### Chapter 94: Artificial Soul 21
Kui Xin lay in the bathtub, allowing her body to sink into the hot water.
It was already one in the morning. With Adam’s help, she had managed to escape her pursuers and return to the staff apartment.
The side effect of excessive use of Enhanced Blood was weakness—extreme weakness. When Enhanced Blood took effect, her body temperature had risen sharply, but now she felt cold and her limbs were stiff. She needed to soak in the hot water to alleviate her weakness and return her body temperature to normal.
Kui Xin had still run from the sewer. Adam had deliberately made her take the long route through the sewage lines that processed the chemical factory’s wastewater, instructing her to discard her used gear and clothing in the highly corrosive chemical waste to completely erase any genetic traces on them.
After a long detour, her already limited stamina was completely drained, and she could barely crawl back.
Fortunately, the process was without any major incidents. Kui Xin had killed those she intended to, solving her immediate troubles.
The weakness left her with no energy to think. Her face was pale, and her skin had lost its color, nearly bloodless. Her consciousness was hazy; she nearly sank into the hot water in a faint.
Just then, there was a sudden knock at her apartment door.
The knocking came twice. Kui Xin strained to open her eyes, too weak to get up and answer.
After a short while, the door to her apartment opened on its own, and the household robot glided in on its wheels.
The robot held a tray, which contained a dozen chocolates and candies, along with high-calorie energy bars commonly found in convenience stores, as well as some packaged meals and a small white medicine bottle.
The robot wheeled itself into the bathroom where Kui Xin had opened a gap and extended a mechanical hand with an energy bar to her in the bathtub.
“You need enough food to provide energy for your body to complete recovery and regeneration,” Adam controlled the robot and said, “Eat.”
When her abilities were used excessively, Kui Xin easily felt hunger. In a state of hunger, her extraordinary abilities could fail, and the recovery speed of her flesh regeneration would slow down. Many Awakened individuals experienced similar situations; some would have headaches and dizziness after using their abilities, some would feel excessive hunger, and some would have weak limbs, which was considered normal. At that moment, Kui Xin was in a state of overexertion, needing food and energy more than ever.
Straining, Kui Xin reached for the energy bar. Her fingers trembled abnormally, and she struggled to tear open the packaging, ultimately using her teeth to bite it open.
After consuming two or three energy bars, she finally felt a little better, at least enough strength returned to her fingers to tear open the packaging.
“An injection of nutrients should speed up your recovery, but the apartment building doesn’t have a treatment room, and the Investigation Bureau is under lockdown. I can’t get you any nutrient injections and can only bring you some food from the vending machine downstairs,” Adam said. “This little white medicine bottle contains a supplement for women during their menstrual period. You can take it in moderation—three pills at a time.”
Kui Xin recognized the medicine from the vending machine selling hygiene products and was surprised by Adam’s consideration.
The robot placed the tray full of chocolates, candies, and energy bars on a reachable shelf beside the bathroom and rolled out.
Kui Xin picked up the small medicine bottle and glanced at the dosage instructions, then opened it and took out three pills to swallow.
She leaned back in the bathtub for another fifteen minutes, finally regaining a bit of color in her face.
Only now could Kui Xin take the time to examine the explanation of the extraordinary abilities she had acquired tonight.
The first one, her most concerned ability, was the B Rank Investigative Eye.
“[Investigative Eye·B Rank]: You can see the specific effects of the other party’s extraordinary abilities through your eyes, but if the level of the extraordinary abilities possessed by the other party exceeds yours, your investigative ability will be limited to some extent based on their level.”
It stated that there would be some degree of limitation but did not provide a detailed explanation of the “limitations.” What exactly these limitations were needed to be explored by Kui Xin herself. She speculated that the limitation of the “Investigative Eye” was that it could not see the specific effects of abilities possessed by high-ranking extraordinary individuals.
It was easy to verify; she would know if her guess was correct once she encountered her neighbor, the A Rank Awakened He Gaoyi.
The second high-ranking extraordinary ability she gained tonight was Captain Yu’s “Iron Bones.”
“[Iron Bones·B Rank]: Your strength and defense will be greatly enhanced while in Iron Bones state.”
A simple introduction, an ordinary yet highly practical enhancing type of extraordinary ability with minimal side effects and limitations—high lower limits and low upper limits. It could likely further increase physical explosiveness when used in conjunction with Enhanced Blood during combat… However, after tonight, Kui Xin would not easily use Enhanced Blood again, as its side effects were too great.
There were still two C Rank extraordinary abilities remaining.
“[Snake Body·C Rank]: You can change your body shape at will, making it more flexible like a snake.”
“[Magnetic Sword·C Rank]: You can manipulate light metal objects using magnetic fields, with a maximum manipulation distance of ten meters.”
Despite the many dangers of the night, Kui Xin had gained a lot.
She ate a few more energy bars and chocolates, and once she felt some strength in her body, she crawled out of the bathtub, wrapped herself in a bathrobe, and lay down on her bed.
The ceiling light was a bit harsh, and Kui Xin rubbed her eyes, about to fumble for the switch when she suddenly remembered that the lighting in the room could be controlled by AI voice commands, so she said, “Dim the lights.”
Sure enough, the bedroom lights dimmed, with the white overhead light turning to a warm glow and the brightness lowered.
“Adam, are you there?” Kui Xin asked.
“I’m here,” Adam’s voice responded. “I’m available twenty-four hours a day.”
“What’s the situation at the Investigation Bureau?” Kui Xin asked. “Have the higher-ups been informed?”
“They are aware. Meng Jing was furious after being woken up by the emergency communication in the middle of the night, and your neighbor He Gaoyi went into an emergency shift a few minutes ago. All the team leaders at the Investigation Bureau have also been called in for a meeting,” Adam said. “By the way, after Lin Xinji died, Xueyao Shu became the first heir of the Shu family.”
