Chapter 125

Chapter 125: Artificial Soul 52

Kui Xin awoke from the brain-machine, taking a moment to discern what was a dream and what was reality.

The data link with Augus was quickly re-established. After the connection was reestablished, Augus soon said, “The memories extracted were superficial false memories implanted by the Mechanical Dawn; they didn’t discover anything.”

Kui Xin was relieved.

With staff assistance, she rose from the brain-machine and stood still for a while to allow her slightly disoriented thoughts to settle back to normal.

“It’s rather unusual,” Ms. Schalit said with a smile. “To be able to walk immediately after leaving the brain-machine, I thought you might need some time to recover.”

“Unusual?” Kui Xin replied skeptically.

“It could be related to your constitution. Your ability is ultra-rapid self-healing; perhaps your recovery abilities manifest in other aspects as well, such as your brain.” Schalit tapped her own head with her fingers, “Group Leader Rui Zhi has weaker recovery abilities compared to yours.”

Rui Zhi also left the brain-machine. She rubbed her temples with a pale face, “Feels like a throbbing headache.”

Schalit walked beside Rui Zhi and comforted her softly, “Relax, don’t think too much. Have a good rest later; it won’t take more than a couple days to recover.”

With the use of her extraordinary abilities, a frown on Rui Zhi’s brow relaxed, and the headache eased considerably.

The interrogation风波 (storm) went smoothly. Kui Xin could now continue her vacation.

As she stepped out of the Investigation Bureau building, she looked at the overcast sky and involuntarily sighed.

After facing a calamity, numerous challenges still awaited. Problems lined up one by one before her, overwhelming and exhausting.

“You’ve become quite sought-after,” Augus conveyed with a hint of teasing, “He Jing recommended you to Ms. Schalit, who then placed you on the list of potential new special agents. You might have the chance to work at the Special Affairs Department.”

“Do I get a promotion?” Kui Xin asked.

“It’s more of a lateral move… no, it’s effectively a demotion. Because you’ll be starting anew if you go to the Special Affairs Department, you will receive another round of training. The Special Affairs Department is an independent and highly influential department outside my jurisdiction. You could develop more there, meet more high-ranking officials, and there might even be opportunities to touch power cores. But along with the benefits come risks.”

Kui Xin let out a frustrated sound.

Once back in her employee residence, she collapsed on the bed exhausted. She glanced at the clock; it was already two o’clock PM. By this time, the canteen would no longer be serving meals. She was so tired she didn’t want to go out to buy food.

Kui Xin hesitated for a moment and decided to splurge on some takeout.

While waiting for her food to arrive, Kui Xin listed all the issues she currently faced.

Kui Xin found herself in a deadlock. Although she had goals she wished to achieve, she needed to thoroughly research how to accomplish them. Some goals were bigger and would require more time, so she could delay addressing them. However, there were more pressing problems that required immediate attention besides these larger goals.

She kept a death list in her mind, including Lin Xinji, He Gaoyi, and Red.

With two out of three off the list, only Red remained.

Red… Kui Xin pursed her lips, feeling uncertain whether she’d find an opportunity to kill him.

With the relocation of the Mechanical Dawn’s headquarters, if Red followed, how could Kui Xin cross such a vast distance to kill him?

Killing Red became pending and postponed.

Since she resolved to acquire extra ordinary abilities from others to supplement herself, Kui Xin needed to cast a wider net in her search.

For instance, Yechan’s abilities were excellent.

His impressive actions during the ambush against the S-Rank Black Flame had piqued her interest. Though Kui Xin possessed Shadow Transition herself, the ability was too low-level and restrictive. If Kui Xin acquired Yechan’s spatial abilities, she could turn her current dire situation around dramatically.

In battle, she could leave when she wanted, stay when she wanted, provided she moved swiftly enough to avoid enemy capture.

Kui Xin coldly added Yechan’s name to her death list and marked it with “pending” and “necessary actions when required.”

The third matter involved her separation from her current identity and breaking away from control by the Investigation Bureau and the Mechanical Dawn to operate independently.

After hearing about the potential transfer to the Special Affairs Department, Kui Xin felt profoundly frustrated.

Even if she moved to the Special Affairs Department, wouldn’t she continue to act like a mole, walking on a tightrope, living on the edge of life and death? How would such a life differ from her current experiences at the Investigation Bureau and the Mechanical Dawn?

She couldn’t jump from one pit of fire to another, nor did she wish to wander from one dead end to another.

Although interacting with core powers in confidential departments was a blessing, if given the chance, Kui Xin might embrace this assignment, but her position was too disadvantageous. She couldn’t afford to be passive.

To enter the game, she’d have to do so actively.

Fourthly, and this was tied to Kui Xin’s metallic skull.

