Chapter 83: Artificial Soul 10
Kui Xin returned home to find the floor immaculate, shining to the point of reflecting light.
Silverface was slumped on the sofa, looking utterly exhausted, his spirit visibly low.
Kui Xin poured herself a glass of water, holding the cup as she casually remarked, “Cleaning a room can’t be that exhausting, right?”
“You definitely didn’t see the message I sent you,” Silverface complained.
“I didn’t have time to check.” Kui Xin set down her cup and activated her silver wristband to take a quick look.
Ah, it turns out Silverface had messaged her at 3 PM to say he was going to help Red move…
She also received a message from Red, stating that all previous safe houses and gathering spots had been abandoned; the organization had arranged for several new ones, and the Ruby Red Bar had been transferred. They were currently renovating a nightclub in the city center, preparing to use it as a new gathering spot.
“Moving?” Kui Xin shut off the wristband. “Is Red treating you like a laborer?”
“He always enjoys bossing people around,” Silverface pouted. “He even deliberately set up tasks for me, which is super annoying. I’m technically no longer his direct subordinate, yet he still orders me around. I can’t refuse; he’s ranked higher than me.”
Mechanized Dawn also had many auxiliary members who could, in theory, handle these tasks. However, they were too low-ranking, and the locations of safe houses and gathering spots were classified—only core members were privy to specific details.
Usually, Mechanized Dawn would use various machines for housing renovations, but construction could be affected by various factors. Some tasks that machines couldn’t complete required manual labor, and Silverface had moved a pile of miscellaneous items this afternoon, leaving him thoroughly worn out.
Kui Xin glanced at him. “If you don’t want to do it, just refuse. You’re with me; just follow my orders.”
“Really!” Silverface perked up at her words, his white hair standing on end.
“Really. If worse comes to worst, let Red move it himself.” Kui Xin said slowly. “You’re my man; just listen to my commands. Don’t worry about others, unless it’s an emergency, or the person giving orders is ranked higher than me.”
“Higher rank than you? That only leaves the leader, and um, I think Night Cicada, but he usually doesn’t manage the lower ranks; he only answers to the leader.” Silverface said. “Won’t that create problems?”
“If there’s dissent, let them go to the leader. If the leader agrees, then you can listen to them.” Kui Xin replied.
Silverface exclaimed, “Yay!”
Kui Xin’s mindset needed a shift.
In the face of testing and suspicion from Mechanized Dawn, she had previously appeared somewhat too passive.
Her actual identity was the daughter of the leader of Mechanized Dawn. Kui Haidong had once said she was his successor and that she should inherit his legacy.
Regardless of how sincere Kui Haidong was when he said those words, Kui Xin planned to take them seriously. After Kui Haidong’s death, the Rike Technology Company would be her inheritance, and the endeavors of Mechanized Dawn should also be passed to her. Since she was the “young lady,” she needed to present herself as one.
Being a bit more assertive didn’t matter. What was wrong with being a little flamboyant within Mechanized Dawn? Red and Night Cicada had also mentioned that the original personality had a slightly irritable and sharp tongue, which suited her identity—she was supposed to be like this.
Kui Xin had noticed long ago that the “Kui Xin” of Mechanized Dawn closely resembled her personality; they were true counterparts from different dimensions, sharing the same father and similar traits.
Kui Haidong couldn’t tell that his daughter had swapped souls for two reasons: he didn’t know her well enough, and they were just too similar.
This resemblance was the key to her successful disguise.
After dinner, Kui Xin calmly called Kui Haidong.
“Xiao Xin?” Kui Haidong’s voice came through the communicator.
“Yeah, it’s me.” Kui Xin slouched on the sofa, with Silverface next to her, who was watching TV with the volume turned up a bit too high.
Kui Haidong frowned. “What’s that noise on your end? It sounds chaotic.”
“Silverface is watching an animated series.” Kui Xin kicked Silverface’s leg. “Hey, turn it down; it’s affecting my call.”
“Oh, oh, oh.” Silverface quickly adjusted the volume.
“Is there something you need, Xiao Xin?” Kui Haidong asked.
“I received a message from Red. He said the gathering spot is moving.” Kui Xin replied. “I’ve noticed the atmosphere at the Investigation Bureau has become strange these days, with a tense and gloomy feeling. The higher-ups are suppressing the Kraken incident from being disclosed, and ordinary security officers are unaware. The commotion we caused at the port was too loud, and I’m worried the Investigation Bureau might take action against Mechanized Dawn.”
“That’s inevitable; they will definitely take action against us.” Kui Haidong said, “This poses a significant crisis for us… but it’s not something you should worry about. Just focus on yourself at the Investigation Bureau.”
“Okay, I’ll pass on any news promptly.” Kui Xin said.
This was a necessary play. As an undercover agent, Kui Xin had the obligation to report her observations from the Investigation Bureau. She needed to monitor any anomalies, track personnel movements, and compile these observations to submit to Mechanized Dawn’s headquarters.
If she didn’t do this, her role as an undercover agent would lose its significance. If she failed to relay information, Mechanized Dawn would grow suspicious of her.
She needed to divulge some useful intelligence, information that aligned with her stance, and also make predictions based on her identity and personal experiences to alert Mechanized Dawn.
Kui Xin had to do what she needed to do and what she could do.
“Also, I’m very concerned about what happened to Reynir and Tang Guan after they returned to their world.” Kui Xin looked up at the ceiling. “How much of the information we interrogated from them was true or false?”
