“I told you, let me see Qiao Yunshen!” The old man in the lab coat turned livid and gestured with his hand. The basement door opened and then closed again, and a person was thrown in, bound tightly, landing with a heavy thud.

I rushed over. “Qiao Yunshen!” Blood slid down his prominent nose, and Qiao Yunshen, bruised and beaten, weakly reached for me. “Li Que, I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

I stared at him for a couple of seconds, then let go of his hand. This wasn’t Qiao Yunshen. The old man in the lab coat clapped his hands. “Little sparrow, you really are special. After all those hypnosis sessions, you still stayed clear-headed. Now, I’m almost reluctant to cut you open. You’re so perfect, you should stay and bear my children.”

As he spoke, he approached me, nimble fingers undoing his belt, revealing not flesh but a mechanical skeleton. He… wasn’t human? Instinctively, I took a step back.

“Get away!” The person on the ground, who looked like Qiao Yunshen, lunged forward, punching the lab coat square in the chest. A surge of electricity crackled as the punch buried deep into the lab coat’s body, pulling out a mass of chips.

The old man twisted into a sinister grin.

He grabbed “Qiao Yunshen’s” wrist and twisted it with a loud crack.

“Qiao Yunshen” was flung against the wall, blood gushing from his mouth. The exposed chip didn’t stop the lab coat from moving. He strode towards the person collapsed on the ground. Without thinking, I ran forward, trying to stop him.

“Qiao Yunshen” mumbled, “You… stay away…”

The lab coat easily pushed me aside, and inch by inch, the human flesh on his body disappeared, replaced by a mechanical hand. He used that hand to choke “Qiao Yunshen,” lifting him high into the air.

“Qiao Yunshen’s” face faded away, revealing the person I despised deep down. I gasped in shock. “Nan San!”

Nan San barely managed to speak, “What… Nan San… My name is Lu Tao… Why can’t any of you remember me…”

The mechanical hand tightened with a snap, and Lu Tao screamed, eyes wide open. The lab coat tutted, “An omega human, even after transformation, only capable of changing appearances—how dare you challenge technology?!”

Lu Tao’s arms fell limp, but he smirked defiantly. “I thought you were after Li Que… so I helped you… I never wanted him dead… If he dies, Qiao will never forgive me…”

“Whatever you plan to do to him, I’ll take his place. I’m Lu Tao, and I’m not inferior to Li Que.”

He closed his eyes, his expression serene, but at that moment, I heard his heart’s voice, full of panic and fear: “I really… don’t want to die.”

I swallowed hard. Could I now hear other people’s thoughts?

“Li Que? Is that you speaking?”

I clenched my fists. It was Qiao Yunshen’s voice! He could hear my thoughts too?

“This is your mind? Li Que, don’t be scared, I’m just trapped. I’ll be there soon. Are you hurt?!”

I calmed myself quickly. “No, I’m fine. But Lu Tao’s not going to make it.”

“Your voice is so clear, you must be within a hundred meters.”

“Tell me where you are, and I’ll guide you! Are you on the terrace? Go left!”

Turning back, I looked at Lu Tao with disdain. “Lu Tao, do you really think you can replace me? Even if you do, Qiao Yunshen will never like you.”

Lu Tao was infuriated, coughing up blood while yelling, “Why not! What’s wrong with me! People line up to chase me, from here all the way to France! And I’m still an O! You, a B, only know how to pretend! Everyone knows a beta who can’t bear children is the most worthless!”

I touched my stomach and blinked. “But I already have a baby, you know? Qiao Yunshen can’t stop calling me his wife eight hundred times a day. It’s so annoying.”

Qiao Yunshen inhaled sharply. “Li Que, when… when did you find out? And all this time I…”

I quickly interrupted. “Sorry, Qiao Yunshen, we’ll talk about this later, hey hey, turn right, don’t miss your step!”

The lab coat showed a flicker of interest. The mechanical hand loosened, and Lu Tao collapsed to the floor, clutching his throat and coughing violently.

The lab coat approached me. “So, the reason you were able to get pregnant is because he calls you his wife from the bottom of his heart? That makes me very curious.”

I nodded, slowly retreating. Up close now, being near the lab coat filled me with an unexpected chill.

Everything about his behavior was too precise. It was as if he were… a programmed machine.

Qiao Yunshen didn’t seem surprised, merely affirming it. “Yeah, I’ve already taken down quite a few. I should have figured it out sooner. After so many years, the only ones still obeying ancient human orders are these robots.”

“Li Que, protect yourself. If it’s absolutely necessary, remember the robot’s chip is its weak point.”

The lab coat grabbed my wrist, pinning me against the wall. He crouched down, closely examining my stomach. “Maybe you really are special. Why don’t I cut it out now?”

I couldn’t smell any pheromones, but Lu Tao screamed in pain. The next moment, intense agony shot through my abdomen, and I collapsed to the floor. This felt like… alpha suppression pheromones. But how? He was a robot, yet he could imitate this so well. His mechanical fingers transformed into sharp blades, slicing through my clothes.

I raised my hand, gripping tightly, not letting the blade fall an inch. Blood dripped steadily to the ground.

“Qiao Yunshen, keep moving forward, just straight ahead. Do you see the window?”

“I see it!”

The lab coat seemed amused by my resistance, smiling as if he were toying with a cat. He applied more force. “So, carrying life makes one brave. Little sparrow, you never dared to act like this before.”

The taste of blood rose in my throat, and my lips quivered with pain. “Heh, do you know why? Because this child isn’t just a tool for reproduction, it’s a symbol of love. Even after hundreds of years, even with my memory erased, I would still love him.”