Chapter 122

Chapter 122: Artificial Soul 49

Kui Xin left the forum to contact He Kangshi.

“There’s something I need you to do for me,” she typed.

Over on He Kangshi’s end, he wasn’t asleep and replied instantly, “No problem! Whatever the boss needs, I’ll do it!”

“Have you seen the post by Remover 777 number on the forum?”

“I saw it,” He Kangshi swallowed, suddenly realizing something.

“Now, you need to make friends with Remover 777 number online.”

He Kangshi hissed…

The moment he heard the request, He Kangshi had many thoughts but also felt like he had none at all. He wondered what was behind the boss’s motive to ask him this task, was it to gather information about Remover 777 number? It seemed typical of his boss.

However, Remover 777 number requested access under the name Remover. He Kangshi’s photo editing skills were lacking and he feared being found out.

“There shouldn’t be any problems, boss. Just leave it to me. Do you know how bad my photo editing skills are?” Despite having many thoughts running through his mind, He Kangshi agreed without hesitation.

He thought that making friends with such a brutal Remover was no worse than shedding a layer of skin; if he couldn’t complete such tasks, how could he prove himself?

A message came in: “I have already prepared a self-verification picture for you.”

When He Kangshi opened the image, his eyes widened in shock, “My god!”

The card shown was that of Remover 233 number, with his name obscured ingeniously.

He Kangshi took a deep breath and cautiously said, “Won’t there be problems using this picture, boss?”

“No problems.”

After receiving this response, He Kangshi leaned back, stood up from his desk, and walked two circles in his small bedroom, stomping his feet and rubbing his hands.

The boss didn’t want him to approach 777 number as Remover but insisted he use the notorious identity of Remover 233 number. The boss wasn’t worried about the false identity coming to light, but was eager to push it further.

“My God, my God!” He muttered continuously, “This is serious… wait! But the boss probably hinted at this long ago…”

After calming down, He Kangshi sat back down at his computer confidently.

“Ah, this has nothing to do with me. I’m just a subordinate doing the boss’s bidding.”

Since joining the Black Snake, he had been aware of this. The Black Snake promised to protect him and avoid sending him on overly dangerous tasks. Simply chatting online with Remover 777 number across the sea was hardly dangerous.

“All right, I’m up! I’ll PM Remover 777 number immediately… Wait, I need to download a translation software,” He Kangshi said, “I can’t send forum screenshots, chief. Why not we use voice chat instead?”

Kui Xin agreed, and soon, her phone’s microphone permissions automatically turned on, allowing her to listen to He Kangshi directly through her mobile phone. She kept typing in a floating window as they communicated.

Under the nickname “I Am Myself – Maicyo,” He Kangshi messaged Remover 777 number and attached an image to prove his identity.

Remover 777 number seemed to verify the image before responding.

“Chief, 777 responded,” He Kangshi reported fully focused, “He said ‘Hello’ to me… wait, he introduced himself. His name is Augus… Is Augus his real name? It doesn’t seem so; his forum name is Augus too. Could he be using his real-world name as his forum username?”

Augus, which means August in English.

“That guy probably doesn’t speak Chinese. He sent ‘hello’ in pinyin, which sounds like he only uses slightly proficient Chinese.” He Kangshi stroked his chin, “What should I reply with?”

Kui Xin typed, “In this stage, feel free to play along. You don’t need my line-by-line guidance. I’ll let you know the key questions to ask.”

He Kangshi said, “He introduced himself to me, so I should introduce myself as well… Let me send a message in Chinese to gauge this foreigner.”

So He Kangshi sent, “Hello Augus, I am myself – Maicyo.”

That seemed pointless.

In a dark room, a man, hiding in darkness, looked at the Chinese text on his phone screen with confusion.

He took a backup phone, snapped a photo of the screen, and translated it into a foreign language.

The result came quickly.

“I am… Mayi sauce is me?” Augus repeated.

What kind of crazy translation was this? “Mayi sauce” was not a human’s name, the first part “Mayi” did resemble an Asian name, but the second “sauce” meant condiment!

Augus remained silent.

The first barrier these two Removers faced was not a difference in thoughts, but a language barrier.

Without Augus’s immediate response, He Kangshi thought he might have made things difficult for the foreigner by sending Chinese, then switched to English: “You can call me Mai.”

Augus replied, “Are you Chinese, Mai?”

Sending English with a Chinese nickname to a Westerner… And his nickname sounded feminine!

