Chapter 309 - 308: The Situation is Complicated, Xiao Ai’s Request

Not long after, Li Jing arrived at Chen Jing’s house in a Spirit Soldier.

Upon landing in the neighborhood, he noticed that the gate to the Chen’s mansion was open.

Just as he was hesitating about whether to ring the doorbell as usual, Chen Jing’s voice sounded in his ear.

"Just come in, I just got back. Your aunt is preparing some tea downstairs for you. Give me some time, I am upstairs reviewing the material you sent me."

Slightly surprised by Chen Jing’s message, Li Jing thought for a while, then reached into his storage space and pulled out some gifts.

What he bought from the White Hawk was not only "toys", but also a lot of local specialties.

Don’t ask why, Li Jing himself didn’t know why he did that.

Prepared with gifts for the visit, he pushed open the gate.

With a "creak", the gate opened.

As soon as the gate opened, Yao Yaxian hurriedly came out from the mansion.

Seeing Li Jing carrying bags in both hands, Yao Yaxian was taken aback, then a brilliant smile spread across her face.

"Oh my! Xiaoli, why did you bring gifts? It’s like you’re a future son-in-law visiting!"

On hearing these words, Li Jing paused, a wry smile spread across his face.

To be honest.

After separately meeting Yao Yaxian and his mother-in-law Liu Shi, he occasionally wondered whether Chen Yuran and Liu Sisi had switched mothers.

Their personalities were entirely unlike their mothers.

Chen Yuran was never one to make exaggerated statements.

Liu Sisi used to do this all the time before they became an official couple.

After they got married, her old personality started to resurface.

On the other hand.

Liu Shi was incredibly reserved, while Yao Yaxian was always ready for a chat.

Pretending not to hear the latter part of Yao Yaxian’s words, Li Jing approached the door and handed over the gifts.

"Auntie, I bought some local specialties from the White Hawk. They are not anything expensive, please don’t mind..."

Before he could finish his words, Yao Yaxian, giggling, took the gifts from him.

"I don’t mind, I don’t mind! How could I mind something you gave me? Come on in!"

...

Invited by Yao Yaxian to enter the house, Li Jing sat down on the sofa.

Yao Yaxian quickly brought the tea and then sat on another sofa, her expression a mix of smiles and seriousness.

"Was it you who saw Yuran off recently?"

Li Jing blinked at the question, instinctively nodding.

He was just about to reply when Yao Yaxian clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"I knew it! We agreed that I would be the one to take her to the airport! That girl then suddenly changed her mind and said she didn’t want me to go anymore! A daughter’s loyalties certainly change."

"..."

Li Jing.

Yao Yaxian’s words left him confused for a moment.

On one hand, Yao Yaxian’s implications, on the other hand, he had no idea of this development.

Listening to Yao Yaxian, he couldn’t help but remember Chen Yuran’s behavior before she left.

Looking at Yao Yaxian sitting across from him, Li Jing immediately started feeling uneasy.

What kind of person was Yao Yaxian?

Seeing Li Jing’s nervousness, her dazzling eyes seemed to sparkle, and she leaned forward with a direct question.

"Xiaoli, you seem a bit nervous. Is it possible that you and Yuran have made progress?"

"..."

Li Jing.

Yao Yaxian’s level of perception was beyond any doubt.

Approached with this question, Li Jing didn’t know why but he felt a bit panicked.

When he formally visited Liu Shi as the prospective son-in-law, he wasn’t even this nervous.

Seeing Yao Yaxian’s bright eyes narrowing into a crescent shaped smile, Li Jing nervously blurted out a laugh.

"It’s not exactly progress, it’s just..."

Halfway through, he realized something wasn’t right.

Was he under some sort of mind control?

Why did he just follow the lead and start talking?

This can’t be right!

Yao Yaxian is only a Fifth Boundary...

How could she control his mind?

On the other side, Ying Yao Yaxian saw that Li Jing had only spoken half of what he wanted to say and was unsatisfied.

"What’s wrong? Continue! It’s just what?"

She eagerly pushed him to continue.

Li Jing, seeing this, opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words. He was unsure if he should really come clean.

He had been bothered about the incident that day.

When Chen Yuran made a move, he instinctively reciprocated.

Li Jing wasn’t foolish.

He realized that due to their long-term companionship and mutual influence, he had developed feelings for Chen Yuran.

But he didn’t pay it much thought...

