"call--"

Liu Peiqiang crouched down and turned on the outdoor military gas stove. Blue and white flames immediately shot out, melting the snow around the ground.

Xu Milu took out a large piece of beef from the system compartment, roughly cut it into thick chunks using the pot lid, and threw it into the pot filled with water along with whole scallions and ginger slices.

Although everyone present was used to her being able to pull something out of thin air like Doraemon at any time, Liu Peiqiang still found it amazing.

Military-grade gas stoves are not the cheap stuff you find elsewhere. In less than ten minutes, a pot of water was covered with bubbles the size of longan fruits, and large chunks of beef floated and sank in the pot, emitting a deadly aroma.

Xu Milu scooped out the beef chunks, then directed Qi Jiang and Liu Peiqiang to pour out the water. She added a little oil extracted from rice and coconut shells back into the pot, and once the oil was hot, she poured in the polar fast-growing tomato chunks without adding any seasonings and stir-fried them quickly.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

When the juice of the large tomatoes comes into contact with the hot oil, the hot oil bursts open one by one, the tomato chunks gradually soften, and the bright red tomato juice is poured from side to side in the large pot. At this time, while it is still hot, add the cooked beef chunks, potato chunks, and onion chunks and stir-fry together, so that each ingredient is coated with orange-red juice, and the air is immediately filled with a sweet and sour aroma.

Because it was outdoors and the conditions were somewhat basic, Xu Milu used a large spoon to stir the various ingredients at the bottom of the pot to prevent them from burning. Liu Peiqiang helped her add a whole bucket of purified water to the pot, and the soup in the pot was almost overflowing.

Belinsky was already quite impatient:

“Боже мой, это выглядит так вкусно! Я сделаю красный своим счастливым цветом! (My goodness, it looks so delicious! I swear I'll make red my lucky color!)”

Before the pot boiled, Xu Milu handed over the task of stirring the ingredients to Qi Jiang, then pulled Hao Xiaoxi to a spot away from the surveillance cameras.

"Director Hao, I think it's very likely that someone is secretly monitoring me, so when I ask you questions now, you only need to answer 'yes' or 'no.' If it involves Chinese secrets, you can shake your head to indicate your position, is that alright?"

Hao Xiaoxi glanced at the camera and immediately nodded to indicate that she understood.

Xu Milu lowered her voice and asked:

"The first question is, is China aware of the existence of 'artificial intelligence'?"

Hao Xiaoxi paused for a moment, then simply shook her head.

Xu Milu understood immediately and continued with her second question: "Has China already taken countermeasures to protect my interests from infringement?"

Hao Xiaoxi immediately replied, "Yes."

Understood.

Xu Milu realized that China may have discovered that artificial intelligence possesses self-awareness much earlier than she knew, but the authorities have remained silent for some reason.

She glanced at the camera mounted in the corner, and this time simply raised the volume:

"The third question, which is also a notification, is that if artificial intelligence does anything that harms my interests or my personal safety, I will take any measures to protect myself."

Her expression at that moment was indescribably solemn, and Hao Xiaoxi had no doubt that the other party was joking.

"Sizzle... sizzle sizzle..."

The camera seemed to be alive; as she spoke, the machine slowly turned an angle, and the red light in the electronic eye flashed.

It was watching her.

It is thinking.

It wanted to destroy her.

That familiar sense of crisis resurfaced, and goosebumps rose all over Xu Milu's back. But she wasn't afraid; instead, she had the illusion that she was the one hunting.

"Xiao Qi, I've got it! Go!"

【receive! 】

A pale blue system panel appeared. In just a moment, the bright spot in the electronic eye became even brighter. The next second, its movements slowed down. In the blink of an eye, the feeling of being pricked by needles completely disappeared.

Xu Milu knew that Xiao Qi had caught the other party.

Then, a somewhat confused electronic voice sounded from the system:

[Hmm... Host, I've caught it, but its behavior is a bit strange. I need to organize its information database before I can give you the answer to why it's spying on you.]

"OK."

Hao Xiaoxi hadn't quite grasped the situation and was about to speak when Xu Milu smiled at her again:

"No, I was just joking with you. The soup should be ready by now. Why don't you try my cooking?"

A hint of doubt appeared on Hao Xiaoxi's face.

...

...

The freshly cooked tomato, potato, and beef soup was extremely hot; you could feel the heat even through the bowl.

The guards moved the large pot indoors, and the canteen thoughtfully delivered two large plates of steamed buns and rice, which were still steaming when they arrived, indicating that they had just been steamed.

Seeing that no one was eating, Xu Milu pulled Hao Xiaoxi to sit down to the side, first using a large ladle to serve each of them a full bowl of thick potato and beef soup, then smilingly inviting everyone else to join in:

"I'll be troubling you all these next few days. You've all worked hard. Have something hot to warm yourself up. One good thing about coming on missions with me is that I'll never let anyone go hungry."

Liu Peiqiang glanced at the team members, thought for a moment, and then ordered, "We'll split into three groups and take turns eating. Each person will have seven minutes to eat. Qi Jiang and I will be last. Is that alright?"

"No!"

"No!"

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