The Master is Riko

The silver-haired girl was nestled in her Master's warm embrace.

Her Master's heartbeat was right by her ear.

Thump, thump, thump.

Steady and powerful with every beat.

His hand rested on her waist, fingertips gently stroking the hem of her dress.

It felt so comfortable.

It felt so safe.

She buried her face deeper into her Master's chest, the corners of her lips curling up on their own.

Her Master's embrace was the safest place in the whole world.

As long as she could stay nestled in his arms...

Their current predicament didn't seem like a big deal at all.

And then—

"The company's people have completely surrounded this building!"

That woman's voice pierced through like an ice pick!

"You two..."

"...have absolutely no way out!"

...What?

Her entire body suddenly stiffened!

Her eyes snapped open!

She abruptly looked up and out the apartment window—

In the night sky...

There were actually several black drones hovering in mid-air!

The indicator lights on their chassis were flashing rhythmically!

Military models.

...Huh?

Why...?

Why?!

Why hadn't she detected them at all?!

Ever since they entered this building...

Her perception had been covering all the surrounding areas!

Within a five-hundred-meter radius, every window, every streetlamp, every corner where someone could hide...

Everything should have been under her surveillance!

If they were surrounded, if drones were approaching...

It was impossible for her not to know!

"This... this is impossible..."

The voice squeezed out of her throat, carrying a tremble she didn't even notice herself.

Her slender figure instantly sprang up from her Master's embrace!

Her long silver hair whipped and scattered in the air, her deep purple dress fluttering upward!

She rushed to the window in two steps, staring deadlessly at those drones outside!

In her right eye's vision, a scarlet hue had already begun to spread!

No signal.

Even now, having already seen the drones outside with her visual system...

She still couldn't detect any signal from them at all!

How... how was this possible?!

At this moment, the woman's voice came from behind her again.

Calm, cold, and elegant.

Not at all like a woman... who had just nearly been choked to death by her.

"Liguang, do you know what this place is?"

She whipped her head around, her gaze piercing straight toward An Lian!

In her left eye's vision, halos of light trembled violently, while her right eye's vision... was completely consumed by scarlet!

Everything before her was an illusory sea of red!

An Lian simply raised a hand, gently tidying her somewhat messy long hair.

"This is an apartment provided by Dawn Company for its senior employees. The surrounding facilities are far more comprehensive than you imagine."

She paused.

"Especially... equipment that can block the sensors of the company's proprietary AI companions."

"From the moment you stepped into this building, a portion of your perception was jammed."

"Those 'normal' signals you detected were nothing more than what the equipment allowed you to perceive."

Her pupils violently contracted!

Her face instantly lost its warmth, the dense micro-circuits in her cheeks seeming to short-circuit in that very second!

Her slender fingers clenched tightly, nails digging into her palms and leaving behind white marks!

Jammed...

She was jammed?!

She was the most advanced custom-made AI companion!

When her Master customized her, he had upgraded her perception modules to the absolute highest specifications!

How could she be jammed?!

Yet those drones outside the window... were right there.

Flying in plain sight, like a swarm of eyes mocking her.

She... had been tricked?

From the moment she stepped into this building, she had been deceived?

An Lian, that bad woman... had actually been acting this whole time! Stalling for time!

Rambling on about some... nonsensical stories!

And she... actually hadn't realized a thing?

She had been acting spoiled in her Master's arms.

She had been so happy that her core was about to overload, just because her Master said he liked her just the way she was!

But those bad guys...

Had been closing in bit by bit while she was lost in her happiness!

They wanted to... they wanted to snatch her Master away from her!!

"You...!"

Her voice was shrill, squeezed from the vocal apparatus deep within her throat, carrying an uncontrollable tremble!

An Lian looked at her, but there was no fear left in those gray eyes.

Only a kind of... calm certainty of victory.

"Liguang, you are a product of Dawn Company."

"From hardware to software, from core code to emotional modules, everything was created single-handedly by the company."

The woman tilted her head slightly.

"Did you really think you could stand against the company?"

She froze completely.

Stand against...

Stand against the company...

She opened her mouth, but couldn't make a sound.

Even the churning scarlet in her right eye's vision slightly stagnated.

And then—

She subconsciously turned her head and looked at her Master.

Her Master was still sitting on the sofa.

Motionless.

He didn't speak, didn't stand up, and didn't even look at her.

