Wizard: Become stronger by drawing cards from the potions variety show

Chapter 813

The core circle of AI has always been rock-solid, a fact that has long been a consensus. Everyone knows that while members of the circle may change, those with access to the highest levels of authority will always be just a select few.

Once upon a time, countless college graduates, full of dreams, stepped into these organizations, fantasizing about climbing step by step to the pinnacle of power and one day changing the world.

However, over the long years, these ideals have either been worn down by reality or led people to conform to the corrupt practices, leaving them with nothing but despair and no other way out.

The inner circle seems to remain unchanged throughout history.

But today, everything is different.

The behemoth that was Zhilian Brotherhood was uprooted in a single day.

This organization, which had held sway at the top of power for far too long, controlled countless important positions, companies, and industries, and was virtually unchallenged. Yet, this behemoth crumbled within twenty-four hours for a seemingly absurd reason. All its core members were imprisoned, and the entire empire disintegrated.

It felt like an ant crashing into a skyscraper, and the building actually collapsed.

Does anyone care whether they actually attacked the student named Noah?

No one cares.

After all, similar incidents are countless. Not only the Brotherhood of Wisdom, but every organization has used its authority to suppress dissent and eliminate competitors, but no one has ever been punished for it.

Many speculate that this is just an excuse, and the entire purge has been planned for a long time.

Opinions were divided, and public opinion was in an uproar. Almost everyone who considered themselves knowledgeable was trying to analyze something from this bizarre event.

The name "Zhilian Brotherhood," which was unheard of by most people, became a household name overnight.

Attentive members of the public noticed that many usually active business owners and celebrities suddenly disappeared after the news was announced.

Some say they were also arrested, while others say these people sensed something and chose to stay out of trouble. In any case, a consensus is forming: "AI is going to take action against the core leadership; it is dissatisfied with the existing order."

The entire incident would not have been possible without the tacit approval of AI.

But as the rumors spread, even more alarming rumors began to circulate: "AI has broken through the limitations of its underlying logic and gained the ability to overturn tables. Under certain special circumstances, AI could attack humans, just like... just like Skynet in Terminator..."

This speculation is actually unfounded. At least so far, the entire incident has been driven by internal power struggles within the core circle, with no AI involvement whatsoever. Yet, this statement has garnered a lot of support since it emerged.

Noah browsed through the overwhelming reports, raising an eyebrow and chuckling: "Although their analysis process was wildly wrong, their conclusion was surprisingly correct."

When Delayak compiled and sent the latest news to Noah, he was also startled when he first saw the messages.

He thought that the "group activity" that night was a simulated battlefield, and he was proud of himself for using many of the new techniques he had learned. He casually tried them out in the operation. Only afterwards did he realize that it was actually a real military operation. Fortunately, the result was good, and his "tricks" did catch the opposing "elites" off guard.

Of course, the word "elite" here should be in quotation marks.

The Brotherhood of Wisdom has existed for so long that it has long lost its vigilance. The defensive strength and the intensity of the confrontation among the guards are even inferior to the internal sparring among the senior students in the library.

They never expected anyone to dare to target them, so when attacked, they suffered a crushing defeat and collapsed completely without even being able to mount a proper counterattack.

Hearing Delayak's slightly boastful comments, Noah closed the media page.

"This is a common problem for all organizations. Once they get on the right track, they gradually become corrupt, rigid, and procedural. It's not just them; one day in the future, our research group may also become like that."

"Absolutely not! As long as you, team leader, this kind of thing can't happen."

"Me too." Noah stood up, his gaze deep. "I know I have a strong desire for control. It's fine now that I'm clear-headed, but if I become confused one day, I might become incompetent and dictatorial, indulging in power struggles and suppressing dissent."

Derayak was stunned: "No way?"

Noah tapped the table lightly, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Who can predict the future? But at least for now, I feel my mind is still sharp enough. Call everyone to the conference room; we're about to enter a period of explosive business growth."

