Chapter 124: Artificial Soul 51
Kui Xin held a gun in one hand and pulled the trigger. Bang, bang, bang—the six bullets in the magazine all hit the bullseye.
Her wrist remained stable as she held the powerful weapon, which had a strong recoil, and her arm barely vibrated when the bullets were ejected.
After firing the six bullets, the trajectories almost overlapped, with only a minuscule deviation. The bullet holes on the target were significantly fewer than the number of bullets fired, as several overlapping bullets created only one hole on the target.
“Six bullets, in 1.28 seconds,” Augus said. “You’re close to breaking the rapid-fire record for the Bureau of Investigation and Order Maintenance, Black Sea City Branch.”
As Kui Xin changed the magazine, she relaxed her wrist, transferring the gun from her right hand to her left and starting a new round of shooting practice.
Once she emptied another magazine, Augus commented, “56 rings. The stability of left-handed shooting is weaker, but you still surpass most security officers.”
Kui Xin pouted, setting down her gun to slowly move her wrist and relieve the soreness.
Her performance was already outstanding enough to astonish the nearby training security officers, who occasionally glanced her way. When they saw Kui Xin pausing her training, she gave them a thumbs-up.
During a break, Augus said, “They found the body.”
“Quite slow,” Kui Xin replied.
“The sanitation workers, driving the cleaning truck, were handling the piled-up garbage in Garbage Alley. Once the garbage bags were cleared by the machine, the body was revealed, and the sanitation worker called the police,” Augus explained. “The security officers patrolling nearby rushed over to deal with the body. They recognized He Gaoyi and brought her body back to the Investigation Bureau. After Meng Jing heard the news, she personally went to the underground mortuary to take a look.”
Kui Xin said, “I want to know what expression Meng Jing had when she left the mortuary.”
“Anger,” Augus said. “She was fuming, her heart rate was faster than usual, her hands were shaking in anger, and she took antihypertensive medication after returning to her office.”
“Just anger?” Kui Xin said regretfully.
“Do you think she would be sad?” Augus replied. “Meng Jing wouldn’t feel sorrow for He Gaoyi’s death; their relationship is essentially one of interest, devoid of emotion.”
“I’m not saying that… I thought Meng Jing might feel scared,” Kui Xin said. “Lin Xinji is dead, her trusted subordinate He Gaoyi is dead, and the senior personnel in the Investigation Bureau are experiencing accidents one after another. Hasn’t she thought that she could be next?”
Augus paused. “You want to kill Meng Jing too?”
“No, I just don’t want to see those people so comfortably secure,” Kui Xin responded. “I’m out there fighting fiercely, while those in power are unfazed. That’s not right, is it? Seeing them have bad luck makes me feel a bit better.”
Whether actively or passively, Kui Xin was steadily realizing her goals.
She had already experienced the despair on the Kraken; she hadn’t forgotten who was the instigator, and her desire for revenge never faded.
“If there is fear, it seems there is indeed a little,” Augus said lightly. “But her fear is too faint. Having long held a high position and being an A-level Awakened with a powerful attack type of ability, she’s very confident and isn’t easily shaken.”
“Have they performed an autopsy on He Gaoyi?”
“Still underway,” Augus said. “You’ve done a thorough job; they won’t find anything useful.”
Kui Xin asked, “Is Zhang Xiaoyun stable?”
Augus replied, “Stable. He’s not reckless; he’s working hard to learn, pretending convincingly. His colleagues haven’t noticed anything off about him yet. Unfortunately, he’s in the Investigation Bureau, the place where identities are most easily exposed… we’ll see how long he can last without being discovered.”
Having finished her break, Kui Xin reassembled her firearm and loaded the bullets.
“Change to a moving target,” she said.
“Moving target changed,” Augus responded.
The bullet-ridden target automatically descended, the walls of the training area shifted backward, and the moving target launcher rose from the metal compartment in the ground.
Kui Xin swapped magazines again, raised her gun to shoot, but suddenly heard Augus conveying information: “Emergency situation; the Special Affairs Department people are here… They’ve brought a brain machine, apparently to use on you and Wei Zhi.”
Once Augus finished speaking, he formally announced in the training area, “Security Officer Kui Xin, please report to room 2810B on the 28th floor.”
Kui Xin’s mouth turned down, she set down her gun and turned to leave.
“Brain machine? Wei Zhi hasn’t recovered from the aftereffects yet. Can she use it?” Kui Xin communicated telepathically with Augus.
“They won’t care about Wei Zhi,” Augus replied. “The brain machine’s principle is to connect the device to the brain to analyze, interpret, and control brain waves. The brain machine is an electronic device; linking to the human brain requires data transcoding, which you can resist. However, a psychic Awakened person from the Special Affairs Department has come, with abilities related to psychic hypnosis. Her powers can be used in conjunction with the brain machine to make the human subconscious abandon its resistance. They truly want to extract something from your and Wei Zhi’s minds.”
Kui Xin said, “Let them come; I can’t avoid it anyway.”
She stepped into the elevator, which took her up to the 28th floor.
