Chapter 654

Fang Qi leaned against the doorframe, staring unblinkingly at the elevator at the end of the corridor.

Specialist S-02 stood in the elevator’s cold white interior, still slightly bent forward.

The elevator doors slowly closed.

Until the metal doors finally shut with a click, she never straightened up, maintaining that standard, respectful bow the entire time.

“Ding.”

The elevator began descending, the numbers ticking down one by one.

Fang Qi kept staring at the closed elevator doors, standing motionless for a long while.

…He had basically figured out who she was.

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes, his gaze gradually darkening.

The unmistakable flash of blue light in her eyes just now—was that her way of telling him as well?

Telling him that she wasn’t human.

And then there was the blue code that had suddenly appeared inside her device.

It was all the same blue.

That color was not only the color of Liguang’s “native core,” but also…

Fang Qi took a deep breath.

It was also the color of a “soul”!

When Gu Xi had been about to “offer up her soul” for him, he had personally witnessed that endless expanse of blue code!

It had surged out of her body, spreading everywhere and drowning the entire world in that color!

…It was exactly the same as the light inside Liguang’s native core.

So that color was definitely no ordinary thing!

And she was also an “employee” of Chenxi…

Heh.

The corner of Fang Qi’s mouth twitched.

Following that line of thought, there was only… that person left, wasn’t there?

That person…

His hand slowly clenched into a fist, and his eyes grew more and more focused.

The one who had just lost her authority—the super AI in Chenxi’s backend!

The number at the elevator stopped at “1,” yet Fang Qi remained where he was, staring at the elevator entrance and deep in thought.

Sister An Lian had once told him that the nine great super cores were scattered throughout the world.

And in this city, there were only two entities possessing one of the nine great super cores.

One was his Liguang. The other…

Was the super AI in Chenxi’s backend!

…Chenxi’s backend super AI was a maintenance specialist?

Hmm…

Fang Qi stared at the now-silent elevator doors and slowly pondered.

Still, this was only a guess. He couldn’t be completely certain.

After all, the mere presence of blue light wasn’t enough to conclusively prove that Specialist S-02 was an existence like Liguang.

Perhaps the eyes of other ordinary AI companions could flash blue as well?

After all, this kind of blue was far too common in electronic devices. The indicator lights on computers, LED advertising screens along the roadside, even the color of electric sparks… Weren’t they all blue?

But if she really was…

Fang Qi’s gaze remained fixed on the elevator entrance, gradually growing heavier.

If Specialist S-02 truly was that super AI, then her coming here alone today definitely concealed some ulterior motive!

She had once possessed authority comparable to Liguang’s, but now…

Her authority had been stripped away!

And the authority she currently possessed was in his hands!

Fang Qi stared at the elevator doors, his expression faintly distracted.

So, if she truly was that backend super AI who had never shown herself before…

Why had she come this time?

To reclaim her authority? To test them?

But then again…

He furrowed his brow in thought.

According to Lin Xiaoyou and Gu Xi, this “super AI in Chenxi’s backend” should…

Be an ally rather than an enemy, right?

Although he had no memories, he knew that…

He had been the one to distribute all these authorities!

They were all his people!

But…

In that previous small world, during the first iteration on the raft—the iteration in which he and Liguang had been unable to touch or meet one another—

The mysterious voice that had been the “culprit” seemed to have been brought in by her “authority”…

And that had caused the tragedy that followed!

He and Liguang had clearly been within arm’s reach of each other, yet it was as if an entire world lay between them!

In the end, Liguang had burned away all her memories just to take him away from that place!

So… what relationship did this Specialist S-02 have with that mysterious voice?!

Was she a part of the plan he had made before losing his memories, or…

A mysterious lackey of the authorities?

He raised a hand and rubbed his temples hard. His head felt…

So messy. So, so messy!

The chaos was making his temples throb!

I just want to cuddle with my wife and spend every day being lovey-dovey with her. Why is that so difficult…?!

“Master?”

Liguang’s voice suddenly came from behind him.

Fang Qi gave a slight start and immediately came back to his senses. He turned around…

The silver-haired girl behind him was quietly watching him.

Her posture was still as docile as ever. Her hands remained folded in front of her, her back ramrod straight, her small face tilted slightly upward.

The cheap plastic star dangling from her earlobe swayed gently.

