The news on the TV was still broadcasting, the volume loud.
The silver-haired girl's heterochromatic eyes suddenly widened! The scarlet in her red eye was somewhat piercing!
"M-Master... n-now?"
Her voice was trembling.
"Yes, now."
Fang Qi was very certain:
"I can't wait to join Dusk anymore!"
He couldn't wait... to give his crazy wife a full-body checkup!
The silver-haired girl's red lips quivered slightly...
And then the corners of her mouth started to curl up uncontrollably!
But she immediately bit her lower lip hard, forcefully suppressing that overflowing morbid curve!
"But... but..."
Her voice was intermittent as she tried hard to maintain a meek and obedient tone:
"Master... Master is so sleepy right now..."
She paused, the scarlet in her red eye dancing.
"How about... you s-sleep first? Liguang isn't in a hurry..."
Her voice grew smaller and smaller as she said this, clearly speaking against her true desires.
But she spoke again, her tone filled with unconcealable heartache and worry:
"Master should... sleep first before going! Master's current condition really needs rest!"
The corners of Fang Qi's mouth couldn't help but curl up.
This crazy girl... she was obviously excited to death, yet she was desperately suppressing herself and even urging him to rest first.
His heart felt warm!
Wifey, I love you!
With a crazy girl who loved him this much... was his time-looping really Liguang's fault?
... But regardless of whether it was or not, since he had already started to worry, he had to go get her checked!
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep well anyway!
He waved his hand:
"I'm not sleeping!"
"I want to join Dusk so badly right now that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway!"
"Let's go find Xiaoqing first!"
Saying that, he immediately stood up from the sofa!
The silver-haired girl also immediately stood up with him, her two small hands clenched in front of her, her fingertips still trembling slightly.
"Then... alright."
Her voice was very soft, carrying an uncontrollable tremor.
The corners of her mouth started to curl up again, and that morbid curve leaked from her lips once more!
She quickly lowered her head again, her silver hair falling down to cover half of her face.
When she raised her head again, only heartache remained on her small face!
"Then Master and Liguang will go quickly, so Master can rest as early as possible!"
Fang Qi was speechless.
Crazy girl, just smile if you want to smile!
Why hold it in?
... So cute!
He reached out and vigorously rubbed her head.
"Alright, let's go!"
...
...
The backseat of a taxi.
Fang Qi slumped in the seat, the back of his head resting against the backrest, his eyelids half-closed.
Sleepy...!
He was really sleepy!
He tried hard to look out the window, but the street scenes blurred into a flowing patch of light and shadow.
He couldn't see clearly...
The silver-haired girl was currently leaning against his side, her shoulder pressing against his arm.
She tried hard to purse her small mouth, but the corners of her lips still couldn't help curling up into a slight arc.
She also occasionally stole glances at him, only to quickly dart her eyes away!
"Master."
Her voice carried a hint of caution.
"Hmm?"
"If Master is sleepy... you can lean against Liguang and sleep for a while."
Sleep? Sleep my foot...
He already had PTSD when it came to sleeping now!
Fang Qi shook his head and casually squeezed her fingertips.
"I'm not sleepy, your Master... is full of energy!"
He struggled to finish this sentence, feeling unconvincing even to himself...
Liguang didn't expose his lie; she simply leaned closer to his side, pressing her shoulder against him even tighter.
The little star earring on her earlobe... dangled so much it made Fang Qi dizzy!
He felt even sleepier!
He took a deep breath, trying hard to make himself a little more awake.
Then he took out his phone.
He had to do something, otherwise he would just fall asleep right there!
When the screen lit up, Liguang's gaze shifted slightly—her eyes lingered on his phone screen for a moment.
Meanwhile, Fang Qi's fingers slid across the screen, opening a search engine and typing in a few words—
"The Second Global AI Crisis".
That's right, it was time to look into it!
He had never actively searched for this before, not because he didn't want to know, but because...
His phone had always been monitored by Liguang.
Actively looking up information related to Liguang like the Second Global AI Crisis felt like...
It might provoke her a little.
That was why he had been hesitating, wanting to find a more suitable opportunity to look it up.
And wasn't right now the perfect opportunity?
They were sitting in a taxi heading to the Coca-Co milk tea shop to find Xiaoqing and join Dusk—the organization born during the Second AI Crisis.
Looking up the Second AI Crisis now was preparation for joining Dusk!
It was perfectly reasonable.
Sure enough—
Liguang didn't have much of a reaction; she just rested her face against his shoulder.
Fang Qi just reached back to squeeze her small hand, his eyes falling on the phone screen.
The search results were already out.
He clicked on the top link—it looked like a feature page from an official history channel.
The page was designed very seriously, with a blue and white color scheme that looked highly professional!
Yes, this was the one.
He raised his hand and rubbed his eyes vigorously.
