Chapter 2112: If I Were an AI, Would You Love Me? 23

Xu Susong stood before the monitoring screen of the Experimental Center, his gaze calm and focused.

His fingers flew over the keyboard, the screen densely packed with code rolling like water, like a precise machine, analyzing every possible tampered program node.

The Experimental Center was not safe; Xu He and Song Shoujie had long suspected a mastermind behind all this, but they had never had solid evidence.

After a secret meeting with Xu Susong, they could finally roughly determine which batch of problematic machine androids inside the Experimental Center was at fault.

Xu Susong was highly sensitive in this regard; earlier, experimental staff joked that he had fully inherited the Dean's talent, able to spot the problem in an android's data core in the shortest time.

But today he finally detected an anomaly—several androids with tampered programs, whose core code concealed a strange instruction pointing to an existence named "mi".

Xu Susong whispered the name, a flicker of coldness crossing his eyes.

He didn't know who this person was, but he knew these androids were mi's spies; their presence meant the Experimental Center had already been infiltrated.

Xu Susong made no fuss; instead, he silently locked the permissions of those androids one by one, then, via the Experimental Center's core code, completely isolated them.

The whole process went smoothly, with no one noticing any anomaly.

Two hours later.

Xu He was still arranging the return of androids to the factory in the top-floor experimental lab when he suddenly received news that another batch of androids in the warehouse had self-destructed, too fast to stop.

"It's little Susong." Song Shoujie's expression held a hint of surprise as he briefly explained to the safety supervisor on the emergency call.

Xu He immediately said, "Stop repairing that batch of androids; in the machinery workshop, if any batch has more than two self-destructs, scrap the entire batch."

The safety supervisor immediately agreed and hung up.

In the lab, a hush fell; Xu He, who had just sternly given orders, wailed, "It's over—none of this year's allocated funds remain, and I still have to dip into my own pocket."

He casually complained to Song Shoujie, "At this rate, when will I ever save enough for a marriage fund?"

Song Shoujie pushed away his leaning head, "If you can't save enough, I'll marry you instead—stop being poor, go check on little Susong's progress."

Xu He stared for a moment, then burst out laughing, the low mood from the mishap completely forgotten.

Dedicated Experimental Lab.

"Dr. Xu, were you the one who detected these androids' anomalies? We are currently concentrating on scrapping them." A researcher approached, speaking across the safety zone with admiration in his tone.

Xu Susong nodded, his voice calm and cold, "Yes, their programs were tampered with."

The researcher wanted to ask more, but seeing Xu Susong's unapproachable expression, he eventually left, taking the hint.

The main gate closed; the replica Shi Xisheng took off his mask and immediately relayed Xu Susong's experimental timing feedback to Jin Chen, faithfully serving as a good spy.

Xu Susong stood where he was, his gaze once again turning to the screen; he knew what he had done was only the tip of the iceberg.

The true mastermind still lurked in the shadows, while Jin Chen might be confronting that person directly in the Lower City District.

Xu Susong was feeling a bit mentally drained.

He drank a glucose packet, preparing to continue, when the phone on the table suddenly lit up, as if anticipated.

"Don't push yourself; if you exceed my time limit you'll faint—just rest obediently."

Xu Susong, feeling slightly guilty, turned off the screen, then quickly glanced at the phone's camera.

He probably didn't see anything, right?

How did Jin Chen know that?

A few seconds later, Xu Susong picked up his phone again, saved a screenshot, and seriously selected from the emoji pack, replying with a kitten blowing a heart.

It was the third day.

Today he also missed Jin Chen a lot.

——

"The Experimental Center's androids……all scrapped? Xu Susong……you actually have this ability!"

In the dim room, Mi Xuan's face grew so dark it seemed about to drip water; he slammed hard onto the mysterious machine before him that produced crystal cores, the metal casing emitting a dull thud, as if responding to his anger.

"Xu Susong, excellent." His voice carried repressed madness.

The batch of androids numbered 520 that wasn't even detected in the Experimental Center was actually all sniffed out by this sickly weakling!

Mi Xuan stared fixedly at the flashing data on the machine screen; those androids originally under his control were being scrapped one by one, the resources he could manipulate dwindling.

This meant his plan was collapsing step by step.

Mi Xuan's fingers flew over the machine, trying to find a new breakthrough through the remaining androids, but the screen kept popping up "connection failed" warnings, making him increasingly anxious.

"No. I can't just end like this!" he muttered morbidly.

Mi Xuan then fiercely pressed a button on the machine, firelight flashing out a distorted expression.

He stared at that flame, as if seeking some power within it.

"As long as I still have this machine, as long as I still have crystal cores……I still have a chance."

"Let those androids be destroyed; as long as I can control 520, discarded crystal cores mean nothing."

At that moment outside the building, Jin Chen's figure appeared tall and cold in the gloomy overcast.

He stood in the shadow, finally confirming this was the place.

These past days he had killed many android killing machines, which could be considered finding Mi Xuan, this dead pervert.

Three Lower City District Special Security Team members walked out from a nearby alley, weapons in hand, expressions wary; upon seeing Jin Chen, they immediately raised their guns, eyes showing a hint of vigilance.

"Halt! Who are you? What are you here for!" Team Member A shouted lowly.

Jin Chen stopped, his gaze coldly sweeping over them, voice calm: "I'm here to capture Mi Xuan."

Oh, these people probably don't know the name of the dead pervert.

Jin Chen added: "The mastermind behind the killer androids you've been tracking."

As soon as he said that, the three froze, eyes showing surprise, then quickly regained vigilance.

"Is he hiding in this building?" Team Member B asked, "Impossible—we've searched this building over and over, every resident accounted for."

Jin Chen nodded, his gaze sweeping over every window of the building, as if searching for something.

"He used some kind of machine to isolate a room, making it hard to find,"

A few seconds later, his gaze locked onto the third floor of the building.

"Found it,"

Jin Chen said softly, then glanced at their weapons, "You follow."

The three people: "......?"

Team Member B watched this person take a step ahead, "Is he ordering us?"

Team Member A: "... You say it! Hurry up and catch up."

The three immediately followed behind him, rushing into the building.

Footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, the air filled with a tense atmosphere.