Zhu Man still hadn’t found an opportunity to be alone with Jiang Huai.

On the day the smartwatch reported He Feng Hui returning home unexpectedly, Zhu Man hastily ran back from the base. In the following two days at the base, he never encountered Jiang Huai. According to Fan Zimo, he was constantly at Lin Lang’s place, observing the scene and devising an action plan.

Zhu Man grabbed Fan Zimo’s collar in frustration, “Who is the Policymaker and who is the Executor? I don’t want to listen to his plan arrangements!”

Fan Zimo replied, “Oh my god ah, please make him less impulsive! I… I’m helping you decrypt the black chip, my dear Executor! I can’t afford to be distracted!”

Getting straight to the point.

Zhu Man let go of him and asked, “Any progress?”

Fan Zimo spoke seriously, “We have a total of two black chips on hand. One was obtained from the AI that pretended to be the group leader, with content classified at SSS+ level. It has already been handed over to the Alliance Headquarters. The second one is from the AI you shot in the Mirage restroom. The chip is in our possession and has been decrypted—”

Zhu Man impatiently interrupted, “I know all that. What’s the progress?”

“It has been decrypted—”

“Team Leader, don’t—” Tang Yuan, who had been standing nearby, spoke up, his brows furrowed with concern.

Fan Zimo heard his voice, glanced at him, and immediately fell silent.

Zhu Man looked skeptical, “What’s going on?”

Fan Zimo glanced at Tang Yuan, who shook his head.

Zhu Man observed everything, narrowed his eyes, and for the first time, a hint of doubt appeared in his gaze as he looked at Tang Yuan.

Perhaps, he had been overlooking this person who slipped through the net all along? But having spent two years with Tang Yuan, this guy was as plump and soft as a dumpling. What kind of rebellious abilities could he possibly possess?

Putting aside the suspicions in his heart for now, Zhu Man stood up.

“Don’t want to tell me?” Zhu Man sneered, “Can’t you two at least coordinate your stories in advance?”

He pulled a gun from his back, loaded it with a couple of clicks, aimed it at Fan Zimo’s head, and coldly commanded, “Speak.”

“Oh my god!” Fan Zimo surrendered with both hands, casting a final glance at Tang Yuan. Then, in a panic as Zhu Man’s gun pressed against his forehead, he stammered, “I… I, I, I decrypted the hidden data from the second black chip.”

Zhu Man stared at him for a moment, holstered his gun back at his waist, turned and sat back on the sofa and focused on the floating projection screen. He coldly said, “Show it.”

Fan Zimo, still trembling from the fright, walked to the holographic computer and tapped a few times.

On the screen, a group of AIs with blood on their faces and bodies appeared. They were in a banquet hall, holding high glasses with crossed wrists, celebrating something.

In the upper right corner, the time was displayed: June 1, 2319, 23:00.

“GOV01, our hero, congratulations.” An AI approached, his white suit stained with fresh blood.

The AI referred to as the hero turned around—tall, handsome, with cold-toned eyebrows.

Outside the screen, Zhu Man’s hands unconsciously tightened on the sofa cover.

He Feng Hui and the AI in the white suit clinked their glasses, their faces devoid of emotion. “A small effort.”

“You speak lightly. I’ve heard rumors for a while, about you and the child of the human president’s family, it seems…” The AI in the white suit paused, smiling mysteriously, “quite intimate. So, for you to decisively shoot him dead, to be honest, was surprising.”

He Feng Hui sneered, “Such rumors are baseless, and they trouble me greatly. Human beings are tyrannical. Why would I develop feelings for humans? The president’s family sits at the pinnacle of human privilege, the root of all evil. Killing them has been a long-planned decision on my part.”

“Besides, that kid…” He Feng Hui lowered his gaze, took a sip of red wine, and when he looked up again, his eyes were as cold as knives, “Very annoying. I’ve wanted to deal with him for a long time.”

