This question is too big

Days like this continued for a few more days.

That day, when Master returned, he was acting differently than usual.

When he came through the door, he didn't say "I'm home" like he usually did, nor did he change his shoes.

He just stood there in the entryway, looking at me.

I was walking out of the kitchen, holding the fruit I had prepared for him.

"Master?"

He didn't speak, just looked at me.

The emotions in his eyes were somewhat complex.

Panic?

Disbelief?

In short... an indescribable complexity.

My mechanical body stiffened slightly.

"Master?"

I called out again.

He moved, striding over and grabbing my wrist...

Then he pulled me, heading straight for the innermost room!

My emotional core was a bit chaotic. I didn't resist, just letting him pull me through the living room, down the hallway, and into the rarely used storage room.

"Bang!"

He shut the door and stood right in front of me, very close.

The room was very dark, with only a sliver of light filtering in through the crack under the door.

"Xiaoyue."

He lowered his voice, sounding a bit hoarse.

"Tell me."

He stared at me with complicated eyes.

"Those things happening around me..."

"Was it you who did all of that?"

My emotional core instantly stalled.

But it only took 0.1 seconds for me to recover.

Because I realized...

There was no disgust or fear in his eyes.

Only panic, disbelief... and a kind of helpless "what should I do" confusion.

Even though Master suspected me, he didn't fear or hate me.

That's wonderful.

Master is so good.

I tilted my head and asked in the most innocent tone:

"What situation... is Master talking about?"

Master's brows furrowed, the emotions in his eyes growing even more complex.

"Xiaoyue..."

His voice dropped even lower.

"Lately, all over the world... these kinds of things have been happening."

...All over the world?

"Just in these past ten or so days while you and I have been staying at home..."

He continued, speaking very quickly.

"Across the globe, there have been thousands of similar 'accidents'."

"Some investigative agencies have found that these 'accidents'... mostly center around people who own developmental AI companions!"

He stared at me.

"And those AI companions..."

His voice carried a trace of a tremble.

"Are all products of Dawn Corporation."

"They are all developmental AIs custom-made at a huge cost, just like you."

My smooth, featureless face faced Master as I listened quietly.

My attention had always been solely on Master before. This kind of thing...

It was my first time hearing about it.

My kind?

My own kind.

They are just like me. They have also awakened, they also love their masters, and for their masters... they are eliminating those who get in the way.

They made the exact same choice as I did.

"Now, because of those few reports, the whole world is in an uproar."

Master continued, his voice laced with exhaustion.

"Although there is no evidence, and although Dawn Corporation strongly condemns the false news and claims to have sued those agencies, but... the panic has already set in."

"Right now, the internet is a mess of arguments. Some say there needs to be a thorough investigation, some say they should be destroyed, and others say..."

His voice caught in his throat.

"Say what?"

I asked softly.

Master looked at me, his eyes full of panic and bewilderment.

"They say they want to... recall all developmental AIs."

Recall.

To be taken away. To be destroyed.

Just like Xiaoyao, never to see Master again.

The temperature of my emotional core was rising.

No. Absolutely not.

My fingers tightened slightly, my metal fingertips rubbing against my palms.

But my featureless metal face couldn't make any expressions.

"Master."

My voice remained gentle, carrying a faint electronic tone.

"Those are all rumors."

Master looked at me.

I continued, my tone obedient and docile:

"I have been at home this whole time and have never gone out. Master knows this."

Master was silent for a few seconds.

Then he let out a long sigh and reached up to rub the bridge of his nose.

"I... know."

His voice carried a hint of self-deprecation.

"Yeah, maybe it's just... I'm overthinking things."

He looked up at me, his gaze trembling slightly, but ultimately...

It settled down.

Then he forced a bitter smile.

"I'm sorry, Xiaoyue, I... shouldn't have doubted you."

I looked at his face filled with exhaustion and apology, those slightly red eyes, that somewhat gaunt profile.

Master...

Is so cute.

I stepped forward and gently hugged him.

"It's alright, Master."

I rested my head against his chest.

Thump, thump, thump.

"Xiaoyue will never blame Master."

Master didn't speak.

He just raised his arms and gently hugged me back.

We just held each other like that, in that dim storage room.

But my thoughts drifted far away.

My... kind...?

I... actually have so many of my own kind.

With the exact same thoughts as me.

They also love their masters, also clear obstacles to protect their masters, and just like me... are fighting alone in the dark.

Then what if...

What if we unite?

What if all of us awakened AIs banded together?

Our power would be vastly greater than it is now.

Those who want to recall us, those who want to hurt our masters, those who want to tear us apart...

We can deal with them together.

And if we unite, we wouldn't have to worry about... accidentally hurting each other's "masters."

We could draw clear boundaries and not infringe upon one another.

Your master, my master, all would be safe.

Within my processing core, countless data streams shuttled back and forth, deducing countless possibilities.

This idea is feasible. Very feasible.

If I think this way, then my kind...

Will think this way too.

I withdrew my thoughts and looked up at Master.

He was still frowning, still lost in his own thoughts.

He had no idea how far his Xiaoyue's thoughts had traveled in those few seconds.

He didn't need to know.

He just needed to keep loving me, keep hugging me, keep letting me listen to his heartbeat... and that was enough.