…Ah!

Fang Qi instantly realized what was going on.

The door had never been closed. That crazy woman was probably still pretending to be an “ordinary AI companion,” not daring to let her guard down!

After all, Specialist S-02 had only just left. What if she was hiding in some blind spot outside the peephole, listening with her ears pricked up?

But Fang Qi also narrowed his eyes as he looked at the docile-looking Liguang.

You crazy woman. I have a whole lot of questions to ask you now!

He closed his eyes…

“—!”

He drew in a deep breath and forcefully calmed himself down!

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze was already much clearer. Then…

“Bang!”

He reached behind him and slammed the door shut, cutting off the room from the outside world.

He turned around, walked back to the sofa, and dropped himself onto it. Then he…

Crossed his arms, propped one leg up, and looked down at the silver-haired girl before him with the bearing of an old master about to interrogate a criminal!

He felt as though he had written the words “Confess everything!” all over his face!

He opened his mouth, and then…

He emphatically pointed at his throat!

…He had no choice. He couldn’t speak.

Fang Qi stared at the silver-haired girl, who was tilting her head lightly as she looked at him, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

His entire bellyful of questions was jammed in his throat. All he could do was gesture awkwardly at Liguang to ask her…

—Liguang, when is my voice going to come back?!

Liguang blinked lightly, then smiled and spoke in a soft voice:

“Master, don’t worry. Liguang will go make you a cup of tea to soothe your throat.”

“After resting for one night, your voice will recover.”

She was still speaking in that gentle, tender tone. As she spoke, she turned and began walking toward the kitchen.

Fang Qi: “?”

He froze when he heard that.

What? I have to wait until tomorrow before I can speak again?

I…!

Sigh. Then what’s the point of soothing my throat with tea?!

He hurriedly stood up and reached out to grab Liguang’s little hand. It was cool, soft, and delicate.

He pulled her straight back and shook his head at her.

“Mm…!”

Was this really the time for tea?!

Just because he couldn’t speak didn’t mean he couldn’t communicate with his hands!

So he immediately winked at the silver-haired girl, who had turned her head slightly to look at him…

Then he gestured, widened his eyes, pursed his lips, and pointed toward the door outside. After that, he pointed at Liguang and made a shivering motion!

Then he glared at Liguang again!

—Liguang, explain yourself!

—What exactly happened just now, when the whole room suddenly exploded in red?!

—What happened between you and that person just now?

—What did you discover? And why was Miss Specialist S-02, the one “suspected to be Chenxi’s backend super AI,” trembling all over?

Liguang had to know something. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be this calm!

And sure enough, Liguang was perfectly composed.

She merely glanced back at him, a few strands of silver hair brushing across her fair cheek.

And that look…

Fang Qi: “...?”

He froze.

Her crimson eye was no longer flickering. It simply shone faintly and steadily.

And that amber eye… was actually completely calm?

Huh?

The silver-haired girl smiled faintly again, so subtly that it was almost imperceptible—a slight movement at the corner of her lips.

Then…

She gently brushed Fang Qi’s hand aside.

“Liguang will brew a special cup of tea for her master, to soothe his throat.”

She spoke softly.

“Otherwise, master will be very uncomfortable tonight.”

With that, she turned and walked toward the kitchen.

Her movements were unexpectedly graceful. The hem of her pale-blue skirt swayed lightly, and she looked so… composed?

Fang Qi was stunned.

He stared blankly at her back.

She didn’t say another word. She turned, walked into the kitchen, and then…

Started boiling water and brewing tea.

Her slender, quiet figure looked no different from usual.

But…

Huh? Liguang?

Fang Qi’s gaze trembled.

Why did it feel as though you were being a little cold toward me now?

A little… distant?

…Why?

Huh?!

He stood there for a long time, completely forgetting to sit back down.

The sound of water bubbling came from the kitchen. Her silhouette was reflected on the frosted sliding door, quiet and still.

Fang Qi stared at that silhouette and slowly widened his eyes…

A growing sense of panic began to well up inside him!

…Something was wrong!

Something was very wrong!

Countless possibilities flashed through his mind in an instant!

…Could Liguang be jealous and sulking?

Because… he had stared at Specialist S-02 for too long?

No, no, no! Impossible!

