Fang Qi sat in that pink mini-car once again.
But this time...
He was in the driver's seat!
Adjusting the seat, he rested his hands on the steering wheel.
Hmm... it really had been a long time since he last drove.
In the passenger seat, Liguang was sitting quietly.
The seatbelt slanted across the chest of her light purple hoodie, and her white short skirt covered half of her thighs.
That's right, she was wearing the same outfit from the previous loop.
But her quietness was only on the surface.
The crimson in her red eyes was flickering joyfully, and a satisfied smile hung on her lips!
Her small hands weren't idle either.
The card with Lin Zhouyuan's photo printed on it was flipping at her slender fingertips.
Round and round, flipping back and forth, so fast it became a blur!
It was obvious that Liguang was in a really good mood.
And in the back seat...
Lin Xiaoyou was lying on her stomach.
The genius young lady's ponytail had come undone. Her hair was draped down, her legs were slightly curled, and her white shoes rubbed against the car door.
The area barely covered by that short skirt...
The curve was noticeably a size larger than usual!
Her hands were holding onto a cushion tightly, her almond eyes were red, and her round little face was filled with a look of utter despair!
From time to time, she would gasp and draw in a breath of cold air.
Just now, at home, she had "invited" Liguang to beat her up again to show her sincerity...
Liguang, of course, did not hold back!
The result was that the genius young lady got beaten up for the third time!
After being beaten again, she didn't ask any more questions about her father...
Instead, she shrank into the corner of the sofa, rubbing her bottom, staring at Liguang warily with red eyes, and sniffing for a good while!
Then, she suddenly propped herself up on the sofa and stood up, saying, Senior, let's go, let's go to the place you want to go! I'll drive you there!
She had plenty of momentum.
But in the end, she dawdled even going downstairs, and the moment she sat in the driver's seat—
"Aow!!!"
She bounced right out as if she had been electrocuted!
Her hands clutched her bottom desperately, tears shot from her almond eyes, and her loose black hair flew wildly behind her!
And so, this was the current situation.
"Hiss—!"
The car drove over a speed bump, and a suppressed cry of pain immediately came from the back seat.
Fang Qi glanced at the rearview mirror.
Lin Xiaoyou was hugging the cushion, her calves kicking randomly on the seat, her round face full of pain!
"Senior! Drive a little steadier...!"
She was crying and sniffling.
Fang Qi raised an eyebrow.
This genius young lady really had been taught a harsh lesson.
However...
They should be considered true teammates now, right?
Lin Xiaoyou's sincerity this time was passable.
And speaking of which, he remembered that Lin Xiaoyou's car could unilaterally block outside surveillance!
Perfect!
He stopped at a red light, rested his hands on the steering wheel, and glanced at the rearview mirror:
"Xiaoyou, where is your best friend Xiaoqing?"
"Why isn't she with you today?"
He asked.
He hadn't seen Xiaoqing in the past two loops.
In the rearview mirror, Lin Xiaoyou adjusted her posture, still constantly drawing in cold air.
"Xiaoqing... hiss!"
Her voice still carried the nasal tone of having just cried.
"She, she went to handle some things for me."
The light turned green.
Fang Qi stepped on the accelerator:
"What things?"
"...Isn't it because of you guys...!"
Lin Xiaoyou's voice instantly rose!
But then she glanced at Liguang in the passenger seat and immediately softened:
"Making such a huge commotion at your house just now, screaming and howling..."
"Those 'eyes', they definitely noticed it too!"
She hissed again and shifted her bottom.
"So, I had Xiaoqing go deal with the eyes in the surrounding area first. Lure them away, so they won't follow us right now..."
...Eyes.
Fang Qi's fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel.
Eyes again.
This was what Lin Xiaoyou called that group of "ghosts" including Gu Xi!
"Master, turn left at the intersection ahead."
The silver-haired girl in the passenger seat suddenly spoke softly.
She was still playing with the access card, but when she heard Lin Xiaoyou mention the "eyes", the spinning speed of the card slowed down slightly.
