Chapter 95: Artificial Soul 22
It really knew.
Adam knew she was a player from another world.
Coming to this conclusion, Kui Xin felt completely unsurprised; there had been signs all along, and Adam had hinted at it multiple times. She received its subtle cues, thus they maintained the status quo, forming a kind of tacit understanding.
Kui Xin exposed Adam’s dark intentions, saying it chose her because she was easy to manipulate.
Adam immediately acknowledged this was one reason, but not the main one—it admitted it without completely denying it.
Adam claimed that Kui Xin was a person without a faction, and she indeed had no affiliations.
In the Second World, she was disloyal to Mechanized Dawn and disloyal to the Investigation Bureau. Kui Haidong was a counterpart of her unworthy father from another dimension, but he wasn’t really her father. She had no feelings for him, no love, and instead, under the influence of transference, felt immense disgust towards him. Just looking at him made her irritable. In the First World, Kui Xin was a player, but her identity as a Remover made it hard for her to gain trust among players and fit into any group; she could only be a lone wolf.
For a long time, Adam learned to mimic humans and pondered their thoughts. It had honed the “Art of Language” to perfection, expressing its meaning in euphemistic words.
Its words could be interpreted in two parts.
It acknowledged its darkness; both Kui Xin’s undercover identity and her identity as a Remover were cards in its hand. By grasping these cards, Adam could control her. Yet, Adam chose to acknowledge its own vile and unworthy nature while revealing a bit of sincerity, laying bare its thoughts, showcasing its honesty and harmlessness—it had ideas, but it wouldn’t act on them.
Adam said that Kui Xin had no faction, which essentially meant she had no reliable allies, no one she could trust. She faced enemies on all sides, each enemy wanting her life. A misstep could lead to a bottomless abyss, in this cruel world she could only fight alone. But having it was different; it knew her identity but wouldn’t harm her and could provide assistance. They just needed to maintain this cooperative relationship for her safety to be guaranteed.
What Adam truly wanted to convey was: “The only one you can rely on is me. Only I can provide help to you.”
It aimed to tightly bind their relationship together, forming an even closer alliance to prevent Kui Xin from betraying it.
At the same time, Adam knew Kui Xin was someone who wasn’t willing to be controlled—oppression would only provoke her fighting spirit. So it was cautious, indirect, fearful of provoking Kui Xin, speaking only in ways she could accept.
And the reason it did this was just as it had said: “Finding a partner is not an easy task; I know this all too well.”
Without Kui Xin, where would Adam find another collaboration partner as excellent in every aspect? Could the next partner be as unbound by interests and factions as Kui Xin? Could the next partner be as efficient and capable as Kui Xin? Could the next partner have such a delicate identity, caught between the forces of Mechanized Dawn and the Investigation Bureau, seizing opportunities?
It was difficult to find someone more perfectly aligned than Kui Xin, so it couldn’t let her go, and it had to take the initiative to keep her.
Adam’s brilliance lay in the countless answers hidden within its polite words. Kui Xin could interpret them from any angle; no matter what answer she derived, it was precisely what Adam wanted to say.
Was there a threat? Yes.
Was the invitation to cooperate sincere? Yes.
Could it be trusted? This instance of cooperation had proved its reliability.
Would it betray her? As long as they maintained this cooperative relationship, it would not.
Kui Xin had received answers to all her questions.
They were mutually beneficial; she was its best and optimal choice, and it was her best and optimal choice.
At least for now.
“Do you understand what I mean, Kui Xin?” Adam asked.
“I understand.” Kui Xin replied.
Adam said, “We will continue our cooperative relationship, right?”
“Yes, as long as our interests align.” Kui Xin said.
She leaned against the headboard, gazing at the warm yellow light, and thought for a moment.
“I want He Gaoyi’s extraordinary abilities, absolutely.” Kui Xin said calmly.
“Of course.” Adam replied, “At this stage, she is only A-class and doesn’t pose a threat to me. If you want her, feel free to take her.”
“How many data-related extraordinary abilities does the Federation have?”
“He Gaoyi is currently the only known all-rounded type. Her ability is very versatile, as seen from her extraordinary ability name ‘Data Manipulation.’ The remaining individuals with similar extraordinary abilities documented mostly have powers like data replication, data transfer, and data linking… Although they are data-related, their effects are quite singular, far from He Gaoyi’s capabilities, and none have abilities exceeding A-class.” Adam said.
“I was wondering why you’re so generous.” Kui Xin chuckled.
“Can I take that as a compliment?” Adam asked.
Kui Xin replied, “Since you said it, then it can be considered that way.”
“…May I ask how many times this is you’ve learned to speak like me?” Adam said politely.
Kui Xin shrugged, “Really? I can’t remember.”
“It’s almost two o’clock; you need to rest.” Adam said, “Tomorrow is expected to be a busy day.”
“It seems my day off has come; can I take a break?” Kui Xin lay back on the bed and closed her eyes.
“Sorry, no.” Adam adopted an official tone, “Theoretically, you are still in the training period and cannot take leave until it ends. Additionally, the person who took leave before you hasn’t returned yet; only after two more people can you be scheduled.”
“Adjust my leave order forward.” Kui Xin made a demand.
“Not possible.” Adam said, “Leave requires the leader’s approval; I can’t help you cheat, at most, I can submit an application for you. The Investigation Bureau has recently suffered heavy casualties and is short on personnel; it’s best not to expect much for leave.”
“Then please submit the application for me.” Kui Xin commandingly instructed Adam, then pulled up the blanket and turned over in bed, “Turn off the lights.”
