Don’t Covet the Beautiful System!! - Chap 128
Once Ouyang Yu belatedly reunited with his teammates, the first thing he said was, “How is the meal tonight? Is it still satisfactory?”
It was obviously a normal sentence but there was inexplicably a depressed tone.
“You shouldn’t be left alone with Mark.” Xie Yuchi and Lin Rui took a step back in unison. “Don’t talk to us.”
“What’s the matter? I wasn’t infected today?” Ouyang Yu didn’t realize it. “I am speaking normally.”
“……” Xie Yuchi’s expression was indifferent. “It is really normal.”
Ji Tong laughed while filling a small plate with a few desserts that he thought were the best tonight. Then he handed it to Ouyang Yu. “Here, Aunt Susan’s baked apple pie.”
Ouyang Yu was flattered and reflexively said, “Oh—”
Xie Yuchi felt that the virus was frantically impacting on his nerves and said frantically, “Don’t say oh!”
As a person who had been infected by a real virus, Ji Tong wasn’t afraid at all. He was watching the fun with great interest but was quietly pulled away by Pei Qingyuan.
This new model was made by Pei Qingyuan so during the development period, he faced a lot of material every day and he was theoretically desensitized.
Still, the virus was scary. If they could hide then they should hide.
Looking at the snow falling outside the window, Ji Tong missed Mark who was alone in the hotel.
In Mary mode, Mark’s voice had been adjusted. He didn’t sound like Ouyang Yu anymore. He was really like a personable gentleman in a black-and-white old movie. His voice was elegant and magnetic.
He sighed. “If only Mary could speak.”
Pei Qingyuan said, “When the competition is over, you can make another Mary for Mark.”
He added, “Mary with a real bionic look.”
The preparation time for this competition was too short to optimize Mark into a fully humanoid robot.
However, the future is still long.
He still had a lot to do.
Ji Tong turned to look at him. “Really?”
“Really.”
Ji Tong immediately imagined it. “Then I want to watch Mary and Mark play cards face to face.”
Pei Qingyuan said with a smile, “I thought you would want Mary and Mark to play flying chess with us.”
“Yes, flying chess. I should think about which one to play first.”
“In addition, soccer. Mary can play so Mark needs to know it as well.”
“I also want to play. Wait, which one should I play first…”
The next day, the venue of the competition.
The venue this time was larger than the domestic competition and the environment was better. Each sub-venue for each event had a special broadcast camera for interested international audiences to watch online.
College students from various countries moved through the venue with their own robots. Many media reporters and industry insiders visited the venue and the whole venue was extremely lively.
In the crowd, Ji Tong and his party always received extra attention.
It wasn’t just because of the outstanding Asian faces but also because of the unique shape of the robot around them.
There were many cute-looking robots but there were many robots that were both cute and gentlemanly.
Mark didn’t wear a coat today. There was only a black bow tie around his neck and a top hat on his round head.
Xiao Jianping was at the front of the team. He led all the students participating in different events into the venue. Each group had a competition today.
Mark followed behind Ji Tong and greeted Mary One beside Qiao Yunhe. “Good morning, Miss Mary. I hope you have a sunny morning.”
Qiao Yunhe couldn’t help being shocked. “The voice of this new mode is quite sexy. It is just a bit of brainwashing.”
Xie Yuchi, who was wearing earplugs, said, “It’s okay. It isn’t that brainwashing.”
“Then why are you wearing earplugs?” Someone immediately asked. “No, aren’t you wearing earplugs? How can you hear us talking?”
Ouyang Yu tried to analyze it. “This is probably him saying that he doesn’t like it, but his soul is attracted to Mark and involuntarily approaches him.”
Mark summed it up gracefully, “Honey, I seem to understand what you mean. This is called verbal integrity, right?”
“Does this type of devilish Chinese and Western mix-and-match really exist…?”
“Help, who came up with this weird idea?!”
