Chapter 50 The Real Girlfriend

What are human emotions like? Even now, Cyrus isn't entirely sure; they seem to be something complex and ever-changing, and it may take a long time to understand them.

Monsters are not like that; once they have decided on something, it remains unchanged forever.

Cyrus didn't know if Ling Qiu's words would still hold true in a while, but he knew very well that after hearing them, he wouldn't be angry at all.

"You'd better remember what you said today," Cyrus snorted, though he still seemed a little angry.

But Ling Qiu knew that He had been coaxed. Cyrus was very easy to coax; he was practically the easiest creature she had ever seen to be coaxed.

"Alright, we should go home now." Ling Qiu hooked his hand, "Let's begin our plan to take down the big villain!"

"Only targeting the villains?" His voice was light and airy. "Not me?"

Ling Qiu choked for a moment, then slapped Cyrus's hand: "Shameless."

However, Ling Qiu was right. Noah had already reached out to Lululan, and she had no time to delay.

Whether it's cannibalism, murder, or sacrifice, as long as Noah is destroyed, all of these will disappear.

Ling Qiu logged into her Hilink account after a long time and opened the chat box with Li Jiale. Their chat history was still at the point where Li Jiale asked her to find someone.

However, Ling Qiu searched the intranet several times but still couldn't find this person.

She sent a message: "Do you have a way to get inside Noah?"

Noah Company is an entire building. The office area is concentrated on the lower floors, while the upper floors are the activity area for the so-called senior executives. It is said that there are also some operating rooms, which few people have ever been to. Even though Ling Qiu has been gathering information as much as possible, the results are still very little.

This demonstrates just how tight the secrecy was within Noah's organization.

After a while, Li Jiale sent a message: "Entering the lower floors requires an employee card, but I don't know about the upper floors. It seems that a separate iris verification is required. What's wrong?"

“I haven’t found that person. According to you, if this person’s photo is on their chips, it means they have all seen this person. But there is no trace of this person on the internet. So it is possible that this person has never appeared in public. And I think he is very likely in the heavily guarded Noah.”

“But I can’t help you get into the company,” Li Jiale said. “Employees’ entry and exit from the company are recorded. They can only swipe their own cards, and it’s even more impossible for senior management.”

"Let me think of another way." She snapped her laptop shut, turned around, and looked at Cyrus with a deep gaze.

"..." Cyrus said, "You know there's nothing I can do right now."

Ling Qiu thought for a moment. Cyrus currently has no power, but there is one thing that does not require His power.

Ling Qiu recalled the case of the missing wife she had taken on before and asked Him, "You can possess other people now, right?"

“Of course,” Cyrus said.

Ling Qiu turned on her computer and showed Cyrus a news article. The man in the photo was dressed in a suit and looked very handsome, around 30 years old.

"His name is Manwell, he is the CEO of Noah. Tomorrow night, he will be hosting a charity gala in the city center, which means he will be making a public appearance."

Cyrus understood what she meant: "You mean, you want me to control him."

“That’s right.” Ling Qiu’s eyes sparkled. “Then I’ll also show up at that party. I’ll pretend to attract your attention, and you’ll pretend to fall in love with me at first sight. That way, maybe we can both get into the upper echelons of Noah!”

Seeing her excited expression, Cyrus lowered his gaze and commented objectively, "That sounds like a good plan."

But love at first sight might not be feigned.

To say it was love at first sight would be a bit hasty.

Cyrus always remembered that night, the night He first arrived here. In His eyes, the human Ling Qiu was nothing more than a plaything. He waited for her, chased after her, and looked forward to seeing her panic and cry in fear.

At first, she was really panicked and ran away without even leaving her umbrella.

He excitedly chased after her, and then saw her draw her knife and cut off his legs.

Sethus wouldn't say a word of these things to Ling Qiu. He had already been more tolerant and forgiving than ever before. If Ling Qiu knew, he would...

She would definitely rebel.

