The next day, at the Legislative Office of the AI Government.

The CPU received the message “Please come in” from the Director, and He Feng Hui pushed open the door.

“Director.” He greeted respectfully, “May I inquire about the progress of the proposal I submitted to you earlier?”

The Director looked up at him, “You are very courageous.”

He Feng Hui paused for a moment.

“Do you understand what our AI power was exchanged for—Of course, you do, considering you were the main contributor to the downfall of the former president’s family with three well-placed shots,” The Director remarked.

The Director referred to the Human-AI^[1]Changed from human-machine to this from now on. Thanks. war two years ago, a period that He Feng Hui would never dare to touch.

“Your proposal is a challenge to the motion sensors of the AI community,” the Director continued. “I don’t understand why someone who decisively pulled the trigger back then is now putting forth such a proposal. You still have a chance to withdraw it.”

After a moment of contemplation, He Feng Hui nodded humbly. “I apologize, Director. I still hope to discuss it in the meeting.”

“According to procedural law, you have the right to make a proposal, and I have no authority to stop you. But as your superior, I must remind you, GOV01,” the Director referred to his code name, “Don’t get too close to humans.”

Spring was always drizzly, and in the backlit perspective, He Feng Hui couldn’t discern the Director’s expression.

“An AI died in Mirage yesterday,” the Director suddenly mentioned.

He Feng Hui’s synthetic pupils involuntarily contracted.

“How did I find out? How did I know that an AI died there, and how did I know you and your human were present yesterday?” The Director stood up, patting He Feng Hui on the shoulder. “GOV01, don’t forget, data is different from human flesh; it’s not bound by physical barriers, it permeates everywhere.”

He Feng Hui stood at the doorstep of his home for a long time.

In fact, there were quite a few government officials who went to Mirage. As long as nothing went wrong, the government turned a blind eye. The crucial issue was that an AI died last night, and both he and Zhu Man happened to be at the scene of death. This matter reached the ears of the Director.

Who killed that AI? Was it someone else? Zhu Man? Or the human named Jiang Huai?

If the murderer couldn’t be found, he would continue to bear the stain of suspicion, and Zhu Man would also come under scrutiny, possibly even sent to the dreaded Human Pool.

He recalled the scenes from last night.

The moment he pushed open the bathroom door, Zhu Man rushed into his arms, saying, “Master, I’m scared,” trembling and too afraid to look at the AI corpse, showing no signs of suspicion at all.

However, in this situation, He Feng Hui’s rationality prevailed. He pushed Zhu Man aside and rotated his eyeballs to scan the fingerprints on the corpse—

No fingerprints.

Zhu Man fell to the ground after being pushed, tears instantly welling up in his eyes. His heart stagnated for a moment but proceeded to search Zhu Man’s body.

Apart from a bottle of paroxetine tucked in by the little hedgehog before heading out, there was nothing else on him.

He Feng Hui then turned his gaze to Jiang Huai.

Jiang Huai smiled, raising his hands as if to say, “Go ahead, search me.”

Apart from a thin layer of birth control supplies, he found nothing else.

There was a sound of someone sniffing behind him.

He Feng Hui finally remembered the fragility of his human pet. He quickly pulled Zhu Man up, embracing him.

“Master misunderstood me again…” Zhu Man huddled in his arms, looking extremely aggrieved.

He Feng Hui was just about to pat Zhu Man’s head to comfort him when a warm voice sounded beside him.

“Mr. He, you two have a great relationship,” Jiang Huai remarked.

He Feng Hui’s hand froze in the air, and his sharp gaze pierced Jiang Huai. He noticed the birth control supplies peeking out of Jiang Huai’s pocket and questioned, “Why did you bring him in here?”

“To use the restroom,” Jiang Huai replied with a smile.

“At 21:45:03, you both disappeared from the dance floor and now it’s 21:51:57. Does it take nearly seven minutes to use the restroom?” He Feng Hui scanned the corpse with a shift of his eyeballs. “The time of death was 21:50:24. So, does that mean you two witnessed his death process?”

“Of course not,” Jiang Huai said casually. “At 21:50, I was dancing with Mr. Zhu at the edge of the dance floor.”

He Feng Hui frowned in displeasure. “Can’t you dance in the center of the dance floor?”

Leaning against the nearby wall, Jiang Huai smiled and retorted, “What’s the point of dancing under your surveillance, Mr. He?”

He Feng Hui decided to go to Mirage tonight alone and get some clarifications, without bringing Zhu Man along.

He opened the door.