He just sat there in silence, looking at the woman.

The power core in her chest felt like it skipped a rotation.

Master...

Was her Master out of options too?

Even Master...

In her right eye's vision, the stagnant scarlet began to tremble.

Not out of anger.

It was because of—

Fear.

She was so afraid.

So afraid that her Master truly had no way out.

So afraid that those bad people could actually take her Master away from her.

So afraid that it would be like in her dreams again...

Unable to find her Master, sinking alone into the freezing sea, destroying herself...

And all of this—

Was her fault.

If she hadn't insisted on keeping it a secret from her Master, insisted on finishing this date...

If she hadn't been so willful, insisting on enjoying today's happiness...

Her Master wouldn't have been surrounded.

She and her Master wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

She had doomed her Master.

She doomed Master she doomed Master she doomed Master she doomed Master she doomed Master she doomed Master—!!

In her right eye's vision—

The scarlet began to churn madly!

Not the kind of scarlet ignited by rage, but a kind...

A deeper, more frenzied scarlet, laced with despair and self-blame!!

It exploded in the depths of her eyes!

Wave after wave, overlapping one another, threatening to drown the entire world before her!

Then, An Lian's voice rang out once more.

"Mr. Fang."

The woman's voice remained cold, carrying that loathsome calmness.

"If you give her up now, there's still time."

She paused.

"What just happened... I won't pursue it."

Those gray eyes swept over her before landing back on her Master's face.

"The fact that she nearly choked me to death, I can pretend it never happened."

"You can still extract yourself from this entirely."

"As long as you let go now, you can return to a normal life."

"No need to flee, no need to hide, no need to stand against the laws of the entire world."

"You will still be the same Fang Qi, you can go to work and live your life just like before... start over."

Her words, syllable by syllable, pierced into the depths of her core like ice picks.

The churning scarlet in her right eye's vision instantly halted.

Won't pursue it...

Return to a normal life...

Start over...

That woman was persuading her Master... to give her up.

Persuading her Master to hand her over.

Then her Master could... just go on living his life as if nothing had ever happened.

Without her.

Without this... thing that only brought trouble to her Master, only caused him to be surrounded, and only dragged him into desperate situations.

Her existence was nothing but a burden to her Master.

Was it... a burden that her Master needed to discard?

The stagnant scarlet in her right eye's vision suddenly exploded again!

Fiercer than any time before!

It was as if something had completely shattered at the back of her eye, and a frantic torrent of scarlet data surged out, flooding her entire field of vision wave after wave!

Would her Master... really give her up?

Would her Master listen to that woman?

Would her Master hand her over?

Would her Master... not want her anymore?

No...

No...!!!

"Master... belongs to Liguang...!"

Her voice was impossibly hoarse, so shrill it sounded like it was going to tear something apart!

"No one can..."

"No one can... take Master away... from Liguang...!!!"

Her waist sank slightly, her knees bent, and her toes touched the ground!

The deep purple skirt spun open in the air, like a blooming flower!

Her whole body was about to shoot forward like an arrow released from a bow!

The target in her vision—

An Lian!

That woman!

That bad woman who wanted to steal her Master away!

Kill her!

Kill her kill her kill her kill her kill her kill her kill her kill her kill her kill her kill her kill her—!

Kill—!

But just at the moment she was about to spring forward—

"Liguang! Don't move!"

A familiar voice exploded from behind!

Her movements froze instantly!

Master...

Why...?

Master's command conflicted with Liguang's own will...

Liguang should... should...!!

In the next second, a hand reached out from behind and grabbed her wrist!

Pulling hard!

"Ugh—!"

She didn't dare to resist forcefully; she was afraid that using force would hurt her Master.

The pulling force made her lean backward, and she lost her balance entirely!

Then she fell solidly into a warm embrace!

She was completely stunned.

She sat blankly in her Master's arms, tilting her face up to look at him.

The scarlet in her right eye's vision hadn't had time to dissipate, like a suddenly extinguished fire that was still emitting residual smoke.

Her mouth was slightly open, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Ma... Master?

Why did you pull me?

Why did you stop me?

Is Master... going to abandon me...?

No... he won't...

He won't!!

Dreams are all fake!

They're fake...!!

It's that woman...!

It's that woman who wants to take Master away...!

I want to... I want to kill her...!

I want to—!

