Chapter 18 The World's Hidden Crisis
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The World's Hidden Crisis
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Chu Lin had only been in a state of shock up until this point.
But in this final moment, when Qiwu spoke those words, he was at last genuinely moved.
May humanity endure forever.
The one who had spoken this wish wasn’t a human being, but a robot.
A life created by human hands.
It was like a work humanity had produced — like a book, a painting, even a car or a ship — where the creator had brought it into existence and placed upon it their hopes for what role it might one day fulfill.
And so —
As Chu Lin looked at Qiwu standing before him at that moment, one hand raised in salute, still as a sculpture…
He seemed to see behind it the hopes its creator had placed upon it.
To guard humanity...
"Mm." Chu Lin gave it a quiet response. "May humanity endure forever."
He probably didn't know what kind of feelings he had when he said those words in return — as if he too was answering the expectations of certain people — and then he lowered his head, got into the car, and started the engine.
Through the reflection in the rearview mirror, he watched as Qiwu lowered its hand and walked back toward the villa. Its impeccably straight-backed silhouette finally lent it a certain mechanical quality — and the quality of a soldier.
Chu Lin drove away.
Shen Yi watched Qiwu return, and felt something closer to pleasant surprise.
As a Tier-II artificial intelligence, Qiwu didn’t possess an emotion module, but it did genuinely have the capacity for thought — a computational ability built upon an enormous database of human cognitive patterns.
This was why it could hold a normal conversation and display a certain degree of personality.
But just now, it had simply been completing a task Shen Yi had given it.
— Build rapport with Chu Lin.
And by the looks of it, it had completed the task very well — even somewhat beyond Shen Yi's expectations.
The light banter, the concern for his health, and that final line — it was more like it was seeking out a shared belief or a shared goal.
And Chu Lin's response was enough to show that it had succeeded.
As a machine, in that brief span of time, it had established a certain connection with a human being — and a fairly intelligent one at that.
This gave Shen Yi a new set of expectations for this Tier-II Artificial Intelligence Module Array.
But for now, it was time for him to eat first.
Shen Yi picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork with his chopsticks. The sweet richness of the pineapple and the smooth savoriness of the meat — perfect.
On the other side.
Chu Lin drove back to the base, somewhat distracted throughout the entire journey — which was a rare state for him. But what he had gained from his visit to Shen Yi had indeed been considerable, so considerable that even he found it difficult to process all at once.
What was more unsettling was that all of this was perhaps nothing more than an insignificant tip of the iceberg.
By the time he arrived at the base, he had finally managed to sort out some of his thoughts.
Che Yongchang came to meet him.
"The report has been sent up, and a copy of the video has been forwarded to the special projects team at the Academy of Sciences. However, their reaction... was intense." Che Yongchang's expression became helpless as he reached those last few words, then he shifted his mood and asked, "How did things go on your end? Did you get any kind of response?"
"Yes — a fairly positive one." Chu Lin gave him a nod. "He hasn’t treated other countries the way he's treated us. My assessment is that, unless the apocalypse truly begins to show signs of coming, or unless we give him cause for dissatisfaction, he shouldn’t reveal his true identity before other foreign powers."
The domestic Gourmet Association didn't count.
People like the Mo Group and Mo Yuanbai could be considered their own side.
After all, their interests were closely tied to this country.
"That's a relief." Che Yongchang also let out a breath. "All we can do now is hope that the scientists at the Academy of Sciences can research something useful out of it."
"You had better not count on that." Chu Lin seemed to have thought of something, his expression peculiarly strained, as if he was suppressing something. In the end he let out a sigh. "Once I submit this next report, that's when they'll truly understand what real despair feels like. Supernatural forces beyond comprehension are one thing, but even their scientific technology is equally far beyond anything we can make sense of."
He could only hope that those scientific luminaries had strong hearts.
An artificial intelligence lifeform that had demonstrated the capacity for thought, and a combat robot that looked as though it had walked straight out of a film.
Compared to supernatural power, what the Pan-Humanity Protection Association had now revealed carried an even greater impact.
Because supernatural power was merely unfamiliar knowledge, whereas scientific technology was the greatest foundation of their world.
"What do you mean?" Che Yongchang looked utterly baffled.
He had always felt that ever since Chu Lin had returned from his visit, something about his entire bearing had changed — as if he had been dealt a heavy blow by someone.
Surely he hadn't gone and tried to compare himself to Shen Yi in some way, right?
But the latter shook his head, seemingly unwilling to say more. In any case, given Che Yongchang's level of clearance, he would be able to read the report once it was written and submitted.
The man could be left to experience his own shock alone when the time came.
Chu Lin simply let his expression grow serious, appearing to adjust his composure, and then said, "Tonight's task is primarily to keep a close watch on the reactions of the major factions — especially those culinary institutions that have already begun to spiral out of control. Nothing they might do would come as a surprise to me!"
"Understood!" Che Yongchang also straightened up.
Before Shen Yi had arrived, the greatest hidden crisis in this world had been certain culinary institutions that had risen to prominence over the past few decades.
Their chefs referred to themselves as Dark Gastronomes.
In this world, food was capable of producing all manner of extraordinary effects, and it could even exert a degree of emotional influence over people.
In one regard, this was a good thing.
For instance, food that could make a despairing person feel hope again, food that could stop a grieving person's tears, and food that carried the weight of heartfelt goodwill...
But there were also those who dedicated themselves to using food to control others, and they called this kind of food Dark Cuisine.
Once it was tasted, a person would sink into it little by little, until they could no longer eat anything else — as if they were chewing on wax.
At first, people had only assumed that these chefs possessed astonishing culinary skill.
After all, they hadn’t added anything strange to their dishes.
But gradually, people came to realize that while this food caused no physical harm to others, it inflicted deep and lasting damage on their minds.
The Dark Gastronomes used this to amass enormous wealth and power for themselves.
They had already become exceptionally difficult to deal with.
So the fact that they had managed to obtain the footage of the plane crash came as no surprise to Chu Lin whatsoever. What concerned him was what these people might do with it.
He could only hope that if the apocalypse truly came to pass, these people would behave themselves.
......
Chu Lin's concern was well-founded.
What had happened at West Asia Airport was spreading at a startling speed among a select circle of powerful figures, accompanied by a video of the scene.
An even higher-quality video at that.
It could be said that every person who watched it felt their worldview collapse entirely.
Some were beside themselves with elation, while others were filled with fear and apprehension.
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T/N - T/N - Sorry, due to my busy schedule recently, I haven't been able to consistently put up new chapters. I'm currently busy with real life stuff, so I stopped my translation of "Spacetime Trading" and the Fairy Tail fanfic for now. I'll still continue translating my Barbarian novel to the end and I'll also continue translating this new novel of mine, so I hope you guys can continue to support me through them. Thank you very much for your continued support all this time. 🙏 (6/17/2026)
Wait a minute, I thought this was a Food Wars world. But with these Dark Gastronomes and their Dark Cuisine, why does it sound more like Yu-Gi-Oh! and their Dark Duelists? 😂
Also, Qiwu is really high quality for an AI without an emotion module. From just one order of “build rapport”, it was able to converse quite naturally with Chu Lin. I wonder if the MC can upgrade it later on?