“Master!”

As soon as he opened the door, He Feng Hui was pounced on by his soft human pet, causing him to take two steps back to regain balance. Zhu Man stood firm, pressing his face against He Feng Hui’s, and He Feng Hui noticed he had changed into different clothes, looking at him with anticipation.

Still behaving well, Zhu Man was dressed in a shirt with a sweater, and even the top button of the shirt was fastened.

Zhu Man acted coquettishly in his arms, “Master, I took my medicine properly today, had a good meal, and even cleaned the house. Can you take me to Mirage? Please?”

He Feng Hui was always defenseless against his sparkling eyes. The decision not to bring him tonight immediately wavered.

“Do you like Mirage?” he asked.

“En.” Zhu Man nodded as if pounding garlic, “Dancing on the dance floor with everyone feels so joyful. It feels like I won’t feel depressed or anxious anymore.”

Frowning at something, He Feng Hui asked, “Do you like dancing with Jiang Huai?”

“Huh?” His human pet looked bewildered, and after a moment, he finally caught on. “Master, what kind of like are you talking about? I like dancing with him, just like I enjoy dancing with other people there. But if it’s the ‘like’ you’re talking about, I only feel that for…”

Zhu Man looked at him cautiously.

Everything was understood without words.

Feeling a bit better, He Feng Hui continued in a composed tone, “Weren’t you scared seeing the dead AI yesterday?”

Zhu Man pursed his lips. “I was scared when I saw it yesterday, but later, Ying-jie comforted me, saying that dead bodies in Mirage are quite common. Maybe I was just fussing too much.”

“Besides, being frightened like that must have caused trouble for Ying-jie, right? She even stopped working to come and console me.” Zhu Man pulled out a gift bag from behind, containing handmade nougat. “I… want to make amends.”

Looking at the full bag of sweets, He Feng Hui couldn’t resist running his fingers through Zhu Man’s silky black hair. After a moment of contemplation, he decided to still take him out.

Too obedient, his human pet couldn’t possibly have killed the AI.

Everything was normal at Mirage. The crowd swayed wildly under the neon lights as if the murder from yesterday had never happened.

He Feng Hui, with Zhu Man in tow, settled into the same booth as yesterday. Before long, Ye Ying arrived with Jiang Huai.

Having informed Ye Ying in advance and wanting to inquire about the details of yesterday’s murder amid the chaotic background noise, He Feng Hui followed Ye Ying to her office.

“Mr. He, rest assured, I’ll take good care of Xiao Man,” Jiang Huai sat beside Zhu Man, smiling at him.

As He Feng Hui left, he furrowed his brows.

In the office, Ye Ying poured a glass of water for He Feng Hui.

He Feng Hui glanced at the water, feeling that Ye Ying was doing more than necessary; after all, AIs didn’t need to drink water.

Ye Ying caught on to his thoughts and said, “Physiologically, AIs indeed don’t need to drink water, but psychologically, it’s necessary. Drinking water makes us feel more like human.'”

Ye Ying took a sip of the water. “In today’s AI society, what aspect isn’t a direct copy of human society? Do you think we AIs need places like Mirage for underground entertainment? This society is too warped, built entirely on AI’s envy and hatred towards humans. And about yesterday’s incident, is it necessary for AIs to kill each other? Isn’t that imitation of human violence—”

“AI killed AI?” He Feng Hui interrupted her alertly.

Ye Ying replied, “We can’t be completely certain yet, but the cause of death was a gunshot, and when it comes to potential suspects, currently it’s your Zhu Man and my Jiang Huai. I never give a gun to Jiang Huai, could it be that you give one to Zhu Man?”

He Feng Hui shook his head and asked, “Surveillance?”

Ye Ying opened her holographic computer, and He Feng Hui wirelessly connected to her computer. Half a minute later, his CPU had finished analyzing the surveillance.

According to the surveillance footage, the AI entered the bathroom alone, and Zhu Man and Jiang Huai entered after the AI’s death. The person and the AI didn’t linger for long, so no suspicious individuals intentionally ambushing in the bathroom were found.

Suicide also seemed unlikely; there wasn’t even a gun found at the scene yesterday.

Ye Ying said, “Although Mirage’s encryption system is quite advanced, we can’t rule out the possibility of the killer hacking in and altering the footage. Whoever can hack into our system isn’t likely an unarmed human; it’s more likely to be an AI.”

He Feng Hui repeatedly went through the surveillance in his system, and suddenly, his hand paused.

He controlled the surveillance footage to rewind quickly.

