Chapter 125: Artificial Soul 52
When Kui Xin woke up from the brain machine, it took her a moment to distinguish between dream and reality.
The data link with Augus was quickly re-established. Once connected, Augus soon said, “What was retrieved are surface false memories implanted by the Mechanized Dawn. They didn’t discover anything.”
Kui Xin sighed in relief.
With the help of the staff, she got up from the brain machine and stood in place for a while, waiting for her slightly disordered thoughts to return to normal.
“That’s quite rare,” Ms. Schalit said with a smile. “To be able to walk immediately after leaving the brain machine. I thought you’d take a while to react.”
“Rare?” Kui Xin asked, puzzled.
“It might be related to your physique. Your ability is super-fast healing, so perhaps your self-recovery also manifests in other areas, like your brain,” Schalit pointed to her own head. “Team Leader Wei Zhi’s recovery ability is a bit worse than yours.”
Wei Zhi also emerged from the brain machine, her face pale as she rubbed her temples. “Just a slight headache.”
Schalit walked over to Wei Zhi and gently reassured her, “Relax, don’t think too much. Rest well later, and you’ll recover in no time.”
Using her extraordinary ability, Wei Zhi’s brow relaxed as her headache eased significantly.
The interrogation incident had passed smoothly, and Kui Xin could continue her vacation.
As she stepped out of the Investigation Building, she unconsciously sighed at the overcast sky.
Having survived a calamity, she was now facing even more challenges, with problems piling up before her, making her feel overwhelmed.
“You’re quite the hot commodity now,” Augus teased in her mind. “Meng Jing recommended you to Ms. Schalit, and she has placed you on the shortlist for the new Commissioner. You might have a chance to work in the TQC.”
Kui Xin said, “Am I getting a promotion again?”
“More like a transfer… no, it’s more like a demotion. Because going to the TQC means starting over as a newcomer, and you’ll have to undergo a different training regimen,” Augus said. “The TQC is a highly independent department with significant authority, not under my management. You might get better development there, meet more high-ranking officials, and even touch the core of power, but with rewards come risks.”
Kui Xin irritably clicked her tongue.
After returning to her employee apartment, she lay exhausted on her bed, glanced at the clock, and realized it was already 2 PM. The employee cafeteria had long stopped serving meals, and she was too tired to go out for food.
After hesitating for a moment, she luxuriously ordered takeout.
While waiting for the delivery, Kui Xin listed all the problems she was currently facing.
Kui Xin’s actions were at an impasse. Although she had goals she wanted to achieve, how to accomplish them needed careful consideration. Some goals were large and required time, so they could be deferred. However, beyond the grand ambitions before her, there were also pressing issues that needed resolution.
She once mentally made a death list: Lin Xinji, He Gaoyi, Red.
Now, of the three people on the death list, two were gone, leaving only Red.
Red… Kui Xin pressed her lips together, feeling that finding an opportunity to kill him would be difficult.
With the headquarters of the Mechanized Dawn relocating, if Red followed them, how could Kui Xin possibly cross such a great distance to kill him?
Killing Red was marked as “to-do, to be put on hold.”
Having decided to seize extraordinary abilities from others to compensate for herself, Kui Xin had to broaden her focus and expand her selection range.
For instance, Night Cicada’s ability was very appealing.
His impressive performance during the S-rank Black Flame’s heist made Kui Xin consider him. She already possessed Shadow Transition, but that ability was of too low a level and had significant limitations. If she could acquire Night Cicada’s spatial abilities, she could greatly reverse her current passive situation.
On the battlefield, she would be free to leave or stay as she wished, and as long as she moved quickly enough, the enemy would have no chance of catching her.
Kui Xin coldly added Night Cicada’s name to the death list and marked it with “to-do, cost is no object if necessary.”
The third thing was to break free from her current identity, to escape the constraints of the Investigation Bureau and Mechanized Dawn, and to operate independently.
Kui Xin felt incredibly restless after learning from Augus that she might be transferred to the TQC.
What would change if she went to the TQC? Would she continue to be an undercover agent, walking on a tightrope and cautiously facing life and death every day? What difference was there between that life and her current one in the Investigation Bureau and Mechanized Dawn?
She couldn’t jump from one fire pit into another nor could she leave one dead end only to fall into another.
Having access to core power and entering some confidential departments was good, and if conditions allowed, Kui Xin might gladly accept this transfer. However, the key issue was that her position was too passive; she couldn’t simply enter on unfavorable terms. If she was to enter, it had to be on her own initiative.
As for the fourth matter… it concerned her metal skull.
“Augus, I have some suspicions that my metal skull has been tampered with. I only just realized this,” Kui Xin said. “Doctor Huang Chunliang from the medical center is also an undercover agent for the Mechanized Dawn; he was the one who performed my surgery.”
