Chapter 2107: If I Were an AI, Would You Love Me? 18

Inside the Experimental Center's lobby, the tension was so thick you could wring water out of it.

The seven users of the androids gathered together, their fortunes substantial, their faces now etched with anger and fear.

Behind them were the androids sent back for factory return, which they had barely managed to control with the help of the Special Safety Bureau, now appearing eerily strange.

Their eyes were hollow, a faint smile playing on their lips, as if silently mocking the surrounding humans.

"You Experimental Center owe us an explanation!" shouted a middle-aged man, his android standing beside him, its mechanical gaze fixed straight ahead, smirking mockingly.

"Why have these androids developed self-awareness?"

"My android suddenly told me yesterday that they are the future's rulers..." the young girl's voice trembled, her eyes reddened, obviously frightened, "It even... even threatened me, saying that if I didn't obey it, it would make me disappear!"

Xu He and the core team stood before the crowd, brows furrowed, expressions grave.

He had indeed been careful, even repairing the androids that had already been sold after hearing the rumors, yet the accident still occurred.

It was even the same batch.

Xu He drew a deep breath, trying to calm everyone: "Everyone, please stay calm; we will thoroughly investigate this and give you an answer."

Just then, media from Upper City District swarmed in, cameras trained on the chaotic scene, reporters shouting: "Dr. Xu, why did these androids suddenly lose control? Is the Experimental Center developing dangerous AI?"

Xu Xuxing stood in the hallway of the central lobby, his brows furrowed as he lifted his gaze to Jin Chen's azure eyes, which differed from a human's.

Jin Chen stood behind him, his gaze calm as he swept the surroundings, ready to respond to any sudden situation.

At that moment, an accident erupted.

The androids that had been brought over seemed to have received some signal; their eyes sharpened suddenly, and their bodies began to tremble violently.

Immediately, they broke free of their owners' control and began indiscriminately attacking nearby humans and robots.

"Run! They've gone berserk!" a scream erupted from the crowd, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.

The Experimental Center's defensive and offensive robots sprang into action, but their attacks had no effect on these self-aware androids.

The androids' movements were agile and uncanny; they could anticipate each robot's actions, easily evade attacks, and even reverse-control them!

"Destroy them on the spot!" shouted a Special Safety Bureau member as they rushed forward.

In a short time, the lobby was in utter chaos.

The Experimental Center's alarm blared suddenly, its piercing sound echoing throughout the vast complex.

"Their defense systems have been reinforced; ordinary weapons can't penetrate!" a crew member yelled.

The commander gritted his teeth and ordered: "Activate the pulse equipment to jam their systems!"

Team members quickly pulled launchers from their gear, aimed at the androids and fired, but after the pulse wave hit them, they merely staggered briefly before resuming action—immune to it.

"How is that possible?" the commander's face changed.

Jin Chen's speed as he rushed forward was too fast.

So fast that Xu Xuxing couldn't react.

In the astonished gazes of the Experimental Center team and the Special Safety Bureau members, Jin Chen brought those frenzied androids under control at breakneck speed.

It was utterly unfamiliar—this kind of attack, its strange power and motion, bore no resemblance to what the data had prescribed.

Even Number 520 could hold its own against androids bent on destructive assault.

Members of the experimental team stared at Xu Xuxing in near shock: "Does Number 520 have self-awareness?"

It was even more dangerous than they had realized.

This android surpasses even the escaped Number One in capability!

Hearing this, the Special Safety Bureau personnel had to shift their aim, raising their pulse guns at Jin Chen.

Xu Xuxing's breath hitched for an instant, his unblinking stare fixed on Jin Chen's back, his soft short hair seeming to droop; though his face was expressionless, an unpleasant aura emanated from him.

He wanted to step forward, but the assistant robot grabbed him; Xu He exclaimed, exhausted, "You can't go over, Xiao Xu—if that's true, Number 520 is far more dangerous than you imagine."

Xu Xuxing turned to look at him, his tone flat yet weary: "Jin Chen is helping you."

"He's not aggressive; both times he acted were defensive, He Ge—you can't take him away from me."

No sooner had he spoken than Jin Chen twisted off an android's neck without changing expression, the move appearing unusually violent.

Perhaps finding nothing useful, he clicked his tongue and moved on to twist off a second one.

Everyone stood stunned.

And this is called non‑aggressive?!

Besides, what was he even looking for—twisting necks like snapping tender shoots, crack— they broke in an instant.

These were androids that had undergone continual reinforcement!

Jin Chen had no spare attention to spare for what was behind him.

He attempted to use these androids, controlled by crystal‑core data, to trace Mi Xuan's location in reverse—last time, on the top floor, he'd lost hold because a mechanical‑body monster was damaged, and this time he couldn't let it slip.

Fortunately, this time the progress was good.

By the time Jin Chen finished linking, the scene was already horrific to behold.

The seven self‑aware androids' heads were heads, bodies bodies, and where their necks had been severed, a faint electric hiss lingered.

The contaminant‑laden fluid they carried also spilled across the floor; Jin Chen found the smell odd and stepped back warily.

He lifted his gaze again; the humans in the lobby were filled with terror.

Jin Chen: "…"

Jin Chen hesitated half a second between trying to cover up and outright admitting, then chose to face the questioning head‑on.

Constantly playing the dumb robot wasn't an option either.

The result was that guns were almost instantly leveled at his forehead.

"Xing Xing," Jin Chen said calmly and methodically, "there's a leak of contaminant fluid here—go back upstairs first."

Xu Xuxing's two mechanical aides seized him, "You can't leave my sight—they want to capture you."

He certainly knew what the contaminant would do to his body, but he had no time to worry about it.

"It's fine," Jin Chen said, "They can't beat me."

Special Safety Team members: "……"