48 Hours a Day

As he drove on, Zhang Heng observed the Sphinx running behind the X3 through the rearview mirror. So far, about 200m separated the two parties, a relatively good distance to keep an eye on the Sphinx, yet ensure it would not get lost. This time, Rabbit could clearly feel the X3 going faster, then slowing down again, and Zhang Heng even made sharp turns from time to time.

Fortunately, Rabbit did not suffer from motion sickness or she would have vomited all over the windshield. Finally, when Zhang Heng turned to another road, Rabbit could not help but blurt, “Brother Simon, I know that you drive real good, but we don’t have to keep drifting do we? Even if we’re on a straight road now, I don’t think it can catch up with us.” “Oh, I’m just testing something out,” replied Zhang Heng.

“What are you testing?”

“Have you read the story of the Sphinx?”

Rabbit nodded, “I believe I’ve heard of it in reading comprehension in junior high school. I read about it again online for this operation. Why do you ask?”

“Whether Egyptian or Greek mythology, they both agreed that the Sphinx was a highly intelligent species, and its intelligence far exceeded that of an average human. More precisely, they were comparable to a human genius.”

“You are right.” Rabbit thought for a while.

“But this Sphinx that appeared out of nowhere does not seem to be able to communicate with people. In the three previous attacks published on the forum, the Sphinx just asked the riddles, waited for the answers, and punished those who failed to solve the riddle. However, in the first and second attacks, both victims did try to communicate with the Sphinx. However, the Sphinx seemed to be unable to communicate with them.”

“Exactly! Everything I said was regarded as an answer! It caused me to make two mistakes,” lamented Rabbit as she recalled what happened earlier. “The Sphinx was completely immersed in its own world. It gave no response when Black Swan raised her tranquilizer gun to shoot

it.”

“Its behavioral pattern is fixed, and it looks programmed to perform only certain tasks. What did you think it was?”

“Uh... what?”

“AI.” Zhang Heng said. Having learned to program when he was in the Whistleblower quest, he was very sensitive to issues like this. This Sphinx’s current behavior was the result of high-level programming. When Zhang Heng was waiting in the car earlier, he made a Baidu search for the three riddles concocted by the Sphinx. He found out that all those riddles came from a children’s book called The Encyclopedia of Riddles.

“Do you think the Sphinx we came across... was actually an intelligent robot in disguise?” Rabbit was shocked.

“It’s a low-level AI, but its combat effectiveness is decent,” Zhang Heng said.

In fact, Zhang Heng had a similar conjecture after reading up information on the Sphinx on the forum. He could not confirm his speculation at that time, but this time, after Rabbit had taken a considerable risk, the opportunity to prove his theory had finally arrived. Before this, he had deliberately changed the X3’s speed to test if the Sphinx had a fixed behavioral logic.

“No wonder you asked Xixi to prepare a stun gun. But is it effective against it?”

“Its external defense is indeed solid, but if this thing is really a robot, then its internals must contain a circuit board. It would be composed of copper foil. When a high-voltage stun gun hits it, it will produce a heavy discharge, and the electronic components within it can be destroyed easily,” explained Zhang Heng explained.

But just as the two were talking, Zhang Heng noticed that the Sphinx had stopped chasing them.

It squatted in the middle of the road, quietly watching the X3 pulling away. Just when Zhang Heng hesitated whether or not to stop the car, the Sphinx suddenly spread out its wings, slowly taking into the skies.

Rabbit was shocked at the sight. “Didn’t you say that its behavioral pattern is fixed?”

“It seems that since it could catch up with us, some hidden conditions must have been trigged. A new set of behavioral patterns must’ve kicked in.” Zhang Heng did not deliberately slow down this time. No one on the forum had seen Sphinx flying before, and no one knew what sot of abilities it possessed at this stage. Since this was the Sphinx’s trump card, Zhang Heng would definitely not underestimate it.

Zhang Heng did not care whether the Sphinx would fail to catch up with them, stepping on the gas even harder than it was designed to. Unfortunately, the increased speed of the X3 was unable to draw a wedge between the two. The flying Sphinx was now twice as fast as when it was on the ground, not to mention how it could bypass many obstructive buildings as well.

Zhang Heng then turned on the walkie-talkie and said to Shen Xixi, “Are you ready over there?”

“Only three minutes had passed. We are not done with the preparation yet. What’s the matter?” Shen Xixi asked. “Then you’d better prepare within two minutes,” Zhang Heng glanced at the watch on his waist, “because our opponent tonight has activated its flight mode.”

Shen Xixi reacted quickly, “With the wings on its back?”

“That’s right.”

“Okay, please be careful too. And if possible, try to lower its altitude. If it flies too high, the stun gun won’t reach it,” exhorted Shen Xixi.

“I will try my best.”

After Zhang Heng and Shen Xixi had finished speaking, they noticed that the Sphinx was only less than a hundred meters away from them, which was faster than Zhang Heng expected.

Zhang Heng then said to Rabbit next to him, “Fasten your seat belt; the next section of the road may be very bumpy.”

Before Zhang Heng finished his sentence, he had already made a sharp turn and sped into the bushes by the roadside. Once the X3 came out from the bush, it abruptly switched to another road and drove into an underground tunnel.

After losing the speed advantage, the only way to gain the upper hand was by changing directions swiftly and abruptly. At the same time, he also needed to take advantage of the terrain. Before he went to rescue Rabbit, he had turned off the X3’s electronic stability system and switched the gear to manual mode.

While maneuvering the X3, he felt like he was back to the days of studying abroad in Tokyo.

He had pushed the X3 to its maximum speed, and the engine echoed its protest loudly in the tunnel.

“I hope there are speed traps in this tunnel.”