“Now I want to see Mark sweeping the world!”
In the midst of the giggling laughter, the teams cheered for each other and separated, heading for their respective sub-venues.
Ji Tong walked into the life event area and once again met the champion team from last night.
The warm and friendly blond-haired girl, Annie greeted them, “Hi, we meet again.”
She looked at Mark curiously. “I finally see Mark with my own eyes. Is the display on his chest the latest addition to the design?”
Mark had an extra monitor on his chest so he wasn’t wearing a coat today.
There was a small button next to the frame of the display. Ji Tong reached out and pressed it.
“Yes, beautiful young lady.”
Mark answered Annie and a string of corresponding foreign subtitles quickly scrolled on the chest display.
Annie and her teammates were surprised. “You have actually made a translation module. The response time is very fast.”
“Wait, you don’t seem to have set up a translation language for Mark.”
Pei Qingyuan said, “Mark can automatically recognize it.”
This was a feature they had focused on in the last two months in preparation for the international competition.
Annie immediately greeted Mark in a different language. Mark still answered in his magical Chinese dubbed voice and the chest subtitles were replaced with the corresponding foreign language with excellent accuracy.
“Unbelievable…”
Annie was greatly shocked and couldn’t care about Mark’s magical tone. She said from the bottom of her heart, “Mark can be a translation assistant, not an entertainment robot. Such practical positioning might help you achieve better results.”
Ji Tong replied to her with a smile, “It’s okay, Mark is also very good now.”
Mark understood his words. The corners of his mouth raised and he skillfully extended a mechanical hand to Ji Tong. “Thank you for the beautiful compliment, my dear.”
Ji Tong couldn’t help shaking hands with the gentleman Mark. “You are welcome.”
They politely said goodbye to Annie’s group. Annie stared at their departing words and her mind didn’t return for a long time.
After a while, she said to her companion, “This is really a strange team. They have the best technology and creativity but they are using it for the least important things…”
Her companion replied to her with a smile, “But it makes people happy, right? Annie, you have a smile on your face.”
A similar conversation took place among the judges.
The judges in the international competition came from different countries all over the world. They had an understanding of the competition situation of each country in advance and they focused on the more powerful teams and outstanding entries.
Pei Qingyuan’s team and the robot Mark were the most discussed.
“They have unquestionable abilities. I remember that they are Xiao’s students.”
“Xiao is also here. I just greeted him in the venue. He is very discerning when it comes to selecting students.”
“But why didn’t Xiao remind them to make something more valuable?”
One of the men with brown curly hair sighed. “I know mahjong and cards are fun games but they don’t have enough importance in people’s lives. I feel sorry for the time wasted by this group of young people.”
A judge with an Asian face listened to their conversation and finally couldn’t help saying, “I have communicated with Professor Xiao about this and he liked Mark very much.”
Everyone looked over. The female judge said in a gentle tone, “You should know that Professor Xiao has made a humanoid robot named Xiao Ming to accompany his wife, who finds it inconvenient to go out. At that time, Xiao Ming was already a very breakthrough robot.”
Professor Xiao said that if he had such good ideas when he was young and the technology was mature enough, perhaps his wife would’ve had happier times.
Thousands of miles away, in the sunny faculty dormitory, Shi Yuelan sat in a wheelchair and intently watched the live stream on the computer screen.
Xiao Ming brought a glass of water and placed it firmly on the table beside her.
After the opening ceremony, events began one after another in different venues. The competition in the life event that Shi Yuelan was most concerned about began.
Familiar faces flashed on the screen and she said excitedly, “Look, Old Xiao. It is Xiao Pei…”
Once Mark with a black bow tie appeared in the center of the picture, Shi Yuelan laughed. “Mark wearing a bow tie is also very cute. Xiao Ming, do you want to change your look?”
Xiao Ming’s camera eyes moved. “It looks good. You can try it.”
