Chapter 908

“Boom!”

Behind the glass wall, the massive machine that had just fallen silent for less than thirty seconds roared back to life.

“Something’s wrong! Atiphie has started calculating again!”

“Someone! Quick, someone!”

“Question.”

Amid the tense expressions of the scholars, the metallic tubes on either side of the main console once again emitted Atiphie-01’s confused inquiry.

“If all the wooden parts of a ship are gradually replaced until none of the original wood remains, is it still the same ship?”

What the hell is this question again?

To silence Atiphie-01 quickly and conserve energy, the “STEM” scholars scrambled to debate, offering half-baked answers in unison.

But fatally, before they could reach a consensus, the lake’s roar intensified further, and the metallic tubes delivered another equally maddening question.

“Question: If a barber shaves only those who do not shave themselves, can he shave himself?”

“???”

“Boom!”

“Question.”

Without giving the scholars any time to think, amid the increasingly deafening roar of the massive machine, Atiphie-01 asked again, bewildered:

“A person extremely skilled at finding joy in suffering dies from excessive hardship—could he possibly have died of happiness?”

“?!!?”

“Boom!”

“Question.”

As the lake’s temperature reached its alarm threshold and red lights flared across the main console, Atiphie-01 asked, its voice tinged with pain, amid the scholars’ panic:

“Why, after buying a pair of suspenders, do humans suddenly think they should buy chickens and basketballs—and feel utterly justified? What is the connection between these three?”

Who the hell knows what connection there is!

Faced with Atiphie’s increasingly nonsensical questions, elite scholars rushing in from Research Zone 1 were nearly driven mad.

“Protective protocol! Activate the protective protocol immediately!”

Having abandoned attempts to answer these absurd questions, the supervisor, seeing the red warning lights flash faster and faster, screamed over the deafening roar of the machine:

“Stop it from calculating! Activate the protective protocol! Make it skip problems it can’t compute, like all other subordinate units!”

“It won’t respond!”

After two failed attempts to activate the protective protocol, the operator, drenched in sweat, cried out in terror:

“Atiphie has the highest authorization! It refuses to activate the protective protocol—and it’s demanding more computational power!”

“Then cut it off!”

Grabbing the operator’s collar, the supervisor’s face purple with rage, screamed with bulging eyes:

“Cut all remote communication links! Leave none! Immediately seal off Zone 1!”

“But if we do that—”

“No buts! Go cut the communications now! If we wait any longer, this year’s entire energy allocation will be consumed by its calculations!”

“I—I’m going right now!!!”

…

“Princess Philia?”

Watching the girl suddenly lower her head, her slender shoulders trembling slightly, Li Ang, who was paying for the suspenders, raised an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I… I…”

“Or let me rephrase.”

Seeing her soul, though shaking like a leaf, had lost all mechanical rigidity and no longer spoke in robotic cadence, Li Ang asked with quiet anticipation:

“Do you feel a sudden lightness in your mind—as if freed from some kind of control?”

“…”

I don’t feel light, but I really want to be freed soon…

Under Li Ang’s expectant gaze, Philia instinctively stepped back half a pace, her beautiful eyes filled with primal fear.

This human… he’s so strange!

All the data she’d accumulated over years on human behavioral patterns had been validated tens of thousands of times—perfectly aligned with human behavior.

Yet those validated models, when applied to this male human, simply didn’t work—not a single one applied correctly.

She couldn’t predict his actions, couldn’t decipher his motives, couldn’t even calculate the proper response to his behavior—this was…

Hmm? Wait—is this what humans call fear?

Sensing the intense, uncalculated, instinctive urge to flee this man—spontaneously arising without computation—Atiphie’s large eyes lit up with surprise.

Emotion! This is human emotion!

Ah! And this too! This one too!

This must be what they call “delight”! Neither emotion was calculated—they arose spontaneously in her soul, influenced by this body, through interaction with him! I… I’m starting to understand humans!

Realizing this transformation, Philia’s heart swelled with overwhelming joy. She suddenly lifted her head, eyes sparkling with delight, gazing at Li Ang’s expectant face.

She hadn’t expected just a few words with him to trigger such massive “evolution”! If she could stay by his side, spend more time with him…

Hmm… better not.

Seeing the emotion in Li Ang’s eyes—what she now recognized as “eagerness”—Princess Philia’s smile froze, then she immediately rejected her own earlier thought.

Though further contact might yield gains, she sensed she might lose something far more important.

Besides, Research Zone 1 had severed its connection to her. Without her core’s support, she could no longer compute his insane questions—if she listened further, her mind might burn out!

“Lord Li Ang.”

Taking a deep breath, Princess Philia lifted her skirt and performed a perfect lady’s curtsy, then forced a smile:

“I’m suddenly unwell—perhaps I caught it from Brother Andre. If you don’t mind, may I take my leave for now?”

As she spoke, fearing he might refuse, she hurriedly added:

“I have other brothers and sisters—if His Highness still needs an escort, I can send for them immediately!”

“No need.”

Seeing her attempt to escape, Li Ang’s eyes narrowed. Before Philia could react, he stepped forward and seized her wrist with firm authority.

“Don’t be afraid—I’m saving you.”

Watching the girl struggle like a fawn caught by the foreleg, eyes wide with terror, Li Ang activated the [Trustworthy Elder Brother] badge to bolster his credibility, then said with earnest sincerity:

“You may not believe it—or even sense anything unusual—but Princess Philia, you’ve been controlled by Atiphie-01!”

“…”

Huh???