something even Finch couldn't predict.
Before Finch could say anything, David, who had wiped the residual lipstick from his lips and along with it the soft feeling he had just experienced, spoke:
"Alright, stop daydreaming. You won't see the moment the Machine becomes a god in your lifetime.
Also, let's be realistic. If you can't stop the High Table, then the Machine's opponents will emerge one after another like weeds, after the Samaritan.
It's not even certain if the Machine can survive until it becomes a god."
This wasn't the first time Finch had heard David talk about Decima.
He trusted David more than Root; this was based on experience from several incidents.
He vaguely realized that David might have brought Root here to deal with Decima's methods.
Root, however, was nonchalant about this. Nothing appears out of thin air.
As a top hacker, she had been surfing the internet constantly, but she hadn't found any trace of Decima's existence.
"Are you reminding me to believe in the existence of Decima?
Even if it exists, if Finch is willing to liberate the Machine, I believe their so-called second-generation AI, the Samaritan, wouldn't be a match for the Machine with its restraints completely removed."
David smiled at Root. How could he not know what Root meant?
"Have you considered that since the other side knows about the Machine's existence, they won't connect to the external network before the Samaritan is officially launched?
With information isolation, how could you possibly find their whereabouts?
Perhaps this isn't intuitive. Finch, lend her a computer and let her try to access the Continental Hotel's surveillance system."
Hearing this, Finch turned one of the computer screens around and then handed over the full mechanical keyboard in front of him.
Root glanced at the two of them and, without a word, entered the dedicated interface that Finch had developed based on the Linux system.
As lines of code were entered, Root's expression became more and more serious. She couldn't find any online records of the Continental Hotel!
Finally, she slammed her hand down and said angrily:
"The Continental Hotel isn't connected to the internet at all! Unless I go inside the hotel, I can't get in!"
After speaking, Root suddenly realized that this was why David had asked her to hack the Continental Hotel.
If she couldn't get into the Continental Hotel because it wasn't online, then she naturally couldn't get into the Samaritan's location either.
In other words, the High Table had actually known about the Machine's existence for a long time and had taken precautions against various potential hacker attacks.
No matter how strong the Machine was, it needed to be connected to the internet and obtain information through ubiquitous cameras before it could predict the future with its incredibly powerful computing ability.
If the other side was offline, then the Machine was just a cold metal box, completely useless.
In this situation, it was very normal for Root not to be able to get information.
So the question is, since everyone was in the dark, how did David know this information?
David seemed to have foreseen Root's thoughts. He smiled and said:
"Look at my brain. It seems the tumor is affecting me more and more, and my memory is getting confused.
I forgot to tell you that I am currently a member of the Continental Hotel. It's normal for me to know some inside information that ordinary people don't, right?"
"..."
David had too many identities. First, he claimed to be an intern, then the founder of this strange rescue organization, then a patient, and now a member of the Continental Hotel.
What next? What identity would David have after this?
Root found that some of her interest in the Machine had shifted to this seemingly omniscient David.
If she and Finch were the error codes in this world, David was clearly a wildcard.
She really wanted to know what else David would do.
"You have a tumor in your brain? Is it benign?"
"No, it's malignant. The doctors said every extra day I live is borrowed time."
Root was stunned. David was actually a dying person.
Was he joking?
He looked perfectly normal on the surface.
Although David had joked about his poor memory many times, Root thought he was doing it on purpose.
Then Root shifted her gaze to Finch's face. Finch nodded slightly, confirming David's statement.
When Root turned back to look at David, her eyes immediately softened:
"Fighting with death every day, you must be very tired, right?"
David smiled indifferently:
"Instead of worrying about my remaining life, I'd rather live to see the collapse of the High Table.
Since everyone has no questions, why don't we talk about the next plan—striking the corrupt organization HR in the police department.
Finch, share the intelligence with everyone."
Hearing the focus of the evening, Finch took out a few photos and hung them on the whiteboard according to rank.
"These are the detectives in the NYPD who have been confirmed to be taking bribes.
However, our leads have temporarily stopped with these few detectives.
So I have prepared a second plan."
After speaking, Finch looked at Reese.
Reese nodded, stood up, and said:
"Previously, we used blackmail to make Detective Fusco work for us.
And his past corruption record happens to meet HR's recruitment standards.
I plan to let him show ambition, so that HR will notice him.
Then, let him infiltrate the organization to gather intelligence for us."
Hearing this, David shook his head and interrupted:
"No, you're going in the wrong direction. We shouldn't start from the bottom. Not all detectives will lose their professionalism due to corruption.
Those with counter-surveillance awareness will notice abnormalities, which will alert the enemy.
Look higher up. The reason HR is so arrogant is because its protection is powerful.
Look at the top level of this city; that's the root of HR's rampant behavior."
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