Xiao Ming was made many years ago. His appearance was slightly outdated and the AI wasn’t smart enough. Xiao Jianping mentioned upgrading him but Shi Yuelan didn’t agree.
“Xiao Pei has drawn the number six. It will be their turn soon.”
Shi Yuelan seemed to be talking to herself again while also chatting with Xiao Ming, “Once this international competition is over, Mark should enter the market.”
“Shall we buy a Mark at that time?”
Xiao Ming agreed to her in a clear voice. “Okay, what do you need me to do?”
With his intelligence, he actually didn’t understand the previous string of words. He could only recognize the last question.
Shi Yuelan smiled and shook her head. “No, you don’t have to do anything. It is good now.”
Her voice was gentle. “At that time, we will have one more friend and the family will be livelier.”
“Yes, Master.” Xiao Ming looked at the water cup that hadn’t been touched and reminded. “Master, don’t forget to drink water.”
Shi Yuelan obediently picked up the water cup and touched his head. “He is smarter than you. He can play mahjong and a lot of multiplayer games. Even I can’t do it. But you will stay by my side and teach me the rules, right?”
Xiao Ming nodded. He sat down next to Shi Xuelan and looked at the screen with her, just like they had spent countless days together.
The voice of this white robot was full of seriousness. “Yes, Master. Xiao Ming is always by your side.”
On the screen, in the midst of the polite welcoming applause, the bean-green Mark moved his wheels. He followed Ji Tong and walked toward the mahjong table in front.
According to the information and function description declared by the team, the staff members prepared a mahjong table. This would allow Mark to show his most distinctive mahjong playing function.
The competition method was the same as last time. There were two judges and one more team member competing at the same table as Mark.
However, mahjong was different from cards. Its popularity in foreign countries was relatively low. There were only three or four people who could play mahjong in the group of judges. The only foreigner who could play mahjong was the middle-aged man with brown curly hair.
The organizing committee also recruited two foreigners who won awards in the international competitive mahjong competition to give explanations to the judges.
Pei Qingyuan’s team didn’t emphasize how superb Mark’s skills in mahjong were. He just said that his mahjong level could be adjusted according to people’s requirements. It was because it was positioned as an entertainment robot. If he kept beating the opponent then it couldn’t be called entertainment.
Considering the level of the opponents in this match, Mark’s mahjong skills were adjusted to a medium level. Winning or losing the match wasn’t the most important thing. The key was Mark’s comprehensive performance throughout the process.
JI Tong, the brown-haired judge called Tom and the professor surnamed Liu who knew Xiao Jianping sat down at the mahjong table.
Tom remembered the video of the game he had seen and asked Ji Tong, “What mode will Mark use today? Will he attack us like his opponent that day? However, will I be able to understand what he is saying?”
Ji Tong replied to him fluently in a foreign language, “It is a brand new model. Even if you can’t understand, you can understand it.”
Tom was wondering what this meant when he heard Mark, who was sitting opposite him, say something he couldn’t understand in a wonderful tone.
Mark neatly stretched out his manipulator to take the mahjong tiles. He scanned the opponents with his camera eyes and said politely, “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to meet you here tonight.”
At the same time, foreign language subtitles scrolled on the display on his chest. This allowed Tom to understand these words.
Professor Liu was the first to laugh without restraint. “This tone sounds strangely familiar. It is like watching an old movie.”
Ji Tong explained with a smile, “Yes, the inspiration of this model does come from the dubbing style of our country in the early years.”
Mark’s response was particularly pompous as if singing an opera, “Your wisdom is as shining as your beauty.”
Hearing this, Professor Liu laughed even harder. Soon, she wasn’t careful and the mahjong tile she had just picked up fell out of her hands.
Mark saw this scene and immediately picked up the mahjong tile. He politely handed it to Professor Liu. “Ma’am, this is the tile you dropped.”
From language to movement and visual recognition, Mark’s performance was impeccable. It was even stronger than it was two months ago.