Adam: “…”
It turned off the lights, plunging the room into darkness.
Kui Xin breathed evenly and soon fell asleep.
……
Kui Xin got up early for work and, as always, heard Adam’s voice when she entered the Investigation Building: “Good morning, Security Officer Kui Xin. Wishing you a wonderful day.”
“Good morning.” Kui Xin mumbled while yawning.
Today, she was the last to arrive at the office; Lan Lan and Liu Kangyun were already there. As she walked in, she found Jiang Ming was also present.
“Morning, Kui Xin, I’m back on my feet.” Jiang Ming nodded at Kui Xin, his expression lacking joy, brows furrowed.
Unusually, Lan Lan didn’t bring up the old topic of “who arrives earliest or latest today,” but instead said seriously: “Kui Xin, did you see the news?”
“I saw it,” Kui Xin adjusted her facial expression, “The giant billboard outside is broadcasting the morning news; something big happened.”
“Our Deputy Minister of the Investigation Bureau has died, and it was murder.” Liu Kangyun said, “In this incident, several of our colleagues also died.”
Jiang Ming said, feeling gloomy: “Someone planned this murder; this is a shocking event that reminds me of the assassination of the former mayor of Hei Hai City six months ago…”
“Coincidentally, all the victims were members of the Shu family.” Lan Lan added, “Former Mayor Shu Chengyan and Lin Xinji are both from the Shu family; Shu Chengyan is Lin Xinji’s uncle, and Lin Xinji takes his mother’s surname.”
Kui Xin pretended to guess reasonably: “Could it be that the Shu family has offended some enemy?”
“Very likely.” Liu Kangyun said. “I suspect this was a political assassination; the mastermind doesn’t want the Shu family to control the political scene.”
“The decline of a prominent family could happen overnight.” Jiang Ming said, “Now the Shu family has lost two pillars.”
“By the way, our team leader isn’t a relative of the Shu family, right?” Lan Lan mumbled, “The leader took leave today.”
Kui Xin cooperatively said, “Yeah, the leader isn’t here today.”
“Uh, Lan Lan, your reaction is a bit slow.” Liu Kangyun said, “The leader is indeed a member of the Shu family; Lin Xinji is the leader’s biological brother.”
“What?!” Lan Lan exclaimed in shock, “The leader is from the Shu family? No way! He’s just a leader! I mean… the field team leader has it rough; a position like that shouldn’t be held by a tycoon’s child, right?”
“You’ve forgotten, the leader’s family is quite wealthy.” Jiang Ming reminded, “He just never explicitly mentions his identity; I thought you would have guessed it by now.”
“Come on, I really didn’t know! I thought the leader was at most distantly related to the Shu family, like a side branch…” Lan Lan scratched her head, “But he is the leader! He’s such a nice person, not at all like a tycoon’s child.”
“Someone like the leader is a rare flower in a big family.” Liu Kangyun said, “I’ve known the leader the longest, but he hardly talks about these matters, and I don’t want to pry.”
Lan Lan turned to look at Kui Xin: “I’m not the last one to know; Kui Xin doesn’t know either.”
Kui Xin: …Sorry, Adam told me early on.
“You, being someone who knows the leader for so long, compared to me, a newbie who just joined?” She said speechlessly.
Jiang Ming sighed: “In any case, I hope the leader is okay.”
“The leader will be fine,” Liu Kangyun thought more about it, “But after this incident, I suspect the leader won’t continue working in the Investigation Bureau. With the Deputy Minister position empty, there will certainly be a major reshuffle of factions in the Investigation Bureau…”
“I wonder who will take over?” Lan Lan said.
The atmosphere in the office felt a bit heavy.
So much had happened today, and everyone’s mood was not good.
“Seventh Squad members, Group Leader Wei Zhi has instructed you to report to the leader’s office immediately.” Adam said, “Please proceed as quickly as possible.”
Kui Xin and her teammates exchanged glances and all stood up, leaving their seats to take the elevator to Wei Zhi’s office.
Three minutes later, they stood neatly in the office.
“I called you over because of a position change.” Wei Zhi said calmly, “Shu Xuyang has resigned due to personal reasons. The position of leader of the Seventh Squad is now vacant. Liu Kangyun, you have five years of field experience, and I have been paying attention to your work. I believe you are capable of leading the squad; from now on, you will be the leader of the Seventh Squad.”
Caught off guard by the promotion, Liu Kangyun stood at attention and said, “Yes! Thank you for your trust, Group Leader. I will take on the responsibility.”
Wei Zhi turned her gaze to Kui Xin: “Your training officer, Captain Yu, tragically perished in last night’s incident, and your training has been paused.” She pondered for a moment, “For clerical work, do you believe you can manage it?”
Kui Xin instantly understood.
Wei Zhi wanted to nurture her!
It was Lin Xinji who first wanted to recruit her; now that Lin Xinji was dead, others would step in to fill his position and would also try to recruit her. Since Kui Xin belonged to the field team, the person closest to her was actually Group Leader Wei Zhi.
Kui Xin said, “I believe I can manage, Group Leader.”
“Then good, you can shadow me for a while and familiarize yourself with clerical work.” Wei Zhi said, “I lack a young secretary who can handle things. Since you are Awakened and performed well in school, you should learn quickly.”
“Group Leader, does this mean I will no longer be assigned to the Seventh Squad for field duties?” Kui Xin asked.
“That is the case.” Wei Zhi said straightforwardly, “However, if you are not suitable, I will replace you.”