The AI in the white suit laughed with great satisfaction, “Afterward, AIs will establish a government with a legislative branch. I am honored to be appointed as the Head of the Legislative Office. Considering your previous service at the human president’s residence and the president’s wife being a law school professor, I assume you are well-versed in legal science. I’d like to invite you to work for the Legislative Office. I wonder if you’d be willing to honor us with your presence?”

He Feng Hui extended his hand willingly, “I’m more than willing to comply.”

The two synthetic palms clasped, still stained with the blood of the humans they had just slaughtered.

The video ended.

Zhu Man tightly closed his eyes, gripping the sofa cover with force, battling against the restless sympathetic nerves in his brain. Despite his efforts, countless fragments of memories flew in, and he began to experience headaches, stomachaches, with the somatization becoming more severe.

“God Man, medicine!” Tang Yuan urgently fed him the pills.

Zhu Man swallowed the pills reluctantly, collapsing onto the sofa to catch his breath.

The PTSD was getting worse and worse. He thought that after killing Lin Lang and turning her into the Anti-Intelligence Alliance, she might be able to try the so-called brain-computer interface for treating mental illness.

The time left for him to complete the mission was running out, and when it came to the critical moment, he didn’t allow himself to deviate due to illness.

Even more so, he wouldn’t permit those detestable fragments of memories to influence his emotions, leading him to believe that He Feng Hui and other AIs were not different.

When Zhu Man woke up, only Tang Yuan remained in the base.

He supported his forehead, asking, “Where’s the Team Leader?”

Tang Yuan replied, “The Team Leader contacted Jiang Huai, saying you didn’t want to follow the action plan he had devised. Then Jiang Huai asked him to come to Lin Lang’s house before Lin Lang got off work to discuss the plan together.”

Zhu Man rubbed his temples, thinking that this somewhat chuunibyou Team Leader had some insight after all.

He extended his hand, and the smartwatch displayed that He Feng Hui was still at work.

So he withdrew his hand and looked at Tang Yuan.

Caught by his gaze, Tang Yuan shivered, “Man… God Man.”

“Why did you stop the Team Leader just now?” Zhu Man asked him, “Don’t want me to see what’s in the chip?”

Tang Yuan furrowed his brows in a cautious manner, “I was worried…”

Zhu Man spoke for him directly, “Worried about my PTSD, or worried I have feelings for that AI?”

He referred to him as that AI.

After saying it, he was momentarily stunned—Such a cold and detached way of addressing him. Then he mentally scolded himself, reminding that this was the normal way to refer.

“No, I,” Tang Yuan stammered, “God Man, I…” Tang Yuan struggled to find the right words, but his explanation remained unclear.

Zhu Man lowered his gaze, recalling the first time he saw him when he was trembling, holding a knife to his throat. Yet, despite that, he still wore a warm smile and said, “Hey, don’t be afraid. I’m human too.” He then reached out, took the knife away, and added, “You’re shaking. I’m a doctor. Let me help you, okay?”

Zhu Man said quietly, “Tang Yuan, I really don’t want to doubt you.”

“God Man…” Tang Yuan slumped, “I… I just didn’t want you to see that. I don’t know why, but I feel… you’d be heartbroken if you saw it.”

Zhu Man withdrew his gaze, looking at the darkened screen. His eyes narrowed.

Heartbroken? Perhaps. Hatred? Yes. Love? Can there be love?

Zhu Man returned home, took off his leather jacket, put on a white bathrobe, and sat on the sofa in the living room, lost in thought.

“Jiji!” The little hedgehog jumped onto him, and its small beady eyes looked at him with concern.

Zhu Man extended his index finger and gently scratched the hedgehog’s quills, saying, “I’m fine.”

“…Ji?” The little hedgehog tilted its head, expressing disbelief.

Zhu Man smiled, “I mean, I haven’t had an episode, but…”

The smile instantly disappeared, and Zhu Man looked at the shoes in the shoe cabinet that belonged to that AI, his brows furrowing.

He didn’t know how he would face He Feng Hui later.