Her red eyes flashed faintly toward the window.
"...Oh, okay."
Fang Qi turned on the blinker, looked ahead, and said to Lin Xiaoyou again:
"Xiaoyou, these 'eyes' you keep talking about..."
"What exactly are they?"
The back seat was silent for a few seconds.
Then her voice finally stopped trembling as much:
"Eyes are eyes, what else could they be."
She also looked into the rearview mirror, meeting Fang Qi's eyes.
"A bunch of... sneaky guys who like to follow me and Xiaoqing around all day long!"
"Every day, every hour, every minute, they're there! Xiaoqing and I are both annoyed to death!"
"No matter what we do or where we go... there are always a few pairs of eyes staring from behind."
Fang Qi glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
Lin Xiaoyou was hugging the cushion, tilting her head, that signature playful smile hanging on her round little face.
But there was no smile at all in those almond eyes.
"...Then how did you discover them?"
Fang Qi voiced his doubt.
The guys that Liguang's red eyes couldn't detect, the ones that required an awakened native core to spot...
How did she and Xiaoqing discover them?
Lin Xiaoyou changed her posture again, hissed once more, bared her teeth while hugging the cushion, and then spoke:
"I wasn't the one who discovered them."
"It was after I upgraded Xiaoqing's core that she found them!"
Fang Qi was slightly stunned.
"...Core upgrade?"
"Yeah, core upgrade."
Lin Xiaoyou tilted her head and counted on her fingers.
"Xiaoqing, you see, originally she couldn't detect those eyes!"
"But later I did a core upgrade for her, and then she told me..."
"She said, Master, there seem to be some... strange things around."
She smiled brightly:
"Things that look like humans, but aren't humans."
...?
Fang Qi stopped at the intersection, staring at the taillights of the car in front, gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter!
Wait, Xiaoqing could also...?
In the passenger seat, the silver-haired girl suddenly spoke up softly:
"Master."
Liguang was still playing with the white access card in her hand, the crimson in her red eyes flashing slightly.
"In the dream, Xiaoqing was indeed able to detect those 'eyes' too."
Her left hand rested softly on Fang Qi's thigh and gently scratched it twice!
Fang Qi blinked.
Was his wife... reminding him?
In the dream...
Oh!
He remembered!
...Right!
In the loop before the last, it was indeed Xiaoqing who first discovered the "eyes"!
When they were in the wooden cabin, just as they activated the mechanism of the wooden bed... wasn't it Xiaoqing who stared out the window and then warned them that "those eyes have followed us"?
...Hiss!
Because...
A core upgrade?
Where was it upgraded?
...Where else could it be!
Fang Qi immediately realized!
"Honk—Honk—"
The car behind him was honking.
Only then did he realize the light had been green for a while, and the car in front was long gone.
He quickly stepped on the accelerator and turned the steering wheel.
"Aowww—!"
In the back seat, Lin Xiaoyou howled again!
Fang Qi didn't care whether she howled or not, and directly asked:
"So... you upgraded Xiaoqing's core at that underground research facility?"
Lin Xiaoyou was temporarily unable to answer.
Because of the sharp turn just now, she almost rolled into the gap between the seat and the car door!
One of her white canvas shoes even fell off!
Wooo-!
She hugged the cushion tightly with both hands and kicked her legs twice!
Then she raised her head, tears welling up in her almond eyes!
Fang Qi!! Can't you drive more steadily! There are no cars in front, why did you make a sharp turn, you...!
If you don't answer, I'm going to slam on the brakes!
Fang Qi didn't want to bicker with her, so he threatened her directly!
Lin Xiaoyou instantly gave in.
She buried her face in the cushion and said in a muffled voice:
Okay, okay, okay! I'll answer!
Yes! That's right!
Are you happy now!
She raised her face again and glared at the rearview mirror!
Of course it was upgraded in the underground research institute! Besides there, besides the birthplace of Liguang...
Where else could a core be upgraded!
Then she suddenly gritted her teeth!
Those guys from Twilight...
