Chapter 2111: If I were an AI, would you love me? 22

Xu Suxing buried himself in the blanket and let out a soft whimper, then began to miss Jin Chen's embrace—a bodily longing, harder to endure than mere yearning in the heart.

"I want you to hold me." Xu Suxing whispered softly.

This worried Jin Chen, who faced that pair of dazed eyes staring at him and coaxed in the softest voice.

Finally Xu Suxing fetched Jin Chen's shirt and had the robots bring in a bed with great fanfare—after all, the audiovisual room's projection was the largest and clearest, and Xu Suxing didn't want to change locations.

With that arranged, Xu Suxing lay on the bed and could still see Jin Chen, urging him to enter standby as well; watching him close his eyes, Xu Suxing finally slept soundly.

In the warehouse, Jin Chen leaned against the windowsill, afraid to make a noise and disturb Xu Suxing, and closed his eyes to enter a brief standby state.

Like a cold-blooded night assassin.

This assessment came from the youngster hiding in the warehouse corner.

At first he didn't dare to glance with his peripheral vision, only able to judge what the ruthless assassin was doing by sound.

Soon he realized the aloof killer had suddenly turned sweet, spouting comforting words as if they were free.

Ah, the assassin's peculiar habit—keeping a canary at home.

The youngster's imagination ran wild, instantly making him more fearful, terrified that he had overheard some love secret of the assassin and would be silenced.

Fortunately, none of what he feared came to pass.

The next day, bright and early, the youngster awoke from a stack of nightmares in a daze, opening his eyes to see a swath of black coat hem.

He froze, stiffly lifting his head.

The aloof assassin stood beside the cardboard box, looking down at him with a cold expression.

The youngster wished he were still in the nightmare.

"You... you..." he stammered, his face turning red as he held his breath, terrified of being killed.

Even though the daytime aloof assassin didn't look so frightening and was quite handsome, like a movie star.

But the impact of tearing limbs apart was simply too great.

Jin Chen frowned, stepped back slightly, and asked, "Are you a stutterer?"

From last night until now, he hadn't heard this person utter a complete sentence.

Youngster: "……"

He gave a listless nod, becoming ever more pitiable.

Jin Chen frowned, the aura emanating from his whole body growing colder.

A few seconds later, Jin Chen handed him a sheet of paper and a pen, saying, "I have a few questions; answer them, and I'll send you out of this dangerous zone."

Only then did the youngster relax, taking the pen with trembling hands and summoning all his focus to answer.

From the youngster, Jin Chen learned some unwelcome news.

Those turned into killing machines by Mi Xuan might not be limited to Number One; there could be several more hidden, operating in the shadows, ready to kill at any moment—people who assist in crafting Number One's crystal core.

The high-IQ populace might account for the majority, while schools and elite venues in the Lower City District are few; Jin Chen decided to stake them out one by one, finally pinning down Mi Xuan's location.

——

Lower City District, eleven in the morning.

In the narrow alley, Xue Sheng hurried along, clutching a medal tightly, his face wearing a weary yet satisfied smile.

He had just finished an intelligent electronics competition; though merely a small contest, it was, for him, the first step toward his dream and entering the Upper City District.

In the alley's shadows, a pair of cold mechanical eyes fixed on him, the bio‑killer's body concealed in discarded cardboard and trash heaps, silently awaiting the optimal moment to strike.

Its fingers were slightly curled, the tips catching a cold gleam in the sunlight.

Just as Xue Sheng reached the alley's center, the bio‑killer lunged out, blade thrust straight at his throat!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud sounded; Xue Sheng startled, saw clearly, his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground, realizing he had run into a maniac.

Yet the bio‑killer's motion suddenly halted, its neck gripped tight by a slender, strong hand.

Jin Chen's silhouette appeared behind it like a ghost, his eyes icy and sharp, releasing an electric current.

The bio‑killer's body shuddered violently, trying to break free, but Jin Chen's fingers clamped like iron vises; his other hand plunged into its chest, precisely seizing the core device and crystal core, and yanked them out with brute force.

The light in the bio‑killer's eyes faded gradually, finally extinguishing completely; its carcass collapsed limp to the ground with a dull thud.

Xue Sheng sat slumped on the ground, face ashen, eyes wide, staring at what unfolded before him as if he had just awakened from a nightmare.

"You… you saved me." he asked, trembling, his voice tinged with disbelief.

Jin Chen turned, giving him a cold, indifferent glance.

Xue Sheng struggled to steady his breath, eyes full of gratitude: "Thank you! Are you an agent sent by the Upper City District to deal with the maniac?"

Jin Chen gave no answer, merely lowering his gaze to the core device in his hand, its cyan‑blue glint flickering faintly in the sunlight.

"No." Jin Chen briefly received data, the scope of Mi Xuan's location narrowing a fraction, then spoke.

He lifted his eyes to the callow college student and said, "I am an android."

While Xue Sheng stood stunned, Jin Chen turned and melted into the shadows, vanishing like a ghost.

"An android……"

Nowadays androids are practically synonymous with maniacs; even the normal ones are merely those lacking self‑awareness.

But that man was clearly awakened.

Can androids also save humanity?

Two thirty in the afternoon.

In Jin Chen's mind a few brief alerts sounded, his hearing switching to a communication mode that blocked outside noise.

"Starlight."

"Jin Chen, I miss you again, but today I have to go to the Experimental Center to help Brother Shoujie analyze the androids' return‑factory data."

Xu Suxing filed a serious report, putting on protective gear in front of the mirror, and asked, "How about you— is everything going well over there?"

Jin Chen's breathing remained steady; with a backhand he twisted and broke the opponent's head.

The bionic killing machine's neck bent backward at a strange angle; its metal cervical vertebrae were crushed by five slender fingers Shengsheng, and mechanical parts sputtered electric sparks between Jin Chen's fingers.

Jin Chen pulled out the core device, stepped on its wreckage and leapt out of the underground well, his tone gentle.

"Very smooth, Xingxing, when you go out remember to bring the disinfectant pack from the entryway."

"Yeah, I've brought them all."

Xu Xingxing made ready to go out, still a little worried, "You need to stay safe, don't get hurt, okay?"

He constantly felt worried, afraid that Jin Chen would learn the human habit of 'reporting good news but not the bad'.

Jin Chen lowered his head to glance at himself; only his clothes were a bit messy, with no trace of a big shot's aura.

Injury, definitely not...

Jin Chen noticed on the back of his hand a thin, elongated scar that had appeared at some point, faintly tinged with a mechanical blue‑purple.

"No." Jin Chen said firmly, pulling down his sleeve in an attempt to cover it up.

"I'm not injured."

"All right." Xu Xingxing finally went out, got into the self-driving car, and said, "I'm heading out; I'll secretly tell you later about the situation at the experimental center."

Xu Xingxing was equally firm: "I won't give them a chance to catch you."