As the elevator doors opened, Kui Xin quickly followed the indicator lights to room 2810B. The room door opened automatically, and she entered.
“Team Leader Wei Zhi,” Kui Xin said.
Wei Zhi nodded to her. “You’re here.”
Kui Xin glanced around and noticed that the room had a somewhat special structure.
The room was divided into two levels; the upper level was covered by glass windows that were not transparent but one-way. She could only sense someone standing behind the glass watching her but couldn’t tell who it was. The lower part of the room was very spacious, housing two brain machines.
Kui Xin and Wei Zhi stood in the empty room as several staff members in white clothes quietly emerged from a small side door and opened the covers of the brain machines. After a moment, a woman with black hair and blue eyes, dressed in a gray suit, entered through the side door.
She looked mixed-race, with deep-set eyes and a tall nose, yet her features were soft.
In this world filled with data ports, Augus was omnipresent, and Kui Xin could contact him at any time.
“She is Annie Schalit from the Special Affairs Department, a B-level Awakened. Although she’s B-grade, she is given considerable attention in the Special Affairs Department due to her relatively rare psychic ability,” Augus explained to Kui Xin.
“Are you… sure she’s B-level?” Kui Xin asked.
“What do you mean?” Augus replied. “They clearly stated during their office discussions that she is B-level; that’s what her personnel file says.”
Kui Xin calmly responded, “But I can only see that Schalit’s ability is ‘Hypnotic Sound’ and can’t see the specifics. This indicates—her ability level is higher than mine.”
Augus paused for a moment. “She can’t possibly be unaware of her ability level, but she hasn’t reported it…”
“She has issues,” Kui Xin said with unwavering certainty.
Schalit nodded at Kui Xin and Wei Zhi. “You can lie down in the brain machine now. Don’t worry; I can help you avoid the aftereffects of the brain machine as much as possible.”
“Thank you,” Wei Zhi said, calmly lying down in the brain machine while the staff connected wires and patches for her, securing the headset over her head.
Despite her suspicions about Schalit, Kui Xin still lay down in the brain machine.
With so many people watching, she had no way to escape. Schalit’s issues might be significant… because even the information from the Special Affairs Department classified her as a B-level Awakened, not an A-level. What was she deliberately concealing? What role did she play in the Special Affairs Department?
Kui Xin remained still as the staff connected various wires and patches to her head.
Schalit approached Kui Xin, speaking softly, “Close your eyes and sleep for a while. Don’t resist… don’t resist…”
Her voice had a peculiar charm… was this a psychic ability cast using sound as a medium?
Just as that thought crossed Kui Xin’s mind, her eyelids became immovable, and her consciousness suddenly plummeted, falling into a deep sleep.
…
Meng Jing asked coldly, “Have you extracted anything from their memories?”
“So far, the information matches what we obtained during the previous interrogation; we can’t find any extra intel,” Schalit said, watching the screen of the brain machine intently. “The organization called Mechanized Dawn is extremely mysterious and deeply hidden. Such an organization couldn’t have developed overnight… that massive base, that discreet location, and some high-tech within the base… even though most of the equipment has been relocated, it is still evident that this organization has formidable strength.”
“Since our officers are not implicated, let’s conclude the interrogation quickly,” Meng Jing stated. “We need to get our work back on the right track.”
Schalit said, “Minister Meng, may I ask a question? Is Wei Zhi already confirmed as the next head of the Investigation Bureau?”
Meng Jing’s lips twitched slightly. “Without formal documents being issued, that means it is uncertain.”
“The Special Affairs Department and the Investigation Bureau have in-depth cooperation in many areas. The choice of minister is critical, and our department head is also very concerned about this matter,” Schalit smiled.
“The ministerial selection will be finalized this week,” Meng Jing replied.
Schalit pondered for a moment. “Some of the commissioners in the Special Affairs Department were transferred from various Investigation Bureau branches. You must be aware of these ministers. We intend to cultivate a new batch of commissioners, requiring them to be under the age of twenty-five and Awakened with extraordinary abilities.”
Meng Jing chuckled. “Awakened individuals aren’t common; there have been very few excellent newcomers in our Investigation Bureau over the years, and even fewer who have Awakened their abilities and are within that age range… but we happen to have a suitable candidate here.”
“Who is it? Can you send me a copy of her information?” Schalit inquired.
Meng Jing tilted her chin slightly, her eyes smiling as she looked through the glass at Kui Xin lying in the brain machine. “Her—Wei Zhi’s secretary. She just graduated from the Black Sea Academy with a major in criminal investigation. Her performance is outstanding in every aspect, her personal abilities are solid. Moreover, she recently Awakened with the ability of accelerated healing, which, based on current observations, has no side effects.”
Schalit nodded slightly. “Then let’s add her to the candidate list.”
If Wei Zhi were awake at this moment, she would surely be furious.
Meng Jing was clearly trying to provoke Wei Zhi. The secretary that Wei Zhi valued, she was deliberately assigning elsewhere, cutting off Wei Zhi’s support.