The next day, Ling Qiu went to the city center alone, of course. With Cyrus inside her body, she needed to maintain the illusion that she was alone the whole way. Otherwise, if the Noah executives found out that Manwell suddenly had a new girlfriend, they would definitely investigate her.

Looking back on her life, Ling Qiu felt that she was undoubtedly a good citizen. She had never caused trouble or broken the law since she was a child. Her parents were martyrs. The only dishonest job she had ever done was as a hacker. She was always paid to do things, so even if she was found out, it wouldn't matter.

Moreover, wouldn't it be more appealing to Manwell that she possessed a rebellious streak?

Ling Qiu felt that her analysis was flawless. She rushed to the grand hotel where the charity gala was being held. The crowd was so dense that she had to push and shove her way for quite a distance before finally arriving at the hotel entrance.

There were many signs and slogans at the entrance, all related to charity, calling on people to do charity and give love. They also described some of the charitable things Noah had done, such as how many children he helped go to school, how many disabled people he helped live normal lives, and how many homeless people he built shelters for.

That's truly a great deed.

Ling Qiu entered the hotel. The party hadn't started yet, but the fundraising had already begun. Noah Company said that as long as you donated 100 Man Yuan, you could be put on the company's charity list and have priority in future recruitment.

This approach was clearly very successful, with many people rushing to donate, because everyone has 100 Mandarin dollars, and no one is stingy with a mere 100 Mandarin dollars for a chance to get into the company, even if that chance is extremely slim.

Ling Qiu thought, when the recruitment actually happens, they can just say that there are too many people donating money and you are not given priority, since there are still many people ahead of you, right? This kind of statement is just a smokescreen.

"Ling Qiu, what are you doing here?" A familiar voice interrupted Ling Qiu's observation.

She turned around and saw Ron, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.

Cybernetic individuals all have chips in their brains. If Lululan were to become like this now, what about Ron? Would it be any different?

Ling Qiu greeted Ron with a smile, "Long time no see."

"Come and sit down." Ron beckoned and led Ling Qiu to a red leather sofa.

The hotel's first floor is a restaurant, with leather sofas and individual tables. Ling Qiu pointed to the "VIP" sign above and asked, "Are you a member here?"

“Yes, the seafood at this restaurant is pretty good, very delicious.” Ron casually picked up the menu and handed it to Ling Qiu. “See if there’s anything you’d like to eat.”

"Is this restaurant still open tonight?" Ling Qiu asked in surprise, as she had assumed that charity galas were usually private events.

“Of course, the company won’t let any opportunity to make money slip by,” Ron said. “Besides, this hotel originally belonged to the company, so it’s just a temporary requisition.”

"Oh." Ling Qiu had been observing Ron's expression while he spoke, but it seemed that he was not much different from the last time she saw him. He was naturally cheerful and did not seem to have lost interest in everything like Lululan, who was lifeless.

Ling Qiu glanced at the menu but didn't find anything she wanted to eat, and she didn't plan to eat anything tonight.

Just then, Ron asked her, "Where's your boyfriend?"

Ling Qiu paused for a moment, then replied naturally, "We broke up."

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a hand gripping her neck. The hand didn't exert much force, but it made Ling Qiu feel a sense of restraint.

She ignored Cyrus's childish behavior.

"Why did you break up?" Ron asked, his expression not so much surprise as anticipation.

“Because he… is a cyborg, but he lied to me that he wasn’t.” Ling Qiu racked her brains to make up a story. “I broke up with him in a fit of anger.”

Ron's expression clearly froze for a moment. "You can't tell?"

“Yeah, he seems to be using some kind of new prosthetic body. I don’t know anything about it, I can’t tell anyway.” Ling Qiu said everything she could think of.

“A new type of prosthetic body…” Ron murmured. “I don’t know much about it yet, but Lululan had one installed a while ago.”

"What!?" Ling Qiu hadn't expected such an unexpected discovery. The new type of prosthetic body had a problem, though she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. However, she remembered telling Lu Lulan not to get this new type of prosthetic body. "When did this happen?"