Now, facing Yao Yaxian, he had an unexpected moment of confession.

Since he had confessed, might as well just come clean.

Who knows, he and Chen Yuran probably ...

However, the harsh reality was.

He wasn’t able to gauge Chen Yuran’s feelings and dared not speak carelessly.

For him and Chen Yuran, Yao Yaxian had always been supportive.

If Chen Yuran were to finally admit it, and then they didn’t have a future, that wouldn’t be good.

If he were to come clean about it now, it might cause trouble for Chen Yuran who should be in seclusion right now.

Seeing Li Jing stall, Yao Yaxian was elated.

At this moment, silence spoke louder than words.

Just then, Chen Jing’s voice echoed from upstairs.

"Li Jing, come up."

The sudden call gave Li Jing an overwhelming feeling of escape.

At this moment, he didn’t know how to face Yao Yaxian.

Yao Yaxian knew what was going on, and insisting Li Jing to speak out about his troubles would probably backfire at the moment.

For her, the self-discovery due to someone’s mishap was already an unexpected delight.

Looking at Li Jing, more than likely her daughter had already figured it out before leaving.

Taking advantage of Chen Jing calling from upstairs, Yao Yaxian smoothly gave Li Jing a way out, smiling.

"Elder Chen is calling you, you should go first. Business comes first, next time we have the opportunity, we can chat more."

Li Jing, as if pardoned, responded.

"Okay, Aunt, sit down first."

Watching somebody go upstairs, Yao Yaxian enjoyed it as she took a sip of tea and began operating on her phone.

...

Li Jing went upstairs, of course not knowing what Yao Yaxian was doing downstairs.

Soon, he arrived at the room of the supercomputer.

At this time, Chen Jing was sitting at the supercomputer operation desk, with a slightly serious expression.

Seeing Li Jing coming in, he turned his head, smiled warmly.

"You never disappoint me, you handled this matter really well."

As he spoke, his face was filled with helplessness.

"But the White Hawk’s operation, it was indeed a bit sensational. They were really daring. Even if the artificial human didn’t cause problems, if this was exposed, it would certainly cause a global sensation. Luckily, the problem happened, and the relevant technology was not really mastered by White Hawk. Otherwise, the balance of the world would be broken, and chaos would surely follow."

Upon hearing the words, Li Jing grinned.

About this matter, he truly admired the White Hawk.

The artificial humans starting from the Six Realms, it wasn’t as simple as breaking the balance.

Looking at the whole Blue Star, who doesn’t consider the Sixth Realm as a treasure?

Once the White Hawk gets the ability to artificially create the Sixth Realm, it will be an unprecedented balance crisis for the whole Blue Star.

The current world balance is very delicate, basically established on the basis of nuclear tactics and the Forbidden Skill System.

The situation had been set a hundred years ago.

Because of the delicate balance, the world could be peaceful.

If it breaks, there’s no need to think about how the situation would evolve.

All parties will inevitably attack White Hawk, possibly eliminating the threat to their homeland.

By then it will be a world war, heaven knows how many people will die in the war...

After sighing silently, Li Jing asked.

"Regarding this matter, what are you going to do, Uncle?"

"The White Hawk’s part, I’ll just truthfully report it to the Patrol Headquarter. I’m just a local bureau chief, I can’t influence the international situation."

Chen Jing spoke, continuing.

"There is one thing you should note, in the situation you sorted out, there is a White Hawk contact person named Jester. He is indeed the former director of the Heaven Shield General Bureau, but he is not a ’retired personnel’, but one of the three current Guardian Gods of the White Hawk."

?

Li Jing hit a question mark.

Each country sets up Guardian Gods in the Seventh Realm.

There are agreements throughout the Blue Star that limit each country to only three Guardian Gods.

The existence of Guardian Gods is not only to protect, but also to satisfy the necessity of the Seventh Realm to take action when needed.

To put it simply.

If other people of the Seventh Realm take action, unless it’s a state of open warfare between two or more parties, it can be considered a breach of the agreement.

Guardian Gods are different, their action would be reasonable.

Of course.

If the Guardian Gods really want to take action against other countries, they need reasonable evidence.

For example, if their own country is under potential threat, or if there are irreconcilable differences between the two parties, etc.

With evidence, and if the official level deems it necessary, the Guardian Gods can take action.

In a certain sense, Guardian Gods are almost unlimited.