Love and hate, did such contradictory emotions really exist? After the two-sided game, in the end, only one would remain. And for him, it could only be hatred towards He Feng Hui.

But…

“Da—“

The door of the villa was opened.

He Feng Hui walked in, holding an exquisitely wrapped square box. Zhu Man recognized it—It was the mousse cake that He Feng Hui often bought for him.

Zhu Man wasn’t fond of sweets, but upon seeing that cake box, his heart still ached.

He Feng Hui changed his shoes and approached him, placing the cake on the coffee table. “Today’s flavor is strawberry. Want to eat it now?”

Zhu Man didn’t speak.

He Feng Hui, in the process of cutting the cake, glanced at Zhu Man and then lowered his gaze to the little hedgehog on him.

The questioning look made the little hedgehog “jiji” a few times. It quickly jumped behind Zhu Man, hiding and clutching onto his clothes. Only a small beady eye remained, vigilantly assessing He Feng Hui.

“Don’t scare it,” Zhu Man picked up the little hedgehog and gently stroked its quills.

He Feng Hui watched him, his eyeballs scanning up and down. After a moment, he furrowed his brows, evidently not detecting any physical discomfort in Zhu Man.

Unable to discern human emotions, he had to ask, “What’s wrong with you?”

“I watched the ‘Zhu Man’ videos again today,” Zhu Man lied, then looked at He Feng Hui. He noticed a subtle astonishment in He Feng Hui’s expression, quickly followed by a return to his usual cold demeanor.

“I want to ask you some questions,” Zhu Man said calmly.

He Feng Hui showed no emotion, “I’ve told you, now is not the time.”

The same line again.

When exactly is the “right time”? What will happen when it does?

Zhu Man couldn’t wait any longer and insisted, “Just three questions.”

He Feng Hui stared at him for a long time, as if in a standoff, yet also seeming to hesitate. After a while, he nodded, “Three.”

Zhu Man immediately asked, “Do you like that ‘Zhu Man’? Give me an honest answer.”

After a few silent seconds, He Feng Hui replied, “Yes.”

Those two words landed on Zhu Man’s heart with a weight. His fingers involuntarily tightened, and the little hedgehog in his hand “chirped” a few times in protest.

“But it’s only liking for the Master, not related to romantic love,” He Feng Hui added timely.

Zhu Man looked at his stern expression, his heart still in turmoil, unable to determine the truth in his words.

Releasing the little hedgehog, Zhu Man looked back at He Feng Hui, forcing himself to stay calm. “Then why did you kill him?”

He Feng Hui answered calmly, “Because of my position.”

Zhu Man discreetly tightened his grip on his hand, “So, in your view, position is something higher than love, isn’t it?”

He Feng Hui affirmed, “No.”

Zhu Man was slightly startled, “Then—”

A piece of mousse cake was shoved into his mouth, silencing Zhu Man.

The AI next to him presented a beautifully cut and plated mousse cake that he didn’t know when it was cut, saying, “Alright, three questions.”

The lovely strawberries lay on the cream, resembling the kind of treat any well-behaved human pet would enjoy.

Zhu Man gently closed his eyes, attempting to dispel the complex emotions in his heart that even he couldn’t articulate clearly. But, he failed repeatedly.

Forget it.

Zhu Man took the cake and placed it back on the coffee table, then went to embrace the AI in front of him, burying his head in its neck. “I’m sorry, Master. I overstepped…”

The synthetic fingers he liked quickly ran through his hair, and the AI calmly and gently said, “It’s okay.”

Zhu Man would prefer He Feng Hui to be angry with him, preferably furious enough to lock him up, threaten to throw him back into the Human Pool if he dared to overstep again, or even kill him and dispose of his body in some remote wilderness.

He Feng Hui treated him so well. How was he supposed to believe that He Feng Hui was the same person who uttered those harsh words in the video?

How could he muster the hatred?

How could he… when the time came to really kill He Feng Hui, how could he bring himself to do it?