“I can’t remember exactly, maybe a week or two ago? She had her spine replaced to make herself more flexible and increase her jumping ability.” Ron described it to her as he spoke, “A long pink spine that will bulge out on your back, it’s this long, it looks like a dragon’s skeleton, it’s quite pretty.”

Ling Qiu wondered if the changes to Lululan's employee information card were related to this new type of prosthetic body. Could there be a connection between the two?

Just then, the lights on the first floor suddenly dimmed, soft music began to play, and the noisy crowd gradually quieted down, signaling the start of the party.

Ling Qiu turned to the side immediately, focusing intently on the sight.

"What? You're interested in these kinds of charity galas?" Ron asked her.

“Ah…no,” Ling Qiu said, watching the blond man walk onto the stage in a custom-made gray suit, his handsome features impeccable. “I just like looking at Mr. Manwell’s face; he’s so handsome.”

Ling Qiu slowly curved her lips into a smile, and whispered in a voice only she and Cyrus could hear, "It's time, Cyrus."

The lights in the hotel lobby suddenly flickered a few times, and with a bang, it seemed as if the light bulb had exploded, plunging the entire lobby into darkness, and the crowd gasped in surprise.

A black afterimage flew out, and some kind of fluid dripped from the ceiling, all of which flowed into the top of Manwell's head.

The organizers clearly had extensive experience in handling emergencies; in less than two minutes, the emergency lights were turned on, and the hall was lit again.

Two minutes is more than enough time for Cyrus.

He read this human's memories and then spoke word by word according to the prepared speech, appealing to everyone to donate, to love the company, and to put the company first.

"You like Manwell's looks?" Ron was still talking to her.

"Yeah, you have no idea how hard I went to get the tickets to the party."

Ron: "Next time you should just come to me and get them; I have plenty."

"Hmm... I will if there's a next time."

They chatted casually, and the party finally brought the part that Ling Qiu had been waiting for.

"Next up is the lucky draw, which everyone's been waiting for." Manwell looked at the cards in his hand. "The lucky winner can tell us their wish, and the company will help them make it come true."

Although there was only one lucky winner in the charity gala lottery, the company was very generous. If the lucky winner said they wanted an apartment in the city center, the company would not hesitate to grant their wish.

This is the main reason why so many people consistently attend the gala.

“Let me see…” Manwell slowly tore open the list of winners and read out the name on the red card.

"Ling Qiu".

Manwell read the name aloud.

Ron exclaimed in surprise, "What?! Did I hear that right? Ling Qiu, you've won the lottery!"

Ling Qiu feigned a dazed look and walked onto the stage to accept the award with a blank expression.

“Little angel, you are so cute,” Manwell said.

From that sentence onward, Ling Qiu knew it was Cyrus who had spoken to her.

She looked at Manwell with longing: "Can I wish for anything?"

"Of course, the company will use its huge financial resources to solve this for you, so don't worry."

Hmm... Ling Qiu did waver for a second; she really had always wanted an apartment in the city center.

But then again, if the revenge plan fails and she dies, this house will mostly be unusable.

“I want to be Mr. Manwell’s wife,” Ling Qiu said.

Manwell looked surprised, and the audience burst into laughter. Several men shouted that he was truly love-struck, using such a precious chance to win the lottery to talk about this.

“Aren’t you really going to change your wish? Everyone feels sorry for you,” Manwell said with a smile.

“But I really want to marry Mr. Manwell,” Ling Qiu said longingly.

Manwell: "I don't plan to get married right now, but since you're so cute... I can allow you to be my girlfriend."

"Is it really possible?" Ling Qiu said. "Mr. Manwell can't agree to it first and then dump me later."

"Haha... As long as you behave, I won't."

Manwell appeared perfectly normal, and no one would suspect that the man's mind had been completely replaced.

Ling Qiu smiled. Now, she was Manwell's official girlfriend.