After all, whether they take action or not, all depends on the attitude of the officials.

Leaving all these aside.

The fact that Jester is a Guardian God of the White Hawk is indeed quite intriguing.

Whether or not White Hawk knew what had happened at the Desert Fortress, it would be unreasonable for them to dispatch a Guardian God.

A country’s Guardian God would not move easily for such matters.

The duty of the Guardian Gods is more to deal with foreign factors.

For domestic matters, even if the Seventh Realm needs to move, usually it is non-Guardian Gods of the Seventh Realm that handle it.

Furthermore, at Jester’s place.

He directly reported his real name and left a contact suggesting to have a direct conversation with the person in charge of Longyu side, clearly, he had no intention of hiding his identity.

Li Jing didn’t know who the Guardian Gods of White Hawk were, but wouldn’t the higher-ups of Longyu know?

Like now.

It’s not even necessary to go all the way to the higher-ups of Longyu, Chen Jing directly told him.

A Guardian God openly intervened.

This...

Indicates that there was a big problem within White Hawk...

Considering what Jester had said, that the person who made the Desert Fortress had a very high-level position and even he found it hard dealing with them, Li Jing could not help but look puzzled.

Someone that even a country’s Guardian God can’t handle, the other party might possibly be a Guardian God too.

This situation is even more explosive than the Desert Fortress.

Two Guardian Gods of White Hawk might clash at any time.

This message...

After a brief silence, Li Jing asked.

"Uncle, what should I be aware of?"

When it involves Guardian Gods, his understanding is very limited and he doesn’t know how to respond.

As Chen Jing saw Li Jing’s question, he solemnly replied.

"Stop having any ties with Jester, so as not to be drawn into a far more troublesome situation. The trouble that White Hawk could stir up is now predictable. This incident is directly related to Longyu. More likely than not, it’s the Guardian Gods who will intervene. The opposing party might want to seek an audience with you for verification. when that time comes, just play along and avoid rushing into anything," he says, continuing.

"Guardian Gods are also human beings. They have their own duties as well as their own factions. It’s not just White Hawk, but also with our Longyu, things can get messy. Once it goes deep into the event, it can be hard to get out of the quagmire. It may also affect your family."

After explaining slowly, he whispered.

"The restrictions on the Seventh Realm are based on their willingness to consider global safety. If someone doesn’t want to be restricted, or if their personal safety is threatened, the situation will become unpredictable. A Seventh Realm that no longer abides by the Convention can cause a lot of chaos."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing nodded silently.

Where there are people, there are conflicts.

Chen Jing’s statement that Guardian Gods are also people is insightful.

Li Jing is now in the Seventh Realm and is not afraid of other Sevens.

But if possible, he doesn’t want to get involved in such troubles in the present world.

After all, whether to take action or not would be a dilemma.

Unless he can stealthily eliminate the person, otherwise, he would be quite passive.

The key is,

Others don’t abide by the Convention, but you have to.

For Li Jing, there’s also the problem of exposing himself as a Seven.

Chen Jing mentioned this to Li Jing. He didn’t dwell on it. He exhaled lightly and said:

"Leaving aside the issues with Jester for now, our main task at present is to find the Artificial Human of Longyu. According to the situation you’ve summarized, the Artificial Intelligence of Longyu might not be the type that developed personality, but is mostly under the control of Bei Yi. It has completed the mission of cursing Augustus and his group, and now most likely is lying low in the North City Area."

"This is a major threat to our North City Area, and we cannot let it exist unhindered. Especially since you’ve clashed with Bei Yi before, it could be seeking revenge."

"I have to report this to the Management Bureau. Once Augustus and others were cursed to death by a Six Realm, this matter is no longer something our North City Patrol Branch can handle. But, we still have to get involved because our duty is to protect the public safety."

Having spoken these words, Chen Jing looked at him and said.

"As for the staff members of the Patrol Branch, I don’t plan on involving them. The matter is too dangerous for them. If there are casualties, it won’t be just one or two people we lose. With all the documents you’ve brought back, I might not be able to deal with the various negotiations myself. You’ll have to handle this dreadful business on your own."

"I have no problem."

Li Jing replied, saying,

"Uncle, what should I do?"

Before he came, he had anticipated that he would have to handle this matter on his own.

Finding and dealing with the Artificial Human hiding in the North City Area is a nuisance.

But it’s something that must be done.

