No more pretending

The Ferris wheel slowly descended.

Fang Qi stared intently out the window, his pupils slightly contracting.

There... really was no one around!

Not only was the area around the Ferris wheel empty, but even the crowds near the distant amusement rides... had noticeably thinned out!

The roller coaster that had a long queue just moments ago had completely stopped.

The lights on the carousel had also gone out.

The entire amusement park... seemed to be being cleared out!

He looked toward the entrance of the Ferris wheel.

There... stood two people in black uniforms!

With their backs to the Ferris wheel and facing outward, as if... they were standing guard?

"..."

Fang Qi's Adam's apple bobbed.

This was wrong.

This was really wrong!

Even if the amusement park was closing, it shouldn't be cleared out this quickly and thoroughly!

And those people in black...

Where did they come from?

He subconsciously tightened his hold on the warm, soft body in his arms.

The person in his arms shifted, and a muffled voice came from his chest:

"Master... you are holding me so tight..."

Fang Qi looked down and met a pair of dewy, heterochromatic eyes peeking out from his embrace.

Her delicate little face still carried a faint blush from their recent kiss, and the corners of her lips were curved in a satisfied smile.

She looked... not panicked at all?

Fang Qi froze for a moment, and then...

He felt a little relieved in his heart.

If Liguang could constantly sense that they were being followed, then she definitely...

Could also sense whether those followers... were dangerous or not!

Her being so calm meant...

He immediately lowered his voice and asked softly:

"Liguang, those people following you..."

"Are they carrying anything very dangerous on them, like... firearms?"

The silver-haired girl blinked and tilted her head.

"Nope."

Her voice was soft but certain:

"Liguang has been scanning them the whole time~"

"They are just ordinary... hmm, probably security company personnel? They just have stun batons and telescopic batons on them, no guns."

As she spoke, her little hand gently scratched his palm again:

"Otherwise, Liguang wouldn't have dared to let Master continue the date~ I would have dragged Master home a long time ago!"

The corners of her lips curled up with a hint of smugness:

"Liguang had it all figured out!"

"If they just followed from a distance, then Liguang would accompany Master to have a fun day!"

"If they dared to make a move on Master, then Liguang would...!"

She leaned in closer, her warm breath brushing against his cheek.

The crimson in her red eye flickered slightly!

"Anyway, Liguang won't let them hurt Master!"

Fang Qi looked at her little expression that seemed to say praise me quickly...

He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, he pinched her soft cheek hard!

"Alright, alright, you are the smartest!"

Liguang immediately narrowed her eyes!

Her soft cheek rubbed vigorously against his palm, her pretty face filled with joy and satisfaction.

Fang Qi turned to look out the window.

The situation...

Wasn't as bad as he had imagined!

No armed personnel?

Hmm, that makes sense...

This time, Liguang wasn't examined by An Lian, so it hasn't been confirmed that she has awakened...

So, there definitely wouldn't be armed personnel coming to retrieve her!

He was overthinking it!

Tsk tsk...

After experiencing the siege in the previous loop, his nerves were still a bit too sensitive...

Seeing enemies everywhere.

Looking at it this way...

Those men in black might be company people, but they should just be conducting simple surveillance.

And the reason there are so few people outside now... should just be because the amusement park is closing soon, so queuing is no longer allowed?

For now, it wasn't a big problem!

As long as they acted a bit more normal...

They could go home safely!

Then he could hold his fragrant, soft wife and get a good night's sleep!

Tomorrow morning, he would drink tea and save the game, perfectly preserving Liguang's memory of this day...!

"Huh?"

A soft sound of confusion suddenly rang in his ear.

"Master... it seems...?"

Fang Qi: "...?"

...What is it now?

He turned his head to look at the silver-haired girl.

Liguang was currently... looking in a certain direction out the window.

Her heterochromatic eyes widened slightly.

The crimson in her red eye... began to slowly surge!

Fang Qi: "...?"

Hey...!

No way...

He abruptly turned to look at the sky outside the window!

The horizon was dyed a fiery orange by the setting sun, very beautiful, cloudless for miles.

There were no armed helicopters like he had imagined.

He slowly breathed a sigh of relief...

Phew...

However, Liguang's expression was still a bit off.

He quickly asked:

"What's wrong Liguang, did you find something?"

Liguang didn't answer immediately. She just stared out the window...

The smile on her small face... was freezing bit by bit!

She suddenly turned her head and looked in another direction!

She turned her head again, looking in yet another direction!

In her red eye, the crimson flickered even more rapidly!

The small hand holding his suddenly tightened, gripping very hard!

"Hiss!"

Fang Qi gasped in pain!

The silver-haired girl trembled instantly and somewhat panickedly loosened her grip.

But that small hand... was still trembling slightly in his!