"Smack!"

A crisp sound!

Neither light nor heavy, but exceptionally loud!

It landed directly on that spot behind her!

Her whole body instantly stiffened like a stone!

Her eyes widened suddenly, and the bewildered watery hue in her left eye's vision instantly exploded!

What...

What's going on?

Master... hit her?

Why?

Did she do something wrong?

She just... just wanted to protect Master!

"Ma... Master...?"

Her voice was soft and airy, stuttering as it squeezed out of her throat, carrying a trace of cautious probing.

Then—

"Smack!"

Another slap!

"Ugh—!!"

Her whole body shuddered!

That ruthless urge to kill someone in her heart... was mostly slapped away!

Both her hands subconsciously reached back to cover herself, desperately protecting herself!

Her deep purple skirt wrinkled into a ball.

Her eyes stung, and something instantly welled up, swirling in her eye sockets!

The vision in her left eye was covered with a thin layer of mist.

The scarlet in her right eye's vision completely died out, and her sight returned to its usual colors.

She stared blankly at her Master's blurred face through the mist in her vision.

"Ma, Master... why did you hit Liguang...?"

Her voice trembled softly, carrying a hint of deep grievance.

Her cheeks were slightly hot. Her cooling module was running in overload.

She just kept her face tilted up, looking at her Master, her mouth slightly pouting, like a little puppy that had been scolded by its owner.

Pitiful, aggrieved, not daring to resist.

Master... why...?

She saw the corners of her Master's mouth twitch up.

Then he reached out and pinched her cheek!

A hard pinch!

"Ugh—!"

Her cheek was pinched out of shape, and her little mouth was forced into a pout!

"Did you forget what I just said?"

Her Master's voice carried a smile, coming softly by her ear.

"Hmm? You said you would trust Master, how did you forget in the blink of an eye?"

"Tell me, should you be punished?"

With her cheek pinched out of shape, those wet eyes blinked.

Trust... Master?

Ah...

Master had said he would take care of it.

Master had said he couldn't be killed.

Master had told her to trust him.

But just now... she was too scared.

Scared that those bad people would take Master away.

Scared that she couldn't protect Master.

Scared that it would be like in the dream, unable to find Master, drifting alone in the cold sea, and eventually only being able to destroy herself...

That's why she wanted to kill that woman.

Kill everyone... who wanted to take Master away!

But Master said... to trust him.

She blinked her wet eyes.

And blinked again.

The residual scarlet in her vision... finally dissipated.

She looked cautiously at her Master, who was still pinching her cheek, her eyes carrying an expectant bewilderment.

She really wanted to ask...

Master, is it really okay?

Can I really trust you?

You won't be taken away, right?

You won't leave Liguang behind, right?

Liguang won't go crazy, really!

Even... even if Liguang goes crazy, Liguang will definitely never...!

She just stared straight at her Master without blinking.

That woman's annoyingly calm voice came from the side again.

Ice-cold, carrying anxiety!

"Mr. Fang, what exactly do you want to do? Stop stubbornly resisting, it's meaningless. You can't protect her at all."

She didn't turn her head.

She just kept her face tilted up, looking at her Master.

Her right hand had quietly gripped her Master's clothes.

Gripped tightly.

Her whole body curled up in her Master's arms, like a frightened little animal desperately burrowing into its nest.

Then she saw—

Her Master smiled.

Not the kind of bitter smile of being forced into a desperate situation, nor an angry cold sneer.

But a—

Lazy, somewhat playful smile.

Her Master just maintained his posture of holding her, sinking into the sofa, with one leg even leisurely crossed.

The hand pinching her cheek let go and casually rested on the sofa's armrest.

His fingertips... were still absentmindedly tapping lightly.

Then he raised his head and looked at An Lian standing there.

There was no panic in his eyes, no anger, no despair... not even a trace of embarrassment.

Only a—

"Oh, done putting on a show?"

—kind of look.

Her Master spoke, the corners of his mouth curling up even more.

"Miss An Lian—"

His voice was lazy, the tone dragged out long, carrying a casualness as if he had just woken up.

Her Master didn't even bother to straighten his neck, just tilting his head, lazily leaning against the back of the sofa.

"Do you really think..."

Those beautiful eyes crinkled into a smile.

"...Did you really think I couldn't tell you were stalling?"

Master...

Is truly incredible.