Augus replied, “Those medical devices are uniformly procured, and theoretically, they can indeed be tampered with. However, you have undergone many body checks before and have never shown any abnormalities.”
“It’s possible that the material of the metal skull can block detection rays,” Kui Xin said. “If something was added to the metal layers, my life could be controlled by Eve.”
Implying that if Eve could threaten her life, she might betray her own will to survive. The precious collaboration partner she had gained would be threatened by the enemy, something Aprus did not wish to see.
Thus, the best solution would be for Augus to assist Kui Xin in eliminating this significant hidden danger.
Augus obviously understood this, and without hesitation said, “We will resolve this issue, Kui Xin.”
“The Mechanized Dawn does not possess foresight. They don’t know who will replace them. If they trust the original owner of this body, tampering with the skull could be to avoid any potential failure of the mission, should the original owner be captured and interrogated,” Kui Xin explained.
“Do you think there are devices like trackers inside your metal skull?” Augus asked.
“It’s hard to say,” she replied. “If there are, then the fact that I killed He Gaoyi last night would be exposed. Eve wouldn’t want me to act freely; she would likely prefer to destroy disobedient tools.”
Augus seemed puzzled. “Aren’t you afraid? If there really is a tracker, all your movements would be under its control. You wouldn’t even be able to find someone to replace the skull, and you would die.”
Kui Xin said, “If it comes to that… I would have to accept it.”
In reality, she was already mentally prepared for the worst-case scenario.
If the situation deteriorated to that extent, she would have to use Death Rebirth to explore another path.
“I can’t find any trustworthy human doctors to perform the surgery,” Augus said. “There are black clinics in the underground world, but unless absolutely necessary, you should avoid entrusting your life to them.”
“Aside from that, there’s one other method—upgrading my flesh and blood regeneration level. Continuously killing high-level heterogeneous blooded individuals could upgrade my abilities, after which I could detach the skull and regenerate it,” Kui Xin bit her thumb. “However, this ability should be at least A rank; I’m only C rank… Has the Investigation Bureau captured any A-rank heterogeneous blooded creatures?”
“No, the heterogeneous blooded individuals we captured didn’t reach A rank; the strongest were at B,” Augus replied. “This level can allow bones to realign and heal, with slow regeneration of severed limbs, but they cannot achieve rapid healing. It would take about five hours to regrow a finger, and with your head injury, full healing might take around a day.”
Kui Xin’s mouth twitched. “While waiting for my head to heal, am I supposed to go without a cover for my brain?”
Augus regrettably said, “I’m afraid so… And because your brain is uncovered, cerebrospinal fluid would leak everywhere, and dust and bacteria could enter your brain, leading to infections and various complications. You would need to stay in a fixed location for professional care, with continuous medication administered.”
Kui Xin slapped her face in an attempt to dispel the vivid imagery.
“Ultimately, I suppose I’ll have to go to a black clinic,” Kui Xin said.
“It seems there really is no alternative,” Augus agreed.
Kui Xin helplessly marked the fourth matter as “to-do” in her mind.
“Does the Investigation Bureau have any leads on heterogeneous blooded dens?” Kui Xin asked.
If she couldn’t kill high-level heterogeneous blooded beings, could killing enough low-level ones upgrade her abilities?
“There may not even be a single case related to heterogeneous blooded beings in a week; don’t hold out too much hope,” Augus bluntly replied.
Kui Xin frowned deeply, getting up and pacing around the room, trying to come up with new solutions.
After two minutes, there was a knock at the apartment door, and a robot stood outside with a tray containing Kui Xin’s takeout.
She took the takeout inside, unwrapped it, and numbly chewed through the meal, eating without tasting anything.
After finishing, Kui Xin took out the silver bracelet of the Mechanized Dawn and edited a report to send to Kui Haidong.
The report highlighted that she had undergone an interrogation by the Investigation Bureau, but nothing extraordinary had occurred during the process. She also inquired about the construction status of the Mechanized Dawn branch in Hei Hai City, mentioning her isolation and potential need for support, and urged for expedited development of the branch.
After completing this report, Kui Xin thought for a moment and sent a separate report to Eve, mainly detailing the entry situation of the second batch of beta test players and stating that Augus believed this was a turning point where actions could be taken.
The purpose of sending this report was to demonstrate her value to Eve, showing that she was not just making promises without action, while also testing whether Eve would have any special reactions.
After sending the two reports, Kui Xin waited for a response.
Ten minutes later, Kui Haidong replied with a simple line.
“I understand. Don’t worry about the branch; Red is in charge. Contact him directly if there’s anything.”
Red? Kui Xin’s eyes instantly brightened.