His eyebrows twitched uncontrollably—being called “Mai” exposed his humiliating nickname even more—he regretted picking such a strange one!

“Chief, this guy is asking if I’m Chinese. How should I respond?” He Kangshi asked through voice.

“Answer back.”

He掌握了 the point, “Are you a police officer from China, Augus?”

Augus: “…”

Augus, “It seems you have very strong prejudices against China.”

Kui Xin commanded, “Ask him what his purpose is. Don’t waste time.”

He Kangshi instantly used the translation app, translating what he wanted to say into English, and sent it to Augus, “Why did you create a section for only Removers? What is your goal?”

Augus replied, “I thought you would understand my purpose, Mai.”

He Kangshi, “…”

Augus, “We are alike, aren’t we, Mai?”

He Kangshi, “…………”

Augus, “As equals, we should understand each other. I’ve observed all you’ve done, and it’s different from what other players do. Isn’t it true, Madi?”

He Kangshi, “………………”

Save me! He shouldn’t have introduced himself as ‘Maicyo’! Now Remover 777 keeps calling him ‘Maicyo’, making him feel mortified, and he wants to bash his head on the table.

Instead of the serious tone they were supposed to have, their conversation was comical, filled with light banter.

He Kang Shi quietly apologized to Remover 233: I apologize, you’ve lost your dignity because of me.

Following the boss’s instructions, He Kangshi overcame his embarrassment and replied sternly, “I understand you, Augus. In this world, we Removers are the apex predators, the lambs are our prey.”

At that, the seriousness of the conversation seemed restored to normal.

But Augus’s next words made him uneasy again, “I see you truly understand me, Mai.”

He Kangshi mournfully exclaimed to Kui Xin, “Boss! I want to bang my head against a wall! This guy keeps calling me ‘Mai,’ and I’m at my wit’s end! Why did I make this guy call me ‘Mai’? Now everything about me is ‘Mai.’ ‘Mai.’

Kui Xin thought for a bit, “Never mind, treat this as part of your live work. I noticed you’re pretty good at acting like an older sister.”

“Please spare me!” He Kangshi cried.

Augus sent another message, “Let’s play an interesting game, Maicyo.”

He Kangshi typed reluctantly, “What game?”

“Murder game,” said Augus. “Let’s compete to see which player we can eliminate within a week. Once we return to the Second World, we’ll start this competition.”

He Kangshi’s demeanor darkened, becoming cold and serious.

With a frown, he rapidly relayed Kui Xin’s statement via voice, “You’re an entertaining person, Augus. Do you think you will definitely win?”

Augus replied, “And you, do you think you will lose?”

He Kangshi responded, “I see that you’re a proud hunter, but I am not. I am a cautious hunter; I contemplate every possibility and strike decisively when needed.”

Augus: “Now I’m even more intrigued by you.”

Moments later, Augus added, “Regardless of the outcome of this game, I won’t be affected either way. This is just a game.”

He Kangshi wiped sweat from his forehead and told Kui Xin, “This guy is pure madness.”

“Just play along for now,” Kui Xin replied without emotion. “Entering the forum covertly is the priority.”

With his attitude steady, He Kangshi responded to Augus, “I agree to join the competition. Let’s have some fun.”

Augus: “Of course you would. Just as I knew you would come to me.”

In the next second, He received an invitation to join the personal section named “Seven.”

Inside this section, Augus posted alone:

“Welcome, my good brother, Remover 233 number Maicyo.”

He Kangshi stared at the message, emotionless, and replied at the top floor, “Thank you for your invitation, my good sister, Remover 777 number Augus.”

Augus: “…”

“Augus: So, are you a lady, Maicyo?”

Maicyo replied, “Yes.”

Augus promptly deleted the post and re-posted, “Welcome my friend, Remover 233 number Maicyo.”

He Kangshi then turned to Kui Xin, “Although lying is immoral, it feels great to manipulate this idiot completely!”

Kui Xin: “He might just be agreeing to go along with it, Old Kang. Look at the results. Remover 777 accomplished their goal by contacting 233 number. They achieved their objective and don’t care about anything else.”

He Kangshi felt uneasy and asked, “What about the competition afterward, Chief?”

“This isn’t your concern anymore. For him, it’s just a game. Winning or losing doesn’t matter.” Kui Xin stated.

“He irritates me.”

Kui Xin calmly replied, “I feel the same.”