Mrs. Zheng bit her lip tightly, filled with unprecedented regret. If only she had held on for a few more minutes...

Unfortunately, what's done is done, and there's no going back. She could only force herself to remain calm and smooth her hair. "Now that the items have been returned, the misunderstanding is cleared up. Thank you for making the trip, officers."

After saying that, Mrs. Zheng put her things on the table and turned to follow the police out.

"Wait a minute," Qiao Xia called out to her, "Has this lady forgotten something?"

Mrs. Zheng's face flushed red, and she reluctantly said to everyone, "I'm sorry, okay?"

Qiao Xia said firmly, "Not enough."

"I'm sorry!" Mrs. Zheng shouted.

Tears mixed with black mascara made her face look extremely messy.

Qiao Xia remained unmoved. "We originally agreed to kneel down and apologize."

"Miss Qiao," Lou Yuanyuan said, unable to bear it.

Although they had already witnessed Mrs. Zheng's despicable character, they couldn't help but feel some sympathy for her when they saw her in such a sorry state.

Qiao Xia glanced at her indifferently, her eyes devoid of any emotion. Lou Yuanyuan shut her mouth awkwardly, and the rest of the people dared not speak.

Mrs. Zheng looked to the two policemen for help, but she only saw two figures hurrying away.

The phone call Zhao Yuncheng received was about a theft case. Since the stolen items had been found, the rest was naturally not within their scope of responsibility.

Qiao Xia pulled up a chair and sat down. "She publicly insulted others, falsely accused me of theft, and even tried to extort a sports car worth 20 million..."

Qiao Xia looked at her with a half-smile, "Kneel down and apologize, or I'll sue you until you're bankrupt. The choice is yours."

"I...I..." Mrs. Zheng's lips trembled, but when she looked around, everyone avoided her gaze.

Mrs. Fu, who had initially stood by her side and spoken up for her, now hid in the crowd, afraid that others would know that the two knew each other.

Mrs. Zheng's tears flowed even more fiercely, and she finally knelt down in humiliation, "I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have looked down on you and accused you of stealing!"

"Can I leave now?"

Qiao Xia gestured for her to leave, and Mrs. Zheng jogged away from the villa, nearly tripping on the ground because of her high heels.

Tang Xining, who had witnessed the whole thing, calmly comforted the child in her arms, without uttering a single comment on what Qiao Xia had done.

With the matter resolved, Lou Yuanyuan and her husband lost their appetite for a banquet. They hastily dismissed everyone and repeatedly apologized to Qiao Xia and her daughter.

Tang Xining handed the child to them, saying, "We are a family of three, and we appreciate your care these past few days. I won't be coming over starting tomorrow."

The two looked at each other, opened their mouths but hesitated to speak.

Tang Xining gently comforted her, "Don't overthink it. You all probably know that even without this incident, I wouldn't be able to stay here for long."

"Yes, yes, yes." The two nodded repeatedly, their faces filled with nervousness.

Tang Xining sighed deeply, "Don't think my daughter is domineering. Anyone would be angry if this happened to them. It's better to clarify things so that it won't get tangled up in the future, especially for public figures like you two."

Upon hearing this, the two men were immediately alarmed. They were not truly wealthy or powerful families; the people who came today were either their former poor relatives or colleagues of similar size.

Today, it's hard to guarantee that someone won't embellish what happened and post it to gain clicks. Although Qiao Xia's actions were somewhat inhumane, they certainly determined right and wrong.

The two of them realized what had happened and apologized and thanked Qiao Xia profusely.

Qiao Xia took the opportunity to say goodbye.

Duan Yang quickly removed the pendant from the child's neck. "This is far too valuable. We've caused you so much trouble today, how could we possibly accept it?"

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Tang Xining squeezed the child’s little hand. “I’ve taken care of him for so long, and we’re kind of destined to meet. If you don’t mind, I’ll take the liberty of having him call me godmother. Consider this our first meeting.”

The two of them were more than willing and saw them off to the door in a warm and affectionate manner.

Back in the familiar little shack, after packing up the jade inside, it was already getting dark.

Qiao Xia received the shareholder photos sent by Shen Shuoyu and was about to pay the remaining balance when she discovered that her balance was empty again.

"Why are you out of money again?"

The system's voice remained completely emotionless: "Why are you asking me? I didn't spend the money."

Qiao Xia teased, "You've learned to roast people? Is this one of the signs that you've absorbed enough energy?"

Why do I think so?

"What people fear most is that artificial intelligence will have emotions. The more human-like they become, the more likely they are to replace humans. Isn't the goal of artificial intelligence to replace humans and rule the world?"

[Hmph, arrogant humans. The system doesn't want to be human. Humans hate work, yet fear artificial intelligence replacing all jobs. What's so good about such a contradictory species?]

Qiao Xia asked curiously, "If the energy can't turn you into a human, then what's the use?"

[If 001 has enough energy, it will always remain 001; its consciousness will not be erased, and it will not be molded into a pattern.]

Qiao Xia silently added, "In the end, it's all about work. Humans work 996, you work 007, and you don't even have time to rest, right?"

The system shut down.

Qiao Xia shook her head and lay down on the bed, having had a good sleep after a long day.

The next morning, a helicopter airlifted the jade they had packed to Qiao Palace, but Qiao Xia did not see her father at home.

When I called, I couldn't hear what he was saying at all because of the noise.

Qiao Xia simply charged straight over, and from afar she could see a towering skyscraper rising into the sky amidst the ruins, while her father stood in the ruins, excitedly directing the workers.

Qiao Xia walked over with difficulty and shouted into his ear, "What's going on?"

"Huh? I can't hear you," Qiao Zhaoxing shouted back.

Helpless, Qiao Xia pulled him to a secluded spot. "What happened here?"

Qiao Zhaoxing said with a serious expression, "I've thought about it. The reason why my previous investments always failed was because I'm not suited for the stock market. So I've made up my mind to invest in real estate."

Qiao Zhaoxing said excitedly, "Moreover, I've discovered that I'm very talented in this area. I saw on the news that this piece of land under our feet was sold for 10 billion."

“Now, part of it has already been built, and I only raised the price to 12 billion to acquire this land.” Qiao Zhaoxing looked at Qiao Xia with anticipation, his eyes clearly asking for praise.

“Um…” Qiao Xia was silent for a moment, but decided to tell her father the truth, “If I’m not mistaken, this building is an unfinished project.”

"Huh?" The father and daughter looked at each other, falling into an eerie silence.

Meanwhile, a war of words quietly spread online, and one of the protagonists who started the war received a hysterical cry for help from a stranger.