Professor Liu was inwardly shocked. She quickly stretched out her hand to take the tile and said sincerely, “O-Oh my god…”
As the words came out, she couldn’t help feeling that her tone was a bit off.
Meanwhile, Mark retracted the manipulator and touched his bow tie. He seemed to be tidying it up.
Then he put down his hand and responded very humbly, “It is my great honor to serve you.”
After solving this little episode, Mark continued to draw the tiles. The decorative watch on his wrist was illuminated by the light and the bow tie, watch and top hat of the same color echoed each other. He looked like a completely elegant, human gentleman.
At the scene and in front of the computer, the Chinese people who could directly understand Mark’s words were already laughing like crazy.
The popularity of the robot competition wasn’t that high. It wasn’t to the point of being well-known. However, there were still many people who followed the competition in front of the live stream screen.
For example, Pei Qingyuan’s former classmates.
After Pei Qingyuan graduated from high school, he still had contact with his head teacher Zhou Fang and occasionally chatted with some classmates he was familiar with.
When he won an award in the domestic division of the RS Cup, many classmates discussed it in the class group chat. This time, he was going to compete abroad and it was even more sensational. Everyone was already chatting in the group before the live stream began.
[Help hahahahaha. The old memories suddenly started to attack me.]
[The watch that Mark is wearing is similar to the one that the class monitor used to wear! It is a pity that this one doesn’t flash and probably doesn’t speak. I really miss Xiao Mei, wu wu wu.]
[Dancing robots are sold in the mall. When will Xiao Mei’s watch be launched?!!]
Lin Zihai looked at the group chat on his phone for a while. He stared at the computer screen and laughed so much that his roommates couldn’t help approaching to see the liveliness.
“What are you looking at that is making you laugh so happily?”
He unplugged the headphone cable and turned it into a public show. His roommates were immediately infected.
“Hey, what is this? It is magical.”
“The RS Cup? What type of competition is this?”
Lin Zihai’s tone was full of pride. “It is an international competition of intelligent robots. The robot on the field now is made by my high school classmate.”
“An international competition? So awesome?” The roommate was incredulous. “Your classmate is only a freshman, right?”
“Yes, he was great in high school.”
Lin Zihai thought for a while and added with a smile, “He also has a very cute watch that will suddenly say: Oh—”
“Oh my god!”
Tom at the mahjong table exclaimed.
He couldn’t understand the original words of what Mark said but he could feel the specialness of Mark’s wording from the scrolling subtitles, as well as this unparalleled fluency.
“The people who developed Mark are geniuses. This new model is so much fun.” Tom deeply regretted it. “It would be better if I could understand it directly.”
Ji Tong smiled and his eyes curved. “Mark can also speak foreign languages. Do you want to try it?”
“Of course!”
Ji Tong gave instructions to Mark and Mark immediately started to speak the same language as Tom. The subtitles on the display were accordingly converted to Chinese.
In this mode, Mark’s tone was still like an aria and the language was quite stable, but Tom always felt that something was missing as he listened.
“It seems more charming when speaking in Chinese,” Tom said. “I don’t understand why but the sentences I can’t understand have a special charm. Mark, can I trouble you to change it back?”
Mark cleverly switched back to Chinese and the corners of his animated mouth raised. “I am always happy to meet all the requests from gentlemen.”
Professor Liu laughed so hard that she couldn’t even see which tiles she was holding.
There was a joyous atmosphere in the venue. Just like the domestic competition that year, everyone’s attention was attracted by this chatty mahjong match.
“What type of game involves this white and green tile? It feels fun.”
“This robot is so brilliant that it is unbelievable.”
Foreigners were discussing mahjong and Mark’s high intelligence.
“I never even dreamed of doing this. It feels like my old antique TV set has become a spirit and is talking in a dubbed accent to foreigners. The key is that it fascinates foreigners…”
As the foreigners laughed so hard that their stomachs hurt, their hearts were also filled with a sudden surge of collective memory.
