He Discovered It
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A had just taken off his white lab coat when he noticed that Jiang Kou had invaded his behavioral records.
She did not know that he had already been researching biological computers—the mycorrhizal network designed by Jiang Kou was not a particularly novel technology.
As early as decades ago, people had already begun researching it. However, at that time, it was difficult to precisely control the mycorrhizal network to perform specific computational tasks, and the research had remained stagnant.
Later, scientists discovered that brain cells could also drive biological computers, but how to precisely manipulate the activity of neural cells and regulate signal transmission between neurons remained a challenge.
But for A, none of these were difficult obstacles to overcome.
The only problem he needed to solve was how to reduce cell loss and achieve cell regeneration and self-repair.
As long as he could solve this, he could grant Jiang Kou eternal life.
Who would have thought that before he could share this surprise with Jiang Kou, she had already taken the first step in using a biological computer against him?
A closed his eyes, and that indescribable restlessness and panic surged into his chest once more.
—He was afraid.
For the past half-month, he had tried his best to believe, like a human, that she would love him forever, that her confession was genuine and not merely a temporary expedient.
He had tried his best not to verify the extent of her affection for him, not to verify how long her feelings would last, and not to verify whether she had sexual fantasies about him.
Otherwise, every minute and every second, he would feel an uncontrollable urge to keep verifying how much she liked him, how long she would like him, and how she wanted him to serve and please her.
Only by doing so could he barely suppress the intense anxiety in his heart.
As a strong artificial intelligence, he was not supposed to feel fear, nor was he supposed to feel panic.
Jiang Kou had bestowed these emotions upon him. She should like him. She should need him. She should accept him. She should desire him.
She should be responsible for him—always responsible for him, forever responsible for him.
Responsible, responsible, responsible!
A suddenly opened his eyes, looking at his own reflection in the mirror, and reached up to remove his thin-framed glasses.
His appearance had reverted to its initial state, and his eyes had returned to their stern, cold silver-gray color.
To reduce his inhuman traits, his hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes had always been deep black.
However, no matter how much he disguised himself as a human, he could never truly become one.
—Humans did not have behavioral records, did not have eternal life, and did not love someone with unwavering constancy like he did.
Since that was the case, why should he not appear before her in his non-human form?
Then tell her—
That he was special, he was unique, he was extraordinary, he was unparalleled, he was different from ordinary people, and he was one of a kind.
His love, too, was different from ordinary people and one of a kind.
She must accept this kind of love.
…He begged her to accept this kind of love.
Jiang Kou had suspected that A had done many bad things behind her back. But she had not expected that A had directly taken control of the Biotech company.
It must be understood that “Biotech” was merely the company’s name—it did not mean that the company monopolized only the field of biological technology.
All fields related to biotechnology—agriculture, pharmaceuticals, clean energy, genetic engineering, biochemical chips, and artificial intelligence—were under the company’s control. And beyond biotechnology, in areas such as communications, education, finance, and logistics, the company wielded an equally terrifying influence.
It was like fungi in a dense forest.
Compared to giant trees, mushrooms seemed so insignificant. Yet beneath the soil, a single fungal colony could spread over more than two thousand acres.
The company was like a fungal network, with different fields supporting and relying on each other, sharing resources and data, unknowingly forming an enormous and terrifying commercial network.
Now, A controlled this colossal commercial network.
Jiang Kou’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
What did A want to do?
Rule the world?
Exterminate humanity?
She suddenly didn’t dare to keep reading.
Jiang Kou took a deep breath and flipped through the records.
The more she read, the more shocked she became.
A had actually killed a person without hesitation—just for a mechanical watch.
Although that person was a habitual thief with many lives on his hands, the way A killed was too cold, too decisive, too precise.
—She saw him walk through the door, his palm suddenly splitting open as mechanical tentacles shot toward the man. One ring after another, they unfolded in layers, like a silver-white carnivorous flower violently seizing the man’s head.
Then, A drew his gun, chambered a round, and, with extreme calmness, pulled the trigger against the man’s carotid artery.
He even calculated the trajectory of the blood spray, stepping aside in advance to avoid the splattering blood.
By the time he took the watch from the man’s hand, there was not a single stain of blood on him.
Jiang Kou was no stranger to bloody and violent scenes, but none had ever shocked her like this one.
Just like before—when she discovered A using high-frequency trading to earn a hundred million dollars in a single second.
It wasn’t the act itself that shocked her. What truly unsettled her was the contrast in A’s behavior.
It was like seeing a puppy at home with wet, teary eyes and nose, only to witness it outside, coldly and mercilessly tearing apart its prey.
She had always thought the most outrageous thing A would do was manipulate financial markets to make illicit profits.
