Chapter 88: Artificial Soul 15
Kui Xin stepped through the portal, leaving the dilapidated house on Peaceful Street, and arrived in a spacious and bright conference room.
Kui Haidong was seated in the central chair of the conference room, with Night Cicada casually standing beside him.
Kui Haidong spoke kindly, “Xiao Xin, come have a seat.”
“No thanks, I still have to go home and pack my clothes. I need to leave early tomorrow for the Employee Dormitory.” Kui Xin replied, “Please get to the point.”
Unlike his usual self, Kui Haidong didn’t engage in small talk and directly signaled Night Cicada with his eyes.
Night Cicada snapped his fingers, and a small blue vortex appeared above his palm. From the vortex, a small black box fell out, catching it with his hand.
Kui Xin asked, “What is that?”
“Do you remember the bug that forced Thorn Rose to lose her arm?” Kui Haidong said, “This box contains it.”
Kui Xin’s gaze sharpened as she stared at the small box and asked, “Have you figured out its function? 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 arm and dissected this bug from her flesh, then we studied and cultivated it.”
“Cultivated?” Kui Xin looked up.
“We let this bug parasitize flesh and blood, providing it with nourishment. After a period of cultivation, we cut it in half and placed each half on separate flesh to cultivate, and the cut bug can grow into two different individuals.” Kui Haidong explained, “Just like earthworms, they have an incredible regenerative ability. Under sufficient nutrients, this red hidden worm can complete regeneration in just two hours.”
Kui Xin asked with interest, “Can they only parasitize humans, or can they inhabit any living creature?”
“They can parasitize any living creature.” Kui Haidong said casually, “We’ve conducted experiments on both laboratory animals and humans. Although the experimental cycle was short, the results were promising.”
“Interesting, achieving results in such a short time.” Kui Xin remarked, “So, what are our experimental results? What is its specific function?”
Kui Haidong cleared his throat and said, “Do you know about Toxoplasma and threadworms? Certain parasites in nature secrete specific chemicals after parasitizing their hosts and control their behavior.”
“Are you saying that the red hidden worm can do the same?” Kui Xin realized something.
“Exactly.” Kui Haidong nodded, “They can control the thoughts of the host, subtly changing their behavior and turning them into slaves.”
Kui Xin gasped, “That’s terrifying! What if one of our people accidentally gets affected…”
“Now that we’ve discovered it, we can prevent it.” Kui Haidong assured, “The reason I called you here today is to give you the new individuals we’ve cultivated.”
“You want me to choose a host for the red hidden worm?” Kui Xin asked.
“That’s right.” Kui Haidong confirmed.
Night Cicada promptly placed the small box containing the red hidden worms on the conference table, sliding it in front of Kui Xin.
Kui Xin extended her hand to verify her fingerprint. The box opened, releasing a cold air, revealing three glass tubes containing the hidden worms, which lay motionless inside, hibernating at a very low temperature.
“Leave it at room temperature for half an hour, and the worms will regain their activity.” Kui Haidong said, “There are a total of three; use them cautiously.”
“What about the selection?” Kui Xin inquired, “Is there a specific candidate?”
“You can consider it yourself, preferably targeting individuals with potential and high status.” Kui Haidong suggested, “For instance, Lin Xinji and his close associates; controlling them would resolve many issues.”
“I can’t find such an opportunity.” Kui Xin was honest, “After moving to the Employee Dormitory, I can look for chances among the people around me, but individuals like Lin Xinji are too high-profile for me to access.”
“That’s why I said you can think for yourself.” Kui Haidong responded generously, “You can place it on your teammates as well; it’s all the same. It doesn’t have to be high-status individuals. You can use those more ordinary security officers as experimental subjects. We can quickly achieve mass production of this kind of worm.”
“Mass production… doesn’t it have any flaws?” Kui Xin asked, “According to your description, the hidden worm seems too perfect.”
“There may be some, but we haven’t discovered them yet, which is why we need a longer time for experiments.” Kui Haidong said, “Focus on the tasks at hand for now; when it’s ready for mass production, I will inform you of the next steps.”
“Alright, ‘Dad’.” Kui Xin closed the box.
“When handling the hidden worms, be sure to use tools, and at the very least, wear gloves.” Kui Haidong instructed, “The hidden worms have very little power and can’t break through glass, but once they touch warm flesh, they will activate their bloodthirsty nature, and can burrow into a person’s body in under three seconds.”
“No problem, I’ll be on my way.”
“Wait, aren’t you curious about those players?” Night Cicada called out to Kui Xin with a smile.
“Didn’t we say that the threat from the First World is distant, while the threat from the Investigation Bureau is pressing?” Kui Xin feigned indifference, “Those players are still in our hands, they are under our control, and that is enough. If they truly had something going on, ‘Dad’ wouldn’t keep it from me until now, right?”
She couldn’t afford to show too much concern, even though she was actually very interested.
Kui Haidong said, “I’ll tell you everything you need to know. It’s getting late, go get some rest, Xiao Xin. Night Cicada, please open the portal for her.”