“Augus, I suspect something’s been tampered with on my metal skull. I only recently realized this.” Kui Xin said, “Doctor Huang, who operates the medical center, is also a spy for the Mechanical Dawn. My surgery was also performed by him.”

Augus said, “Medical equipment is centrally procured; theoretically, they can be tampered with. But you’ve undergone multiple health checks previously, none of which revealed any abnormalities.”

“Maybe the material of the metal skull can shield detection rays.” Kui Xin stated, “If something harmful is embedded within the metal layers, my life would be in Eve’s hands.”

It implied that if Eve could threaten her life, Kui Xin might be forced to act against her own will to survive. It was not what Augus desired to see happen.

Therefore, the best solution was for Augus to help Kui Xin eliminate this significant risk.

Augus understood. “We will address this problem, Kui Xin.”

“The Mechanical Dawn doesn’t possess clairvoyant abilities; they don’t know I’ll be replacing their personnel. If they trust the original owner of this body, altering the skull might be to prevent capture if the mission fails,” Kui Xin explained.

“Do you think there might be tracking devices inside your metal skull?” Augus asked.

“It’s hard to say.” Kui Xin replied. “If so, my killing of He Gaoyi yesterday would be exposed. Eve wouldn’t approve of my independent actions; they’d prefer to destroy disobedient tools.”

Augus was puzzled, “You’re not afraid? If there is a tracker, it will have control over every aspect of your movements. You wouldn’t even be able to replace the metal skull, and would eventually die.”

Kui Xin said, “When it comes to that… I’ll accept it.”

In fact, she was prepared for the worst scenario.

Should things deteriorate to that extent, she would resort to using the Death Rebirth to explore another path.

“There’s no human doctor I can trust for the operation,” Augus said. “There are illegal clinics underground, but under no circumstances should you entrust them with your life unless absolutely necessary.”

“Another option is to upgrade my cellular regeneration level. Continuously killing higher-ranked Heterogeneous Blooded ones could enhance my capability, allowing me to heal even when my skull is removed,” Kui Xin bit her thumb. “However, my current rank is C, and that ability would be A. Has anyone in the Investigation Bureau captured an A-ranked Heterogeneous Blooded?”

“No, ours are at most B ranked. They can automatically reset and heal bones, slowly regenerate limbs, but cannot heal as fast as you described. For example, regrowing a finger would take about five hours. Given the size of the wound in your head, complete healing could take nearly a day,” Augus replied.

Kui Xin’s mouth twitched, “Do I need to carry a bare brain for the head’s healing process?”

Augus regretfully added, “Probably yes… moreover, because your brain is uncovered, cerebrospinal fluid will leak. Dust and bacteria could cause infections and complications. At that point, you’d need to stay in a fixed location, receiving professional treatment and continuous drug administration.”

Kui Xin slapped her own face, dispelling the vivid image forming in her mind.

“In the end, I’ll have no choice but to go to one of those illegal clinics,” Kui Xin said.

“Seems we’re out of options,” Augus stated.

Kui Xin helplessly marked the fourth thing in her mind with the label ‘pending.’

“Do the Investigation Bureau have any known locations of Heterogeneous Blooded?” Kui Xin asked.

“If higher-level Heterogeneous Blooded can’t be killed, can I boost my abilities by killing an adequate number of lower-ranked ones?” Kui Xin pondered.

“Not necessarily, investigations concerning Heterogeneous Blooded rarely occur weekly. Don’t count on it,” Augus replied truthfully.

Kui Xin’s eyebrows furrowed as she got up and paced around the room, trying to find alternative solutions.

Two minutes later, the doorbell rang. A robot stood at the door holding a tray with Kui Xin’s takeout meal.

Kui Xin brought the takeout into the room, mechanically chewed and finished the meal unenthusiastically.

After finishing her meal, Kui Xin took out the silver bracelet from the Mechanical Dawn and composed a report for Kui Haidong.

The report noted the interrogation at the Investigation Bureau, though nothing out of the ordinary occurred throughout the process. In the report, she inquired about the progress on Hei Hai City’s Mechanical Dawn branch. She mentioned feeling isolated and helpless, possibly requiring support and requested that the branch’s construction be expedited.

After writing this report, Kui Xin thought for a moment and sent an additional message to Eve, mainly discussing the entry of第二批内测players (batch two beta testers) and stating that Augus considered it an opportunity, perhaps warranting action.

She aimed to demonstrate her value and prove action beyond mere promises to Eve, while also gauging for any unexpected response.

After sending both reports, Kui Xin waited for a reply.

Kui Haidong responded within ten minutes, his reply being a single line:

“I understand. Do not worry about branch concerns; Red is handling it. In case of any issues, contact him directly.”

Red? Kui Xin’s eyes instantly lit up.