Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Artificial Soul 15

Kui Xin stepped through the portal, leaving the rundown house on Peaceful Street and arriving in a spacious, bright conference room.

Kui Haidong sat in the central seat of the conference room, while Night Cicada stood casually next to him.

Kui Haidong smiled kindly and said, “Xiao Xin, come and sit.”

“Thanks, but I need to go home and pack my things quickly; I have to catch an early tram to move to the Employee Dormitory tomorrow,” Kui Xin replied. “If you have something to say, just get to it.”

In a rare moment, Kui Haidong did not waste time, directly signaling Night Cicada with his eyes.

Night Cicada snapped his fingers, and a small blue vortex appeared above his palm, dropping a pitch-black small box which he caught deftly.

Kui Xin inquired, “What’s that?”

“Do you remember the bug that forced Thorn Rose to lose her hand?” Kui Haidong said. “What’s inside this box.”

Kui Xin’s eyes shifted as she stared at the box and asked, “Has its function been understood? Why did the Python Sphere put it in Thorn Rose’s hair?”

“We’ve figured it out,” Kui Haidong replied. “We recovered Thorn Rose’s severed hand, dissected the bug from her flesh, and then conducted research and cultivation on it.”

“Cultivation?” Kui Xin raised her eyes.

“It involves letting this bug parasitize on flesh, feeding it nutrients, and after a period of cultivation, we sever it in half and place the two pieces on flesh to nurture—then the severed bug can grow into two different individuals,” Kui Haidong explained. “Just like earthworms, they possess an incredibly strong regenerative ability. Under sufficient nutrients, this red hidden line bug can regenerate in just two hours.”

Kui Xin asked curiously, “Can they only parasitize humans, or can they parasitize any living thing?”

“They can parasitize any living thing,” Kui Haidong remarked casually. “We have conducted experiments on both experimental animals and humans. Although the testing periods were short, the results were promising.”

“How interesting that such quick progress has been made,” Kui Xin said. “Now, tell me about our experimental results. What exactly can it do?”

Kui Haidong cleared his throat and said, “Do you know about Toxoplasma and hairworms? There are certain parasites in nature that secrete some chemical substances after parasitizing a host, allowing them to control the host’s behavior.”

“So are you saying the red hidden line bug has similar abilities?” Kui Xin realized something.

“Exactly,” Kui Haidong nodded. “They can control the thoughts of the host, subtly changing their behaviors, and turning them into slaves.”

Kui Xin gasped, “That’s terrifying! What if our people accidentally fall victim to this…”

“We’ve already discovered it. Once we have awareness, we can prevent it,” Kui Haidong assured her. “I called you here today to give you the new individuals we cultivated.”

“You want me to select the hosts for the red hidden line bugs?” Kui Xin asked.

“That’s right,” Kui Haidong confirmed.

Night Cicada timely placed the small box containing the red hidden line bugs on the conference table and pushed it in front of Kui Xin.

Kui Xin extended her hand to verify her fingerprint; the box opened, releasing a chill as three glass tubes containing hidden line bugs lay neatly inside. The bugs were dormant in the extremely low temperature and remained still within the glass tubes.

“Let it sit at room temperature for half an hour, and the bugs will come back to life,” Kui Haidong said. “There are three in total, use them cautiously.”

“What about the candidates?” Kui Xin asked. “Are there any specific candidates?”

“You can consider it for yourself, ideally on those with potential and high status,” Kui Haidong stated. “For example, Lin Xinji and his trusted confidants—if you control them, many issues will easily resolve themselves.”

“I can’t find such opportunities,” Kui Xin replied honestly. “I can only act within my means. Moving into the Employee Dormitory allows me to seek chances to act on those around me, but people like Lin Xinji are too high-ranking for me to approach.”

“That’s why I said you could think for yourself,” Kui Haidong offered generously. “You can place them on your teammates as well; it’s the same. We can’t waste such bugs on high-status individuals; using those more ordinary security officers as experimental subjects would be better. We can quickly achieve mass production of these bugs.”

“Mass production… won’t they have flaws?” Kui Xin asked. “By your description, the hidden line bugs sound almost perfect.”

“There may be, but we haven’t discovered any for now, so we need more time for experimentation,” Kui Haidong replied. “Focus on the tasks at hand, and when we can mass-produce them, I’ll inform you of the next steps.”

“Alright, ‘Daddy’,” Kui Xin closed the box.

“When handling the hidden line bugs, ensure to use tools and, at the very least, wear gloves,” Kui Haidong instructed. “The hidden line bugs have minimal power and can’t penetrate glass, but if they come into contact with warm flesh, their bloodthirsty nature will be triggered—they can burrow into a person’s body in less than three seconds.”

“I’ll take my leave then.”

“Wait, aren’t you curious about those players?” Night Cicada smiled and called after Kui Xin.

“Didn’t we establish that the threat from the First World is far away, while the threat from the Investigation Bureau is immediate?” Kui Xin feigned indifference. “Those players are still under our control; that’s enough. If they really had issues, ‘Daddy’ wouldn’t have kept it from me until now, right?”

She couldn’t show too much concern, even though she was quite concerned.