Night Cicada made a gesture, and the blue vortex opened beside Kui Xin.
He said, “Please, Miss.”
After returning home, Kui Xin frowned in confusion.
She expected to face some sort of test, but none came. Had the Mechanized Dawn’s suspicion of her vanished? But once suspicion arises, it doesn’t dissipate so easily.
Why did their attitude suddenly relax? Why did they stop probing her further? Why… did they allow her actions as if they had nothing to fear?
An unseen shadow loomed over Kui Xin, weighing heavily on her feelings.
……
Early the next morning, Kui Xin set off half an hour early, dragging her suitcase onto the electric tram.
Adam had notified Kui Xin via email that her application for the Employee Dormitory had been approved, and she could move in today.
Kui Xin didn’t bring the box containing the hidden worms; she planned to transport her belongings in batches. She would first take a small suitcase this morning, and after work, return to Peaceful Street to bring the rest of her things. The box with the hidden worms would be included in the second batch; she needed to carry it herself to feel secure.
She rode the hover tram near the Investigation Building but did not enter. Instead, she turned a corner and arrived at a thirty-story apartment building nearby.
The apartment building had glass automatic doors that required facial recognition to enter.
As Kui Xin stood in front of the glass door, the two doors opened automatically, and Adam said, “Good morning, Security Officer Kui Xin. You can take the elevator upstairs to check your room and drop off your luggage, or you can choose to entrust your luggage to the housekeeping robot on the first floor, and it will deliver your luggage to your room.”
“I’ll take the second option.” Kui Xin set down her suitcase.
A robot on wheels approached Kui Xin, its mechanical hand picking up her luggage and saying, “Please rest assured to hand your luggage to me.”
“Will the housekeeping robot help me organize my clothes?” Kui Xin asked curiously.
“The housekeeping robot is responsible for cleaning public areas and transporting valuable items, but does not assist employees with personal belongings.” Adam explained, “If you need help, I can contact a cleaning service for you to send a cleaner to help you organize your room and belongings.”
“Never mind, that sounds too troublesome and costly.” Kui Xin declined, stepping out of the apartment lobby. “I’ll come back to tidy up in the evening; I have to go to work first.”
“Have a nice day.” Adam replied in a businesslike manner.
It took some time to navigate around the apartment building, and by the time Kui Xin entered the office, her teammates were already there.
Lan Lan, satisfied, said, “The last one to arrive today was Xiao Kui, not me.”
“You really seem obsessed, Lan Lan. The first topic of discussion in the office every morning is who arrived first.” Kui Xin teased, “Is one early arrival enough to make you feel smug?”
“Of course not. I’ll try to arrive early next time, not just on the dot.” Lan Lan laughed.
Once in the office, Kui Xin checked the work emails sent by Adam.
Today’s agenda still consisted of just one item—training.
“Training again.” Kui Xin tapped her head, “How many days will this training last?”
“At least a week.” Xueyao Shu replied, “There is a lot you need to know; you’ll need to consider various situations when executing tasks. Based on my experience, your task yesterday was of moderate difficulty.”
“That’s true. Although it had a few hiccups at the end, overall it was easy.” Kui Xin affirmed.
“The upcoming tasks may not be very difficult, but they will be a bit more complex.” Xueyao Shu added, “Each trainer has a different way of guiding their trainees, so just follow your trainer’s arrangements.”
Kui Xin murmured, “Is that so…”
At nine o’clock in the morning, Kui Xin reported to the sixty-fifth floor on time.
She entered the office and noticed Captain Yu was not wearing the security officer uniform or combat gear, just a plain leather jacket and jeans.
“Are we going undercover today to capture suspects?” Kui Xin unconsciously asked upon seeing his attire.
“You guessed right.” Captain Yu replied, “We have a changing room here with all sorts of clothes in various types and sizes. You should change into something more casual; it should be slightly loose so you can wear a bulletproof vest underneath, and make sure the bottom of the clothes is long enough to cover your weapon.”
“Got it.” Kui Xin nodded, “What type of weapon should I carry?”
“Hand cannons are too conspicuous, so we won’t take those. Just bring blades and standard firearms.” Captain Yu stated, “We’ll go in lightly armed.”
Kui Xin asked, “Where exactly are we going?”
“The black market, the underground black trading market.” Captain Yu habitually pulled a cigarette from his pocket and bit down on it, “Time to show you the real side of Hei Hai City.”
“Honestly, I feel like I’ve seen enough already.” Kui Xin responded, “I live in the Harbor Zone, and while patrolling there, I’ve witnessed many dark things. Is that what you mean by the real side?”
“Not just that; in the Harbor Zone, you primarily deal with gang fights and brawls, the most dangerous thing you encounter is gunfights in alleys.” Captain Yu explained, “Those situations are thrilling, but not dark enough. What I’m going to show you today is the true darkness—the hidden sides of this city.”
Is that so? Kui Xin thought strangely.
She believed that, to some extent, the Investigation Bureau was the darkest side of this city.