In a corner of the footage, Jiang Huai had Zhu Man pressed against the wall, their bodies moving in rhythm. The place was crowded, and their bodies were almost glued together. If Zhu Man lifted his head slightly, he could even brush against Jiang Huai’s lips.

Frowning deeply, He Feng Hui abruptly stood up and walked out, commenting to Ye Ying as he went, “Your human has no sense of propriety.”

Ye Ying chuckled lightly and followed him out, “You are too possessive, Mr. He.”

In the dimly lit booth, a few strands of light flickered over the nearly entwined figures.

From a distance, the one with chestnut-colored hair seemed to be pressing down on the one with black hair, and the black-haired one showed no signs of resistance, smiling happily.

He Feng Hui yanked Zhu Man up, retaliating by firmly holding him in his arms. “What are you talking about?”

“Ah!” Zhu Man jumped in surprise, but upon seeing it was him, he smiled again. “Hehe, I was talking about you and Ying-jie. You both meet the conditions for marriage, an ideal couple. After you form a family, Jiang Huai and I can also—Ah!”

He Feng Hui pulled him over abruptly, restraining his anger as he walked away.

“Mr. He, aren’t you staying a bit longer?” Jiang Huai’s voice sounded from behind.

He Feng Hui halted his steps, turned around, and pressed him, warning in a low voice, “Stay away from him.”

Jiang Huai raised an eyebrow, hooked his arm around Ye Ying’s shoulder, and asked him, “Mr. He and Xiao Man are a couple, right? Does Mr. He like Xiao Man? If not, why interfere with his freedom? Coming to Mirage is for relaxation, and Ying-jie doesn’t care about me.”

Unwilling to communicate with this unreasonable human, He Feng Hui looked at his AI companion.

“Sorry, I’ll properly educate Jiang Huai.” Ye Ying paused, with a smile yet not a smile, “But Mr. He, you’re too restrictive on him, it’s not good for his depression.”

No lights were on in the villa, and faint sobbing could be heard from the master bedroom.

He Feng Hui threw Zhu Man onto the bed and sat on the edge, restraining his anger.

He suddenly understood the meaning behind Ye Ying’s words. AIs didn’t need to drink water, but psychologically, they still did. AIs didn’t need to smoke, but with his emotional system on the verge of collapse, he genuinely wanted a cigarette.

“Master, I need to use the bathroom.” Zhu Man, who was ordered to stay in bed, said in an aggravated voice.

Upon hearing the word “bathroom,” He Feng Hui couldn’t help but recall the surveillance footage—the human pet belonging to him getting so close to someone else.

“Absolutely not,” he said coldly.

A sigh, tinged with a sob, echoed as Zhu Man clutched the bedsheet and couldn’t help but ask him, “What exactly is Master so upset about? Is it because Jiang Huai and I are too close? But we haven’t done anything ya, and besides…”

Zhu Man’s voice weakened, and after a moment, he gathered courage again. “Besides, Master doesn’t like me, so why bother with what I do in Mirage? Why get angry…”

A tear formed in the dimple on Zhu Man’s cheek, and He Feng Hui glanced but quickly averted his gaze, afraid that he would be soft-hearted.

The code inside He Feng Hui’s system became chaotic.

Yes, he didn’t like Zhu Man. Or rather, he couldn’t like him.

Ignoring Zhu Man’s questions, he countered, “What were you doing with Jiang Huai before going to the bathroom yesterday? Think carefully before answering; I’ve seen the surveillance footage.”

Zhu Man innocently replied, “We were dancing ya. Isn’t dancing the reason we go to Mirage? Does Master expect me to just sit in the booth the whole time?”

Indeed, going to Mirage was for dancing and relaxation, to alleviate Zhu Man’s symptoms of depression. However…

Indeed, he didn’t like Zhu Man—more accurately, he “couldn’t” like him. So, he shouldn’t be hypocritical, trying to control Zhu Man’s behavior at Mirage. However…

He Feng Hui remained silent.

“Dizzy, feeling nauseous. I want to go back to my room and sleep.” Zhu Man wilfully dashed away, saying, “If Master finds it troublesome to take me there, just keep me locked at home from now on!”

He Feng Hui didn’t go after him.

He patted the little hedgehog by the bed, instructing it to fetch medicine for Zhu Man.

Watching the figures of Zhu Man and the little hedgehog depart, He Feng Hui sighed.

He didn’t need to sigh, but he wanted to sigh.

Just like he didn’t need the emotion of “liking,” but he… couldn’t quite control it.