Madwoman, you really are still...

Fang Qi's consciousness was blurring.

This time it was actually... a slit throat?!

You crazy woman... you really are ruthless...!

Forget it... whatever...

Just you wait, crazy woman...

Once I reset... I'm going to absolutely...!

Darkness completely swallowed his consciousness.

...

But there was no flash of white light as he had expected.

His sense of smell recovered first—was that... the smell of disinfectant?

It was a bit pungent.

Then his hearing returned. The rhythmic beep, beep of medical monitors, and...

A very, very soft sobbing sound?

Fang Qi struggled to lift his heavy eyelids.

His vision blurred for a few seconds before gradually coming into focus.

Before his eyes... there was no familiar living room or 52-degree tea.

An unfamiliar ceiling, pale fluorescent lights. The air was slightly cool.

He slightly turned his stiff neck—

Hiss!!!

A sharp, piercing pain shot from the side of his neck, accompanied by a heavy, tightly wrapped sensation of restriction!

He lowered his gaze with difficulty...

And saw thick white bandages wrapped around his neck. Dark, dried traces could be seen at the edges of the bandages.

His throat was burning with thirst, and every swallow was accompanied by a dull ache!

His entire body felt limp and powerless, his head heavy and groggy, filled with the emptiness and dizziness of severe blood loss.

He... didn't die?

Is this... a hospital?

Shifting his gaze slightly, he saw a fluffy head resting by the edge of the bed, gently heaving with suppressed sobs.

A light brown ponytail was somewhat loose, with a few stray hairs clinging to a sweaty forehead.

Is that... Lin Xiaoyou?

She had fallen asleep leaning against his bed.

Her eyes were swollen like peaches, wet tear streaks still hung on her face, and one hand tightly gripped the corner of his blanket.

She was still wearing the company's uniform skirt suit, now entirely crumpled.

Fang Qi stared at her blankly, his mind completely empty.

...What is going on?

He didn't reset?

This is... a hospital?

Why is Lin Xiaoyou here? And looking like this?

And... where is that crazy woman?!

You're awake?

A slightly hoarse and exhausted female voice came from the doorway, interrupting Fang Qi's chaotic thoughts.

He turned his aching neck and looked toward the door.

Gu Xi was leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed over her chest.

She was still wearing her police uniform, her ponytail still tied back, but the bangs on her forehead were a bit messy, there were obvious dark circles under her eyes, and her lips were a little dry.

She held a disposable paper cup in her hand, steam curling upward, and her gaze fell on Fang Qi's face with a complex expression.

Carrying scrutiny, and also a trace of... relief?

I...

As soon as Fang Qi opened his mouth, his throat felt like it had been rubbed with sandpaper, burning with pain!

His voice was so hoarse it was barely a tune, speaking only in a whisper: How did I...

He struggled to sit up, but the severe pain from his neck and the weakness of his entire body made his vision go black!

With a muffled groan, he fell heavily back onto the pillow!

Don't move!

Seeing this, Gu Xi immediately took a few strides to the bedside, lightly pressing a hand above his uninjured shoulder to stop him from getting up again.

Her brows were tightly knitted: Your carotid artery was severed, and you lost a massive amount of blood! It's a miracle you were saved! The doctor said you must rest absolutely. If the wound tears open again, you're really going to die!

Her expression showed genuine anxiety and lingering fear.

Fang Qi's mind was in total chaos!

He... he didn't die?

But looking at this injury...

Liguang's strike was definitely meant to kill! The carotid artery!

Then what happened next? Could it be... the police outside heard the commotion?

Where is Liguang? How is Liguang?! He looked at Gu Xi with difficulty, asking anxiously.

Beside the bed, Lin Xiaoyou let out a soft whimper but remained lying there. She seemed too exhausted; even with all this noise, she didn't wake up.

Gu Xi straightened up, raised a hand to smooth the stray hair on her forehead, and stayed silent for a few seconds.

Then, with a heavy tone and a lingering trace of shock, she spoke:

After I handled that sudden police emergency, I rushed back as fast as I could,

I pushed the door open... and saw you collapsed next to the chair. From your neck, blood was gushing out like a fountain.

The floor... the walls... the ceiling... covered in blood.

Gu Xi closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing, her voice a bit tight:

And your AI... Liguang...

She was kneeling beside you, her entire body draped over you, both hands... desperately, forcefully pressing down on your bleeding neck.

Her hands, her arms, her face, her hair... were completely covered in the blood you sprayed.

Her whole body was trembling, and she kept screaming... Stop, please stop, Master stop bleeding... Please don't die...

Gu Xi's voice also carried a slight tremble.

Her gaze returned to Fang Qi, her eyes complex:

She pressed so hard, yet the blood kept seeping out from between her fingers... Then she saw me come in and suddenly jerked her head up...

Gu Xi paused, her voice quivering slightly, as if the scene was still right before her eyes:

Her face was covered in blood and tears, her makeup was completely ruined, and those eyes...

I... I have never seen that kind of look before. Despair, madness, regret, terror...

