One of the AIs escorting him remotely pressed the doorbell, and the door swiftly swung open. Out stepped an AI in a white coat.

One of the AIs holding Zhu Man said, “The human suspect is alleged to be in love with an AI. Conduct a physical examination according to the law.”

The AI in the white coat indifferently made way, saying, “Understood.”

The next moment, Zhu Man was ushered into the room. When he saw the operating table, a sense of foreboding gripped him. He struggled fiercely but to no avail.

He was forcefully pressed onto the table. Both his hands and feet were shackled to the table, spreading him out in a “大” shape, with his knees forced upward and legs widely apart.

The AI in the white coat approached him, looking down at him, more precisely, at his crotch.

An unprecedented sense of humiliation surged within Zhu Man. He started futile struggles, and the more he resisted, the more his wrists and ankles were chafed by the restraints, blood already seeping out.

The two AIs escorting him left, closing the door behind them. The AI in the white coat wordlessly reached toward his pants.

“Roll—” Zhu Man angrily rebuked.

The AI in the white coat sneered, reaching for a piece of cloth from a nearby tool table and forcefully stuffing it into Zhu Man’s mouth.

Zhu Man could only emit muffled sounds, watching helplessly as the AI’s hand approached his pants, unbuttoning them, pulling down the zipper—

The AI halted.

Zhu Man was momentarily stunned.

Immediately afterwards, the AI in the white coat seemed to glitch, its facial expression contorting as if a program malfunctioned. Its hands spasmed, retracting from Zhu Man’s body. Then it turned around, bowing its head.

Zhu Man followed his gaze and saw a scalpel.

A simulated arm reached towards the scalpel.

Zhu Man closed his eyes subconsciously.

The sensation of pain didn’t arrive. Instead, Zhu Man heard the AI’s intermittent voice, “Command: k*** yourself. Re… Rejection! Reject command!”^[1]This was in English in the raw.

Zhu Man opened his eyes and saw the AI’s simulated pupils dilate completely. It held the scalpel, aiming it at its own simulated head cortex.

Someone was controlling him! Who?!

“Rejection! Re—” The AI was desperately attempting self-rescue in programming language. However, evidently, its program was no longer under its control. “Rejection fail. Re-execute command: k*** yourself.“

“Ka—”

The scalpel pierced into the simulation cortex and paused.

The knife remained lodged in its head, and the AI in the white coat holding the knife, suddenly turned towards Zhu Man.

Startled, Zhu Man instinctively prepared to call out, but the AI used its other hand to release all of Zhu Man’s restraints.

Zhu Man immediately froze, looking up at it in astonishment.

The AI’s originally widened eyes suddenly turned calm—a cold, stern, and formidable calmness.

“He…” Zhu Man subconsciously uttered a sound but immediately stopped himself.

Looking up, he realized the room was filled with cameras.

“It’s me.”

—A familiar voice, cold yet powerful.

Zhu Man lifted his head, hesitant to confirm if this voice came from the AI with the scalpel still in its head.

“Zhu Man, it’s me,” The voice repeated.

“He… He Feng Hui…” Somehow, a strong sense of wellness suddenly rushed to his eyes.

Suddenly, he realized something and turned to look at the surveillance cameras in the room.

“Don’t worry, I’ve hacked it,” He Feng Hui’s voice reassured.

Zhu Man breathed a sigh of relief, feeling his concerns were indeed unnecessary. If He Feng Hui could hack into the neural network of the AI in the Human Pool, why wouldn’t he be able to disable a simple surveillance camera?

“Long story short, I can’t stay too long. They only let my power level stay at 5%,” He Feng Hui said.

— “They” Who are they? Has He Feng Hui also been detained? Where is he? Has he endured the same abuse as Zhu Man?

Before Zhu Man could ask, He Feng Hui continued, “Listen, I’ve destroyed all the evidence. No one, and no device, captured us at Lin Lang’s house that night.”

“The reason the three of us left City A in an intelligent car is because Jiang Huai was suffering from liver cancer. Entrusted by Lin Lang, we rushed to the human hospital located in the capital city in City B, under the jurisdiction of the AI Government, the only one of its kind in the world, for his emergency treatment.”

“The reason Lin Lang didn’t accompany us was because her electric power system malfunctioned, causing her to faint at home due to low power. As the situation was urgent and saving Jiang Huai was a priority, we had to leave Lin Lang behind and take Jiang Huai with us.”

He Feng Hui spoke quickly and confidently, and even in such an urgent situation, Zhu Man felt an unusual sense of reassurance.

But the only issue was…

Zhu Man asked, “Then, Lin Lang’s side…”

“I’m taking care of her.” He Feng Hui replied, “You didn’t want to kill her. You followed my arrangement to take out her chip for modification.”

Zhu Man was a little worried, “Can it work?”

After all, he had nearly killed her himself.

“Leave it to me.” He Feng Hui remained calm and resolute, “Trust me.”

Zhu Man’s heart skipped a beat, and his hand instinctively reached out. He wanted to embrace him, but the person in front of him wasn’t the real He Feng Hui.

“Alright,” He replied with equal determination.

Looking at the AI in the white coat, Zhu Man asked, “Is it really necessary to kill him? If he dies here, I can’t explain—”

“It’s necessary,” He Feng Hui interrupted, “He wanted to touch you. I won’t allow anyone to touch you.”

Zhu Man’s heart skipped a beat once again.

“Someone will come to handle the scene later and take you back to that cell,” He Feng Hui said, “I have to go.”

The simulated pupils of the AI in the white coat immediately returned to the previous panicked expression—

“He Feng Hui!” Zhu Man called out to him without hesitation.

The simulated pupils reverted to their cold and stern appearance.

Zhu Man gazed into those eyes for a long time and softly said, “I miss you.”

Those eyes remained calm, watching him without a single blink.

After a brief silence, He Feng Hui’s voice spoke, “I love you.”

His heart skipped a beat.

An indifferent yet profound confession—It was the first time He Feng Hui had said “I love you.”

The next moment, the simulated pupils of the AI in the white coat abruptly contracted with a sharp sound. The scalpel plunged deeply into its brain, piercing through its chip.

---

Jie Jie: As you may have noticed, my update schedule for this novel is quite sporadic. I don’t have any fixed schedule for this one yet. Sorry about that and thank you for your patience!