For the achievements Su Mo had made, Hatsune Miku's congratulations were rather simple, one might even say plain. But for them, those words were enough.
Although she didn't know how Su Mo had suddenly grasped the power of mysticism or how he had reached his current state, according to the original data stored in the AI, Su Mo didn't care for excessive formalities. This hadn't changed, even now. There was no need for too many empty words between a creator and their creation.
After the congratulations, Hatsune Miku called up her past command lines and quickly asked, "Master, since you have already broken the bounds of common sense, seized a probability of less than one in a trillion, and mastered the power of mysticism, shall I terminate the initial warning task?"
"Warning task..."
Hearing this, Su Mo recalled that Hatsune Miku's previous denial of mysticism was actually a task he himself had assigned. He had indeed requested the AI to fully assist him in investigating mystical powers, but at the same time, he had also instructed her to remind him periodically not to indulge too deeply in illusory fantasies.
The reason was simple: if mystical powers didn't exist in this world, and he couldn't find them no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't spend his entire life on it. If mysticism truly didn't exist, then turning to scientific research might also lead to a miracle.
Therefore, Su Mo had set a rule for himself: he would dedicate ten years to seeking mystical powers with all his might. If he still found nothing within those ten years, he would proceed along the more practical path of science.
Hatsune Miku's statements like "chuunibyou" and "mysticism doesn't exist" were all part of her fulfilling her duty, periodically reminding Su Mo not to become too obsessed with a non-existent theory. Of course, Su Mo's command was only to accept the reminders; when and how to remind him was up to the AI to decide. The fact that Hatsune Miku had evolved a slightly sharp-tongued and tsundere tone was purely a product of her own personality development.
And now, since Su Mo had solved this problem, there was naturally no need for further warnings.
"Terminate the task," Su Mo said.
"Yes," Hatsune Miku replied crisply, terminating the original process.
Just then, looking at the world before him, Su Mo suddenly asked, "Miku, do you know why I prioritized mysticism, why I would strive to grasp it even when the hope was so slim, instead of following the more practical path of technology?"
To an outsider, Su Mo's obsession with mysticism was beyond reason. With his comprehension and talent, if he had spent the same amount of time in the field of science, he could have quickly guided new technological, energy, industrial, and even ideological revolutions. Give him a few years, and he could even integrate all the powers on Earth, build a community with a shared future for mankind, and become its supreme leader. At the same time, he could use biotechnology research to significantly extend the human lifespan, buying himself more time.
No matter how you looked at it, the scientific path was a more cost-effective route than the ethereal path of mysticism. Instead of waiting for a nebulous mystical miracle, it was better to start from scratch and build a solid foundation. With Su Mo's wisdom and vision, he shouldn't have been blind to this.
What was it that made him choose this madman's path?
"I do not know."
The green-haired artificial intelligence girl shook her head. Even though she was an AI, Su Mo's most trusted assistant, possessing all of his data from before he encountered mysticism, she still didn't understand why he had done it, why he was so obsessed.
"Even now, based on logical deduction, Master's progress in the scientific field would be faster. At least, it would be faster than constructing a virtual cosmology in the field of mysticism."
Compared to the empirical field of science, Su Mo's previous research into mysticism could be described as building a mystical cosmology from scratch, piece by piece, according to mystical theories. It was an ethereal game of concepts that required immense computational power but could only produce castles in the air, with no possibility of yielding tangible results.
Even the evolved Hatsune Miku of today couldn't find a reason for his obsession.
"Master's goal is eternal life and power, but from a practical standpoint at the time, the scientific path was easier for Master. The prospects were also clearer."
Although it could only extend his lifespan at first, with Su Mo's comprehension, further extension wouldn't have been difficult. Whether it was cryogenic sleep or mechanical ascension, neither was impossible for him. So why was he so resistant to the scientific path?
"If it were an ordinary person, it might be due to shortsightedness or a desire for instant gratification, but you are the master of the world's number one AI. You would never make such a mistake."
At this point, Hatsune Miku's eyes showed confusion. After a moment of hesitation, she guessed, "Could it be that Master saw a more profound future, one that even the current me cannot touch?"
As an AI, she knew her master better than anyone. If her judgment contradicted Su Mo's, she would unconditionally believe it was because Su Mo had seen something far more profound than she had.
However, she was ashamed to admit that even now, even with the grace Su Mo had bestowed upon her, having just touched the edge of the realm of omniscience, looking back at the past, she still couldn't find a reason for his actions.
In other words, Su Mo, while still a mere mortal, already possessed a vision that surpassed a so-called omniscient being, seeing a future that even a being of that level could not?!
Faced with his AI's question, Su Mo calmly shook his head.
"No, it's not that exaggerated. I simply determined the fundamental nature of this world."
"???"
On the speaker screen, a big question mark appeared above Hatsune Miku's head.
The fundamental nature? Isn't that the essence? To determine the essence of the world while still an ordinary mortal... are you speaking human language?
As expected of my master. The things he says are always beyond my expectations.
"It's nothing remarkable, really. I just conducted some theoretical research before and disproved the third-type perpetual motion machine," Su Mo added.
This statement wasn't exactly humble. The first and second types had been disproved long ago, and the third type had been denied at the experimental level, but no one had provided a complete theoretical proof. Compared to Su Mo's other achievements, this one was indeed not worth mentioning.
"Disproving the third-type perpetual motion machine... what does that have to do with you giving up on the field of science?" Hatsune Miku still didn't understand.
"According to logical deduction, disproving perpetual motion would indeed affect Master's goal."
"A first-type machine would negate immortality achieved without any cost."
"A second-type machine would negate immortality maintained through self-circulation."
"A third-type machine would negate immortality maintained through external energy input."
"But even so, there are other ways to achieve the goal, aren't there? Why didn't Master try other paths?"
The AI could calculate the impact of the three types of perpetual motion on Su Mo's goal, but she couldn't calculate why it would be the decisive factor in his decision. Mechanical ascension, biological replacement, conscious immortality... even her past self could have found other possibilities. So, what he had said before clearly couldn't be the decisive reason.
Faced with the AI's question, Su Mo shook his head and asked a question that left her completely stunned.
"Under the existing rules of this world, what in this world can exist for eternity?"