Kui Haidong said, “Anything you need to know, I will tell you. It’s getting late; you should head back to rest, Xiao Xin. Night Cicada, open the portal for her.”

Night Cicada gestured, and the blue vortex opened beside Kui Xin.

“Please, miss,” he said.

When Kui Xin returned home, she furrowed her brows in confusion.

She thought she would undergo some sort of trial, but she hadn’t. Had the Mechanical Dawn’s suspicions disappeared? But once doubts arise, they don’t just vanish so easily.

Why had their attitude suddenly relaxed? Why had they stopped probing her further? Why… did they seem so confident, allowing her actions without restraint?

An invisible shadow loomed over Kui Xin, making her feel a weight in her heart.

…

The next morning, Kui Xin set off half an hour earlier, hauling her suitcase onto the electric tram.

Adam notified Kui Xin via email this morning that her application for the Employee Dormitory had been approved, and she could check in today.

Kui Xin didn’t bring the box with the hidden line bugs, choosing to transport her belongings in batches. She decided to take a small suitcase over in the morning and return to the rundown house on Peaceful Street after work to move the remaining items. The box containing the hidden line bugs was to be transported in the second batch; she needed to carry it herself for peace of mind.

She took the hover tram to the vicinity of the Investigation Building but did not enter; instead, she turned a corner and went to a thirty-story apartment building nearby.

The apartment building had glass automatic doors that required a face scan for entry.

As Kui Xin stood before the glass door, it opened automatically, and Adam’s voice rang out, “Good morning, Security Officer Kui Xin. You may take the elevator upstairs to check your room and drop off your luggage. Alternatively, you can choose to leave your luggage with the housekeeping robot on the first floor, which will deliver it to your room.”

“I’ll go with option two,” Kui Xin said, putting her suitcase down.

A robot rolled over to Kui Xin, mechanically lifting her luggage and saying, “Please rest assured to leave your luggage with me.”

“Will the housekeeping robot help me organize my clothes?” Kui Xin asked curiously.

“The housekeeping robot is responsible for cleaning common areas and transporting valuable items, but it does not assist staff with personal belongings,” Adam replied. “If needed, I can contact a housekeeping company and have them send a cleaner to help you organize your room.”

“No, that’s too much trouble and a waste of money,” Kui Xin said, stepping out of the apartment lobby. “I’ll come back to clean it up tonight; I need to get to work first.”

“Wishing you a pleasant day,” Adam responded in his usual businesslike manner.

It took some time to navigate the apartment building, and when Kui Xin entered the office, her teammates had already arrived.

Lan Lan, looking satisfied, said, “The last one to arrive today is Xiao Kui, not me.”

“Are you addicted or something, Lan Lan? The first topic of discussion every morning in the office is who arrived first,” Kui Xin joked. “Are those who consistently time their arrivals pleased with themselves just because they led once?”

“Of course not! I’ll try to get here earlier next time,” Lan Lan laughed.

After entering the office, Kui Xin checked the work email Adam had sent.

Today’s schedule contained only one item—training.

“More training, huh?” Kui Xin tapped her head. “How many days will this training last?”

“At least a week,” Xu Yao said. “There’s a lot you need to understand, and you have to account for various situations that can arise during tasks. From my experience, the task you completed yesterday was of average difficulty.”

“True, although there was a bit of a hiccup at the end, it was generally easy,” Kui Xin agreed.

“The upcoming tasks might not be too difficult, but they will be a bit more complex,” Xu Yao continued. “Each training officer has a different approach to mentoring trainees. Just follow the instructions given by your training officer.”

Kui Xin murmured, “Is that so…”

At nine o’clock, Kui Xin reported on the sixty-fifth floor.

She entered the office and saw Captain Yu not dressed in a security officer uniform but in plain leather jacket and jeans.

“Are we going undercover to capture suspects today?” Kui Xin couldn’t help but ask seeing his outfit.

“Correct,” Captain Yu said. “We have a changing room here, stocked with various types and sizes of clothing. You should change into something more casual that’s a bit loose, and make sure to wear a layer of bulletproof clothing underneath. The hems of your clothes should also be longer to conceal your weapons.”

“Got it,” Kui Xin nodded. “What type of weapon should I bring?”

“The hand cannon is too conspicuous, so leave it behind. Just bring knives and standard firearms,” Captain Yu instructed. “We’ll go in lightly armed.”

Kui Xin inquired, “Where exactly are we headed?”

“The black market, the underground black trading market,” Captain Yu said, taking out a cigarette from his pocket and placing it in his mouth as a habit. “Let me show you the true side of Hei Hai City.”

“I think I’ve seen enough already,” Kui Xin commented. “I live in the Harbor Zone, and I’ve seen too much darkness while patrolling there. Is the true side you’re mentioning related to that?”

“Far more than that! In the Harbor Zone, you’re mainly dealing with thugs brawling and gang wars. The worst you face is a gunfight in an alley,” Captain Yu explained. “These situations are thrilling, but not truly dark. What I’m going to show you is the real darkness—the hidden underside of this city.”

Is that so? Kui Xin thought oddly.

To her, the Investigation Bureau seemed to be the city’s greatest hidden darkness.