Kui Haidong replied, “They are still alive, and the situation is temporarily under our control. This matter involves two worlds; it’s too complicated. Now is not the right time to discuss these things.”
Upon hearing this, Kui Xin involuntarily bit her rear molar. She would rather Reynir and Tang Guan be dead. Dying was better than being tortured by Mechanized Dawn, losing herself under mind control; that was too humiliating.
After a moment of contemplation, Kui Haidong said, “Come visit the headquarters when you have the time. I’ll explain in detail… but there may not be opportunities soon. A lot is weighing on us, and we need to resolve the troubles quickly. That so-called First World won’t pose a significant threat for now, but the threat from the Investigation Bureau is imminent.”
“As long as you’re mindful, ‘Dad’,” Kui Xin said. “By the way, I found out what extraordinary ability the Deputy Minister of the Investigation Bureau has. I remember that the data chip handed to me earlier didn’t mention anything in that regard.”
“We have only scratched the surface in infiltrating the Investigation Bureau, and the profiles of every awakened individual within the Bureau are crucial to us.” Kui Haidong said. “Lin Xinji—the Deputy Minister, that’s him, right? His extraordinary ability is…”
“Investigative Eye, which can see through the extraordinary abilities of others. He has no combat capability and is not a threat.” Kui Xin said flatly. “I’m still working on gathering information on the extraordinary abilities of the others, and learning about Lin Xinji’s ability was somewhat coincidental.”
The awakened individuals of the Investigation Bureau had their information stored in Adam’s core database.
Eve couldn’t reach the Investigation Bureau; that was Adam’s domain, leading to Mechanized Dawn’s insufficient understanding of the Bureau’s situation and an inability to access key intelligence.
“Investigative Eye? Quite a useful ability.” Kui Haidong was silent for a few seconds. “Very good, keep it up, Xiao Xin. You’re still a newcomer; continue to stay undercover, and you will surely gain more insights.”
Kui Xin decided to reveal the information about Lin Xinji after careful consideration.
Mechanized Dawn… no, Eve, lurking behind Mechanized Dawn—Eve was suspicious that Kui Xin was a player.
It was precisely because of this suspicion that they were testing Kui Xin in various ways.
Reflecting on her actions after entering the Second World, she indeed had many flaws, mainly because she wasn’t familiar with the Second World and lacked accurate awareness of her surroundings. Kui Xin had once used an encrypted network to search for some information.
These constituted significant doubts.
The silver wristband was provided to Kui Xin by Mechanized Dawn, and the encrypted network function was also included by them. Kui Xin didn’t know the extent of Mechanized Dawn’s surveillance of her or when it had started.
However, Kui Xin believed that Mechanized Dawn was merely suspicious of her and hadn’t confirmed her identity. The proof was that she was currently sitting safely at home, Kui Haidong was still playing the good father-daughter game with her, and Silverface and Red continued to treat her as a companion—she wasn’t locked in an isolation prison undergoing interrogation.
For now, Kui Xin was safe. As long as she didn’t leak more information deepening their suspicions or provide them with leverage, she would remain safe.
“There’s nothing more to discuss. I’ll hang up now,” Kui Xin said.
“Take care of yourself.” Kui Haidong feigned concern.
But he was too late; as soon as he uttered the third word, Kui Xin ended the call with a snap.
Once again left with nothing but frustration, Kui Haidong put down the communicator, grumbling, “She’s just here to mess with me!”
……
The next day, Kui Xin arrived at the Investigation Bureau for work, even arriving half an hour early.
She had conducted a lot of psychological preparation during her ride on the Hover Tram.
Despite maintaining her composure, her mind kept imagining—what if she encountered Lin Xinji during work, what would she do?
Lin Xinji couldn’t be on a business trip forever, and she couldn’t avoid facing him indefinitely.
Kui Xin had deliberately adjusted her schedule to arrive earlier before peak hours to avoid him. As long as Lin Xinji wasn’t a workaholic, he likely wouldn’t show up that early.
However, there’s a saying: what you fear will come.
When Kui Xin arrived at the Investigation Building, even the receptionist at the front desk on the first floor hadn’t yet arrived.
As soon as she stepped into the lobby, Adam’s mechanical voice greeted her: “Good morning, Security Officer Kui Xin.”
Unlike the previous days, Adam didn’t wish Kui Xin a wonderful day.
After its morning greeting, Kui Xin’s communicator began vibrating persistently in her pocket. Sensing something was amiss, she took it out to check.
The screen read: “Lin Xinji is currently taking the elevator down.”
Kui Xin’s pupils dilated, her heart raced; she put away the communicator and glanced up to confirm her hiding spot—the ladies’ restroom in the right corridor of the first-floor lobby.
At the same time, she noticed the elevator’s floors were rapidly descending.
4th floor, 3rd floor…
As soon as Kui Xin saw the floor number, she turned to leave, her expression calm, her pace steady, not panicking.
2nd floor, 1st floor… the metal doors slid open, and the elevator arrived!
At the moment the elevator doors opened, Kui Xin slipped into the ladies’ restroom.
Lin Xinji, dressed in a black suit, stepped out of the elevator with his secretary, his gaze unwavering as he walked straight out of the lobby.
They successfully missed each other.
Hiding in a stall of the restroom, Kui Xin held her communicator, feeling a thin layer of cold sweat on her back.
Just then, the communicator vibrated again.
Adam: “He’s gone.”
The next second, it added, “I won’t ask; you can choose not to say.”