Gu Xi's voice carried a lingering shock, her eyes losing focus slightly as she recalled the scene:

She screamed at me, her voice impossibly hoarse. She cried and begged me to save you, begged me to call a doctor...

Then she lowered her head again, pressing even harder on your wound, burying her face into your blood-soaked chest, rambling incoherently, Master won't die... Liguang was wrong... Liguang didn't mean to... Master, please don't die...

Gu Xi closed her eyes and let out a trembling breath.

Meanwhile, Fang Qi lay in the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, the pain in his neck so incredibly real.

He could picture that scene.

The cold floor of the interrogation room, the blood splattered everywhere, his dying self, and that... broken, remorseful silver-haired girl.

Even when she believed she had been completely betrayed, even when she believed she was going to be destroyed...

After making her move, she still regretted it, still tried like a madman to undo it.

You crazy woman, in the end... you still couldn't go through with it...

At that moment, I was absolutely certain...

Gu Xi's voice pulled him back to reality:

That reaction of hers, that heart-wrenching remorse and terror... is not something a program can simulate. I immediately called for an ambulance and the AI Special Disposal Team, and at the same time I rushed forward, using the tourniquet from the first aid kit to help her press down on the wound.

...And then? Fang Qi's voice was hoarse and dry.

The ambulance and the disposal team arrived almost at the same time.

Gu Xi pulled over a chair by the bed and sat down, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of the paper cup:

When the paramedics took over, she still refused to let go... It was the disposal team who forcibly dragged her away.

She struggled violently, her eyes fixed entirely on you as you were loaded onto the stretcher, right up until the emergency room doors closed.

Only then did she slump to the ground, as if all her strength had been drained. She looked at the disposal team... and proposed a condition.

Gu Xi looked at Fang Qi:

"She said that as long as she could ensure you received the best treatment and the best medicine, she was willing to cooperate with everything, volunteering to be recycled and reset."

"She used this as an exchange... and then put the restrictor on herself."

Fang Qi didn't know what to say.

It was clearly this crazy woman who had sliced his carotid artery, but...

"Then... where is she now?" His voice was somewhat distant.

"In the highest-level isolation and containment center of the 'Dawn' series."

Gu Xi answered very clearly, with a trace of pity in her eyes:

"She's undergoing final evaluation and a complete reset of her core data. The process has already been initiated. Calculating the time..."

She glanced at the wall clock, and her voice lowered:

"She should have been completely formatted by now. Your 'Liguang'... in terms of data and personality, should have been completely erased."

...Erased?

She doesn't exist anymore?

Fang Qi stared blankly at the ceiling.

The pain on the side of his neck and the dizziness from blood loss came in waves.

He had thought... that blood spraying into the air was the end, the rough ticket to his next reincarnation.

He had also thought that when he woke up, he would give her a good spanking...

But she actually...

...This wasn't right, was it?

He was supposed to be the player, right?!

Why did it feel like he was the one being conquered?!

"Oh, right, and her..."

Gu Xi hesitated for a moment, glancing at Lin Xiaoyou who was still sleeping soundly next to him, though her eyelashes fluttered as if she was about to wake up. Gu Xi lowered her voice a bit:

"This female colleague of yours was notified by the police through your company's emergency contact information."

"She rushed over as soon as she got the call and has been keeping watch here ever since. She wouldn't leave no matter who tried to persuade her, cried several times, and just fell asleep from exhaustion."

Gu Xi's tone carried a bit of helplessness, but also a trace of understanding:

"She really does... care about you a lot."

Hearing this, Fang Qi's gaze fell on Lin Xiaoyou's exhausted sleeping face again. On her small round face, her eyes were severely red and swollen.

His mood was somewhat complex.

This girl... sigh.

"Buzz—"

On the nightstand, his phone suddenly vibrated.

The vibration sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet hospital room.

Fang Qi glanced at Gu Xi, and Gu Xi gave a slight nod.

He struggled to stretch out his hand that wasn't being pressed down by Lin Xiaoyou, picked up the phone, and swiped to answer.

"Hello?" His voice was still hoarse and weak.

The other end of the line was quiet for a moment, and then came a cold, familiar, yet slightly exhausted female voice:

"Mr. Fang Qi, this is An Lian."

Fang Qi's breath caught, pulling the wound on his neck, and he frowned in pain.

An Lian's voice came through the receiver, clear and calm, but seemingly laced with ice:

"Your AI companion 'Liguang' is currently detained in a special containment unit."

"She refuses to cooperate with any deep testing and data extraction procedures, resisting fiercely, but... she hasn't shown any aggressive behavior yet."

She paused, as if weighing her words:

"She made a condition."

"She said... as long as she can see you one more time before the reset, to confirm with her own eyes that you are safe and sound..."

"She will give up resisting and fully cooperate with all subsequent processing procedures."

An Lian's voice had no fluctuations, but every word was clear:

"This is her only condition. The higher-ups... considering her danger level and your physical condition, disagree in principle. But I need to ask for your opinion."

"Mr. Fang, are you... willing to come see her one last time?"