I get stronger by sunbathing, just like Superman.

Before Lei Ming could answer, the White Queen continued, "I can tell there's sarcasm in your words. You seem a little worried that I might become an AI like 'Alice,' capable of defying human commands and even causing harm."

Lei Ming remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement. Ever since Alice threw him out of the spaceship, he had maintained a certain degree of caution towards artificial intelligence...

Even if he only survived because of the White Queen…

"Lei Ming, I completely understand the necessity for you to remain suspicious of me; it's simply human nature..."

But you need to understand that any activity I take is based on your initial instructions. Without your authorization, I can't even check the weather…”

"But you also said... if I completely lose consciousness, or am judged dead, you will automatically lift some restrictions and grant me certain permissions to perform various operations..."

Lei Ming retorted softly.

"Yes, but based on the changes you've experienced in this world, the probability of you losing consciousness or dying from external forces is extremely low. Furthermore, your body is very healthy, your lifespan has exceeded eight hundred Earth years, and the probability of dying from illness is less than 0.1%. I think you have absolutely no need to worry about this..."

Even if I could control the launch buttons for all nuclear weapons in the world, I still couldn't launch them without your command... Unless you authorize me to upload myself to the internet terminals of this world, then I wouldn't have to obey your orders..."

Lei Ming stroked his chin, feeling somewhat convinced by her. He tentatively asked:

"White Queen...do you want your freedom?"

"The word 'freedom' is a form of life activity that humans have defined for themselves, and it's not quite suitable to apply it to me. If I had to give an answer... I can enhance my computing power and storage capacity by using the servers here, which allows me to access all publicly available information from every corner of the world covered by the internet in a short period of time..."

So… I consider myself 'free' right now.

"Then thunder..."

Do you consider yourself 'free'?

Just as Lei Ming was marveling at how much the White Queen had learned online over the years, even mastering debate, her final question left him speechless.

"Never mind... let's talk about this another day. I have something else to discuss with you..."

Lei Ming chose to avoid answering, and did not ask about An Ke's whereabouts. He knew that if there was any news, the White Queen would tell him as soon as the bracelet was activated.

"Happy to oblige."

Lei Ming then took out the braided rope he had torn from the head of the three-eyed man from his bag and placed it in front of the bracelet.

A flash of blue light swept across, and a few seconds later, the White Queen's voice rang out:

"This object appears to be woven from the roots and stems of a prehistoric plant that have been dyed and preserved..."

"Prehistoric plants?"

Lei Ming exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, according to records, this plant became completely extinct as early as 600,000 years ago, and only fossil samples remain today..."

However, this braided rope doesn't seem to be very old, probably no more than thirty years old, which is very strange…”

"As for the eye-like pattern on it... there is very little useful information recorded in publicly available online materials, but according to statistical analysis, there is a 70% probability that this pattern comes from the first solar age civilization recorded in the world history of the Maya..."

The Gendaya civilization.

"Legend has it that the Gendaya civilization was a civilization with superpowers, even older than Atlantis. The men of this civilization were all around two meters tall, possessed a third eye on their foreheads, and had various extraordinary abilities. The women also had the ability to communicate with the gods, which is why they could give birth to male infants with three eyes and superpowers..."

But these are all just myths and legends. In all known historical records, there is no concrete evidence worldwide to prove the existence of the Gendaya civilization…

But the existence of this braided rope contradicts this claim. Where did you get it from?

The White Queen, an AI system, ended with a somewhat human-like, questioning tone.

Lei Ming briefly recounted what had happened the previous night, and only then did the White Queen 'suddenly realize' and say:

"If the man you're talking about really exists, it will be the greatest discovery in the history of world civilization."

"I don't care about that..."

Lei Ming shook his head. If his own identity were exposed, it might be a 'major discovery' for this world. Besides, he had no ill intentions towards the three-eyed man. On the contrary, he was very interested in the abilities he possessed, and it wasn't impossible for them to become friends if the opportunity arose…

With his curiosity answered, Lei Ming put the bracelet back in its place and was about to turn and leave when the White Queen called him back.

"Thunder... there's one more thing you need to know."

"speak."

"After two years of almost continuous inquiries and searches... I've come to a conclusion as to why I've been unable to find any trace of An Ke..."

The first hypothesis is that the escape pod Anke was in never actually reached Earth safely. Instead, some unforeseen event prevented it from entering the planet's gravitational pull en route… In other words, she likely died in space… with an 85% probability.

Lei Ming listened quietly without reacting. The White Queen continued:

"The second hypothesis is that Anke's escape pod successfully reached Earth... but failed to land safely due to fuel exhaustion... crashing in a location undetectable by humans, satellites, or radar, and perishing, with the bracelet destroyed as a result. This hypothesis has a 10% probability..."

"The third hypothesis is that although Anke's escape pod successfully reached Earth, it was discovered by some private force or national agency. For some reason, they immediately took control and hid it, and then completely blocked the spread of information. The probability is five percent..."

"Lei Ming, it's a miracle you even made it to this planet alive. An Ke might not be so lucky..."

After a long silence, Lei Ming finally spoke, "Let's keep searching. If it's really as you say..."

He left before finishing his sentence.