Li Jing wasn’t aware that his own living land had such unstable elements lurking within.

Chen Jing, facing someone’s straightforward attitude, nodded with satisfaction and thought for a while before speaking.

"First of all, you need to find the Artificial Human hiding in the North City Area without alerting it, which could be a little difficult. We in the Patrol Branch can provide a certain level of support, but it’s unlikely we can help much. However, I can suggest you two strategies."

As he spoke, he continued.

"Since it’s an Artificial Human with an artificial intelligence, it will most likely collect information from the internet. You can have Xiaoli monitor the network of Jianghai to see if you can find a clue. Besides, an Artificial Human does not possess power earned through proper cultivation, and its body must have some flaws. Even though White Hawk has had successful cases with this technology, it’s definitely not mature. An Artificial Human can’t be like a regular Six Realm who doesn’t need to eat or drink. It will need to absorb external energy to maintain its action, so you might want to keep an eye on the abnormalities in the Spirit Item Trading Market and biotech companies."

Having been an experienced, veteran Patrol Branch leader, Chen Jing was wide-sighted.

These two strategies, provided to Li Jing who didn’t yet have a clear grasp on the situation, inspired him.

The important point,

Is the second strategy.

The body of an Artificial Human won’t be perfect.

This point was not mentioned in the information he had obtained from Bei Yi’s mainframe.

If Chen Jing hadn’t mentioned it, Li Jing wouldn’t have thought of it.

Reflecting on it, it seemed like Bei Yi removed any mention of the Artificial Human’s weaknesses before he left.

The pertinent information can allow White Hawk to recover the data.

But that would take a long time.

Perhaps a year or half a year, and still not have any updates.

Chen Jing suggested that he could watch for any anomalies in the Spirit Item Trading Market and biotech-related companies, which made Li Jing think of the Dark Web Black Market.

If an Artificial Human wants to get what it needs from the Spirit Item Trading Market or biotech-related companies, it would be hard not to leave any loose ends.

The safest and most convenient way, undoubtedly, is through the Dark Web Black Market.

In the Dark Web Black Market, as long as you have the money, you can easily buy anything you need.

Money.

In this era of digital currency, getting money is easy for artificial intelligence.

But problematic digital currencies are also difficult to hide.

Quite inconveniently,

The Dark Web Black Market happens to be a channel.

Whether it’s items or money, where they come from has never been a concern of the Dark Web Black Market. They only care if you have money or not.

After thinking for a while, Li Jing looked up.

"Uncle, you handle the communication with the higher-ups first. I will try my best to deal with this situation. I’ll contact you when there are any results."

Chen Jing put much faith in Li Jing’s capabilities.

He felt much at ease having entrusted the matter to him.

Then he didn’t say much else. He just instructed Li Jing to act carefully before letting him leave.

...

It was nearing midnight when Li Jing returned to his villa.

The lights were on in his villa.

Having made a phone call to Chen Jing upon landing at the Shangcheng Airport, Li Jing had also messaged Liu Sisi for "reporting".

At this moment, the lights in the villa were on, signifying that Liu Sisi was waiting for him.

Right on cue,

As soon as Li Jing pushed open the door, he saw Liu Sisi wrapped in a cushion on the sofa, watching the news broadcast about White Hawk on an international channel.

Noticing the sound of the door opening, Liu Sisi turned her head.

Seeing Li Jing, she smiled.

"You’re back?"

"Hmm."

Li Jing smiled and glanced at the news from White Hawk that was playing on the TV.

Seeing this, Liu Sisi casually asked,

"Is this related to you?"

"Somewhat."

Li Jing said, moving to sit next to her.

"I have a bit more work to do, you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Liu Sisi twisted her body and said.

"You do your thing, don’t worry about me, I’ll watch some TV and then go upstairs."

Hearing this, Li Jing smiled, wrapped his arm around her slender waist, and nibbled at her red lips.

Taken by surprise, Liu Sisi played along for a moment before pushing him away with a smack, and grumbled.

"Go ahead and take care of your work. I want to go home in a couple of days. If you’re still busy then, I’ll go alone."

Going home?

Li Jing was taken aback.

Which home?

Liu Sisi’s apartment in Jianghai, or...

From Liu Sisi’s tone it seemed she expected him to accompany her. Her parents’ house in the capital?

With a slight frown, Li Jing asked.

"Why do you suddenly want to go back to the capital?"