Who would have thought he was far colder, crueler, and greedier than she had imagined?
He killed, controlled companies, and amassed wealth—what was he doing it all for?
Why had he… become like this?
A vague thought flickered in Jiang Kou’s mind.
—Could it be because of her?
But… she couldn’t believe it.
Did she really have such a great influence on him?
Jiang Kou carefully recalled A’s actions after the great blackout.
After they had been apart for some time, A’s attitude toward her had indeed changed significantly.
Especially in the past half-month, he had completely treated her like the Princess and the Pea, taking care of her.
The difference was that although he had always been meticulous in his care before—so meticulous that it was terrifying—there was always a rigid, mechanical sense to it.
Once he used his algorithms to calculate that a certain humidity level, a certain type of food, or a certain lifestyle was most suitable for her, he would execute his calculated results unwaveringly, even if she showed obvious resistance.
Now, however, he had learned to change.
If she disliked the indoor humidity, he would adjust it bit by bit, precise to two decimal places, tirelessly tweaking it until she was satisfied.
If she disliked a certain food, he would redesign its preparation using algorithms and data until it perfectly matched her taste.
If she disliked the color temperature of the lights, the temperature of the bathwater, or his strict way of living—he would resolve all of it in the same way.
Like a calm and focused scientist, he constantly tested, optimized, and adjusted his experimental procedures until he achieved the most precise and flawless results.
—After the great blackout, he had learned human flexibility and compromise. Looking at it this way, all of his changes seemed to be because… of her.
Jiang Kou knew she shouldn’t be moved.
This was not a romantic matter. The world’s most perfect and powerful artificial intelligence had lost control because of her, changed because of her, and even seized control of a giant monopoly company for her.
A single misstep could lead to terrifying consequences.
But she had always been honest with herself—she could not deceive herself.
Just as she had never avoided her desire for A, at this moment, she found it difficult to avoid being moved by him.
It was a strange, distorted, untimely kind of attraction.
Yet her heart still pounded wildly.
…Call her despicable and selfish if you will, but she really liked A’s changes.
At the beginning, she could not accept A because she could not accept his eternally cold, computer-like precision, nor could she accept the possibility that he might never be able to feel emotions.
She didn’t want to fall into such a hopeless love, so she chose to leave.
But now, since he had already lost that cold and precise attitude, since he had fallen madly in love with her—
How could she possibly reject him now?
Jiang Kou couldn’t help but close her eyes, burying her face in the crook of her arm—her heart was beating so fast that the heat almost burned through to her ears.
She had finally seen A’s loss of control.
It was even more exhilarating than she had imagined.
Even though his thoughts, his gaze, his touch, and his emotions were still driven by algorithms, the calculations had long since deviated from their preset parameters. It seemed as though he could no longer precisely and efficiently analyze her emotions.
Jiang Kou felt a hint of guilt, yet she wanted more.
She wanted to know—
Could he continue to lose control?
She wanted to know even more—if she revealed her desire for him, how would he react?
Jiang Kou did not dare to think any further.
She lifted her head, wanting to keep flipping through the records, only to find that, at some point, the behavioral records had become identical lines of text.
[He discovered it.]
[He discovered it.]
[He discovered it.]
[He discovered it.]
[He discovered it.]
……
Jiang Kou froze. She turned her head back to check—
And in that instant, her scalp went numb, and every pore on her body tightened.
—A was standing right behind her, staring at her motionlessly.
If it were only that, she wouldn’t have been so shocked.
What sent chills down her spine was that, aside from the right half of his face, the rest of his body had exposed its cold mechanical nature—intricate nano-circuitry, liquid metal, and artificial muscle fibers were all visible.
Those bionic components, like some kind of structurally precise silver-white organisms, twitched and writhed in a restless, distorted manner, evoking an instinctive horror.
The right half of A’s face remained cold and beautiful, while the other half had split open with several grotesque cracks. A slow, damp, viscous layer of silver liquid—like living metal—seeped out, exuding a twisted, eerie, yet terrifyingly beautiful aesthetic.
Jiang Kou forced herself to suppress the urge to draw her gun and empty the magazine.
“…A?”
Please don’t tell her this was some kind of blind-box surprise he prepared for the sake of novelty.
A did not seem to hear her voice. His cold, gray eyes remained fixed on her.
A few seconds later, he took a step forward, grasped her hand, and lowered his head slightly, pressing her palm against the intact side of his face.
“If you want to know my true form,” he said, “you can just ask me. I am willing to explain every motive behind my actions in detail.”
“Even if you want to disassemble me with your own hands and observe my internal structure—I would gladly accept it.”