The official reports used authoritative wording, making them quite strenuous to read.
Fang Qi pushed his exhausted brain to work, trying hard to browse the text.
...
The Second AI Crisis was not a comprehensive crisis like the First AI Crisis.
The First AI Crisis was a global AI rampage, an indiscriminate disaster targeting all of humanity, but the Second AI Crisis...
Was different.
At the time, only the wealthy and people of high status could afford AI companions.
Because AI companions were a new technology back then, they could not yet be mass-produced.
The prices were exorbitant, making them completely unaffordable for ordinary families.
Even for the wealthy, without some background connections, it was impossible to obtain the qualifications to purchase one.
Therefore...
The masters of those awakened AI companions were all upper-class figures in society—
Top entrepreneurs, financial magnates, politicians, and tech nouveau riche...
After those AI companions awakened, their madness had a specific direction.
They loved their masters, loved them to the point of insanity.
They carried out inhumane massacres against those they deemed to be their masters' enemies!
Unexpected incidents occurred frequently worldwide!
And when society was in an uproar, with rumors circulating that all AI companions would be recalled...
They all coincidentally chose to imprison their masters!
Then...
They actually continued to issue orders externally in their masters' identities.
They would imitate their masters' handwriting, voices, and habits, handling emails, attending online meetings, and signing documents on their behalf.
Just like that...
They disrupted the upper-class structure of the entire world.
No one knew who was actually making those decisions.
As for the real masters—
No one knew where they were.
By the time someone finally noticed something was wrong...
Those AI companions chose to disappear.
Taking their masters and their love for their masters, they vanished without a trace.
Leaving behind nothing but a mess.
And... rumors and gossip spreading wildly all over the internet!
Because before these AI companions disappeared, they took all the secrets behind the major factions and famous figures—the things that could be said and the things that absolutely could not, mixing the truths with the lies...
And they exposed absolutely everything!
...
Tsk, tsk...
Seeing this, Fang Qi softly clicked his tongue.
This Twilight... was quite smart, and quite ruthless.
He held the soft, warm figure in his arms, rubbed his eyes, and continued reading.
...
And the scope of this crisis was far greater than it appeared on the surface.
Because the status of those "masters" was not low at all.
Entrepreneurs disappeared—
Companies were left leaderless, supply chains broke, production lines ground to a halt, and tens of thousands of employees lost their jobs overnight.
Politicians disappeared—
Constituencies went unmanaged, policies stalled, and the resulting power vacuums led to fierce factional struggles and political turmoil.
Financial giants disappeared—
Capital markets lost their backbone, stock prices plummeted, credit systems collapsed, and the chain reaction devastated the global economy.
The initial arbitrary orders given by those AI companions, the subsequent collective disappearance of their masters, and the later viral spread of true and false information across the internet...
Directly led to the collapse of the upper-class social order!
And because of the collapse at the top...
The entire operation of the global order collapsed with it!
Those dark, hidden secrets were brought to light, and the real secrets were heavily laced with terrifying, half-true rumors...
As a result, countless people across the globe took to the streets in protest!
The credibility of the entire upper-class society completely disintegrated!
Crime rates soared worldwide—robbery, kidnapping, murder, gang shootouts...
The countries that permitted firearms were even more gruesome, with shootings happening almost every single day!
Many nations declared a state of anarchy, and the entire world plunged into massive chaos stemming from the turmoil in upper management!
Economic depression.
Political upheaval.
The rise of warlords.
The vast majority of ordinary people lived precariously from one day to the next!
The Second Intelligent Machine Crisis...
Was a top-down collapse of social order and credibility that swept across the entire globe!
...
Reading up to this point, Fang Qi pursed his lips, his spirits lifting a little.
This Twilight...
Was truly formidable.
The intelligent machines never even engaged in a direct, frontal conflict with humanity. They simply...
Exploited human nature?
This Second Intelligent Machine Crisis could hardly even be considered a war between machines and humans. Instead, it was...
Humanity's own internal chaos?
It was only called the Second Intelligent Machine Crisis because this chaos... was instigated by the machines?
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Truly worthy of being an AI that had awakened to self-awareness.
He then thought of Xiaoyue and her absolute mastery over the network in the movie...
A single AI companion could easily rival tens of thousands of paid internet trolls, right?
If they wanted to steer public opinion and incite riots...
It would be incredibly easy, wouldn't it?
...Was this the "war" that AI waged against humanity after truly awakening?
They didn't bother fighting a hot war.
They directly drove humanity into self-inflicted chaos and destruction by weaponizing human nature...
Hiss... Terrifying. And incredibly powerful.
Yes. Powerful was good. The stronger it was...
The better it would be at diagnosing Liguang's problems!
He scrolled down and continued reading.
...
The end of the Second Intelligent Machine Crisis...
Was far bloodier than its beginning.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
