The Almighty Ring

“Beep Beep… Insufficient energy. Support systems remain on basic functions!”

“Beep Beep… Confirming ship status…”

“Beep Beep… Confirmation. Transport Ship Codename Braveheart perished!”

“Beep Beep… Detecting ship member…”

“Beep Beep… Status confirmed…”

“Ship Captain, Status: Deceased.”

“Vice Captain, Status: Deceased.”

“Ship Admiral, Status: Deceased.”

“Chief of Engineering, Status: Deceased.”

…

The lists went on and on, until the last depressing status was confirmed.

“Beep Beep… Ship Crew Member Status Confirmed. 37 members of all crew member are deceased.”

“Beep Beep. Confirmation of all living intelligent sentient beings on board of Braveheart expired. Artificial Intelligence Support System Code 0541 taking over as temporary commander of Braveheart!”

“Beep Beep. Warning. Artificial Intelligence Law number 7 in effect.

Support System Coe 0541 is granted limited authority as Ship Captain!”

“Beep Beep. Act number 76 in effect, searching for intelligent life form in close proximity…”

“Beep Beep. Search for intelligence life form complete. Life form: Human, planet Earth. Age since birth: 16 solar cycles. Life form genderform: Male.”

“Complying with the order of the law… Obtaining genetic sample…”

Just when Jiang Fei had a moment to breathe, he felt a sharp pain in his finger that went away just as fast as it came.

“Beep Beep. Genetic sample obtained. Act 74 in effect. The targeted intelligence life form is now selected to be the temporary Ship Captain.”

Bzz. Bzz.

The sound of mechanical parts moving roared from the ring as it started to disassemble itself into countless tiny cubes and flowed in the air. At the next moment, before Jiang Fei could even move a muscle, the cubes flew back to his finger and reformed the ring. However, things were different now. The ring was not just a simple circle of metal. It had grown far more polished, and there was a massive diamond in the center of it!

Swissh!

The diamond glowed a little, and when Jiang Fei took a closer look at it, it shone so brightly that Jiang Fei was momentarily blinded.

A womanly figure appeared, and Jiang Fei was scared to bits.

“OH HOOT! A GHOST!” Jiang Fei cried.

“Captain sir, Support System Code 0541 reporting for duty.”

The figure slowly condensed and formed the digital hologram of a beautiful woman.

“Who are you? How are you able to talk to me like that! WHY IS YOUR VOICE IN MY HEAD!”

Just when he had just seen the world of nuclear power Gauss rifles, the universe threw another huge surprise at him! This hologram was something straight out of a comic!

“Captain. My name is 0541. I am the computer support system that assists the Transport Ship Codename Braveheart. I am able to speak to you via a means called telepathy,” said the beautiful woman modestly, as if she was Jiang Fei’s personal victorian maid!

“C-C-Captain? Are you talking to me?” said Jiang Fei.

“Yes, captain! The ship has crashed into your planet, and all crew members are deceased. As a support system, it is my duty and obligation to search and elect a new captain. Since all the living members of the ship have perished, I cannot assume the role of captain as it is against the Law of Artificial Intelligence Act, Article Seven. No living being is allowed to assume a role of authority. Following the law of planet Namek, Article number 74, the Artificial Intelligence must search for an intelligent life form and pass the role of authority.”

“Huh? Planet Namek? Are you an alien?” said Jiang Fei, as if he was not already in shock.

“From your perspective… Yes, sir. I am of alien origin!” said the girl a sweet smile.

“Oh my god… Just when I’ve had enough with metahumans, an alien pops into the equation! How am I supposed to process this! GRAHHHH! NORMAL LIFE! COME BACK TO ME!” Jiang Fei rustled his head and shouted.

“My most sincere apologies, captain sir. According to my data memory, the day you lost your normal days would be the date when you first picked me up!” said 0541 again, with a smile on her digitally constructed face.

“Argh… Fine. Now that I’m a captain. Where’s the ship?” Jiang Fei sighed in dismay at the response of the artificial intelligence. He had no clue whether the lady was just being straightforward or trying to provoke him. All of that mattered less than the fact that he had heard about a ship crashing into Earth.

“Yes, sir! Transport Ship Braveheart had, unfortunately, exploded during atmospheric entry. The ship had broken into several parts, and they are all scattered all around the Earth!”

“Do you know of their locations?”

“Sir! My apologies sir! Due to insufficient power, most of my functions are currently unavailable. Currently, I am only able to communicate with you, sir!”

Jiang Fei sighed heavily. Just when he thought that he could at least see some alien technology…

“Oh! What about the nuclear radiation? What happened to all the nuclear power that was in the battery pack?!”

“Captain, I have absorbed all of the radiation and converted them into usable energy! However, that source of energy was inadequate for any of my functions to operate!”

“All, you say? Was any of the radiation leaked out?”

“Captain, all of the exposed radiation was completely absorbed by me! I have left none to escape.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Jiang Fei dropped to his knees and was finally able to take a breather. Once he was calmed down, he got back up to his feet and started asking questions.

“Do tell me what is about the ring leveling up? How could it possibly take items out of the game? Aren’t those just images? Data from codes?”

“Captain. Before my main program could activate, an emergency repair module was in effect. Data from the game had managed to revitalize my system and reactivate the main program. Materials from this world are required, as well as material to repair my broken parts.”

0541 explanation was simple and easy enough for Jiang Fei to understand how he was able to take items out of the game, as well as the ridiculous consumption of materials from the real world.

“I understand that. But how is it that I am able to take out items from the game? They are basically just data. Bits and bytes of electrical streams! How did you manage to produce them?”

“Captain, the items were never taken out of the game. I’ve merely reproduced a substitute that follows the same functionality from my databank!”

“Substitute? You mean this glove and these bottle of potions were real?” said Jiang Fei.

“Yes captain. Planet Namek had thrived technologically, compared to your planet. Body strengthening equipment and cellular regeneration elixir were extremely common!” said 0541, as if the glove and potions were pieces of trash by the roadside. Her manner of speaking was so… holier-than-thou that it made Jiang Fei feels he was talking to a robot. Not that she was not one, to begin with…

“I see. In that case, please produce one complete set of body armor for me,” Jiang Fei demanded.

“I’m sorry captain. Due to insufficient energy, I am unable to comply with any of your requests. Powerful body enhancing armor would require special production factory. The one that was available in the ship was lost in Earth. If I am able to recharge my powers and repair most of myself, I am able to activate the search function and locate all the fragments of the ship!” said 0541.

“Oh no… Why am I sensing a troublesome task…”

“Captain sir. I am not giving you a troublesome task. It is your ship by authority. Do you not wish to retrieve it?” said 0541 with a stone cold face, unlike the sweet one from before when she was explaining. Nevertheless, her words had sparked a fire in his soul!

“My ship! You’re absolutely right! Bring it all! I’ll do whatever it takes to restore my ship!