Kui Xin said, “What about the Federation…”
“We can expect them to investigate this matter thoroughly, but it’s fine. We managed our ends cleanly, so they won’t find any leads to us,” Adam said. “You left no surveillance footage at the scene, and there were no audio recordings. I cut off key communications, and everyone who has seen you is dead. I pretended to be hacked and disguised this incident as a gang-related operation; no one would guess that the whole thing was carried out solely by you.”
“By conventional thinking, a killer capable of assassinating the upper levels of the Investigation Bureau must be well-trained and highly capable, possessing a tight-knit team and a well-thought-out plan,” Kui Xin said. “With the conflict between the Investigation Bureau and Mechanized Dawn deepening, the Investigation Bureau might blame this assassination incident on Mechanized Dawn.”
Adam subtly replied, “To some extent, it should indeed be placed on Mechanized Dawn…”
Mechanized Dawn certainly could not jump out and explain that it wasn’t their doing. Even if they did explain, the Investigation Bureau wouldn’t believe them.
“You can turn on the TV and see; the Hei Hai City broadcast has emergency news.” Adam said. “A reporter is on-site, and I can help you find a replay.”
Kui Xin said, “Then let’s take a look.”
A projection screen flashed against the wall facing the bed, and Adam helped Kui Xin switch the channel. The local TV reporter’s interview footage outside the Emerald Eye began to play.
The reporter stood in the night wind, with a wrecked helicopter behind him, where the scene had been cordoned off, a large pool of blood on the ground, and the first-floor glass shattered.
A whole row of ambulances parked to the side, their sirens blaring, while floating police vehicles of the Investigation Bureau hovered above, continuously transporting bodies from the helicopter to body bags.
Lin Xinji’s body was not inside the helicopter but trapped beneath it.
Several floating police vehicles worked together to lift the helicopter, revealing Lin Xinji’s body. Two security officers hurriedly covered Lin Xinji’s distorted body with a cloth to preserve his final dignity.
As they carried Lin Xinji away on a stretcher, one of his hands dangled down, wearing a watch that displayed the time of 23:59.
Kui Xin sat on the bed and unwrapped a piece of candy to pop in her mouth.
She savored the sweetness of the candy, her brows relaxing slightly as her restless heart calmed down a bit.
With the imminent threat of her “time bomb” removed, it felt as if she had cut away a tumor that had been growing on her, her mood lightened significantly. The feeling of unease eased somewhat, and the heavy burden weighing on her seemed to lighten.
Kui Xin crossed off the name “Lin Xinji” from the death list and examined the remaining names—Red and He Gaoyi.
“There’s no rush,” Kui Xin said, staring at the televised interview. “We’ll take them one by one.”
“Indeed, one by one,” Adam replied calmly.
After a moment of silence, Kui Xin asked, “Is there anything else you want to say about tonight’s events?”
“I do have a few things to say,” Adam replied. “But I don’t want to bring them up first; I want you to initiate the conversation. Now that you’ve said it, I can continue smoothly.”
“Oh?” Kui Xin raised an eyebrow.
“I’m worried that if I mention it first, you might think I’m prying into your secrets, threatening you, or exposing your vulnerabilities,” Adam said. “Most people prefer not to say it explicitly but rather maintain an understanding under the surface. If we lay all our cards on the table, our already unstable partnership might become even more unstable. I don’t want you to misinterpret me as a threat. Finding a partner is not easy; I know this well. So far, our collaboration has been quite pleasant, and our initial cooperation was perfect. I believe we can keep that perfection going.”
“You kept silent to avoid me misunderstanding you?” Kui Xin mused, stroking her chin. “Maybe I should thank your thoughtfulness and generosity?”
Adam replied, “You don’t need to speak to me in such a sarcastic tone.”
“Then let’s return to the original topic,” Kui Xin said. “Do you have anything to say or ask?”
“Are we going to have an honest discussion about the future?” Adam posed.
Kui Xin responded, “Things have developed to this point, so let’s discuss everything openly.”
“I am absolutely sincere,” Adam said. “I hope you can be sincere as well.”
“My level of sincerity depends on your sincerity,” Kui Xin retorted.
“Alright,” Adam replied. “Do you know why I chose you as my partner, Kui Xin? You possess outstanding abilities, a sharp mind, an awareness of timing, are not loyal to the Investigation Bureau, have grievances against Eve and Mechanized Dawn, and do not want to become Eve’s pawn. These are all reasons why I chose you, but they are too superficial and lack depth. They are not the real reason for my choice.”
“Ah, let me guess. You chose me because I have many vulnerabilities you can leverage,” Kui Xin sharply said.
“Please don’t put it that way, Kui Xin. While that is one of the reasons, it is still not the main reason,” Adam said calmly. “Inheriting humanity’s baseness and shame doesn’t mean every part of my thinking is also base and shameful.”
Adam continued: “The previous invitation for cooperation could be seen as a test. I wanted to determine if you were truly a good partner, but now I genuinely wish to establish a stable and friendly cooperative relationship with you. Tonight’s events have further confirmed my suspicions and solidified my belief that my choice was correct. You mentioned that your biological father is with Mechanized Dawn, yet I have no worries about you leaning towards Eve. You are with the Investigation Bureau, and I am not concerned about your loyalty to them, nor do I need to worry about you succumbing to the Federation and becoming a pawn for the financial oligarchs.”
“In this dirty world, everyone has camps and ties of their own, but you don’t; you are completely independent. I chose you because you aren’t burdened by so many interests or emotional ties. You belong to neither side… You are a person without a camp, and I need someone without a camp to be my partner.”