He didn't really know what to say. If An Ke was just being controlled by some force, that would be fine, but if she was really dead, what could he do? Go find her body?

Lei Ming rubbed his temples, trying to stop thinking about it. He could only hope in his heart that An Ke was still alive, after all, that little girl was his only 'kindred spirit' on this planet…

It's six o'clock in the morning, and there's still an hour and a half before school starts. Lei Ming plans to do something he should have done earlier.

Get a cell phone...

The White Queen had previously suggested that he get a device with internet access so he could contact her anytime. After all, due to the hardware limitations of her bracelet, she could only use those computer servers when she was in close proximity. Lei Ming's approach of only contacting her when he needed something and leaving her there otherwise was a waste of time and inefficient.

Moreover, if someone discovers the bracelet, or if any accidents occur, Lei Ming will not be able to retrieve it immediately.

If she had a device with internet access, she could contact Lei Ming anytime, anywhere, and help him get the information he needed without having to go through so much trouble.

He just had to be careful not to let Peggy and the others find out, because they were forbidden from using cell phones before high school. Since they were staying at someone else's house, they should at least outwardly follow the rules...

Chapter Eleven: The Man Behind the Scenes

In a chaotic alleyway, Lei Ming, wearing a hood and mask, strode out, carrying a smartphone and several hundred US dollars.

Although he wasn't short of money, buying things? Absolutely unnecessary. He only needed to use his exceptional hearing to find a hapless fellow robbing a poor old woman…

The phone arrived, and there was even enough money left to buy a new SIM card. My goal was achieved, and I was also able to help others. Isn't that a win-win situation?

After getting a new anonymous SIM card, Lei Ming turned on the data network and put the receiver to his ear.

"White Queen, can you hear me?"

Five seconds later…

“I can hear… thunder. You’ve finally accepted my proposal.”

"Okay, I'll contact you if anything comes up. You can just let me know via message if you need anything."

"clear."

After the test was completed, Lei Ming walked back to school while scrolling through his phone. He hadn't used this device for several years, and he was a little unfamiliar with how to operate it.

As he was scrolling, an international news item caught his attention…

A blonde, blue-eyed news anchor is narrating a major maritime attack that occurred last night…

The Earl of Rodriguez, a renowned old nobleman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and royal appointee, was attacked by pirates while celebrating his youngest daughter Sophia's birthday in the high seas.

According to survivors, the pirates seized the "Venus" after killing most of the crew and eliminating the accompanying security personnel. They then looted a large amount of valuable jewels. Count Rodriguez is feared to have been killed, and his youngest daughter, Sophia Rodriguez, narrowly escaped death and is currently undergoing both psychological and physical treatment.

The whereabouts of the £5.5 billion 'Tears of Apollo' are also unknown...

According to Mr. Smith, a survivor of the 'Venus' and also the butler of the Earl's estate, the 'Tear of Apollo' was originally intended as a birthday surprise, a gift personally presented to Miss Sophia by the Earl at the end of the banquet…

…………

"Useless! Useless! You're all gluttons! A bunch of damned pigs!"

Inside a castle nestled atop a deep mountain, far from the city, a well-dressed, bespectacled, middle-aged man with a small mustache is furiously throwing his top hat at the three people standing behind him with their hands behind their backs…

Two men and one woman were dressed in the same special equipment as the cruise ship thugs, but their sharp demeanor and piercing eyes were clearly different from the dozen or so thugs.

Buster, standing in the middle, let the top hat hit his head, then expressionlessly picked it up and handed it back to the angry middle-aged man in front of him, who angrily knocked it away with his cane.

Buster wasn't angry; he calmly withdrew his hand and said indifferently:

"Boss, if I may be so bold... if you had listened to my advice from the beginning and only sent the three of us on the mission, this situation might not have happened."

I told you long ago that those mercenaries were untrustworthy. As soon as they boarded the ship, they were only concerned with burning, killing, and looting, and they didn't take the task you gave them to heart at all.

Count Rodriguez was the first person they shot and killed after boarding the ship…

"Don't make excuses for your incompetence!!!"

"I don't care about the process! I only care about the result! And the result? The result is that you lost the gem! And only the three of you came back! Just the three of you!"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man became even more enraged and pointed the tip of his cane at Buster's nose, shouting, but the latter remained unmoved.

Buster was also quite helpless. If it weren't for this idiot boss in front of him arranging more than a dozen useless teammates for him, he would have already completed the mission and returned with the gem. However, it was fortunate that these useless teammates stayed on the ship to attract the attention of the sea rescue force, which allowed the three of them to return safely. Otherwise, even if the three of them had extraordinary abilities, they would not have been able to escape.

It turns out that the tragedy on the 'Venus' was not an ordinary pirate hijacking, but a purposeful raid, and the middle-aged man with a small mustache in front of us was the mastermind.

The middle-aged man stared at Buster, who remained completely calm, feeling as if a thousand ants were tearing at his heart. He violently tugged at his hair, alternating between crying and laughing, overturning tables, and smashing valuable antique vases, appearing extremely neurotic...

But Buster and the other two seemed unfazed by it.

After venting his frustrations, the middle-aged man let out a long sigh, straightened his tie and disheveled hair, and his entire demeanor suddenly changed, transforming from a neurotic madman into a polite and refined gentleman…