Bullets Aren't Free, You Know

Fang Qi looked at the white access card in his hand, then at the face of the young man outside the crack of the door!

His gaze darted rapidly back and forth between that face and the white card!

The more he looked, the more he felt a chill down his spine!

No.

This was definitely not some young man who looks a lot like Lin Zhouyuan!

This, this, this...

This was Lin Zhouyuan in his youth!

The curve of the brow bone, the height of the nose bridge, the thickness of the lips...

All exactly the same!

Most importantly...

On the card, the middle-aged man wearing glasses had a small mole at the corner of his eye!

And the expressionless young man outside the door crack, in the exact same spot at the corner of his eye...

Also had an identical mole!

Even the details were exactly the same?

Hiss...!

"Liguang, check carefully again!"

Fang Qi stared intently at the face outside the crack, lowering his voice:

"Is this person really human or not!"

Actually, he didn't even need to say it.

In the silver-haired girl's amber left eye, a faint blue data stream was already surging wildly!

That faint blue light even shone through the crack in the door, illuminating the face of the young Lin Zhouyuan outside!

It coated his wooden face in a layer of blue!

A few seconds later...

The faint blue light faded.

"Master..."

"He... really is human."

The silver-haired girl's voice was a bit low, carrying a hint of confusion:

"Physiological indicators, internal organs, brain..."

"All belong to a very ordinary, very normal human."

"A pure human... just like Master."

...A pure human?

Fang Qi stared closely at the face outside.

"But..."

Liguang's brows furrowed tightly, and in her crimson right eye, a scarlet light flashed slightly again:

"Liguang's crimson eye still cannot detect him, or them."

"There is no signal at all. He is clearly right in front of us, and the primary core can see him perfectly clearly..."

"But the crimson eye..."

Her lips trembled slightly:

"Simply believes that he does not exist."

Fang Qi held his breath.

Just like Gu Xi.

Ghosts that the crimson eye couldn't detect, yet they were living, breathing humans with heartbeats.

Furthermore, this time was even more outrageous!

This ghost had Lin Zhouyuan's face!

The face of a young Lin Zhouyuan!

So, he...

Staring at the still expressionless face outside the door crack, a terrifying thought suddenly popped into Fang Qi's mind!

It made the hairs on his back stand on end!

He opened his mouth, but before he had time to think deeply...

The face outside the crack suddenly turned away!

And Liguang's small hand, which had been tightly gripping his wrist...

Suddenly gave a fierce yank!

The force was astonishing!

Fang Qi was instantly yanked backward by her!

And in the last glimpse of the door crack...

He saw several dark gun muzzles!

Bang bang bang bang bang!!!

Deafening rifle shots echoed wildly in the enclosed stairwell!

He plunged headfirst into Liguang's embrace!

The back of his head buried into a softness carrying the sweet scent of strawberries!

But Fang Qi had absolutely no mind to be distracted by romance...

Because he felt like his eardrums were going to explode!

Holy shit!!

Don't shoot in an enclosed metal space!!

Bang bang bang bang!!!

Countless blurs poured in through the door crack!

They all blasted against the wall in front of the door marked B1!

The wall plaster shattered!

Metal shards flew everywhere!

Fang Qi's head ached from the massive noise!

Although he wasn't hit by the bullets, the sheer volume of the noise alone was terrifyingly destructive!

But the next second...

His ears were covered by two small hands.

Liguang's small hands.

Bang bang bang bang bang!!!

The gunfire was still ringing!

The smell of gunpowder instantly filled the entire doorway area!

Fang Qi gradually regained his senses.

His head cleared up a lot.

The sound was still loud, but with Liguang's help, at least...

His eardrums wouldn't be shattered!

He raised his hand and grasped Liguang's small hands that were covering his ears.

Wifey is so gentle!

Bang bang bang bang bang!!!

The blurs of bullets continued to pour in through the door crack!

Then, it seemed they had emptied their magazines...

The noise finally stopped.

The click of reloading came from outside.

Fang Qi leaned in Liguang's embrace, his ears covered by her, tilting his head...

Staring blankly at that wall...

The wall that had been shot into a sieve!

The wall was densely covered with bullet holes!

One next to another, densely embedded in the wall!

Faint blue smoke was still rising around the bullet holes, and the wall surface was covered with spiderweb-like cracks!

All the bullet holes formed a trajectory line completely identical to the door crack!

Hiss...

Bullets must be free.

However...

He wasn't particularly shocked, nor could he be called panicked.

After all, he had experienced a lot.

The previous matter had shocked him so much that he would no longer panic just because the other party opened fire.

Moreover...

His wife was right beside him!

He felt a full sense of security; there was really nothing to panic about!

He just stared at the bullet-riddled wall, blanking out in a daze for a few seconds.

He realized...

These people really didn't leave any room for communication!

And it seemed their mission was to kill him?

The small hands on his ears finally let go.

"Master!"

Liguang's voice rang in his ear, hurried and anxious!