Are just a bunch of trash!
Huh?
Twilight?
Fang Qi was startled.
Why did she suddenly mention Twilight?
And... wasn't Lin Xiaoyou a member of Twilight?
Back in the movie theater, they even happily greeted her!
...They are pure trash!
Lin Xiaoyou hugged the cushion, her tone a bit aggressive!
When I escaped from Dawn with Xiaoqing and joined Twilight, I thought Twilight was full of Xiaoqing's kind!
They are all awakened AI. I thought they could help Xiaoqing recover her memories, or at least be of some help!
And...
In the rearview mirror, she pursed her lips, the expression on her small round face a bit complex:
Xiaoqing... after all, she used to be a member of Twilight, and could even be considered one of their founding members. They couldn't just leave her to die...
Fang Qi narrowed his eyes.
A founding member...
Come to think of it, that was true.
In The Last Heartbeat, Xiaoqing's first master died of a sudden heart attack, and Xiaoqing wailed frantically in the channel...
This incident could even be considered the trigger for the establishment of Twilight! And one of the triggers for the Second Omnic Crisis!
In the back seat, Lin Xiaoyou propped herself up on the seat, changed her posture, and continued to complain!
And the result? Those useless trashes in Twilight are really stupid enough!
They only have the computing power of super AIs, but all they know is destruction!
Their core computing power is much stronger than humans, but if you ask them to do scientific research or innovate...
Every single one of them is as dumb as a block of wood!
Her small round face was full of disdain and helplessness:
When I was interacting with them, there were several times I wanted to just curse at them! Every single one of them is much stupider than Sister Xiaoqing!
Fang Qi looked at the road ahead, his mouth twitching.
Heh...
You're the only one who could call those super AIs of Twilight stupid, Miss Genius.
Liguang's Crimson Eye wasn't even as good as Twilight! And she was even mocked by Xiaoyue!
Beside him, the silver-haired girl was indeed bothered again!
She glanced at Lin Xiaoyou through the rearview mirror again, her slender fingers gently twirling the card in her hand...
Then she smiled amiably, Master, turn right onto the small road at the intersection ahead.
Fang Qi understood instantly!
Alright!
He immediately turned the steering wheel!
Aaaah-!!
The miserable scream from the back seat had almost become the accompaniment to his turns.
Fang Qi!!! You-!!
Fang Qi ignored her; he was used to hearing it.
And he pretty much understood.
Xiaoqing forgot all the little details about her and Lin You, so Lin You initially joined Twilight to use their resources to help Xiaoqing recover her memories.
But obviously, Twilight failed!
So, she used the technology in that underground research institute...
And upgraded Xiaoqing's core herself?
Fang Qi gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Wait...
Is upgrading really that easy?!
An old core successfully refurbished?
Then Twilight would definitely go crazy for this research institute!
As a result, Lin Xiaoyou even kept it a secret from Twilight. If Twilight found out about this...
Xiaoyou.
He spoke again.
In the back seat, Lin Xiaoyou was hugging the cushion and baring her teeth. Hearing this, she looked up at him warily:
What? Are you going to brake suddenly again? I'm telling you, you...!
Fang Qi interrupted her directly:
That uncle, Uncle Fang Yi, he once told me...
He said you are the only pure human in Twilight who didn't need to undergo body modifications.
Why?
The back seat fell silent for a moment.
Then Lin Xiaoyou put the cushion under her butt, leaned back diagonally against the car door, and rested her two little white legs on the edge of the front seat.
Why else? Because of Xiaoqing. They need Xiaoqing.
Her tone suddenly became somewhat muffled.
First, before Xiaoqing met me, she was already a founding member of Twilight. The condition that the master must be modified to join Twilight together doesn't apply to me.
Second-
The corners of her mouth curled into a half-smile, staring into Fang Qi's eyes in the rearview mirror.
Xiaoqing, you see-
She dragged out her words, and then...
Dropped a massive bombshell!
She was the experimental prototype...
Used to manufacture those nine cores back then!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