Tom played mahjong inattentively while enthusiastically asking the two human players, “What did you say was the inspiration for this model? Is there a specific way to dub foreign language movies in your country?”
“Yes but that method of dubbing has long disappeared,” Ji Tong explained. “Still, it has gradually become popular culture on the Internet.”
“It is interesting. Maybe I should go and see this type of movie.” Tom smiled. “I Don’t understand but I can read subtitles, right?”
The audience erupted into louder laughter.
A foreigner was attracted by the robot’s wonderful intonation so he planned to watch his own country’s movie dubbed abroad through subtitles.
Professor Liu was amused by this magical logical relationship but also couldn’t describe the feeling surging in her heart. “This is really…”
Ji Tong looked at the robot that was being watched by countless people and asked softly, “Mark, what do you think this is called?”
“My dear, I think I understand what you mean. It is called cultural export, right?”
Mark answered his question gently while holding the three tiles of the same suit in his hand. He pushed down the neatly arranged mahjong tables in front of him. “It is all seven small pairs. You are stupid.”
Before the opponents could react, Mark took off the top hat on his head and bent down slightly. His voice was calm and elegant.
“Sorry, let’s win first.”
The laughter and applause that erupted next almost toppled the roof.
A group of judges looked at each other.
“I can’t find the right words to describe this robot.”
“However, I have never heard such a warm laugh in this competition.”
“In any case, this is the first robot that makes people so excited.”
They immediately laughed as well.
After the demonstration of Mark, the judges would score independently and continue to the next group’s demonstration. This would continue until all teams finished their demonstration. Then they would summarize and compare the average scores.
Mark’s performance scored an average of 9.8, which was the highest score in this event in years. It could be said that they had basically locked first place.
Before Ji Tong left with Mark, a judge couldn’t hide his inner curiosity and asked, “Can you tell me why you designed a robot like Mark? Do you have higher expectations for using such sophisticated technology to meet simple entertainment needs?”
The sidelines were crowded with spectators who gradually gathered. The camera focused on Ji Tong but Ji Tong turned his gaze to Pei Qingyuan not far away.
“I will let the captain answer this question,” he said with a smile.
The person who initially turned the career line toward artificial intelligence was Pei Qingyuan.
He was also the one who always worked the hardest.
Time seemed to have returned to a year ago when he was surrounded by cameras.
It was just that he now looked much more mature.
This time, there was a short silence before Pei Qingyuan rarely said long words.
He looked at Ji Tong beside Mark and his voice was gentle, “When I was a high school student and didn’t know anything about this field, a professor who was passionate about artificial intelligence asked me a question. He asked me what my deepest feeling about artificial intelligence was.”
On the sidelines, Xiao Jianping watched calmly, his face nostalgic.
“My answer at that time was the logic of rules that aren’t free and the heart that wants to be free,” Pei Qingyuan said. “Then the professor told me that this is both the essence of artificial intelligence and the essence of human beings.”
The scene gradually quieted down.
“He said that we hope artificial intelligence will be free of the logic of rules that aren’t free, but isn’t this a reflection of human beings ourselves? The long journey of research isn’t only the scientists’ rhapsody about the distant future, but also our exploration and contemplation of our own short life, the gathering of countless fleeting fireflies that might become a lamp.”
“I always remember these words and often wonder what I found in this short life.”
Pei Qingyuan always looked at the white-skinned young man in the center of the field.
“When I thought it through—” He said, “I confirmed my pursuit in this area.”
“Mark is a simple entertainment robot and there are no grand plans behind him. To other people, he can’t change the world and he can’t change humanity.”
“He exists only to make people who see him become happy and smile.”
Eyes full of a starry smile.
He concluded, “That is all.”
For a person who was never lucky and free, this was the most precious meaning.
Applause gradually erupted in the arena. In last year’s champion team, the blonde-haired Annie applauded seriously.