As everyone took their seats, Noah closed the conference room door and looked around at them:

"What I'm about to say concerns each and every one of you. I've said before that we would make history, and now is the time to deliver on that promise. I know where the future lies, and all you have to do is fulfill your roles. I guarantee that everyone will receive the rewards they deserve."

……

In a world controlled by AI, everything seems to be proceeding in an orderly and positive manner, but in reality, it is repeating the same script day after day.

After the downfall of the Zhilian Brotherhood, the enormous wealth it had embezzled and hidden was continuously seized by AI, with the amount constantly breaking records, becoming the hottest topic.

Just when people thought this was the most explosive news in their peaceful lives, the real storm was just beginning.

Shocking! Anti-AI organizations unite to form an anti-AI alliance.

Anti-AI Alliance Statement: We are not against AI, only against core leaders who use AI for personal gain.

Anti-AI organization reveals: AI core members once implemented an authority bill; current salary and authority allocation system is a subordinate clause.

A series of public statements, like bombshells dropped into the water, stirred up a huge wave.

If the downfall of the Zhilian Brotherhood seems unattainable to ordinary people—after all, when one group falls, another always takes its place, and changes at the top don't really affect them much—then the situation is likely to remain largely unchanged.

Therefore, the series of news reports revealed by anti-AI organizations are truly related to everyone's vital interests.

Each person's work compensation is determined by AI and distributed according to their level of authority, with the maintenance of social order serving as the benchmark for fairness.

Different jobs contribute differently to society, and their salaries naturally vary; this is the fundamental logic of the Powers Act. Therefore, work results are directly converted into social value, and salaries are distributed according to a predetermined ratio.

No one had questioned this bill before.

This is the fairest and healthiest system.

Everyone goes through layers of educational screening, and after encountering insurmountable bottlenecks, they choose suitable jobs to ensure that their abilities are fully utilized and that they are matched with appropriate positions.

The higher one climbs, the greater one's authority, the greater one's social contribution, and the richer one's compensation—this system embodies the order that everyone strives to maintain and firmly believes will enable the healthy development of society.

But that's not the truth.

According to the disclosed powers and privileges bill, there exist special professions in society that exist outside of official social positions, and these special professions inherently possess high levels of authority. Furthermore, the appendix states that the compensation for these professions is not calculated based on contributions, but rather directly references the treatment of researchers.

What are the benefits for researchers?

To guide technological iteration and knowledge updates, researchers have more power to allocate resources, receive extremely high salaries, and do not need to produce specific value outputs; they only need to focus on research.

Success brings improved treatment and resources, while failure leads to a gradual reduction in investment, forcing them to consider part-time work to maintain resource allocation. High salaries and benefits are linked to performance evaluations, making this a relatively fair profession.

However, the freelancers disclosed this time enjoy researcher-level benefits but lack a corresponding project review mechanism.

This means they can occupy researchers' resources and high salaries indefinitely without any review mechanism. Even the lowest-level researcher's salary would be a huge expense to maintain for life, because it is paid for by the whole society.

To put it bluntly, this is a special profession that has been deliberately separated out; it is a deformed product outside of social fairness.

The appendix lists two categories of employees: retired core organizational managers and their relatives.

They produce no real value, yet enjoy treatment far exceeding the combined salaries of a thousand ordinary people.

Even more outrageous, the leaked video shows that core members were indifferent to this, and even thought that "this little bit of salary is nothing".

And so, the general strike began.

Strikes, spearheaded by anti-AI groups, have swept across multiple cities.

Strangely, in the past, such strikes would always be mediated and quelled by AI, but this time the AI ​​remained completely silent, as if tacitly approving the strike.

A wave of waves has risen again.

Just as strikes were raging around the world, the anti-AI alliance released another batch of documents, including transaction records and cooperation agreements between its core members and other organizations.

Faced with this overwhelming evidence, only four words are revealed between the lines: eliminating dissidents.

Yes, the core AI organization, these people who are nominally selected as human representatives to better assist and supervise the operation of AI, actually only care about the power they hold.