"The people outside can't be reasoned with at all! They are here to kill you!"

Although she released the hands covering his ears, she still held him tightly in her arms.

One hand tightly grabbed his wrist again!

Her heterochromatic eyes were staring in the direction of the door crack, faint blue and scarlet lights flashing simultaneously!

Fang Qi leaned in her embrace and took a deep breath.

Mm...

The sweet scent of strawberries mixed with the smell of gunpowder...

Smelled really nice!

He pushed himself up from Liguang's embrace, took her small hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"...Don't worry."

The silver-haired girl's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her still furiously flashing heterochromatic eyes met his.

Fang Qi gave her a slight nod, signaling her to stay calm.

Then he turned around and looked at the door crack still emitting gunpowder smoke.

...He didn't dare to get close to the crack to look out anymore.

He didn't want to deliver his own face to the gun muzzles!

He calmed his breathing, then shouted loudly toward the door crack:

"The person outside, are you Lin Zhouyuan?"

His voice echoed in the enclosed space, the reverberations clear.

But outside the crack, there was still only silence.

There was no more gunfire, nor did anyone answer his question.

Fang Qi frowned, turned his head, and shot Liguang an inquiring look.

The faint blue in the silver-haired girl's amber eye flashed once again.

Then, she said softly:

"That... man who looks very much like Lin Zhouyuan, he has no reaction at all."

"He didn't show any physiological fluctuations to that sentence."

"Heartbeat, breathing, pupils... absolutely no change."

Fang Qi pursed his lips slightly.

He turned his head again and looked at that door crack.

This bunch of guys outside...

Really seemed like a group of unconscious puppets!

No...

What exactly is going on with them?

Even ordinary AI companions who haven't awakened and lack self-awareness wouldn't act like them, right?

Even unawakened AI companions use algorithms to deliberately imitate human emotions and tones!

Politeness, smiles, docility, concern...

Even though they are all simulated by programs, at least they act like human beings!

But what about these guys outside?

They have no emotions, no reactions...

They lack any physiological fluctuations a human should have!

They are like empty shells wearing human skin, a bunch of soulless walking corpses.

Fang Qi stared at the crack in the door, his eyes narrowing.

You guys...

Are you even human?

Liguang is much more human than you are!

Even though his wife is an AI... she has feelings, she gets possessive!

She gets jealous, she acts cute!

She threatens him with that kind smile of hers, tracing his neck with her cool fingertips!

She is more human than anyone else!

The world doesn't allow awakened AIs like Liguang to exist... yet it uses guys like you as assistants?

Tch.

Fang Qi couldn't help but click his tongue.

Suddenly...

There was movement from outside the door crack.

A beep sounded.

Then...

Bring down the heavy cutting tools.

A voice rang out.

It was that exact same voice of the man who looked just like Lin Zhouyuan in his youth.

The voice was flat and calm, devoid of any emotion.

Prepare for thermal cutting.

...?!

Fang Qi's eyelids twitched violently!

What?!

Heavy cutting tools?!

...Thermal cutting?!

They were going to force their way in physically?!

And...

These guys actually had that kind of equipment?!

...The enemy's gear was seriously advanced!

They were...

Going to haul cutting equipment all the way down here?!

Fang Qi stared intently at the crack in the door!

Damn it, if they really had that kind of stuff...

This alloy blast door was thick, but its defense wasn't infinite!

Against professional tools...

Cutting tools that could reach thousands of degrees and melt metal...

No matter how thick the metal was, it wouldn't last long!

The physical properties of the alloy had their limits!

Subconsciously, Fang Qi reached for his waist!

His fingers brushed against the handgun that only had three bullets left.

The cold, hard touch of the metal helped him calm down a bit.

...At least he still had a weapon.

Meanwhile, the silver-haired girl was also squinting at the crack in the door, her body slightly tense.

At her fingertips, a scarlet light was faintly flickering!

A laser blade, on the verge of manifesting!

She turned her head slightly to look at Fang Qi, seemingly waiting for his decision.

Fang Qi stared at that familiar scarlet hue at her fingertips and took a deep breath...

There were at least seven people outside the door.

All of them were highly trained armed personnel.

Their marksmanship was so precise that they could shoot through a two-finger-wide crack without hitting the metal door even once!

At the very least, he hadn't heard the clanging of bullets striking metal!

Their killing skills were absolutely no joke!

...They couldn't afford to waste any more time here.

Fang Qi made an immediate decision.

Liguang, close the door first!

Keep them out!

His tone was decisive.

We'll ignore them for now!

Why bother playing a standoff with these guys!

Just locking them outside was enough!

He had another purpose for coming here anyway!

Since these guys were impossible to communicate with, there was no point wasting time on them!

After all...

Just learning Gu Xi's identity and seeing Lin Zhouyuan's face...

Was already worth the price of admission!

Lin Xiaoyou, Lin You, Miss Genius...

Did you know?

For some unknown reason, your dad has turned into your brother!