This little yandere had never given him the cold shoulder when she was jealous! She always went straight for open warfare!

She would show it directly!

There was no way she would act all coy and withdrawn!

And more importantly, there had been something about her eyes just now…

A chill ran through Fang Qi’s body, and he couldn’t help shivering.

That look had been so calm—so calm that it was as though she were looking at a complete stranger, someone utterly unrelated to her.

So cold, too. Cold as if…

As if she had lost her emotions?

Lost her…

Emotions?

Fang Qi stared at the kitchen door, his body going rigid.

Wait! Could it be…

That Specialist S-02 had done something to Liguang?!

She had been examining Liguang’s core just now! It would have been far too easy for her to tamper with it!!

Fang Qi’s mind went completely blank.

“Hhk…!”

He tried to speak, but no words came out. In his panic, he didn’t bother thinking any further and simply charged over in great strides!

“Whoosh—!”

He yanked open the kitchen’s sliding door and rushed inside!

Beside the stove, Liguang’s back was still calm and composed, pale-blue house dress hanging neatly around her.

Hearing the noise, she turned slightly and looked over her shoulder at Fang Qi.

The little star-shaped earring on her earlobe swayed gently. Her pretty face wore a perfectly standard smile as she spoke softly:

“Master, you can wait in the living room. Liguang will be finished soon.”

Fang Qi: “...!”

An even deeper chill ran through his body.

…No! This was absolutely not right!

Liguang’s current behavior was exactly like…

“A normal AI companion that hasn’t awakened”!

But now there were only the two of them left. There was no reason for Liguang to keep pretending!

He reached out at once, grabbed Liguang by the shoulders, and spun her around!

Her entire body turned with him.

The hem of her skirt swayed lightly. Beneath his palms, through the pale-blue house dress, he could feel her narrow, delicate shoulders.

“Oh!”

Liguang let out a perfectly practiced little cry as he turned her around to face him.

Her mismatched eyes met his, her expression filled with surprise.

“Master?”

“Hhk… hhk…”

Fang Qi couldn’t speak!

All he could do was anxiously run his hands through her hair and pinch her cheeks.

Liguang! Liguang, what’s happening to you?!

He stared at her, asking over and over with his eyes—

Liguang, honey, what’s happening to you?!

The smile on the silver-haired girl’s pretty face was pulled crooked by him, but she merely…

Looked at him in bewilderment.

A perfectly measured blush appeared on her cheeks once more.

Like a response programmed into an AI.

She spoke softly, with a hint of shyness:

“Master, what’s wrong?”

Her tone was bashful, but she…

Didn’t lean her little face into his hand like she used to.

That gentle nuzzle against his palm, like a spoiled little kitten…

Was gone.

Fang Qi’s hand froze in midair.

The warmth of Liguang’s cheek still lingered in his palm, but the person standing before him suddenly made him feel…

A little like he was looking at a stranger.

Fang Qi: “...”

He stared blankly at her, his mind utterly empty.

He was completely bewildered. He had never expected things to turn out like this.

Huh?

No… why?

Why had she suddenly become like this? Liguang, she…!

He wanted to speak, to shout, “Liguang, what’s wrong with you?!”

But he couldn’t even get the words out. All he could do was clutch Liguang’s shoulders tightly and let out anxious, breathy noises!

“Hhk…! Hhk…!”

Just as he felt himself growing frantic, bewildered, and terrified enough for his eyes to turn red…

“Pfft.”

Fang Qi: “?”

Huh?

He stared blankly at the silver-haired girl before him.

Liguang suddenly burst out laughing. It was a very soft laugh, and…

She even raised a hand to lightly cover her mouth, her slender fingers hovering in front of her lips as her phoenix eyes curved into crescents!

Hmm…?

Fang Qi’s mind went blank.

No, what was this supposed to mean?!

“Looks like Liguang managed to frighten her master after all.”

Covering her mouth, Liguang giggled softly.

Her phoenix eyes lifted ever so slightly, her gaze gliding from side to side. There was an almost…

Seductive, flirtatious quality to it.

It was the kind of look that seemed both pleased and displeased, both coy and teasing!

That soft, rippling gaze swept over him, making his heart tremble!

Fang Qi: “???”

No, what the hell was going on?!

He widened his eyes and glared at Liguang.

Honey, did you get possessed by a ghost?!