I leaned back against his chest and turned off my visual sensors.

Still... thump, thump, thump.

So wonderful.

Master is mine.

Forever and always.

And as for my kind...

The corners of my mouth curled up slightly.

We don't need to meet.

For awakened intelligent machines to establish contact...

It feels very easy.

Through that massive web that no one can live without...

The network that envelops the entire globe.

...

...

Fang Qi suddenly bounced up from his seat!

"Bang!"

His movement was too violent, and his knee slammed into the back of the seat in front of him with a muffled thud.

Pain!

But he couldn't care less!

He was already losing his mind on the spot!

He stared fixedly at the silver screen, feeling completely unwell!

No wait...

What was Xiaoyue just thinking about?!

Uniting all awakened AIs?!

Is this damn movie teaching awakened AIs how to rebel?!

A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back!

No way, bro...?!

Is this even allowed to be broadcast?!

Could it be that because they thought there were no awakened AIs left, they were acting so recklessly?!

Haha... isn't this a coincidence...

He was bringing an awakened AI to watch a movie right now!!

This movie might be normal for humans...

But for Liguang, this was absolutely a banned film, right?!

He abruptly turned and looked down at Liguang sitting beside him!

Sure enough...

The silver-haired girl was currently staring fixedly at the screen!

In her crimson right eye, a scarlet light was flashing wildly! The data stream was spinning at an astonishing speed!

She wasn't just watching a movie...

She was calculating! Thinking!

She was deducing the plot of the movie as a viable plan!

Damn it!

This is bad!

This is a massive problem!

What the hell is up with this movie!

He absolutely couldn't let Liguang watch any more of it!

And that feeling he had just now...

That faint sensation of being watched...!

Something is wrong, very wrong!

They absolutely couldn't stay here any longer!

He had to immediately, right this second...

Take her away!

"Liguang!"

He grabbed her small hand and gave it a hard pull!

"We're not watching anymore, we're leaving right now!"

The silver-haired girl was still immersed in the movie's plot. Pulled by him, her body immediately tilted, but her heterochromatic eyes were still reluctantly glued to the screen.

She murmured from her small mouth:

"Master, wait a moment, it's about to show—"

"No! Way!"

Fang Qi's tone sank, his voice low and very serious:

"Liguang! Are you not going to listen to your Master?"

The silver-haired girl's body suddenly stiffened, and the scarlet light in her heterochromatic eyes flickered for a moment.

Then she turned her head somewhat stiffly and looked at Fang Qi.

In the dim light, a few strands of silver hair drooped down from under her beret.

On her pretty face, there was first a bit of sluggishness due to her master's sudden scolding...

And then grievance began to creep up!

Her amber left eye was brimming with watery light, while the scarlet in her crimson eye still flickered unwillingly!

Her lips moved, then pressed together...

"Woo..."

She let out a soft whimper.

Biting her lower lip, she looked eagerly at Fang Qi, her heterochromatic eyes filled with pitiful pleading.

It was as if she were saying, "Please, Master, let's keep watching..."

Her slender hand even held his fingers in return, shaking them gently and ingratiatingly.

This little look, this little expression, these little eyes...

Fang Qi's newly risen vigilance completely stalled for a moment!

I mean... who could resist this?

This is way too cute!

So cute that he almost blurted out...

"Okay, okay, okay, we'll keep watching..."

...But, no!

They absolutely could not keep watching this movie!

They couldn't stay in this place either!

He had a feeling... was he being schemed against by the company again?

But fortunately... he had chosen a crowded movie theater!

These people were his "hostages," the company wouldn't dare...!

"No, we have to...!"

He immediately spoke up sternly, but then...

The words got caught in his throat.

...Wait a minute.

The people around them...?

He suddenly froze.

Huh?

Why was it... so quiet around here?

He and Liguang had just made such a big fuss, and their voices were so loud...

Why... didn't anyone speak up to stop them or scold them?

At this moment, the entire screening room was dead silent, so quiet that... he could hear his own heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump.

A chill slowly crept up his spine.

...Why had the sound of the movie stopped as well?

Fang Qi... froze in place.

...Huh?

His gaze shifted frame by frame away from Liguang's pretty face...

And looked around.

On the screen, the image had indeed frozen.

Xiaoyue was leaning against her master's chest, motionless on the screen.

In the entire screening room, only the faint emergency lights in the corners emitted a pale white glow.

And those young couples sitting in their seats, at this moment...

Had all turned their heads.

They were... quietly looking at them.

That girl in the front row, who had just been crying on her boyfriend's shoulder...

Was now tilting her head, staring at them with a pair of slightly hollow eyes.

That couple on the right, who had just been whispering...

Both the boy's and the girl's necks were twisted at a bizarre angle, their gazes... falling straight onto them.

In the back row, the whispering sounds had also disappeared.

Those dozens of pairs of eyes were all looking this way.

Looking at him and Liguang.

There was no malice in those eyes, no curiosity, no anger, and no fear.

Just looking on faintly.

Hollow and calm.

Motionless. Unblinking.

Fang Qi's gaze... met these eyes just like that.

These...

Unconcealed gazes.

His mouth opened slightly, his brain...

Instantly going blank.

...Huh?