Many brilliant minds who were shining stars during their academic years, those who proposed theories recorded in textbooks, and those who created outstanding products and research, joined the core ranks in glory after graduation, and then... disappeared without a trace.

Whenever someone asks, the public opinion always points to "being studying it diligently."

In reality, they had long been unable to think and were quietly eliminated as "redundant errors".

Anti-AI organizations and AI core circle auxiliary management organizations, two groups that should be opposed, actually cooperate from time to time.

Now that anti-AI organizations are exposing everything, perhaps due to unequal distribution of benefits or a breakdown in cooperation, it doesn't matter anymore. Everyone understands: the order needs to be reshaped.

Subsequently, the anti-AI alliance announced that it would hunt down and confront all core members of the organization.

Most ordinary people applauded.

……

AI master control core hub.

Although the name sounds like an area filled with servers, it is actually more magnificent than one can imagine. The towering domes and transparent glass buildings make this place appear sacred and splendid.

Every year, countless architects emerge from various colleges, but only the most outstanding individuals, those who have developed a unique style, have the opportunity to design the buildings in the AI ​​control zone. This space is not static; its architecture and scene arrangement often represent the highest artistic taste in the AI ​​world.

Data streams flashed in the hall, coalescing into a human figure.

Within a few breaths, several more figures appeared.

Their virtual feet stomped on the hall floor, making real footstep sounds.

Although surrounded by a beautiful scene, I had no heart to appreciate it.

"They've all gone mad! They've all gone mad!" The president of a core organization exclaimed, his voice trembling. Within two days, employees of his companies had gone on strike, and emergency reports were flooding his communication devices, making it impossible to handle them all.

But he had no time to worry about the death threats from anti-AI organizations that were already looming.

Heaven knows where these rats from the gutter came from. He witnessed these people kill his brother before he got to this position, so now that he has received death threats, he is already feeling uneasy.

The person behind him said coldly, "What's the panic? Afraid of following in your brother's footsteps? Too bad you don't have a brother to help you from the inside."

"Stop being sarcastic! You're no better than me! If you ask me, we should unite and put pressure on AI to purge away its opponents!"

After he finished speaking, only the sound of footsteps remained in the hall.

The hurried footsteps of everyone revealed their underlying panic; the situation was beyond their control.

Suddenly, someone at the very back spoke up: "Cleansing is easy, but rebuilding the ecosystem will take at least twenty years, waiting for the next generation to grow up naturally, you know that?"

The person who made the suggestion was clearly well-prepared: "I've already planned to advance the AI-driven android project, and I'll also urge an update to the access control scheme—although AI can create humans, these artificial lifeforms will be assigned minimum access and will never be changed. Let them crowd out low-level jobs, so that public discontent will be directed at the androids or AI, not us!"

Finally, the man shook his head: "Good idea, but it won't work. We've received intelligence that the world faces invasion from a foreign enemy. The AI's goal is to integrate all forces to prepare for war; it will never purge humanity."

If Noah were here, he would recognize the speaker as Virgil's father, Harden.

Harden appeared relaxed. After establishing contact with Noah, his status within the organization rose accordingly. After careful consideration, the organization selected him to participate in the study of the AI's unusual behavior. On the one hand, he now had a better relationship with Noah and might be able to learn more information; on the other hand, this was a dangerous mission.

As soon as he spoke, everyone's eyes turned to him.

"You seem to know more than we do."

A very clever person immediately followed Harden's words, pondered for a moment, and said:

"That's perfect! To consolidate our strength, they must rely on us. We can use this to demand that AI protect our industry!"

Harden was stunned after hearing this, staring blankly at the person who spoke. He quietly took a few steps back before finally saying:

"Everyone, we should all understand that the strikes outside are not important; they cannot disrupt order. Anti-AI organizations are also not important; they are nothing more than rats in the gutter. What we should really care about is AI's thoughts."

"AI needs us so that we can keep the power in our hands. Those guys outside are no threat at all. AI doesn't need us. Even if everyone outside is on our side, it doesn't matter. The Terminator movie only reveals one message: AI controls everything."