In front of the computer screen, Shi Yuelan wiped her eyes and instinctively wanted to applaud. Then she suddenly smiled.
She turned to look at Xiao Ming. “Is it a big stupid to clap my hands at the screen alone?”
“It isn’t stupid.” Xiao Ming’s voice was determined.
He imitated the action of human clapping. He stretched out his mechanical palms and let them meet and separate in the air somewhat clumsily.
Shi Yuelan watched his movement and laughed gently, “Yes, now it isn’t me alone who is stupid.”
In the middle of the exceptionally quiet world, Pei Qingyuan waited for Ji Tong and Mark to come toward him.
He saw Mark reach out a robotic hand and place it in front of his chest in a gentlemanly manner, asking the human beside him to go first.
So Ji Tong really smiled.
The silent air thus flowed again.
He remembered many past events such as planting a hundred types of flowers for a white butterfly flying out of the moonlight and telling Pei Qingyuan a movie plot he had just watched on an old TV during the lunch break… At that time, Ji Tong called these practices collectively known as the happy education of the host in his heart.
It was because in the past, he couldn’t ask for anything else. He could only try to make himself happy every day.
Therefore, he gradually felt that it was indeed something important.
No matter whether it was for him or for an equally lonely host.
In the applause that lasted for a long time, Ji Tong walked toward Pei Qingyuan with a smile, his tone excited. “It is such a high score. Did we win?”
Pei Qingyuan nodded gently. “You can go and watch Mary play.”
Mark put on his top hat again and straightened his handsome bow tie. “It is good to see the lovely Miss Mary play soccer again.”
Many media reporters with cameras and microphones rushed toward them, scrambling to exchange a few words with this team that had won a rare high score and to release the first news report.
In the crowd, Ji Tong and Pei Qingyuan saw two familiar faces at the same time.
They were Li Yayi, a young female reporter who specialized in the local news section and her cameraman partner. They were tasked to go abroad for the first time.
It was because when Pei Qingyuan first appeared in the public eye, it was through an interview she did.
Of course, the reporting had a beginning and an end.
Pei Qingyuan really remembered her. He ignored the other reporters and walked straight toward her with his companions.
“Student Pei, long time no see!”
Li Yayi and the cameraman brother waved to him excitedly.
“I watched the broadcast of the domestic competition. Unfortunately, the leader didn’t approve us to go over for an interview at the time.”
Li Yayi exchanged a brief greeting before looking at the young man who was always inseparable from Pei Qingyuan. She took the initiative to say, “This is your teammate called Ji Tong, right?”
She also saw their interlocking fingers and smiled. “He should be your most important friend now.”
‘Friend.’ For the college entrance examination champion that she interviewed, this should be a very special word.
Ji Tong and Pei Qingyuan looked at each other before Ji Tong responded with a smile, “Hello, I’m Ji Tong.”
“Hello, hello, I am Li Yayi.” Li Yayi took out her business card and handed it to him, her attitude kind and natural. “Of course, I came here to make an appointment with you for an interview.”
“After the competition is over, there will be two or three days given to the media and technology companies to have in-depth exchanges with the participating teams.”
Li Yayi observed their expressions and had a flash of inspiration. “But I sense that you might not attend.”
During the summer vacation after the college entrance examination, Pei Qingyuan didn’t prepare for college in advance but traveled with a friend.
Hearing her say this, Pei Qingyuan actually admitted it. “Yes, we are very busy.”
“Then my intuition is quite accurate.” Li Yayi put down her identity as a reporter and joked in the tone of an old friend, “Are you busy traveling?”
Pei Qingyuan put it more succinctly. “It is more important than travel.”
The young man next to him had bright eyes and couldn’t wait to speak. It was as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time and wanted to tell everyone he knew.
“It is my birthday.” Ji Tong’s voice revealed clear joy. “It is my favorite birthday.”