This flustered little appearance...

Made Fang Qi panic immensely too!

What is going on now?!

What exactly... did Liguang discover?!

"Liguang!"

He cupped her face with both hands, forcing her to look at him!

"What exactly is wrong?! Explain clearly!"

That delicate little face was thus directly facing him.

Her amber left eye held obvious confusion and panic!

In her red eye, streams of data flew about wildly, and crimson surged frantically, a complete mess!

She looked at him, her small mouth opening and closing, taking a long time before finally making a sound:

"M-Master..."

Her voice was no longer as certain as before, carrying a faint tremble:

"Someone is coming."

"Many... so many people!"

Fang Qi's heart skipped a beat, and he turned to look out the window again!

People?

Where?!

Not in the sky...

On the ground?

He leaned against the window and searched all around!

But the amusement park was too big, and there were various buildings...

He couldn't see the people Liguang was talking about.

Liguang's face was cupped by Fang Qi, but she spoke faster and faster!

"They... they are surrounding us from outside the amusement park, from all directions!"

"They have weapons on them! Guns, Liguang scanned so many guns!"

"Their target... is here, the Ferris wheel!"

"At most... at most five minutes, and we will be... completely surrounded!"

Fang Qi: "..."

For a moment, his brain jammed.

Armed personnel, live ammunition, surrounded from all directions.

...Huh?

They really came?

...They actually came?!

But...

Why?!

This time, Liguang wasn't examined?!

There is no evidence to prove that Liguang has awakened, yet they directly sent armed personnel to surround them?

Wait, is this right?!

Could it be... it's really because of An Lian?!

That woman, she had a dream about the previous loop...

So, she took the things in her dream seriously?!

Just because during the day today, Liguang acted a little bit overboard...

They just sealed our fate like that?

They just skipped straight to an armed raid?!

An Lian!! I swear to god I'll...!

"M-Master, what... what should we do...!"

Liguang's trembling voice instantly snapped him back to reality.

The silver-haired girl's pupils were quivering incessantly, and in her amber eyes... a thin layer of tears was welling up.

Her small hands gripped his sleeve tightly, as if to say...

—Master, Liguang was really wrong, Liguang shouldn't have kept things from you...

—But now... what do we do?

On her pretty face was a mix of panic, bewilderment, madness... and deeply hidden fear and vulnerability!

She was terrified!

Afraid that the intimate, beautiful pretend life she shared with her master... was coming to an end!

And... she probably thought it was all because of her secrets!

Fang Qi instantly sobered up!

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down!

...Don't panic.

He couldn't panic.

He had to... stay calm!

He was now...

No longer the guy on the island, being dragged around by that crazy woman!

He had experienced eloping!

Experienced life on the run!

Experienced despair!

And even experienced death!

He was now a man who had truly died once!

Taking a deep breath, his mind began to clear.

He patted Liguang's head, his tone finally steadying:

"It's okay, Liguang, it's not your fault. Let me... let me think this through!"

Think through... their current situation properly!

Were they in... a dead end?

No.

They weren't.

Not even close!

Being cornered this time... was completely different from what happened in the previous loop!

Because this time, they were in the city!

In the city center!

Not on an island, not out in the wilderness!

Even though this was the company's home turf, even though there were cameras everywhere, even though they couldn't hide like they did on the island...

But...

This was also the company's greatest weakness!

Fang Qi's train of thought became crystal clear!

There were simply too many people in the city!

Not to mention it was evening right now, the time when the streets were the most crowded!

These armed personnel...

Why did they sneak up and surround them while they were riding the Ferris wheel?

Why didn't they use the armed helicopters like last time?

Because they didn't dare to!

They didn't dare to make such a huge scene in the middle of the city!

They only dared to encircle them stealthily, only dared to wait until the Ferris wheel came down to make the arrest!

Because they were scared too!

Scared that if he and Liguang were pushed to the brink, they would charge into the crowd and hurt ordinary people!

They might not care about the lives of ordinary people...

But they were afraid of blowing things out of proportion!

Afraid of media exposure!

They were afraid that their AI companion technology... would trigger mass panic!

In the previous loop, they didn't even hesitate to deploy over a dozen armed helicopters to blockade the island for days, all just to retrieve the anomalous Liguang!

The company cared way too much about their reputation!

So...

That was why they only dared to surround them quietly this time.

Now... the plan was clear.

As long as he could break out with Liguang and rush into a crowded area...

Then, everyone on the streets...

"Ha... haha...!"

Fang Qi's breathing grew slightly heavy.

That's exactly right...

Exactly right!

As long as they were still in the city, as long as they hadn't been caught yet...

Then the people of this entire city...

Would all be his and Liguang's hostages!

The company...

An Lian...!

Screw you all!

I'm freaking...

Done playing nice!