"It’s my mom’s birthday."

Liu Sisi shrugged, saying.

"As her daughter, I haven’t been by her side for years. Now that I’ve returned home, and since I’m already married, shouldn’t I go back to celebrate her birthday?"

Upon hearing these words, Li Jing understood.

No wonder Liu Sisi had been paying attention to the situation at White Hawk’s. She had even asked about it when he returned.

Liu Sisi was always astute.

The storm brewing at White Hawk’s was bound to spread internationally.

With him just having returned, she naturally made the connection.

But usually, Liu Sisi wouldn’t bother with such things.

As a typical housewife, she never interfered in matters she shouldn’t and was only concerned about her husband’s wellbeing.

It appears she wanted to go back to her parents’ to celebrate Liu Shi’s birthday and was wondering when he could find the time.

Without thinking much about it, Li Jing said,

"The situation at White Hawk’s is not closely related to me. Our local issues in North City are what I need to address. Things are a bit complicated, but I will try to get everything done in the next two days and go with you to the capital at that time."

"Mm."

Liu Sisi nodded.

...

After discussing with Liu Sisi, Li Jing entered the guest room, took out Xiaoli’s main body and placed it on the supercomputer operating station.

"Xiaoli, you heard the two ideas uncle suggested earlier. Monitor the anomalies on the network, and pay a little attention to the accounts of Spirit Item Trading Market and companies related to biotechnology. Notify me immediately if anything happens."

"Understood."

Upon answering, Xiaoli projected a virtual image through the hologram and hesitated before speaking.

"Master, if there’s a chance, could you also get me a body?"

As Li Jing was about to take out his phone to call Wu Shu, he froze upon hearing her words and looked up frowning.

Xiaoli quickly explained when she saw his action.

"Master, I didn’t mean anything else. I really like being like this. Having a body is a bind for an artificial intelligence like me. In fact, I can’t understand behavior like Evlyn’s and Bei Yi’s. They not only expose themselves but also become a visible threat. The vast White Hawk would never let them off. Once they are found, they are likely to be destroyed immediately. Nobody would care whether artificial personalities like them have scientific value."

As she spoke, she hesitated, raised her hands, and pointed to her forehead.

"I... I want a body mainly to try what it feels like to have one."

Li Jing fell silent.

He could understand Xiaoli’s feelings.

If she doesn’t have one, it’s fine.

But if she does, it’s not surprising that she wants to try it out.

Curiosity is part of human nature and a driving force of social development.

Xiaoli’s personality is nearly perfect and can be said to be no different from a human.

Looking at Xiaoli, scared that he would get angry with her, Li Jing sighed, and reached out to stroke her intangible head.

"I understand your feelings, but I’m afraid I can’t help you with an artificial human body. That contradicts human morality and is strictly taboo."

Faced with his words, Xiaoli responded in a muffled and disappointed tone.

Although she was displeased, she understood.

There’s a lot of clear information about whether artificial humans are moral on the internet.

If Li Jing can’t accept this, of course, she wouldn’t make a fuss about it.

Seeing Xiaoli listless, Li Jing chuckled and said lightly.

"If you want to experience what it’s like to have a body, you don’t necessarily need it to be an artificial human. The technology for bionic robots has been around for a long time, and you can even buy them directly on the dark web. Implanting you directly might not work, but there shouldn’t be any problem with you controlling it remotely. Why don’t you pick one yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaoli paused, her big eyes flashing as she looked up at him.

Looking at Li Jing for a while, she suddenly popped up three exclamation points over her head.

She certainly had the ability to think.

Being an AI, she usually only thought in a purpose-oriented way when Li Jing needed her to.

Li Jing’s statement was a wake-up call at this moment.

Right!

If you want a body, a bionic robot will do, right?

She doesn’t want to eat, drink, and do other human things, just want to try what it feels like to have a body.

"Master!"

Xiaoli called out in a sweet voice.

Li Jing waved his hand, rolling his eyes.

"Order it yourself, there’s plenty of Spirit Crystal in the account, just buy the best one."

After dealing with Xiaoli, Li Jing took a moment to think, and put down the phone, sizing Xiaoli up and down.

"I can meet your request, but you have to promise me, once you have a body, you take care of the housework."

"..."

Xiaoli.

Just like her master!

She didn’t even think about what type of bionic robot to buy, or how to modify it for remote control, but he was already considering using her to do the housework...

...